Northstar Blog

Steve Jobs

“Death is very likely the single best invention of life. It is life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new.”

Steve Jobs

9/11

Stunning, intelligent and beautifully crafted design for the 9 /11 atrocity carried out on the World Trade Center in New York 10 years ago today.

Created by Brian Nieman and adopted by the Library of Congress for their 9/11/01 exhibition.

Will email kill off Royal Mail?

If you ran a company that was losing its market share to a rival technology that was faster and essentially free, would you:

a) Reduce costs where possible, improve services, and advertise your unique selling proposition – so that you were a viable and credible alternative?

b) Dramatically increase costs and delivery times – while at the same time making your service more complicated and difficult to use?

Well, Royal Mail has gone for the second option.

The price of a 1st class stamp went up in April by a record 5p to 46p – I didn’t even notice, as the only smart thing they have done is to take the price off the stamp, and label it 1st instead.

Royal Mail explains

“No-one likes to pay more and we regret having had to take these tough decisions on pricing. After these increases, we will continue providing value for money as our prices will still be among the lowest in Europe.”

“We are investing heavily to modernise our operations, which is all about providing our customers with the services they need in today’s open, highly competitive postal marketplace.”

Moya Greene, Royal Mail

I have a few issues with this statement.

Firstly, I really can’t see how paying 46p to maybe get a small letter delivered at some time the next day in the UK, is value for money.

Secondly, “lowest in prices in Europe?” In Germany, it’s 39p to send a letter – without all the Royal Mail’s complicated size restrictions.

And thirdly “a highly competitive marketplace?” – they have a virtual monopoly on letters for non-business users. I have no idea how I would post a letter with anyone else, do you?

Weights and measures – more expensive and complicated

Before, your postal charge went by weight – this was simple and easy to understand.

So to make it more difficult to use their service, they also added limits on the dimensions too. Now your package can be no longer than 240mm, wider than 165mm or thicker than 5mm.

Confused? Not sure if your package will make it? Then you have to go to the Post Office, stand in a queue for 15 minutes to find out.

Royal Mail stamp prices 2000 – 2011

To put the folly of Royal Mail’s decisions into context, you have to consider that they made this move at a time when over 60% of the UK has internet access at home, the recent proliferation of smart phones, laptops and free wi-fi access.

Increased bandwidth and broadband speeds also allows users to send huge movie or picture files to their friends, instantly and conveniently. And although it is not legally binding as yet (compared to post or fax), businesses are routinely using email for invoicing, receipts and contracts.

Then there’s the all pervasive social networking sites, which seem to be the communication medium of choice for the generation that’s growing up. What are they going to be like when they are the business managers of the future?

Royal Mail pretty much has a unique product, and a monopoly for standard post. But cost is a key factor in anyone’s decision making process and I don’t think they are just pricing themselves out of the market, but out of existence.

Google’s new Panda algorithm

Google’s new algorithm seems to be far smarter at weeding out the spammy sites – which is great news for all of us.

What’s even better for my clients, is that it loves my sites and I have seen page rank and traffic increase across the board. In fact, a couple of clients are struggling to keep up with all the enquiries their sites are generating.

My site is no exception, so I put together a little screencast of search results:

The real crisis? We stopped being wise

Barry Schwartz gives a remarkable talk that puts today’s economic crises in stark relief and gives a unique insight into the reasons how it happened.

Compulsive viewing for anyone running a business. Just plain interesting for anyone trying to make sense of what’s going wrong in the world.

Statoil TV commercial

Statoil – Bad Morning?

As temperatures plummet across the UK, here is a little TV commercial that will warm the cockles of your heart: a free coffee promotion by Statoil – a Norwegian oil company.

Doesn’t sound promising? Take a look; great casting, editing and directing.

Remembrance Sunday – Bramhope

WHO ARE THESE MEN ?

Who are these men who march so proud,
Who quietly weep, eyes closed, head bowed?
These are the men who once were boys,
Who missed out on youth and all its joys.

Who are these men with aged faces,
Who silently count the empty spaces?
These are the men who gave their all,
Who fought for their country for freedom for all.

Who are these men with sorrowful look
Who can still remember the lives that were took?
These are the men who saw young men die,
The price of peace is always high.

Who are these men who in the midst of pain,
Whispered comfort to those they would not see again?
These are the men whose hands held tomorrow,
Who brought back our future with blood tears and sorrow.

Who are these men who promise to keep
Alive in their hearts the ones God holds asleep?
These are the men to whom I promise again:
‘Veterans’, my friends – I will remember them!

Poem by Jodie Johnson (aged 11)

OGC Logo – yet another government cock up

Shortly after the UK government announced £27 billion lost in failed IT projects another minor embarrassment was revealed, this time for the Office of Government Commerce (OGC), whose website proudly states: “Helping Government deliver best value from its spending.”

The logo cost £14,000 to create, and was intended to signify the bold ambition of the OGC of “improving value for money by driving up standards and capability in procurement.”

You can imagine how many meetings, hefty documents, PowerPoint presentations and endless focus groups had to be held to rack up £14,000 in fees while this logo was deliberated – and yet for all this contemplation they missed the glaringly obvious.

According to insiders, the graphic was already proudly etched on mousemats and pens before it was unveiled for employees, who spotted the clanger within seconds.

Just tilt your head to the left.

A spokesman for OGC said: “It is true that it caused a few titters among some staff when viewed on its side, but on consideration we concluded that the effect was generic to the particular combination of the letters OGC – and it is not inappropriate to an organisation that’s looking to have a firm grip on Government spend.”

A firm grip indeed.

Search engines alter consumer behaviour

It goes without saying that the boom in technology has caused human behavior to alter significantly in the 21st century, with one of the main causes of change being the increased and varied use of the Internet.

The net offers an accessible and simple to use communications portal which allows us to update our ‘status’ or whereabouts to friends and family through sites like Facebook and Twitter, read news as it happens and perform a whole host of other things (of course, compiling a list of the things you are able to do on the Internet these days would be just too difficult). The Internet has also changed the way that consumers buy products and services.

Today, when people are thinking about a new TV, a holiday or are looking for someone to come out and replace a slate on their roof, it’s the Internet that many people will turn to in order to uncover the finer detail – the good, the bad and the ugly, if you will.

For people wanting to use a tradesman for the first time, specific article and information sites, such as Plumbing Articles, British Roofing and Roofing Articles (all related to and providing articles about roofers and roofing) along with more ‘generic’ sites, such as Zen Trades, offer readers an array of useful news, reviews and articles for homeowners. They make an excellent starting point for the layman, allowing you to learn a little about the job you may (or may not) need doing.

For further peace of mind, the growing number of online review websites such as Freeindex.co.uk, Reviewcentre.com and Google Places are offering valuable, customer generated feedback on companies. If you’re looking to bring in an unknown tradesman into your home, they offer a valuable (and well used) ‘heads up’.

Creating content targeted for Google search phrases

Recently Northstar was approached by a company offering advertising on its website which targets the National Health Service. For a mere £350 we could have a 70 word listing as one of 5 preferred suppliers for website design in the Yorkshire region.

The reason for this opportunity is that the government has given up on a centralized computer system, after spending several billion, and now requires that all hospitals, surgeries and medical practices create and maintain their own websites.

Rather than paying to appear on someone else’s website, we created a single page that was optimized to target the NHS.

Using Google’s Keyword Tool, we identified a handful of popular search phrases to incorporate into the meta data and content.

Within three weeks, this page on Northstar was outperforming an entire website built to capture this target market.

Here are just a few of the phrases that are getting first page results on Google (July 12, 2010}:

NHS web design Leeds – No 1

NHS web design Yorkshire – No2

Visit Northstar’s NHS web design page »

Search Engine Optimisation isn’t some magic button you just press. It’s about continuous growth and development of your website, generating content that is targeted at key search phrases that will bring clients to your business.