Are you looking for some unique and special gifts this Christmas?

If so, then why not take a look at some of our favourite Shell LiveWIRE award winners and finalists from 2009...

SquidLondon - London Skyline + Bird Squit umbrella

Create your own walking piece of art with the amazing colour-changing umbrella by SquidLondon. An ideal gift for family, friends and colleagues, or indeed yourself, this foldable black and white London Skyline and Bird Squit umbrellas burst into an array of colours as soon as the rain hits the panels, brightening up any wet gloomy day. Conveniently sized to pop into your bag in colourful anticipation for a typical downpour.

Read our review:
http://www.shell-livewire.org/forums/showthread.php?p=147003#post147003

Buy online: http://umbrellas.myshopify.com/

Binifresh hygiene device + FREE Binifresh Refill and batteries!!

A finalist in our recent Shell LiveWIRE Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2009, the 'Binifresh Starter Kit' contains everything you need to stop your wheelie bin from attracting vermin, pests and flies to your house and start killing germs, bacteria, viruses and foul odours!

Buy online: http://www.binifresh.com/buy-now.html

(Also available to buy in Asda, John Lewis and Lakeland stores)!

Mackintosh of Glendaveny - Extra Virgin Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil

Another finalist in our recent Shell LiveWIRE Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2009, Gregor Mackintosh's oil is grown, pressed and bottled on his farm in Glendaveny, Aberdeenshire.

With great cooking qualities and health benefits, the oil has a wide range of uses and is ideal for dressings, marinades, baking, roasting and stir-frying. With only 6% saturated fat (lowest levels of any other oil on the market) and rich omega 3,6 and 9 contents it's a healthier local alternative to the foreign olive oil. In fact, the oil has half the saturated fat content and 10 times more Omega 3 levels than olive oil.

Buy online: http://www.mackintoshofglendaveny.co.uk/buynow.html

Coco Bébé baby skin care products

Coco Bébé believe that baby skin care should be just as luxurious as the products you use yourself. They know that babies have delicate skin, so have created their products to reflect this. All products are kind to the skin and also to the environment, blending natural ingredients along with a drop of chocolate and vanilla scent to make them not just smell irresistible to you, but also to your baby.

Read our review:
http://www.shell-livewire.org/forums/showthread.php?p=146898#post146898

Buy online: http://www.cocobebe.co.uk/products.htm

BEEcycle 'OvO'

The OvO is a brand new self-sustainable ecosystem utilising composting worms to break down food waste into highly nutritious compost. Its self-watering design allows users to observe food waste being broken down to compost within weeks. At the end of the process, add a seed into it and watch your plant grow in the compost you have made!

If worms aren't your favourite thing, the OvO also acts as a self-watering plant pot. Grow your plants without the need of watering it everyday. A great way to teach kids (and grownups) about recycling too!

Buy online: http://www.beecycle.co.uk/site/content_ovo.php

Saloukee - sculptured art jewellery made in paper

For years, Sarah Louise Kelly (Saloukee) had created traditional jewellery models in paper as preparation for larger works. It was at this point that she realised that she loved working with the sensitive, ephemeral nature of paper, much more than the metals which she had been traditionally trained with.

Many of the pieces include several hundred hand pressed rivets, intricate laser cutting and complex paper folding techniques. Sarah believes it's the patience and precision it takes to make them helps create works of art to be treasured.

Read a recent interview with Sarah at:
http://www.shell-livewire.org/news/sarah-kelly

Buy online: http://www.joolia.com/saloukee

Dupenny hand-printed wallpaper, cushions and homewares

Dupenny specialises in bespoke hand screen-printed wallpapers and homewares, including cushions, lamp shades and fabrics. Their designs are big and bold, with minimal repeats and a signature colour pallette of black and white. Dupenny is eco-friendly wherever possible, using only the best natural materials, including high-grade paper, sourced from managed forests, and water-based inks.

Buy online: http://www.dupenny.com

Fluxedo Shirts

Fluxedo Shirts are high quality novelty dress shirts (tuxedo shirts) with designs and patterns on the back that are revealed when you remove your dinner jacket. Their fun dress shirts allow you to stand out from the crowd and brighten up your otherwise rather dull formal wear. Fluxedo can also produce bespoke shirts and ties displaying your personal design or company logo, and I'll be wearing my own Shell LiveWIRE shirt at the Christmas party this year!

Buy online: http://www.fluxedoshirts.co.uk

Kabloom 'SEEDBOM'

Filled with flower seeds and made from recyclable materials, SEEDBOMS are ready to explode with life and colour. Join forces with nature and make a visible impact by throwing SEEDBOMS into derelict land, neglected spaces or even your neighbours garden and watch them grow!

Find out more: http://www.kabloom.co.uk

And for all you fashionistas out there...

Shell LiveWIRE is proud to have helped shine the light on some fantastic new fashion designers and retailers this year including Katie Weightman (Miksani) ethical clothing, Cleo Barbour (Cleo B) shoes, Nikki Hesford (Miss Fit UK) clothing and lingerie for big busted ladies, Marlon Carthy (Jac of All Trades Clothing) t-shirts and hoodies, and Tuesheeta David (Tusheeta David Designs) bespoke acrylic jewellery to name but a few. 

Happy shopping!

Paul Lancaster
Web Development Executive
www.shell-livewire.org

Shell LiveWIRE has 50 copies of the book 'Dragons or Angels - An unofficial guide to Dragons' Den and Business Investment' by Modwenna Rees-Mogg, Founder and CEO of AngelNews to give away. The first 50 people to email their name and address to paul.lancaster@shell-livewire.org will each be sent a free copy of this fantastic book.

Check out my review of SquidLondon's fantastic colour changing umbrella at http://www.shell-livewire.org/forums/showthread.php?p=147003#post147003

You know you want one!... ;o

Saw this in the recent (BAD News) Business Advisers' News and thought it was interesting...

Only one in ten UK small firms using social networks
Only a tenth of small businesses are using social networks to promote their firm and communicate with customers, according to a recent study by business software firm Sage. Around three-quarters of those that do use social networks are using Facebook, while a third of active social networkers use Twitter and 27% use LinkedIn.

To read more on this story go to:
http://www.sage.co.uk/PDF/ACT2010_So...Whitepaper.pdf

Join our campaign to support the UK's new breed of entrepreneurs and businesses by buying at least one product or service from another Shell LiveWIRE member this year.

With over 100,000 members worldwide, Shell LiveWIRE boasts the biggest online community of young entrepreneurs in the UK, with the majority of users either running their own small business, on the verge of starting up or seriously considering doing so in the future.

Our big idea for The Shell LiveWIRE Exchange is for each member to buy at least one product or service from another user, helping to support their business, the UK economy and the wider Shell LiveWIRE Community all at the same time.

Over the next few months we'll also be doing all we can to encourage members of the public who are keen to support new businesses and looking for unique items that they can't buy anywhere else to join in, particularly in the run up to Christmas 2009.

To do your bit, use this Shell LiveWIRE Social Network to browse profiles of businesses that are already part of the Shell LiveWIRE Community and search for specific products or services that might be on offer (by clicking on click on Social Network > Search at the top of this page).

We would like to encourage everyone that buys a product or service from another Shell LiveWIRE member to leave feedback for them on their Social Network profile and to post a review (with perhaps photos) in our special Discussion Forum thread at http://www.shell-livewire.org/forums/showthread.php?t=23871. Likewise, if you've already done business with another LiveWIRE member in the past we'd love to hear about it here too.

To ensure that all members get the most out of this campaign, please ensure that your Social Network profile contains the most up-to-date information about your business (or idea in progress) including logo/photo, web address, contact details by going to 'Edit Profile Information' (http://www.shell-livewire.org/network/user_editprofile.php).

Also, don't forget to include those all-important Tags/Keywords under the 'Business Information' section as these will help people find you on the site, along with photos or videos of your products or services!

We hope that everyone will gain something from this campaign and look forward to seeing how it all develops over the coming months!

For more information please visit:
http://www.shell-livewire.org/forums/showthread.php?t=23871

Great interview with Shell LiveWIRE Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2007 (Scotland) Pauline Clifford (StarSparkles) http://tinyurl.com/yhaxnne

I've recently recorded a short demo video (8mins 34secs) about our monthly £1,000 Shell LiveWIRE Grand Ideas Awards and how to apply online which can be seen at; 

http://www.shell-livewire.org/network/lordlancaster/video/24

I'd urge anyone who is aged 16-30, based in the UK and has been trading for less than 6 months to watch this video and to apply for the Awards as your chances of winning are actually quite high for very little effort.

Even if you don't win, everyone who is shortlisted for the Awards gets their elevator pitch videos hosted on the Shell LiveWIRE website for future viewing and some good PR opps out of the process.

I'm currently reading 'Marketing to the Social Web' by Larry Weber which is choc ful of great ideas and examples of how businesses and organisations are using social media to market and promote their cause, products and services. Having worked in IT / Web Development since 2001, I can say that there's never been a more exciting time be involved in digital marketing and or web development and there are so fantastic many possibilities for providing better and more useful content for your users and customers.

Having recently set up a Facebook group for Shell LiveWIRE at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=69920482358, I was interested to read the newly added chapter in Larry's 2nd edition of his book titled 'Does Facebook matter?, in which he talks about creating a 'Facebook Page' for your business or organisation which I wasn't aware could be done. This enables you to create a profile which works in much the same way as a personal profile and you can see the new Shell LiveWIRE Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shell-LiveWIRE-UK/150868873370

If you're interested in creating your own Facebook page for your business or organisation, it's free and easy to do by going to;

http://www.facebook.com/advertising/?pages

Hi everyone,

All registered Shell LiveWIRE members are provided with a free Social Network profile to help promote their business, products or services which they can access by logging in to www.shell-livewire.org/network using the same login details as the Discussion Forum and the main Shell LiveWIRE website.

The Social Network is a fantastic tool to not only raise awareness of yourself and your business (or idea), but to connect with other members and share ideas via personal messages, the Chat room or by creating market interest Groups or Events. You can also post Classified ads and upload YouTube videos of your products or services to your profile.

However, please note that you should only include contact details on your Social Network profile that you don't mind being made public, e.g. contact details for your business and not personal addresses. This is because all pages on the Social Network are indexed and searchable by search engines and the default setting is to make your contact details visible to all, as as way to help promote your business.

To edit your profile click here and to adjust your privacy settings click here (you will need to login to do both).

Thanks
__________________
Paul Lancaster
Web Development Executive
www.shell-livewire.org
paul.lancaster@shell-livewire.org

Following our recent announcement of the 29 businesses shortlisted for the Shell LiveWIRE Young Entrerpeneur of the Year Award 2009, we are pleased to reveal that the following 8 have been chosen by our panel of judges to go through to the UK final taking place in London on 27th October...

Daniel Woolman (Bini Products Ltd), London
Binifresh™ is a compact hygiene device designed to securely fit a wheelie bin and automatically spray every 4 hours to ensure that the wheelie bin stays fresh and hygienic. Binifresh is unique in its market in that it automatically neutralizes and eliminates odours from rubbish, as well as killing bacteria on the surface of the bin. It easily attaches to the wheelie bin and always stays fixed in place, not interfering with any of the waste collection machinery. The product was accepted for sale in Lakeland in the autumn of 2009, is also listed with John Lewis and ASDA / Walmart and will be launched nationwide in all ASDA stores in early October 2009.

Gregor Mackintosh (Mackintosh of Glendaveny), Peterhead, Aberdeenshire
Mackintosh of Glendaveny produces 'Extra Virgin Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil' from home grown rapeseed. Basically a Scottish alternative to olive oil with fantastic cooking qualities and superior nutritional values, it's also believed to help reduce cholesterol and fight against the chances of developing cancer and without all the food miles of imported olive oil.

Jon Petrie (DS Music UK Ltd), Monmouth
DS Music ® is one of the most comprehensively stocked sheet music specialists in the UK, stocking over 8,550 different products; over 7,000 different sheet music books, and thousands of accessories, music gifts and musical instruments.

Michael Turner (TurnKey I.T. Solutions), Somerset
Turnkey I.T. Solutions provide business VoIP services, web development, IT Consultancy and managed IT Support services, to SME’s. They have developed a number of new applications including SMS Calendar - a web-based appointment scheduling, rota and diary system that enables staff to create appointments, book rooms/resources, as well as automatically remind their customers of appointments via text message, and Electronic Message Board - an In/Out board that enables staff to use their mobile phones to update staff on their location.

Robert Matthams (Shiply.com), London
Shiply.com has been likened to “eBay but for moving goods” by The Daily Telegraph, providing an online marketplace where everyday consumers and businesses list items they need to move and then receive bids in a reverse auction format from thousands of transport providers. These transport providers are all feedback rated (much like eBay) so the consumer gets a good idea of the level of service to be expected as well as a great price, saving users of our site over 3million since launch in June 2008. By making use of haulage firms spare capacity, Shiply.com helps the consumer save up to 75% on costs, the environment by keeping lorries full and reducing congestion and increases the efficiency and profits of haulier’s themselves especially important in these tough economic times and with high fuel prices.

Ross Fobian & Richard Hamnett (AdInsight Limited), Manchester
AdInsight allows businesses to track phone call conversions back to their original online or offline source. This allows businesses to identify exactly which advertisements are driving sales and which are simply not worth the marketing investment; helping them save money and increase profitability at the same time. AdInsight is the only call tracking solution in the UK that can track the entire journey of a customer from the initial source, to the sale, was the first UK company to integrate call tracking with Google Analytics and can now be integrated with any online analytics solution, as well as any other online platforms, like CRM’s, CMS and email systems.

Sam Rickett (Everlution Software Limited), London
Everlution Software specialises in complex software development projects, particularly large database-driven web applications. They design, develop, market and sell their own products, Vivomiles - a national school rewards system similar to Nectar points / AirMiles which replaces merit slips/gold stars with a modern web/mobile banking interface, and Street Consensus - a central database for Investor Relations information, replacing the inefficient practice of emailing spreadsheets.

Simon Darker & Harry Hunter (Think Pacific), Leeds
Think Pacific lead five-week and three-month guided expeditions to the outer islands of Fiji. Their expeditions involve teams of 18 ‘community tourists’ who assist with local building, youth and sports development projects, before sailing castaway islands, trekking jungle rainforests and rafting river canyons.

Congratulations to all 8 who will now be invited to an assessment day at Shell HQ, where a winner will be chosen and announced at our Shell LiveWIRE LIVE! event in London on 27th October 2009.

The overall winner will receive;

Thanks to everyone who applied this year, and don't forget you can still apply for our monthly £1,000 Shell LiveWIRE Grand Ideas Awards at www.shell-livewire.org/awards

What do a glamorous female banker, BUPA and the Environment Agency all have in common?

They all have a unique story to tell, about themselves, their organisations or the work they do. They just need to work out how to present it in the most interesting and easily digestible way for other people to take notice, and then share amongst their networks and communities.

Having just spent the day with a group of strangers that included the aforementioned glamorous female banker, a guy from BUPA, a couple from the Environment Agency, a PR/sales lady, and ladies from C S Group, SAS UK, The Bridgeman Art Library, the University of Wolverhampton on the excellent 'Viral Marketing' course with Jonathan Gabay & the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), it struck me yet again that for all the excitement surrounding digital marketing and specifically Web 2.0 technologies, they are simply the latest tools to enable humans to do what they have done for thousands of years – i.e. communicate with other like-minded (or not so like-minded people). However, the tools and medium will continue to evolve again and again over time. What’s most important is the willingness to collaborate, discuss and share your ideas and impart knowledge on others – a very human trait.

This was reinforced by a quick look around The British Library (www.bl.uk) before catching a train home to Newcastle, where I was amazed to take in the wonderful collection of ancient books which included the Lindisfarne Gospels and Magna Carta, and original items from Lewis Carroll, Shakespeare, Scott of Antarctic and The Beatles to name just a few. Made me realise just how beautiful books and the written word can be, and how lucky we are to have so much knowledge and information at our fingertips when in the past it was only the lucky few that could read and write.

We owe it to ourselves to provide compelling content that informs and inspires our readers, otherwise what’s the point in adding to the ‘noise’?

Technorati code frc3isy2zh

Our Shell LiveWIRE in Scotland event took place at the Apex International Hotel in Edinburgh on Thursday 17th September between 10am-6pm.

After travelling up the day before by train on National Express where the onboard wi-fi was so slow that I wasted half the journey waiting for websites to load up, I was pleasantly surprised to find that not only is the Apex a lovely contemporary hotel in a great location (2 mins walk from Edinburgh Waverley) but the room was spacious and comfy with free high speed wi-fi for all guests throughout the hotel.

After checking in around 5.45pm I plugged in to check my emails, the Shell LiveWIRE site and of course Twitter and saw that fomer Shell LiveWIRE Grand Ideas Awards winners SquidLondon were being interviewed by Chris Evans on BBC Radio 2 at 6.30pm that night. This is the sort of thing that I'm finding Twitter is increasingly good at, as not only could I listen in to the show, but I could reply to SquidLondon's tweet and text my colleague Alison so that she could listen in on her car radio. Viviane Jaeger came across really well on the show, and it was great to hear how their business seems to be going from strength to strength as they are now selling their rain-activated colour-changing umbrellas in the Museum Of Modern Art (MOMA) New York, as well as the Tate London and BALTIC art centre in Gateshead (I plan to buy one of these soon).

A little later on I met my colleague Anna Lawn-Thomas to go for some food and a couple of pre-event drinks and had a lovely rib-eyed steak and garlic fries at a cool little restaurant called 'The Outside' at 7-13 Barclay Place, Edinburgh (check it out if you're ever in the city).

After returning to the hotel room, I couldn't sleep so decided to clear a few more of my emails including one from our IT Manager which linked through to a great site called http://thisweekinstartups.com/ which contains videos featuring some of the most exciting and innovative new IT businesses to emerge from the US. The episode I watched was TWiST Episode 14 with Garry Tan which featured the founders of TechCrunch50 and Mr Tan who has started a neat little site called www.posterous.com which allows people to post content to multiple websites (Twitter, Facebook, Blog, Flickr, etc) by sending a single email in to the Posterous site . It's such a simple idea and ridiculously easy to set up. Try it yourself by emailing a photo or image to post@posterous.com.

Eventually, I switched the laptop off and went to bed, before getting up bright and early for the event the next day. There was the usual rushing around to make sure everything was set up and ready for the guests to arrive - which they did, and hats off to Anna for organising such a great event virtually single-handedly.

Around 65 enthusiastic young entrepreneurs turned up to the event to enjoy the following workshops / seminars;

• 'Flirting for Business Success & How to Do A Good Elevator Pitch' with Mel Harris (The Training Tree)
• 'What you need to know about Sales but are Hardly Ever Taught' with Lesley Heatherington (The Hunter Centre)
• 'How to Get Great PR' with Jonathon Kennedy (Wave PR)
• 'Something About The Beatles' by Mike Southon (Author of The Beermat Entrepreneur)

Unfortunately Mike Welch (Black Circles) was too unwell to appear so I was asked to give an impromptu demo of the Shell LiveWIRE website and how to get the most out of our Discussion Forum and Social Network which seemed to go down well. As soon as I was asked to deliver a presentation I sent a text to my Twitter profile asking any LiveWIRE members reading it to login to our Social Network Chat room between 3pm-4pm and big thanks to Adam Foster (D9ENTERTAINMENT) for logging in so I could give a live demo of the Chat room to our audience which helped bring the site to life!

The Shell LiveWIRE in Scotland event also featured an elevator pitch competition which saw some great new businesses pitching for a 1st prize of £1,000 and 2nd prize of £500. I was highly impressed by all of them, although some were obviously a bit more confident than others, but the overall winner was David Toy (www.haymapr.com) for his simple but effective site to help people search for niche products and services in their local area, with 2nd prize going to Steven Reynolds (Micro Gym) for his health and fitness training / services to help combat childhood obesity in schools throughout Scotland. Well done to them both.

Despite there only being 2 winners on the day, everyone was encouraged to apply for the Shell LiveWIRE 'Grand Ideas' Awards at www.shell-livewire.org/awards and I'm pleased to see that Morgan Carberry is one of the 29 people shortlisted for the Shell LiveWIRE Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2009 for her business El Dorado Cabaret (www.eldoradocabaret.com) and definitely deserved something for singing her way through the pitch!

Our keynote speaker Mike Southon was a little late to arrive but was well worth sticking around for. Having seen him deliver his 'Something About The Beatles' presentation at the NACUE conference earlier this year, I knew it would be good and it didn't disappoint. A definite showman, Mike is easily one of the most entertaining speakers I've had the pleasure of hearing / seeing and by comparing business and entrepreneurship with the qualities that made The Beatles such a hug success, he offers a visual and audio treat with the odd bit of air guitar thrown in. If you're looking for a great speaker for yoru event book this guy! You can read Mike's weekly column on business and enterprise every Saturday in the Financial Times, follow him via Twitter at http://twitter.com/MikeSouthon or find out more about his work at www.beermat.biz.

Overall, I think Shell LiveWIRE in Scotland was a great event, and one of the best things about these things is meeting real young entrepreneurs who are passionate and enthusiastic about what they do, and all have something interesting to say and offer to the world which helps make me feel proud to be British and part of Shell LiveWIRE.

Looking forward to meeting more LiveWIRE members and new businesses at our Shell LiveWIRE LIVE! event and Shell LiveWIRE Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2009 final in London on 27th October 2009.

Any comments or feedback on this blog post please login and reply below, send them to me via Twitter at http://twitter.com/lordlancaster or email me at paul.lancaster@shell-livewire.org

Thanks for reading :o)

Paul
Web Development Executive
www.shell-livewire.org

Anna Lawn-Thomas (aka ALT) and I will be hosting a Shell LiveWIRE stand at the Adult Skills London event @ Earls Court on Sunday 18th October (11am-5pm) and Monday 19th October (10am-4pm).

In association with Monster.co.uk, London First and Nextstep London, the event is free to attend, and will feature a range of great organisations offering free advice and seminars throughout both days.

To find out more and to register your place go to www.adultskills.co.uk, and if you do go please come along and say hello

Hi everyone,

I've just recorded a short demo video on how you can get the most out of your My Business Kit section of the main Shell LiveWIRE website which you see in our Video Lounge (under How To Videos) at;

http://www.shell-livewire.org/video-...=how-to-videos

It's around 12mins long and apart from having the joy of listening to my dulcet Geordie tones, you will learn;
 

• how to vote for the monthly Grand Ideas Awards
• how to access your Premium Content (incl. guides to writing your first business plan and market research
• how to subscribe to RSS news feeds
• how to bookmark, rate or leave comments on pages throughout the site
• and even how to personalise the layout of the page

This is the first demo video I've done using some new software so please take a look and let me know what you think.

 

Social Media is the term used to describe the 2nd generation of websites (or Web 2.0) which enable greater interaction with their users. Traditional websites required passive consumption of information by the the reader in a top-down approach, while the new wave of Social Media sites encourage the reader to contribute their own content and ideas.

Examples of popular Social Media that can be useful for business include;

Twitter (http://twitter.com)
Twitter is a micro-blogging tool which enables users to post 140 character messages online about themselves and their business. By searching for topics that interest you and are relevant to your business you can quickly build up a network of people to 'Follow' and recruit your own tribe of 'Followers'. Individual posts or 'Tweets' can be posted online via the website or sent as an SMS text message from your mobile phone. Unlike normal text messages or emails, a single Tweet not only appears on your own profile page, but on those belonging to each of your Followers, making it a highly effective tool for spreading the world quickly about your latest news and ideas. (For help getting started, check out the free 'Twitter 101 for Business - A Special Guide' at http://business.twitter.com/twitter101).

Facebook (http://www.facebook.com)
With over 200 million users worldwide in 2009 (70% outside of the US), Facebook is one of the biggest social media success stories of recent years. Originally a way for college students to stay in touch with their friends, Facebook has since evolved into an easy and user-friendly way for individuals, businesses and groups of like-minded people to communicate with people around the world. With so many people using Facebook on a day to day basis it's worthwhile having some kind of presence for your business on there, and it can be another useful way to market and launch a new product or service.

Shell LiveWIRE Social Network (http://www.shell-livewire.org/network) 
A bit like Facebook for business, the Shell LiveWIRE Social Network is a great way to promote yourself and your business and should be seen as your 'shop window to the world'. All users are provided with a free profile in which they can add photos, videos, classified ads, events diary and blog, providing the perfect place to network and do business with other Shell LiveWIRE members. (For our 'Top Tips on using the Shell LiveWIRE Social Network' click here).

YouTube (http://www.youtube.com)
The moving image is one of the most powerful ways to get your message across to people quickly. Businesses can use YouTube to post individual videos about their product or service, or create their own YouTube Channel (e.g. http://www.youtube.com/ShellLivewireUK) containing a collection of videos related to what they do. Even with a basic video camera or mobile phone and a little bit of imagination, videos can quickly become viral and there are numerous examples of people who have had their clips viewed by over 50million users! Even if just a small number of people view your videos, YouTube is a useful and compelling medium for marketing and promoting your business that should not be ignored. 

MySpace (http://www.myspace.com)
If your business is in the creative industries, particularly music, art and fashion, then MySpace is somewhere that you should definitely maintain a presence as it's a great way to highlight your latest news and releases and reach out direct to your target audience. The Arctic Monkeys, Lily Allen and Little Boots famously built up huge armies of devoted fans through MySpace before signing their first record deals and so it has become an essential place for new businesses, record labels and artists to break new markets.

Bebo (http://www.bebo.com)
With a target audience of 13-19yr olds (mostly teenage girls), Bebo obviously isn't for everyone. However, if your business provides products or services for this particular demographic then it's the perfect place to get yourself known (e.g. http://www.bebo.com/shell_livewireuk).

LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com)
Boasting over 41 millions users worldwide, LinkedIn is a useful place for business professionals to host an online CV which can be used to find work or networking opportunities with other users.

Ning (http://www.ning.com)
With over 1.3 million Ning social networks created and more than 30 million registered members around the world, Ning 'enables artists, brands and organizations to simplify and control their online presence with their own unique Ning Network that integrates with other social media services while providing a direct relationship with fans, consumers and members.' 

Flickr (http://www.flickr.com)
Flickr describes itself as 'the best online photo management and sharing application in the world' and provides an easy to use online system for uploading and sharing your pictures with anyone you like. Businesses can use Flickr to share photos of events or products they have available to buy which can be linked to from their emails, website, blogs or any other Social Media site listed above (e.g.http://www.flickr.com/photos/shell_livewireuk)

Blogs
Blogs (an abbreviation of the word 'weblog') are a type of website that allow an individual or business to write a running commentary or diary of their activities which can be made available for anyone to see. Blogs can be purely text-based, but really come to life when enriched with other Social Media tools like YouTube videos, Twitter feeds, photos, audio and links to other external sites of interest. There are a number of free blogging tools available, including WordPress and Blogger which provide users with a simple way to establish an online presence without having to pay for a website, and all Shell LiveWIRE members are provided with a free blog in their Social Network profile. Meanwhile, Technorati was founded as the worlds first blog search engine and has since evolved into a content provider for blogs around the world.

Ok people, we now have over 100,000 members (and counting) of the Shell LiveWIRE Social Network.

The vast majority of members are based in the UK, although a growing number are based around the world in the 25 countries that have their own Shell LiveWIRE programme (see the International site www.shell-livewire.com for details).

The Shell LiveWIRE Social Network has huge potential for connecting young entrepreneurs by enabling them to hook up, share ideas and do business with each other so to get the most out of it I suggest you all do the following:

1. Keep your Social Network profile up-to-date. 

Even if it's just basic info about you and your business idea, your Social Network profile should be seen as your 'shop window to the world' as you never know who might be checking you out and looking to do business with you. It's a  great way to raise your profile and network with others for free, especially if you don't yet have a website and another useful marekting tool if you do. The Social Network provides all registered users with a profile page that allows you to enter a short description about your business, contact details, photos, events diary, classified ads and even a free blog so you can keep everyone infomed about your journey.

At a bare minimum you should make sure that you have a contact name, email address, website address (if you have one) and a photo / logo. However, like most websites, all Shell LiveWIRE Social Network pages are indexed by visible to search engines and so please note you should only include contact details that you don't mind being made public, e.g. contact details for your business and not personal addresses. Once logged in, to edit your profile click here and to adjust your privacy settings click here.

2. Network and make friends with other members.

Most members have joined the Shell LiveWIRE community for similar reasons. Either they're thinking about starting a business, have recently set up, or have already started trading. Whatever stage they are at, people come here to network, share ideas, help each other out and hopefully do business with each other.

We call it a Community for a reason, and there are already lots of examples of people who have made great connections with other users to benefit their business. So, whilst you're here, make the most of the tools available and make friends with others. It's simple to do. Just check out another members profile and then click on 'Add to my friends' on the left hand side of the page, underneath their photo / logo. Once you are friends with someone you can send them direct messages.

Even if you're not yet a friend with someone you can leave a Comment on their profile (provided they have enabled this on their page). You can also start your own market-interest Group and invite people to join you to discuss certain topics.

3. Get talking!

As well as just being a great way to market and promote your business, the Social Network has a cool little Chat room that anyone can use at anytime to share ideas and discuss business. Simply login to the Social Network and then click on My Apps > Chat to start talking in real time, just like MSN Messenger or AOL. However, to get the most out of the Chat room, why not change your profile Status (underneath your photo / logo) to say something like 'In the Chat room so let's talk' or something similar. You can also pre-arrange scheduled meetings with other members in advance so that you're not just talking to yourself!

4. Support each other

Shell LiveWIRE has a history or helping young entrepreneurs connect with each other and one of the biggest strengths (if not the biggest strengths) of the programme is the willingness of members to help each other out by offering advice and support and signposting people to useful resources for their business. We'd like to think that everyone can get something out of the Shell LiveWIRE Social Network as well as the Discussion Forum (www.shell-livewire.org/forums) and information held on our main website (www.shell-livewire.org).

Also, why not help each other out in financial terms too? With so many members on here, why not make it your mission to help at least 1 other Shell LiveWIRE business by using their products and services, rather than going to a bigger, more established company? They're sure to appreciate your business even more than a large company with lots of different customers and you will probably get a more personal service too. If everyone did this then it wouldn't take long for people to benefit and to see their business grow.

5. Spread the word

How did you get to hear about Shell LiveWIRE? Did you stumble upon it by accident in Google? Think how much time and effort you could have saved if someone you knew and trusted recommended it to you. If you like what we are trying to do here at Shell LiveWIRE, tell others about it and encourage them to join. Word of mouth recommendations are the best way to spread the word so why not link back to your Shell LiveWIRE Profile or Blog from your business website(s), Facebook and Twitter? The Shell LiveWIRE Community is growing all the time as it is, but will be even stronger with your help and support.

6. Make the most of Shell LiveWIRE

Remember, Shell LiveWIRE is the UK's biggest online community for young entrepreneurs starting a business and all the tools and resources are provided free of charge to all registered users. It's been this way since the beginning way back in 1982 and isn't going to change so make the most out of what's available to help yourself and your business. It's YOUR website and we're also always open to suggestions for making Shell LiveWIRE even better so if you've got any ideas please send them through to me at paul.lancaster@shell-livewire.org and we'll look at each one in turn.

Now go on and get networking!

Paul Lancaster
Web Development Executive
www.shell-livewire.org

Blog: www.shell-livewire.org/network/lordlancaster/blog/
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/lordlancaster
Twitter: http://twitter.com/lordlancaster
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/ShellLivewireUK

Shell LiveWIRE LIVE will be a celebration of enterprise with networking opportunities and workshops with some of the UKs top entrepreneurs, along with an evening reception to announce the Shell LiveWIRE Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2009.

Those invited to the day will include former winners of Shell LiveWIRE awards including the 2009 Shell LiveWIRE Grand Ideas Awards winners and it is strictly invite only with limited places for the UKs top young entrepreneurial talent.

It will offer the chance to network with other sucessful entrepreneurs, attend workshops and master classes with some of the UKs top entrepreneurs and business people and meet Shell LiveWIRE staff who can answer any questions. It will be a fantastic event!

So, how can you attend?

If you go to the main Social Network page at www.shell-livewire.org/network you will see the 5 most 'Popular Members' near the bottom of the page. These are the people who have networked the most and made the most friends. You will see how many connections they have under their name.

The 5 people who appear in this area at midday on 25th September 2009 will get an invite to the event!

Remember - Shell LiveWIRE is the UK's biggest online community for young entrepreneurs (aged 16-30) starting a business so is all about networking. You don't neccessarily have to know people beforehand to network with them, but our Social Network offers huge potential for international business networking with other members so make a connection, say hello and see what you can offer them and what they can offer you in return. In business the better connected you are - the more successful you are likely to be.

If you want to come to our event - Get Networking!

Alternatively, a surefire way to get an invitation to the event is to win one of our monthly Shell LiveWIRE Grand Ideas Awards or be a finalist in the Shell LiveWIRE Young entrepreneur of the Year Award 2009.  To apply for both awards go to www.shell-livewire.org/awards

GOOD LUCK!

Emotional Economy is an economic concept which says that the world's greatest organisations don't build sustainable growth through finance, but by harnessing the power of human emotions. Successful companies are therefore the ones that have employees who actually love their jobs and customers who love doing business with them. Emotional stuff!

Source: Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM)'s Cutting Edge / Buzzwhack.com

King of Shaves aims to raise £5m for it's marketing campaign by selling 5,000 ‘shaving bonds’ @ £1,000 each

King of Shaves aims to raise £5m for its marketing campaign to help it compete against Gillette and Wilkinson Sword. The company has issued 5,000 ‘Shaving Bonds’ priced £1,000 each. Company founder Will King says the aim is to recruit up to 5,000 brand ambassadors and claims that “it is about building a brand and marketing community as much as raising money”. The brand’s biggest problem is lack of awareness. See www.shave.com for further details on how to apply
Source: CIM Cutting Edge / Marketing Week, 25 June 2009, p9

Is there a way you could implement something similar in your own business if you don't have a great deal of capital to start off with...?

I've just watched Sunday night's televised episode of the BBC Radio 4 show The Bottom Line' with Evan Davis on iPlayer in which James Dyson, Martha Lane Fox and Adrian Ringrose discuss what being creative means in business, and offer some fantastic advice for school, college or uni leavers and young entrepreneurs.

Great show and well worth watching!



The Bottom Line - Series 2 - Episode 7
http://bbc.co.uk/i/lvsqb/

The view from the top of business. Presented by Evan Davis, the Bottom Line cuts through confusion, statistics and spin to present a clearer view of the business world, through discussion with people running leading and emerging companies.

It's the end of term and summer is officially here. So what advice would Evan Davis's hugely successful business guests give to youngsters just leaving school now? Entrepreneur James Dyson took five years to develop the bagless vacuum cleaner, Martha Lane Fox went on a 'crazy journey' to set up Lastminute.com and Adrian Ringrose still isn't sure he has grown up, even though he is chief executive of a company with 50,000 employees. And Evan will ask them about the magic of business - creativity. How vital is it?

Broadcast on: BBC News Channel, 9:30pm Sunday 19th July 2009
Duration: 30 minutes
Available until: 9:59pm Monday 19th July 2010

ComputerWeekly.com has produced a short guide for small and medium-sized businesses on choosing an Internet Service Provider (ISP). It covers what a firm should look for in a provider as well as information on charges and bandwidth.

The followng guide can be found at: http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2009/07/14/236885/business-internet-providers-for-smes-essential-guide.htm

There are literally hundreds of UK business internet providers that offer broadband, mobile internet and e-commerce services to SMEs.

How do I find the right business internet provider?

There are many ways to find the right internet service provider (ISP) for you. These include getting word of mouth recommendations from other businesses. Remember to ask them about their broadband or network experience, customer service, and the consistency of the service over time.

There are also a number of comparison sites and review sites on the web, which will give details of the levels of bandwidth and the services that different business ISPs can offer.

Your IT systems provider, or an industry grouping that you are part of, may also have a view of which the good Internet service providers are.

You should look for a supplier that offers the service you want and has a good reputation. You can find discussion forums on the web, where business users share their good experiences as well as their horror stories about business ISPs.

You may want to consider getting your mobile phone, landline and internet services all from a telephony supplier, such as BT or TalkTalk.

How about mobile internet services?

Many telephony service providers now offer mobile phone-based Internet connections for both consumer and business use.

The benefit of mobile internet broadband is that it caters for people who want to access emails and the web whilst on the move, while they are commuting, or out and about between meetings.

There are a number of mobile services that offer fixed charges for different levels of mobile internet usage, including unlimited usage.

Vodafone, T Mobile, Orange, 3, Virgin Mobile and O2 offer smart phone-based mobile internet services, and several service providers will also support the popular BlackBerry range of smart phones.

How do ISPs charge?

Most ISPs will charge an initial setup fee. This varies and may cover any hardware and installation, for things such as ADSL equipment.

But saying this, because there is so much competition in the marketplace, you can generally find a special offer with a particular ISP where the setup cost is free.

Remember to check precisely what is included with the deal. Some ISPs offer unlimited email addresses, web site hosting, spam filtering, and anti-virus scanning.
 
It is often best to select the minimum contract period, typically 12 months, so that you are not tied to an ISP if they fail to satisfy your needs.

Also, check to see what the costs are for using the firm’s technical support. Some ISPs have good web-based help, whilst others offer premium-rate numbers only for accessing their help desks.

Also check the availability for support to see if they provide you with round-the-clock technical support.

Do all ISPs offer the same bandwidth?

No, some will offer you a 512kbit/sec service, which will be relatively slow if you plan to use the web a lot, particularly for online applications. 

The majority of service providers will offer 1, 2 or 8Mbit/sec speeds, with some promising speeds faster than what is on offer.

But remember that not all types of broadband may be available in your area, particularly if you are in a remote location.

This is because the maximum speed on offer may be restricted due to line lengths or the distance of your premises from an asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) enabled exchange.

What about fibre cabling?

Over the past few years, BT has been rolling out fibre optic cables across the country, investing billions into what it calls Broadband Britain.

BT is now announcing the locations where its fibre to the cabinet (FTTC) based broadband will be available, which will mean faster connections in more places.

The result will be that more businesses and home users will have access to fast internet services.

What is the plan with Broadband Britain?

By March 2010, a million homes and small businesses will be covered by this fast, big bandwidth technology.

By early summer 2010, BT expects to have a reach of 1.5 million homes, continuing to 40% of the UK (10 million homes) by 2012.
 

MySpace is to cut approximately two thirds of its 450-strong workforce outside of the US.

The News Corporation-owned social networking website, which in June this year cut 30% of US staff has stated that international restructuring plans will cut its staff outside America by 66%, from 450 to 150.

The sharp rise and fall of MySpace delivers a blow to Rupert Murdoch, the News Corporation chief, who bought the business for $580m in 2005.

The site is apparently struggling against competitors such as Facebook and Twitter alongside the difficulty of attracting online advertisers during widespread recession. In June 2010, MySpaces advertising deal with Google, which reportedly accounts for nearly half of its current revenue, is due to end.

MySpace has 127 million users around the world and rapidly built a reputation for being a showcase for new music and a springboard for careers. It was closely associated with helping to break huge acts such as Arctic Monkeys and Lily Allen in the UK.

However, recent stats reveal that it has undoubtedly gone into decline. The metrics firm comScore shows that Facebook overtook MySpace in Britain by number of users early last year and has continued to move ahead. According to comScore, MySpaces unique users in this country fell by 18%, from 8.5 million in April 2008 to 7 million just a year later. Facebook during the same period has seen growth of 63% and as of April 2009 had 23.5 million unique users in Britain and 200 million worldwide.

Have users of social networking sites migrated to other forms of interaction and left MySpace behind? Is it still an invaluable promotional tool for bands and a great resource for A & R, Managers etc..in hearing new acts? Or was it just a fad? Will Twitter and Bebo inevitably go the same way eventually?

In November 2008 I attended an excellent Business Link event called Marketing: the art of @ The Sage Gateshead which featured some fantastic keynote speeches from PR guru Max Clifford and Green & Black's Global Brand Director Mark Palmer which have just been made available to watch on their website free of charge.

These videos / presentations are well worth watching and I'd highly recommend them to anyone that is interested in PR, branding and ethical marketing.

http://www.marketingtheartof.com/videos/keynote_speeches.html

Interesting article here in The Independent last week (28th May) on how the major social networking sites are doing in comparison with each other...

Facebook's value has fallen a third in 18 months and many of its rivals are also struggling - but not all. Who's up and who's down?
Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/bu...s-1691844.html


Facebook (www.facebook.com): Down

Mark Zuckerberg, the 25-year-old chief executive of Facebook, this week spoke of his delight at securing a $200m investment from Russian group DST. He was unconcerned that the stake valued the company at $10bn, a third lower than 18 months ago, and said the cash injection would help investment for the future. The social-networking site is still growing at a huge rate, but this latest cash injection fuelled concerns that the firm hasn't found an effective way to make its users pay. There are now over 200 million Facebookers, with 70 per cent of those outside the US. It had 29.2 million users in the UK last month, up 9 per cent year on year, according to marketing communications analyst ComScore.

The drop in valuation tracks the wider market, where Google's share price has dropped over a third in the downturn. Yet Mr Zuckerberg's dislike of banner advertising and a fall in the general ad market will put pressure on a company whose burn-through rate has been estimated at above $100m a year. The group's CPM, the cost an advertiser pays for every thousand views, is in cents rather than dollars. Dan Cryan, senior analyst at Screen Digest, said: "Facebook is pretty much a communication tool, but the ad tolerance from consumers for such sites is not particularly high." The group is building its self-service advertising system and eMarketer estimated ad revenues would be $230m this year.

Facebook says ad revenues will be up 70 per cent this year, but as its cost base grows and click price falls it could face pressure. The site is yet to turn a profit, but Zuckerberg did say it would be cash positive next year. Adam Daum, research vice-president of Gartner, said: "In terms of reach and audience engagement, they're doing a fantastic job. In terms of making the thing pay, they have been struggling somewhat."

MySpace (www.myspace.com): Down

Analysts have warned that MySpace profits face severe pressure over the next 12 months. Users are falling, ad revenues are subject to the wider market decline, and the end of a lucrative ad deal looms.

The group, which was bought by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation for $580m in 2005, has marketed itself as a social portal rather than a social-networking tool, as users upload content including music and videos. "Users are more tolerant of advertising in this context, and it should be easier to monetise," Mr Cryan said. He added that MySpace's tactics has been to set up local offices, to focus on local advertising sales, which has proved successful. Yet its advertising revenues will fall 15 per cent to $495m, eMarketer said, and advertisers will be paying close attention to the slide in user numbers, which could well intensify. Unique users were down 18 per cent in the UK last month to 6.9 million from 8.4 million the previous year. It has also declined by a million in the US to 63.2 million.

MySpace is understood to be in profit and generated over $800m in revenues last year, but this could change, especially as the company's costs have been estimated to run at $500m a year. One expert said the site's returns were propped up by a three-year advertising deal with Google worth $900m, which comes to an end in 2010. "It is profitable today but could struggle to maintain its profits as Google has said it doesn't intend to renew the contract," Mr Daum of Gartner said.

He added that MySpace could look at charging for certain content such as downloading songs or videos through the site, or even allowing other retailers to set up sales links to sell goods.

Friends Reunited (www.friendsreunited.co.uk): Down

Friends Reunited has gone from trail-blazing social-networking site to an also-ran in only 10 years. ComScore found that the group lost almost a quarter of its unique users in the past year, falling to a total of 1.8 million in April.

The future is uncertain for the flagging brand, as parent company ITV looks to sell it just over three years after it paid £175m for the site. While the auction has attracted some interest from buyers, the broadcaster is unlikely to recoup much more than £40m.

Friends was started by husband-and-wife team Steve and Julie Pankhurst in 1999. The site used a subscription model and flourished before free-to-use rivals started cannibalising the business. The group admitted defeat cutting the subscription last year, but the site has never fully recovered.

Hi5 (http://hi5.com): Up

Hi5 may be relatively unknown in the UK but it is still more popular than recognisable sites such as LinkedIn; although it has found user numbers declining a fifth in the past year.

The San Francisco-based group fared better in its home market, rising a third to 3.5 million users, but its real strength comes in its appeal to its Latin American audience.

Hi5 was founded in 2003, following a seed capital investment of $250m, and was profitable in its first year. It then raised $20m from Mohr Davidow Ventures in July 2007 to boost its size. It was the first site to tailor content according to the country of its users – 80 per cent of its audience is outside the US – with translations into over 40 languages and dialects. It has been especially successful in Spanish-speaking markets. The group's revenue stream comes from partnerships in local jurisdictions and targeted advertising.

Twitter (http://twitter.com): Up

Twitter has made the most noise in the social-networking industry this year. In April 2008 it had 62,000 unique users in the UK, which has soared almost 40-fold to 2.4 million this April. Tweeting has also taken off in the US, rising from 479,000 unique users to 15.7 million, as people express themselves in no more than 140 characters.

The problem for the business is the lack of a revenue stream at the moment; and the founders have been reticent to sketch out the details of their business plans. The firm's co-chief executives, Biz Stone and Evan Williams, have admitted that it is not the best tool for advertising revenues, and so far have decided not to plaster the site with banner adverts. "I think it's probably the least interesting thing we could do," Mr Williams said yesterday. They think that targeting businesses is the way to generate profits. The company is planning to launch tools aimed at corporate clients later this year but details remain at a premium. "Twitter has been enjoying its place in the sun, although the long-term profitability is less clear," Screen Digest's Dan Cryan said. The group is still in its infancy. It has 46 employees, and said it is just getting going. It has repeatedly said it is not for sale, after turning down an offer from Facebook last year. The $35m funding it secured this year has also given it breathing room.

Adam Daum at Gartner noted other potential business models. "The sites could offer themselves to businesses as a research tool, relaying what users were saying about their products, and general insights, although that could raise privacy issues." He said that Twitter could also license its technology to businesses, should they want to develop their own internal social "intranet".

The group has another problem beyond its lack of revenues, in that many of its new users give up on the site within a month. Nielsen Online found that 60 per cent of new users were not using the site the following month.

Linkedin (www.linkedin.com): Up

Linkedin is smaller than many of its rivals here, but it boasts one benefit the others can't: a captive audience of business professionals. The group has private equity backing after a consortium including Bain Capital took a 5 per cent stake which valued the group at $1bn.

ComScore's latest figures show that the unique users have more than doubled in the past year to 880,000 in the UK. It has a model of charging for premium parts of the site. Users can sign up for free, but for certain professionals, such as head-hunters who use the service, a fee is charged.

The group, which is also based in California, said it has 41 million members worldwide, and its members include executives from every single Fortune 500 company.

Adam Daum at Gartner said the model worked because the group must benefit from better advertising revenues than its rivals. "The advertising rates should be dramatically higher than a generic network, because of the professionals who will see the adverts on the site," he said.

LinkedIn has prospered during the credit crunch in terms of users, partly because those who have lost their jobs see it as a good way to get their CVs in front of potential employers. It is run by Reid Hoffman, an entrepreneur who has invested in Facebook and Digg in the past.

Bebo (www.bebo.com): Down

Bebo has shrunk more than any of its major rivals in the UK over the past year. The network's users have fallen from 12 million in April 2008 to 9.1 million last month. This is bad news for a site that has done well this side of the Atlantic, but struggled against the bigger players in the US. It has more than doubled its American users in a year, but at 9 million, lags in fifth.

This is despite the prominence of parent company AOL in the US, which bought the group for $850m last year. Bebo has styled itself as a social portal similar to MySpace. The problem, some industry experts warned, has been knocking the incumbent off its perch.

Bebo was targeted at a specific demographic, mainly 13- to 19-year-olds, "which doesn't appeal to all advertisers," Mr Daum said. However, Bebo is hoping to broaden its appeal. AOL has not released recent profit numbers for the group, but rumours have dogged the division of underperformance.

As with many of its rivals, Bebo is not expecting revenues to grow in the downturn and is banking on building up its audience.

If you'd like to be kept up to date with the latest Shell LiveWIRE news, events, competitions and developments to the site via Twitter you can do so by following me at: http://twitter.com/lordlancaster

Cheers
Paul Lancaster
Web Development Executive
www.shell-livewire.org

Blog: http://www.shell-livewire.org/network/Lord%20Lancaster/blog
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/lordlancaster
Twitter: http://twitter.com/lordlancaster

I saw this in GQ Magazine this month and found it amusing. See how many you can crowbar into your next business / client / team meeting...

Arrow shooters: visionaries - formerly known as blue-sky thinkers – who can be relied upon for their far-sighted views of a company’s new direction.

Blackberry jam: the annoying habit of BlackBerry users who try to read emails while notionally on the move, will result in one of these. See also the number of mentally challenged mobile users who can’t combine talking with walking at a normal pace.

Brown bag: An Americanism at present, but heading this way, it means to put back a topic so it can be discussed over lunch. “Let’s brown bag this for now and see if we can’t wrap up this meeting by 11 o’ clock”.

bwpwap: Back When Pluto Was A Planet. Text shorthand for an event from the near-past which feels like ancient history. Indicative of the pace of change in the modern world.

Club, The 99 Per Cent: The 99 Per Cent Club has been formed for companies like Northern Rock that have lost over 99 per cent of their value. Meanwhile, the world’s wiliest investor, Warren Buffett, has been cautioning against family-run firms where control is passed down to “the lucky sperm club”.

Crowdsourcing: Developing James Surowiecki’s idea from The Wisdom of Crowds (www.randomhouse.com/features/wisdomofcrowds), that canvassing opinions of a huge number of people proves more effective than individual expertise, the writer Jeff Howe (http://crowdsourcing.typepad.com/) has focused on the one billion web users who can turn this into reality.

Dial-in: Snob tolerance of jargon evaporates with this infinitely annoying euphemism for “include”.

Eyeballs: Online marketing speak to measure the number of visitors to a website.

Faux-Five: The childish, but enjoyable practice of going for a high five, pulling your hand away at the last minute and leaving your would-be greeter grasping thin air.

Flat is the new “up”: The new boardroom mantra argues that in a bear market a flat fund is king and if all your rivals’ profits are nosediving, then simply keeping yours the same represents a victory. Give it a workout at your next salary negotiation.

Jack Bauer Power Hour, The: Or 24, if you prefer. Still an efficient way to banish Sunday night back-to-work blues.

Lewis, Martin: The patron saint of the penny-pincher, Lewis is emerging as the money-saving brand for leaner times. With a healthy media presence on ITV, Five and BBC Radio 2, his reach is enormous, and victories over bank charges and mis-sold endowments owe much to his mobilising power. Has brought the phrase “ditch and switch” (changing banks, credit cards, etc) into the mainstream. See www.moneysavingexpert.com

Long-pole item: formerly known as a lynchpin. Something crucial to the successful outcome of a project. Like putting up a tent, originally.

Lunch not for wimps: Nor is it free if you want to break bread with the legendary invester Warren Buffett. A Chinese fund manager paid £1m at a charity auction for the privilege of a sit-down with the “Sage of Omaha”. Hope service was included.

Optimism, the definition of: A banker ironing five shirts on a Sunday. One can overdo the gallows humour but no Snob is immune to the suffering of his fellow man. OK, last one – the difference between an investment banker and a pigeon? A pigeon can still put a deposit on a Maserati.

Putting lipstick on a pig: Popularised by last year’s American election, embellishing the porcine pout is shorthand for that which is futile. A doomed attempt to dress up an unpalatable situation in a different way.

Row back: One used to be able to “step back, but no more. Perhaps a result of the coxless fours’ success, no Snob steps back when they can “row back” from a hasty decision (invariably taken by one’s rival).

SPAM: Not the virtual variety, but the real pink stuff which has been making a comeback in these cost-conscious times. Spam up indeed (www.spam-uk.com)!

Spokesweasel: A transparently deceptive PR charged with delivering bad news; an all-round king of spin.

“Swaggering down 87 per cent”: A typically dry headline in response to events on Wall Street from www.theonion.com, very much in a golden age under the editorship of Scott Dikkers.

UMC: Unforeseeable market conditions: the get-out-of-jail card for any Snob seeking to minimise his or her underwhelming performance at work.

Zen mail: emails that arrive with no text in the body