June, 2008 Archive

LookSmart UK – My Last Day In Photos

My first job in the online marketing industry was at BTLookSmart, a $100m joint venture between BT and the San Francisco based LookSmart.

I started in 2000 as the Shopping & Travel Editor reviewing 55 websites a day for insertion into the LookSmart Directory.

After a couple of very happy years BT pulled out in 2003 and a few of us stayed on as LookSmart UK.

By that time I was revenue manager and we were selling PPC links on MSN.co.uk

In late 2003 LookSmart decided to pull the plug on the London office after MSN decided to drop the deal.

We had three months to wind the office down.

Below are some photos I took on the last day.

I had the privilege of being asked to turn out the lights…….

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View From My Window

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All Gone

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Tidying Up Loose Ends

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Tears…

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No Tears…

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What Are You Staring @?

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Time’s Up!

Funny Rules Of Cricket – In & Out

Update: Did you know you can buy the In Out Cricket Tea Towel on Amazon?

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You have two sides, one out in the field and one in.

Each man OR woman that’s in the side that’s in goes out, and when he/she is out he/she comes in and the next man/woman goes in until he/she’s out.

When they are all out, the side that’s out comes in and the side that’s been in goes out and tries to get those coming in, out.

Sometimes you get men/women still in and not out.

When a man/woman goes out to go in, the men/women who are out try to get them out, and when he/she is out he/she goes in and the next batter in goes out and goes in.

There are two men/woman called umpires who stay out all the time and they decide when the men/women who are in are out.

When both sides have been in and all the men/women have been out, and both sides have been out twice after all the men/women have been in, including those who are not out, that is the end of the game!

Get the Tea Towel!

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Pay-Per-Click or Paper Clip?

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Dunno if it’s an urban myth but I just heard a story by the printer about a guy who was being interviewed for a job in search engine marketing.

The prospective employer asked him to prepare a presentation on “Pay-Per-Click”.

Obviously in need of a hearing aid, the guy turned up with a presentation on “paperclips!”

Wonder if he got the job?

Have BBC DJs Been Told Not To Google?

Listening to the BBC Radio 1 Chart Show just now (re-living my youth) something one of the DJs said really struck me.

Referring to a new boy band, young Reggie said:

“If you’re listening online right now, go to any search engine and type in their name, check out their site and let us know what you think.”

The words “any search engine” seemed very deliberate as if they’ve been told not to mention the G verb on air.

Think that’s the case or is Reggie simply  “informed”?

Introducing Microsoft Shadow Box


At adChamps this year we had Marc Holmes come and demo some of the new emerging technologies Microsoft are working on.

Everyone should have heard of Photosynth by now and Microsoft Surface, but just see what developers can do when they take a week off and drink a lot of coffee!!

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Steve Clayton, self-confessed Geek In Disguise, picked this up from one of his Twitter followers.

Follow Steve – I rarely get to this stuff before he does!

PS: Yes – There really are people in the US called Chuck!

Bill Gates BBC 2 Interview Friday 20th June at 7pm

UPDATE: The Programme’s now over but catch a wrap up and more coverage from The BBC Here!

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Bill Gates: How a Geek Changed the World

From the BBC’s website:

The Money Programme’s Fiona Bruce gains exclusive access to Bill Gates as he prepares to step down from full-time involvement with Microsoft, the company he helped found. Gates’s company has changed the world, but he’s a controversial figure, with his ruthless business leadership contributing to Microsoft being sued by the US government.”

Apparently Bill is in top form during this chat so set your recorders!

Microsoft Opens Search Technology Centre In Europe

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This is great news. Yet again we’re showing our mettle by investing in a hub to accelerate Live Search developments here in the UK and the rest of Europe.

At adChamps the other day the feedback was, “why does the US always get stuff first?”

Well this is your answer……it won’t for long!

So when this group of developers get set up, what do you want to see first?

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