The blog was created in November 2012; this is due to Digital Fusion having a technical difficulty on our first word press blog. After an analysis it is apparent that the peak of our views was in April 2013, this is due our team increasing the number of blog posts to the site. The top blog post was the Furby Craze entry, this alone got 289 of the total page views, this was due to post being posted around the Christmas period, and the Furby being the seasons 'must have' selling out in every shop throughout the UK. The site did not have many views in January, this could reflect the time restraints Digital Fusion was under at time resulting in little fresh content.
Online Audience
Discussion
As shown above our Google Analytics shown us that 79% of our audience was a new visitor to our site. This demonstrates that we were able to raise our brand awareness by attracting new visitors. Next time around we would also monitor the returning visitor segment, to enable customer retention.
Referral Traffic
Discussion
Half of our referral traffic was directed from Google. This could reflect that we when we posted any new blog content we also shared it with the Google + community. We did this due to Top sites using the Google+ badge have grown their audience an average of 38 percent (Google.com). Also tagging our posts enabled our blog to move up the Google rankings for the key words. We also shared our posts on Twitter and Facebook, however it is evident that we were not so consistent in Facebook, which indicates the low referrals. We did not get no referrals from our Pinterest page this could represent that we had low brand awareness on this site and we a little inconsistent.
Page views shown by country
Discussion
The majority of the visitors received were from the UK, which satisfied our objective to attract customers from this county. It is evident that our site also attracted other countries which was expected due to the reach of Google +.
DMCM1213 – Ranked on first page 4th
DSMMCM12 – Ranked 13th
Digital Fusion Agency – Ranked 2nd
Personalised Swimming Bags in the North West – Ranked 1st
SEOMOX.com SHOWN US THIS
Personalised Swimming Bags – Ranked 50+
Digital and Social Media Marketing Communications management 2012 – Ranked 50+
Swimming – Ranked 50+
Discussion
We feel that competing for digital fusion and Personalised Swimming Bags in the North West was successful for our agency. However, It is apparent that we were not highly successful in competing for all of the search terms and phrases. This could represent swimming and personalised swimming bags were too competitive for our agency to compete against, as we did not invest any money in SEO. We feel if we purchased a domain name and had more SEO knowledge then this might have also improved our Google ranking.
The below promotional initiative appear in success order
What did work?
What did not work well?
What we would do next time?
References
Meerman, D (2007). New Rules Marketing PR. Canada: John Wiley & Son. p45-204.
Google. (2013). Get closer to your customers . Available: http://www.google.com/+/business/get-connected.html. Last accessed 12.04.2012.
SEO MOZ. (2012). SEO MOZ. Available: https://www.seomoz.org/users/login?redirect=rank-tracker. Last accessed 12.04.2012.
Volpe, M (2009). Marketing. Wheat Mark: Bernie Borges. P131-139. Charlton, G . (2012). E Consultancy's top 25 blog posts of 2012. Available: http://econsultancy.com/uk. Last accessed 15/04/2012
Give yourself 10 to 20 minutes before caving in to a chocolate craving. If, after that time has elapsed, you are still having the craving then have a small piece of chocolate or try one of the alternatives listed below. Usually, however, if you allow yourself this period before giving into a a craving, you will find that after the waiting period your chocolate craving has diminished significantly or even disappeared.
2. Dark Chocolate
Dark chocolate, in moderation, is actually good for you. It is full of antioxidants, which help protect the body from aging, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and heart disease. Try to avoid dark chocolate that contains nuts, caramel, or other fillings, however.
3. Fruit
When you are craving something sweet, fruit is a good alternative to other sweet treats that are full of fat and calories. In addition, fruit is good for your body. Some good choices are oranges, grapes, grapefruit, watermelon, cantalope, honeydew melon, strawberries, blueberries, and bananas. Fruit juices are also a sweet alternative to chocolate.
4. Carob
Carob, while naturally sweeter than chocolate, is much better for you than chocolate. It does not have the caffeine, cholesterol, oxalic acid, and theobromine that chocolate contains. Carob is low in fat and sodium and high in fiber and calcium. Carob is smooth and rich, but for some, it is an acquired taste. Many prefer chocolate to carob initially but, with time grow to enjoy the flavor and benefits that carob provides.
5. Water
Okay, water is definitely not as tasty as chocolate and probably will not satisfy your sweet tooth. However, if you drink plenty of water throughout the day, it is more likely that you will not feel as hungry and will have fewer cravings overall.
6. Cocoa Powder
Try adding a little bit of cocoa powder to different drinks and snacks. It is a good addition to yogurt, cottage cheese, smoothies, shakes, tea and skim milk.
7. Have a Little
Moderation is key. Allowing yourself to have a little chocolate every now and then is really not going to cause a lot of damage. In the larger scheme of things, having a small piece of chocolate once or twice a week is not going to break a diet or cause weight gain. However, do not allow yourself to cave and eat an entire chocolate bar or big piece of cake. You have to be able to have some control if you do choose to include chocolate in your diet. Also, eat the piece slowly, enjoying each bite. This will stop you from not feeling satisfied when done.
Green tea is reported to have numerous health benefits, and as the world becomes increasingly health conscious people are turning to alternative solutions.
In 1994 a study was conducted to find out the health benefits of green tea, the study conducted stated that green tea reduced the chances of gaining cancer, green tea contains EGCG is a powerful anti-oxidant: besides inhibiting the growth of cancer cells, it kills cancer cells without harming healthy tissue.
The study also indicates that it dramatically reduced the levels of cholesterol, and reduced the forming of blood clots, which in term reduces the risk of blood clots and thrombosis, which is the leading cause of heart attacks and strokes.
Green tea is also great for dieters and smokers, speeding up the metabolic rate, and reducing the effects of fatty diets. The tea also limits the effects of smoking and can even help prevent tooth decay!
Every years thousands of university students
graduate… but does the party need to be over?
Travelling the world isn’t just a form of escape;
it enhances life experiences, educates a person, and empowers an individual. It allows any individuals to be exposed to
diverse cultures, meet new people and become open to new challenges.
As a student studying business studies, I
have a great understanding that culture is becoming extremely important within
a work envouriment, vast amounts of companies are expanding internationally,
and need a team of well experienced and diverse people to take on these new
challenges, indicating that travelling will be a great attribute to bring to
any company.
So as the adventure of university discontinues,
why not seek a new adventure?
A reader gives his views on the impact of smartphones and tablets on gaming, and suggests that a digital-only future is not necessarily a bad one.
Is the extinction of physical media really a bad thing?
Andy_b720 made some interesting points in his feature a few weeks ago. I do however think he has underestimated companies like Microsoft and Sony, who are probably well prepared for the dramatic changes in the industry which are happening right now.
Reading through the Underbox of andy_b720′s feature made it clear that a lot of people only want to play games if they can have a physical device sitting under their TV which plays physical media games. Maybe a lot of these people took his suggestion towards tablet or phone gaming to mean actually solely playing a game on the touchscreen of one of these devices. I didn’t.
Within the next several years it will be probably be possible to have a phone size device as powerful as the next generation of consoles sitting in your pocket streaming games to your TV. You will be able to control these games with a standard controller that will be wirelessly linked to your phone and whilst in play the experience will be no different to playing a game on a home console from a Blu-ray or DVD. What’s more is that these games will still be Xbox and PlayStation games.
This isn’t some random hypothesis, simply the logical progression of technology based on exactly what has happened since the first computer was birthed.
Computer technology has always and will always get faster, smaller and more streamlined. It will continue to converge, it will become more accessible and change to suit the needs and lifestyles of the people who use it.
Physical media will eventually disappear because it is simply more convenient to not have to physically buy, store and use a disc or cartridge.
I currently use Blu-rays to watch my movies. This is because I’m obsessed with picture and sound quality. I could (pay to) download or stream a film to my laptop and connect it to my TV but I don’t because my laptop’s video card won’t process 1080p video at quite the same quality as my Blu-ray player. Most people I know though think I’m mad and quite happily watch new releases streamed or downloaded in frankly awful quality and it doesn’t seem to bother them one iota.
So try telling one of these people that one day they might have to download or stream the next Call Of Duty or FIFA and not have a physical copy to keep or sell on. Their reply will probably be, ‘So what?’
People will even argue that the decline of physical media is an attempt to stamp out second-hand sales. It’s not, the death of second-hand sales will be more of an unintentional by-product of the move away from physical media. I’m not saying it won’t have positive repercussions for publishers and negative ones for consumers, just that these are not the reason a downloadable future is happening. It is simply because technology is, almost of its own accord, moving to fit the needs of the consumers who make up the greatest percentage of its revenue.
Now this is not me saying I’m happy to lose the ability to sell my games on. I wasn’t happy to have to pay for a DVD player and buy movies I already owned when DVDs came out. I’m sure thousands of people who worked in the VCR production industry lost their jobs. But it wasn’t an evil plot by sinister corporations that did this, just side effects of the inevitable transition from one technology to another.
For the last few years people have tried to compare the sale of games to cars. That people would be outraged if they couldn’t sell a car on. Last time I checked cars cost thousands of pounds and are made to last years. Games cost between £20 and £40 new and most go down to around £10 after a year or so. If cars could be downloaded and only cost a fraction of what they do I’m sure people would be happy enough to buy new each time.
But that day will never come, there will never be the equivalent of a download in the car industry so it’s a ridiculous comparison to make. People are not being robbed of the right to sell their game on rather simply losing the ability to sell it on as a new form of media takes over.
The way I see things going is that Sony and Microsoft’s next generation platform won’t be limited to the physical consoles they announce/have announced this year. Microsoft are already playing with SmartGlass technology and I’m betting with the NextBox any screen-based device will be able to be used as an alternative to your TV, Wii U style, for when the TV is in use. Sony still haven’t even showed a physical console and maybe that’s because this generation won’t always require one.
With the current Xbox you can already access your Live account from your phone. I’m assuming the next one will allow you to go even further. Whilst it might not be available from the get go I’d like to think that all you’ll need to play games in the future would be a wireless controller, access to a tablet device or Internet-enabled TV and an account with Sony or Microsoft’s online service. We could still have the physical console under our TV at home but as the generation moves on and the online service becomes more reliable this will become less and less of a necessity.
People will bemoan the reliability of such structures based on the relative unreliability of today’s Internet speeds. I’ve said it before that within the next decade Internet will be just as reliable as your electricity source and so fast they’ll stop even talking about speeds anymore. Already people I know have 4G capable mobiles which stream Internet to their whole house many times faster than my own home broadband.
So rather than the death of home consoles that andy_b720 predicts I think it will be more of a case of the home console becoming invisible. Sony and Microsoft will no longer need to make expensive machines and ship them around the world. They’ll keep that technology in their own HQs and just sell us controllers and online subscriptions. The industry won’t crash because enough people want to play games, big blockbuster games but it will shed its reliability on home-owned technology. This if anything might even make the industry more sustainable from a financial point of view.
There are many things I’ll miss if we eventually move away from the physicality of game and console ownership. I’ll tell my children of the joy of game stores, the smell of instruction books, the endless hours trying to get the cellophane of a new game. I’ll tell them how wonderful it was to unbox a new console, to set it up and sense its power under the TV. I’ll lament about how my shelves used to be filled with rows of games making it easier to show of my manly geekiness to any guests.
There are a lot of things that will make me miss the way things were. But I don’t think I’ll miss them as much as I enjoy playing games themselves. Because that’s what matters to me, playing games. If I’m enjoying the experience I’m far too busy to be thinking about how I bought the game, what technology is powering it or whether I’ll be able to sell it on afterwards. If the game is good, the graphics are great and the controller works well then nothing else really matters to me.
iPhone 6 release date, rumours and leaked images article, here we plan to do everything that the title suggests. We are going to bring you everything we know about the new iPhone 6 release date so you can know exactly when the new iPhone 6 is coming out. Updated 28 March 2013
Also we are going to bring you a few of the juiciest spec rumours that are flying round the web's most trusted iPhone websites too. Finally, we've got some iPhone images that we'd like to show you. So sit back and relax: we've got the new iPhone 6 covered.
As this is Apple, the iPhone 6 is not officially announced yet. But Apple is not as secure as it'd like to be, and there are many juicy iPhone 6 rumours floating around, and some of the iPhone leaks in the past have turned out to be fairly accurate.
Having said that, a lot of iPhone 6 rumours turn out to be Chinese whispers or plain attempts to test people's gullibility.
New iPhone 6 release date
There are two main theories regarding the iPhone 6 launch date. One is that it'll come six months after the iPhone 5, the second is that it'll come 12 months after the iPhone 5.
The first iPhone 6 release date rumour is that Apple has now moved to a six-month cycle for it's iOS products, and the iPhone 6 release date will be March 2013, alongside an iPad 5. Ed Valdez at Technoarti suggests that Apple is moving to a six month cycle.
Valdez gives six reasons, but they're pretty lame. Such as "Apple needs a wow factor", "Apple needs to lead against Samsung" and "The bulk of iPhone sales take place int he first three to four months after its release". Bear in mind that Apple launched the iPhone 5 in Korea and 50 other countries in December 2012. So it doesn't just launch in the US and then that's it, the iPhone rollout moves across the globe.
KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has correctly predicted Apple product launches in the past, thinks that Apple's iPhone 6 will be unveiled in June, alongside a low-cost plastic and fibreglass iPhone.
The second theory is that Apple will stick to its late-season launch and the iPhone 6 release date will be October 2013. This is what we'd currently bet on, although the amount of iPhone 6 rumours and iPhone 6 image leaks in the run-up to June may change the situation.
The six-month cycle for iOS products makes sense because it means Apple can always be using the latest chipsets and technology. But it's based on the rapid deployment on the iPad 4, just six months after the iPad 3: it's a bit of an assumption that Apple is planning to do this to every product from now on. Research shows that most people buy a new iPhone ever two years, so releasing a new model every six months doesn't mean Apple will sell more, or even make more iPhones, just design more. Apple is rumoured to be selling up to 53 million iPhones in the December quarter alone.
In March, Jefferies analyst Peter Misek said that the new iPhone has been delayed from its June or July launch to a September launch due to supplier issues with new colour cases (see iPhone 6 to have eight colour options rumour below).
Apple is already making the iPhone 6
Apple's iPhone 6 and iOS 7 have been spotted in app usage logs by developers, suggesting that the release date will be earlier in 2013 rather than later. The iPhone 5 is identified in appusage logs as 'iPhone 5,1' and 'iPhone 5,2' depending on which 4G LTE it uses, so the new 'iPhone 6,1' identifier is believed to be Apple's next generation model.
In February, both an iPhone 5S and iPhone 6 were reportedly spotted at Apple's suppliers by a source who claims that both smartphones will launch this year.
There are a lot of iPhone 6 rumours around, but because it is so close from the launch of the iPhone 5 it is hard to distinguish what is a specific iPhone 6 rumour, from general Apple iPhone rumours. Some rumours that were attached to the iPhone 5 are now being incorporated into the iPhone 6. SEE: iPhone 6 rumour rollup for 2013's first week
iPhone 6 to have eight colour options and three screen sizes
Apple's iPhone 6 could be available in three different sizes, with up to eight different colour options, an analyst has predicted.
Topeka Capital analyst Brian White said that Apple wants to introduce new colours and sizes in order to give its customers more choice with the same high quality, in order to further expand its market share in the smartphone world.
A previous report from Jefferies analyst Peter Misek also suggested that Apple would be introducing the iPhone 6 in six to eight colours, with what he calls a 'Retina+ display, NFC, and 128GB of storage.
An Apple job listing spotted in March has also added evidence to the theory that Apple will launch the iPhone 6 in multiple colours. Apple is searching for an Anodizing Engineer to join the Manufacturing Design team to help create the next-generation Apple products.
The iPhone 6 will have a Smart Home Button that is oblong-shaped and touch-capacitive
This one's been around since forever (well, early 2011 at least). One iPhone 6 rumour suggests that Jony Ive (or Sir Jonathan Ive as he's now formally known) is ready to introduce a wider oblong home button that will be touch-capacitive. The iPhone 6 Home Button will not just push to return to the Home Screen, but you'll be able to swipe your finger left and right over it (we presume to move left and right between Apps, like the four-finger Multi-Touch gesture that you find on the iPad).
This iPhone 6 rumour has some basis in fact, and we believe Apple has at least been experimenting with this idea (we have been reporting on it for a while).
The iPhone 6 will launch alongside an 'iPhone Math' with 4.8in display
While we're rather dubious about the name, it is possible that Apple is thinking about launching an iPhone with a bigger display in order to compete with rival 'phablet' devices such as Samsung's Galaxy Note.
The iPhone 6 will have a built-in fingerprint sensor
Trusted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo from KGI Securities has predicted that Apple's next iPhone will have largely the same chassis as the iPhone 5, with the only difference to the body of the device expected to be a fingerprint sensor that is built-in to the home button.
The rumoured iPhone 6 fingerprint sensor could spell trouble for competitors though, says Kuo, who believes that rivals will have more difficulty than Apple when it comes to introducing a fingerprint sensor to their Android and Windows Phone devices, because many have more than one button below the display. This means fingerprint scanners in iPhone rivals would be less intutitive for the user, and could cause frustration, Kuo added.
In March, it was reported that Taiwanese chip maker Chipbond could be providing Apple with components for its next-generation iPhone, including parts that would be used to introduce a fingerprint sensor and near field communications (NFC) features to the upcoming iPhone.
The iPhone 6 will be an iPhone 5S
One iPhone 6 rumour is that it will be an iPhone 5S and actually be a pretty small update. Visually it will be identical to the iPhone 5, with its larger 4in display, Lightning port and thinner case.
Since the iPhone 3G, Apple has consistently launched a model one year, then the same model but upgraded next year with the 'S' for 'Speed' moniker. So it seems a good bet that the iPhone 6 will be an iPhone 5S with the same case.
Some analysts, like Paul Brown at Strategy Analytics seems to think so: "On the back of a lack of recent innovation from Apple and negative press, we are starting see growth in the number of previously highly-loyal customers who are considering whether or not they will purchase a new iPhone for their next device."
This does seem to overlook the fact that Apple will almost certainly introduce new iOS 6 features in the iPhone 6 along with faster internal components, even if it does have the same external case.
Will the iPhone 6 use sonar for face detection and 3D modelling?
Analysis of recent Apple patent activity has got our minds whirring. It seems Apple plans to build audio detection into the screens of some of its future devices, which may include the iPhone 6, and has also patented a system for using sonar for proximity detection.
An Apple patent has hinted at an advanced camera that uses depth perception technology to capture better photographs could be on its way with the next iPhone too.
Apple has taken out several patents on a Smart Bezel (the plastic front surrounding the screen). In other words the Bezel will be able to display information as well as the screen. We've reported on the iPhone 6 Smart Bezel a few times, and Patently Apple, the source of many an Apple rumour has this article on the latest Apple patent on a Smart Bezel.
In Apple's own words: "The primary display could be used to convey visual content to a user, and the secondary display could be used to guide a user providing inputs to the device. For example, the secondary display could be selectively illuminated to provide one or more indicators that represent where or how a user can provide inputs to the device."
What kind of level of information the Smart Bezel could display is up for debate. It certainly wouldn't be a 'screen extension', more like flashing buttons and symbols. This could guide users to tap parts of the screen, or indiciate new messages and suchlike.
The iPhone 6 will have an A6X processor
Apple traditionally updates the iPhone with a new internal procoessor. The iPhone currently has a A6 processor, while the latest iPad has an A6X. That seems like a fair candidate for the next generation of iPhone CPU. The A6X is a dual-core CPU with a quad-core GPU. Veruss the A6 which is a dual-core CPU with three graphics cores.
Giving an additional graphics core to the iPhone might not make much difference to performance, however (it's required on the iPad to power the Retina Display).
iPhone 6 will have A7 quad-core processor
The iPhone is typically ahead of the curve when it comes to performance. And Apple could skip the dual-core A6X and go straight to the A7, which would possibly be quad-core CPU and quad-core graphics.
Of course, given Apple's track record this would only happen if the A7 processor did not impinge on heat dissapation, battery life, or device bulk (all of which Apple is fanatical about).
But let's assume it can. What would the iPhone do with all this power? Aside from more powerful games, it could be used to power more iOS features, although everybody seems to struggle with ideas for what.
Apple's patents indicate that the company is exploring legal safeguards for a flexible design, but it looks like Samsung has pipped it to the post, showing off its flexible smartphone displays during the 2013 CES in Las Vegas in January.
iPhone 6 will have tougher Gorilla Glass 3 display
Corning has developed a new version of its Gorilla Glass for smartphones and tablets that it says will result in 40 per cent fewer scratches and appear in devices later this year, probably including Apple's iPhone 6, as well as the iPad 5 and iPad mini 2.
Apple will ditch Gorilla Glass in favour of sapphire crystal for iPhone 6
Apple could be considering a shift from Corning's Gorilla Glass to sapphire crystal for its future phones, a crack and scratch-proof material that Apple already uses for its iSight camera. Sapphire crystal's strength is beaten only by diamonds aon the scale of transparent materials.
iPhone 6 to have new 'touch-on' display following iPhone 5 in-cell problems
Apple may have introduced a new 'in-cell' display with its iPhone 5 as recently as December, but new reports suggest that problems with the technology have led Apple to consider using anew 'touch-on' display in the next generation iPhone.
iPhone 6 could use TSMC to boost performance and reduce power consumption
News that Samsung's Galaxy S4 may support 802.11ac, also known as '5G WiFi', has led tospeculation that Apple's iPhone 6 could support the standard as well.
iPhone 6 could read your mind
In February, an Apple patent application was published, describing a system that would allow an iPhone to automatically switch modes by anticipating your needs. Read more here.
iPhone 6 could have wireless charging capabilities
Apple could be planning to introduce wireless charging to its iPhone 6, following in the footsteps of Nokia, LG and HTC.
Ex Apple CEO John Sculley has said that he thinks Ive will notice the 'next big thing' to boost Apple out of what he describes as a 'lull in innovation'.
There are few iPhone 6 leaked images, most leaked images seem to refer to earlier iPhone 5 models. These could be iPhone 6 prototype designs (Apple typically works several years, and iterations ahead) or they could be iPhone 5 designs that didn't make the grade.
'First claimed photos' of iPhone 6 rear casing
A parts company has posted photos of what it's calling the iPhone 5S, supposedly snapped on an assembly line. They suggest that the iPhone 6 or iPhone 5S will have roughly the same firm factor as the iPhone 5, but has some minor changes to the internal layout - so the components and screen could be due a modification or two.
Russian site AppleInsider.ru offers up a "hands-on" demo of the iPhone 6 via the video shown below:
Designer Arthur Reis created these 3D renderings in March, showing an ultra-thin design with 'touch anywhere' Home button and 'iSight Pro' camera.
Toronto-based 3D designer Peter Zigich has published concept images based on the rumours that Apple could be preparing to launch three new iPhones this year. The image shows an iPhone mini, iPhone 6 and iPhablet with home buttons on the side to allow more room for the display or reduce the overall size of the device.
The artist at CiccareseDesign has come up with the 3D concept design below, based on an alleged test prototype with a similar shape to the latest iPod nano.
Discussion
