Category Archives: General

Last chance saloon for the last man standing in bookshops

Posted on Sunday, 29 January 2012 by Paul McSweeney

Amazon has done its level best in recent years to ensure that the middle man in publishing doesn’t get a look in. A decade or so ago, book lovers were venting spleen over the demise of the independent bookstores. Now, … Continue reading →

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Groupon – the dot com boom (and bust) all over again?

Posted on Friday, 11 November 2011 by Paul McSweeney

We could not let the working week draw to a close without mentioning the IPO on the New York Stock Exchange of Groupon. The company raised $700 million after increasing the size of its initial public offering, becoming the largest … Continue reading →

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Amazon dubbed the Walmart of the Web

Posted on Tuesday, 4 October 2011 by Paul McSweeney

Amazon is undoubtedly one of the most successful e-tailers. It seems to effortlessly enter new markets and alter the landscape dramatically in no time at all. Barnes & Noble has gone, and even Apple is looking behind it’s shoulder now. … Continue reading →

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The iTunes treatment has come to the book industry

Posted on Sunday, 25 September 2011 by Paul McSweeney

In the first five months of this year, sales of consumer e-books in America overtook those of hardback books. Amazon now sells more e-books than paper books. That really is an incredible statistic. Borders, who not so long ago, could … Continue reading →

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Social commerce does work; a recent paper from Adobe says as much!

Posted on Monday, 5 September 2011 by Paul McSweeney

A recent whitepaper published from Adobe underlines the importance of the Facebook Like button. We all know that Facebook is an integral part of many people’s lives, and that it has offered businesses an hitherto unseen opportunity to engage meaningfully … Continue reading →

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Can the Apple magic continue without the magician?

Posted on Tuesday, 30 August 2011 by Paul McSweeney

Earlier this month, Apple’s value briefly surpassed Exxon Mobil’s, to become the world’s most valuable company. That is incredible in itself, but in the context of Apple’s flirtation with bankruptcy in 1997, when Steve Jobs came back to the company, … Continue reading →

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“Like-gating” on Facebook no longer cuts it:

Posted on Monday, 22 August 2011 by Paul McSweeney

As recently as twelve months ago, companies and brand owners were frantically scrambling for as many Facebook “likes” as they could get. Indeed, the process of “like-gating” -where companies ask for “likes” in order to give access to exclusive content … Continue reading →

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The riots have brought out the best and the worst in social media

Posted on Thursday, 11 August 2011 by Paul McSweeney

Social media, and in particular, Twitter, have played an important part in the riots across the UK over the past week. Twitter was lauded as a tool for democracy at the beginning of the year, in the context of the … Continue reading →

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The web …it’s a people business now

Posted on Thursday, 4 August 2011 by Paul McSweeney

With Twitter and other social networking tools, the convergence of our online and offline lives has never been more real. It is becoming second nature to go online to communicate with friends. With so many apps and services now available … Continue reading →

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Let your customers buy from you without having to leave Facebook..and your quids in!

Posted on Sunday, 17 July 2011 by Paul McSweeney

Not so long ago, Facebook was a mere social networking tool. Businesses had started to see it as a marketing tool or a customer service portal, but not much more. Nowadays, the more savvy businesses, both large and small, see … Continue reading →

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