David Bowen commentaries

In his regular columns for the Financial Times and ft.com, senior consultant David Bowen has pursued themes ranged from customer relationship management and career marketing to ‘ethical’ retailing and royal family sites. His collected Financial Times and ft.com columns from January 2001 onward are indexed by theme and available for viewing on this site.

You can access articles directly by selecting a link below.

  • What was in the air in Paris First reflections from the Web Effectiveness Conference identify the issues exercising online corporate communicators as they learn to live in exciting times, Elizabeth Olsen reports.
  • Why ‘social media’ might not mean much Companies looking to make sense of ‘social media’ must recognise the diversity of communication tools that the catch-all phrase covers, David Bowen says.
  • What makes the Index credible Publication of the latest FT Bowen Craggs Index inevitably prompts requests for an explanation of its provenance and worth, David Bowen says.
  • What makes a good home Most visitors to a website still arrive at its front door – the home page. Getting them to cross the threshold involves a complex set of considerations, David Bowen says.
  • How 'Avatar' could be for real History’s highest-grossing film has revived an interest in three-dimensional experiences that should inspire corporate site managers, David Bowen says.
  • How the decade really went As the calendar runs down to 2010, most reflections on the decade just passing show an attention span deficit that clouds their perspective, David Bowen says.
  • When gurus go bad Web thinkers are trend jumping one-track back-slappers whose influence over senior executives can seriously disrupt online management, David Bowen says.
  • How green is the grass? According to the people who run big web estates, the past year has had a mixed effect on the resources available to them, reports David Bowen.
  • How personal should you get? Interest is stirring again in offering elements tailored to different users, but the wide spectrum of options needs careful assessment, says David Bowen.
  • When to go native? Some big companies are moving closer to a ‘one language fits all’ approach to their online content. So what price thinking global talking local? asks David Bowen.

BC Tip: Captivating an audience

A world of compelling new content to explore. more...

BC Tip: Revolving highlights

Carousel sends usability spinning more...

Comment: How do you meet the website challenge?

Web managers confront common issues on their own diverse turfs, but our research into their site traffic reveals much about the collective response, Dan Drury says. more...