Since Google ‘invented’ search as we know it today, results have been ranked according to a predetermined series of criteria. These criteria change from time to time in order to keep everyone on their toes, but fundamentally those results are what they are. They are the same for everyone.

Surely that’s not how life works though is it? Surely, the things I like, the people I know and the places I’ve been all effect my preferences as opposed to yours? If they do, then surely search results for me should be different from search results of you?

Well, Facebook Graph Search promises to do just this. Personalised search results based on YOUR network and your preferences rather than someone else’s (Google generally).

With over one billion members who use and love Facebook this may very well become their primary search tool. So, the thing you’re going to need to consider as a result of this is “is my network big enough and engaged enough”? If lots of people start to use Facebook as their primary search engine, the visibility of you (and your business) may largely be governed by how big and engaged your network is.

Dropbox – if you’re a dropbox user from your Mac/PC then this app is brilliant because it give you the chance to mail any document within the Dropbox folder on your computer to someone whilst you’re out and about. Simple to use and really handy if you forget to pack that memory stick when you go to an important meeting.

Vine – a 6 second video clip which you compile from a series of smaller clips that you shoot on the fly. Great fun, might have you laughing out loud on the train.

Moleskine – if like me you’re an old fashioned sort of chap and miss the days of using the Hemingway elastic closure notebook in this digital age, then this app is lovely. We just need to wait for Montblanc to produce a stylus now!

Vouchercloud – well, with offers for loads of restaurants and shops…why wouldn’t you. 2 for 1, 25% off, kids eat free…in these recessionary times everyone should be using Vouchercloud to save a few £’s

HulloMail – if you’ve never been on o2 as your network you might not be aware of “Visual Voicemail”. It enables you to see who’s left messages and save/delete/replay in any order from a lovely simple interface. Only o2 support visual voicemail natively, but HulloMail offers additional functions such as personalised messages for each caller and notifications of missed calls (even when your phone is off or out of coverage)

Skobbler – open source SatNav that knocks the others in to a cocked hat. Simply brilliant. Really reliable and a lovely interface…a very annoying voice though!

Apple Remote – if you have a mac and do a presentation then this app if brilliant click through the slides whilst having a mini version of your presentation in your hand. Means you can dispense with that old fashioned clicker too!

Evernote – the king of note-taking apps. Syncs with your desktop and table too.

Sleeptalk – records what you say in your sleep during the night. Great for proving that you don’t snore…or that your partner does!

So there you have it. My top 10 apps that you might not have come across yet. Not the best apps for iPhone but some great hidden ones.

Enjoy.

FAB “everyday design” is a website that sells really funky designer products at (for the most part) inexpensive prices.

I remember when I was first married, we had terrible trouble buying anything cool. There were one or two ‘designer’ shops in Tottenham Court Road in London selling imported things at inflated prices but often we had to source the products ourselves, either importing from Italy/Spain/France or picking them up if we happened to be visiting one of these places.

Well, that was a long time ago (about 15 years) and since then there are many more places where this sort of stuff can be sourced…but it still for the most part requires a little bit of ferreting around to get new interesting stuff.

Sorry, I digress.

The reason that FAB is an interesting site (aside from the designer goods) is that it is ‘socially powered’. At every opportunity they seem to give you the chance to connect this to one of your social networks – Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter – and share whatever it is you’ve bought or like.

They have really thought about ‘social integration’ in a way that no other website has managed to achieve. And there’s certainly a lesson for every business large and small to learn from this – give your customers the opportunity to share what they like…and they might just do it.

With advertising being believed by only 15% of people, but recommendations by friends being believed by 72% it’s not surprising that this is a hugely effective way to promote your business.

And the results? Well, they speak for themselves. FAB is the fastest growing business of all time, outstripping even Facebook and Google in terms of customer acquisition.

So, if you’re rebuilding or updating your website see what FAB has done and think about how you can learn from their success.

Thanks Gary!

Clearly, children (and in a lot of cases adults) must be made aware of the silly mistakes that they can make and then regret for ever more. They need to understand that saying something on a social network is like pasting it to a sandwich board and walking up and down the local (or indeed global) high street. It can be seen by everyone. So, for this reason we have to be careful what we say.

And, in fairness, this was communicated by the talk. However, there was a more disconcerting undercurrent. There was a strong inference that social networks were run by evil villains who sought nothing but to publicise their members most intimate secrets and this…is simply not the case.

There are risks in using social tools, there may be dangerous people there who wish to molest children and attack adults. I’m sure there are many such people on Facebook. But, as Facebook now has over a billion members there will be murderers, rapists, Nazis, racists, even the odd decent person, because with three times the population of America on this network there is EVERY kind of person.

But are we and our children really at risk? No, I don’t believe we are. If I am to be attacked or exposed to inappropriate material I would much rather it be on Facebook than in a dark alley on a Saturday night. And if someone is going to take a like to my children, it’s much more likely to happen on a Saturday whilst shopping or on the way to school rather than via a picture on a social network.

The risk for our children is not in using these networks but in failing to understand that not using them will hamper future possibilities both socially and at work.

LinkedIn is responsible for the filling of 80% of all senior job vacancies and 40% of people now meet their life partners online…that’s more than all those that meet at clubs, bars and social functions combined.

So, whilst we must be aware of the dangers to ourselves and our children, scaremongering may hamper our children’s future chances in ways we cannot begin to understand today.

The problem with all of these fitness aids, Fitbit, Fuelband, Larklife and even the brilliant (but faulty) Jawbone Up is that there’s a huge gulf between the hype and the reality. This is a crucial business mistake that so many organisations make, particularly in this socially enabled world.

When we talk about our businesses or our products most people won’t listen and even if they do, they probably won’t believe us…which is fine. If however they do, that’s where our problems begin. When we say things like “the finest accountancy practice in the county” or “exceptional customer service” or “all of our customers are delighted with us”…we’re asking for trouble.

Saying the words is really easy, delivering the reality is really hard.

In the world of social media we are facing a big big risk because there’s a platform to tell everyone how unhappy they are with us.

Just today my website went down…for 2 1/2 hours. So I emailed my hosting company…then I emailed them again…then I wrote some stuff on their Facebook page…and then they answered, because all of their ‘fans’ could see my comments. Whether our customers post on our networks (our Facebook walls or our blogs) or their own (Twitter, LinkedIn, G+) isn’t the issue, the fact that they have a potentially global platform to tell people about the mistakes we’re making IS.

So, how can we manage this? Well, the truth is that we can’t. Simply not being on Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn doesn’t stop people from talking about us, it only stops us from hearing it. So, to mitigate the risk there are a few simple things we should be doing:

• be active on all the networks you can to generate some visibility and, more importantly goodwill, so when something goes wrong there’s a chance people will give you the benefit of the doubt
• listen to your customers both online and offline and try to take heed of what they say, they’re comments are a fantastic barometer for general feeling towards your organisation
• moderate your use of hyperbole in your marking materials – “probably the best lager in the world” probably isn’t!
• have in place a crisis policy so that if something terrible happens you will have already put in place a process for getting through it

Remember, generally customers are impressed if you tell them it’ll take a week and you deliver it in 5 days, less so if you tell them three days and deliver in 5!

It’s all about managing expectations.

Social media has been around for some years but the last decade or so has seen it establish itself as one of the most crucial communication platforms for the human race. Earlier this month Facebook passed 1bn members. Businesses now accept that they can’t really avoid being involved in social media if they want to be successful and not because they can ‘get the jump’ on their competitors, but because their customers demand it. The Facebook mission to “make the world a more open place” is coming to pass (and not just on Facebook either) and this can only be a good thing.

Increasingly companies are forced to listen to their customers complaints and deal with them and even the smallest of businesses can now access a global audience for its products and services at little or no cost…and are doing so.

This year has had a number of milestones, G+ has become a force to be reckoned with, Facebook has passed that milestone number of users, Facebook has also floated and completely changed its advertising model. So social media continues to evolve…

But that is where the problems start.

For many businesses having a social presence is a tick in a box, in much the same way that in the late 90’s having a website was a job to be done rather than a dynamic living entity. Now, for many businesses, a social media strategy is more about developing a passive social presence rather than engaging people. Don’t get me wrong, a passive social presence is a crucial starting point…but that’s what it is, A STARTING POINT not an end game.

Social media is about continuing to build and deepen relationships through regular conversations, much like you we do in real life. We chat to people, we get to know them, we get to trust them…then, if we have a need, we’re likely to buy from them (or at least shortlist them).

So, despite the fact that the social networks have become established, huge and complex, people’s use of social media is still lagging far behind and it will never truly come of age until our use of it catches up. The irony is that the bit we struggle most with is the bit that’s easiest!

The other day a friend of mine called me for a bit of advice about his corporate Twitter account, well, he’s a consultant and it was the Twitter account for one of his clients.

He told me that they had engaged an agency to “tweet on their behalf” and that this agency was going to charge them £250/month for three tweets every day. “Is this OK” he asked…

Hold it right there!

To answer this question we need to ask “What is social media for?”

It is, in a business context, a tool to enable us to talk to our customers and for our customers to talk to each other (the clue’s is in the name…SOCIAL media). It is not a broadcast channel, because there are loads of other channels that do this more easily and better. Social media is there to help us have conversations with a global audience of literally billions of people without having to go and visit each of them or join a massive number of breakfast groups. It doesn’t change the nature of these conversations…it merely streamlines the process.

If an agency takes this role it puts in place a barrier between us and our customers/prospects…and this can only be a bad thing. The agency is NOT offering this service because it’s right for our business, it’s offering it because it’s profitable for them.

Sadly though, many organisations don’t want to listen to their customers, they don’t want feedback, they don’t actually want to engage…they just want their customers to think that they do. But there is no shortcut to engaging customers. It requires hard work and perseverance. It’s worth it in the end though. Because with this hard work we build loyal advocates for our business and our brand that read what we write, share our stories and recommend us to their friends. You simply won’t…can’t get this if a third party is being your voice. It’s like sending me to have dinner with your best prospect because you can’t be bothered to go yourself. It is (eventually) the kiss of death.

So, if you don’t need an agency what do you need?

Well, the answer is simple. You need a social media consultant to help you learn how to set-up and run your social presence…and then you need to be left to it. You can of course get on-going help when you’re stuck…but this isn’t about the wholesale outsourcing of your social presence, it’s about getting a little bit of help when you need it.

(as it happens the agency my friend is saddled with isn’t even sending unique Tweets…it’s broadcasting generic tweets across all of its client’s accounts…should be a flogging offence!)

History will no doubt judge him, but I would imagine that only Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Tim Berners-Lee and Page/Brin from Google will have changed the world more.

I should imagine that most people would answer yes, yes and no to these three questions, but in fact the true answer for most businesses is no, no and yes!

Most businesses would explain their answer to question one by saying “our website allows people we’ve met to come and check us out”, or “our website acts like a brochure online for our business” – neither of these comments are reasonable things to say though, because your website (in most cases) will meet far more people during the course of a month than you will. So if it merely reinforces an opinion that your new contacts have already made, you’re missing a trick. The truth is that the job of your website is to SELL. Perhaps not handle the transaction like Amazon does, but nonetheless it needs to sell – sell the idea that you’re an expert, sell the idea of registering for downloads, sell the idea that you are the supplier they should be using…but sell it must.

Is your website doing a good job? No, of course not. You will probably have given loads of thought to how it looks and the words you use, but have you thought about how visitors flow around the site? Have you mapped-out their journey from entry to conclusion? Probably not.

All you need to do is look at your analytics and see how long people spend on the site and how many pages they view…not many. And the acid test is, from your 1000 unique visitors per month how many email or pick-up the phone to you?

As I suspected, it’s not working very well!

Finally, is it getting enough traffic? Very possibly the real answer is yes. If you get 1000 visitors a month but the phone doesn’t ring the problem isn’t the number of visitors but the story that you’re telling them. Are the arriving at the undeniable conclusion that YOU ARE THE ONE that they should be using…clearly not.

I suspect that this is one of the biggest gains that a business can achieve with their marketing – not wasting the opportunities that they have.