Any of you familiar with the Apple i-tunes program will know what a great source of music and video it is, but recently they have added what they have called the 'Genius Sidebar' - and let me tell you it does exactly what it says on the tin!
The Genius Sidebar appears down the right hand side of your i-tunes window and constantly offers suggestions of other tunes or video you would like based upon your i-tunes music library on your PC...it is unbelievably accurate and without doubt is the cause for me personally spending more on their website in one hit than i ever have before! It is amazing, you buy one, then it recommends you another 'classic' tune you'd forgotten that have your hands waiving in the air (or if you're more restrained perhaps your feet tapping)...it is without doubt one of the best examples of cross-sell marketing i have ever seen.
This gentle, soft-sell nudge, totally focused with a free trial (the usual 30-second clip) is enough to almost guide your mouse to the "buy" button....why don't more websites think and develop rich, accurate client content in such an easy to buy way....i didnt even have to scroll down it was right there at the side of where i was!
Yet again, Apple not only raises the bar for thinking and execution of an idea, but it has achieved that which is so hard online - it has put back the fun of buying into the online experience - the effect (for me at least) is as good if not better than walking through a music shop and flicking through the shelves. One last thing to do then Apple....just reduce the cost of the songs please!!! At £0.79 it doesn't sound like much but your new tool means I can't help myself!!!!!!
Monday, 27 April 2009
Saturday, 25 April 2009
Tasmania's wombat poo paper - the ultimate in recycled paper?!
Well we all knew about Elephant droppings making great art papers...but here's another source of supply....The BBC reported this week that wombat droppings are helping an industrial city in Australia fight the effects of the global financial crisis.
Burnie, in the north-west of the state of Tasmania, has been hit by repeated rounds of job cuts.
But despite the gloom, one local industry is thriving by producing handmade paper out of a material no-one else wants - wombat poo.
The novelty paper is a hit with tourists keen to buy a distinctly Australian souvenir from the area.
The wombat, a furry marsupial, lives in the wild only in Australia. Its characteristic waddle and playful appearance, makes it one of the country's most endearing native creatures.
'Nice organic smell'
In recent years, a company in the port city has been experimenting with paper made from kangaroo droppings - but its popularity has been eclipsed by wombat-inspired products.
Creative Paper manager Darren Simpson says the manufacturing process can be rather unpleasant.
"When we are boiling it, it does smell horrific as you can imagine, but once it has been sterilised and rinsed properly there's no scent left to it. If anything it just gives you a nice organic smell," he said. He added that it was the tourists themselves who came up with the wombat idea. "As people were coming through and we were showing them the samples of our paper, they would throw questions at you like 'can you make it from sheep poo or can you make it from koalas?'. And the one that kept popping up more than any other was the wombat."
All the paper is made from the dung of a single animal called Nugget that lives in a wildlife park near Cradle Mountain, one of Tasmania's most popular tourist destinations.
Every day Nugget's droppings are collected by his keeper and sent off to the factory.
Wombats are herbivores and diets loaded with plant fibre make their faeces ideal for making some of Australia's most unusual paper....recycled paper? This gives it whole new meaning!
Burnie, in the north-west of the state of Tasmania, has been hit by repeated rounds of job cuts.
But despite the gloom, one local industry is thriving by producing handmade paper out of a material no-one else wants - wombat poo.
The novelty paper is a hit with tourists keen to buy a distinctly Australian souvenir from the area.
The wombat, a furry marsupial, lives in the wild only in Australia. Its characteristic waddle and playful appearance, makes it one of the country's most endearing native creatures.
'Nice organic smell'
In recent years, a company in the port city has been experimenting with paper made from kangaroo droppings - but its popularity has been eclipsed by wombat-inspired products.
Creative Paper manager Darren Simpson says the manufacturing process can be rather unpleasant.
"When we are boiling it, it does smell horrific as you can imagine, but once it has been sterilised and rinsed properly there's no scent left to it. If anything it just gives you a nice organic smell," he said. He added that it was the tourists themselves who came up with the wombat idea. "As people were coming through and we were showing them the samples of our paper, they would throw questions at you like 'can you make it from sheep poo or can you make it from koalas?'. And the one that kept popping up more than any other was the wombat."
All the paper is made from the dung of a single animal called Nugget that lives in a wildlife park near Cradle Mountain, one of Tasmania's most popular tourist destinations.
Every day Nugget's droppings are collected by his keeper and sent off to the factory.
Wombats are herbivores and diets loaded with plant fibre make their faeces ideal for making some of Australia's most unusual paper....recycled paper? This gives it whole new meaning!
Make your Mark - with a Tenner
This year’s Make Your Mark with a Tenner, the national challenge to see what thousands of young people can achieve with just ten pounds in one month, has come to an end. The results are, we think, a breath of fresh air amidst the doom and gloom of the financial crisis;
· The largest profit was £736 and the average profit was £42, compared with a return of just 2p from a savings account!
· Make Your Mark with a Tenner competition winners have been congratulated personally by entrepreneur and ‘Dragon’ Peter Jones, one of the funders of the scheme.
If this is the first time you’ve heard of ‘TENNER‘, here’s what it’s all about;
Thousands of young people from across the UK (20,000 registered and 16,000 took part) were challenged to make a profit AND a difference with their £10 by working alone or in groups. The results far outstrip the return they’d have got from the bank or by dabbling on the stock market. Given just one month to make as much money and social impact as they could, the idea was funded by NESTA, Peter Jones and by Michael and Xochi Birch (who founded and sold Bebo).
Here at UOE we salute the team behind Make Your Mark (and a special well done to our friend Oli Barrett). This project gives us all hope that the future leaders of industry, banking and (perhaps) politics will actually understand the importance of entrepreneurial spirit and determination to succeed and make the world a better place for everyone!
The best individual return on a single tenner was a staggering £736. Henry Pearce from St Thomas’s Church in Kent donned a 1920s bathing suit in a ‘historic costume show’ and used his entrepreneurial savvy to get people to pay for this novel experience. After returning his £10 loan, he has decided his profits will go to a Kenyan school, Molo 220, and the competition also helped the Church form strong links with a local special school.
The best group return was £493 (on £20) by two students from Cullompton Community College, Devon. They compiled a recipe book with recipes collected from local business people, then sold the books for £1 each or £1.50 for a signed copy.
Other enterprising and hugely profitable ideas included a Bollywood Dance performance, a silent disco and a healthy tuck shop. Community cohesion was a major theme amongst the entries. A team from St Kentigerns Academy in Scotland created a concert to get young people in their area off the streets, while an outstanding individual effort from Ashley Maugan – a young Irish traveller living on a caravan site near Hackney – saw her spend her £10 on bulk buying products to set up a shop for children in her community, who were previously relying on their parents for lifts to the local supermarket.
Across the top 100 entries, the average profit was an impressive £42 on £10 in just one month. That beats the stock market over the same period hands down!
Here's to Make your Mark 2010!
· The largest profit was £736 and the average profit was £42, compared with a return of just 2p from a savings account!
· Make Your Mark with a Tenner competition winners have been congratulated personally by entrepreneur and ‘Dragon’ Peter Jones, one of the funders of the scheme.
If this is the first time you’ve heard of ‘TENNER‘, here’s what it’s all about;
Thousands of young people from across the UK (20,000 registered and 16,000 took part) were challenged to make a profit AND a difference with their £10 by working alone or in groups. The results far outstrip the return they’d have got from the bank or by dabbling on the stock market. Given just one month to make as much money and social impact as they could, the idea was funded by NESTA, Peter Jones and by Michael and Xochi Birch (who founded and sold Bebo).
Here at UOE we salute the team behind Make Your Mark (and a special well done to our friend Oli Barrett). This project gives us all hope that the future leaders of industry, banking and (perhaps) politics will actually understand the importance of entrepreneurial spirit and determination to succeed and make the world a better place for everyone!
The best individual return on a single tenner was a staggering £736. Henry Pearce from St Thomas’s Church in Kent donned a 1920s bathing suit in a ‘historic costume show’ and used his entrepreneurial savvy to get people to pay for this novel experience. After returning his £10 loan, he has decided his profits will go to a Kenyan school, Molo 220, and the competition also helped the Church form strong links with a local special school.
The best group return was £493 (on £20) by two students from Cullompton Community College, Devon. They compiled a recipe book with recipes collected from local business people, then sold the books for £1 each or £1.50 for a signed copy.
Other enterprising and hugely profitable ideas included a Bollywood Dance performance, a silent disco and a healthy tuck shop. Community cohesion was a major theme amongst the entries. A team from St Kentigerns Academy in Scotland created a concert to get young people in their area off the streets, while an outstanding individual effort from Ashley Maugan – a young Irish traveller living on a caravan site near Hackney – saw her spend her £10 on bulk buying products to set up a shop for children in her community, who were previously relying on their parents for lifts to the local supermarket.
Across the top 100 entries, the average profit was an impressive £42 on £10 in just one month. That beats the stock market over the same period hands down!
Here's to Make your Mark 2010!
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