Want to change the name of your Facebook page? Now you can.

On wednesday Facebook announced that they were going to make it easier to change the name of Facebook pages or Fan Pages as they are also known. Previously page administrators with less than 100 fans were only able to change the name of their page by submitting a request to Facebook. Now you can change it yourself, but only once and if you have less than 200 fans. If you need to change it again for whatever reason you must then submit a request to Facebook.

To change your Facebook pages username follow these steps:

1. You must be signed in as the administrator account 
2. Go to the page you wish to change
3. At the top of the page select the "Edit Info" drop down box and select "Update Info"
4. Select "Basic Information" as below and click on "Change Username" as highlighted below

     5.  Then change current username to new username as shown below. Remember you can only do it once, if you want to change it again you must submit a request to Facebook and there is no guarantee that they will do it. So make sure it's the name you want. 

    6.  Select "Check availability" and that's it your done.

If you found this information helpful please share it.

Infographics, Why Are They So Popular?

An infographic or information graphic is a visual representation of information, statistics, data and knowledge.

Infographics have become more popular since the birth of the internet, although they have been around long before the internet was invented going back as far as the caveman days, such as cave paintings and more recently in the form of maps.

The popularity of infographics is down to the fact that a picture paints a better picture of information and is easier for the brain to digest. Below is an infographic showing us what infographics are.

                 Source: infographiclabs.com via Martin on Pinterest

If you want to see more infographics, head over to my Pinterest page where you can follow any of my boards.

PayPal reveals it's POS app for in-store retailers.

PayPal has started to ramp up it's mobile payments again. This time PayPal released it's point of sale (POS) app to bricks and mortar retailers last month called PayPal In-store. Partnering with the retailer Aurora Fashions stores first, and with technology partners BT Expedite who are the retail solutions division of BT and Eagle Eye Solutions a world leader in mobile coupons and vouchers.

The technical solutions that provide the interface between Paypal and the retailer was developed by Eagle Eye solutions, this also included the payment authentication platform and apps.

Cameron McLean the managing director for PayPal Uk says "The PayPal In-store app marked the start of a quiet revolution in the way we shop on the high street, and Eagle Eye Solutions and BT Expedite helped us move very quickly to enable retailers to take mobile payments in-store, without the need to rip out and replace their existing POS systems.

PayPal In-store can also be accepted by any other BT Expedite retailers that are running the 6.X POS system.

PayPal have released this video below demonstrating how easy it is to use the new PayPal In-store app:

PayPal PoS Trade Show Final Cut from Newspepper on Vimeo.

The mobile payments industry is getting quite bloated with all the competition, PayPal, Square, Intuit, and many many more. Do you think that there will be one that will conquer all or do you think that the market is big enough for them all? Tell me your thoughts below.

UK E-commerce Is Gathering Pace, But Is The Future Mobile

The e-commerce business to consumer (B2C) market in the UK is going from strength to strength according to eMarketer who publishes data, analysis and insights on digital marketing, media and commerce.

B2C sales in the UK topped $109 billion (about £71 billion in english money) in 2011 and is expected to top $124 billion (£80 billion) in 2012.

Chart Image Credit - eMarketer.com

Retailers are now using multichannel's to keep up with the ever demanding consumer. Some are now offering "click and collect" services, allowing the consumer to select and reserve goods online and collect them from their nearest store, while others are offering premium next-day delivery for the same price as a 3 day service.

In this day and age with some high street stores closing and many are struggling to keep their head above water it is important that the retailer is in touch with consumer shopping habits. Mobile has become a very important tool in the tech-savvy shoppers arsenal. The always on the go and connected shopper now has the tools at hand to make a better and informed decision on a potential purchase.

Chart Image Credit - eMarketer.com

As you can see by the graph above 34% of shoppers compare competitor prices on their mobile device whilst in-store, while others are seeking product reviews online or asking friends advice on social networks like Facebook and Twitter. 5% end up buying an item through their mobile device, these figures are expected to grow exponentially as smartphone adoption grows further in the UK.

Jonathon Brown, head of online selling at John Lewis told the Guardian newspaper at the end of 2011 "Mobile has reached a scale now where all retailers must take it seriously."

What are you doing to keep up with the always on and connected consumer? Let me know in the comments below.

June 6th 2012 the internet will change forever.

As of today June 6th 2012 the internet will change for the better.

Since the internet was born back in 1983 it has been running out of space. There are so many devices connected to the internet these days, serveing 2.5 billion people and 11 billion devices. When you connect to the internet your device requires an IP address, this identifies each device and helps it to communicate with other devices on the internet.

We have up until now been running on IPv4 which has only space for 4.3 billion addresses, so in order for the internet to be able to grow the Internet Society has introduced IPv6 before we run out of space. IPv6 has enough space for (wait for it) 340 Trillion, Trillion, Trillion addresses.

So as of today IPv6 will be switched on for participating websites, Internet Service Providers (ISP) and network hardware providers and it will gradually be rolled out to the masses over time.

Some people may need to upgrade their routers or download upgraded operating system software.

Source: blogs.orange-business.com via Martin on Pinterest

Welcome to the future of the internet!

Reading NFC Enabled Outdoor Advertising Trials Results.

Back in March 2012 JCDecaux, Kinetic and Zappit teamed up to trial near field communication technology in the city of Reading, UK.


JCDecaux is the largest out-of-home advertising company in Europe, Kinetic is the world's largest planner and buyer of out-of-home media and Zappit is a provider of QR codes, NFC and mobile payment technology.

Reading was chosen because David McEvoy marketing director of JCDecaux said "our research shows us that Reading is one of the most tech-savvy towns in the UK with a higher number of mobile phone and smartphone owners than the rest of the country.

There were 12 advertising partners across various industries H&M, Vaseline, ITV2, EA Games, Lynx, Magnum, lucozade Sport, Morrisons, Mercedes, Toni & Guy, Universal DVD and Universal Special Projects.

Image credit: nfcworld.com

Posters were positioned at 6 sites which included the Oracle shopping mall and bus stops across the town, more than 3,000 people scanned the posters getting access to content such as mobile discounts, video trailers and competition entry. 78% were overwhelmingly positive about their experience and ease of use was a big factor in it's success over the 4 week trial period.

Download conversion rates for video content stood at 28%, rising to 49% when the content was new or previously unseen. Vouchers attracted new customers and performed better when the NFC site was situated nearer the advertisers store. Redemption rates rose from 7% to 18% across the 4 week period.

Research found that 87% of people with NFC enabled phones are likely to repeat the experience whilst 80% of non-NFC enabled phone users would like to use the technology in the future.

Richard Brooke, Communications Buying Manager at Unilever said:

"As one of the UK's largest advertisers it's important that we continually explore the emerging digital world to get a glimpse into the future of marketing - and even play our part in shaping it. The Reading trial gave us the perfect opportunity to experience this way of opening conversations with our consumers through four of our brands - Vaseline, Toni & Guy and Magnum - and we're pleased that the results proved to be so positive. The four-week trial showed that we can successfully combine the out-of-home channel with mobile technology to create a richer and deeper engagement with our consumers."

Have you used NFC technology before, if so how was your experience and would you use it again? I'd love to hear some of your comments below.