So what is The Best Of? The Best Of champions the best businesses from across the United Kingdom based on region. It aims to engage with local people and provide them with a voice to let communities know what they think of the local businesses in their area. The very nature or The Best Of business model promotes the spread of social information, ideas and opinions. It’s openness and transparency, combined with a great network of websites and franchisees has led to widespread success and acclaim.

In the UK alone The Best Of has over 350 franchises and promotes over 65’000 of the best “local” businesses in the United Kingdom, as well as Guernsey of course! The business was originally setup by renowned entrepreneur Nigel Botterill who has led many businesses to national success.

When we were invited to fly over from Guernsey to provide a master class in social media and search engine optimisation to a large group of it’s franchisees we jumped at the chance. The day allowed the franchisees to benefit from a broad overview of disciplines; each area of the presentation was designed to equip franchisees with the necessary knowledge and framework to set out an effective social media and SEO strategy for their business.

The day was intended to emphasise that having a solid framework and systematic process in place for planning social media strategies is of the upmost importance. It is common for businesses to focus on the tools of the trade, such as Facebook and Twitter, more so than the concepts that lead to success within these systems. Getting back to the core issues and providing practical case studies and other examples was used to demonstrate the value in prior planning.

The day was well received and we have since received many kind words from those who attended. Testimonials can be found on The Best of Guernsey; your resource for determining the best and most trusted businesses in the island.

“I recently attended a social media training course run by Simon and found it very beneficial. The whole day was informative and was directed at a pace that was understandable to all levels within the room. I came back eager to put what was learned into action and now have a better understanding of many tools that are available within social media. I would recommend one of Simon’s courses to anyone wishing to learn more about growing their business through social media!”

Three core areas were covered during the day long social media and search engine optimisation workshop:

Website and Social Media Content Planning:

• Why content planning is essential and effective.
• What people are searching for in your local area?
• When are people searching for your content?
• How are they searching for content, what tools do they use and why?
• How to identify keywords for use in effective copywriting.
• How does Google look at all of this?

Route to Market and Content Distribution:

• How should I distribute my content?
• Where should I distribute it to?
• Where should I distribute it from?
• When and how often should I distribute my content?
• Why should I vary my content types?
• What tools can I use to make my life easier?
• What are the benefits of linking systems? A search engine optimisation guide.

Interaction within Social Systems such as Facebook and Twitter:

• Best practice when interacting with audiences in social media environments.
• How should I present my content and information?
• How can I make changes to improve and diversify these social systems?
• How to promote your social space?
• How can I identify the positives and negatives of my activities?
• How can I make use of web based analytics to determine future online marketing direction?

Notable guest speaker Derek Coates described his business journey from his days at school right up until the formation of well known Guernsey based businesses Blue Islands; serving Guernsey’s need for a low cost airline and Healthspan; the UK’s number one supplier of vitamins and health supplements.

Mr Coates really provided an insight into his life journey and emphasised the need to remain at the forefront of your business activities despite its growth or apparent level of self-sustainability. It was clear from listening to Mr Coates that often business success is attributed to the ability to remain flexible and ready to change direction or focus when evolving opportunities arise. Given the ever changing nature of web design and digital media in Guernsey, this was of particular relevance to us.

Social media marketing in the form of Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn for Guernsey businesses was a hot topic of conversation. Purple Coffee has recently returned from delivering a Social Media and SEO (search engine optimisation) workshop in Birmingham, so we were very excited to see that Guernsey businesses are becoming increasingly aware of the businesses and communication merits such social networks herald. We look forward to supporting Guernsey businesses in identifying how and when to use social media. Purple Coffee feels strongly that correct and responsible planning of social media activities is integral success for businesses. Many Guernsey based businesses find social media an intimidating prospect and require guidance and assistance to make the right decisions rather than making hasty ones based on the relative accessibility and availability of social media platforms and tools.

The day was concluded with a speed networking exercise which gave Guernsey businesses the chance to pitch and get to know one another in strict three minute slots! Elevator pitches at the ready, businesses rushed around the room in a crazed frenzy of conversation and business card exchange.

Thanks must go to the all the guest speakers, NatWest Guernsey branch for sponsoring the event and to The Learning Company for co-ordinating much of the days activities.

Looking for integrated Web Design and Social Media Marketing plans that work? Look no further than Purple Coffee Guernsey. Here’s what our customers have to say:

“If you have an appreciation of the importance of the internet to your business, but lack the technical expertise to implement your ideas, Purple Coffee is the perfect partner. With one foot in the commercial world and the other in cyberspace, we found Purple Coffee to be the perfect guide in an unfamiliar landscape. By taking the time to understand our business, they over-delivered on our expectations and provided a catalyst for future innovation.” – Martyn Streeting, Foodlink Channel Islands.

“I attended a Social Media training session which was run by Simon. The day was full of useful information and practical advice on how to get the most from participation in online social media. It is evident that Simon ‘knows his stuff’ and was able to explain and answer a wide range of questions. We also took away a range of handouts – which add further detail to that delivered on the course. Business involvement in social media can be beneficial on a number of levels if you know what you are doing – or a waste of time and effort if you dont. Speaking to the experts is worth the investment, and I would certainly recommend Simon.” – Jan Bowers, Director at The Best of Bradford & The Best Of Huddersfield.

More testimonials available at The Best of Guernsey.

The owners of Elisa originally founded the European Nursing Agency (ENA) in 1987. They are highly experienced and well regarded nationally. ENA has grown to be one of the leading live in care agencies in the UK, achieving the highest star status with the United Kingdoms Care Quality Commission.

Guernsey web design specialists:

Purple Coffee’s design of the new Elisa Nursing Care website has been designed with all ages and demographics in mind. The use of bold typography and colour has been used to ensure content is easily navigable for all. Purple Coffee Guernsey has a broad depth of knowledge with regards to accessibility and usability; this knowledge ensured the production of a usable and accessible website for Elisa’s audience.

Effective website project management via Guernsey:

Purple Coffee worked and communicated with Elisa Nursing Care entirely via digital means. No need for lengthy client meetings or drawn out design and development processes. Purple Coffee’s efficiency in communication and project management ensured a quick turn around and a high quality website despite the physical barriers of distance. Not only does this demonstrate Purple Coffee’s ability to work effectively with clients from a variety of countries from Guernsey, it also demonstrates that the cost of production for clients can be reduced by establishing an effective production process that challenges orthodox agency working styles. Often agencies rely on account mangers and physical processes that often serve to inflate project costs and website development times.

“Business Brief comes of age in 2010. It will be 21 years since the magazine was first published. In that time it has grown from a fairly simple black and white newsletter covering business in Jersey, to a full colour high quality publication covering a wide range of subjects of interest to business people and community leaders throughout the whole Channel Islands. The magazine also tries to take a pan-island perspective of issues of importance to the whole Channel Islands. It is in a special position as the islands begin to work much more closely together. Every month the magazine includes special reports on subjects of importance to local business leaders, ranging from new technology and training to the workplace environment and health and safety.” – This is Guernsey

One of the aspects of Business Brief that Purple Coffee admired was their progressive attitude towards publishing. As well as producing and printing a physical copy of the publication, Business Brief is also published online on the This is Guernsey website. The July issue of Business Brief Magazine also featured one of Purple Coffee’s Guernsey clients Avant Garden. Purple Coffee continues to provide Avant Garden with Web Design and Social Media Marketing services.

Here’s a transcript of the article:

Guernsey Company Purple Coffee Limited, which specialises in providing web design and social media marketing services, was founded by Guernseyman Simon English and Portsmouth based web developer Gareth Evans. After graduating from Portsmouth University and several years working across the South and West of England, Simon returned to Guernsey to challenge orthodox agency working styles; providing a service that puts clients in direct contact with web designers rather than with salespersons or account managers.

Clients’ input and opinions are the most important aspect of any project; and by keeping communications simple and direct Purple Coffee believes they can prevent essential information getting lost in translation. The non-essential middlemen often serve to slow down the design process and may result in additional overheads that often get passed on to clients.

By putting experts rather than sales people in front of clients the company is able to offer free consultation of real value, enabling projects to evolve as they move forward. “We believe that it is important to provide clients with a point of contact that has the knowledge necessary to ensure informed decisions can be made every step of the way,” Simon said.

“We take pride in the products we build with our customers and value close working relationships. Quality, clarity, accessibility and usability are at the core of everything we do. We put our energy into building integrated web design and online marketing campaigns that make it easier for our clients to communicate with new and existing audiences.”

Purple Coffee is a social company, both offline and online. The web is an increasingly interconnected and social environment. This creates many new challenges and opportunities for businesses. Today’s consumers value openness and transparency from organisations irrespective of their size and seek to communicate with them online. Purple Coffee has specialist knowledge in user behaviour within systems such as Facebook and Twitter. Social networks are great for business, whether increasing brand exposure or monitoring and communicating with your audience, you can be sure to connect with new markets.

Simon says: “We focus on providing our clients with a service that is honestly priced and appropriate to their needs. We are strong advocates of open source technologies such as content management solution Wordpress, and believe we can reduce our client’s costs, while providing them with future proof solutions that can continually benefit from community driven improvements as technology moves forward. Google are a prime example of this social model, harnessing community driven collaboration and development of technology to provide a product that directly reflects the wants and needs of audiences.”

Purple Coffee look forward to continued success and building on both new and existing relationships in the Channel Islands and further afield.

Simon English is a Director of Purple Coffee Limited.  Simon graduated from Portsmouth University in 2007 with a BA in Interactive Media and is currently working towards an MFA in European Interactive Multimedia in his spare time.

Guernsey Web Design specialists:

Purple Coffee’s design of the new John Thompson Autorestorers was designed to be clean and bold, with an emphasis on usability to reflect the diverse age range of their Guernsey clients. Purple Coffee worked closely with Thompsons throughout the course of the project to ensure the services of Thompsons and the needs of their clients were accurately reflected in the new website. Iconography has been used to aid usability and allow potential clients to quickly relate to and distinguish between Thompsons numerable automotive services. We enjoyed a great working relationship with Thompson’s, here’s what they had to say:

“We had a website set up by an un-named company a few years ago, this was our first website so we followed advice, provided content and left them to it. However after no back-up and disappointment we got in contact with Kate Heywood of The Best of Guernsey who recommended us to Si at Purple Coffee. They have now designed and developed a brand new website which went live today. I have to say I am very impressed with their service and their product, the website looks fantastic and we have built up a good working relationship with them. I would highly recommend them to anyone looking to set up a website for their business.” - Tom Thompson

With more than 25 years experience in the home and garden retail industry, Nick is renowned for his good taste and eye for the unusual. This meant that Nick had a discerning eye for design and was in search of a website that was unique and visually striking.

Guernsey Web Design specialists:

Purple Coffee’s design of the new Avant Garden website really reflects the vibrancy of Avant Garden’s shop at Sausmarez Manor, Guernsey. The innumerable interior and exterior offerings on offer at Avant Garden provided much inspiration for the new design. The shop is a sensual treat; filled with beautiful textures, bright colours and amazing smells, couple this together with its tranquil setting at Sausmarez Manor and you’ll be hard pushed to find a more stimulating shopping experience in Guernsey.

Social Media Marketing:

Further to designing Avant Garden’s new website, Purple Coffee will be co-ordinating a Social Media Marketing campaign to allow Avant Garden to interact with new and existing clients in numerous interactive settings such as Facebook and Twitter. Much of the marketing data gathered from this interaction will be used to continually re-define the way Avant Garden communicate and offer their products to their Guernsey customers.

Print Media and Advertising:

To complement Avant Garden’s online marketing campaign Purple Coffee have designed a Bus Advert to be featured throughout the year on the back of one lucky Guernsey Bus! A combination of targeted traditional advertising and comprehensive online marketing strategy will ensure that Avant Garden is effectively advertised to the Guernsey community both online and offline.

“Si and Gareth have completely redesigned the Outdoor Guernsey website with a great understanding of my personal and business needs. Their care and attention to detail is hugely impressive and their customer service is awesome. The CMS was designed around my needs and to all my requests and preferences but the guys still make sure that efficiency, usability and effectiveness are paramount and I now accept their advice (almost) without question. Complementary skills, great value and personability round off a superb package. We are now working on an exciting social networking package for my business, with the most important thing for me the ‘WE’.” – Ant Ford Parker, Outdoor Guernsey.

We are really excited to be promoting such a well regarded local business. Outdoor Guernsey have a great reputation locally and are awesome to work with, we want to help complement their marketing campaign with a social media strategy that will allow them to solidify their market position, while pushing themselves into new markets. The soon to be released Outdoor Guernsey blog will act as a central hub of the campaign, providing Outdoor Guernsey with an infrastructure that allows them to push new content to social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter with relative ease, while ensuring this benefit is felt by the website itself.

A Google Analytics package has been put in place to allow Purple Coffee and Outdoor Guernsey to monitor the effectiveness of the social media campaign and provide a measurement of return on investment. Information is key to making informed marketing decisions; using Google Analytics really provides Guernsey businesses with a way to accurately build a picture of their client’s movements to, within and from their website. Purple Coffee continue to work closely with Ant Ford Parker to ensure that the social media marketing campaign evolves smoothly and that Ant builds the skills necessary to confidently manage his Facebook pages and blog.

“I think the whole social media explosion of the last few years is extremely important to us in a number of ways. Getting information out (marketing) and receiving feedback has always been a difficult or expensive task, but necessary for a business to grow and evolve. With social networking we can to interact like never before with our customers and reach potential customers through our interactions. It enables our business ethics, direction or beliefs (branding) to become more noticeable as we interact with complementary businesses or organisations. It has enabled us to solve specific problems, such as sharing photos of customers on activities. Previously a lot of time was spent emailing clients with the files. Now we simply share on Facebook or Flickr.

Building relationships with customers and the business community has now become something you can manage from your laptop, information sharing and feedback receiving is much easier and more visible, this also means that giving quality service and maintaining a high standard is extremely important, as word soon gets around.  EBay was successful because the feedback system allowed users to be confident that they could trust the seller, the same applies in the social media network.

For Outdoor Guernsey it has been important to develop and learn about this new way of marketing in partnership with a team that not only has high technical skills, but a deep understanding of how social interaction works and its relevance to our business. It is important for us to be continually involved in social interaction so we can innovate and evolve. Purple Coffee has delivered on all counts and the promise is for more innovation and change in the future.” – Ant Ford Parker, Outdoor Guernsey.

Purple Coffee and Outdoor Guernsey have also worked with Kate Heywood from thebestofguernsey. The Best of Guernsey promote both Outdoor Guernsey and Purple Coffee through their website made up entirely of local Guernsey businesses which have been recommended by local people and have great reputations on the island. Kate really understands the value of online marketing and through The Best of Guernsey has established a variety of marketing tools to promote the member businesses including testimonials, member offers, e-newsletters, blogging, social media promotion and more recently the introduction of a very innovative product to raise brand awareness – viral gaming. Kate provides both Purple Coffee and Outdoor Guernsey with fantastic marketing support to further complement and enhance their marketing strategies.

The use of social media platforms such as Facebook provides a central way to not only advertise to, but interact with new audiences. It is this interaction that is of real value. Outdoor Guernsey are able to transparently offer their services to their audience in an interactive setting that allows their audience to provide Ant with the information he needs to refine his services into exactly what his customers want.

To find out more about Purple Coffees social media marketing services why not check out our services page or give us a shout!

When looking to the future it is often wise to consider society’s past concerns to provide a framework for contextual analysis. Considering tablet style computing in general conjures up thoughts of George Orwell’s dystopian science fiction masterpiece, 1984. In the novel Orwell depicts the struggle of society as it finds itself in a state of increasing social and economic cohesion with that of machines.

Of particular relevance and interest to me is the way in which Orwell’s work provides a social analysis of surveillance culture. It depicts the use of networked “telescreens” which one could compare to modern computing and the internet. These “telescreens” served as a way for the fictional state, to observe and control opinion through the transmission of fear.

“The telescreen received and transmitted simultaneously. Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it, moreover, so long as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded, he could be seen as well as heard. There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment.” - (The Complete Works of George Orwell, 2003)

However the “telescreen” as Orwell thought of it could be avoided or escaped by Winston, he could move to new areas of the room to avoid its glare, much like that of the desktop computer or television. Consider what Orwell would have written regarding the “innovation” of Apple’s mobile computing devices? No longer can one be removed from the on looking eye of the screen, society finds itself increasingly reliant on machines as we take them everywhere with oneself to remain plugged in to our evolving human consciousness.

“And that is the second difference between this window and the past devices: the tablet window goes two ways. You watch; it watches you. Its eye can remain on all the time, watching you as much as you like” - (Kelly, 2010, p. 123)

How ironic is it then to find that the commercial used to introduce the original Apple Macintosh computer depicted a young woman, who can be likened to Orwell’s character Winston, in a cinematic depiction of Orwell’s 1984. The female character, symbolising Apple, is shown hurling a metal hammer through a large “telescreen” in an attempt to remove the presence of the on-looking overseer and herald a new epoch of technology. The advert concludes with a message;

“On January 24^th, Apple Computer will introduce Macintosh. And you’ll see why 1984 won’t be like “1984.”” – (The Guardian, 2009)

Considering the intended symbolism of the advert some decades on, one could summarise that as successfully as Apple has been able to define its values to its audience over time, that in retrospect Apple are quickly deviating from their own historical moral message and ethical stance as demonstrated so aptly by the advert. One would boldly conclude that despite Apple’s arguable ability to innovate, in many contexts of the word, that were Orwell alive today, he may be heeding new warnings as a result of such innovations.

It would appear that to some degree Apple have learnt from their mistakes in opening up their application development framework to third party developers; however they still heavily moderate the approval of applications for use within their application environments. It seems to me Apple are in a sticky situation, to open themselves up completely means sacrificing the close control they have over their brand and associated products; and in some sense it is this control that allows them to craft such appealing products and targeted marketing campaigns. However to continue along their current path could see them lose out to Google the same way they lost out to Microsoft decades ago.

Google’s democratic values and often community driven development of open source products allows their brand to spread to mass audiences far faster than that of Apple. It is this very route to market that defines Apple’s biggest challenge to date. Consider Google’s competing mobile operating system Android. It is based on Linux, another open source product, and operates an open source license allowing various mobile hardware companies to utilise the product.

Android’s flexibility and open approach in comparison to that of Apple’s mobile operating system could see it quickly spread to larger markets than that of Apple. Apple’s closed approach has meant that they must not only produce mobile operating systems, but the mobile hardware in the form of devices such as the iPhone also to go with it. One could argue that while they set very high standards in both areas; that attempting to develop into both the software and hardware mobile market could leave them exposed to strong alliances such as that of hardware producer HTC and mobile OS developers Google. Considering Apple’s predicament, it is perhaps no surprise then to find Apple leveraging the patent system once again;

“We were wondering when Google would have something to say about Apple’s patent lawsuit against HTC, since the majority of the claims appear to implicate Android itself, and while the knives aren’t out yet, we just got a short-but-sweet statement from a spokesperson:

“We are not a party to this lawsuit. However, we stand behind our Android operating system and the partners who have helped us to develop it.”” – (Engadget, 2010)

It is not clear what the future holds for Apple with respect to the mobile market, but what is clear is that they have a big challenge ahead of them. Perhaps they could learn from the past and their historic battles with Microsoft. After all, their products have benefited from steady “innovation” over time, so perhaps it is time that Apple’s market positioning followed suit.

To draw an analogy, consider the clay tablets used by Babylonian scribes to transit information across time and distance. Essentially the underlying motivations involved in writing, sending and storing the Babylonian clay tablets, are the same as many of the functions iPad claims to have introduced. Innovation as a concept depends very much on the perspective adopted by the observer, in this context historical. The innovation of the idea or the proposed use of a tablet device for storage of data occurred centuries ago; however the tangible product innovation we see today in the form of the iPad or equivalent devices can be seen as a step forward or an innovation of a pre-existing concept or product, however basic its predecessors in form.

Consider innovation from a science fiction perspective; one could contest that famed social theorist and science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke could be considered to have originated the idea of satellite broadcasting from stationary orbit, but he didn’t introduce the physical innovation, only theorised over the concept. Science fiction is in a sense a reification of the impact of evolving technologies and their actual and possible impact on cultural expression. Innovation often requires concrete realisation to be considered credible by society. From a legal perspective this often requires being the first to publish and/or patent an idea or product. In Clarke’s final hours he was interviewed and questioned on the subject of geostationary satellites and commented that;

“I’m often asked why I didn’t try to patent the idea of communications satellites. My answer is always, “A patent is really a license to be sued.” Clarke couldn’t pinpoint the exact reference that got him thinking about geostationary satellites. “One of the moons of Mars, Phobos, is always in a stationary orbit,” he mused. “That probably got me thinking.” He had discussed his ideas with his friends in the nascent British Interplanetary Society but didn’t get many comments, he reminisced. “I never received any additional input, so it was all my own work in the end.” - (Spectrum: Inside technology, 2008)

These comments from Clarke make apparent the link between science fiction, ideation, innovation and the legality of the patent system. In this context Apple are famed for their tactical and efficient use of the patent system. The following provides compelling arguments that support both the notion that Apple are indeed at very least product innovators and highlights how the legal relationship between innovation and the patent system can in fact serve to further drive future innovation rather than causing it to stagnate;

“Apple is also a perfect example of how the patent system is intended to work. Patents are strong, but waste over time because technology grows stagnant. To continue to reap the benefits of a patent portfolio you must continue to innovate and continue to protect that innovation. Patent are fragile because if you obtain a patent I could obtain a patent on an improvement, thereby blocking you, the original patent owner, from making, using and selling the improved version of your own invention. For that reason, when you get a patent on a valuable product you must immediately start to innovate again, improve, push the envelope and obtain additional patent protection so as to prevent competitors from blocking you.” - (IPWatchdog, 2010)