Trouble understanding the Brummie dialect maybe a thing of the past thanks to a new free mobile phone app which has just been launched. Developed by Manchester based IT company, Athernet Web Solutions, the app allows a user to listen to common Brummie phrases and translate them into the Queen’s English. It follows the stunning success of the firm’s iWiganese App which came about after Athernet took on a Digital Marketing Manager from Wigan who no one could understand. Now…
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A retired paramedic whose family moved to Birmingham in 1767 has been chosen as the voice of the city. Alan Dugmore, 65 will feature in a new mobile phone App which helps people understand the Brummie dialect.

Alan who lives in Quinton was chosen after a series of test recordings and interviews. He has lived in Birmingham since he was born and has traced his roots back to 1746 in Abbots Bromley in Staffordshire before his family moved to Birmingham…
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It’s a good time to look at Google Analytics as you can now get real time information on your website. 

Real-Time reports are available in the new version of Google Analytics, and administrators will get reports which show how many users are on your site. Google is switching on the new feature for existing customers. 

If you are trying to gauge how a campaign or post is performing, Real-Time will track the immediate impact to site traffic. If a user…
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The BBC continues to impress. I was recently lucky enough to have a tour round the BBC R&D Department at its new location, Salford Quays. The skill and dedication of the staff were apparent by the passion they had for the work they were doing. It reminded me of a University environment where research was being done not for immediate commercial gain but for a better understanding of problems and finding solutions. Commercial benefits were still in focus but as…
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Manchester businesses should be wary of using competitor’s trade marks on Google Adwords following clarification from the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The case was referred by the High Court in the UK after Interflora sued Marks and Spencer after M&S targeted the word Interflora as part of its Adwords campaigns. The proceedings were brought by Interflora which thinks its trade mark has been unfairly used and it claims it has lost orders as a result.
The…
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There are a number of legal requirements surrounding websites. Although it varies according to your business sector and whether you sell online you should consider the following for an ecommerce site:

When someone buys goods on your site you should not take an order. It should be an offer to purchase which will be followed by an order confirmation from you. This may not be needed if you are confident about your stock control and processing system. 

Make sure your…
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The recent problems at Blackberry have highlighted how important communication has become in business. Gone are the days when you could respond after a few days or hours. Now every minute seems to count. So what happens when you can’t communicate?

The key is planning. Many organisations have disaster recovery plans and these must be tailored to individual requirements. These will mainly revolve around data loss and major issues. But as the Internet becomes more important, communications should also be…
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The future of consumers buying goods using smart phones has been highlighted in a
new report published by Morgan Stanley. The bank forecasts mobile internet access
will overtake desktop PC access by 2014. This report together with others which show
an increased confidence in buying products online and evidence that consumers are
becoming more comfortable with purchasing on their mobiles means that businesses
should prepare for so called m commerce.

In the last few weeks,…
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While QR (Quick Response) Codes are becoming more common, espcially in advertising, new research suggests that around two thirds of consumers may not know what they are. The two dimensional bar codes (as opposed to the 1D linear barcodes) were developed for the automotive industry in 1994. Like most things, it’s taken a while for them to be picked up for mass market use. A consumer can scan a QR code with a smart phone (assuming they have a…
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Although most companies wouldn’t even consider a £12.7bn investment in computer development, the recent scrapping of the NHS patient record and booking scheme could offer valuable advice to smaller organisations.

The NHS National Programme for IT is being ended after years of delays, technical difficulties, contractual disputes and rising costs.

Health secretary Andrew Lansley, Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude and NHS chief executive Sir David Nicholson have decided it is better to discontinue the programme rather than put…
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