Google is a Superbrand

Google is Super. We all knew that, but Google is officially the UK consumer Superbrand, as chosen by 2,200 UK consumers participating in an independent YouGov poll commissioned by Superbrands.

Google has knocked Microsoft out of the top spot, and together they sit in the top ten along with Mercedes-Benz, BBC, British Airways, Royal Doulton, BMW, Bosch, Nike and Sony.

Apple lurks just outside the top 10. Yahoo! lags behind way down at 75. Adobe scrapes in at a surprisingly low 278.

So what is a Superbrand?

?A Superbrand has established the finest reputation in its field. It offers customers significant emotional and tangible advantages over other brands, which (consciously or sub-consciously) customers want and recognise.? All Superbrands must represent quality, reliability, and distinction.

Stephen Cheliotis, chairman of the Superbrands Council which commissioned the research, said: "Lifestyle brands, particularly those in the technology sector, have considerably more sway with the public than everyday staples such as the supermarkets, which now seem further than ever from the affections of the British people.

"The results are also a further sign that Google is continuing its dominance in the UK. It is clear that Google is the brand that people value at work and in their personal lives."

Viral Marketing, Social Media & Blogs: New UK Laws

Are you ever tempted to create a bogus blog, and pretend to be one of your own happy customers? Attracted by the chance to write some glowing online reviews of your own business? How about asking your staff or marketing agency to create phony evaluations of your products or services?

Big changes in the law covering business blogging, social media and viral marketing techniques means businesses need to think twice before pretending to be the "voice of the people."

The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations bans 31 unfair commercial practices designed to protect consumers from misleading, aggressive or unfair practices.

In particular, the legislation outlaws any marketing that is in fact a disguised commercial message.

In the online marketing world, banned activities for businesses include:

• writing fake reviews on sites like TripAdvisor or Google Maps
• creating fake blogs
• asking questions on Q&A sites, and then answering the question yourself
  
• editing Wikipedia entries under a false identity
• imitating a consumer
• falsely advertising on social media sites

The use of false Internet marketing techniques has spawned a whole new vocabulary:

Flogs or "fake blogs" posing as a consumer, but created by professionals with the aim of selling products. One of the best known phony flogs is "All I Want for Christmas is a PSP" - created by a marketing agency called on behalf of Sony; Walmart has done a fake blog and been caught and shamed, and so have L'Oreal and lots more.

Astroturfing or fake grassroots campaigns, such as those used during political campaigns.

The penalty if you break the law? A little visit from Trading Standards, followed by fines up to £5,000, and up to two years in prison for individual directors or senior managers who are guilty of "consenting, conniving or negligently" breaking the rules.

British Library Means Business

The British Library has got to be one of the best kept secrets for small businesses in the UK.

I spent a profitable afternoon researching a business project, and gained free access to industry reports that quite literally could run into hundreds of pounds.

The Business & IP Centre at the British Library, located next to St Pancras Station in London has masses of business information just waiting for you to come and use it. And it isn't any stuffy library; it's dynamic and beautiful and useful.

Online business databases, Market research reports, Trade guides, Industry guides, together with friendly and knowledgeable staff on hand to help you it.

And if you are local, then take advantage of their workshops and advice sessions.

Get yourself on the train to London, get yourself a free Reader Card, and get your business the information it needs.

It's A National Treasure.

How good are speech readers?

Listen to the automatic text-to-speech conversion of this blog posting here (1 Mb MP3 file)

One of the things I love about Britain is Radio 4. It's great to listen to the news, listen to commentary, or listen to stories.

Sometimes it would be nice if somebody would read aloud to me all the stuff I have to read on my computer screen. I have to read a lot to stay abreast of Internet Marketing developments.

Speech readers used to be pretty rubbish, and I was wondering just how much they have improved in recent years

And so I've just tried NaturalReader, a free text to speech software application. It "reads" pages from Internet Explorer, Word documents, Outlook, PDF's, and lots more.

I was very impressed, to say the least.

There is a free version, but I splashed out for the paid-for version(40 dollars) and got a much more natural sounding voice from a dude called "Paul."

The software has the additional benefit of being able to convert your own text files into sound (MP3/WAV) files.

I did a little experiment converting this blog posting into an audio file: Listen to the text to speech conversion of this blog posting here (1 Mb MP3 file)

Clearly, it is an automated voice, but it is one I could listen to. The software was idiot proof to install, simple to use, and intuitive.

And many thanks to Andy from Local Conservatory for bringing NaturalReader to my attention.

Wilfing

I confess: I wilf.

Wilf (v) : aimless browsing on the web. Short for "What was I looking for..."

You know what I mean. There you are, working industriously. And then you follow an interesting link, or read your email, or write a blog posting. And forget entirely what you're supposed to be doing.

I like to call it serendipity. Business managers like to call it time wasting.
A YouGov poll sampled more than 2,000 people, and two thirds of them confessed to wilfing. Apparently we spend two full days a month aimlessly surfing. Men are more likely to wilf than women, and young people more likely than oldies.

By the way, here's where you can register to get paid to participate in YouGov polls.

And if you considered following that link, then you're wilfing...

Be glad you don't WILF in China: Internet addicts there are treated with electric shock, acupuncture and drug therapy.

Now, back to work!