Hard to believe but apparently we’re still in the grips of a hosepipe ban. A permanent reminder sitting in your garden shed (next to your hosepipe) might prove to be a better advert for water saving than the current rash of posters.

I’ve calculated that one 48 sheet poster for one month in a half decent location could buy about 833 units.  So in this instance the medium is indeed the err… message.

*£2,500 / **£3 = 833 units

*www.viacom-outdoor.co.uk
**www.tradekey.com

When searching for a local tradesman in the Yellow pages you’ll always run into the problem of having too many results. Inevitably you’ll start off at ABC plumbing and work your way through the list.

Online the situation isn’t any better. Just as in the phone book you have a huge list of plumbers, but this time you also have a links to their website, making the job of finding the right person even more time consuming.

118118.com have introduced a customer rating system. However, as the person giving the rating is completely anonymous, and the rating is moderated by the business owner, it doesn’t mean much.

Better then to get an independent authority to do the job. In the example above Corgi – the national watchdog for gas safety. There are hundreds of trade bodies like this who could help consumers make more informed choices.

So now when our plumber books his advert in Yell.com he’ll also send a request to Corgi. If he has indeed passed his monthly exam, the logo placement will be authorised. And when we next search for a local plumber we’ll be better able to determine who’s right for the job.

The news that Sony lawyers have successfully closed down video game importer Lik-Sang will no doubt come as a blow to every video game enthusiast. Lik-Sang has always been like having a bunch of friends in Japan, whose sole purpose was to seek out cool stuff for you.

You’ve got to wonder how many hundreds of thousands of pounds Sony spends each year developing relationships with early adopters and members of the gaming community. It seems obvious that they should have regarded Lik-Sang and its customers as a resource, not as a threat.

I guess I’ll just have to put this incident behind me, be patient, and form an orderly queue outside Argos.