FirstFound Blog

Four Easy Ways to Create Content

Andrew Nattan — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 09:01:11 +0000

We all have days when we need to write a post or article, but just can’t think of what to do.

In times like these, I like to dip into my bag of cliches and fire up one of four tried and tested methods for putting a post together:

1: Get someone else to create your content!

This one actually needs you to do some networking. By networking, I of course mean “sitting on Twitter asking questions”. Everyone has hopes, aspirations and opinions. Give your followers a platform and publicity, and they’ll sit there writing content that you’re free to use. Just slap some witty or insightful book-ends on there, and voila! Blog post, ready to roll.

2: The Short Sharp Shock

Who says a blog article has to be long, involved and in-depth? Well, most people. Luckily, what people say and what people do are different things. You can get away with a short two paragraph article every now and then, so long as you’re witty and succinct. Sometimes a packet of crisps is more satisfying than a three-course meal.

3: All Aboard The Bandwagon!

Bandwagon jumping. With access to trend information at our fingertips, it’s never been so easy to see what people are talking about. It’s also never been so easy to see what other people are saying – so just pick something you disagree with and write about why that person is wrong. About half the article’s done for you already. Magic.

4: The List Post

This one’s the daddy of all cliches. List posts are easy to think up, easy to write and easy to read. Anyone can come up with a list, at any time, in any place. I thought up this very article whilst lying on the couch watching Loose Women.

Easy!

Worlds Oldest Twitter User Dies Aged 104

Andrew Nattan — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 09:23:21 +0000

Users of the popular social networking site may have heard of Ivy Bean, the site’s oldest user.

Ivy enjoyed a cult following, cultivating online friendships with people like Peter Andre, Gordon Brown and Richard Wilson. Unfortunately the 104 year old passed away early yesterday, leaving the identity of the current oldest user unknown.

All of the major papers are running obituaries and memorials, but here at the FirstFound Blog, we’ve been trawling through Ivy’s collection of Tweets to find some of her best updates.

hello everybody hope you are well we have been watching the football here at the home but we dont have to any more its a shame
Ivy on the 2010 World Cup

all the staff here are my PAs but they dont employ laptop experts your right we just cant get the staff
Ivy on the care home staff

when i met Peter Andre
Ivy meets her celebrity friend

Having a chat with Gordon
Ivy meets the (then) PM

hello everybody its fish and chip day
The secret of Ivy’s longevity?

For other Twitter updates, follow FirstFound – we might not be the oldest Tweeter, but you will stay up to date with the latest SEO news.

Paying For Content? No Thanks!

Andrew Nattan — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 09:29:14 +0000

Cash Money - Brits don't like parting with it

It’s official. British internet users don’t want to pay for extra content. Hot on the heels of The Times’ paywall failure comes research from KPMG. And it doesn’t make for good reading by anyone that wants to charge for content:

81% of UK internet users would stop visiting a site if it asked them to pay for content.
75% of Brits would put up with more adverts in return for free content.
56% wouldn’t mind having adverts on their mobile if it would save money.
48% are happy for their personal data to be tracked online to save money (good news for Facebook).
Despite this, 90% of UK users are more worried about online privacy than they were 12 months ago.

So there you have it. Keep your content free, and increase the number of adverts on your site – the public will lap it up!

Here’s an advert for our very helpful Social Media Guide. And another for our Facebook page. Click them, they’re free!

Photo Credit

If You Only Do One Thing Today…

Andrew Nattan — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 08:58:12 +0000

… make sure you test your website.

When was the last time that you gave your site a quick once over? If you’re like most website owners, it could be anything from a few hours to a few years.

If it’s been a few months, then you could be missing out on leads. Changes to your website, issues with your hosting company, or changes of email address can all render contact forms and email links useless.

So what are you waiting for? Load up your website, and put your contact methods through their paces. It could be the difference between being an online success, and failing to make any money through your website.

For more SEO, website and online marketing advice, follow FirstFound on Facebook and Twitter, or read this issue’s Optimise Magazine.

The Queen’s Family Snaps now on Flickr

Andrew Nattan — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 08:53:50 +0000

It looks like even the Royal Family are embracing social media sites. The British Monarchy now has an account on popular photo-sharing site Flickr.

It’s not your typical family photo album, unless your idea of a typical family photo includes forced smiles and overly elaborate clothes, but it does provide an interesting look back at generations of Royal history.

From The Queen’s great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria, to her grandchildren, the Flickr album encompasses over a century of British history. Unfortunately there are no memes or LOLcats included, but it’s probably only a matter of time before Her Majesty uploads a few pictures in the traditional “MySpace Pose”.

If you’d rather look at some pictures of contemporary Manchester, don’t forget to take a look at the FirstFound Flickr Account.

Official – Bloggers and Tech Reporters Run Out of Things to Say About Facebook!

Andrew Nattan — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 09:06:05 +0000

If you’ve read the FirstFound Blog, Optimise, or any tech/internet blog over the past few months, you’ll have noticed a recurring theme.

Facebook.

“It’s the second biggest site on the web! No, wait! It’s the biggest site on the web! It’s got 300,000,000 members! No, 400,000,000! And it’s the secret to succeeding in business!” – It’s as if bloggers and journalists have nothing better to talk about.

But today, all of that changed. Facebook passed the 500,000,000 users mark (that’s half a billion), and everyone’s been left speechless. Words have been replaced by infographics, statistics and mind-boggling numbers. It’s as if language can’t quite keep up with the sheer mathematics involved.

This will probably be a blip though, and over the next few days you can expect to see hundreds of articles using words like “world domination”. But until then, sit back and enjoy the numbers. The Guardian’s interactive map is a good place to start.

Pictures Paint a Thousand Words – and Generate a Billion Hits

Andrew Nattan — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 09:03:24 +0000

As Google gear up to make some changes to their Image Search, traffic data has been released showing that over a billion image searches are carried out every day.

This comes as a boost for the search engine market leaders, especially as the young pretenders at Bing have increased their market share substantially. In the past 12 months, Bing’s multimedia advertising campaign has helped Bing corner 12.7% of the US market. Second place Yahoo are only slightly ahead on 18.9%, but Bing will need to pull out all the stops to overtake Google – who currently account for 62.6% of search traffic.

Strangely enough, image searches for FirstFound tend to take you to Optimise Magazine – which is well worth a read. And don’t forget to give us your feedback in our survey!

Is The Times’ Paywall Failing Spectacularly? Or Just Badly?

Andrew Nattan — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 08:45:31 +0000

About a month ago, The FirstFound Blog brought you news of The Times website relaunching as a paid-for subscriber service. We ended that article with a question:

Will you be willing to pay for online news? If you currently read The Times online, will you stump up or move on?

Now, it looks like we’ve got our answer.

Mixed figures are coming in on how badly the site is performing. The Guardian is reporting that 90% of The Times’ readership has deserted for free-to-read services, whilst the Financial Times is going with a slightly healthier decline of two thirds (stats taken from here).

Whichever number is closer to the truth, one thing is clear. People aren’t embracing paid-for news. And less readers means less advertising revenue. It could well be the case that charging for content could well lose money in the long run.

And that could spell the end of the great paywall experiment.

FirstFound Article Roundup

Andrew Nattan — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 08:42:56 +0000

In case you can’t wait until Monday for your next FirstFound Fix, why not take a look over some of the articles our bloggers have contributed to other sites.

Will Twitter Make You The FirstFound?

Being the FirstFound – SEO Steps That Secure Success

FirstFound Social Sharing Tips

FirstFound Reviews and Reputation

Have You Chosen the Right SEO Company?

Blogging – the Key to Online Success

Social Media Sites to Take Your Business to the Next Level

Spotting Scam SEO Techniques

The Importance of Being the First Found

Making the Most of Social Media

Rookie Mistakes that Ruin Websites

Ten Weeks’ Hard Labour for FirstFound’s Charity Volunteer

What Social Media Platform Should I Join?

Become a Better Blogger in Two Minutes

Four Cliches to Create Compelling Content

BBC Redesign News Page

Andrew Nattan — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 08:50:22 +0000

After months of deliberation, the BBC have redesigned their News homepage.

The official release has described the new site as easier to use, as it places more focus on important stories and makes it simpler for users to share articles through social media.

Which is all well and good, but we wanted some professional feedback on the new design. So we asked FirstFound and Leven Internet crayoner-in-chief (he prefers “Designer” or “Web Design Project Manager“) Adam Ramsden for his thoughts:

It’s average. I think they’ve gone back in time with it. It looks like their old site a bit, and I’m not sure why they’ve done it. They’ve integrated social media, but that’s about it.

I’d go back, but in a month’s time, everyone will be used to this. Like the last Facebook redesign.

His sidekick, website developer David Smythe, had this to say:

It doesn’t look like the BBC site. It used to be distinct. There are some positives though. There’s more room for content. With more white space, it’s easier to read. I’m not convinced about the bigger video player though.

The personalised news box is a bit too low down too. It’s a great feature, but people will miss it.

Let us know what you think of the new Beeb site in the comments section.