Big rise in SME use of video on Facebook
The number of video views on Facebook is rising fast — some four million videos are watched on Facebook every day, up from three million in January. And Facebook's 2015 Q1 results also show that SMEs are increasingly embracing the opportunity to post videos on their Facebook pages. Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook chief operating officer, said that over one million SMEs had posted videos on Facebook. She said: "I think all marketers have the opportunity to do video, and that's pretty exciting, including SMEs who would never be able to hire a film crew and buy a TV ad."
Calling young tech entrepreneurs…
Young technology entrepreneurs aged 14 to 25 years-old could win £10,000 to turn their business ideas into a reality thanks to a new competition launched by TalkTalk and Founders Forum. The F Factor initiative will choose ten finalists to present their ideas to a panel of business owners and investors including LinkedIn's Reid Hoffman, Lastminute.com's Martha Lane Fox and Uber's Garrett Camp. Open to all young people whether in work or education, applicants need to submit an original idea for a tech business in 140 characters or less plus a short video about themselves. Finalists will pitch the idea at London's Founders Forum on June 18. Applications close midnight May 5.
Retailers take on more staff
While food retailers are making cuts, non-food retailers are taking on more staff according to the latest Employment Monitor Q1 2015 from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Bond Dickinson. It reveals that food retailers cut back on the number of hours worked, compared with the previous year, for the 17th consecutive month. However, the equivalent number of full-time employees in non-food retail rose in the first quarter of 2015. Helen Dickinson, BRC director general, said: "Employment in non-food retail continued to recover. Not only were more hours worked across the industry but more people were working in an industry that's busy meeting higher levels of demand."
Collaboration is key say "millenials"
Over three quarters (77%) of UK employees say that collaboration technology is vital in the way they work with colleagues and clients on a daily basis, according to new research. Unify's Humanising the Enterprise study has also found that 79% of Brits experience technology frustrations at work. And the report has found that "millenials" are driving this trend. “Millennials, those born between the 1980s and early 2000s, have grown up with digital technologies, social media and anywhere connectivity,” said Robert Keenan, Unify's head of portfolio management. "This is driving demand for something different from 'tried and trusted' enterprise technology; they want technology that helps in the way they communicate, work and live."