Equator Live

The Girl’s Mountain:

The first group was Laura B, Laura D, Carrie and Sharon. They stormed on ahead, down the tortuous steps and were the first ones to reach the fork in the trail. Laura B decided on the direction but the rest of us weren’t so sure. In such an emotional state, with the finish line in sight, the group had a minor disagreement. Thankfully, Laura B picked the right way and the friends made up by singing a bit of Beyonce’s Halo to end the walk (though Laura B wasn’t impressed with the singing).

Vickie and Nicola were the second group and not so lucky with directions. Slightly behind the others, they took the wrong path at the fork and ended up going down a very steep hill. They continually said, ‘I don’t remember this from the way up, I just do not remember this’.  As they got to the bottom and arrived at the youth hostel instead of the tourist info car park, the usually positive, optimistic, chirpy, problem-solving Vickie got a wee bit crabby about the fact the walk was not yet over.  They eventually reached the finish line, crawling into the car park and feeling a little emotional. (more…)

Posted on August 30th, 2011 in Fun with no comments

The Girls’ Mountain:

Saturday morning we set off to meet at 8.30am – two of us with particularly sore heads. After driving around for 20 minutes, we eventually found the start of the walk. It is here the different adventures begin as Brent raced up the hill and abandoned most of the girls.

Brent’s Mountain:

As we were preparing breakfast at 8.15 am, I was thinking to myself “don’t worry …  it will only hurt a little” and “I hope the girls are okay, and not too hung over.” (more…)

Posted on August 25th, 2011 in Fun with no comments

Since February 2011 a group of Equatorites have been embarking on hill walks around Scotland to build up to the Ben Nevis climb for Neil’s Wheels charity.

On Saturday 13th August, the intrepid Equator adventurers Brent, Sharon, Rose, Vickie, Laura B, Laura D, Kirsty, Nicola, Emma, Olivia, Beth and Laurent (joined by some friends) climbed UK’s tallest mountain. At its heart, this is the tale of two mountains: Brent’s mountain and the girls’ mountain, a tale of misunderstandings, a tale of strength in the face of defeat and finally, a tale of the thriving metropolis that is Fort William. (more…)

Posted on August 22nd, 2011 in Fun with 1 comment

Calling all sceptics of climate change, ’24 Hours of Reality’ is Al Gore and Ustream’s 24 hr international video streaming event aimed at fighting climate change and it’s non believers.

The controversy that surrounds climate change is still at large, with many scientists and their followers claiming it doesn’t exist. ‘The Climate Reality Project‘ is hitting back with a 24 hr video event taking place on 4th – 5th September 2011 at 7pm your local time, all about how oil and coal companies are to blame and how we must take urgent action.

“24 Hours of Reality will focus the world’s attention on the full truth, scope, scale and impact of the climate crisis. To remove the doubt. Reveal the deniers. And catalyze urgency around an issue that affects every one of us.” – Al Gore (more…)

Posted on August 19th, 2011 in Social Media with no comments

I love when you find a site that just captures your imagination. Something that’s fun to explore and interact with, something you could spend hours engrossed in. I thought that’s what this site was…until I started actually trying to use it. (more…)

Posted on August 18th, 2011 in Design, UX with no comments

To date, facial recognition has come under fire for infringing human rights and breaking Data Protection laws.

Facebook’s ‘Tag Suggestion’ application, in particular, has received a large amount of criticism to the point where it has been banned within the jurisdiction of the Hamburg’s Data Protection Authority. Designed to speed up the process of tagging friends and family in photos, the ‘Tag Suggestion’ feature scans newly uploaded photos matching faces to previously tagged images and automatically tagging them. What this essentially means, is that Facebook is collecting users’ biometric data without obtaining consent to do so – which has led to the tool being banned in Germany. (more…)

Posted on August 15th, 2011 in Marketing, Social Media with no comments

Recently, our affiliate manager, Julia Forrest, attended the Affiliate Marketing Council meeting held at the MEC offices in London. For those involved in the industry, the monthly AMC meetings are the place where your voice can be heard and debates regarding issues such as the Google Panda update, EU Privacy Legislation and multi-attribution code can be discussed. (more…)

Posted on August 12th, 2011 in Affiliates with 1 comment

In recent months, Google has been making big moves in the travel market – clearly looking for a piece of the travel cake. We’ve compiled a few examples of the ways Google is on the move.

Flights 

Firstly, Google purchased ITA, flight information software, from a Cambridge, Massachusetts firm for $700 million. Below is a video explaining what they intend to do with the software…

(more…)

Posted on August 11th, 2011 in SEO with no comments

In 2010, industries finally noticed that the mobile channel needed to be taken seriously. This year, as a staggering 51% of mobile users have used some form of m-commerce, brands have genuinely started investing in the mobile space beyond apps.

The most exciting development for mobile advertising has been the engagement of brands in targeting and location based search, which have replaced apps. (more…)

Posted on August 11th, 2011 in Affiliates with Comments Off

Google has launched Hotel Finder (Experiment) – a search tool specifically designed to make it easier to find and compare hotels for your trips. It is another arm of expansion into price comparison products.

Currently only available for US hotels, the tool enables users to define areas that interest them, view popular locations with highlights, and shortlist properties to compare their prices (both current and average prices to contextualise any deals being offered). (more…)

Posted on August 11th, 2011 in Paid Search with no comments