Ask Science

If you’ve never heard of Reddit, we recommend you have a read. Reddit is a social news website containing user-generated news links where the readers themselves can vote for submitted content to be promoted to the front page.

We’ve been reading the AskScience section today, finding out answers to burning scientific questions we’re sure experts have been pondering over for years… Ah em.

Here are our favourites:

-If space is a vacuum why isn’t the Earth super clean and spotless?

-I always wake up feeling groggy in the morning. I heard that a coma can give you

months of sleep! What is the cheapest and most efficient way for me to get a

coma?

-Has anyone ever given a sloth amphetamines? or any other psychostimulants?

-How do you know when blue cheese has gone bad?

-Where can I get my free radicals?

10 FREE Fab ‘N’ Funky Social Media Icon Sets

There are absolutely hundreds of sites where you can download Social Media and other icons for use on websites and blogs.

There are many, many different types and styles; some quite standard, others totally off the wall, so we thought we’d put together a shortlist of our favourite quirky icon sets of the moment (to download any of these sets click on its title and you will be taken to the relevant website):

Choco Sosial

Gorgeous little chocolate love heart icons

chocolate social media icons

Delifeed

A set of 8 tasty lollipop and cake icons

lollipop and cake social media icons

Bottle Top Icons

Just as it sounds, a good range of icons in different sizes all in the style of bottle caps.

Bottle top social media icons

The Leaves Fall

A set of social media icons on leaf backgrounds.

Leaves social media icons

Hand drawn icons

A good range of icons all drawn in ink.

Hand drawn social media icons

Black Twitter Icons

Very swish! Only Twitter icons, but just so very sophisticated!

Black Twitter icons

Heart Social Media Icons

Love is in the air…a set of 22 icons all in heart shapes, awwww.

Hearts social media icons

Globe Social Media Icons

Pack of 8 social media icons on a globe background.

Globe social media icons

Clear Bubble Social Media Icons

Clean and clear set of 154 icons all in bubbles.

Clear bubbles social media icons

Drinks Cans Icons

Fab set of 28 social media icons on tin cans.

Drinks cans social media icons

Why It’s Kicking Off Everywhere

I stumbled across an extract of Newsnight’s economics editor Paul Mason’s new book in the g2 section of the Guardian yesterday. A very interesting read. Titled ‘Why It’s Kicking Off Everywhere: The New Global Revolutions,’ Mason examines how technology has been at the heart of the recent global unrest and has been used as a platform for outpourings of discontent.

From Occupy protestors in San Francisco, Egyptian anti-government bloggers, to mobile phone footage of the London riots, Mason illustrates how social media and new technology were crucial in shaping the revolutions of 2011, just as they shaped industry, finance and mass culture in the preceding decade.

Mason writes: “Here, the crucial concept is the network – whose impact on politics has been a long time coming. The network’s basic law was explained by Bell Telephone boss Theodore Vail as early as 1908: the more people who use the network, the more useful it becomes to each user.

The most obvious impact of the “network effect” has been on the media and ideology. Long before people started using Twitter to foment social unrest; mainstream journalists noticed – to their dismay – that the size of one’s public persona or pay cheque carried no guarantee of popularity online. People’s status rises and falls with the reliability and truthfulness of what they contribute.

Once information networks become social, the implications are massive: truth can now travel faster than lies, and all propaganda becomes instantly flammable. Sure, you can try to insert spin, but the instantly networked consciousness of millions of people will set it right: they act like white blood cells against infection so that ultimately the truth, or something close to it, persists much longer than disinformation.”

Read Paul Mason’s blog ‘Idle Scrawl’.

To get your hands on a copy of ‘Why It’s Kicking Off Everywhere: The New Global Revolutions,’ for less than £10, visit Amazon.

Release date – 16^th January

A real Christmas Cracker….b’dum ch ;-)

Santa - worst Christmas Cracker Jokes

As the final working day before Christmas draws to a close, we thought we’d share our best, or worst, Christmas cracker jokes so far. Enjoy…

What is special about the Christmas alphabet?
It has NO EL.

What happens if you eat the Christmas decorations?
You get tinsel-itus!

Why does Santa have 3 gardens?
He likes to ho-ho-ho.

How does Santa Claus take photos?
With his North Pole-aroid.

What did Adam say on the day before Christmas?
It’s Christmas, Eve.

Why are Christmas trees like people who can’t knit?
They both drop their needles!

Which reindeer needs to mind his manners the most?
Rude-olph!

What do you call a group of chess fanatics bragging about their games in a hotel lobby?
Chess nuts boasting in an open foyer!

What do you call a cat on the beach at Christmas?
Sandy Claus!

What do you call a reindeer wearing ear muffs?
Anything you want. He can’t hear you!

Mum, Can I have a dog for Christmas?
No, you can have turkey like everyone else!

Why didn’t the skeleton go to the Christmas Party?
He had no body to go with!

Why did the little boy push his bed into the fireplace?
He wanted to sleep like a log.

What the D***ens?!

This week, Virgin Media’s electronic programming guide saw offence in innocent words and names, causing them to be censored. The likes of Charles Dickens, Alfred Hitchcock, Arsenal and Jarvis Cocker, became Charles D***ens, Alfred Hitchc**k, A***nal and Jarvis C**ker. And it didn’t stop there. Even the kids were watching D*** and Dom.

Virgin Media blamed the mistake on software which automatically filters out offensive words, but I’m afraid the damage has been done. Any innocent delight taken in ‘The Golden Age of Canals’ is officially over!

It was nice to see that Virgin Media had a sense of humour about it though. A spokesperson said: “Over the weekend a temporarily over-zealous profanity checker took offence at certain programme titles. The altered titles have been swiftly an*lysed and we’re fixing any remaining glitches.”

I thought Virgin Media’s over-zealous censoring of some of the nations favourite TV shows was quite enough to giggle over this week, but when I heard that some baby names had actually been classed as illegal, I had to log on and find out exactly what they were. Get ready for a laugh…..

Talula Does the Hula From Hawaii

A nine year old girl in New Zealand had to be renamed during a custody battle after a judge said the name ‘made a fool of the child’. It certainly does, and filling in forms must take forever. According to New Zealand law, any name that would cause offence to a ‘reasonable person’ can be banned.

Among other banned names in New Zealand are 4Real, Fish and Chips (twins), Yeah Detroit, Keenan Got Lucy and Sex Fruit. Having said that though, the names Number 16 Bus Shelter and Violence were allowed. Bizarre.

Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116

No, I promise I didn’t fall asleep on the keyboard. A Swedish couple actually tried to inflict this name on their son. Apparently the name is pronounced ‘Albin’ (I really can’t figure that out), and the parents chose it as a protest against Sweden’s strict naming laws. Sweden has also banned parents from calling their children Metallica, IKEA, and Veranda. Apparently the name Google was OK though…

Smelly Head

Malaysian authorities banned parents from calling their child Chow Tow AKA ‘Smelly Head’. Apparently it doesn’t follow the religious traditions of the country. Other banned names in Malaysia include Khiow Khoo (‘Hunchback’), Sor Chai (‘Insane’), and Woti,(‘Sexual Intercourse’.) Charming.

Devil

In1993 a Japanese parent tried to call his son Akuma, which literally means Devil. The authorities decided this was an abuse of the parent’s rights to decide a child’s name and a lengthy court battle ensued. Eventually the father backed down and the poor little lad got a new, less demonic name. Let’s just hope it wasn’t Damien.

GBW Landscaping – testimonial

Guy Williams of GBW Landscaping runs a successful landscape gardening and garden maintenance business in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. The family run business offers anything from a little help in the garden, to complete garden redesign and landscaping services.

Seven Creative have had the pleasure of working with Guy over the last couple of months to create his new website, and he’s been kind enough to share his thoughts about the work we’ve done for him.

“I contacted Seven Creative on the recommendation of a friend. Within a couple of days Chris had emailed me with a contract, it was very good and she was very efficient. I changed my mind about a few things and Chris kindly rewrote sections to accommodate me without fuss.

I’m really happy with the way they built the website. Chris designed it for me perfectly and was very efficient and always friendly. I really liked the way they both listened to what I wanted and didn’t force me into anything; they met my needs really well. Although the website has only been completed very recently, I have no doubt that in the long term my business will benefit from it.

They are excellent at the design side of things too, and if I ever need anything doing in the future I won’t hesitate to contact them. I’d be foolish to go anywhere else! I really couldn’t recommend them enough. They were very professional, very efficient, and they gave me a very reasonable price.”

Visit our website for more information.

Seven Creative

GBW Landscaping, Aylesbury

Garden Landscaper, Aylesbury

There are two main criteria I look for when hiring a landscape gardener – they’re great at what they do (so will provide value for money) and they’re a nice person.

The good news is I know someone who fits both those criteria perfectly. The bad news is lives and works in Aylesbury which is a long way from Seven Creative Towers.

Guy Williams of GBW Landscaping runs his successful landscape gardening and garden maintenance business in Aylesbury and we have the pleasure of working with him over the last couple of months to create his new website

During this time, we’ve not only seen examples of the fantastic work he’s done and spoken to many of his happy customers, we’ve also got to know a really great guy

Originally introduced to us by a friend of ours, it’s been a pleasure to help Guy establish the online marketing side of his business as his business goes from strength to strength.

If you are in his local area, I wouldn’t hesitate recommending you give Guy a call when you need some garden maintenance

Visit GBW Landscaping’s website

Seven Creative’s new addition

Our newest addition to the Seven Creative team is Ellie

As our Social Media Manager, Ellie is responsible for all aspects of social media, including creating blogs for our customers businesses, keeping blog posts up to date, writing newsletters, updating our clients Twitter and Facebook statuses, and writing all important press releases.

Ellie has recently completed a Masters in Magazine Journalism and has a BA Honours Degree in English Language and Literature, both from the University of Sheffield. As a trained journalist, she understands the importance of social media and is able to produce high quality copy for websites, press releases and blog updates. She’s currently settling in to the office thanks to copious amounts of coffee and a stack of shiny new business cards.

T: 07841641368

E: ellie@sevencreative.co.uk

W: www.sevencreative.co.uk

Social media: A personal touch in an impersonal world

Seven Creative’s well established and new customers are recognising the growing importance of social media. We’re proud to say that we can now offer customers new and innovative services ranging from writing blog entries, Twitter posts and Facebook updates, to designing and personalising social networks.

Ellie Storey, Social Media Manager at Seven Creative, said “There is so much competition on the digital high street that simply having a website is often not enough. So due to the changing needs of our customers, and demand, we have expanded our services to include a new social networking service.”

Twitter now boasts an impressive 175 million users, and Facebook has 640 million users across the globe, half of which log on daily. Blogs are increasingly common and websites including Search Engine Optimised text are now a must in order to compete successfully.

Seven Creative’s principle designer Chris Day said, “Using social networks to increase visibility is something we all need to do these days as the landscape of the internet changes. Social network integration is often difficult to get to grips with and certainly not something most business owners have the time to do properly. That’s where we come in.”

“We can provide the full spectrum of social networking services to get your business in front of your customers. We are able to assess how your company can benefit from social networking and work with your available budget to help you get the best from it, ” said Chris.

Social Media: The Benefits

Social media allows your customers to immediately give feedback on your products, services and marketing techniques.
It provides you with an easily accessible personal relationship with your customers that is designed to make them want to support your company and buy your product.
It provides you with advertising and encourages a sense of camaraderie between you and your customer.
Social media is a great way for your customers to remember you, your product and your brand. It’s also about customers getting to know other people and a product or service, with product loyalty being an end goal.

Contact Seven Creative now for more information.

T: 0114 383 0711

Email Ellie at: ellie@sevencreative.co.uk

Or visit our website: www.sevencreative.co.uk

Human Resources Management

Human Resources Management, in a nutshell, is is the management of an organization’s workforce, and human resources and is relevant for all businesses – large or small

At the most fundamental level, attracting and hiring the right people can be the difference between a business that grows and a business that fails. Sales, marketing, front-line staff – getting the right people with the right experience and qualifications in the right places is imperative if you are going to build a successful business on a solid foundation. Obviously, there will be a certain turnover of staff so this process is an ongoing one that needs to be focussed on.

Hiring involves attracting the right people the careful selection and assessment of these candidates to determine the right one for the job and once those people are in place, there will be an ongoing process of assessment and training to maintain the highest standards within the organisation.

Rewarding employees can be a very useful tool to help increase staff moral or boost sales and this is also one of the responsibilities involved in human resources management.

Finally, overseeing and assessing the leadership within an organisation and the company culture is something that the human resources department is tasked with doing to highlight potential issues before they become problems.

As you will see, Human Resources Management is vitally important within any organisation. It is summarised very well by Human Resources Consulting with Iventa on their website: ‘When it comes to employees, it is not just a question of qualifications and experience. What matters most is the individual. ’