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.

  • Where priorities divide Few corporate websites strike a happy balance between structure and content. Regional biases play a big part in which side of the scale they come down on, says David Bowen.
  • What if it’s raining? With bad news clouds racing one another across the financial sector sky there are few signs of those in the eye of the storm using the web to throw light on their situation, says David Bowen.
  • How to get on with the neighbours Companies with contentious plants or facilities are learning to use the web as a place where they can keep local communities informed about the impact of their operations, says David Bowen.
  • How to get smart about ‘web 2.0’ Technologists’ hype has done much to float the buzz concept that is web 2.0. But beneath the pseudo-software wrapping, what does it mean for anyone running a website?
  • How the web cultivates the farming community Fresh outbreaks of livestock diseases are an unwelcome dose of déjà vu all over again for the UK’s farmers, but their online lifelines have moved on since the last time.
  • How social networks contribute to regime change The internet and its new platforms were quickly credited with focusing world attention on the civil unrest in Burma. But how, precisely, were they and the material they generated used? And which had the most impact? asks David Bowen
  • How central banks cope with market demands The world’s central banks have a duty to serve two very different user groups – professionals and the public. Some manage it online with panache and some do not.
  • What fun to get away with As web managers begin to think of their sites more like publications, so the importance of attracting visitors with entertaining content grows. Some decent holiday reading would be a good start, says David Bowen.
  • How to ride out a publicity disaster When the publicity from T-Mobile’s sponsorship of professional cycling turned sour the German phone company chose to engage with the issue on its website.
  • Why recruiters should enlist the army Few organisations are making more effort to get their recruitment right than the US and British armies. Online, their sites show flashes of brilliance worth reconnoitring by anyone involved in careers.

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