Robert Beerworth

Most recent blogs by Robert Beerworth

Robert Beerworth

I like LIKEtoKNOW.it

LIKEtoKNOW.it connects Instagram fans to the eCommerce websites selling the gear they want to buy.

Robert Beerworth

Google Consumer Surveys in the wild

Could be a way to monetise your website further? Pity it looks like SPAM.

Robert Beerworth

Why your agency should consider Special Ed

Training is a growing thing in our business, and Special Ed is my favourite.

Robert Beerworth Team : Web Strategy Tags : User Experience Featured

What is Micro UX? And why you need it for the next leg in your conversion journey.

OK... we all get UX and good UX. Time to take it to the next level and take the conversion rewards that await us.

Robert Beerworth Team : Web Strategy Tags : Common Sense User Experience Rants Featured

Trapping your audience is a sign of fear

Give users what they want and you'll get what you deserve.

Robert Beerworth

Why you need to truly experience your customer experience; and not just talk about it

My experience with Telstra International Roaming is a case study of why you not only need to map your customer journeys and experiences, though you need to experience them for yourself... and observe real customers doing the same.

Robert Beerworth

Metrics and benchmarks for startups: pity they probably don’t apply to you

Truth be known, I was so excited to stumble upon these numbers that I started writing my blog before I finished reading the original article. Unfortunately, my enthusiasm ended up fairly muted by the time I finished reading, though here is my blog anyway: for people who are excited by metrics like me, however high-level and inapplicable they might be.

Robert Beerworth

Tougher times ahead for Google

The invincible Google faces rougher waters ahead.

Robert Beerworth

Customer recovery and abandonment efforts start earlier than the cart

Help your customers change tact and add that product to cart through knowing what their doing and for how long.

Robert Beerworth

Stop speculating; expert opinion is great though must be challenged

Experience is great though every website needs a baseline. And that baseline is established by testing all reasonable hypothesis.

Robert Beerworth

Do clients really resize browser windows to test responsive design?

People are resizing browser windows. Which we knew and know but still... wow, they're resizing browser windows.

Robert Beerworth

Target (and reduce) your copy depending on time of year and who is being bought for

We shop differently at Christmas. We're moving quickly and buying for lots of people. Speed and confidence is what it is all about.

Robert Beerworth

One last hurrah after they unsubscribe

The relationship is over. They have unsubscribed from your email. Something went wrong. Don't miss out on your last gasp chance to change their mind or get a sale.

Robert Beerworth

Embrace the new approach to ‘designing’ websites. Stop designing corporate websites. Find the true opportunity of the Internet.

How we 'design' websites has changed considerably. So to then should the sort of websites and online businesses we are designing.

Robert Beerworth

The importance of being honest; insanely honest

It goes without saying that you should be honest in your content. It is even better if you acknowledge your weaknesses and your website will thank you for it.

Robert Beerworth Team : Web Strategy Featured

Kony

Check out this video I found today. Maybe show it to some of your friends.

Robert Beerworth

How user testing is changing

User testing and validation during the Lean UX process complements more traditional testing approaches and makes the whole testing approach and outcome better.

Robert Beerworth Team : Web Strategy Tags : User Experience SEO Common Sense Featured

The importance of website migration

Website migration is not talked about nearly enough. I'd argue it is much more important than your new website.

Robert Beerworth Team : Web Strategy Tags : Clients Online Trends Business User Experience Featured

The importance of the value proposition to MVP; and starting with Lean UX

MVP gets spoken off plenty these days, though unless you’re an Internet guy or girl, you’ll need additional tools to allow you to achieve it. The ‘value proposition’ is the most important of these tools, backed by the lean UX process.

Robert Beerworth

Designing websites for Mum

They have money. They want to be on the web. We just need to help them so.

Robert Beerworth

Why you need to start thinking about securing your whole site under 'HTTPS Everywhere'

Google wants everyone to SSL their website. And it has means and ways to get you to do it...

Robert Beerworth Team : Web Strategy Tags : Investment Technology Facebook Featured

Emailing your email lists via Facebook; wow!

Start dusting off those old email lists you spent years curating. The good ol' days are back.

Robert Beerworth

Understanding Google Penalties and why you should

Its hould be as ubiquitous in the vocabulary of a marketer as 'CMS', 'cloud' and 'viral'. Unfortunately, it often isn't.

Robert Beerworth

Collating feedback on design

There is no right or wrong way to manage clients, web designers and design feedback. Groundwork, baby-steps, helping each other and remaining friends is a pretty good start though.

Robert Beerworth

Designing for the slow web

When you have a 60MB connection at work, 4G on the streets and the NBN in your apartment, it is hard to contemplate how slow the Internet is for so many... and how to design websites for the slow Internet.

Robert Beerworth

The Google Trusted Stores Program: the quick lowdown.

The Google Trusted Stores program is the latest effort to boost trust in users in purchasing from a given, authenticated eCommerce website. It goes further than any efforts out there.

Robert Beerworth Team : Web Strategy Tags : Usability Common Sense Web Development Technology User Experience Featured

Helping users that are struggling to log in; and avoiding it in the first place.

Security is fine thought daftness is daftness. Think about your own crudball experience when you design a login and password recovery experience.

Robert Beerworth Team : Web Strategy Tags : Viral Marketing Web Design User Experience Flash Animation Investment Featured

I love you like a fat lady loves apples

Gamification really could be about games if content marketing and content strategy keep advancing the way they are.

Robert Beerworth Team : Web Strategy Tags : User Experience Media Common Sense Issues Management Clients Web Development Featured

What is a ‘dark site’ and why would you need one?

Hopefully you never have to take your 'dark site' out of the dark, though they are a necessary type of website for certain businesses and organisations.

Robert Beerworth

The email 'Subject Line' sweetspot

Get it right and your email open-rate will be optimal.

Robert Beerworth

Some good background on Web Performance Monitoring (WPM)

Monitoring your website's performance isn't just about knowing if it is on or not. It is about knowing the real-time experience you are delivering to your users; and the sales you are losing when the experience is sub-optimal.

Robert Beerworth

Australian eCommerce sales top $15bn for the year just past: though it is slowing quickly

According to the latest NAB Online Sales Index, Australian eCommerce sales have passed $15bn for the first time, growth of 6% over the year. The concern is a recent slow-down in-line with depressed consumer confidence.

Robert Beerworth Team : Web Strategy Tags : Performance Programming Common Sense Clients Technology Web Development Featured

What kills a website; literally

Time heals some wounds, though not all are forgotten. Step back five years and as web developers, we had to deal with different sorts of problems, which ultimately only made us stronger.

Robert Beerworth Team : Web Strategy Tags : Information Architecture Website Accessibility User Experience Usability Web Design Featured

Does health.com.au's form design work?

Form design is critical to website conversion. We have some golden rules as web designers and it is a brave soul that challenges these rules.

Robert Beerworth

What do carrots have to do with it?

Talking of Web 2.0 is like wearing Reebok Pumps and Hypercolour T-shirts. Once upon a time however, Web 2.0 was all the rage.

Robert Beerworth Team : Web Strategy Tags : Web Development Technology Web Design Online Trends Clients Common Sense Performance User Experience Featured

What makes a good website?

Turns out that the fundamentals of the constitution of a good website haven't changed much in the past six years. In fact, it is surprising how little has.

Robert Beerworth

Is Flash flash?

Flash and websites no longer mix. Things were different in 2008.

Robert Beerworth Team : Web Strategy Tags : User Experience Featured

What universities put on their homepages

An oldie but a goldie: build your website for your users, not your business and its departments.

Robert Beerworth

Key tips for retargeting

Retargeting can present a great and effective way to bring previously-visited customers back to your website. It can also look dumb.

Robert Beerworth Team : Web Strategy Tags : Performance User Experience Online Trends Common Sense Web Development Technology Web Design Featured

Top 10 things our clients have been talking about in 2013

The cycles are getting shorter, the buzzwords have changed. What did I hear our clients talking about in 2013? Bring on 2014!

Robert Beerworth

Wiliam’s 2013 Christmas T-Shirt

Christmas wouldn't be Christmas at Wiliam without our annual Christmas T.

Robert Beerworth

sitecast™ immortalised forever

sitecast cannot be killed. And nor would we want too!

Robert Beerworth

Reaching the point where leads and traffic grow exponentially compared to your content effort

Consistent and growing content equals traffic and leads. Turns out there comes a point where the reward grows much faster than your increasing content efforts. This is a good thing.

Robert Beerworth

What is 'Content as a Service?

Content now sits in the cloud and your website retrieves it via a Web Service.

Robert Beerworth

Client Case Study: How speed equals conversion

Most savvy web marketers know that there is a correlation between speed and the conversion characteristics of a website; here’s proof from one of our clients.

Robert Beerworth

How to tell if it's HTML5

There is a simple test.

Robert Beerworth Team : Web Strategy Tags : Technology Web Development CSS User Experience Featured

How does ‘infinite scrolling’ affect SEO; and other issues

Infinite scrolling makes the web and your web pages nice and fluid. Unfortunately, this comes with some challenges you need to deal with in order to gain the maximum benefit and none of the downside.

Robert Beerworth

Some great infographic resources

Bag them out, though most users love infographics and they can have a really positive aspect on your website, its traffic and its conversion.

Robert Beerworth

Meeting the real Wiliam

Meeting Wiliam with two Ls in New York.

Robert Beerworth Team : Web Strategy Tags : Email Marketing Technology Tips & Tricks Web Marketing Featured

What Gmail’s new tabbed inbox means for you as an email marketer

Gmail has rolled out its new tabbed inbox and your marketing emails have moved. Things you need to know and you can and can’t do about it.

Robert Beerworth Team : Web Strategy Tags : Web Design Featured

What does 3D printing have to do with web design?

3D printing has very little to do with web design... maybe that's why we have one in the office!

Robert Beerworth

Mobile first? Give it six months...

You can hardly even call it a trend anymore... mobile is the new king.

Robert Beerworth

Why your website probably isn’t the problem

Sure your website can be improved, though it’s not the only culprit.

Robert Beerworth Team : Web Strategy Tags : Web Strategy Email Marketing Common Sense Featured

What are the best email subject lines?

This breakdown of what email subject lines work (and don't work) are gold.

Robert Beerworth

Website Terms and Conditions: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Call them what you will; User Agreements or Terms of Agreement. How you ‘wrap’ and handle them can be a big deal if you play it wrong.

Robert Beerworth

The website conversion game is changing: SPAM and possibly even 'social proof' are no longer the lightsaber they once were

Our arsenal of old-skool website ‘conversion’ tricks is starting to weaken; and even the much promoted concept of ‘social proof’ is seemingly taking a hit.

Robert Beerworth

What is Outbrain?

Like advertising where they only show the advertiser’s message for a single frame – surreptitious advertising – Outbrain is that single moment link you might see between web pages, though one that promises to serve better content.

Robert Beerworth

Do bigger images mean better conversion rates?

When it comes to ‘conversion’, you’ll never know what will work on a web page or not, unless you test it. If you had to make a call however, bigger images might be one of the safer bets.

Robert Beerworth

When a coupon is not the coupon you want to be handing out to customers

Users think differently to us owners and designers of websites.

Robert Beerworth

Inside lets you see inside

This is a very cool technology to let you visualise what is happening on your eCommerce website in realtime.

Robert Beerworth

The end of RSS as a consumer phenomenon; the end of the web being technical.

Sad as it is, RSS failed because you probably don’t know what it is.

Robert Beerworth

Over 41% of email is opened on phones. Now that you know that, can you please do something about it?

The smartphone was made for email. It's just a pity that so little email is made for the smartphone.

Robert Beerworth

Allowing the browser on your phone to access the phone camera

Access your smartphone's camera through your browser.

Robert Beerworth

No. I don't want your app. I want your (mobile) website.

Apps were great before we worked out this whole 'mobile web' thing. We're past working it out. And apps need to go.

Robert Beerworth

Keep it lean - with MVP

There are some very specific principals for when it comes to 'lean'. If you build your start-up or existing web business against the principals of MVP (Minimum Viable Product), you're being about as lean as you can get.

Robert Beerworth

Turns out we’ve been ‘converting’ users since way before the web came along

We can learn a lot by looking back at how retailers – almost a hundred years ago – did it.

Robert Beerworth

So close and yet so far... why a small user experience issue on My Special K ended the love affair

An example of poor usability… and a missed usability opportunity.

Robert Beerworth

Website testimonials don't cut it anymore. You need to do better.

Reviews are great. Testimonials less so. Realign how you use testimonials to your advantage.

Robert Beerworth

Mums and mobiles are a pretty solid eCommerce proposition

Take a mum, hand her a mobile phone and she'll shop online. Make sure your website is ready for it.

Robert Beerworth

Surprise and delight eCommerce users. Don't just surprise them.

There are certain fundamentals in the design of your eCommerce website you just shouldn't mess with.

Robert Beerworth

You’re just one person away from online success

Building an online channel means you need to invest in dedicated resources to look after it. It is not a matter of set-and-forget.

Robert Beerworth

The 404 page is more important than you might think

The 404 page of your website is your chance to amend wrongs… and get users back on track.

Robert Beerworth

There’s good reason to invest in an Infographic for your website

The tide will turn and we will probably bore of them at some stage – as with every Internet invention – though for the time being, Infographics are a low-cost and quick way to spike traffic and build SEO momentum.

Robert Beerworth

We don't need offline design concepts, online.

I know what a photo is. I don't need it in a virtual photo frame. Web design is online, not an offline concept.

Robert Beerworth

Who just overtook Yahoo! to be the 4th largest driver of web traffic?

Pinterest might not be making money, though it sure has a lot of users.

Robert Beerworth

Looking for restaurant deals?

Dimmi launches a dedicated restaurant deals product.

Robert Beerworth

Web Design Sydney: good for traffic, not so for converting users

Whilst it is true that traffic to a website is central to the success of the website, the only more important factor is how the website converts its traffic: essentially the usability of the website. Posting SPAM to a website in order to gain rankings in Google is a short-term game... and a fairly self-defeating one at that.

Robert Beerworth

If I hear the term ‘Omni-Channel’ one more time, I’ll shoot myself

The term 'Omni-Channel' sounds ugly because it is. Nowhere in conversation do we talk of 'omni' and that's because we're neither Octypus, nor understand what the concept of 'Omni' means. Retailers who talk of it don't either. Run...

Robert Beerworth

Seriously, how is there any newspaper alive?

Bye bye newspapers.

Robert Beerworth

We're not ready for HTML5

HTML isn't the silver bullet to the problems of the web. It doesn't add the sparkle many think it does. And it's not ready for commercial use...

Robert Beerworth

Wiliam Internet Quiz - September 2012

Know your the Internet like the back of your hand? Take the Wiliam Internet Quiz.

Robert Beerworth

A most predictable way to lose money

301 Redirects separate the men from the boys. They show that you know what you're doing. And yet so few web developers use them when launching new websites for their clients. (Dear Client, this means you are going to lose out big time...)

Robert Beerworth

eBay has a new logo

eBay launches a new logo and it's a bit ho-hum.

Robert Beerworth

Two-column forms. Can they work?

Two-column forms are tricky for users. They do however come with theoretical upside and so is there a way to make them less tricky for your website users to navigate and complete? I hope so.

Robert Beerworth

Get ready Australian economy: digital is going to rough up a few thing

There is undeniably a digital economy in Australia. And now there is going to be digital disruption to follow. You can run, but you can't hide.

Robert Beerworth

Take advantage of pagination in your website design

Paginated website content can be dull; we scan through lists and lists of results to find the article or page we need and then we’re out of there. You can change this behaviour for the better.

Robert Beerworth

Australian eCommerce Stats for August 2012 - And what to take and not take from them

These stats aren’t amazing if you work in the web industry. In fact, they don’t reveal anything that extraordinary. Except that the divide is beginning.

Robert Beerworth

Current web stats and some that surprise me

My quick round-up of web stats with a few surprises.

Robert Beerworth

Motivation will beat incentive and and value every time

Getting people to the end-goal of your website is a science, with a dash of art; a dash of <b>incentive</b>, a pinch of <b>value</b> and a good helping of <b>motivation</b> should keep the bitterness of <b>anxiety</b> and the <b>saltiness</b> of friction away.

Robert Beerworth

You might have only had one mum, though there are seven types of them.

Even I am guilty of simply referring to her as ‘Mum’, the all-powerful, all-consuming driver of mainstream eCommerce. Turns out, it’s a little complex than that.<br><br>Who would have thought!

Robert Beerworth

Two quick examples of great form treatment

Forms are the make or break of a website. Getting them right is not easy though it isn't hard.

Robert Beerworth

Woody Allen is great, whatever you think...

I accept this has absolutely nothing to do with web design, though I'm a Woody Allen fan and I had nowhere else to post this quote.

Robert Beerworth

Some interesting web stats at the end of July 2012

We’re past the halfway mark for 2012 and the numbers grow and grow.

Robert Beerworth

Facebook applications are no different to websites

They might look small and simple, though Facebook applications are quite literally websites themselves and are no different to build.

Robert Beerworth

Price customisation on your website

Based on who you are and how you act can entirely vary the price you pay online... Well, on sophisticated websites anyway.

Robert Beerworth

Should my website support Internet Explorer 8?

Unless you're lucky and the small minority, chances are you're stuck with supporting older versions of Internet Explorer even as the web tries to pull away.

Robert Beerworth

Why the website footer is at least as important as your website’s header. And indeed, the homepage.

We spend hours sculpting the headers and homepages of our websites. And especially the homepage. We spend almost no time on the footer. This should be reversed. Or at least equalled.

Robert Beerworth

RIP Nokia… and Microsoft

Out with the old and in with the new?

Robert Beerworth

What literally kills a website

Websites die. Knowing what causes it and how to deal with it can make the death and the mourning much less painful. And bring around resurrection faster.

Robert Beerworth

Test and test your website.

Nothing is sacred. Questions assumptions.

Robert Beerworth

Good June 2012 web stats

Pinterest and mobile websites take the day.

Robert Beerworth

Website performance: the most important thing a web developer should focus on. And how they should focus.

The website is beautifully architected. It looks beautiful. The content is amazing. The website is slow however. Really slow. Fail.

Robert Beerworth

Mobile website or mobile app?

Mobile website versus Mobile app? Build a mobile website. Not an app. Unless you really, really have to.

Robert Beerworth

Dimmi launches

A revolution in how we find, compare and book restaurants in Australia has arrived.

Robert Beerworth

Improving the performance of your eCommerce website (and some cool stats)

The money is not in an eCommerce website. It’s in an optimised eCommerce website.

Robert Beerworth

Why aren’t Android users browsing?

I was accused of being ‘phonist’ the other day when I made a few observations about the browsing habits, or lack thereof, of Android users.

Robert Beerworth

How to use a microsite when the main website isn’t the vehicle

Microsites can be argued to be a crutch, though they are often necessary and can bring much more to the table than simply band-aiding the inadequacies of your primary website.

Robert Beerworth

Optimise your emails for mobile.

Statistics and common sense point to increasing open rates for emails on mobile devices. And declining click-through rates if you don’t optimise.

Robert Beerworth

Pinterest is a bigger threat to Facebook and Instagram

I reckon Facebook picked up Instagram, not because Instagram is growing, though because Pinterest is growing much faster.

Robert Beerworth

Learn English Online Now – a Wiliam microsite launches

Great microsite example of how quickly you can get online and sell

Robert Beerworth

Introducing your new Pay-wall

Google might have an answer to the Pay-wall. Less revenue per user, though more users. You will need to do the maths.

Robert Beerworth

Lead Generation directly from Google Search Results

Talk about shortening the funnel and making Google richer.

Robert Beerworth

How much do users know?

Users can be your best friend and your worst enemy. Guessing when they’re friend or foe requires an understanding of what users do and do not know about online. And therein lies the challenge.

Robert Beerworth

Which test won?

You no longer need to guess which A/B test might have produced better results.

Robert Beerworth

Mobile websites outperform Mobile Apps

I’ve argued it for a while, though apps are not the future. The web is… as always.

Robert Beerworth

Long live the email.

We wrote it off. We put our eggs in the social media basket. Seems we were wrong.

Robert Beerworth

Wiliam in Vietnam

Wiliam has been through the Middle East, the States and most of Europe. Now we’re back in Asia.

Robert Beerworth

Sydney Web Design, Web Design Sydney – Good for SEO, not good for conversion

Optimising your website for search engines is important, though not at the cost of your customers and conversion.

Robert Beerworth

Get over the Facebook Facepile on your website.

The benefits of Facebook’s Facepile on your website are tepid at best. It promotes Facebook and hogs the space of an MREC on your homepage.

Robert Beerworth

Ask your eCommerce customers what they think via a website survey?

We spend hours sitting around thinking about how to optimise our eCommerce websites. Maybe we should ask the people using the website, the customers.

Robert Beerworth

What is Pinterest and is it worth engaging for your online business?

Get pinning. Pinterest could be very relevant to your business, in terms of content, audience and especially, referral.

Robert Beerworth

How to illustrate adaptive design?

Two great links showing how adaptive design works.

Robert Beerworth

Microsite Strategy

Microsites are often misunderstood and poorly executed. A proper strategy and a good implementation can yield great results.

Robert Beerworth

Quick observations in web development and online strategy in early 2012

We’re only a month in, though a few trends are staking themselves quite clearly.

Robert Beerworth

Persuasive Design

Persuade them to buy on your website.

Robert Beerworth

The Wiliam Internet Quiz: The Last of 2011

Test how much you really know…

Robert Beerworth

Amazon’s Price Check is pretty rude

Amazon gives you $15 to buy from them; screws local stores in the process.

Robert Beerworth

Merry Christmas and thanks Daft Punk.

It wouldn’t be Christmas without the Wiliam Christmas t-shirt. (And eggnog)

Robert Beerworth

This has nothing to do with web design or web development

Vladimir Putin is my favourite leader at the moment. He is the gift that keeps on giving. Fighting bears and crocodiles, riding horses and motorbikes, shirtless. What next?

Robert Beerworth

If you’re not buying clothes online, you soon will be. Oh, and liquor as well.

If the estimates are true, almost a third of high-value clothing will be sold online by 2016.

Robert Beerworth

Mobile eCommerce continues massive growth: Webjet says so

It’s as if people are shunning their fixed PCs at home and browsing on their mobiles and tablets. Oh wait, they are. And in taxies, on buses and while waiting for a beer at the pub.

Robert Beerworth

Google reveals 220% surge in mobile shopping queries

If you don’t have a mobile website, 25% of your potential customers can’t engage with you.

Robert Beerworth

Shopping cart abandonment and tips to avoid it

100 customers come to buy a pram on your website. 3 do. Where did the rest go and how many left in the cart process? (Statistically, 75% of people in the cart process bailed from it.)

Robert Beerworth

Introducing Develop My Skills

We’ve just launch the Develop My Skills website and the end-result is excellent. A really good looking and intuitive website with some clever user-targeting functions to improve leads to the business.

Robert Beerworth

Queron doesn’t like iPhone

One of our Experience Designers, Queron, does not like iPhone one bit. Its more about Apple and their policies and attitudes rather than the phone itself, though he does regard the locked-down OS inglorious and behind the innovation of Android.

Robert Beerworth

The launch of Winkiwoo

We’re pretty excited to announce the launch of Winkiwoo, a Facebook application we’ve been developing for a client for the past few months.

Robert Beerworth

Mobile matters in retail

If you are not considering mobile as part of your retail strategy, you’re really going to kick yourself if due course.

Robert Beerworth

Woolworths and Wiliam win big: including Australian Online Retailer of the Year 2011

We’ve worked closely with Woolworths on key websites including Dick Smith, Big W and Dan Murphys for the past few years. The effort has been rewarded including Online Retailer of the Year for Dick Smith; best eCommerce website in Australia.

Robert Beerworth

Bravo Google Wallet

Google Wallet is pretty awesome.

Robert Beerworth

Why customer service is SO important?

You website is only part of a successful online strategy. Getting customers is not as important as keeping customers, and good customer service has enormous long-term return. Failing to understand the importance (and costs) of online customer service can be detrimental.

Robert Beerworth

Wiliam travels again

On our way to London.

Robert Beerworth

Team Xtreme

Taking web design to a places without bandwidth

Robert Beerworth

Why the speed of your website is so, so important

The speed of your website has a direct correlation with its success

Robert Beerworth

Quick, Look to your Right

Users statistically click RHS calls-to-action more than LHS ones

Robert Beerworth

A quick understanding of what stats matter

Understanding your website’s stats in key to understanding its performance.

Robert Beerworth

Improve email click-through by cutting your copy

The idea that ‘less is more’ couldn’t be truer than when it comes to marketing emails.

Robert Beerworth

Forget Upsell and Cross-sell. Next-sell is where you need to be.

We go out of our way to avoid and destroy SPAM and yet we’re glued to our Inbox looking for that email confirming our purchase. This is the perfect time for marketer’s to strike.

Robert Beerworth

When to send an email

Getting the timing of your email right is pretty central to its success. Timing really boils down to common sense.

Robert Beerworth

Optimisation tactics for 2011

The more personalised you are, the better you are…

Robert Beerworth

How to launch your website/startup with a “Launching Soon” page

Get the “Launching Soon” page on your website, and you can launch with a veritable number of emails and interested users.

Robert Beerworth

People asking questions for sake of asking questions: Quora is a fad

Is Quora a fad? Answer: Unless you know what Quora is – which is unlikely – the answer is yes.

Robert Beerworth

Do you have an online business model?

Every business needs a model. And every business needs to make money, eventually. Online business is no different.

Robert Beerworth

This is how important Christmas is to eCommerce

Online retailers will all tell you how important Christmas is to eCommerce; no different to traditional retail. This article in econsultancy.com illustrates the point. And the growth….

Robert Beerworth

You can't move from your web developer

Try as you might, think what you like, you're stuck with your web developer.

Robert Beerworth

2011 Web Development Predictions

A good and brief article picking the trends in Web Development in 2011.

Robert Beerworth

Wiliam’s 2010 Christmas T-Shirt

Unveiling 2010 T-Shirt…

Robert Beerworth

Good Load Testing Tools

The bigger your website and the more users it expects, the more important the load testing to make sure it can live up to its expectations.

Robert Beerworth

World’s best landing page

What does it take to be voted world’s best landing page?

Robert Beerworth

A Web Producer at Wiliam?

"It was the best of times, it was the ‘blurst’ of times"?! (Simpsons Episode “Last Exit to Springfield” (1993)… If that quote from the Simpsons any sense to you, you’ll understand the paradigm of being a Web Producer.

Robert Beerworth

8 great UX diagrams

Eight great User Experience Diagrams visualising the science behind users, their needs, wants and aspirations… and subsequent behaviour

Robert Beerworth

aroundyou.com.au

What’s going on around you? Aroundyou.com.au knows.

Robert Beerworth

realestate.com.au to cease the use of auto-refresh

The tide is turning. Page views will be down as a result, though only to their true level. Another commercial website ditches auto-refresh.

Robert Beerworth

Why Less is More

The fewer options and choices customers have, the happier they are.

Robert Beerworth

Can your visitors really see your page?

In this age of high-resolution monitors – for designing and viewing websites – surely we have more room to design? Not yet.

Robert Beerworth

Build it for the users, not the owners.

The more pragmatic, cold and unemotional you are, the better your website will perform.

Robert Beerworth

The face of a scam is – surprise, surprise – a scam

You’ve seen here everywhere promoting free Akai Berry trials through to deeply discounted iPads. The only problem is that not only are the ads and offers a scam, so it the girl behind them.

Robert Beerworth

Microsoft launches an HTML5 demonstration website

With the launch of Internet Explorer 89, Microsoft can finally launch its own HTML5 demonstration website

Robert Beerworth

Wario Land – Shake it! 2008 – Still my favourite viral/Flash/web thing

There is plenty of cool, unique, fun and damn impressive stuff online. This viral piece for a Nintendo Wii game – now almost 3 years old – still takes the cake for me.

Robert Beerworth

‘Cudo’ is one of the top retail search terms

Here’s to our client Cudo – they’ve cracked the Hitwise, fast moving search terms, under the ‘Shopping and Classifieds’ category – Week Ending September 11 2010

Robert Beerworth

Some interesting online automotive advertising statistics

These statistics, pulled from some recent online automotive advertising research, are useful for anyone advertising online.

Robert Beerworth

You should start to get your head around HTML5

It is fair to say that the slow transition from HTML4 to HTML5 has begun. It is slow and without a clear direction, though more and more glimmers of HTML5 are appearing. It’s time to get your head around it.

Robert Beerworth

Why Twitter’s URL shortener is cool and might be even cooler

Twitter’s URL shortener – t.co – will not only give incumbents such as bit.ly a real run for their money – it could mean much, much more for Twitter and its users.

Robert Beerworth

A/B Split Testing your website, application or email

Don’t leave your message or form to chance. Let users make the decision for you.

Robert Beerworth

Great corporate blogs

Some examples of great corporate blogs

Robert Beerworth

SPAM isn’t funny unless it’s funny

SPAM is no laughing matter, except when it’s funny.

Robert Beerworth

No Double Opt-In. No Email List

If you’re not collecting email addresses and building your email list via the double opt-in method, don’t expect to email your list anytime soon.

Robert Beerworth

The basics of #hashtags and following terms in Twitter

#Hashtags allow you to be heard beyond your list of followers. And following terms on Twitter allows you to hear past the people you’re following.

Robert Beerworth

Should I build my website in HTML5?

HTML5 is coming, though when do you pull the trigger? Turns out, it all depends on who you're pointing at.

Robert Beerworth

Improve your EDM performance by 40%: ratings and reviews

The inclusion of customer ratings and reviews in Vodafone Hutchison Electronic Direct Marketing (EDMs) improved the click-through rate of their emails by 40%.

Robert Beerworth

Is GEO-IP reliable?

As soon as you suggest Geo-IP as a ‘solution’ for identifying the whereabouts of a user (browser), the invariable question arises: does it work, is it reliable? A look into Geo-IP targeting..

Robert Beerworth

Further observations of FourSquare

I’m another month or so into FourSquare and it has certainly become an app I “use” at least once or twice a day. My blog however, questions why..

Robert Beerworth

Games in Twitter

We’re in the process of scoping some different games and applications for a large, media client. As you can imagine, Twitter is going to play a role...

Robert Beerworth

Local Retail and the web are not friends

I spoke yesterday at the annual Photo Marketing Association (PMA) conference in Melbourne on ‘Maximising Your Business Online.’ It was an eventful day: my first flight was cancelled, my second flight was delayed and my return flight was hit by lightning.

Robert Beerworth

Paywalling is Deadwalling

A very good and succinct article in the Sydney Morning Herald today, pointing that News Limited strategy of “paywalling” their newspapers is a doomed strategy.

Robert Beerworth

Goodbye New Matilda. You'll be missed

New Matilda – a superb and long-lasting, Australian independent news and commentary website – has announced that its closing its doors.

Robert Beerworth

Modelling eCommerce revenue (Forecasting eCommerce performance)

A handful of the websites are for large retailers that have never invested in eCommerce, and so really have no idea of what to expect in terms of eCommerce revenue. Offline, they know their margins...

Robert Beerworth

Visualising the readiness of web browsers for HTML5 and CSS3

Two separate clients asked me this week if we would be building their websites in HTML5...

Robert Beerworth

Promoted Tweets can/do work

I’ve listened to quite a few podcasts recently debating the merits of Twitter’s new Promoted Tweets, the concept that advertisers can essentially sponsor targeted tweets.

Robert Beerworth

Mobile Applications = Short term; Websites = Long term

The advent of mobile applications – especially on the iPhone (which I’ll refer to for purposes of this blog) – has certainly been exciting for mobile users, app developers and the developers of the mobile devices themselves.

Robert Beerworth

My first impressions of Foursquare

I downloaded Foursquare to my iPhone a month or so ago. I sort of knew what it was, though it is usually through using these things that you gain a fuller appreciation of what they are and how they work.

Robert Beerworth

Is there a sustainable model in Content Farms?

“Content is not just king, it’s the emperor of all…” – Rupert Murdoch

Robert Beerworth

Online Traffic in Australia Summary - Q1 2010

Mumbrella have a good article this morning breaking down Australia’s online traffic for the first quarter of 2010.

Robert Beerworth

Wiliam is hiring - You!

I know our blogs are meant to be anything but about Wiliam, though for sake of this blog, I am going to argue that by pitching the different jobs we’re hiring, we’re painting the ‘state of the nation’ in the Sydney/Australian web strategy/development/design market.

Robert Beerworth

What are the most expensive search keywords?

Search advertising rolls on, and a recent report confirms this. While not altogether surprising, the most expensive keyword terms in Google, Yahoo and Bing are interesting.

Robert Beerworth

Will the Popularity of Ad Blocking Software Diminish Your Profits

If you publish a blog or manage a forum, you’ve worked hard for the revenue you generate. Although there are numerous ways to generate income, you are probably receiving at least some part of your revenue through ads. While this has been a lucrative option in the past, an increasing number of users are finding ways to block ads, potentially diminishing your returns.

Robert Beerworth

Protecting the Virtual Keys to Your Domain

Your passwords are your virtual key to your online assets. Yet too often, these aren’t given a second thought. Anyone who obtains your password can essentially become you. In a matter of moments someone with ill intent can destroy the reputation of your business.

Robert Beerworth

IE Vulnerabilities: Are You Part of the Problem?

By now you’re probably familiar with the latest Internet Explorer security issues. If not you can review our previous post on the topic. Over the past few years there have been an increasing number of vulnerabilities in Internet browsers. When these issues occur the blame is always placed with the browser itself. However, there is another party that shares some responsibility.

Robert Beerworth

10 Things Every Legal Site Needs

No matter what industry you are in your website should be designed with specific goals in mind. Even if some high level goals, such as attracting new clients, are similar your approach should be tailored to your specific industry. How is a legal website different from others? What should it contain to ensure it is as successful as possible?

Robert Beerworth

Investing in Web in the current Economic Climate

With the current economic climate looking somewhat bleak for 2009, companies are starting to shift their investment from traditional mediums to the web, where the cost per acquisition is lower and the results of the effort are measurable. By carefully planning their online marketing strategy, companies can realize large ROIs.

Robert Beerworth

Top Ten Reasons to Outsource

Given the current economic climate, companies are thinning their workforce. Yet the need to capture new customers through a dynamic web presence has never been greater. If you are looking for a way to do more with less then you should consider the benefits of outsourcing.

Robert Beerworth

What Can You Learn from BarackObama.com

The upcoming presidential election in the United States is the first since Web 2.0 technologies have become widely used. Although both candidates have embraced these features, Barack Obama’s online success has been unprecedented.

Robert Beerworth

Quality Landing Pages Design

Landing page design will ultimately affect cost-per-click and the conversion rate. Google also analyse the landing page to assess quality score. Here are some advice for you to consider when marketing online.

Robert Beerworth

Preparing for Google Chrome

Google recently released a beta version of their new Internet Browser called Chrome in more than 100 countries but how does it compare to the cunning Firefox or the popular Internet Explorer?

Robert Beerworth

Video content brings traffic

Video content provides that fresh, interactive experience visitors are looking for. Additionally, video adds a lot more punch to promotions and marketing campaigns.

Robert Beerworth

Building the best websites

Dismiss any beliefs of what makes the best website. While there are no rules, in order to build the very best websites, your website should enhance users brand loyalty – your organisations online presence should compliment your offline endeavours.

Robert Beerworth

Flog Your Blog on Facebook

One of the first Web 2.0 styled applications that has the capability to improve our social networking lives has arrived - The Blog RSS Feed Reader.

Robert Beerworth

drive.com.au launches car buyer research

Fairfax Digital's Drive have launched research tracking the steps customers take towards buying a new or used car. And the media that influences their decisions along the way.

Robert Beerworth

ENGIN - Great Discounts on VOIP / Internet Telephony

Engin, Australia’s leading broadband phone company, today launched its World 20 Plan enabling home and business users to make untimed phone calls to 20 international destinations for just 20 cents anytime.

Robert Beerworth

Why One L in Wiliam?

Wiliam has one L. Find out why!

Robert Beerworth

Girls Wants Technology Now

Shocking fact for the guys!!! The survey conduct by Oxygen Media shows that woman are equally interest in technology as man.

Robert Beerworth

Bring on the podcasting

Podcasting is no longer fringe marketing. Quite the opposite.

Robert Beerworth

Blogging hits the mainstream

The power of blogging is now set to reach the mainstream press with the launch of BlogBurst, a blog syndication service from tech company Pluck.

Robert Beerworth

Property goes Online

“property executives now see the need for a useful Web site to streamline the rental process. Today, consumers can go online to apply for apartments, pay their rent, sign up for utilities, submit work orders and communicate with fellow residents.”

Robert Beerworth

Online Recruitment increases exponentially

"As online job boards gain more volume, consumers will gravitate to them in even greater numbers. It's the kind of thing that, taken as a whole, hurts overall print newspaper sales, where you don't look in the Sunday classifieds anymore for job listings", said Murray.

Robert Beerworth

Increase in internet use leads to increase in online spending

An article in this week’s Sydney Morning Herald stated that “Online spending by Australians grew by over 30 per cent in the December quarter in the wake of businesses using the internet as a cost-effective selling tool”.

Robert Beerworth

Mobile content revenues to grow exponentially to 2009.

It was a matter of when, not if the Internet would develop legs. Development of - and Australian revenues from - mobile content are expected to utterly explode in the next three years, lead by entertainment, enterprise and productivity applcations.

Robert Beerworth

HP.com the chameleon

The new HP.com homepage is colourful, creative and exciting, and achieves a lot with a little.

Robert Beerworth

Broad broadband

It seems that we're only scratching the surface when it comes to broadband. According to the Weekend AFR, ADSL2+ promises an experience like none other, and if adoption rates are anything to go by, an experience that is not too far away.

Robert Beerworth

Flying high... unless you`re a traditional travel operator

Globally, Travel is among the most positively Internet-affected industries, the benefits flowing to consumers and online operators equally. Traditional travel operators have experienced little benefit on the other hand, and according to an article in Technology Weekly, like never before, there exist tough and non-negotiable challenges for the likes of Flight Centre, Harvey Norman and Thomas Cook (among many, many others) in the new world of travel.

Robert Beerworth

Tribal workers

Today's generation of high-earning professionals maintain that their personal fulfilment comes from their jobs and the hours they work. They should grow up, says Thomas Barlow of The Financial Times.

Robert Beerworth

Radio and Magazines, eat Online dust.

Online advertising continues to grow and grow, and now it is within striking distance of its cousins, Radio and Magazine.

Robert Beerworth

The guarantee on warranties

Australians are protected by a number of consumer laws at both the State and Federal (Commonwealth) level. International organisations looking to conduct business within Australia are have no fewer legal obligations than their Australian counterparts. Just ask the Regulator.

Robert Beerworth

My telco should be worried, Netgear Skype WiFi mobile here I come

Being a super high mobile phone user, slaving away every day just to pay my exorbitant mobile phone bill every month, it is safe to say that I am eagerly awaiting the launch of the new Netgear Skype WiFi phone.

Robert Beerworth

The 2005 Top 10 Most Defining Moments in Television and Radio: #1 Podcasting

If the ABC's Triple J FM Station is anything to go by, 2005 was the year of the podcast.

Robert Beerworth

Flying? Thank the Internet.

10 years after the first online booking, the travel industry claims that 400 million people a year turn to the Internet to book their flights. The Internet also effects other sectors of the travel industry.

Robert Beerworth

The Myths of Search Engine Marketing

Smoke and mirrors, search engine marketing is a powerful, though often expensive and unrewarding mistress. The Top 5 myths of Search Engine Optimization and how to avoid a painful divorce.

Robert Beerworth

2005 a turning point in online advertising

2005 marked a turning point in online advertising, according to an article in ZDNet. 2006 looks even better.

Robert Beerworth

Shopping online doubles in 12 months in Australia

Online shopping has grown expotentially in the twelve months between 2004 and 2005, with 2.3 million Australians now actively avoiding Christmas queues.

Robert Beerworth

Who`s afraid of the big bad wolf?

Google is a threat to basically just about everyone online, and in some cases, offline. Video, Classified, eCommerce, the list goes on. It could even mark a turning point in the Internet - the industry has been looking for the next generation in Internet thinking, adoption and development.

Robert Beerworth

Pay Per Click Advertising vs Organic Search Results

Pay Per Click Advertising vs Organic Search Results. Search engines are rapidly becoming an important part of a companies marketing mix and for some time there has been the question of the performance difference between Pay Per Click advertising vs Organic Seach Results.

Robert Beerworth

America`s Internet hegemony and the World`s challenge

The Internet has always been an American institution. But if Europeans their way, not for long.

Robert Beerworth

Ryanair and the business of freebies

Websites can drive business success, even for traditional businesses. Look at Ryanair, where a clear strategy and focus has delivered results, even in the tough airline industry.

Robert Beerworth

Ad spending down. Just don`t mention the Internet.

Advertising and marketing have always been reliable barometers of economic activity, the first and fastest to soar, and the first and fastest to return. The Australian advertising marketing is expected to grow 5.5% in 2006; and Internet advertising a staggering 35.0%, the fastest medium, followed by Pay TV on 32.5% and Magazines at 4.5%. More interesting is that Internet advertising expenditure is now only $140m behind radio.

Robert Beerworth

Measuring podcasting

Podcasting is the next force in marketing and promotions. And measurability is the next force in podcasting.

Robert Beerworth

That`s a big Crazy Frog

The ringtone market continues to grow, much to the irritation of those that consider Silent too loud.

Robert Beerworth

Firefox Release Candidate 1.5 now available for download

Firefox 1.5 Release Candidate 1 is now available for download off the Firefox website. This is the first release candidate of the next generation Firefox browser scheduled to be released later this year. The Firefox 1.5 Release Candidate is being made available to the developer and testing community for compatibility testing and to solicit feedback.

Robert Beerworth

Poor Public Relations

Nobody questions that Public Relations is an important part of the marketing mix. But, argues Neil Shoebridge, the current crop of PR firms and specialists are poorly equipped to provide value, and in many instances, are actually a disservice to their clients,

Robert Beerworth

Australian`s spend more time online

Australians are spending more and more time online, and the faster our connections, the more time we spend.

Robert Beerworth

Nokia`s N-Series Website

The Nokia N-Series Mobile Phone microsite is an excellent example of modern, colourful website design with subtle animation and magazine quality imagery.

Robert Beerworth

SecureTelecom utilises microsites for targeted direct marketing

The new SecureTelecom Private IP microsite (Frame Killer) is an excellent example of how targeted microsites can be used as part of the marketing, promotions and advertising mix.

Robert Beerworth

Google Technology = More Clicks

Google's technology delivers more relevant advertising. Users click on more ads, more of the time. Advertisers spend more with Google. Google invests more in its technology for delivering relevant advertising. You get the idea.

Robert Beerworth

AIMIA and leading online Australian publishers launch IAB

Peak Internet and Multimedia Development Body, the Australian Interactive Media Industry Association (AIMIA) together with leading online Australian publishers have launched the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) to promote and further develop the Interactive Advertising and Marketing Industry.

Robert Beerworth

Consult your doctor if pain persists

Two recent studies have found that people are becoming tired of the impersonal nature of web-communications, and less trusting of online transactions.

Robert Beerworth

Matt Cutts and Jagger the recent Google Update

Matt Cutts, a Google Engineer who has been at the search engine for over 5 years is considered the main liaison between Google and Webmasters. Matt who some regard as the Google Guy has been writing on his blog recently about last weeks updates called Jagger1 and Jagger2.

Robert Beerworth

Hey big online spender

They are the group that Yahoo and the Neo Group claim will drive a boom in online purchasing in the next two years - 61 per cent of them have purchased over the internet, compared to 25 per cent of the general population.

Robert Beerworth

The Argument for Google Print

Google Print aims to bring the world's books together in a single, indexed, searchable database. But its plans are are far from assured thanks to a number of lawsuits from publishers. CEO Eric Schmidt lays out Google's quite compelling case in favour of their plans.

Robert Beerworth

Electrical Trades Union of Australia launches podcasting

The former independent federal member for Wills, Phil Cleary is now the voice of the Australian Electrical Trade Union podcast. Launched last month, the union’s podcast was designed to unite workers. “Podcasting is just a great way to communicate with our members” says Phil Cleary.

Robert Beerworth

Sensis Australia folds Just Listed newspaper

Sensis, a directories division of Telstra, has abandoned its Just Listed newspaper after only 12 months. Sensis general manager, Thomas Arthur, said the decision was prompted by “skyrocketing” demands for property ads online.

Robert Beerworth

RSS Feeds statistics explained by Yahoo

Yahoo released a white paper on RSS usage, and the findings are similar to other surveys in recent time. According to Yahoo approx 4% of total internet users are actually use RSS.

Robert Beerworth

Yahoo Podcasts for Podcasters

Yahoo entered the podcasting arena with the launch of Yahoo Podcasts, which is a new service for finding podcasts on the web.

Robert Beerworth

Blog Design mistakes by Jakob Nielsen

With the rise and popularity of both personal blogs and corporate blogs, Jakob has published an article on Weblog Usability and The Top Ten Design Mistakes for blogs.

Robert Beerworth

Bush in Freefall

Macromedia's Flash technology has sometimes been unfairly limited - in the minds of some web designers at least - to animations. A clever animation at the expense of US president George Bush does not help this perception, though works for a quick laugh.

Robert Beerworth

Teens and their blogs. Lot`s of blogs.

According to a recent study, a third of British teenagers (those between 14 and 21 years of age) have a blog, website or both. This research doesn't so much come as a suprise, and it reveals the shift in how the youth of today - versus the youth of yesterday - think of technology, themselves and their online identity.

Robert Beerworth

Corporate Blogs and why CEOs in Australia should start a blog

Recently the CPA of Australia - Chartered Practicing Accountants published an article by Ed Charles, a freelance writer encouraging Australian accountants to start a blog and start blogging. The article discusses the basics of blogging as well as the rules of corporate blogging and the differences between a website and a blog. Surprisingly, a critical message from article is the lack of corporate blogs and CEO blogs in Australia

Robert Beerworth

Nielsen NetRatings reports RSS users read more news

Nielsen NetRatings in New York recently reported that RSS users significantly read more online news than non RSS users, visiting an average of 10.6 news sites compared with 3.4 news sites for non users.

Robert Beerworth

Search engines Yahoo and Google compete on index size

Yahoo who last month claimed that they had indexed over 19.2 billion. Google posed the question as to how many pages it has indexed. Instead of revealing the answers like it usually does on the Google homepage, they have decided to remove this figure and ask users to guess the number of pages it has indexed till date.Mr Schmidt at Google hinted that the index size would be three times the last shown amount (8,168,684,336).

Robert Beerworth

People just aren`t that interested

It seems that while the Web is wild for blogging and podcasts, there are lots out there that are at best, indifferent, proving only that podcasting and blogging has a long way to go before it can be claimed as mainstream by any definition.

Robert Beerworth

She cometh: Australian SMEs adopt the web

Internet usage and adoption statistics are hard to come by, though recently released statistics on Australian SME business Internet usage are comprehensive by the Department of State and Regional Development are useful, probably quite accurate, and show broad acceptance of the Internet.

Robert Beerworth

Move over Rupert Murdoch

When it comes to the most powerful and influential indivdual Australians, the Australian Financial Review Magazine puts communications technology (pay TV, Internet, mobile) at the head of the Cultural Power category.

Robert Beerworth

Fast. Faster. Fastest.

Broadband penetration in Australia shows no signs of slowing according to an industry study by the ACCC. This is excellent news given the broad benefits of broadband, and the initially slow uptake by Australians.

Robert Beerworth

Technology not quite on board

Australian businesses are still under-represented at board level when it comes to technology. And as technology and the internet become increasingly important and pervasive, the importance of technology representation at the highest levels will only become more, and more important.

Robert Beerworth

Rollyo search engine launches

With Rollyo, you can easily create your own custom search engines, and explore and save those created by others. Rollyo uses Yahoo search for results which in my mine is rather skeptical considering Yahoo has a habit of banning legitimate sites.

Robert Beerworth

Private Expectations in a Public Place

Setting expectations online is paramount, especially when it comes to privacy. A recent "dustup" between the UK newspaper The Guardian and its readers is a timely reminder of the consequences of poor expectation setting.

Robert Beerworth

Jack goes the beanstalk

Online Advertising continues to grow in popularity as advertisers follow users online. Search-based keyword ads account for almost half of total expenditure, though classifieds at 18% are just as remarkable.

Robert Beerworth

Rogelio Choy from eBay talks about Skype

Rogelio Choy, manager of eBay's Live Auctions business discussed Skype on his blog. Rogelio is responsible for marketing, business development, product vision, and the day-to-day operations of eBay.

Robert Beerworth

The death of a thousand cuts

When Rupert Murdoch stumbles and stutters just to confirm that newspapers are a long term interest of News Corp, there's a problem. When the New York Tims Company cuts 500 jobs, that's a clear sign. But when online newspaper readership comes within inches of traditional newspaper readership, that spells a shift in media loyalty, and media consumption.

Robert Beerworth

Marketers publish search marketing costs, clicks and conversion rates

This morning, Marketing Sherpa has published the results of their 2nd Annual Search Marketing Survey. The survey had over 3,271 marketers participate and Marketing Sherpa is claiming it to be the largest Search Engine Marketing study ever.

Robert Beerworth

The black hole known as IT

As technology, IT and the web becomes more and more important to business, so too does the risk of project and implementation failure. According to a study by KPMG, Businesses are continuing to undertake technology projetcs without an real understanding of technology, nor a grasp on how to align technology with business objectives.

Robert Beerworth

BBC News launches world`s largest online marketing campaign

BBC in the UK will shortly be undertaking one of the world’s largest online marketing campaigns ever to promote their website www.bbcnews.com. The campaign and will use live RSS Feeds from the BBC news site and link them in with Instant Messenger services such as MSN Messenger and ICQ. The concept is that if an important news article is published, it will immediately be featured in the rich media ads.

Robert Beerworth

Microsoft Blogs, Blogging and The Wiliam Reading Room

As part of the relaunch of www.wiliam.com.au the team at wiliam have developed our own Australian blog called the Wiliam Reading Room. The Wiliam Reading Room is a service for clients and colleagues of Wiliam, and provides relevant, up-to-date articles, commentary and news on website design, website technologies and the Internet.

Robert Beerworth

Mum`s the word

"Go to your room. And no Internet for a week." Suspension of internet privileges is the new discipline for badly behaved children it seems, following a six month anthropological study of five British families.

Robert Beerworth

Forbes.com hires SEO firm

Forbes.com today said it has hired a SEO specialist to help it appear higher in search results, a sign of the increased importance of search engines to news publishers and content publishers. The New York search engine optimisation firm will adjust the code and makeup of the Forbes.com site to make sure search engine spiders catch and index published the pages.

Robert Beerworth

Microsoft includes open source component on new Windows

The Microsoft is including, for the first time in its history, open-source technology in one of its operational systems, the Windows Server 2003 Compute Cluster Edition, that should be launched in the first semester of 2006. The company already implements Message Passing Interface (MPI) - a library specification for message passing proposed as a standard by a broad-based committee of vendors in the 1990s - in the operational system for servers, which arrived at the first public tests phase this week.

Robert Beerworth

End of the Line

It is only a matter of time before telephone calls are free. And the Ebay aquisition of Skype serves as a timely reminder.

Robert Beerworth

Internet`s the Global Medium: Rupert Murdoch

Rupert Murdoch argues that the Internet is the true global medium because unlike any other medium, it allows for local outlets to participate and publish. This argument comes hot on the heels of recent Internet acquisitions by Murdoch worth AUD$1.7 billion.

Robert Beerworth

Telstra`s monopoly days are fast drawing to an end

Telstra faes a significant challenge as it races to fix its technologies and networks to meet demand in emerging areas - broadband, wireless and mobile. And it does this in the face of rapidly declining revenues from its PSTN network.

Robert Beerworth

Viral Marketing 101

Viral Marketing can be an extremely effective form of marketing if the right principals are followed. Common sense and planning foremost of these.

Robert Beerworth

Wild Wild Web

Clicking their heels three times, CNN predicts the next 10 years of the Internet - safely precursored with "who could have predicted the last 10 years". Think washing machines with internet connections and online voting among other predictions.

Robert Beerworth

Developer Toolbar for IE6/7

Microsoft has launched a toolbar for IE7 (backwards compatible with IE6), designed for web developers. At first glance, it's a good effort and worth the download.

Robert Beerworth

What rhymes with hell?

No hiding here. Sun says it as it is and in doing so, shows that banner ads can be just as cheeky as other forms of advertising.

Robert Beerworth

Flash, meet Sparkle.

Microsoft's sneak preview of its Sparkle XAML technology will at the very least keep Macromedia's Flash on its toes.

Robert Beerworth

Call forwarding and ringtones added to new Skype Beta

Less than a week after Skype was purchased by ebay, the VOIP company has released its latest beta version of the popular phone software. As Skype now looks towards revenue growth, these new features come with a price tag with ringtones and and pictures costing E1 each. Each forwarded call to a standard phone number is charged at Skypeout rates, however call forwarding to another skype account is free.

Robert Beerworth

Podcasts and Podcasting in Apple iTunes 5

The most interesting feature to be added to iTunes 5 is its ability to automatically download and play podcasts. Apple have developed a Podcast Directory where there are literally thousands of podcasts available on every different topic. For those that don't know Podcasting is radio your way. You can listen to whatever you want, whenever you want either on Itunes or on your iPod - wherever you want. Podcasts are radio-style shows - some from major media, others from passionate individuals - delivered over the Internet to your computer.

Robert Beerworth

Google Launches Google Blog Search

Google launched Blog Search which is the easiest way to search for blog content. Blog Search includes content from blogs all over the web including Google's own blog service Blogger.

Robert Beerworth

Apple Launches new iPod Nano

Apple launched the iPod Nano which is the latest edition to the iPod family of products. The iPod Nano is available in either 2GB (500 songs) or 4GB (1,000 songs) both pencil-thin weighing only 42 grams.

Robert Beerworth

Google adds RSS Feeds to Google News

Google has added both RSS and Atom feeds to their popular aggregated news service Google News. There are a handful of predetermined RSS feeds for popular topics like entertainment, sports or businesses; however users can create keyword driven RSS feeds.


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