March 9th, 2010 by
Caroline Allen
In the office today all the talk was of tonight’s episode of One Born Every Minute – whether like me you’re mum already or like most of my colleagues, still waiting to be disturbed by sleepless nights, none of us (and our mums too) can wait until 9pm for the next installment of this fascinating show. Unlike other ‘reality’ shows which seem to depict extremes, so far this one seems to providing a true insight into giving birth by following different women at the maternity unit at a hospital in Southampton.
What’s more the show is supported with a really informative and interactive website – everything from a panoramic view of a labour room to an online birth registry as well as more information about the various women and births featured in the show along with pregnancy and birth help and advice.
There are only three more episodes to go but for anyone who missed any and wants to catch up, downloads are available from the site. Don’t worry – general consensus is it’s positioned giving birth as a positive experience, rather than the traditional soap opera style screaming scenario!
February 25th, 2010 by
Caroline Allen
After a client event in my parent’s neck of the woods last night, I’ve spent today working from their dining room.
Whilst working from home is actively encouraged at Speed, client meetings and other commitments can make it hard to actually fit it in so today was a real bonus.
In the past, ‘working from home’ was shorthand for a slack day but with my trusty Speed set up of i-phone, laptop and remote server connection, the day passed much like any other (only quicker it seemed?).
And now I read that employees working from home are more productive than those who clock in everyday – maybe there’s no need for our Leicester Square office…… although whilst there are lots of biscuits here to eat, there aren’t as many people to talk to!
February 19th, 2010 by
Caroline Allen
The endless debate about women in the workplace continues with two very different stories this week. First new research revealed that what women want in 2010 is a husband who’ll be the main breadwinner so we can stay at home and raise the children. Apparently today’s generation is returning to the traditional values of home and family, with the men going out and doing the work. Whilst our mothers, or even grandmothers, lived through a time when women fought for full-time work and better pay, today women with young children are going back to the very traditional division of labour in which they want the husband as the breadwinner.
In contrast celebrity mum-to-be Denise Van Outen ignited the debate in a different direction yesterday when she spoke out about how she how she wanted to work but felt that she had lost her judging job on a BBC show because she was pregnant. In her words “I’m not ill, I’m having a baby.”
So should women stay at home or go out to work? Who knows – personal circumstances or desires make the choice for most but at least women today have the option. When Anne Diamond fell pregnant for the first time in 1987, there was total outrage that she planned to continue working five days a week as a presenter on Good Morning Britain. As she explains ‘My pregnancy was even the subject of a leader article in the Guardian, along the lines of ‘what is the world coming to when a pregnant woman expects to continue with her high-profile job as though nothing has changed?” It’s hard to believe but she was in fact the first TV presenter to be pregnant and to go on doing her job!
January 26th, 2010 by
Caroline Allen
As a mum myself, I’ve experienced the heart stopping terror of my little one choking on a piece of food. Luckily, through my involvement in the Tesco Baby & Toddler Club BabySafe seminars, I knew exactly what to do – who knew my job would turn out to be so useful!
The BabySafe seminars offer parents the chance learn emergency first aid skills for free. Dr Carol Cooper, GP for The Sun, covers off handling burns and scalds as well as meningitis, Britax provide information about car seat safety, and then the Royal Life Saving Society present resuscitation and choking. After a theoretical session, all attendees get the chance to practice on a baby mannequin.
Over 200 parents attend each seminar and it feels really good to be involved in spreading this kind of knowledge – no one likes to think about these kinds of scenarios but now if the worst should ever happen, through BabySafe almost 5,000 parents are better prepared.
January 14th, 2010 by
Caroline Allen
Earlier this month I received two texts but my response to each couldn’t have been more different: the first was from my local leisure centre, offering me a special gym membership price. The second from Ocado, confirming my delivery.
The first was unsolicited, annoying (they have my number only as I called to enquire about swimming lessons for my son late last year), and provides no way for me to unsubscribe to it, and having checked back over my messages, this was the third time they had contacted me over the Christmas & New Year period.
By contrast, the Ocado text simply confirmed my order for the next day (reminding me of the delivery time – very useful) and highlighting which products had been substituted (also very useful – if it’s a crucial recipe ingredient, I’ve got time to pick it up somewhere else).
Spam texts seem to get to me much more than spam emails – maybe it’s because with a spam email, I can just hit delete or unsubscribe in my own time but with a text, first there’s the alert to say it’s arrived and then you have to read it and then it seems from my experience it’s impossible to get off the constant mail out list (unless you take the time to find the number to call them direct).
So from now on, I’m going to be much more vigilant when giving out my mobile number to try and stop spam texts being sent – and to stop having my beauty sleep interrupted.
December 10th, 2009 by
Caroline Allen
Everywhere I look this year, it seems Father Christmas is still at home in the North Pole and an imposter has taken his place – Santa! There are Santa sacks to hang by the chimney, the Santa Express at Selfridges, and even children’s favourite Rod Campbell has a book called ‘Dear Santa’. What’s happened to the great British tradition – we’re not American! Blah humbug, in my house, it will be Father Christmas who comes down the chimney and Father Christmas who eats all the mince pies.
November 26th, 2009 by
Caroline Allen
Whilst I love Christmas, every year the thought of shopping for it puts me in a mild state of panic, even more so now as I have a troublesome toddler in tow. But with the launch of two new services this week I’m thinking it might not be so bad after all!
For starters, if I forget something crucial for the festive feast or get the urge to create something from Delia’s Happy Christmas, Ocado is deploying emergency vans to respond to distress calls from shoppers.
And I can even make the present shopping easier as John Lewis has introduced an electric shuttle bus service to pick up shoppers from their homes and then drop them back again – brilliant, no more lugging bags on buses and tubes.
All I need now is to get organised and start planning ….. less than a month to go now!
November 13th, 2009 by
Caroline Allen
Global pushchair manufacturer Maclaren came under fire this week for recalling one million pushchairs in the US and offering owners a safety kit but not offering UK consumers the same courtesy.
Like the majority of mums, I own a Maclaren and, having the seen the safety issue story, quickly realised my son could easily be at risk from the same problem. Despite Maclaren admitting that there had been incidents in Europe, at first there were no plans to offer the free safety kit outside of the US.
Public opinion quickly pushed the CEO into action though with the company now pledging to supply repair kits to owners elsewhere in the world, thus giving equal treatment to all customers.
The company also recognised they were too shy about communication. Mums are a driving force online and failing to recognise their power shouldn’t be underestimated, especially in the global market – companies have to be consistent and offer the same.
That said, there’s still nothing on the Maclaren home page to help me find out how to get a safety cover for my buggy.
October 15th, 2009 by
Caroline Allen
With The Times reporting that thirtysomething women are the fastest growing users of social media, it got me thinking – is it the end of the good old girly gossip? Girls nights in, girls nights out, Saturday afternoon shopping trips…. with so much interaction between women now taking place online, will these traditional female ‘pursuits’ even exist in a few years time or will we all just be gossiping in cyber-space?
The other question of course is can shopping online replace that shopping ‘spree’ feeling? Good old M&S has some cool tricks (‘you might like this’ always seems to have something else I just must have) but come on Banana Republic – please can we shop online with you too? Or are you trying to keep that Saturday afternoon shopping spree with the girls, alive and well?
September 24th, 2009 by
Caroline Allen
The Daily Mail, much sniffed at by its critics as the housewives’ favourite, certainly seems to be making in-roads with its online content.
New figures out show that the Mail is growing its digital readership faster than any other UK paper for the third month running.
So why is the Mail getting it so right? Is is translating its penchant for fearful news stories to the Internet age? Or is it being smart about how the content people want online is different, and it is doing a very good job of meeting that need? Probably the latter.
Plus its use of images, even oddities like this, has come on in leaps and bounds, making it a highly readable and engaging site.
Any brand owners who thought the Mail’s appeal was rather narrow, with the red-tops and broadsheets doing onlien better, had better think again.
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