Working from home

With the news that Yahoo! Is stopping its employees working from home, I thought as am working from home today I would write this post about the experience and why I think it's great.

So, I'm working at home today as am awaiting the delivery of my new sofa. I requested this last week, and due to the nature of my job I can't work just as efficiently, if not more efficiently than when I'm in the office.

So what makes it so much better? Well rather than starting my day at 6:15 in order to walk the dog before I set of on my commute to work, I get an extra half hour in bed, and thats always a bonus! Then I get to sit and have a cuppa before getting ready. Plus I can take the dog out for a longer walk than he usually gets. It's now 8:25 and I'm sat drinking another cuppa, completely chilled out and ready to start work at 9. Its amazing just how much time i save, by not having to commute to work.

Not only does working from home give me time to prepare for my day ahead and make me more relaxed which in turn helps me be more productive throughout the day, it also provides less distractions than being in the office and I feel I can get much more done.

So what do I think about Yahoo? I think working from home and combining this with being in the office is an option that needs more consideration. I feel bad for the people who took on the jobs at Yahoo! believing that they wouldn't have to commute each day to work. Maybe Yahoo! Should consider a happy medium of a combination of working from home and being in the office. I wish I could work from home more, I have no doubt I would get more done, less distraction, less noise and more time to prepare for the day ahead.

What's your opinion on the matter? I would love to hear!

Speak soon,

Social Garble :)

The Lumineers

Afternoon all!

Today I'm just writing to say hello, and inform you all on how amazing The Lumineers were at the gig I attended on Saturday night. Having surpassed all expectations, even walking into a cleavery disguised black table, that was completely invisible in the dark of The HMV Institute didn't take away from the enjoyment of the night - although there is some good bruising from said table.

So what are you going to take from this blog post? 

Buy tickets to see The Lumineers, and look out for camouflaged tables in future!

Speak soon,

Social Garble :)

Google Glass (Glasses!)

Google Finally Shows Off Google Glass and Announces #ifihadglass Purchase Campaign!

Google finally gave us a bit more of an idea on how their  augmented reality glasses could fit into our daily lives today with the launch of this video:

Google Glass, is an exciting experiment from Google and it looks like it may be moving out of the project phase at last. Today Google launched a great new contest to let normal people, like you and me try out the head mounted augmented reality glass, just by proving they deserve it. 

To enter you have to get onto Google+ or Twitter (no Facebook) and tell Google using the hashtag #ifihadglass what you would do if you had Google Glass. 

I'll be really interested in seeing what people come up with, I may even have a go myself!

Watch this space,

Social Garble :)

Topshop + London fashion Week + social media =....

An revelation in social media!

So Topshop have taken on London Fashion Week social media, and its great to see Google+ being used so well!

Check out what they have planned:

Topshop designed this social media experience to let the audience experience their London fashion Week show from every angle. 

leading up to to the show on Sunday night, a number of Topshop models, kept digital diaries on their own Google+ accounts, here you could follow everything, from the first fittings to the final walk down the catwalk.

Before the show began, Topshop streamed live red carpet arrivals. Then, once the show began, viewers could follow models down the runway. The models wore high-definition micro cameras that streamed their point of view live on a screen at the show space, on Google+, YouTube, Topshop.com and Topshop's flagship store on London's Oxford Street!

Once the show had finished, participants could then access music from the show and purchase nail varnish worn in the show. Topshop and Google have also released a "Be the Buyer App," which allows fans to create their own look boards with pieces from the runway collection, with the help and advice from style blog partners, on Google+.

I love to see how huge brands such as Topshop are leverging social media in new ways, to really involve everyone. I particularly like how Topshop have used this to then leverage sales, from buying the nail varnish, to creating your own collection and the use of Google+ hints at it becoming a much bigger thing for the UK in months to come.

I wonder Milan and Paris Fashion Week will bring later this month?

Watch this space!

Social Garble :)

How to See When Someone Unfriends You on Facebook

Now you really can see when someone unfriends you on Facebook!

Unfriend Finder by Edouard Gatouillat is a script that can show who "unfriends" you on Facebook. 

See http://www.unfriendfinder.org/home

So, upon hearing about this immediatly I click through to download - being as nosy as I am, I want to see who has fallen out of love with me on Facebook. The script is almost too easy to install, two minuites later and the unfriend aplication has appeared on my Facebook;

As yet, I have no unfriends - so maybe everyone still loves me? 

 

It will be interesting to see if anything pops up over the next few week (I will keep you updated). I also would be very interested to learn how many people install this, and how many arguments erupt as a result of an unfriend - watch this space!

Social Garble :)

Lurpak - this is awesome marketing!

I just had to create a blog post for the best bit of Valentines Day I have seen....

Lurpak I salute you!

However looking at Lurpacks Twitter account - it appears this may not be the genius work of there marketeers - shame, I think its great!

Social Garble :)

A review of Facebook Graph Search

Facebook Graph Search....

I signed up early to get rolled out to the new Facebook Graph search as soon as the announcement was made, and sure enough, after a few days it appeared on my news feed! Now I have had it for a few weeks, I decided it was about time I noted down my review of the latest 'revolution' from the book of face.

For those that don't know, Facebook graph search was announced 15th January 2013 as a new search facility within Facebook to facilitate searches for people with similar interests as you. if you haven't already got Graph Search, you can test it out at:

 https://www.facebook.com/about/graphsearch

Its a great idea; In real time, Facebook's graph search aims to serve up personalised search results for over 1 billion Facebook users! That's an impressive feat.

So what can it do?

It can help me find restaurants near me that my friends have been to...

This could help me decide where to go for dinner and I could ask my friends for recommendations and what they thought about the place. After all, everyone loves a social recommendation!

I can also use it to find new pages that my friends like that similar to my interests. Using the ASOS Facebook page as an example, it appears my friends have some strange 'likes'! (Stavros Flatley?!)

I believe Facebook graph search is very much in its infancy, and could have great potential in the future. Personaly, I haven't really found it of any use in my day to day Facebook life, and I haven't yet seen any benefit to Facebook brand pages. But I do think that in the future graph search will look very different and be a great additional tool for Facebook users.

Have fun!

Social Garble :)

Would you trust Twitter with your credit card?

Pay with a simple Tweet?

Starting tomorrow, American Express card holders will be able to sync their credit cards with Twitter and purchase exclusive offers with a simple Tweet. I have just caught up with this latest foray into the world of social media commerce from AMEX and I am rather intrigued by the whole idea, and to weather consumers will trust uploading their personal details onto Twitter.

The concept seems likes a good one, AMEX will Tweet special offers, including items such as an Amazon Kindle Fire HD, a Sony Action Cam and headband mount, a Donna Karan Urban Zen bracelet, and a Microsoft Xbox 360. If you want the item, after syncing your card with the app, you simply reply to the Tweet with the related hashtag. AMEX have produced a short video to explain how the concept works.

I'm really interested in the success of this idea, the implications for social media commerce could be huge. I really do think this is all down to how much the consumer trusts the privacy of their details. I will be eagerly watching the launch of this concept tomorrow to see what the uptake is like.

To be honest - I wish I had an AMEX card myself to test this out, but I think I may find it too easy to buy, and would soon rack up a very large credit card bill!

Watch this space,

Social Garble :)

Heard it on the grape Vine....

So this weekend I have been playing around with Vine. It came under some scrutiny when first launched, but the concept is a good one. Lots can happen in six seconds, and that's exactly what you get with Vine, six seconds to make a lot happen.

After playing around with it and attempting to make my puppy look animated, I turned my attention to who was using Vine well. Obvious first stop - ASOS. Of course they are already on board, with a great concept - ASOS Unbox.

ASOS use Vine to help extend there aim of making shopping fun. They play on the excitement of getting a a package on your doorstep from ASOS, and have used Vine to spice up the online shopping experience by showing how gratifying opening up a box from them can really be. They ask followers on Twitter to use Vine to show them unboxing their order, and offer the incentive of the possibility of something new to unbox if they like your efforts!

https://vine.co/v/bJ9dTgx3wJt

From searching for the hashtag #ASOSUnbox on Twitter, it doesn't appear to have had loads of people sending in their six second unbox clips, but for idea and concept - 10/10 for ASOS!

Maybe I should send my own in and see if I get some goodies??

Speak soon,

Social Garble :)