This blog post is as “live” as you’ll ever get on Modern Cheek. I’m typing it, and then I’ll post it, and you’ll read it and that’ll be it. Simply put, I don’t “get” live blogging.

Take the Super Bowl, for instance. Several popular blogs are live blogging the Super Bowl and its commercials. The theory is to have people follow the blog for 4+ hours during the game, reloading the page and, presumably, seeing as many ads as possible. Live blogging is also popular during events like the Academy Awards and last year’s U.S. presidential debates.

Sorry, but I don’t see the allure of live blogging for the audience. While it seems to be popular, you must remember it’s happening on sites that are pretty popular to begin with; your average Joe Blog is live blogging to a zero audience. So it takes popularity, and I think that ought to be enough. Live blogging might make some readers feel in touch with what’s going on, but so does actually watching the game or attending a Super Bowl party. But instead, live blog readers are commenting on people commenting on an event, and spending countless hours giving up watching the actual event in exchange for someone else’s opinion.

For people who actually care about the Super Bowl, wouldn’t you rather see a nice catch than read, “Fitzgerald takes it to the house! Cardinals lead!”? I know I would.

Giving Jason Shankey and his fabulous hair a run for his money is Edward’s Hair Solutions, a new UK hair products site.

Edward’s is based around a quaint Southampton salon of the same name and offers GHD and Wella hair products direct to consumers. Visitors can also get hair advice from Edward’s head stylist (pun intended) via the “Ask Giles” feature. This looks like a great idea; and Giles seems to know his way around a head of hair too! I wonder what he’d do with my ever-present ponytail?

Stores like Edward’s that focus on one or two brands can be a blessing or a curse; on one hand, you aren’t getting the extensive selection you might find on the high street. On the other hand, you’re not getting the crazy-extensive selection you’d find on the high street! As long as you’re buying quality brands (like Wella and GHD), it’s okay to shop at a specialty store. Not only can they steer you in the right direction with how to use their products, but they’ll often have deals that far surpass what you’d find at Boots or other high street retailers.

Case in point: Edward’s Hair currently has the UK’s best price on the super-popular GHD IV styler. They actually manage to beat Amazon! That makes Edward’s the place to go for GHD hair straighteners (well, maybe not the obnoxious pink one) and lots of other GHD and Wella products. Add to that the advice they offer - what does Amazon know about hair anyway? - and Edward’s Hair Solutions looks like a winner.

Watch out, Jason Shankey!

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the new kid on the web development block. People with SEO skill sets help to build and market your website so that it gets high search engine rankings and maximum traffic; after all, traffic = conversions = profits.

Apogee Search, one of the world’s largest Search Engine Optimization firms, has lots of great resources on their site for both new and seasoned SEO professionals. One of my favourite resources is their very in-depth Search Engine Marketing Glossary. The glossary introduces SEO-specific terms - both technical (301 redirect, alt tag, etc) and non-technical (link farm, keyword density). This portion of the site is extensive, highlighting a few terms that even I’ve never heard of (and SEO is one of my day jobs)! Read the rest of this entry »

It’s a familiar scenario, at least in our household - we find a fantastic airline fare online and are shocked to find that, once taxes and surcharges are added, the price has doubled, or more. Well, let’s say we were once shocked; now it’s a normal way of life and something we come to expect.

But why should a £1 cheap fare have £50 in taxes? What, exactly, are they taxing?

Most airlines don’t tell you, or they don’t make it obvious where the charges come from. But U.S. Airways’ website does. Read the rest of this entry »

Plastic surgeons are one of the few groups of professionals who can, nearly across the board, afford to have an awesome website for their business. So while we’ve all seen sub-standard, FrontPage-crafted sites for mom and pop shops, B&Bs, and other family establishments, there’s no excuse for plastic surgeons.

Here are five features that are essential for a great plastic surgery website, using Dr. Philip Miller (rhinoplasty Manhattan New York) and his excellent website as an example. Follow along on his first-class site as we go through the list. Read the rest of this entry »