Electric Cars – but not ones you Pedal!

(This was posted 6 months, 1 week, 18 hours, 1 minute's ago.)

A client or ours (Planet Leasing) has been speaking to us about something new on the horizon – electric cars.

You may say (and you would be true) that electric cars really aren’t that new but these puppies are!

If you Google ‘Electric Cars’ you will see sponsored links from Smart, Nissan, Renault, Honda, Toyota, Fiat and even Volvo.

Electric Car Options

• The ‘Electric Drive’ Smart Car boasts an effective 300 mpg with Zero emissions.
• The Nissan offering is a little harder to understand from their website but seems to be built around the Nissan Leaf.
• Renault has launched Renault Z.E, a range of 4 electric concept vehicles; each more futuristic and larger than the last.
• Honda and Toyota have hybrid offerings that in truth seem more like conventional cars but still seem better for the environment that a standard vehicle – a friend of mine said that it drives like a car, has the same range, doesn’t cost less to run except I don’t have to pay the London Congestion Charge and as I’m in town most days that saves me a fortune (every days, 48 weeks per year is a saving of £1,920!)

But in truth my favourite, after looking around was what seems to be an independent company called Aixam Mega.

Aixam Mega have a range of private and light commercial vehicles, that put the focus on being friendly to the environment. It’s debatable but I wouldn’t think they will win many awards for the design of their vehicles but I think they are 100% fit for purpose.

I don’t know why they are not more popular in the cities. They are an ideal replacement for small vans and city run-arounds.

Planet Leasing Ltd

So what’s the point of this entry? Simple really, I like the idea of electric cars and it highlights something we can all do – think ahead.

Planet Leasing have looked ahead and thought if the main line manufacturers are getting in on this should they?

They have looked at what is coming up and have decided that they need to put themselves in a place that allows them to not only position themselves in what might be a new market but at the same time allow themselves to be there when their customers want/need them.

If you look at it this is at least a year off, probably two or more. What Planet Leasing have done is decided to establish themselves online they need the time to establish a website so that search engines know about them.

Thinking ahead may well put them in a great organic position, ready for when people go looking for Electric Cars...

Is a Website Enough in 2010?

(This was posted 6 months, 1 week, 1 day, 18 hours, 35 minutes's ago.)

Is a Website Enough? To be honest a website is simply not enough anymore.

I’ve worked with companies and organisations website for some time now and the simple fact of the matter is that as technology gets more and more integrated into the psyche of society the more of a potential disadvantage you are if you are not seem to be everywhere.

Understand the Mindset

100 years ago you would have possibly read a paper, some years later cinemas presented the news, a little later still and the news was brought into the home through the TV – on the 5th Feb 1989 Sky News started broadcasting 24 hours per day, 365 days per year.

Today, through you mobile phone you can be fed news...

Why do I say understand the mindset? It’s simple really, what is important to know is that we have unprecedented access to information; the net result being we can do more in less time.

Do more in less time is the standard, forget multi-tasking; think hypertasking!

Hypertasking

Think about it, how many times have you read a text, whilst watching TV, doing the ironing, helping with the kids homework and drinking a cup of tea?

In the workplace how many times are you reading several emails, speaking to colleagues, thinking about what needs to be done for the rest of the day and possibly on the phone?

Does all this apply to Me?

Possibly, probably: almost definitely.

I think it’s more than fair to say that most people will see this as a business issue but in reality it is a human condition as it seems to be at the core of our Mindset. Most people will say they don’t have a website or have a blog. I’d ask them if they have a Facebook account or a twitter account, if they have I’d ask if they have ever updated their status; if they have then they have a website and a blog.

Clearly business has the most to gain from extending the reach of their online or new media activates but social networking for the purpose of keeping in contact with friends, contacts and loved ones can be extremely fulfilling.

What Should You Do?

It’s hard to say, you don’t have to do anything.

If you are a domestic service orientated business try integrating Facebook into your marketing mix; invite customers to provide feedback via Facebook Pages.

If you are a product driven organisation can you send product updates and offers via Twitter?

If your commodity is your knowledge or opinion think about your blog – how can you connect with people that value your thoughts; how can you syndicate this information?

A final thought...

There are many experts out there, I would consider myself reasonably knowledgeable but as I have already said there is so much information out there that I would be a fool to consider myself as an expert.

My recommendation is to look at all options, look at how others employ new media tools and above all else remember just 100 years ago the new media was the tabloid paper (over the broadsheets), 50 years ago it was the Televison, 25 years ago it was the internet, a little over 5 years ago Facebook came on the scene.

Don’t assume you know, don’t put all your eggs in one basket; try to think ‘what’s coming next’.

PS: I’ll let you into a secret; I think the next thing to look at is Video, but I’ll speak more about this another time.

Intel® have release the Intel® Reader

(This was posted 6 months, 1 week, 1 day, 18 hours, 47 minutes's ago.)

Intel® have release the Intel® Reader.

Recently we worked with Baseline Creative to develop the new NRSB website.

During the build we looked an many applications and devices that the visually impaired use on a day to day basis. One of the items that caught my eye was screen readers.

In general screen readers seemed to be bulky devices that were not overly portable – but the Intel® Reader seems to be something slightly different.

I read about it from the Guardian’s website and then on the Intel® website.

Why make a fuss about the Intel® Reader?

As the Intel® Reader is portable it can be used anywhere; on a bus to read the paper, in a restaurant to understand the menu – just about anywhere.

What is the cost?

Currently you can buy the Intel® Reader from Amazon.com for £999.

Overview:

• The Intel® Reader can play most audio files as well, so can act as a portable music player
• Its display is 4.3” (10.9cm) (16:9)
• Its storage capacity is 4GB. It can hold up to 600 processed pages (images and text) with up to 20 pages waiting to be processed or up to 500,000 text-only pages
• It has USB ports for connectivity
• Audio playback is delivered through integrated speakers or a 1/8” (.35mm) audio jack
• Standby lasts for 5 days and playback is around 4 hours
• It is supplied with a carrying case and weighs around 1.38 kgs

Want to see it?

If you would like to see the Intel® Reader click here.

Do you use Google Analytics? We Do!

(This was posted 6 months, 2 weeks, 1 day, 16 hours, 35 minutes's ago.)

Google Analytics is a free tool from Google that is an absolute ‘must have’ for anybody that is serious about their website.

We have Google Analytics setup on our Content Management System’s home page so that every time we log-in we are presented with a snapshot of what is going on.

Google Analytics can tell you the number of actual visitors, the average time spent on your website, the entry pages and exit pages – and used with a little thought this information can be very powerful.

We have a client that we work with on a monthly basis to understand what is going on with his site. To look for trends and anticipate what is going on. A short time ago we noticed that once page was regularly being used as the entry page – so we looked at it.

The long and short was that the page did what it needed to and said what it needed to if it was just another page on the website BUT as it was drawing so much attention we decided to add some calls to action intended to increase the conversion rate from browser  to prospect.

Google do and provide many tools, some better than others – this one is a star, an absolute winner so if you don’t have it set yourself up with a Google account, follow their easy instructions and get going!

Dennis Hwang, Doodles 4 Google

(This was posted 6 months, 2 weeks, 2 days, 16 hours, 29 minutes's ago.)

I know I have gone on about it but have a look at this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOOY0xuQ3TU.

This is Dennis Hwang, he is one of two people that do the Doodles on Google.

He and another design the Doodles that sometimes take over the Google logo. I like it because school kids can get involved, use their imagination and even see their design on the Google Home Page.