Qube Media.

Apollo's Pad party has started!

The first 5 episodes of the new puppet comedy show Apollo's Pad are now live.

Watch the episodes

We're hiring again: web marketing consultants, producers and assistants

We're looking for talented and experienced web marketing consultants and web producers. We're also hunting for intelligent, capable marketing assistants - we'll be posting the full job specs for all three positions on the Qube website shortly.

If you think you've got skills that would make you a good addition to our Brighton-based web marketing team, get in contact. But you must have relevant web marketing experience and a knowledge of search and social media marketing.

Email us to tell us more about you and your experience: jobs@qubes.co.uk

No agencies please. Really. Not maybe, not we'll think about it. Just no agencies.

New blogging knowledge: blogging checklist and benefits

It seems almost everyone's blogging these days - individuals, businesses, even dogs.

If you're thinking of starting your own, it's worth reading this list of five things to think about before you blog

On the other hand, if you're one of the skeptics who can't see the point, find out about the benefits of blogging

PS Just in case you don't believe me about the dog blog...

It's the odd numbers that add up

Ever noticed that you're always being given 'top five tips for...' not the top six? Or books promise '101 ways to...' not 100? 

According to copywriter Gymi Slezinger it's all to do with the power of odd numbers. He reckons even numbers have 'closure', they don't need anything. Odd numbers leave something hanging.

If you think about it, it's not just marketing copy and self-help books: good things come in threes, apparently, and a stitch in time saves nine, if you believe popular opinion.

Sounds very simple but worth bearing in mind if you want to grab people's attention.

NB Asked about top 10s, an obvious exception that works well in marketing copy, Gymi says it's because they're authorative.

Nice to have an answer for everything.

Beware overexplaining...

These aren't all examples of online copy - but they should make us all think twice about that common vice when writing copy: over explaining:

• - Do not try to stop the blade with your hand. (instructions on the box of a chainsaw)
• - Contains nuts. (label of Sainsbury's peanuts)
• - Open Packet. Eat Contents.(airline mini-peanut bag instructions)
• - Warning may cause drowsiness. (on a packet of Nytol, the herbal sleeping aid).

Hemingway: stories in six words

Max just found one of the best examples I've ever seen that you don't need to be wordy in order to convey a complete and powerful message, something it's always worth remembering when writing web content.

Ernest Hemingway once wrote a story in just six words:

"For sale: baby shoes, never worn."

Wired.com asked other authors to do the same - Margaret Atwood wrote:

Longed for him. Got him. Shit.

See other entries on the wired.com website.

The IKEA content trap

If you're not a fan of IKEA, the two mile walk past cut-price cafetieres, flat pack bunk beds and plastic lampshades to find the one thing you came for is enough to drive you nuts.

Their hope is that without a clear route to your destination, you'll pick up a trolley-load of things you never planned on buying but for many of us, ten minutes in and we've had enough.

Michael Steltzner, author of whitepapers for companies such as Microsoft, HP and FedEx, makes a nice analogy between this type of shopping experience and web content.

If you don't get straight to the point, or at least show readers where to look, they'll decide they've had enough too – except they won't have to negotiate dining furniture to get away.

Read the full article

5 things you didn't know about English

1. The little dot on top of the letter 'i' is called a tittle.

2. The symbol most people call 'hash' (#) is actually called an octothorpe.

3. The English word with the most different meanings is 'set'.

4. 'Screeched' is the longest one syllable word in English.

5. "Dreamt" is the only English word that ends in the letters "mt".

Spot the 'deliberate' mistake

Getting a message across isn't just about the right copy, a point deftly illustrated by the latest news item on the Tory party homepage (below).

Whoever wrote the piece was probably pleased with the powerful headline lambasting Labour over the latest Commons fracas but clearly didn't put as much thought into the accompanying image.

The result? The first thing visitors to the site see are the words 'broken promises' and 'incompetence' next to a big picture of the party leader. Genius.

www.conservatives.com