Baines & Ernst are one of the country’s leading financial solution companies, delivering a full set of debt solutions to suit every situation. The company are proud to have helped over 140,000 people get their lives back on track and in the process have distributed over half a billion pounds back to creditors in the last five years. They are holders of the prestigious Debt Counseller of the Year award 2010 and were finalists in the Insolvency and Rescue awards 2009 for Debt Management Provider of the year.

Being selected by this leading company is recognition of the skill of our team and we are looking forward to supporting their business into the future.

Fluid Creativity’s MD, Lee Turner said: We have one of the best technical and development teams around and we are extremely pleased to be working with an industry leader. This great account win comes at an exciting time for Fluid Creativity as we are currently recruiting for sales, SEO and development staff to further our growth. This recruitment drive will help in doubling our size and cementing our position as a leading digital marketing solutions provider.

Kate O’Brien, Marketing Director and Paul Clayton, IT Director of Baines & Ernst added: “We required a web provider who could accommodate our rigorous exacting requirements and could provide a one stop shop. We have found fluid to be a responsive professional organisation where nothing was too much trouble and they delivered an issue free, well tested migration. They simply know what they are doing and get the job done. We would definitely recommend their services!”

We started out life in 2001 and live out in the foothills of Hyde in Greater Manchester; with loads of transport links we’re easier than you’d think to get to. Our offices are pretty sexy too, we’ve got a large and pretty meeting room with a Nintendo Wii, there’s a small gym and we’ve even got a space agency trying to put a man into orbit right next door.

Fluid are a growing business, we’re always looking to take on new talent. There are some fantastic opportunities with very competitive salaries on offer and the opportunity to progress rapidly: so what you waiting for get applying now!

SEO Technician:

Fluid Creativity requires an SEO Technician to join our growing online marketing team. This is an entry level position suitable for a web savvy someone, preferably with experience of working with website code and / or content.

SEO Consultant:

Fluid Creativity requires an SEO Consultant to join our growing online marketing team. This position is suitable for someone looking to advance his or her career in a forward thinking and growing company. The ideal candidate will have worked with website code and / or content, and have some previous client-facing experience.

PHP Web Developer:

Fluid Creativity are continuing to expand their highly skilled team of web savvy developers, designers and marketeers. We are looking for a talented new PHP web developer to join us at our lovely studios in Hyde, near Manchester.

Business Development Executive:

Responsibility for increasing sales of Fluid Creativities web and Internet services through generating new leads. The selected candidate will be responsible for the full sales process.

We pride ourselves on a great working environment and don’t just take our word for it hear what the team have to say:

Michelle O’Brien, Digital Strategy Consultant says: “I love working at Fluid, the people are great, the studios are really fun and it’s miles from the regular boring offices I’ve worked at in the past. One of the huge benefits for me is Fluid are always open to new ideas and we’re currently working on some really exciting new projects”

James Chapman, SEO Consultant added, “The opportunity to work in a hands on client facing role with a range of clients from a variety of sectors is as much a pleasure as it is a challenge.  It’s also great to be working alongside talented designers and developers who you will always be learning from.  What I especially like is that there’s no ego about Fluid and everyone is encouraged to chip in with ideas, regardless of their speciality.  That and there’s 4 chip shops nearby.”

We would love to hear from you, if you fancy a chat please don’t hesitate to give us a call on 0845 6588 373 or drop us your CV with a covering letter/email to careers@fluidcreativity.co.uk

Experian Hitwise, a web metrics company, showed that two thirds of The Times and Sunday Times’ web traffic had disappeared since the mandatory paywall went up in June. Strategists at The Times did expect to lose 90% of its readership so keeping a third of its readers was actually an achievement. They wanted a group of dedicated, paying readers who were loyal to their brand rather than a mass of passers-by.

Beehive City concluded 150,000 users registered during the free subscription period, this also includes subscribers paying £1 for a 30 day trial period – how many people would be willing to pay the full subscription price (£2 weekly) once their trial period is over? 15,000 subscribers according to Beehive, and this is what The Times wanted; a small group of loyal readers willing to pay for content.

It’s difficult to tell so early on whether The Times’s paywall has been successful or not but it’s quite easy to see the majority are not willing to pay for online content. Although I think paying for content isn’t an unfair idea, it’s too difficult to produce a paywall, like The Times have done, in the day and age of social media and news sharing.

There are other ways to generate money from the digital industry, a perfect example would be The Times iPad application. At £9.99 for 30 days, it is more expensive than the online subscription but still attracting around 12,500 users. It’s easy to see that app buyers using their iPads, kindles and smart phones are the key people to target in generating money for digital subscriptions. I love apps and use the Guardian app frequently – a one off payment of £1.99 and you have a clean, cleverly-designed mini newspaper full of up-to-date content. I’d be willing to pay a monthly price (no more than £4) for this app as it’s handy when I’m on the go and want a read of something. It seems people would rather pay for an app, or read online content with targeted advertising than be forced into reaching out for their credit cards to subscribe for content. I think there is a future for online news casting but it has to be tailored to the new market – the web has evolved into a news sharing community and paid content needs to fit in with this.

Our business development executive, Matthew Simpson, shares his view on paid content (and Rupert Murdoch):

“I have made a conscious decision not to read any newspapers unless one is lying around in the local take-away, let alone pay online. I’d rather be boiled in oil than pay Rupert Murdoch more money – it still sticks in my throat that I have Sky. In fact, if it wasn’t for my family I wouldn’t have a TV as I hate traditional mainstream media. This is ironic since I have spent most of my working life selling it. The only form of media I champion is the internet because it’s ‘free’ so in answer to your original question, no I wouldn’t pay anything to read the ramblings of some middle class journalist who’s probably being bullied by his/her editor and doesn’t like his/her job anyway. “

And our MD, Lee Turner sums up this article perfectly:

“Good idea in theory but unfortunately the internet has built the “free reader”, thus meaning people will be unwilling to pay for content as they can get it elsewhere for free. However, as more publications introduce this business model, the more likely it is to work.”

The De-Luxe team wanted something a bit different for their web presence which was to function as an online business card of sorts, with some very minimal content.

The result the team at Fluid produced is a virtual window display, that quickly shows visitors the attitude of the business and allows De-Luxe to add in new graphical elements at key points through the retail year to capture their clients imagination.

Matt Davies rocks Pitch and Putt at Heaton Park

“Even if you’ve never played golf in your life, this is a fantastic time of year to get over to Heaton Park to try out their 18 hole Pitch and Putt course. You don’t have to be a demon with the driver to play here as all holes are under 100 yards, making the game more about accuracy than power. It’s only a fiver to play all 18 holes (plus a refundable deposit of another £5 for clubs), making it a cheap, fun way to enjoy the sunshine while getting a bit of exercise!”

Here’s Matt enjoying a round on a sunny evening after work (don’t worry, the clubs are not actually made out of rubber – the bending you can see is down to dodgy camera phone photography!);

There’s loads of other great activities at Heaton Park to get stuck into; for more information check out their website.

Sarah Ozdemir loves chilling in the sun before hitting the shops!

“Grab yourself a mango or raspberry frappuccino from Starbucks, a good book and make use of the grass at the Urbis centre. Theres a great atmosphere and a real mix of people coming and going, it’s a great place for people watching. After your done eating/drinking/slurping pop and the sun is slipping behind the buildings you can’t beat hitting the shops for some reatil theropy.”

Scott Green:  part time fisherman

“For me there’s nothing better than getting up at 4am on a weekend just as the sun’s about to come up, packing a bit of a picnic and a few tinnys, driving to a quiet pond with a mate or two and dangling a piece of Spam in the water for a good few hours!”

Scott caught this beast at Church Gardens in Bolton.

Matthew Simpson: escapes to Town (if only for a few hours)

“I must tell you I experienced an amazing sense of freedom for a few precious hours: mainly down to the two predominant factors: 1. Without the kids 2. Without the missus! God bless ‘er cotton’s, I lav ‘err really mate (that terrible attempt at cockney dialect was to let you know that I am from London originally).  I can tell you was a new man at the end of my extremely limited time spent on my own in a city, which is rare for me anyway, as I live in Wigan which is just a tad too far from Manchester to make it a regular shopping destination with the family (we’re more inclined to go that beautiful shopping emporium The Concourse in Skelmersdale at the weekend (Wigans very own Trafford centre for the local chav’s and chav nots).
Anyway that’s my suggestion as we all know it’s quite rare to get the sun in Manchester at the best of times. So if you can’t make it to dear old London try the best city outside of it: Manchester. Enjoy the sun whilst it lasts folks!”

Nicola Thomas: rock chick

“I’d recommend going to see a local gig, support your local bands and enjoy the beer garden that might be attached to the venue. Keep up todate with local gig and festivals on Ticketline. One good venue to watch this summer is The Witchwood who are showing the England games on a big screen, free food and free entertainment after!!”

Jay Lau:  Beer and a bit of History

On a hot day me and the boys head down to Dukes 92 and BarCa in Castlefield. You can’t beat a few pints in the sun and soak up the atmosphere with all the people chilling by the canal. If you want to impress someone you can show them the reconstruction of the original Roman Fort, plus the oldest railway station in the world, the first industrial canal and great waterside walks and loads of places to eat and drink. If you time it perfectly you may even catch one of Manchester’s only booze cruises down the canals.

Lee Turner Cycling Enthusiast

“Come rain or shine I will be riding in the Derwent Valley. You could be anywhere in the world the sceneries amazing, you would never suspect your just outside of Manchester. Its not for the faint hearted but the cycling is amongst the best in the world with incredible views as your reward – if you want a challenge this is the one for you.”

Julie Abbott: Tactical Mum

“My favourite thing on a hot sunny day with kids used to be inside, in the cool, air-conditioned kids’ palace of Head Over Heels, Chorlton.  While everybody else was at the park, I’d be staying cool with a nice long iced drink and letting the kids burn off all their energy! Cost is up to a fiver per child, depending on age, and whether it’s term-time (cheaper) or not. Allow for some spends in the yummy cafe, though. And top tip don’t go when it’s raining – the place is packed!”

Sarah Slamon: outdoor movies and Pimms

“When the weathers lovely one of my favourite summer evenings is to head down to Spinningfields to watch a film on the big screen and grab a few Pimms and lemonade, it’s a great atmosphere. When the film ends you’re spoilt for choice on where to eat. I will be heading down for Pretty Woman and going to take the kids to see Up later in the summer.”

James Chapman living on the Edge

“I’m quite a fan of walking round Alderley Edge at the moment.  Not only is it a good Sunday leg-stretcher, but there’s also a tea shop that does some proper nice cakes.  Take your own flask of tea though as they’ll sting you for a brew.  It’s also easy to forget that there are views like these just minutes outside Manchester”

Graham Nimbly:  likes to keep busy

“I always recommend people to walk around the Mersey valley - two water parks (Chorlton and Sale), the river banks, various woods and nature reserves and plenty of places to walk/run/cycle. Everyone seems to head down there when it’s sunny! For food/drink (or to recover) you can go to the restaurant at Sale Water Sports Centre, the small café at the Mersey Valley welcome centre or Jackson boat (a great country pub).”

Michelle ‘pass me a cocktail’ O’Brien

“On a sunny day you can’t beat heading down to the Northern Quarter in Manchester’s City Centre nipping in and out of all the vintage shops and cute boutiques. One of Manchester hidden gems is the Manchester Craft Centre that’s full of artists and crafts people making and selling contemporary goods; some of the jewellery is to die for. A quick trip home then its sundresses on and time to meet the girls, can’t go wrong with a Northern Quarter bar crawl. Socio Rehab and Cord for cocktails, Matt and Phred’s for some live music then Black Dog Ballroom for a dance. Summer nights are the best!”

Whatever your plans are we hope we’ve given you some good ideas for days or nights out and we hope you make the most of the sunshine. The team at Fluid would also love to hear about any events you recommend in the comments below.

Lets not be shallow it really is what’s on the inside that counts and this bad boy is even more powerful than its predecessors with impressively better battery life than the 3GS.

For those who are busy on the go iPhone 4 introduces multitasking. You can run multiple apps and flick between them instantly without slowing down the performance or draining the battery. Here at Fluid we are also loving folders for your apps, it’s really going to help organise us!

After a long wait we finally get the front-facing video camera that lets users video-chat using the new ‘Facetime’ feature. Unfortunately Facetime will only be available from iPhone 4 to iPhone 4 in WIFI areas to start with but it promised to give you exceptional quality of Video calling with virtually no set-up involved.

The updated 5 mega-pixel camera with built-in LED flash will allow users to record high definition video. With the added feature of Imovie for the Iphone you will be able to edit your videos on the go. In this case 2 cameras are definitly better than 1.

A key feature for us at Fluid is the iPhone 4 high definition screen with the so-called ‘retinal display‘ of 326 pixels per inch (ppi). With such a high definition screen it will give a real comparison to print and will benefit the introduction of Ibooks for Iphones massively.

If you fancy a bit of a change from Google the new Iphone 4 also allows you to change your search provider to Bing.

A huge one for social media is that users will be able to play Farmville, a massively popular game played via Facebook. The developers have written a version of the game that does not require Adobe’s Flash, which Apple still refuses to carry. Yes they still haven’t embraced Flash and as creatives it is still a small bugbear with us.

The iPhone 4 will be retailing at $199 for the 16GB model and $299 for 32GB in the states and no doubt apple will do as they always do and switch the dollar for pound signs. But it’s time to put the date in your diary, pre-orders will start on the 15th July.

Despite the leaks online over the past few months we weren’t disappointed and on the whole its one hell of a gadget WE HAVE TO HAVE!

Matthew says “I am delighted to join Fluid Creativity as they are very ‘real’ and not full of jargon. Fluid Creativity wants the best for their clients and I am proud to be a part of a team so committed to helping their clients stand out in this highly competitive marketplace.  As well as that they are a nice bunch and good to work with.”

Lee Turner Managing Director explains “Matthew brings with him a wealth of experience and will be an integral part of our Business Development Team which has had a fantastic start to the year with some great client wins. Fluid are extremely focused on building the best Digital Solution business and are looking forward to building our Search and Development teams over the coming months”

Matthew follows the arrival of Martin Proffitt, PHP Developer and Michelle O’Brien, Digital Strategy Consultant who both joined Fluid Creativity in February.

Fluid are always searching for new talent, and are currently looking to recruit a PHP Developer.

We are looking for someone who possesses a thirst for knowledge with an up-to-date understanding of current web trends, technologies, standards and techniques. Experience in any of the following would be a distinct advantage: Magento. Zend Framework, JavaScript, W3C standards, ASP (VBScript), Linux, XML and UML.

Fluid Creativity are a small army of super creative coders, designers, artists, writers and relentless marketers. With an award winning, multi-talented team we combine our creative forces to develop original ideas, fantastic designs, wonderfully crafted websites and seamless web applications.

We’ve got a hard working but friendly culture, you can leave your shirt and tie at home unless the Queen is dropping by. The studio is pretty cool too with a large meeting room complete with a Nintendo Wii, there’s a small gym for all you fitness bods and we’ve even got a space agency trying to put a man into orbit right next door, how many digital agencies can say that?

Fluid are always open to new ideas, new people, new talents and new concepts, so if you’ve got ideas and want a job where you can have a real impact on the business you’ve come to the right place.

To apply for this position with Fluid Creativity, please send a covering letter, cv detailing experience and sample code that demonstrates your skillset to careers@fluidcreativity.co.uk

If any of you lovely folk that read our blog know someone that might fancy working for us please pass on our details.

• Strictly NO agencies
• Fluid Creativity do not accept speculative C.V’s from recruitment agencies and will not be bound by terms and conditions we have not signed over C.V ownership.
• Web development applicants MUST be eligible to live and work in the UK and may be required to attend an interview based in Manchester, UK

Lee Turner 49:46
Scott Green 54:26
Michelle O’Brien 1:00:18
Julie Abbott 1:07:56

Michelle got snapped going strong at 1.5km. We will be adding more pictures as and when they come in so keep your eyes on the blog.

A huge thank you to all those who supported us on the way. It was a great day and we all had loads of fun.

Due to drop outs we are a bit behind on our target of £1100 so any additional support and donations will be very welcome and I am sure you’ll agree that it’s much deserved by the team. http://www.justgiving.com/fluid-creativity