Aptus Consultants

Lots of IT projects fail, for lots of different reasons, but one of the most common reasons is that projects start wrong.

Do you know how to start a project on the right foot?

Is your organisation contemplating social and digital media?

Have you seen the horror stories about big brands getting it disastrously wrong? Have you seen the long lists of do's and don'ts?

How do you chart a safe course through dangerous waters of social media?

It's really not that difficult. Here, have a set of water wings.

In recent days something remarkable has emerged on the UK political scene. No, it's not Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats.

It is the power of Social and Digital Media to influence UK political opinion, and it threatens to eclipse the power of the bastions of 'old media'.

It's easy enough to find commentary encouraging you to succeed in the face of difficulties.

True, giving up too soon is often a mistake, but how many of us are guilty of not giving up soon enough?

Not every project can succeed, and how many of those failures drag on far too long after they should have been abandoned?

Making good decisions requires a calm head, but when things go wrong keeping calm can be very difficult. Of course, this is when you really need to make the right choices. 

So what do you do when the red mist comes down or the claws of fear tighten in your chest?

Every day we face choices and we make decisions. Trivial or important, knowingly or unknowingly, pretty well every action or even inaction represents a choice.

Making choices is a skill and you can do it badly or well. How good are you?

At the "Social Media in Financial Services Conference 2010" the 4 most telling questions I was asked by IFAs were:

"What is Twitter For?"

"Do I need a website?"

"Do I have time for all this Social Media?"

"If it's all about conversation, should I be sending out newsletters?"

"Your tour of the mobile app High Road was too scary! I'm going to stick to the mobile internet Low Road for fear of wolves"

Don't be afraid - it doesn't have to be like that.

There are some clever services out there doing their best to make mobile apps easier.

What's text messaging got to do with Social Media?

Surely it's too expensive/difficult/intrusive?

Wrong, wrong and wrong!

You've decided to make your service mobile, and before you've even got your boots dusty you're at a pivotal junction:

Mobile apps "high road" or mobile internet "low road".

Which way? And why?