Google's recent decision to remove the ads from the right-hand side of the search results' pages has raised a few eyebrows among the search community. Google maintains that its main consideration is to improve the user experience and relevance of the results page and, at first glance, it would seem that this change is one that actually isn't driven by increasing profits. How could they possibly benefit from shrinking the advertising space from 11 potential clicks to six? Well, firstly, Google isn't doing away with all the ads on the right hand side. The official announcement said: "Ads that have previously shown to the side of the results may in some cases appear below them." We can assume that Google will judge the impact on paid traffic for each keyword, much in the same way that it has assessed the need for a Top three ad box in the first place. If total paid search click-throughs fall drastically for high-volume terms, you can bet your daily budget that the side...

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If you’ve somehow remained unconvinced that social networks can profoundly affect people, organisations and businesses all over the world, then there were a few social media campaigns that during 2009 that probably grabbed your attention. Forget the frantic rush to log-in to Facebook and un-tag yourself from a Christmas party photo, something much bigger happened this year that will should pave the way for even more powerful campaigns in the future. Whilst there are of course much more important issues that the UK Christmas number 1, the Facebook campaign to get Rage Against The Machine to the top of the charts ahead of the X Factor winner is perhaps the biggest demonstration yet that social networks can have a fundamental influence. Part time DJ Jon Morter started his Facebook group as a ‘bit of a giggle’, but the campaign went stratospheric when comedian Peter Serafinowicz urged his 268,000 Twitter followers to join in and  “Killing In The Name” went on to sell over ...

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As I'm sure Richard Branson would agree, social media can be a bit of a monster at times and a rather difficult beast to tame. The scope and speed offered by networks such as Twitter and Facebook, coupled with the ever expanding blogosphere, allows user-generated content to travel faster than a transatlantic flight to New York City. Whether it be a poor customer experience, a brand simply getting it wrong or rogue staff playing a prank - social media has given a voice and a platform to everyone with a keyboard and mouse: and they're certainly not afraid to use it! Here is a collection of some recent high profile examples of the staggering power of social media from the last few months, highlighting the potentially damaging effects it can have on big brands: Read the rest of this entry...

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