The Raspberry Pi, developed in the UK by the Raspberry Pi foundation, is a small, credit card sized computer designed to stimulate the teaching of basic computer science in schools.

Causing quite a storm over the internet, demand for the machine has been massively exceeding supply, leading to a strict ‘one Pi per owner’ rule being enforced.  It is also reported that there have been over 2 million expressions of interest or pre-orders, prompting many to herald the Raspberry Pi as the biggest must-have gadget since the iPhone.

Retailing at just £29.45, the ARM-based Linux computer is deceptively powerful; capable of 1080hp video playback, hardware accelerated graphics and loaded with a faster chip than was originally found in Apple’s iPhone 3G.

In a world that is virtually run on web and computer-based technology, the thinking behind the Raspberry Pi is that it will prime students with vital knowledge to serve them in an increasingly computer-based work environment. The Raspberry Pi not only allows children to get to grips with using software, it takes it a step further by inviting them to create it themselves.

Despite the target audience being primarily school-children, it is anticipated that the Raspberry Pi will attract a rose-tinted legion of nostalgic parents, whose failed attempts at building their own super-computers in their garage in the 1980s have been given a second chance at redemption.

You may recall the BBC Microcomputer System, built by Acorn Computers and released in 1981. It was designed with an emphasis on education, and was notable for its expandability and the quality of its operating system. Users could programme their own (extremely basic by today’s standards) video games, for example.

However, the Raspberry Pi lets users do a lot more than create sub-standard video games; it allows them to engage in complex software and script building. The Raspberry Pi may just be cultivating the next Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg with its ability to create scripts that run websites along the lines of Facebook, Twitter and even email.

Failing this, the uncased Raspberry Pi offers the opportunity for owners to customise its appearance beyond that of a prop from a science fiction movie, so if nothing else at least you’ll be able to make the Raspberry Pi look pretty with the inevitable avalanche of third-party cases.

Google has released photos and posted a video on YouTube this week to preview Google’s long-rumoured venture into building the internet-connected specs of the future.

Google's prototype internet specs

Ominously titled One Day… the Project Glass video depicts a day in the life of a Google glasses-wearer. Shown through the eyes of a hip downtown New Yorker, the video starts with the glasses booting up.  A series of icons flash, Terminator style, into his field of vision, Mr Hip New Yorker checks his calendar and the weather, chats and shares photos with friends in his Google+ circles and listens to music.

So far, so very futuristic. There is no release date yet. But whether Google’s “augmented reality” glasses prove to be an indispensible accessory or downright intrusive remains to be seen…

Whether your firm is made up of digital natives, savvy technologists, reluctant users, digital newbies or digital contrarians, it’s worth a look.

Twitter Etiquette

Here’s an interesting blog from Mashable discussing how small businesses should approach ‘follow-back courtesy’ on Twitter.

A recent article from Mashable provides a useful starting point covering the ’10 must-have’ areas which a social media policy should cover.

1. Introduce the purpose of social media

2. Be Responsible for what you write

3. Be authentic

4. Consider your audience

5. Exercise good judgment

6. Understand the concept of community

7. Respect copyrights and fair use

8. Remember to protect confidentiality and proprietary information

9. Bring value

10.Productivity matters

The Business of Manufacturing, a Question Time style debate on the future of UK manufacturing, chaired by Peter Marsh of the Financial Times, attracted lots of media attention last week. With some high-profile business leaders on the panel, including Juergen Maier of Siemens and James Averdieck, founder of Gu Chocolate Puds, the event created plenty of incisive comment on the prospects for growth in manufacturing and engineering rebalancing the national economy.

Working with the debate’s organisers, Marketing Leeds and Leeds Manufacturing, Appeal helped broaden media interest in the story by creating a video that provided an informative summary of the event, featuring interviews with the speakers. The video was used on TheBusinessDesk.com, to generate greater depth and interest to the Business Desk’s report on event.

It seems that news releases that include video content achieve three times more coverage than releases don’t have multimedia content.  The research showed that for those releases with editorial or blog coverage, the average number of pieces was 17.1 for the releases with video content.  This was almost three times the figure for the sample without video content of 6.2 and four-and-a-half times more than the distribution industry average of 3.8 pieces.

The latest technology has made it relatively simple and cost-effective to produce online video which can be quickly uploaded onto YouTube – the second most popular search engine.  Video enables a story to really stand out and has the viral benefit of online sharing, giving it a wider reach and longer lifespan than a traditional story in print.

The use of online video is continuing to grow as are the number of outlets wanting it, making it a great time for businesses to experiment and really differentiate themselves.

Here’s a recent online video we’ve produced for one of our forward-thinking clients, JCT600.

Although Google have tried to downplay the launch, its new social network is here, and users have been clamouring for an invite to its trial.

Unlike thousands of other social networks’ attempts to knock Facebook from the top, the buzz around Google+ is indicating that it has real legs and here at Appeal we have all been trying it out.

Although in the early stages, we’ve been impressed with what we’ve seen so far. The network is very intuitive, structured in a similar way to Facebook and the combination of concepts are generally sound more complex than they actually are to use. Google already have a strong hold over internet users as the world’s most popular search engine and judging by the positive feedback of Google+ so far, it is going to be difficult for internet users to avoid this new network in the future!

So what makes it different?

Google+ attempts to couple with Google’s strong current offering, its search function. However instead of isolating a search, relevant information can be shared with friends, family and acquaintances. If you are a Google user, you may have noticed +1 icons appearing next to each suggested site of a search. These are similar to Facebook ‘Like’ buttons. However the difference with the +1 icon is that recommendations are only shared when users search for relevant content, instead of being shared with everyone. Google + users can then choose their contacts’ recommended sites, visible in search results.

The second feature is the use of ‘Circles’. The basic ones are friends, family and acquaintances but these can be created and named yourself and the best thing is the contact will never know which Circle you have placed them in! Information can then be shared with whichever Circle you specify. This bridges the gap between networks such as Facebook and LinkedIn by giving you the capacity to have your personal and professional contacts all in one place.

A feature we are yet to try (mainly because most of our friends are yet to join!) is ‘Hangout’, which is basically a group video chat. This works for up to 10 people and lets everyone in your chosen Circle know that you’re interested in chatting.

Aswell as adding new features, Google have tried to make some of Facebook’s best features, such as its ability to share photographs, a little bit easier to use. Instead of patiently waiting for pictures to upload, all photos taken on a mobile device are automatically uploaded to a private album and photos can then be shared with whichever Circle or individual you choose.

The final significant feature is called ‘Huddle’. A feature on the app that allows you to group message and this is available on all Android and iPhone devices.

Have you had chance to use Google+ yet? Is it enough to make you move away from Facebook?

A recent survey by Havas Media indicated that Europe is seeing a similar trend with digital readership overtaking print in France. The research found that people spent 37 minutes a day reading digital publications, and 22 minutes per day reading print.

It also showed greater diversification than previously with 51 per cent accessing news via websites; 31 per cent read electronic editions; and 17 per cent using mobile apps. Already, 56 per cent of tablet owners use them to access branded press and with the explosion of tablets, this is likely to increase considerably by next year.

Not surprisingly, advertising spend has followed these trends with online advertising now outstripping newspaper advertising. Between 2009 and 2010, online spend grew by almost 14 per cent in the US to reach $25.8 billion.

What’s more, with the recent News of the World hacking scandal and subsequent closure of the newspaper fresh in the minds of the public, online media looks set to benefit from the consumer backlash.