Paul Wallbank – Brilliant Communications

Category: Internet

  • Cannes Lions: Day One

    Day one of what’s going to be an extremely busy week at Cannes showed how digital technologies and the Internet are changing not just the advertising industry but all sectors of industry.

    Schematic’s Dale Herigstad showed, among other things, where Microsoft’s Project Natal is pointing the direction of where computer controls are going.

    Being able to remotely control equipment with body movements and facial expressions is going to be a massive change for entertainment, communications and many other sectors.

    This theme was expanded upon by Andy Pimental of Razorfish who demonstrated his vision of where television is going.

    In Andy’s future, the game controller and console are doomed. Movement recognition like Project Natal coupled with games being on the cloud means the game industry is going to be very different in a few years time.

    An interesting aspect with Andy’s presentation is that most of the technology is already available to achieve his vision, as he put it “it’s the business constraints, not technology, that limits us”.

    From a presenter’s point of view, the use of mock Tweets to illustrate points was a nice touch, too.

    Kevin Eyres of LinkedIn probably had the most impact. While much of the presentation focused on how LinkedIn can be used as a marketing tool, Kevin’s comments at the beginning about every individual is now  entreprenuer thanks to reduced job tenure and security really illustrated the challenges businesses and governments are going to face in the connected world.

    There’s some interesting challenges for all businesses ahead, not just the advertising industry. There’s a lot more to come.

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  • A failure of trust and communication

    Webcentral’s much publicised e-mail failure left thousands of small business owners without email last week.

    The most breathtaking aspect of this saga is the total lack of communication by WebCentral. They failed on every level to keep their customers informed.

    A simple, short message stating there was an outage on the front page of their website and on their support lines would have saved many of their customers hours of troubleshoting and stress.

    The amazing thing is after this embarrassment, WebCentral still launched their new online backup service.

    The success of software as a service depends upon trust and Webcentral has shown they cannot be trusted with their client’s critical systems.

    The joke is Webcentral’s parent company, Melbourne IT, uses the slogan “trusted for online success”.  Webcentral has shown they cannot be trusted.

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  • Why your business should have its own domain

    Why your business should have its own domain

    In our society where half the population seems to be on the road at any given time, having signage on your company vehicles is one of the most effective ways of publicising your business. 

    Because I spend too much time sitting in traffic jams I get the opportunity to study a lot of this advertising. All too often I see terrific, well done designs let down by poor email or website addresses. 

    No matter how much you spend on snappy slogans and flashy logos, an email address along the lines of fredtheplumber@biginternetprovider.com.au will spoil the effect. Addresses like these make it hard for passers-by to remember, and they smack of someone who can’t afford the less than $200 to set up a business internet domain. 

    One of the great things about the internet is it allows smaller businesses to punch above their weight. With your own domain name, even the tiniest microbusiness is on the same basis as their multinational competitors, and they can do this for less than the cost of a cappuccino a week. 

    Another big plus is your own business domain unties you from your internet provider. In Fred’s case, if he decides to change internet providers, he can’t have his address follow him. With his own domain, he can change internet providers every week without affecting his email and website addresses. 

    Setting up your own business domain is a two-step process; first you register your domain with a registrar and then arrange for a hosting service to look after it for you. To simplify things most registrars, hosting companies, internet providers and web site developers can do it all for you. 

    Whether you do it yourself or get someone to do it for you, it’s important to make sure someone at your business is designated as the administrative contact. This means you have ultimate control over the domain and you are the first to be told when fees are payable or domains are expiring.

    There’s no reason in my mind why even the smallest business doesn’t have its own domain. Compared to the costs of a Yellow Pages listing, local newspaper ad or even car signage, a domain and the associated hosting costs are almost nothing.

    Your business name is an important asset. If your organisation doesn’t have its own domain, regardless of its size, then you aren’t getting the most from that asset.

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  • Does your business need a blog?

    It’s fashionable to tell business owners they need to embrace every aspect of the web. But do you really need a blog in your small business?

    There’s no doubt a blog is worthwhile for many. It can give another perspective to the business and enhances their story. It can help smaller businesses cut through the noise to stand out in a crowded marketplace.

    A good example is Mark Fletcher’s Newsagency Blog which has publicised Mark’s software company and his associated newsagencies while establishing him as a leader in the industry.

    Not all businesses have Mark’s energy or some simply don’t have the time. For others, their markets don’t really care about blogs.

    Also a blog is not an end in itself. A newsagent with an interesting blog is still going to fail if they don’t  deliver service to their customers and the same applies for PR agencies, marketers and management consultants.

    If blog is going to distract you from your core business, then maybe it isn’t a good idea.

    Every business is unique and what works for one enterprise is not necessarily right for another. A blog is a business tool, just like every other aspect of the Internet, and you need to choose the right tools for your business.

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  • Respecting your network

    Respecting your network

    This article originally appeared on SmartCompany on November 25, 2008

    Australia’s Spam Act is just over five years old, and it’s had some success in keeping locally sourced junk email to reasonable limits along with catching the odd perpetrator.

    The Australian Communications and Media Authority has plenty of Spam Act information for business owners on its website and the requirements can be summarised in three principles – get consent, identify yourself, and make it easy to unsubscribe.

    Before you can send commercial emails to people, they need to ask for them. In itself, this requirement eliminates your emails being classified as spam given the definition of spam is unsolicited emails.

    Identity is important, as the recipient needs to know who the email is from. All legitimate businesses should have no problem with this.

    Finally, unsubscribing is simply good manners. For a business owner there is absolutely no point in irritating potential customers and partners who don’t want your messages.

    The sticking point in all of this is defining consent. The loophole in the act defines “inferred consent” if you have an “existing business relationship”. The current interpretation of a business relationship is merely having the business card of the recipient.

    Sadly this gives any dolt you’ve been foolish enough to give a business card to at a networking function permission to bombard you with invites to get-rich-quick seminars and share boat schemes.

    I can’t tell you how irritating I find idiots sending me three pointless emails a week because I put my card in the door prize bowl or gave the courtesy of exchanging cards while talking.

    Even worse are the dills who start sending SMS messages to your mobile phone. In fact I’m amazed that anyone thinks ultra intrusive text spam is an effective way to generate goodwill for a business.

    A particular difficulty with spamming people in your network is that your paths will almost certainly to cross again, which can put all parties in a difficult position.

    So don’t simply add everyone who gives you their business card to your mailing list. By all means send them a follow up email, phone call or postcard, and certainly offer to connect to them on social networking sites like LinkedIn and Facebook, but spare everyone the spam.

    Understanding your responsibilities under the Spam Act will help you get more from your mailing lists. Adding some common sense and manners goes a long way too.

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