Matthew Wall: 'an analogue mind in a digital world'

Avoiding the online Del-Boys

Despite all the dire warnings about computer viruses, trojans, malware, spyware, pharming, phishing...you name it...an astonishing 20% of internet shoppers still don't protect their computers properly with a firewall. Talk about asking for trouble. With losses from card-not-present fraud now topping £300 million a year the online fraudsters are clearly moving online in droves now that chip-and-pin cards are making physical fraud more difficult. If you don't protect yourself you could end up another fraud victim. In my latest online shopping Webwise I show you how to get safe, stay safe and shop smart.

Go online and strike gold

Treasure hunting is broad church encompassing the traditional metal detector crew right up to the multi-million pound professional wreck salvage companies. I was amazed to discover just how valuable some of these sunken 17th century Spanish treasure ships were. There's a salty whiff of romance about the subject so even if you're strictly an armchair hunter you can still go online and enjoy the tales of derring do and fabulous discoveries. Click through to my treasure hunting Webwise in the Sunday Times. Pieces of eight.

eBay-shmeBay...

There's more to the world of online auctions than eBay you know. Dominant as it may be, a number of other specialist sites offer better-quality merchandise and lower transaction costs. For a merry romp around the more outre auction rooms have a butcher's at my Webwise feature: Profit from online auctions in the Sunday Times InGear section.

If men are such hypochondriacs why don't they go to the doctor more?

You won't find the answer to this question in my piece on male health screening (Sunday Tmes, InGear), but you will find some practical advice on what health checks are available for free on the NHS and how much a full monty check-up is likely to cost you if you go private.

New Media Age features list

As I've fallen a little behind in my archiving of New Media Age features you can click here for a full list, but if you want to read the full versions you'll have to subscribe...a mere £99 for a whole year's excellent, thoroughly-researched and insightful features exploring the fascinating world of digital marketing. How can you resist?

There's more to Google...

Did you know Google Earth had it's own flight simluator that lets you soar over the Himalayas for free? The uber-search engine contains quite a few extras you might not have come across. Read my Webwise in the Sunday Times to explore some of them.

LoveFilm first past the post?

In the age of the digital download DVDs sent through the post seems quaintly old-fashioned. But it works. Harnessing the research and ordering powering of the internet to real-world proven delivery systems has so far proven a winning formula for DVD-rental business, LOVEFiLM.com. What's it's secret? Read my profile of pugnacious marketing manager Simon Morris in New Media Age magazine. 

Downloads call the tune

Grammy-award winning big-band composer Maria Schneider (not to be confused with her Last Tango in Paris namesake) is just one of many composers and musicians who are marketing themselves directly online. Artists are enjoying the creative control this gives them and the potential to reach a new, global audience. The internet means that composers specialising in niche genres, such as big-band jazz or avant garde, can still put their work out there and find fans. But does this cutting out of the middleman mean the death of the record label? Hardly. Marketing is still marketing whatever the medium and it's hard work. The most successful 'direct-to-fan' composers are those who have already built up a core fanbase through previous label releases and live performances. Find out more about who's doing what in this field in my feature 'Downloads Call the Tune' in the Sunday Times Music section.