PostsGoogle hammers exact match domain owners! 2nd July 2014 3:14 PM
“Has anyone noticed that EDMs (exact domain match) are back, has Google done a u turn?”
Long time no see! Must admit I hadn't noticed. There's been so much churn recently with author pics disappearing and other Google changes. Have you got an EDM that's burst back into life, or have you got any examples? Be very interesting if they have done a U turn! Warning - following post contains Star Trek references 2nd July 2014 11:12 AM obviously the only closet trekkie in the house I'll get my coat Struggling Mothercare rejects takeover bid 2nd July 2014 9:36 AM
Mothercare has rejected two takeover proposals from US firm Destination Maternity, which value the mother and baby products retailer at £266m. - BBC News Mothercare seems to be struggling at the moment, with some store closures and hoping to return to profit in 2015. I suppose this is another high street retailer that has struggled with online competition. Although it's nice to see a company reject a foreign takeover, I wonder what the shareholders think? Millions hit by Microsoft cybercrime action 2nd July 2014 9:14 AM Hmm seems the idea was sound, just poor execution! What is Google Double Click? 2nd July 2014 9:09 AM Google Doubleclick is part of Googles advertising network. It allows you to serve Google ads, 3rd party ads, as well as sell your own advertising space. If people ask to advertise on your site, then use doubleclick, if they don't, use normal adsense. Ocado on track to finally make a profit after 14 years! 1st July 2014 1:08 PM
Ocado - yet to make a profit after 14 years! Marketing week are reporting a possible pre-tax profit. "The online grocery retailer says it swung to a pre-tax profit of £7.5m for the six months to 18 May, compared to a loss of £1m a year ago. The results put Ocado on course to make a pre-tax profit for the first time since it was founded in 2000." - Marketing Week See, all good things come to those who wait Interesting article though. Apparently orders are up, but basket sizes are down as the supermarkets try to out price match each other. They've also reduced their marketing spend by spending less time on targeting people who are less frequent shoppers. Interesting tactic, and goes against normal marketing theory. So do we have any recent Ocado converts? What happens to the UK's Nuclear Deterrent if Scotland goes independent? 30th June 2014 8:44 PM
No longer just a question of whether we should have one, or should we replace it when the current Trident Submarine based system goes out of service, now it's a case of what happens if the Scottish based Trident ends up in a "Foreign" country! image courtesy of the MOD The SNP has made it clear that an independent Scotland will be Nuclear Weapon Free, and the Trident system will have to relocate by 2020. The BBC has a great story looking at some of the alternative options, from Plymouth, to France, or even the USA Apparently the SNP has countered that the Faslane Naval base where the submarines are based will become a "joint HQ for defence forces of an independent Scotland", so there will still be a military presence and job creation. Scottish defence forces? Is that going to be some kind of part time Militia? The Glenlivet Volunteers? The UK can barely afford a professional military as it is. An interesting story which will all but blow over and be long forgotten if the vote turns out to be a damp squid (which I suspect it will). Or if not, financial ruin and the decimation of the remaining UK military as budgets get wiped out and pennies scraped together. Flexible Working - what defines flexible working? 30th June 2014 8:59 AM
So what actually is flexible working, and what does this mean for the small business owner? Here are the 8 .gov classes of flexible working. Full definitions can be seen on the .gov website.
So employees can legally make 1 request per year which is called a statuary application. The employer then has 28 days to discuss the application, 14 days after this to come up with a decision about the request. If you agree to the employees request, then you have to issue a new contract. The employer can turn down a request "if they have a good business reason" but I can't see any definitions or guidelines on what warrants a good business reason. The Federation of Small Businesses claimed this morning that the majority of small businesses already offered flexible opportunities to staff, and I'm inclined to agree. So do we need more legislation about how we look after employees? What does anyone think? Does anyone think this could impact small businesses or do you think these regulations are a good thing and flexible working should be available to all employees no matter the size of the business? HS2 project - phase 2 - The North! 28th June 2014 12:55 PM
“When is it due to arrive in Hornsea? If I want to catch a train I have to drive my horse and cart to Hull, Beverley, Bridlington or York”
Well if it's heading for Leeds, I guess it's a start in the right direction. For us, the time to get to the nearest HS2 station would lose any advantage of getting to London any quicker than the normal train. Someone wrote a good comment on Google+ "Instead of spending the money on HS2/3 etc, spend the same money on a complete nationwide upgrade of laying fibre and give everyone access to high speed internet, not just the city types" I think its a good argument. Wouldn't there be more benefit for more people to have high speed internet to your house, than be able to get to London or Leeds any quicker? With the way working habits are changing, people wanting a more flexible lifestyle and the way the internet is dominating more of our lives, I'd vote for a decent connection speed over a train trip to London Warning - following post contains Star Trek references 27th June 2014 4:49 PM Ok I'm a closet Trekkie, but it's not illegal and I'm not hurting anyone Maybe finally we are starting to go the right direction as a physicist who is the head of NASA's Advanced Propulsion Team has been working on it and claims it's possible. Even better, they've got an artist to knock up some visuals, so it must be true!
credit to Mark Rademaker Full story with on CNN website So we might be between spaceships at the moment as the Shuttle sits in a museum, we lick our wounds over Beagle and we watch the Indians and Chinese start a retro space race. But one day, warp factor 6, we'll be off.... |
Well I never, after a forum post from Feb this year titled:
As the Scottish independence vote gets closer, the political chaos and manoeuvring gets more intense. Now under the media spotlight is Britain's Nuclear Deterrent.
As of today, new government regulations say anyone who has been working for you for at least 6 months, now has the right to request flexible working.
