But what if the answer was “$18M” – Eighteen million US dollars?

That was the declared total investment required by the Four Seasons luxury hotel chain for their brand new corporate web presence.

The [...]]]> “How much will it costs?” is probably the most common question asked in most businesses, and its no different in web development and internet marketing.

But what if the answer was “$18M” – Eighteen million US dollars?

That was the declared total investment required by the Four Seasons luxury hotel chain for their brand new corporate web presence.

The work clearly included a lot of supporting activities such as photography, video as well as upgrading and replacement of the supporting infrastructure of back-end systems for worldwide online bookings and integration with social media. It is also optimised to be mobile friendly. But that’s still a ‘big ticket’!

Four Seasons are looking for their new web presence  to move more business online, and increase direct bookings. It should also help improve their brand image and give guests more tools to micro-manage their bookings.

So what do you think of their new site?

Of course, only time will tell whether the $18M delivers the required return on investment to Four Seasons.

And we are regularly exhorted to make them secure by making then obscure and long. But are we just making them harder to remember without necessarily making them harder for the dedicated hackers to break?

I came across this great [...]]]> Everybody these days has a profusion of passwords as more and more of their day-to-day activity is web-based.

And we are regularly exhorted to make them secure by making then obscure and long. But are we just making them harder to remember without necessarily making them harder for the dedicated hackers to break?

I came across this great cartoon on www.xkcd.com which shows we’ve successfully trained ourselves to create passwords that are hard for human to remember but easy for computers to hack!!

These are bills currently before the US Congress which will impact the way we all interact with the internet.

Watch this video to understand more…

PROTECT IP Act Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.

It has already caused the European Parliament to pass (by a [...]]]> Does SOPA or the PROTECT IP Act mean anything to you?

These are bills currently before the US Congress which will impact the way we all interact with the internet.

Watch this video to understand more…

PROTECT IP Act Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.

It has already caused the European Parliament to pass (by a large majority) a resolution criticizing SOPA. The resolution emphasized “the need to protect the integrity of the global Internet and freedom of communication by refraining from unilateral measures to revoke IP addresses or domain names.”

Everyone (not just US citizens)  needs to take action to stop these bills in their tracks. Matt Cutts of Google suggested some great actions in a post on his blog earlier this week.

This is not a ‘wait and see’ issue. Do the research, think about the consequences, and then take action. Many pro-censorship supporters also believe these bills are not the right way to ‘control’ the web.

One resource I regularly point them towards is www.getsafeonline.org .

Its a comprehensive website with lots of great advice and resources for protecting yourself, your business and your PC and other devices online.

Whether [...]]]> Clients regularly ask me about online privacy and security as they feel constantly under attack from spam, viruses and the dark forces on the internet.

One resource I regularly point them towards is www.getsafeonline.org .

Its a comprehensive website with lots of great advice and resources for protecting yourself, your business and your PC and other devices online.

Whether you want guidance on stopping employees ‘cyberslacking’ or worried about sharing personal details with online retailers, you will find useful help on the Get Safe Online website.

Click on the banner to visit the Get Safe Online site now and start improving your online security and privacy.

UPDATE: Google have launched a complementary site in partnership with the Citizens Advice Bureau called Good To Know – also definitely worth visiting and bookmarking.

Over the past month, WSI Internet Consultants around the world have been submitting their ideas and then voting for WSI’s new slogan.

It was important that the slogan encapsulated WSI’s unique strengths and would resonate with our customers. The slogan will be used in our future marketing creatives and web properties.

Kent Eymann, an IC from Idaho, USA [...]]]>

Over the past month, WSI Internet Consultants around the world have been submitting their ideas and then voting for WSI’s new slogan.

It was important that the slogan encapsulated WSI’s unique strengths and would resonate with our customers. The slogan will be used in our future marketing creatives and web properties.

Kent Eymann, an IC from Idaho, USA came up with the slogan which went on to win by a significant margin…

“Global Knowledge, Local Results”.

What does this actually mean to a local business? A strong return on your internet investment. Give me a call!