All Blog Posts (603)

More evidence that Google+ is aiming for the Facebook market?

At the Google I/O conference this week, Senior Vice President of Engineering, Vic Gundotra, announced new photo features for the Google+ social network, which he claims "sets it apart" from other social networking sites .

"Our goals are to make people happy and get technology out of the way," Gundotra told ABC News. "You know what makes people happy? Great photos…

One day . . .  two frogs called Norman and Bertie were enjoying a day in the barn sheltering from the hot sunshine outside when suddenly . . . 



The wood shelf they were on broke and they both slipped and fell into the farmer's bucket of milk below.



Total nightmare!! They were trapped and couldn't get out . . .



They kept swimming around to keep from drowning. Every once in a while they would try to climb out,but the side of the bucket was…

Negative online reviews are no fun. Receiving one for your business is like a swift kick to your pride. They can linger in your online directories and search results, and cause potential customers to run for the hills.

(Nielsen says... 70% of customer only trust a business with 6 to 10 reviews.)

However, these reviews can also be used to your advantage – as long as they are surrounded by a plethora of positive feedback.…

On the face of it, you’d think resigning from your job was pretty straight forward. You just pick up the phone or walk into your manager’s office and say “I’m leaving. Bye bye!” Simple, right? Wrong! As with most things in employment, there’s more to it than that.

I just received a link to a blog post which I thought you might find interesting about websites and how we use them. What does it say about the NiS website, I wonder? Read the first two tips here, then there's a link to read the rest of the post on the…

Hello NiS friends,

I love reading Sheryl Sandberg's"  book "Lean In".

Sheryl is Chief Operating Officer at Facebook and was previously on the Board of Starbucks, and Vice President of Global Online Sales and Operations at Google.

In December 2010 she gave a TED speech…

I read some statistics earlier this morning which stated that 99.9% of businesses in the United Kingdom were designated SME and the vast majority of start-ups were as a result of the melt down in job retention by large companies.

That latter statement appears to be very true, but what's even truer is that these new companies, very often one-man bans like the denizens of Networking in Surrey, have gone from an environment where they're…

Setting up stall at a trade exhibition or event is a cost-effective way of reaching a lot of potential customers quickly and efficiently. It offers you the chance to communicate directly with your audience, face to face, as well as getting your company noticed by the right clientele. But to utilise this time spend at ‘ground level’ as profitably and as efficiently as possible, a strong brand identity that can be turned into an ‘experience’ is essential.…

Now, more than ever, personal recommendation is vital to any business’s success.

We all seek other’s experiences before selecting to buy anything from the services of a plumber to a new car.

And we know from personal experience that a recommendation from someone who has already bought a product or service is a very powerful influencer on our decision making.

So what are you doing to encourage people who have bought from your…

Hrees a great article with an illustrative infographic from US web content brand specialist agency Brafton:  (click here to visit their blog to read the whole thing and see the infographic)

Officials from Google and Bing have consistently emphasized their focus on the user experience, with Google’s Amit…

Ivan Misner is the 'Big Daddy' of networking...  As Founder of BNI (Business Networking Institute)  "the world's largest referral organization", he virtually created the concept of business networking as we know it today. Without him, Networking in Surrey wouldn't exist - so I'm always keen to hear his thoughts and wise words on networking.

There's a great article by Ivan in the…

With obesity levels in the UK topping the 20% mark, making us the fattest nation in Europe, employers are now facing the possibility of employees claiming that their obesity amounts to a disability, and that reasonable adjustments should therefore be made.

Before you scream: “Don’t be ridiculous, the adjustment needed is to lose weight!”, consider the recent decision of the Employment Appeals…

Hello friends of NiS,

This week in my yoga classes we have been focusing on relieving the piriformis muscle.

 The piriformis is primarily an external rotator, one of a number of small, deep muscles that rotate the leg outward at the hip. It's notorious for causing…

I didn't know that there was a number you can dial in the UK and in many other countries that is often a better bet than good old 999 (especially for mobile phones)? I was sent a link to this video on the MicroNavigation YouTube channel and I checked it out here on Wikipedia because I couldn't understand why I didn't know this stuff already!…

Networking is an activity that can pay off really well. As with all things in life and business, it might not work for everyone.

What it depends on, really, is the spirit and spirituality of the networker.

Networking is part of a business strategy, marketing, sales, promotion, etc.  But as networking is also very much about personal connections, the aspect of personality plays a major part. And a major part of a personality is someone’s…

Follow our link to the Surrey Life site (on NiS Home Page) for a 'What's on in Surrey calendar' - just to prove we're not 'all work and no play!'  Coincidentally (?) that's the title of another link box on the Home Page which takes you to some light-hearted YouTube videos if you need a two-minute break from the grindstone...

Here's the What's On…

The latest budget will no doubt contain a few surprises and will take a while to digest. At first sight it would appear that big businesses will benefit more than small businesses. 

The proposed "Employment Allowance" may prove to be an interesting opportunity for some tax planning but the devil will be in the detail.

In the meantime, TaxAssist Accountants have released a summary to highlight the key…

Don'thca just love good news stories in these often gloomy times (if the press is to be believed!)

Veronica Pullen, long-standing NiS Member and Social Media diva (and all-round good sport:0) has just been voted Small Business Coach of the Year at the Association of Professional Speakers, Trainers and Consultants 2012 Achievement Awards…

Hello friends of NiS,

How are you feeling? Now it is spring and the days are getting longer, do you have more energy or are you still feeling a bit tired?

Daily yoga practice will bring your body energy back in balance. Even if you are at work you can take a couple of minutes to practice some yoga. I have recorded a Modified Sun Salutation so if you’re busy or recovering from an injury you can do this sequence to get the energy and blood flowing.

Modified Sun…