I'm a PC - Microsoft Vs Apple! But who is keeping scores?

Isn’t it funny watching Microsoft and Apple battle it out over the "I'm a PC" strap-line? All good fun to watch, but you have to wonder how it’s all going to end? (Having stumbled through my teens using a PC, I expect it’s going to end up in tears)...

"I'm I a PC? or a Mac? Im confused..Help!"

The “I'm a PC” strap-line was originally started off by Apple with the "Get a Mac" campaign back in 2006, featuring the comparison between a Mac and a PC. The ads have since been known for the "Hello, I'm a Mac – and I'm a PC" strap-lines, which were delivered by two of Hollywood’s greatest (?) stars, Justin Long and John Hodgman (Apple 1, Microsoft 0). Since then, Apple has continued to benefit from this. However Microsoft, no longer content with sitting on the bench, launched their own “I'm a PC” campaign in 2008 (1-1: Microsoft scores a late goal).

This week we see the new Microsoft Windows 7 advert; pretty mundane, with a touch of realism (yawn!), finished off with the "I'm a PC" phrase (score now 1-2)...


Interestingly enough, Apple has now released their own “I'm a PC” campaign advert (2-2)...



All very playful, and a good piece of banter, but realistically how much will this affect the consumer? What is the next ad going to be? Can we expect political parties to do the same? "I'm a Conservative" maybe? Hmm...

Patrick Swayze and Facebook Status Tagging

Its 3:30am in the morning and I’m awoken by my blackberry's piercingly ringing away (serves me right for not switching off to a new profile before going to bed). In my heavily lethargic state, I fumble around to switch the profile but inadvertently glanced at the news alert headline stating the unfortunate passing of the start of the movies "Dirty Dancing" and "GHOS star - Patrick Swayze. Utterly gutted by this as I remember that my mum's a huge fan (she still has the GHOST VHS tape somewhere in the living room - even though we have the DVD).


Now unable to get back to sleep, I find myself going online read up on the latest news as well as share the news on Patrick Swayze on Twitter & Facebook . Looking at the various status update on Facebook at that ungodly hour I find a few friends in Los Angeles already have their status with condolences of Patrick Swayze. In adding to the already amassing sense of remorse I update my status and accidentally come across a green drop down within the facebook publisher window asking me to tag the name Patrick Swayze. Slightly confused by this for 2 reasons 1) I’m pretty sure Patrick Swayze is not on my friends list and 2) I've never come across the green drop down menu before, Realising this I naturally think Facebook might be having some technical issues. I refresh the page and try again - No Green drop down menu but I realise something within Facebook must has changed. Looking at other news feed, spotted Nick Burcher's status mentions the "Facebook status tagging feature".

Reading on, it appears that you can now you can tag your friends as well as other "things" (according to Facebook help) you’re connected to in your Facebook status and other posts. This feature works with the Publisher box that appears on your home page and profile page. Below is an example of my test:

"Hello Test to @nickburcher and @raphaelzier "

To use this feature all you need to do is type the "@" symbol in the your status window followed by any part of the name you would like to tag. A new drop-down menu will appear with all matching entries. You can tag friends, Pages, groups, events and applications. Once tagged the item will change to blue - allowing anyone to click to the profile of that tag. You need to note that the privacy rules still apply.


There are obvious clear similarities to Twitter links with the use of the @ linking to a profile and I think it certainly something to watch out for when looking at the ongoing development of these two companies in future.

In the mean time if anyone comes across the elusive "green drop down box" please let me know.

Shopping, Screaming, Surfing

It's the weekend, a brief Hurrahhh! For some it means its time to get go for a jog (a stroll in the park), get the papers, coffee and watch a bit quality couch TV (watching Liverpool FC give another premiership team a good hiding). However, for others the weekend means it’s time to sort out those house chores you've been ignoring for a while - facing a trip to the high street and IKEA being top 2 on my list.


IKEA has a great retail model; it’s cheap and good enough quality items and like the pan-piper, attracts thousands of consumers into their wonderful brightly lit Avant Guard -esq shop on a daily basis. A trip to IKEA for me always begins the same way. First the excitement, next you ensure you have your list in hand - determined not to buy anything else other than what is on that list. Alas, even with a list you are always tempted to buy other knick-knacks, many of which you really don’t need but you will end up buy, why? Well, because it's cheap. As you delve into the lower catacombs, you begin to feel some frustration, either out of slight guilt of your frivolous purchases, the disagreement with your partner on choices on colours of items (and how no matter what you say you never win! they get their way) or the groups of people around you with large trolleys - most of which seem to suffer serious ailment in “trolley coordination”. At this point, I look up and not surprisingly enough, I notice loads of other couples, argues, kids screaming, and newlywed couples one phone call away from a divorce lawyer (might be a suggestion for IKEA to invest in marriage counselling at this point). Cursing the heavens doesn’t help berating myself and wishing I had gone to the IKEA website instead rather than suffering this. Someone get me a pint please!







Most high street stores do get it right; enough money from my experiences is pumped in by brands to ensure that customer service training is always front of mind. Some retail stores now have "Style Advisors" - I love this, an elevation from what is sometimes viewed as the menial sales assistant to style advisor -I feel privileged! I no longer have a sales assistant is asking me "Is everything ok?", "Do you need any help?" (Same thing, again and again, in every shop I walk into - seriously it’s enough to want to make you scream). The style ad visor's approach is slightly different (a big T-shirt stating "STYLE ADVISOR" helps(not too sure on the Jo-90 glasses) - but an air of re-assurance is already there. I relate to these helpers more, I’m hooked and I feel satisfied and now, point of purchase, I’m in a queue and suddenly I feel like screaming again! I knew it wouldn’t last! I now have to queue for a good 10mins. Not ideal when you have kids screaming around you. I hope retailers reading this are taking note.



Moving on, I head for the Apple Store on Regent st. Great store! always packed but yet manages to still look horrendously spacious (a bit of Steve Jobs magic there). The store has an array of “technical/product advisors" (whilst the sleekness in all Apple product sells itself, I feel safe knowing these advisors are on hand to help me out. I look at the product I want (the new iShuffle), the advisor gives me a brief demonstration and I decide I want to buy it. Ok, here comes the weary bit. I head for the queue area but I’m glad to see the same assistant walking to me with a handheld device, she asks if I wish to pay, I say yes. Transaction done, bing bang bosh! I’m out the door - one happy customer and thank you Apple!


It is therefore, not surprising that if you go to the Apple website the same shopping experience is replicated this, you go to the apple store online, choose the product and you can find out more about the product on the product page, add to cart and pay..easy. Agree, the hefty prices on Apple's products are a little off putting however the service and online shopping experiences makes up for me coming back to Apple as a loyal customer.




The lesson here for retailers is quite simple. Treat your customers as you would like to be treated whist ensuring your have and deliver the same experiences throughout all your points of purchase - especially online. Unfortunately if retailers fail to do this then I'm afraid that no amount of offers, discounts and stiff wide smiles will make up for customers simply walking away due to having a bad shopping experience.

Being Friends with a Frog

The Prince's Rainforests Project launches it's global awareness campaign with a video featuring some well-known faces. Not the best use of CGI i've seen, but it is a worthy cause and I have to say, I feel rather good supporting this. Great cast line up and worth the watch. Don't think I can say much more than that. ..anyway, if you havent watched the video it's below..have a gander,enjoy and spread the word!

Google Wonka Bars, People Search and Addictions

In life, there are a few sure things that you can be sure of e.g. death, taxes, paying bills, a bad haircut, bad relationships and an unending cynical but yet comfortable knowledge that history does indeed repeat itself. When it comes to “History repeating itself” - This has never been truer especially when it comes to Search Marketing evolution. Looking at Google, it always strikes me that all new Google products are appear to be products/services that have been created in the past but re-hashed with a Google badge and voila! a new product is born. Then again, Google is a business, and if it is improving past services who I'm I to judge.






The latest news of the New Google Profile results (launched yesterday) got me thinking about how much Google has evolved and how addicitve Google has become. Now, to the readers of my blog (all 4 of them) who know about Google Profile search either through reading this blog or having recently read the breaking news elsewhere, might be getting either a little excited, eager to find out what new toy the guys from Mountain View have created. To them I would advise and say hold your horses, don’t get too excited just yet. This is one toy which you first have to ask if you really need it.

I am, as any other digital marketing geek out there, loves trying out any new tools in the market, but with Google it’s a little different. Google, to me, has become our New Willy Wonka - with their range of classic and new Google Sweets such as Google Search, Google Latitude, Google StreetView and now Google Profile Search?.. These all sound like new Wonka Bars to me. Questions is, are they new? or just simply differnet Chocolate bars/ swets with Wonka packaging?



So what is Google Profile Search? Google Profile search (or is that PEOPLE Search?) is a new service from Google whereby you can search Google profiles to find people who entered some information about themselves in their public pages. Great if Facebook or LinkedIn isn't enough for looking for someone. Nice feature, but is it worth it?


Firstly I need to point out that not everyone is searchable on Google Profile. To do this Google recommends that you add information about yourself to your Google account profile. For more information on how to do this you need to go to the Google account Help. You need to know that Google will make your profile visible to supporting engines and search engine results page.

You can get access to Google Profile search by clicking here

However, Just because its there does that mean we have to use it? Well, No, you don’t have to. Not that different from Willy Wonka in that he made lots of chocolate bars, and you know if you eat too much you will get fat. But it’s made and it’s in shops, but you don’t have to buy it do you – albeit as tempting as it is.


Back in the mid 90's profile search or people search , call it what you will, was an important feature to have on the web, especially for directories and search engines such as Yell and the late "Lycos". However these turned out to be fads and now the web has evolved and has become widely part of our everyday use, it makes me wonder how Google Profile will match up this time round?







In an effort by Google to make search a little more personal, efficient, unique to the searcher and Improving Google search results in general - a Gargantuan feat I might add, it appears that we may have to give a little bit of our own selves, identity, personal space to Google and search engines alike to obtain this. But is this the only way to achieve this or is there something else? How many more Wonka type tempting chocolates/sweets can we expect from Google? and just how addictive will this become? well, if you think about it, its already here.

In a quote used in Willy Wonka & the choclate factory(1971 version - thank you very much) - "its TV Dinner, No, Its WonkaVision" reminds me that Google isnt that far from this...Google Vision soon maybe?

Breakthrough Technology! Computertan?

Spoke to a colleague earlier and he mentioned how he's seen and ad in the tubes by a company called COMPUTERTAN. We couldn't quite work out if it was a real company  or a some viral

Computertan claim to have had a technological breakthrough that lets get a tan whilst you are working on your computer!

I googled this  online (no PPC campaign by the way) and the  the TV ad is hilarious.  The lady in the ad "Hannah Yasmin"  walks you through Computertan capabilities - a seriously cheesy ad! 

Check out the video

Pretty sure you are asking yourself if this ad is a hoax, well I can confirm that it is. The campaign has actually been devised by Cancer Research UK (CRUK) and skin cancer charity (Skcin) as part of the move to raise awareness of the growing threat of skin cancer.

Although this campaign launched on February 3 it is still going strongly! 

Interestingly , looking at the traffic and users volumes so far (from Alexa), The highest number of traffic seems to be coming from Spain, France and Italy whilst the highest number of users appear to be coming from Germany, US and the UK.  Keen to know what you make of this data?

Overall campaign feels looks good. Great idea. Tan-Tastic!

Goodbye Lycos

Usually , I try to blog about current AND interesting topics and add my 2 pence worth to what some people may call the blogsphere, social networks or as my brother refers to it - the "Borg Collective". I do however believe that once in a while, it is in our best interest to stand back reflect on the past. Given that I have been within the digital landscape for quite some time (10yrs give or take), I do fondly recall using Lycos quite a lot. So, I was a little saddened today when I came across this page on Lycos Uk page, confirming the end of Lycos.

Noticed the same page occurs across other countries such as Spain, France , Italy and Germany


Below is a little nostalgic reminder of what Lycos used too look like.




Back in April 1999, Lycos believe it or not was once the second most visited website on the Internet.



Although, it was a shame to see that whilst other search engines such as Google, Yahoo, MSN have experienced a substantial growth over the years, lycos has declined (on Google Trends for websites) oh and Google obviously doesnt let you compare traffic on its domain within the website trend tool - hence no Google on the chart.





(Lycos.com trends on Google Trends for Website)







Looking at the current Lycos.com page, it is clear to see that Lycos have come a long way since it first appeared as a search engine research project by Dr. Michael Loren Mauldin of Carnegie Mellon University in 1994. So farewell Lycos.....(or is that au revoir?)