It's August! Les Grandes Vacances! It seems everyone I know is either away, about to go away or has just returned.

So, in keeping with the silly season, I'm taking a break this week. Stepping in to fill my shoes is the Isle of Man's pre-eminent technology blogger, Owen Cutajar. I first met Owen in the blogosphere, but, soon after, discovered him sitting next to me at a British Computer Society committee meeting.

His blog averages 18,000 unique visitors each month and more than 2,000 people have taken the time to leave a comment. He is a true Island A-lister. So, without further ado, here are a couple of example posts from his blog. Thanks Owen.

The first one is story about a website by an Isle of Man psychologist. He scooped me on this one.


Using the internet to scale your business

I had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of Dr Helen Nightingale and we had an interesting conversation about her plans to start up a new website focusing on delivering advice and self-help relating to anxiety, trauma, insomnia and other mental health issues.

It was refreshing to come across a professional in a non-IT field with a firm grasp of the advantages and challenges of launching an online business.

Helen's idea is simple, but ingenious. Most people probably would not bother going to a professional about the simple problems making their lives difficult. Yet worries and improper sleep patterns can significantly degrade someone's life and there are many tools and mechanisms that could be implemented to help.

She is currently working on preparing a series of audio clips, with advice and guidance on how people can help themselves with these issues. They will be available for a small fee and provide a basis for further therapy.

The savings to the end-user include not having to spend hours, and a lot of money, on a therapist and the clips can be downloaded anonymously, without having to wait on an NHS waiting list for months.

Her business plan seems a great way to scale your capabilities. Selling your skills is extremely rewarding, but you are usually bound by the number of hours you can bill. Your rate will increase over time, but the time boundary essentially defines a limit you cannot exceed.

Helen's plan involves packaging the service she offers and making it simultaneously available to an international audience. Her work, and the benefits it brings, are no longer limited by her time and physical location. From a business perspective, she is scaling her capabilities and creating an organisation that can flow from her expertise.


Breakthrough ideas for 2007

Harvard Business Review have an interesting article about what they consider to be Breakthrough Ideas for 2007. There are some interesting ideas in the list, but I find two of them more poignant than others.

One of the most prevalent trends I am seeing in industry today is an emerging hotbed of user-centred innovation. Customers are not content to sit back and choose from whatever is available on the shelf at their local. They are happier to define something that meets their needs and have it made, sourced or otherwise procured by whatever means necessary.

Take my son's birthday party for example. My wife did not want to buy standard Happy Birthday decorations. Instead, she found a service online that would print a giant banner with whatever text she wanted.

The Harvard article sums it up in one sentence: 'Today, customers are not just voicing their needs to companies that are willing to listen; they are inventing and often building what they want.'

The other trend that the Harvard article identifies is the increased coping mechanism that results from dealing with too much information. We are becoming much more selective in what we perceive and we are becoming more skilled at giving partial attention to a number of information streams simultaneously. HBR predicts that, in 2007, business will have to learn to deal with this both in their management style and in their marketing messages.

Owen usually posts to his blog www.u-g-h.com several times a day. It is worth a check.


>>Sherrilynne Starkie is the managing partner of Strive Public Relations, a communications consultancy serving the Isle of Man. She provides her views on business and technology each week in Tech Talk. Visit her business blog Strive Notes for frequent updates.
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