Here are this week’s handpicked selections…
7 ways to improve your eBay business
Sound advice from an eBay veteran to help you increase sales and get the best price for your items.
Are payday lenders ‘out of control’?
It’s hard to watch anything on the television these days without a red faced man shouting “WONGA” at you and offering you a quick loan with an interest rate of 4,5387874 percent.
Has the stratospheric rise of the pay day loan companies been managed responsibly?
90 FREE philosophy courses
Fed up of thoughtfully resting your chin on a clenched fist while you gaze up at the sky (but not quite knowing what it all means)? The good people at Open Culture have just added to their comprehensive list of free philosophy courses. There are some great introductory sessions listed to on here to whet your appetite too.
Can you map how cities smell?
Quirky article about ‘smellscape’. We’re always arranging the world by sight, buts that’s just one of the sense – what about the others? Researchers are now looking at how we can re-map the world in smells. I particularly liked Victoria Henshaw’s ‘Scents of Glasgow’ map (if you click on the image it enlarges). Smells include: Lorne sausage, wet moss, perfume, diesel fumes and hot Bovril at the footy.
How ideas can become viable businesses
Inspiring advice from a 27 year old genius who ditched an incredible job at Microsoft to pursue his dream. The BBC do a good job of unpacking some of the ‘must have’ qualities for budding entrepreneurs. “Never try to start a company with something you don’t like, because it will never go anywhere. Only do something that you truly enjoy.”
What you need to know about this new Google AdWords tool
Every heard of ‘Flexible Bid Strategies’? I know I know, snappy name. The thing is, if you use Google AdWords to promote your website or business it’s worth taking a look at this. Google have implemented some new features which could help boost your ad campaigns. You have to upgrade to an ‘enhanced campaign’ to benefit from this. Full details here:
Infographic: Is your Facebook page performing above average?
This week’s infographic (which was obviously commissioned in April) comes from the bods at quintly. Some interesting stats in here, particularly in relation to website size/likes and the various levels of interaction. A lot of these figures and charts seems to mirror some of my own experiences here at Insider’s Edge. It can seem like a slow process, enticing people onto different social media channels, but certainly over time as I’ve tried to increase the amount of quality content on the website it’s had an impact. It’s a road worth pursuing!
Michael Buble stalked by Velociraptors
Yes, that’s right. Michael Buble is constantly being followed (usually during photoshoots) by pesky Velociraptors. This is a great Tumblr blog where readers have sent in their photos of the chocolately voiced warbler being shadowed by extinct, cold-blooded killers.