I really should tidy these up! These are some t-shirts which i printed, all are spares which i keep; Occasionally give away for free promos etc.

ASOS Life, is the community for ASOS, an online fashion community. When they said they were launching such a thing, i was excited, i thought it would be a cool place to go to for fashion and pop culture, a real good community. It launched and i was disappointed. It was a letdown, and really poor. I stopped using it after a week or so.

Last month i tried to give it another go. I tried posting, and getting involved, and still i did not think it was very good. I decided to start a topic on their own forum telling them why it was bad, which got a good response from the people on the forums, not so much from the people at ASOS.

They seemed to try and gloss over any criticism, with ”we are always improving”, “we are still new” and so on…Basically a load of excuses which i dont think were very good.

Whats wrong with it

• Well if you are starting a community/forum then you should read this. The layout and the way there community works is wrong, and not a traditional style which people use. You do not go to a forum, post something and that is that. You create a post first, and then decide about the forum it should be in. This has a whole lot of problems, including duplicate content.
• The way the information is presented is horrible. It is so hard to read and understand by looking at it.
• You cant post in a forum! A fundamental thing about a forum is that you can post things, and you cant! What i mean is, they have filters set up so that if you type something “customer service related” then your post is held in a queue. WTF!?!?
• And on the customer service note: When you go to the community it is littered with topics about customer services…This is supposed to be a community!

The problem they have really is, they have no idea of what they are doing.

The community has a 9 – 5 corporate feel… Allthe little activity there is, is done in work time. This is because the community is not community driven, it is very corporate. It definitely does not have a community feel, which it is supposed to have. They dont seem to understand that an online community is 24/7, not 9-5. They may go home after work, but the community remains online, and people will want to chat and discuss things etc. It seems that the people who work on the forum only “work” on it, i.e. dont use it in their own time. It should be an extension of your life, if you are involved with something like that. You should be the kind of person who enjoys using online communities, and uses them in your own time, which clearly doesnt seem the case.

There is not enough posting, not enough topics, not enough people involved. This is because of a snowball effect. The community is bad, which means less people use it, which means less topics are created.

Whos Fault is it?

Well Ilana Fox was in charge of the community, and she launched ASOS Life. A year on, it is a miserable failure, and she has gone on to other things. She was in charge, so it is down to her. You could blame the developers of the terrible community, but at the end of the day she was in charge, claiming to ‘invent it’. She doesnt seem to have a clue about how a community actually works, and was obviously out of her depth. She worked at The Sun and The Daily Mail on online community projects, which isnt exactly hard considering the amount of visitors those site gets – They were already a home run.
However she couldnt get the 5 million visitors/month which ASOS supposedly gets involved with the community…If you seen the community you would never imagine those kind of figures are for the main site; If you cant make a community on the back of 5million visitors/month you should definitely think of a new career (which she seems to have done).

She since left, and i was going to apply for that job, because it would of been a good challenge and i could do great things…But after i posted a few things on their community, they dont seem to take their own community seriously, and focus more on Twitter and Facebook. Maybe they have just given up on it, like its users.

How to fix it

The whole community/platform is rubbish. They need to either completely rewrite it, or use a tried and tested community and develop that; They could modify Wordpress or VBulletin (or both) and make something groundbreaking and amazing; They wont, and it will stay the disappointing failure it has become. For some reason big companies would rather waste tens/hundreds of thousands of pounds on custom made things, when they could spend less and get so much more. They need to learn what a community is, what its for, and what it can potentially do, which is so much!

ASOS – Good @ Fashion, Good @ Customer Services, No clue @ Communities

Hey!

So, i have been an online shopper for many years, and also a retailer, so i have lots of knowledge and tips to pass on. These will be aimed at the fashion/clothing sector, but most tips will cover general buying on the internet.

Safety

The safest way to buy on the internet is to buy from reputable sites you have heard of, or from a good recommendation. If buying from a site you should always use a Credit Card or Paypal if you have a Paypal account. Credit cards are insured when you buy online for things over £100 to protect you from fraud (note this doesnt include buying something you want to return but the return isnt accepted for a genuine reason).
When you buy from a site make site it is secure, you will know this because it will have https (note the s) and show a padlock in the taskbar. NOTE! – This will only apply to the checkout pages, and possibly ‘your account’ pages. It does not appear on the whole site. Basically it will only be a secure connection when you have to enter sensitive information. You can also check things like the site physical address and phone number, and note where the site is based, it is easier all round if you are in the UK to buy from a UK website.

Returns

The law for returns on almost everything (but not all) is you have 7 days to return the item for full refund. You do not need to give a reason, and the full amount should be refunded to you. This is known as the Distance Selling Regulation. The store can offer you an exchange if you would prefer, but you can get a full refund. Some exceptions include opened sealed software, and made to order things (such as made to order clothing).

Always check the stores return policy. The majority will offer at least an exchange on an item, for example if it does not fit, and will usually allow 7-14 days. Note most will not do free exchanges, meaning you will have to pay the postage to send the item back.

Returns – You are entitled to nothing if:

• You want to return an item for no reason, and are outside the legal 7 day period and any store policy period
• You want to return an item because you do not like it, it doesnt fit, you dont like it, or similar reasons; And it is outside the 7 day legal period and any store policy period.
• You have damaged the item and want to return it for a refund/replacement

To avoid any of these issues, you should try on your item as soon as it arrives, and make sure you are clean and not wearing any strong aftershave/deoderaunt, make sure it fits and you like it. If you want to return it for any reason, contact the retailer immediatly and return it as soon as they tell you to…Do not put it off for a few days, you may fall outside the returns period and have it sent back to you at your cost!

Check the delivery times

Make sure they deliver in good time. Most will offer at least First Class shipping, which is 1-2 business days. Watch out for some who will only offer 5-10 working days. This is not acceptable for me, but you may be different

There are Real shops too!

Compare the prices online to those seen in stores. Sometimes the internet is cheaper, we all know that. But there may be a sale in a shop close to you, so go to a few shops, see how much the things you want to buy are, and you might find them cheaper.

Shop around online too

Check out a few different sites. Usually in the clothing world, prices are the same -If you are buying something new and in season anyway. But it is still worth looking around at a few sites, you may save yourself a few quid doing this.

Measure your clothing, and/or buy the same size in the same brand

If you have a particular brand already, then in most cases the same brand will use the same size. For example, i bought some J Lindberg Jeans a few weeks ago. I know that i was a size 32 in their jeans (as opposed to 30 in True Religion or Evisu) because i have some and they fit. So i bought the size 32! It sounds so easy, but some people dont do this simple thing. If you do not know you can measure something you like, or if you want to doubley make sure, go to a real store, try them on, and if they are cheaper online then go home and buy them online

Use Discount Codes

LOADS of online stores use discount codes. They are very easy to find online, from websites dedicated to bring you discount codes. The best way to find these is to search Google. 15 minutes of searching could save you a few ££’s

Buy a few things at once

This is one thing i do all the time. If i buy from a certain site, i wait until there are a few things i want, before i go ahead and buy. Why? Well for 1 thing, i do not like to wait for deliveries all the time. Another is delivery costs. If you order 5 things seperatly there could be 5 delivery charges. If you order all in 1 go, there will be 1 delivery charge, and sometimes no delivery charge at all, since some companies offer spend £xxx for FREE Delivery. They may also offer other insentives, e.g. spend £100 get a free t-shirt, 3 for 2’s etc.

If It Looks To Good To Be True….

Yeah its that old saying again. Basically if you see a brand new pair of jeans which happen to be half the price then think about it….Yeah, they are probably fake, or worse, the website is fake trying to get your details. Only buy genuine things from genuine websites.

Further Reading/Helpful Links

Consumer Direct
Distance Selling
Office Of Fair Trading

Let me know what you think of these tips, if i have missed anything out or if you have anything to ask

Forbes released the latest “World’s Richest People” and MR Bill Gates has moved down the ranks to number 2. He is a mere $0.5 Billion behind new number 1 Carlos Slim Helu & familyfrom Mexico. Havent heard of em? No, neither have i! But he/his family are invloved in the telecommunications industry, basically owning everything to do with telecoms in South America. He is worth $53.5 Billion

World’s Richest person residing in Britain is still Indian Lakshmi Mittal, worth $28.7 Billion and ranked 5th overall.

World’s Richest European is Bernard Arnaultwho is 7th overall with $27.5 Billion. Hes French, and chairman of LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey) which has a huge amount of luxury brands in fashion, alcohol and more.

Youngest in the top 30 is Sergey Brin aka one of the Google Guys. He has $17.5 Billion is ranked joint 24th.

Highest ranked Brit, behind lots of Europeans is Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor & family, overall rank of 45, and worth $12 Billion. He is the Duke Of Westminster.

The List

Key: Rank>Name>Citizenship>Age>Worth>Residence

All Amounts are in US Dollars.

Hey! How are you doing today?

So, i had a parcel to pick up at the Royal Mail sorting office. Now, i go here all the time, i must go 2 or 3 times a month, because i am not usually in when things come. The staff obviously now know me, since i go all the time. I got something sent to me via Special Delivery which would require a signature, but i was not in so it went to the sorting office.

I went to the office, and for once forgot my ID. They would not let me sign for my parcel without it! This is a stupid rule, because you dont need ID if someone sends you something which is not a signed for service, but if someone sends you something which needs to be signed for you need ID. I have no idea why this rule exists, it makes no sense at all.

I asked one of the guys who i see all the time and ‘know’ him, and he still insisted i had to have ID, even though he clearly knows who i am, i have the card which was left in my letterbox, so why cant he give me my parcel!

Stupid jobsworth people…I honestly believe those kind of people ruin this country.

Hello!

If you are new, or dont know me and want to know more, i have done one of them “about me” style questionnaires. So if you wanna know more about me, then here you go:

Name: Michael Adams
Meaning: Michael is a Hebrew name, which means “who is like god”
Age: 25 (21-06-84)
Star sign: Gemini
Chinese Year of the: Rat
Nickname: had loads, last best one has to be “Bling Bling“, which was later shortened to “Bling“.
Current Location: Newcastle, England, UK, Europe.
Job: Own a clothing label, Lush. I do everything! Design, market, manufacture and retail t-shirts.
Eye Colour: Green
Hair Colour: Brown
Piercings: None!
Tattoos: None!
Girlfriend: Nope!
Siblings: 1 Younger Sister
Do drugs: No
Smoke: No
Drink Alcohol: Absolutely!

Favourite…..

Colour: Green
Music: depends on my mood or the occasion; House/Hip Hop/Mainstream
Food: Spaghetti Bolognese
Number: 22 -Although these days i seem to be branding myself with the number 84; my birth year
Movie: Dont watch a lot, i dont have an absolute fave, I love Sin City, Scarface, or comedies like The Hangover
TV Show: Entourage!!!
Place: Somewhere hot!
Day Of The Week: Friday
Month: June
City: London
Animal: Not a big animal lover
TV Channel: MTV
Song: Right at this moment it is Robyn – “Show me Love” but that will change
Alcoholic Drink: Vodka and Redbull
Drink: I drink juice mostly; Robinsons lemon, or pineapple and orange; or Cherry Coke or Pepsi Max for fizzy pop.

This or That

Hugs or kisses: Kisses
Pepsi or Coke: Pepsi
McDonalds or Burger King: McDonalds
Chocolate or Vanilla: Chocolate
Lover or Fighter: Lover
Love or Money: Love
Listen to someone talking or talking: Listen to someone
Personality or looks: ooooh! Personality closely followed by looks
TV Or Movies: TV
Bros or Hoes: haha! Bros(my good bros anyway lol)
Winter or Summer: Summer!!!
Bath or Shower: Shower
Eat in Or Out: In
Forest or Beach: Beach
Fat Or Thin: Thin

I have had my new car almost a year now, and it has done just over 3,000 miles. so that’s hardly anything!
I also realised something…everything is due at the same time! I need tax, insurance and a service for it all in the same month

Also look at the temperature…10 degrees, in march!? Cool It did go to 11, but i didnt have time to take the pic

What is a fashion blogger? Well someone though the above…LOL! How much hate does this person have?!

This was uploaded to Urban Dictionary, which is a bit like Wikipedia, which means anyone can add or edit anything. Someone showed me this via Twitter, and i found it funny.

Such a shame there are the haters in the world…Then again, they do inspire us all

Was this quality or what?

It did its job, because about 20 years later i still remember the jingle (or lack of) and i bet you do to!

and on, and on…..

Blue sky, Sunshine, and its only March!

Taken just now, the view i have outside