Meet IB

26/09/2019

Did you know... The OU does 900 free online courses? Just sign up for a free account and begin...and no, we're not selling anything.

OpenLearn works with other organisations by providing free courses and resources that support our mission of opening up educational opportunities to more people in more places.

27/08/2019

Did you know you can see your driving licence info online? It's been a thing since 2014. You can view your DVLA details with all your records and driving indiscretions free, and all you need is your licence number and national insurance number. We liked the page which tells you whether or not you can drive a tractor

We welcome your feedback to help us improve this service Enter details You should only use this service to view or share your own driving licence. Use a different service if you want to check someone else’s driving licence information. applicantPassportNumber Your driving licence number Example: M...

17/04/2019

Brighton & Hove freelancer, entrepreneur or small business owner? Gain meaningful support and insight from other professionals & learn how to eradicate things that are holding you back from positive growth.

24/01/2019

I'm starting a Meet IB: Online Marketing Surgery where you can ask me anything and sort your plans out for getting more people to see your online shenanigans.

After trialing a few unofficial sessions with networkers that went extremely well, I have decide to hold a group of one-to-one sessions where we will be able to look at some or all of the following (in general or detail):

your bespoke questions about being online answered (so bring your notepad!)... your social media platforms and others that might be better... your website copy, user experience (UX), SEO and design... your online presence appraised... appropriate tips and advice for your specific strategies... your individual marketing story reassessed for online best practices (inc. branding)

As of today there are only six slots available for WEDNESDAY 13TH FEBRUARY and they will be just £30 for half an hour. You are more than welcome to book and put halves together and these will be £50 for an hour, saving you a tenner. See below for the timetable of availability below and the surgery will take place in the centre of old town Brighton near Edendum where we (as M19) used to meet before. The location will be provided upon booking.

As we go I will keep a crib-sheet of what we discuss together to email after so you can keep tabs with what we talk about (it will be substantial) and represents great value and consultancy at quadruple the price. Here's a testimonial: "Totally blown away by the professionalism, generosity and detail." Nick Ford Photography.

Meet IB: Online Marketing Surgery
Here are the current times available:
9.00am - 9.30am
9.35am - 10.05am
10.10am - 10.40am
10.45am - 11.15am
11.20am - 11.50am
11.55am -12.25pm

Message me here or at [email protected]. Understand this will be a first come first served basis and that I will be on the clock with other clients due, so please be prompt. Let me know which is your preferred time and I will message straight back straight back with the transfer details for booking and the location.

21/01/2019

What's up WhatsApp?

The chat app will only allow users to forward messages five times to limit the spread of false news.

16/01/2019

Happy New Year! Better late than never...

Been looking at music industry marketing recently and advising bands on their strategy as well as their online approach. Many are DIY businesses now and finding out what it's like to be their own label. It's not easy, but for many it's better than the old models highlighted in the video below, where essentially record companies were marketing companies caught fleecing greats like George Michael, Prince and even The Beatles.

With everything I do it starts with good foundations, and like many industries affected by digital overhauls now is a good time to reassess your position in it.

Do you feel overwhelmed by the amount of info? Do you feel held back by the thoughts of others' bad business practice, ie govt business rates, council decisions, corporate mentality, line manager interference?

Interestingly enough the key to marketing yourself is being fundamental and honest about your story and understanding as much as possible how the field of play in front of you works, including the history of it's trading practices. This translates to discovering exactly what people want and how they want it.
Then once you get a feel for that - and this means new industry standard plus yours (your version/niche) you can work out where your fans... customers... clients...audience or dare I say 'targets' are.

If possible you can be finding fans (getting yourself out there) and researching this (using limitless online resources and platforms) at the same time. (Happily it should start from crowds flocking to receive what you have to offer, but unless you're handing out wads of cash, this is rare I'm afraid).

The point I'm making is you want to feel the excitement of knowing that 'where there is a WAY there is a WILL' through making your peers, colleagues and online followers smile.

Please share this video with musicians jaded by the music industry and remind them that we learn from our mistakes and that the next era and their own empowerment, liberation and prosperity is up to them.

Background Music Song Title: Lessons Foundation Media, LLC ————————————————————————————— This is an excerpt from the documentary "Artifact". It sums up how t...

26/11/2018

If you're worried about governments spying on you and your computer then I recommend you check out Oliver Stone's biopic Snowden, which confirms you're right to be concerned. Detailing the career of security coder and programmer Edward Snowden, the case is obviously famous because of his leaking of US govt files to The Guardian. Was he a traitor or a whistleblower?

Though not quite the tour-de-force the film JFK was, Snowden still packs a quietly scary punch, choosing instead to focus on a matter-of-fact, geeky lead played by the ever-excellent Joseph Gordon-Levitt, weighed down by global responsibility and moral conundrums. You also get the impression some of his actions were a personal reaction to certain career turns, but still: Snowden's actions were to let the world know the NSA had the ability and 'legal backing' to see into anyone's account and to whom they're linked.

Why does it concern you? Well, I liked it because it was unfussy and reflective of the undramatic collective 'meh' we all feel with the release of our virtual information. But the points are clear, databases and search engines are being made in the name of security which blur the lines of commerce and the supremacy of one nation over another. Intelligence operations can benefit from access to such things, while government placed malware in even allied countries can precipitate the switching off of their national grid should they disagree with the country with their finger on the mouse click.

It's eye-opening stuff to make you rethink your whole strategy online and what you want out there, not just in business but obviously for personal affairs and online interactions with organisations. And this of course - with your permission - remains online or on a database that could affect your children. Yes it's virtual, but increasingly our reliance on tech means more real-world implications: the main one being, Big Brother is not only watching but tracking and accessing all your details too.

Take care online 😎
JW@IB

Academy Award (R)-winning director Oliver Stone, who brought Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July, Wall Street and JFK to the big screen, tackles the most important and fascinating true story of the 21st century. Snowden, the politically-charged, pulse-pounding thriller starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt....

19/11/2018

Increasingly my work online is hampered by malware and spyware. Remarkably many of these tracking or monitoring code devices are snuck in through the acceptance of cookies. It's a grey area, especially if you press ACCEPT COOKIES and haven't read the endless T & C's, but every site now seems to be doing this, letting you know it helps with THEIR advertising, follow-up shopping and certain features etc.

The trouble is too many businesses are now putting these cookies in your machine to track your movements round search engines: Yes, that creepy moment when an ad comes up and it's directly relevant to your exact specs for a battery, car part or rubbery bit for your washing machine. Amazon, Argos and mostly other big online retailers and those who need to advertise do it.

Of course your machine may pick up trackers from all the off-piste sites you may be visiting in your late night explorations. Nudge, nudge, say no more. But illicit sites include all those you think are providing free entertainment when THEY don't have the licence to do it. This doesn't have to be adult-only: Movies, music and sport head up big streaming free sites.

Furthermore, if a site is amoral about their legalities, then the odds are it's scruples regarding snagging you are just as indeterminate. I would, in the first place advise against visiting these sites as there is always a permanent thread of their use to the point of download or streaming.

With that in mind, and assuming none of us have never been naughty online, the best software I've used so far is SuperAntiSpyware, which offers trial, free and upgraded paid-for versions. It's also quick to identify common areas where illicit and unasked-for trackers have been placed. Some may be malicious (malware) and some spyware (just making notes of your movements for ad opportunities). Some could be a fore-bearer of a virus.

Whatever the issue, like the slowing sites obsessed with flashing ads and moving content, your machine, and so your business (and so time and profits) will mirror this by slowing down also. The good thing is that SuperAntiSpyware acts as support to any anti-virus and malware programs you already have installed, with offers of Quick and Complete Scan, the former taking around 30 mins the latter taking a few hours, depending on the amount of files and folders you have, of course.

Hope this helps,
Please SHARE it with an online business friend and I'll do my best to post more advice here,
Jonny@IB

12/11/2018

As you can see I've refurnished this for Infinite Bridge. The plan is to do a monthly surgery for those wanting one-to-one website and social media support. Stay tuned!