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What do you think of the election so far???  Emotionally exhausting!  Polls almost but not quite static for weeks. ”
 

Can't argue with that! Suns headline this morning made me chuckle, showed a graph with Labour and Tory level pegging and the headline "Well hung"

Main thing that has surprised me has been the lack of UKIP noise. Last year, locally we had UKIP supporters driving round in an old Fire Engine, flags and signs out etc. I was anticipating a UKIP storm of support. But locally at least, and from what I've seen on the Telly, UKIP seemed to have faded away, or have past their media zenith? Seen lots of Blue, Yellow and Red signs in peoples gardens and windows, but not a single UKIP one?

Here's one that surprised me... Apple!

Installed a game on the family ipad for the nippers, same one they have at school, only to get hit with a series of unauthorised purchases from in game upgrades.

Never happened before and the game in question actually installs another app which was the cause of the problem. You have to enter a password which should stop any in game purchases, but in this case it didn't work as the password was cached.

Clicked the link in the email receipt saying report this purchase. Arranged a call back via a web form, which I've just had. All very slick, very professional, unauthorised amounts refunded and a help doc so we can lock down our security to stop any future mishaps.

10/10 Apple, very impressed. Shows big outfits can get the balance right between customer service and efficiency.

I think it will be Cameron & Clegg  (plus some others in an alliance?). Messy. 
 

My money is on the current coalition continuing. Can't see anyone getting a majority, and I don't think Miliband is in the running.

You watch, we will now have a Labour landslide 

Smells of desperation. Not sure what his strategy team are thinking of, from appearing with Russell Brand to the labour stance on coalition and now pledges.

Assuming he doesn't get in, I suspect there will be a Labour leadership contest shortly afterwards. 

What Are You Listening To Now? 5th May 2015 10:16 AM
Ceelo Green. Yeah, I'm hip. Lol.”
 

Never heard of him, looks like I'm not  lol

Reviews 5th May 2015 9:32 AM

Hi Barney

You can display your business listing in your forum signature which contains your reviews, as well as optionally a web link to your site.

To show your listing in your forum posts, just select the show listing in signature option.

If you mean something like the Freeindex widget that you can display on your website, we've talked about it for a long while but never got round to it. It's on the to do list  We are looking at a major site upgrade next year, so will probably include this functionality then, either a widget or an iframe. 

For now, on your website you can link directly to your reviews: 

www.mylocalservices.co.uk/London/Central_Heating/2408202/Selectric_Heating_Ltd.html#reviews

You can also link directly to your review generation page:

www.mylocalservices.co.uk/2408202/Selectric_Heating_Ltd.review.html

Does that answer your question?

I got fed up with trying to remember passwords so searched the web and now use lastpass”
 

I've looked at lastpass before, but got nervous by the idea of a 3rd party securing my data. They've had a couple of security issues over the years, but do have a very good reputation. 

Anyone else using them? Am I being overly paranoid about security?

business 1st May 2015 2:03 PM

How have you marketed yourself to date?

Have you done anything in the past that worked really well? Could you revisit it?

There are almost unlimited ways to market and promote your services. But it depends on so many variables. Any budget? Expecting bucket loads of work and contracts from a bit of free advertising although not unheard of, isn't a particularly realistic strategy. 

But there plenty of low cost options, eg printing leaflets and pounding the streets yourself.

Maybe getting to know local housing associations, landlord groups, property developers etc. You must know plenty of building firms, get on their books as the go to subbie? 

I'd stay away from a freebie website personally, they can do more harm than good. You wouldn't buy off Amazon or Tescos if they were using a home made freebie website. Leave those to the hobbyists. 

More info you can give, more help you can get.

Yes, though I must admit I've gone beyond that and now have way too many variations! 
 

Passwords are the bain of my life. Seemed to spend most of my time resetting passwords... 

As the last big TV debate before polling day, this was always going to be an interesting one, albeit only with the PM, Miliband and Clegg.

I'd naturally assumed (wrongly) that a northern audience might be naturally more labour. I know the audience was supposed to be picked as equal percentages on their political views, but Miliband certainly seemed to get the toughest time.

To me he didn't come over as convincing, and some of the answers left me speechless. Did he concede that the previous Labour government had overspent? No  Then lots of reinforcement talk of how they built new hospitals, schools etc etc, but you could tell it went down like a lead balloon. He started off by saying Labour got it wrong with the banks, which is a good tactic, but he's said that quite often throughout the campaign, trying to distance current labour from old (new) labour.

The bit I was baffled though was his response to the hung parliament question. He's not interested in a coalition, to the point he would refuse to form a government if it meant having to share power with the SNP or another party. It's basically 100% his manifesto, or no Labour government. There would be no compromise.

A brave stance, but sounds more like a high risk political gamble. The stumble off the podium at the end summed it up for me, as he seemed desperate to get out of there.

The highlight for me was the business woman who was furious about the outgoing Labour administration leaving a note in the treasury saying "sorry, no money left". She said if you did that in the corporate world, you would be sacked and never work again.

By contrast, Cameron seemed much more relaxed with the audience, and it may be a political prop as suggested by Miliband, but he was carrying the famous "no money left" note in his pocket which was a very powerful signal.

He seemed to come over less smarmy than he has done previously IMHO, so I'm guessing he has had a full PR make over 

He also got a rough ride, but seemed to handle it better. The standard line about "inheriting this mess from the last govt" started to wear a bit thin, and he wasn't very convincing about the ridiculous need to enact a law to keep taxes down.

Nick Clegg got both barrels as soon as he walked on stage about his infamous tuition fee promise from 2010, which he tried to deflect by concentrating on the positives the Liberals have brought as a coalition partner.

But it was interesting listening to the other two who are desperate to win a majority whilst Clegg simply conceded it will never happen for the Liberals and his was the party to join a coalition and steady the ship.

Did watch him thinking this will probably be the last time we see the Liberals for a while as the 3rd party. Maybe next Elections debate will see the SNP there?

Anyone else watch it, any thoughts?