Maybe it’s a gimmick, or maybe it’s because Optimise readers have shown that people don’t like snail mail, but The Royal Mail has decided to issue “intelligent stamps”.

These stamps won’t be able to do anything particularly useful, like helping you track letters and parcels, and they won’t make your post any less likely to be lost, damaged or delayed. But if you scan them using the Junaio app on your iPhone or Android Smartphone, you will be treated to a video clip or similar piece of multimedia fluff.

The first stamp, launched last week, takes you to a clip of Bernard Cribbins leading WH Auden’s The Night Mail. What’s more, it should ensure that a letter you attach it to will be delivered to an address you specify. You hope.

If you want to do more of your business online contact FirstFound today for your Free search engine optimisation report.

It’s not just their news page that  BBC Internet have been revamping – following a very popular beta test, the Beeb have relaunched their iPlayer service.

Now users won’t just be able to catch up with BBC TV programmes, they’ll be able to share thier opinions of the show using the integrated social media functions.

You’ll be able to sync iPlayer up with your Facebook and Twitter accounts, as well as pre-downloading shows so that you can watch them immediately after broadcast. This of course means that you should be able to instantly post spoilers for Doctor Who before the rest of your social circle have chance to watch. Although we at the FirstFound Blog would like to advise you that this is a social faux pas that could lead to you being blocked, unfollowed or worse.

The new BBC iPlayer will be available to download later this week.

Get Yourself Tested - Unlock Foursquare's STD Badge

We’ve mentioned the benefits of FourSquare before – tracking repeat customers, enticing brand loyalty, that sort of thing. But we’d not considered using the service to advertise the fact that you’d been tested for a sexually transmitted disease.

However, MTV have considered that possibility, thought it good and asked Foursquare to come up with a badge.

If you follow MTV on Foursquare and check in at a health centre or clinic, you’ll be prompted to tell your friends and followers to “Get Yourself Tested”. Do so, and you’ll unlock the GYT badge (and raise certain concerns about your health).

All joking aside, this is Foursquare’s first cause-related badge, and could hopefully raise awareness of sexually transmitted infections in teenagers and young people. If it has the sort of impact that Facebook’s Cancer Charity badges and Twitter’s Free Iranian Election campaigns have had, this could mark the start of a more charitable Foursquare service.

If you’d rather use social media to benefit your business as opposed to broadcasting your sexual health issues, check out our Social Media Advice for Businesses page, or download our free Social Media PDF.

As you read this article, the chances are that you’re currently connected to a broadband network. The days of dial-up modems (and that noise) are now a distant memory, as BThave announced that 15 million users are accessing their broadband network.

This does include other, competing broadband companies, but it does show how many Britons are now online.

A recent Ofcom report indicated that over 71% of UK residents are hooked up to broadband, a statistic which is backed up by BT’s latest release.

So with so many people using high speed internet for everything from chatting to shopping, it’s never been more important to make sure that your business has a website that’s performing well. Get in touch with FirstFound to see how your site can be improved.

A recent survery shows that Google’s sometimes controversial Streetview feature is turning Britain into a nosey nation. According to a survey commissioned by Central Scotland Joinery, over one third of Brits have used the service to spy on the homes of the rich and famous.

Topping the list is the house of a Mr. Barack Obama, of Washington DC, USA, with over 19% of respondents admitting to having a peek at his huge white house. Hot on his heels though, is Hugh Hefner’s infamous Playboy Mansion – home to a selection of supermodels that you’d be better off looking for on a Google Image search.

Making up the top five are the home of Apple boss Steve Jobs (really Apple fans, are you that mental?), “Beckingham” Palace and Simon Cowell’s Beverly Hills house. Shamefully though, a fair chunk of survey participants admitted to hunting down the home of inexplicable celebrity Katie Price (Jordan).

In non-celebrity news, 16% of people admit to searching for ex-partners homes, while 47% have taken a virtual tour of their childhood home.

Whether or not Streetview will replace more traditional forms of stalking, such as hiding in hedgerows and investing in high powered binoculars remains to be seen, but The FirstFound Blog would like to remind readers that stalking isn’t much of a hobby and could land you in court. So you’d be best of sticking to Streetview.

The Google war machine rumbles on again. Not content with ongoing conflicts with Facebook, Microsoft and the entire country of China, Google have set their sights on communications service Skype.

Until the end of the year, Gmail users in the US and Canada will be able to make free calls to national numbers, along with calls to the UK, France, Germany and China for just two cents a minute.

Up until now, low cost internet to telephone calls have been dominated by Skype’s service, which also allows for free online video, audio and text communication. With over 560 million registered users and 8.1 million paying customers, Skype are fairly entrenched in the market. To the point that their company name (like Google’s) is used as a verb to describe their key service.

So, will Googling overtake Skypeing as the internet’s primary form of instant communication? Only time will tell on this one.

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The BBC are reporting on a new scam targeting iTunes users who’ve linked their accounts to PayPal.

Experts have claimed that this is the result of an email scam as opposed to an exploit in the iTunes software, but users of Apple’s flagship digital downloading system should be careful.

In order to avoid being hit by this or similar phishing scams, you should always follow this advice:

• Check sender emails. It’s unlikely paypal or your bank are sending emails from paypal27@hotmail.com. Some scammers register similar domains, so you might see warning@paypal_security.net. Always remember, if an email is genuine, it will be from a domain you’ve visited. @paypal.com, @hsbc.co.uk or similar.
• Don’t trust links. If you’re worried that a warning is real, don’t click on the link supplied. Log into your account through the usual website. If the warning is genuine, you’ll be reminded of it once you’ve accessed your account.
• Trust your spam filter. At some point, every spam filter quarantines something it shouldn’t. We know, we’ve had dozens of clients let us know that “missing” emails and reports have resurfaced in junk folders. But when it comes to phishing scams, your spam filter is generally on the mark.
• Don’t be afraid to ask. If you’re worried about the spam you’re getting, call the company who’s supposedly sending it you. A quick chat with your local bank will soon show you how genuine your emails are, and pass on advice on how to report cheats, theives and scammers.

If you want more advice on phishing scams, contact FirstFound on Twitter.

Are you sure you want to send that?

Results of a recent survey have been published today in The Daily Telegraph and a number of other news outlets. Apparently, one in 20 UK workers have been reprimanded for misuse of company email. Some of the common office email bloopers are as follows:

• 13% of emailers have managed to send an insulting email to the person they were gossiping about.
• 30% have had an embarassing experience with the “Reply All” button.
• 20% thoughtful charmers have ended a relationship via email (or text message).
• One in Five of us have sent an inappropriate email in an angry blur, only to regret it a few seconds later.
• Pretty much everyone has sent a picture of a cat with “amusing” captions.

So if you want to avoid being hauled in front of your boss for inappropriate email use, follow our top tips:

1. Always check the recipients list. If it’s got everyone in your department (and the tea lady) listed, you’ve probably hit “reply all”. If you didn’t mean to press reply all, don’t send the email. You’re bound to upset or irritate someone.
2. Don’t send emails when you’re angry. Cut out letters from a newspaper or magazine, glue them to some (non-letterheaded) paper and post the note. That way, the recipient won’t know it’s you. Although the Police might well be interested in finding out who you are. Actually, don’t do this. Just go for a walk or something.
3. Stop forwarding “hilarious” pictures of cats. Honestly, anyone that’s had internet access for more than half an hour has probably seen your amazing image of a cat playing the keyboard. They’ll also have seen the video, bought the mug and read Keyboard Cat’s Official Licensed Biography.
4. Be sensible. Remember, you’re in the office, so someone’s probably monitoring what you send. Save those side-splitting off-colour jokes for when you get home.

If you’ve had an email mishap that you want to share, let us know in the comments section below, or tell us on Twitter.

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It looks like even isolationist dictatorships want to sign up for social media sites, as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (or North Korea to it’s friends) has demonstrated this month.

The South Asian Communist state has signed up for YouTube, Twitter and Facebook – aiming to share its interests and dreams with the wider world. As you’d expect, those interests are anti-South Korea and anti-USA propaganda, glorifying the Dear Leader and dreaming of a world in which all of Korea is run from Pyongyang without American interference.

We imagine that those Tweets and status updates are going to get quite boring very quickly.

If you want interesting videos, Tweets and status updates that don’t focus on why we don’t like our neighbours, follow FirstFound on Youtube, Facebook and Twitter.

No matter how careful you are online, the chances are that you’ll have seen a virus alert popup. You click onto an unfamiliar site, and a millisecond later, a message appears to warn you of malicious code that threatens to damage your computer.

However, leading broadband supplier Virgin Media have discovered that over a quarter of computers using the Virgin Media Digital Home Support Services are infected with viruses, trojans or spyware. So they’ll be letting affected clients know.

With a letter. Sent through the post.

A recent Poll in Optimise Magazine shows that the vast majority of people prefer email to direct mail, so it looks like a substantial number of Virgin customers will be recieving the unwelcome news in an unwelcome format. Days or weeks after the infections on their computers were first diagnosed.

If you’re worried about viruses on your computer, make sure your virus checker software is kept up to date, and set to scan your computer on a regular basis.