Fascinating report plotting the market value of the main social networking sites. Facebook comes out tops.

Link to original article: http://griff.in/03

It may be called "New Media", but the same old rules apply. The smart way in essence is to survey what your key customers think it important, focus on that, and measure the results.

Link to original article: http://griff.in/s

The subtitle to this interesting article "Your competitors know that Twitter, Linkedin, and the rest of the social media gang are a communication channel between you and your consumers. Do you?" pulls no punches and they mke a few interesting points.

Here's what I would say: Google your own company and see what comes up, then Google your competitors and see what comes up. Are you happy with what you see?

Link to original article: http://griff.in/h

Everyone's feeling the pressure of the economic squeeze, but not everyone is being smart about it. Even before government bail-out plans, there were cash grants, loans and awards to be had if you only knew the right places to look for them. There are government-funded agencies eager to come around and give you free business advice too, and in some instances, practical help. You can even find ways to legally make free phone calls, and there is one printer we know of who produces a wide range of business stationery from free to practically free, you only pay for the postage.

Most useful for those dependent on technology to run their businesses are high quality software suites that are every bit as good as Microsoft products. "Free" is a substantial saving on the £500 cost of MS Office, for instance. For a net outlay of nothing, you can fully equip every PC in your office with all the software you will ever need. Thus, you can edit your photos, create a professional-looking newsletter, and turn it into a PDF file to more easily send to your clients or place on your web site, all at no cost. And you may even get some training through your local BusinessLink.

So there may have been a time when shopping around was an unproductive use of your time, but not any more.

Viral marketing is the old-fashioned "word of mouth" concept, wired-up and electrified for the Internet Age. Compare a Mexican Wave with the old game of Chinese Whispers and you'll see the difference. It's not a message being passed down the line one person at a time, it's a tidal wave that spreads and rushes across a crowd. Think of all those emails you see from friends and colleagues passing around the latest joke or outrageous video. Have you ever forwarded one? They spread like a virus, and when they are deliberately created to promote a product, that's when they become viral marketing. How can you do that for your business?

Mark founded Cyberpoint back in March 1995 when he realised how important the Internet was to become, and he has been fully vindicated in that confidence.