So week two is over already, a week when the focus was very much on getting the message across to your audience. This was a series of session facilitated by Rob Fitzpatrick author of The Mom Test which, kudos to him, he didn’t push at all.

Here’s the interesting thing you are almost positively encouraged to pitch your idea to anyone that will listen. Family and friends will give you positive feedback because they want you to succeed and others you will want to tell because you think your idea is a great idea. No here’s the funny thing. You … Read the rest

Three weeks ago the company that I am CTO for, SpeakInConfidence, was given the opportunity to join the pilot for Microsoft Ventures’s twelve week UK accelerator programme.

There was much discussion internally about the merits of accepting the offer as the business has reached a stage where we are beginning to see real fruits of our labours and there were question marks over whether this would be a distraction we could do without. On the other hand this was an exceptional opportunity with a chance to tap into resources and learning that we just wouldn’t get anywhere else. We … Read the rest

Producing realistic product shots running on a variety of devices can be challenging. Cropping and rotating images to get them to fit the screen without it being obviously done that way.

Enter PlaceIt which is one of the best use of web technology I have ever seen. For a start using it is simplicity itself.

Firstly you chose the device type that you want to create a product image onto – this can be any number of smartphones, tablets, desktop and laptops in a variety of settings. As you see from the one above they are beautifully done.

Next, if … Read the rest

This is what I see when I start-up Twitter on iOS. And it stays like this for a good six seconds. It feels like a lifetime.

… Read the rest

Evernote is one of the most useful applications and I use it daily and with other apps such as Skitch, Penultimate and Hello it is becoming a real business powerhouse. However, while I like Skitch and welcome the Evernote integration to have all the random screen grabs I have taken showing in my notes timeline is really distracting.

Good news! It is possible to hide these as follows:

At the top of the note list select the icon to change the view. Hover over “Include” and then untick “Skitch Notes”. Simple as that. All the usefulness of synchronising with Evernote … Read the rest

This is the helpful error message you receive if you don’t enter a telephone number into the Centre Parcs reservation system.

… Read the rest