Here’s a fascinating test, if you want to see how closed our banks are. Go on to any bank site and search for “Facebook”.

The results are a sad indictment of the state of social networking in the High Street banks. The result is unanimous. They all return “Not Found”. There are no social pages, email addresses or contacts either.

Sure, there’s the “ask a question” box, but no way to see what others are saying, no way to take part in any dialogue. And by dialogue, I mean a two way conversation. It’s not there.

Only banks aligned to customer needs will rebuild trust, so why aren’t they listening?

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OK. You’ve got a new iPhone. And that monthly usage bill’s not so bad. But how well do you multi-task?

Think about it. You can’t drive and text. You can’t use email on the move. You sure can’t browse and walk. And only idiots and kids – OK, maybe the same thing – are bad mannered enough to text in company.

So when can you actually use all that smart stuff on your Smartphone?

I guess when you’re sitting down, like in a coffee shop, hotel lobby, airport or fast food joint. But wait. Think about it. Don’t these places have free Wireless Internet access?

Whoops – free, as in no line rental. Maybe we don’t need to pay or multi-task after all….

I may well have found the answer to all England’s World Cup problems. For next time around, I mean. Outsource the whole lot to the Germans. Now that would work!

They’ve a well defined infrastructure and a very well defined objective – win the World Cup!

Back to reality. The company I was with had such a diverse set of business requirements across a number of business units it always seemed at the very outset of one of the many desktop outsourcing projects that the chances of success seemed very slim.

But is every outsourcing exercise doomed to fail? (more…)

I love Facebook. Its a window into how people live their lives, their views and attitudes, along with a great way to keep in touch with everybody.

In fact, a business without a Facebook presence, or at least doesn’t check what its target market are talking about has lost a valuable asset. But sometimes, Facebook can give away a little too much.

Facebook evidence is now used in many divorce or dismissal cases. Sometimes there’s things you need to keep confidential. Privacy is a precious and much-depleted commodity.

They’ve certainly recognised this in Poland, which has a large migrant worker community. They needed something to help them stay in touch, securely. And GG gives it to them.

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I’ve been listening to the debate about the Gulf Coast oil disaster and the US committee’s questioning of the oil companies very similar DR plans. And it reminded me of the debates I’ve had around DR planning.

The money, time and resources spent putting something together that you hope you’ll never use doesn’t seem to add up somehow.

But without doubt you’ve got to have a plan of some sort, just in case. (more…)

We’ve all been there. Booked that great holiday, only to find the hotel’s brochure seems more like some work of fiction than a statement of fact. More illusion than idyllic.

Sure, there’s reviews, but these can be more subjective than objective. If only you could just stand outside and look around…

And Expedia agrees. They’ve taken Google’s Street View, mashed up their own customer feedback and produced a really innovative package that lets you see what you’re getting. Now the holiday fun can really begin with picking your hotel. (more…)

When I moved from mainframe computing to End User Computing back in the day, the abacus would have given Apple a run for its money.

My aim then was to stop money being thrown at IT, to make sure the business got real value for money and to understand what the business needed before throwing high cost IT solutions around.

On a much smaller scale, this is sort of the dilemma that I’m having right now with the iPad.

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Think about it. How many business cards were you handed last month and who was that useful guy you met last week?

I love business cards. They present a professional and enduring image to a new business contact or potential customer. A mini-database about that person on a tiny piece of cardboard. What an excellent idea.

But I bet you’ve got a lot of those little databases scattered around. In your office, your wallet, pockets, your briefcase, at home. In fact everywhere. Except where they should be. Where you can use them.

Now you can. WorldCard Mobile on the iPhone puts your cards where you can use them. Click. Just like that. (more…)

It’s good to talk. But better to text. Mobiles are a lot more things besides. Simultaneously essential and fashion statement, they’re a way of life.

All around the world, our appetite for all things cellular seems unending. Yet every device we connect is reducing the capacity for everyone else. Space may be the final frontier, but its not as infinite as we thought.

GPRS (2G) started it. 3G ramped things up and now 4G is over-stretching the networks. Are the cellular networks reaching the end of the line?

Who would have imagined that cellular telephony – it’s even outgrown its own name – would become the channel to host so much. Mobiles have even replaced landline phones. We connect PC’s with it, navigate with it, but its losing its way and struggling. (more…)

I don’t understand PCs. I mean I don’t get why PC’s still work this way. Why aren’t they like televisions?

After all, a TV is easy. Just turn it on, pick a channel and there you go. You don’t have to know anything about video engineering or electronics. TV users don’t have to become TV experts.

But PCs – rather PC software – expects you to know far more than you really need to. What’s good or bad for it. When to choose Yes, No, or Cancel. You can’t just use the thing. You have to know the thing.

That’s why I have an issue with AV software. And here we have Bullguard… (more…)