Those footie fans among us will recognise this phrase as one uttered by footballers across the land - who think it makes them sound intelligent....WRONG. It makes you sound as stupid as you probably are.

According to a study by Oxford University Press - this phrase tops the list of the most annoying phrases in the UK.

This is followed swiftly by a range of others including: 'Fairly unique', 'I personally', 'At this moment in time', 'With all due respect', 'Absolutely', 'It's a nightmare', 'Shouldn't of' (was anyone who admits to using this phrase actually paying attention in their English classes?), '24/7' and 'It's not rocket science'.

However I have personal gripe which I think, although not a phrase, beats all of the above hands down.

Anyone who thinks 'their' should be spelt 'there' should, in my opinion, be made to go back to school and retake a series of English exams until it sticks in THEIR brain.

After all, at the end of the day, and with all due respect, spelling words correctly is not exactly rocket science is it?

What a nightmare.

March 16, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (1)

There has been an interesting study released by Lewis PR which revealed that 77 per cent of people questioned would vote in the General Election online if they could.

According to the research a total of 56 per cent had visited political web sites as well, which shows there is an interest in politics online.

The current system of voting is pretty outdated - meaning people have to risk missing working hours to get to their nearest voting station and there is also the fact that it uses far too much paper and is not a very green solution.

In this day and age - surely online voting is a viable option for people to have?

Yes, there will be cries that it is inviting vote rigging and cheating, but to be honest - that goes on already.

This way - more of the population might actually bother to vote, providing a much fairer result for the country as a whole.

Personally I will do anything to ensure I use my right to vote - but I have to admit - voting online would be a lot less hassle.

March 12, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0)

If cabbies ran the country it would be an interesting state of affairs.

I was in a cab on my way to a meeting this morning and I basically was given a potted history of my cabbie's political viewpoints and what he would do if he ran the country.

No stereotypes here thank you very much!

It all started when I made an innocent remark about the fact that most of Oxford Street was closed off or severely affected by roadworks due to the building of Crossrail.

This led to a rant about the Olympics (a huge driver for Crossrail), Ken Livingstone and eventually the Labour party and all its many failings.

He had even had Tony Blair in the back of his cab before he became Prime Minister.

"I didn't like him then either," my cabbie said.

By the time I reached my destination I was almost ready to give him my vote!

March 5, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0)

The goverment is determined to get a further 7.5 million people using the internet by 2014, it has said today.

Its particular targets are the older generation and the less well-off (that actually includes most of the UK population at the moment!!)

Included in this scheme is the Home Access Plan - which is costing the taxpayer £300m by suppling over 270,000 families with school age children with a PC or laptop.

How is it going to achieve these targets?

I've always believed in a live-and-let-live approach to life. If you are desperate to access a computer, and cannot - then of course you should get help.

But forcing people to get online is not really the answer. What will happen next -an internet police force? Anyone spending less than three hours online by 2014 will be thrown in jail?

Although this is great news for IT suppliers in general - I just don't see what business this is of the government's in the first place.

March 2, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0)

According to recent research from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) three in four firms are being held back by overly complex tax rules.

A total of 34 per cent of firms questioned by the FSB said income tax was the most difficult to deal with, with 52 per cent citing taxable allowances as difficult to comprehend. However 52 per cent said VAT was the easiest type of tax to understand.

What I find most amazing is that only 66 per cent of firms questioned employed professional help - what did the remaining 34 per cent do? Bury it under the carpet? Or try and muddle through it, earning countless fines in the process no doubt?

The FSB laments that one in 10 businesses spend up to six hours a week sorting out their tax issues.

But forgive me for being a little slow here and seeing this as a slight non story. Isn't that what accountants are for?

As much as I dislike this present government and all that they have done to this country - tax is a fact of life if you are a business and there is no way around it (unless you up sticks to a tax-free economy like the big boys have). SMEs are caught between a rock and a hard place and they have to pay up.

Simples.

March 1, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (1)

I was at the TCA conference in Leicester yesterday and Samsung was touting its latest USB 2.0 500GB portable hard drive to assembled resellers and retailers.

However these were not just a boring little box - these looked stylish and come in a range of funky designs and colours.

The ones we were shown had the Michael Jackson 'This is It' film preloaded, but the vendor also offered versions with the Terminator Salvation and Dan Brown's Angels and Demons preloaded.

For those of us who are not geeks and don't get excited about the latest Aluminium casings, this is sure to encourage them to spend.

Michael Jackson fan or not - it definitely made me want one!

February 26, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0)

I was reading on Sky News this morning how an Italian chef has got into hot water for praising the benefits of cat meat on Italy's equivalent of Ready Steady Cook.

His defence is that in the 30s and 40s during the war, meat was very scarce and they did what they could to survive. He didn't actually say he grabs the nearest family cat and sticks it on a spit nowadays.

Now I am a cat lover and could no more eat a cat than fly to the moon. I would rather starve.

Unless of course he was talking about the tinned variety and enjoys a can of Whiskers or Felix every now and again.

Nothing wrong with that, although it is not that great for the breath.

February 17, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm starting to feel a little nervous now. I have a US Embassy appointment for a special journalist visa tomorrow morning.

Not only do I have to catch a train at 5.40am tomorrow to ensure I will get there in time, but I am going to be made to feel like a criminal just because I have chosen a profession they don't like very much.

I only cover IT conferences - nothing sinister about that I don't think!

But I will duly go and have my fingerprints done and be interrogated if it means I can travel without any hassle.

Wish me luck!

February 16, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (1)

This is an age old question and something I have been meaning to write an analysis piece on for years but never actually got round to it.

Is there an actual, official definition of an SME, a mid-market company and an Enterprise?

My thoughts is that SME is 250 employees max, mid-market is up to 1,000 employees and enterprise is anything above and beyond that.

If anyone could shed some light on this for me and point me in the direction of an official definition - I would be most grateful.

It is actually driving me MAD!

Have a great weekend and see you next week.

February 12, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (1)

I'd forgotten that it is Valentines Day this weekend.

Or rather I have tried to bury it away in a little box at the back of my mind.

The day when all of us single people are made to feel that we have somehow failed in life.

I'm quite glad that it is on a Sunday this year so any of us going out for a social event at the weekend don't feel quite so useless.

Still, I shall enjoy watching I'm Strictly an Ice Dancer Get me Out of Here, or whatever reality TV drivel there is on the box on Sunday nights.

Happy Valentines Day everyone!

February 11, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0)