Great value communication

Jonathan Bowers, May 15th 2006, 2:52PM

Last week, at Internet World, I was a little surprised at just how much attention my podcasting generated. While many of the crowd were very web savvy, a lot of them still did not quite understand why an Internet company would deal in audio production.

The most common question was - "Where's the money in it?" After I explained the value of reaching out in a more personal way a lot of them would agree that the return on investment, while not directly about revenue could actually be of very great value to them.

It strikes me that business on the Internet has thrown a great many into a face value environment, in which they feel they do not need to reveal their genuine personality. Some have thrived by creating a compelling facade, with great products and website functionality. I have a feeling that this is going to change now though.

An astonishing amount of people took a great interest in blogging and podcasting and also appreciated the theories behind their use - namely that they allow users to get to know a business better and build a stronger sense of trust.

With trade on the Net becoming so competitive, a vast number of consumers are likely to start choosing their favourites based on their relationship with them and sites that continue without true substance will definitely suffer.

This is what my experience suggests. I'd be really interested to know other people's thoughts.

Tags: communication, internetworld, podcasting, websites
# Comment (1 comments)

Internet World filling up

Jonathan Bowers, April 26th 2006, 9:58AM

It's fantastic news that the Internet World exhibition is filling up at a record rate. But it also means that if you haven't booked your place you really need to do it now. You can go direct to the Internet World site, or fill in a more basic form on the UKFast site that we will process for you in our capacity as a platinum sponsor.

There are going to be some incredible stands and key note speakers there. UKFast will be making our presence known, not only in the arena, but on the stage as well. We have elected to talk about the opportunities presented to businesses by the Internet's many new forms of communication. And of course, we are concentrating particularly on blogging and podcasting.

On that note, keep an eye out on ukfastblog over the next few weeks for our new Community section, which we are opening with an ambitious project entitled 'Word From the Street.'

The new blog and podcast aims to harness the incredible energy of 5 time Olympic Gold medallist, turned social broker Geoff Thompson. Geoff's campaign to inspire our country's youth to excel at sport by receiving the social infrastructure they need, began in the suburbs of Manchester and has taken him all over the world. He is currently working towards the 2012 Olympics and is a man worth listening to.

We're very excited about bringing him to a wider audience. He's the kind of person podcasting was made for. Look out for him on our blogging community within the week.

Tags: communities, internetworld
# Comment (0 comments)