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 sparkles in the new Index The annual FT Bowen Craggs Index is by its nature best studied in detail. Among the many specifics in the latest edition, some shone brightly, David Bowen says.
  • What to read into nuclear reactions Away from the tragic human drama of the Japanese earthquake, companies in the nuclear industry are not coping well with the after effects, David Bowen says.
  • How to communicate in a disaster Companies faced with a crisis must look beyond conservative communication strategies to connect with everyone affected, David Bowen says.
  • What Facebook can’t replace Predictions of the demise of corporate websites in the wake of Facebook’s rise to popularity greatly exaggerate the reality, David Bowen says.
  • When the fairy dust settles The word ‘social’ is being sprinkled on online communications tools and strategies as if it had magical powers, but it could cast a bad spell, David Bowen says.
  • What the best corporate blogs say about blogging Blogs come in many forms, and in a new list of the top 10 corporate ones that in itself is among the things most worthy of comment, David Bowen says.
  • Why the web needs thought leaders The internet may be as important as its evangelists suggest, or not, but companies will only realise its potential when senior management thinks about it, David Bowen says.
  • What a hangover Some significant events from the year just gone will continue to resonate with online managers and should inform their future strategies, David Bowen says.
  • Where simple is the rule Rather than chase the next buzz-word concept, the key to successful online communication is plain old governance, David Bowen says.
  • What a state it’s coming to The web is fast dividing into a set of mutually incompatible territories that are challenging the global order of things, David Bowen says.

BC Tip: Captivating an audience

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

BC Tip: Repurposing a tool as marketing

A standard and commonly used device ion the web tool box is deployed to good effect as a marketing feature. 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...