Hello, I must be going…

For me, it’s no longer just the title of a 1980s Phil Collins album, due to the fact I’m no longer with Absolute Radio.

It was a mutual decision, at a rare time when there’s a healthy break between projects. And going into a company of incredibly talented and digitally-aware people from senior management down to reception, I was well aware that the key objectives of knowledge transfer and integrating digital marketing throughout the business contained an element of self-redundancy at some point.

It’s a testament to the team at One Golden Square that in the 14 months I’ve been there, we:

  • Launched over 20 mobile applications which have had downloads in the millions, and driven sustained growth in mobile listening and engagement.
  • Connected with tens of thousands of new and existing listeners via social media, with each account now run by a key stakeholder in the business. Those connections have increased by a multiple of about x1000 in 14 months, with a corresponding effect on engagement with the Absolute Radio websites and specific content items.
  • Launched a number of new brands, including Absolute 80s, Absolute Radio 90s, Absolute Radio Extra (with Rock ‘n’ Roll Football), and the re-launch of Absolute Classic Rock.
  • Redeveloped key content areas of the Absolute Radio website for natural search optimisation, usability and user engagement with fantastic results.
  • Developed internal digital and social media policies which encourage engagement, and utilised an internal planning and collaboration tool.
  • And increased and improved the utilisation of paid search.

And that’s just some of the things which spring to mind…

It’s honestly been a privilege and honour to work with a group of people who are not only skilled, but also extremely passionate about building a new brand which is clear and transparent to both employees, and most importantly to consumers.

In addition I’ve also met and worked with great people from external companies, and if you’re one of them and I haven’t already thanked you, then I hope this counts.

And as for the future?

It’s quite an exciting time – I’m working on a some projects with various people, I’m looking over what I’ve achieved with my own digital projects in the past, and I’m taking the chance to speak to a whole host of new people about various opportunities, whether on a short or long term basis. So if you’d like to chat, please do drop me an email (thewayoftheweb at googlemail.com).

HTML5 and a new mobile app from Absolute Radio

The Apple iPad is about to launch in the UK, and in preparation, Absolute Radio is now available in a HTML5 version for all you iPad and iPhone owners to be able to listen to all the audio and see all the videos.

And in case you’re wondering, that’s all the audio and video throughout the whole site – not just the first couple of pages.

HTML5 optimised Absolute Radio website

And that’s in addition to the release of the all new Baddiel & Skinner Football Kit App for iPhone and Android, with support from Sony-Ericsson for the Android version.

It’s got the Baddiel & Skinner Absolute Radio Podcasts, a pub locator, score prediction game, red and yellow cards, football soundboard, an illustrated guide for doing goal celebrations, and a football rattle when you shake your phone!

Baddiel & Skinner Football Kit App

This is the link for iTunes. And you can find it via your handset on Android. The great news is that it went straight into the Top 20 Paid Sports Apps on the UK iTunes store, and it’s currently floating around the Top Ten.

(Disclosure: I work for Absolute Radio as Digital Marketing Manager.)

And in case I forget, I’m out and about over the next couple of weeks, so feel free to grab me for a chat etc if you see me at:

Specialist Media Show, May 25th, Peterborough (Hosting a round table on mobile)

Open Mobile Summit, May 26th, London (Doing a quick 2 minute piece on our work on Nokia platforms at a couple of different times during the day in the Nokia lounge.)

M-Publishing, June 1, London (Hosting a round table on mobile publishing).

So come chat if you spot me…

A rather busy week…

It’s Sunday evening, and I’m staring down the barrel of 725 unread items in Google Reader, pondering why I haven’t organised any food, and yet feeling like I should make the most of relaxing for an hour or two before the new week begins.

The good kind of busy has been happening at work, as the whole team at Absolute Radio have been doing more than ever before. If you’re interested in whether or not it works, check out the latest stats and on-demand listening figures. It includes the nice news that 713,000 Absolute Radio applications have now been downloaded to mobile phones, and people used them to listen to 215,000 hours of live audio (mobile development is one of the things I’m heavily involved in).

And to illustrate how fast the company continues to move, on Friday Absolute 80s became a national station on DAB, and we announced a new station, Absolute Radio 90s.

And that’s just some of stuff being worked on…

Meanwhile outside of work, I had the uncomfortable experience of having 2 out of my 3 sites comprimised by the PHP exploit which did the rounds of a number of hosting services.

For updates, and info if you’re affected, I recommend the Securi SecurityWPSecurityLock blog (which includes a great script to easily solve the immediate problem), and the blog (which has some handy guides to backing up and reinstalling your database and content). I hadn’t looked at either site before or heard their names mentioned, but after reading up and using their tools, I’m quite impressed – and both sites offer ongoing WordPress security products I’ve made a mental note to check out.

So all three sites have been tweaked and had clean installs uploaded after some backing-up.

Add in a poorly child (thankfully better now), and Chelsea doing a historic double (Winning the Premiership and FA Cup), and it’ll explain why updates might take a while to get back up to their regular schedule!

How Leo LaPorte is saving my relationship…

Like many people I juggle a number of roles during every day – marketer, blogger, father, partner – and there are constantly any number of things calling out for my attention.

And despite efforts to raise my game at home and at work, I have one major stereotypical male weakness when it comes to my home life. I’ve got cleaning blindness.

I don’t mind washing and cleaning, but like many guys, when I’m left to my own devices it tends to happen when I’m down to the last clean shirt, or the last clean glass or plate.

Until I got an internet-connected radio anyway…

Pure Evoke Flow Internet Connected Radio

The reason I suddenly enjoy washing up

Suddenly I’m actually looking for reasons to do the washing up, or sort the laundry, and it’s all due to the fact I’ve got an internet-connected radio (a PURE EVOKE Flow DAB Internet Radio for those interested).

It means that rather than seeing it as time away from catching up with work and the tech world, I can combine that time with catching up on stuff I generally miss during the week (Just as my TV watching is almost entirely online), as well as listening to Absolute Radio on DAB (Disclosure: I work at Absolute Radio).

And my favourite tech show of the lot is This Week in Tech – it’s substantial enought to last through the biggest pile of washing up, and there’s something in Leo LaPorte‘s Amercian radio delivery that is immensely enjoyable and relaxing…

Suddenly there’s a tech gadget my partner really loves (She appreciates most of them, but this one actually produces a tangible benefit!), the dishes are clean, and I’m getting to listen to the opinions of a panel of great guests every week…

For reference, the list of favourite podcasts at the moment are:

This Week in Tech

GDGT – more gadget focused

Engadget – again with the gadgets

The Guardian Tech Weekly

Giant Bomb – awesome videogame podcast (Cheers to @pjeedai for the recommendation)

And various great podcasts from my employer, which are particularly great when I’m out and about at the weekend and miss Frank Skinner or Dave Gorman.

It’s interesting to think about the challenge of promoting DAB and internet-connected radios when the benefits aren’t always immediately clear. I’d always assumed that the combination of laptop, smartphone and MP3 player meant I had all the audio access I could want – but the benefit of having a dedicated device with decent audio quality built-in makes a huge difference. Within one or two button pushes it’s running, it’s always plugged in, and I don’t need headphones.

I wonder how many more people might not realise the benefits yet?