Archive for February, 2010

The grand unveiling of the Apple iPad by Steve Jobs last week resulted in a mass scramble to get on the internet, as online shoppers were desperate to find out more. 

Statistics from InvisibleHand, the real-time shopping price comparison add-on, show that in the hours following the announcement the iPad accounted for almost five per cent of UK online shopping searches.

Robin Landy, founder of InvisibleHand, says, “Anticipation over the iPad has been building up for months and our data shows that people were not disappointed with what they saw. Interestingly despite not being available in the UK until March, British consumers were whipped into more of a frenzy than the US. Over the pond the iPad accounted for just under three per cent of online shopping searches.”

“The iPad is going to top most wanted lists for months to come. As consumers look to get their hands on this new gadget they need to make sure that they have the right tools to get it at the best price. Real-time price comparison is essential if early adopters are to take advantage of an iPad price war,” concluded Landy.

ipadio – the live phonecasting & social media service, has announced that its technology is being used to share exclusive content and speaker insight in the lead up to Melcrum’s Social Media Conference on 9th and 10th February 2010.

In the run up to the conference, interviews with all the speakers will be broadcast live via ipadio at, http://www.melcrum.com/socialmedia/index.html, allowing delegates to get a sneak preview of what’s to come at the conference. People who can’t make the live broadcast can listen later. And, with ipadio’s full integration into other social media platforms, listeners are able to post questions and get them answered by the speakers in real-time.

Abi Signorelli, a communications consultant who’s conducting the interviews said, “This is a great example of how true social communication should work. It’s creating a conversation and dialogue well in advance of the actual event itself – allowing the speakers and organizers to respond and react to what people think and want to know”.

James Bennett, Melcrum’s Head of Content, said: “This is the second time we’ve worked with ipadio ahead of an event and the technology and format works brilliantly.  Delegates are able to tweet questions on Twitter, the interview is live on www.melcrum.com  and our readers, listeners and crucially our members, are able to get a glimpse of the great content, information and advice that our speakers & experts will be able to give them on the day to make their jobs as internal communicators that much easier.”

Dr Mark Smith, CEO of ipadio said, “We are thoroughly enjoying our work with Melcrum – they continue to innovate in their use of ipadio – and the audience for this conference are engaging well with the pre-conference interviews, getting their questions posted live.  As a result, this conference is no longer a 2 day flash event, but a month long learning and networking experience – which given it’s a social media & communications conference is ideal.”

To listen live the interviews and ask questions, http://www.melcrum.com/socialmedia/index.html and follow Twitter hashtag #MelcrumSMC.