Link4Change - Chris Ogle

The High Street and retail in general is going through a bit of a torrid time... I'm no expert on retail but I am an observer with a good grasp of economics, politics and running a small business... so what is it that is causing such turmoil? We have heard how the Mary Portas 'High Street' initiative has failed ( read more right here... ) it was of course little more than a gimmick as  +Clare Rayner  (a specialist in this sector) already predicted! What we have here is a massive change in the way society operates... which includes retail of course... it was always going to require a bit more than a reality show and a celebrity to bring about change. Society is going through one of the biggest shifts in the history of the human race right now... on a par with transitioning from the Bronze to the Iron age. A few years back when I mentioned at a conference in Birmingham that the Internet would change 'everything' it was met with some amusement, but we are startin

If you have not been watching my weekly Video updates for Link4Growth on the website (don't worry I'm not offended -  http://link4growth.biz/l4g/blog/ ) then you may not be aware that Link4Growth is getting quite exciting and growing very quickly with lots of new events, workshops and opportunities to participate in... (especially with Google+) This week during discussions I have been asked what do I think about our competitors? to which I have replied, what competitors are you talking about? ... the response has been varied but has included Networking groups, independent events run by others, on-line groups and other organisations that bring people together. If we were still thinking about 'Ownership' & 'Control' and trying to organise things for our own gain, ego and pride (and possibly money) then it would be far easier to view these other events / people who are potentially diverting those who might come along to Link4Growth events as competitors

Social Media... a few years on.. When social media first became mainstream for many of us which was probably only a couple of years ago... or perhaps only even last year... we are confused by the massive array of different tools available to us! I know when I started looking at it back in 2008 there seemed so much to get your head around, and today it is 10 times worse!! ... I know it must seem like a never ending task to get up to speed with everything and talking with people like +Dipa Kotak   +Nikki Pepper  , +Matthew Human  I know most people think how can they possibly firstly know all this stuff, and secondly keep it all updated! The question came up at the 'LinkedIn with Intent' workshop on Saturday about, how long do I spend on Social Media each day... to be absolutely honest I have no idea... the problem is that once you have worked out how to use Social Media, what tool is going to allow you to express yourself in what way, you kind of slot it into your da

And so I start my new blog finally in Google's Blogger As you may or may not know we are now building +Link4Growth  right across the UK, bringing people into the +Link4Growth   family and enabling them to communicate, collaborate and participate with all online platforms much more effectively. We are running a number of workshops to enable this to happen and I wanted a space where I could keep people up to date on developments... and so within Google and G+ a platform exists to do just that right in the heart of the Google engine (so to speak) So this is the start... what will you find here on this Link4Change blog? Well a bit of all the following :- Updates on +Link4Growth   and how we are moving forward Social Media and the whole online environment and how to get the best from it My views on the new working environment and how this is shifting as we move towards a more giving not taking era and much more nurturing and supportive community Health, nutrition and fitn