Archive for December, 2008

Everyone loves a bargain, that’s why some high street stores will be opening their doors at 5am on Boxing Day to take full advantage of people looking for big discounts. But is it really one of the only reasons elderly people choose to get connected and signed up to an Internet Service Provider (ISP)? It certainly appears that way.

More – Grabbing a bargain is one of the reasons to get connected!

White working class children are held back by low ambition and a culture of failure, according to  Birmingham MP Liam Byrne covered by Birmingham Post.  Mr Byrne, minister for the cabinet office, is publishing a report which warns poor white boys have fewer ambitions than any other group, and are falling further behind in exam results. More – White working class children have lowest aspirations says report

An Australian court has agreed with a lawyer’s argument that the only way to serve repossession papers to a young couple was via their Facebook profile. It is the first time that the social network has been used in such a way, but after all traditional methods such as face to face visits, court summons and letters  were exhausted, the lawyer resorted to more innovative means.

More – Nowhere to hide on social networks?

I’m always looking for examples of how social media can support small businesses. I’ve raised the question before using the local builder as an example. Why on earth would the bloke who knocked a hole in my wall have a reason to use any kind of social media tool?

Well I found a partial answer to that in a video from Herefordshire firm, Wiggly Wigglers (amongst other things they sell worms for composting). Founder Heather Gorringe explains how a shift to social media over tradititional media helped cut her advertising costs without cutting her customer base.

More – Where there’s muck – there’s a blog

Economically we are certainly living in interesting times.  One of the reactions to the current financial crisis has been a resurgence in Keynesian ideas of government intervention in markets as a way to avoid the worst effects of recession.  There is much talk of governments investing in civil engineering projects such as roads, rail and bridge building.  Invest in such infrastructure, the argument goes, and you prime the pump of the economy now and improve your competitiveness in the future.

Well, if we’ve been willing to build transport infrastructure like this before then shouldn’t we be thinking about using government money to build out a nationwide fibre optic network?

More – Next Generation Access

As of 5th December, 95% of the Internet Service Providers (ISP) have signed up to OFCOM’s new code of conduct - they must provide an accurate internet speed when people sign up to their services, rather than a vague estimate.

More – The need for speed

Despite perhaps being the more hesitant in using technology, dad Simon showed that when it comes to online shopping he is willing to take the lead. Supported by Digital Birmingham’s Mike Farmer, who is helping the digital family find their way around technology use, the 2 men set out to buy Simon’s wife Julie a bottle of Jean Paul Gaultier perfume. Mike took him through the different steps from finding the best prices to checking out reputable sites to buy from and the secure site ‘lock’ feature. It seems like he’s hooked now, with Simon keen to progress to ebay and find those ‘Cash in the Attic’ gems that he can flog online.

More – Our digital family shoppers

In his speech to reignite the Labour party, Gordon Brown has revealed his government’s plans for a broadband internet access, software and computer scheme worth up to £300m, which will target disadvantaged families on low incomes.

More – The promise has been made