The emperor's new social strategy

When it comes to social marketing, it seems that small businesses in the UK just don't get it. Despite all the buzz surrounding social platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, a recent study by the Forum of Private Business discovered that many SME's are struggling to see any real value in their inclusion in the marketing mix.

According to the survey of 5,800 small to medium-sized businesses in the UK, around 21% of them rated social networking platforms as "not useful", whilst 6% claimed that they were "useless". So is social marketing really just a box of nail-holes, or are UK businesses just doing it wrong?

Live conference streaming debuts on Risky Business 2010

Visitors to the Risky Business conference video website can now register to watch live coverage of talks as they happen.

Tynemouth at Sunrise

Probably my favourite from this morning. The side-light allowed a 3 minute exposure, which pulls out the colours in the sea beautifully. For some reason, the longer the exposure, the more ‘tropical’ the water looks. In reality, it is fairly grey and lifeless.

That’s what I love about this kind of photography - you’re creating something that could never be witnessed with the human eye.

Click on the photo to see it full-size, or buy a print (from only £1.51)

EXIF: 50mm : f/16.0 : 3mins : Canon EOS 5D Mark II : Carl Zeiss Planar T* 50mm f/1.4 : Lee 0.9 ND Hard Grad : Lee 0.9 ND Soft Grad : Lee Big Stopper

Tynemouth at Sunrise

Another shot from Tynemouth this morning. I’m in two minds about this one. The hard grad casts a dark shadow across the sea that looks unrealistic, but adds a touch of drama to that imposing wall. I tried the soft Grad on its own, but it didn’t darken the sky enough. Aesthetically I like it, but the purist in me wishes it was less obvious.

Click on the photo to see it full-size against black.

EXIF: 50mm : f/16.0 : 22secs : Canon EOS 5D Mark II : Carl Zeiss Planar T* 50mm f/1.4 : Lee 0.9 ND Hard Grad : Lee 0.9 ND Soft Grad : Lee Big Stopper

Three Riff Raff web projects shortlisted for regional design awards

Three of our recent web design and build projects have been shortlisted for regional design awards The SMACS, organised by digital media collective Super Mondays.

Although awarded by a panel of industry judges, the competition has a public vote element, so be sure to cast your votes for our design & build work on...

• PokerStars TV (shortlisted for best B2C website)


• Metropolis Pictures (shortlisted for best B2B website)


• Infinite Edge (also shortlisted for best B2B website)

...at the SMACS Awards website. Pints all round if we land a couple!

Waterfall

Another shot from High Force in County Durham this morning. This was a much less imposing waterfall, but a little more colourful.

Click on the photo to see it full-size against black.

EXIF: 50mm : f/16.0 : 4sec : Canon EOS 5D Mark II : Carl Zeiss Planar T* 50mm f/1.4 : Lee 0.9 ND Hard Grad : Lee 0.9 ND Soft Grad : Lee Big Stopper

High Force

Got up at 5am to visit High Force in County Durham this morning. Shouldn’t have bothered, since it’s a dark, dingy basin, so it’s visually flat no matter what light you see it in.

This place reminded me of Planet of the Apes for some reason, hence the quirky angle to give it a slightly uncomfortable feeling. Considered photoshopping some chimps in for good measure, but thought better of it.

Click on the photo to see it full-size, or buy a print (from only £1.51)

EXIF: 50mm : f/4.0 : 120sec : Canon EOS 5D Mark II : Carl Zeiss Planar T* 50mm f/1.4 : Lee 0.9 ND Hard Grad : Lee 0.9 ND Soft Grad : Lee Big Stopper