Don’t Watch Porn At Work!
It’s not recommended and a bit anti-social, but if you do then don’t be stupid enough to Tweet about it!
This guy has now deleted his Tweet but remember your Tweets live on in Twitter Search!
It’s not recommended and a bit anti-social, but if you do then don’t be stupid enough to Tweet about it!
This guy has now deleted his Tweet but remember your Tweets live on in Twitter Search!
Spotted this ad for John West Tuna near my flat at the weekend. I’m not sure what the bloke with the fiddle is all about but my eye was drawn to the USP – “No Drain Tuna”
Now they’ve obviously done some market research and found that some consumers are reluctant to buy their product because it’s too “fiddly”.
(I think I’ve just got the fiddle reference while writing that last sentence…………groan!)
But is our time so precious that we’re now looking to save a few seconds while opening a can of fish?
Maybe it’s because we’re too busy blogging and tweeting?
I’ll be “trawling” your comments for an answer soon I expect!
Having spent so much time over the last few years in the US where food and service tend to be very good, I’ve been getting more and more frustrated with restaurants in the UK which tend to either be too expensive, serve awful food or sufferer from shoddy and indifferent service.
When asked to go out for dinner or trying to arrange a date in London I’ve found it a bit of a lottery. Do we spend a load of cash to have a decent night out? Do we shrug and laugh at the less than attentive waiter or waitress? Do we just accept the food isn’t that fab because, well, that’s just the way it is?
Last night things changed as I was introduced to an oasis in this culinary desert we call our capital.
The Bedford & Strand bar and bistro near Charing Cross is simply delightful.
I turned up there with four mates from school. We get together every 3 months or so to catch up, chew the cud and find out what’s going on in each other’s lives.
We used to just hit a pub and sink several pints but now in our late thirties (did I just admit that?) we prefer a more refined evening of food and wine!
A small door way on Bedford Street hides some pristine stairs which take you down to a bar and restaurant buzzing with media types and folks drinking in the fantastic atmosphere and wine.
A mixture of French and British food, the menu is reasonably priced averaging around £14 for dishes like pork belly, fish cakes, steak tartar and sausage and mash.
The service was excellent, the manager – Kate – was chipper, funny and informative, not batting an eyelid when I simply said I didn’t like the cassoulet I’d ordered.
She just changed it!
The wine was very good and the extensive selection was nicely laid out on the menu by price bracket.
They also have a deli counter which is open all day serving excellent cheeses and meats.
Really it was excellent! It felt like we should have been in a rustic gaff somewhere in the French country side or a faux Euro-bistro somewhere in Manhattan, but we weren’t.
We were in central London, just shy of Covent Garden getting value for money!
As we left, actors from the theatre musical Joseph piled in for a post show beer and included a taller than you’d think Gareth Gates!
With all the wine we’d drunk it was a “long and winding road” home I can tell you!
I’d heard about this over the weekend via Twitter while I was in the US.
Only got around to watching it at 4.30 this morning through a jet-lagged haze!
Has to be one of the most amazing performances ever on one of these “talent” shows.
I must have heard that song sung a 1000 times while at auditions in my acting days.
None of them came anywhere near to topping that!
I’m betting she’ll be Number 1 this Christmas!
If there’s one thing that’s going to make my blood boil on a Wednesday morning, on the train, when I’ve had 3 hours sleep thanks to jet lag, it’s some berk texting away on a mobile phone that is making a high pitched beeping sound with every key stroke!
Why do phone beep like that and why is it the default setting? Is it a usability thing or is it a disabled access requirement?
Anyone in the mobile industry know?
It does raise the question of self-awareness though. How people think that beeping away like that on a train journey with hundreds of fellow passengers within earshot is ok.
It’s like the guy who gets on my train at Mortlake with – I KID YOU NOT – a ceramic bowl of cereal and a flask of milk and eats it while reading is emails!!
And then there are those thoughtless bar stewards who don’t move down the train/tube carriage because they’re newspaper reading might be impeded or they’re too feeble to use their natural sense of balance to stop them falling over and have to hold on to something!!
I know I’m a bit tired and crabby, but what is wrong with people?
Right – I’m off to Boots for some Pro Plus!
While I’m gone, let me know what gets your goat about your fellow human beings!!!
The Date & Time is Friday 8th May, 2009 at 7.30pm.
The place is HMS President.
The cost is £30, including buffet and welcome drink.
All proceeds go to the NSPCC.
How’s that for an offer you can’t refuse?
Join us for our 1920’s Gangster party all in aid of the NSPCC. There will be eating, there will be drinking, there will be gambling, there will be dancing. And there’ll probably be more than a few people talking like Robert De Niro.
HMS President is moored on the Thames opposite the Oxo Tower. The nearest tube station is Temple, and buses will be provided from Reading to HMS President and back for less than a tenner.
To purchase tickets please email challpar@microsoft.com
For more information please visit www.challengerparty09.spaces.live.com
I’ve not written about this awesome little program on my blog until now.
No reason other than I suppose I forget sometimes that although I write a lot on the adCenter Blog, there are other channels I can talk about the great work our teams at Microsoft do.
In a nutshell the Microsoft adCenter Excel Add In Keyword Research Tool lets you plug in a keyword and assess how many people search using that word in a given time period.
It will also tell you what other searches contained that term.
So not just “camera” but also “digital camera” “SLR Camera” “Camera Stores in Cardiff” or “my camera oh oh, my camera never lies anymore” (assuming people are looking for Bucks Fizz lyrics!)
The killer app for me is the demographic tool which lets you see which demographic – age and gender – is typing in that keyword more than any other?
Why is it important?
Well never before have you had so much rich data to use when marketing online…..or offline for that matter.
Knowing the different keywords that are associated with your products, services and brand and your competitors brands is important when you’re building out web or PPC keywords, content and ad copy.
But if you know what the audience that is most interested in learning more you can tailor your marketing accordingly.
Women aged between 18 and 25 are going to require a very different message than the kind you’d use to target a guy aged 50-65 so having a better understanding of who your customers are helps you come up with marketing that will resonate.
So download the Keyword Research Tool now and give it a whirl – you will NOT be disappointed!
We’re piloting the new version which has UK data at the mo so watch out for that on the adCenter Blog!
5 flights, 4 countries, 3 hotels, 2 hangovers and only 1 life!
The last couple of weeks have been madder than Mad Jack McMad!
1st there was Iceland and www.rimc.com – check out mine and Rand Fishkin’s post and my Facebook Photos for some insight into that incredible few days!
Then there was SES New York – check out our wild and whacky videos here, here & here!
After a pit stop in Boston to visit my mate Dom Doyle who teaches Theology at Harvard, it was onto Toronto where I spent time with the Canada team and participated in a round table with some of Canada’s finest press folk and managed an amusing dinner out with Vanessa, Danny and Andrew & Mona from www.PageZero.com
Now I’m in Seattle meeting with my team, planning the next year’s worth of excitement and doing lots of work during downtime on the wedding!
After two weeks it’s a bit odd being away from Englandshire, but travelling sure makes sure you’re busy.
It amuses me how some people seem to think it’s all glitz and glam, but believe me you yearn for your own bed and a daily dose of Radio 5 Live!
The key is to make long trips comfortable and I have some tips on how to get the most from your mileage…….but I’ll save them for another day!
BTW – If anyone can name the BBC comedy and character who says the words in the title of this post, I’ll send them a surprise!
More photos from day 2 of Search Engine Strategies in New York
I’m tweeting like a mad man at http://Twitter.com/adCenterBlog and we’ll have a recap video at www.adCenterCommunity.com soon!!!
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