These are less than positive results for the 35 companies who took part in the survey. The findings highlight an issue that is having a detrimental effect on the Scottish economy which has been reiterated by Polly Purvis, executive director of ScotlandIS:

“Ecommerce is now a major force in the UK economy. The latest results from the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index show that total ecommerce sales continue to grow substantially, with consumers spending £4.5 million online last month alone [...] Addressing this skills shortage would help transform the Scottish economy. If many more small businesses were trading online, we could lift our exports substantially.”

The user’s first impression of a website is crucial to whether they will click through to more pages or instantly leave and find another site. It is estimated that 50% of potential repeat visits are lost due to inadequate web design. Users need to know exactly what the company is offering and be able to navigate through the site with ease. Professional web designers will discuss with you exactly what your business does, your customers and what your expectations are. Poorly designed websites are immediately obvious and are often the main cause of the failure of small businesses. Get ahead of your competitors and have a professional website that is not just read by customers but also by search engines. First Internet is a company that can help you achieve website success!

Virtual currencies are used for gaming and social media websites such as Facebook, who is currently the leader in this arena. Jambool, in isolation, could not compete with the internet phenomenon but is now a much more worthy contender as a Google partner. Developers create, host, manage and monetise virtual economies and integrate them into gaming systems.

The flourishing competition between Facebook and Google should benefit consumers by giving them more choice and developers by lowering transaction fees.

There are now worries that certain content on the internet will be treated differently and only be available to access at premium rate charges, such as some healthcare services and online gaming sites.

Google have denied the allegation that they have joined with Verizon in order to have their traffic routed faster.

The understanding of the proposal is that Google received commitment to net neutrality for wired internet access – which is internet accessed via a computer at home or at work. Verizon will not be as regulated for wireless access via Smartphones.

Google currently retains over 80% of the Internet searching market out of which 9.18% is from the Firefox toolbar Google search, whilst Bing handles 8.56% and Yahoo 6.69%. These statistics indicate that Mozilla is therefore the next in line behind Google as a driver of searches, particularly as the figure omits web addresses being typed directly into the address bar of the browser.

The Mozilla foundation could have a fight on its hands between Google and Bing when Google’s contract with Mozilla ends in November 2011. The $75 million that Mozilla has made from going into partnership with Google is likely to increase if there is an all out bidding war between the rival companies.

Peggy Orenstein explored this issue in an article for the New York Times focussing on an instance when she was enjoying a shared moment with her daughter and had an overwhelming urge to leave this state of happiness to tweet how much she was enjoying herself. It is almost as if we are simply observers of our own lives and recounting stories to an audience. As Orenstein wrote, we are “blurring the lines not only between public and private but also between the authentic and contrived self.”

However, contrary to what many now believe, the concept of creating a public persona is not a new one. In the 1950s the sociologist, Ervin Goffman described the whole of one’s life as a performance. But perhaps Twitter has taken this to a whole new level. It is as if we are creating an Internet marketing package to sell ourselves as a valid existence. Orenstein is not complete at Twitter’s mercy, she has vowed to try and resist the urge to ruin an enjoyable moment in order to simply recount it to other people.

Projects will include:

• Helping with the design of new websites and development of online branding

• Creating images to promote brands in an eye-catching manner.

• Helping with the redesign and refresh of our existing clients websites on an on-going basis and other adhoc projects for web, emails for special promotions and tactical sales banners etc.

Download the Specification here

The database currently indexes information on over 12 million subjects, including books, TV and film, celebrities, businesses, countries and more. Metaweb want to encourage other web companies to contribute to this huge catalogue of data.

Google intend to utilise Freebase to generate more relevant and accurate results when users search using complicated questions. Google’s current algorithm cannot cope with complicated questions i.e.  ‘Bands from Manchester who have had a top 10 single.’ Freebase will be able to understand the question resulting in more relevant Google results. This is a positive advancement for the search engine.

The truth is that it is only when you actually get your hands of Apple’s latest piece of innovation that it really begins to make sense. It’s light enough to be perfectly manageable in one hand while you tap, swipe, pinch-zoom with the other. Or you can grip it with both hands and type with your thumps. Either way, it’s a highly tactile device with the same intimacy that you feel with other touch screens.

The real stand-out feature of the iPad is its speed and as Google has now confirmed that its new ‘Caffeine’ algorithm change has been fully rolled out and here to stay, it seems that a site’s page load speed is set to become a major issue in web design. But back to the iPad . . .

The increased speed of the device means that apps open instantly, internet pages build quickly, the big screen responds immediately. This all makes it a very satisfying experience. Of course it’s not a full computer experience – the touch screen keyboard can be fiddly and doesn’t have the haptic response that many smartphones make the most of. Also there is no Flash animation support, so not every site displays properly, but this is one of the few disappointments when you get to grips with the iPad.

All in all the iPad is a light, cute and powerful alternative to another laptop in the house.

How can I tell if I need to upgrade?

Not sure if you’re using Internet Explorer 6? Well it’s easy to find out, so you might as well check now:

In the toolbar menu on the top of your screen click “Help” and choose “About Internet Explorer”. This will give you a screen with the version you’re using. (Later versions of Internet Explorer don’t have the “Help” menu, so if you can’t see this then you’re safe).

Why should I upgrade?

So you’re happy with what you have at the moment and still not convinced you should upgrade? Well here’s why:

• Internet Explorer 6 has many security problems: You’re more likely to get a virus on your computer, and you’re more likely to become a victim of identity theft
• Many websites don’t work properly with Internet Explorer 6: The browser has many bugs which can cause webpages to display incorrectly, or even crash your computer. With big websites like Google and YouTube ending support for IE6, you may find your Internet experience becomes very limited!
• Internet Explorer 6 is holding back the Internet: Web developers such as us spend hours fixing website problems caused by IE6. This is a waste of time and money, which could otherwise have been spent improving the experience for users of modern web browsers

How can I upgrade?

We hope you’re now convinced that you should upgrade your browser. Fortunately doing this is easy.

• Option 1: Switch to a new browser
  First Internet recommends you install Mozilla Firefox, it is more secure than Internet Explorer and very easy to use. You can download it from the Mozilla website.
• Option 2: Upgrade Internet Explorer
  If you’d prefer to stick to Internet Explorer, then simply download the latest version from Microsoft.