Surveys show gentlemen do not prefer blondes

A new study adds weight to the belief that British men prefer the ‘girl next door’ to platinum blonde pin-ups – unless they’re out on the town.

Research just released appears to disprove what women have long believed – that men prefer blondes. A study by the University of Westminster and recently reported by the Scandinavian Journal of Psychology suggests that men view brunettes as being more attractive and intelligent than blondes. Unless, of course, we’re out on the town.

Researchers sent a woman to three London nightclubs with her hair dyed either brunette, blond or red and observed the results. They then asked 130 men to rate pictures of her sporting all three looks. The result? She was chatted up most frequently when she had blond hair but rated higher for attractiveness and intelligence when she had the appearance of being brunette.

This appears to support the results of a survey conducted by Badoo in 2011, which revealed that British men prefer brunettes to blondes.

Badoo asked 2,000 British blokes to state the physical features they find most attractive in the opposite sex.
Contradicting the old adage that gentlemen prefer blondes, almost a third of the men polled (33.1%) said they find women with brown hair most attractive. Blondes (29.5%) edged out women with black hair (28.6%) for second place while redheads were preferred by a meagre 8.8% of the men surveyed.

For men in the UK, women with blue eyes still rule the roost with a massive 40.2% of guys preferring blue eyes over brown (29.2%), hazel (13.1%) and green (17.5%).
The survey also uncovered another slightly surprising result: 38.8% of the respondents said their perfect woman would have a dress size of 12-14. Only 10% of the guys surveyed cited sizes 6-8 as their preference, suggesting that, while skinny models fill the majority of pages in magazines, the man in the street is actually more attracted to women of average build.

After collating the results, Badoo applied their findings to the world of celebrity and, combining the physical features that scored the highest marks, deduced that Lauren Goodger, star of reality show The Only Way Is Essex, possesses all of the attributes that men in the UK said they find most attractive.

Her brown hair, blue eyes and average build give her the perfect combination for being the prototypical girl next door.


International preferences
Badoo also ran the study in France, Spain, Italy, US and Brazil with surprising results.
French men said they preferred their females skinny with all other nationalities saying they prefer average to curvy women. In all of the countries surveyed (apart from the UK), black was the most popular hair colour. The UK was also the only country that opted for blue eyes, with brown and green topping the table around the world.

Lloyd Price, from Badoo, said, “I was amazed that blond hair and size 8 did not top the list. Magazines are full of skinny blond models, so it is nice to see that in reality guys prefer the girl-next-door look. Mark Wright is clearly a lucky man in the eyes of the nation.”


Source: http://him.uk.msn.com/sex-and-dating/new-surveys-show-gentlemen-do-not-prefer-blondes

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Women are attracted to your personality as much as your body. But what, exactly, are they looking for?

We all know what women want in men, right? They want a muscular body (or was it a slender one?). They want long legs (or was it arms?). They want blonde hair (or was it black?).

OK, maybe we don’t know for certain, but what we can be sure of is that it’s not just about looks and physique. In fact, study after study has shown that, while women do value looks to some extent, they don’t prioritise them in the way men do.

Instead, women place a higher emphasis on personality, and the character traits that show you’re a good catch. And that’s true for short-term flings as well as long-term relationships. So here are the personality traits that women go for and how you can show them off.


Kindness

Think nice guys finish last? Think again.

A study published in the British Journal of Psychology found that women hunting for dates viewed kindness and generosity as a priority.

Over 300 volunteers were shown dating profiles, some of which had been adjusted to suggest that the subjects were altruistic. For example, some of the profiles included lines about helping others or volunteering.

Overwhelmingly, the women showed a preference for more altruistic men. “If a man is kind and generous towards others – even strangers – then there’s a good chance that he’d make a good and generous parent,” explained Dr Pat Barclay from University of Guelph, Canada, who conducted the study.


Confidence
It stands to reason that women are attracted to confident men. Confidence is a sign of success, or at least potential. Confident men can get a woman what she wants.

And a study published last year found that women are more sexually attracted to brooding, proud, confident-looking men than their jollier counterparts. In fact, they tended to find shiny happy blokes a bit of a turn-off.

It could be that male displays of pride – even if that’s only shown by facial expression – suggest confidence and status, and women are hardwired to look for high status men. Other studies have found that smiling can be associated with a lack of dominance, and subservient men are not likely to be high up the pecking order.

So if you want to attract women, make sure you’re friendly, but don’t stand around grinning like a lunatic.




Humour

It’s not just a cliché: a good sense of humour really can help in the dating stakes.

A study by the University of Northumbria revealed that women who find men funny also consider them more intelligent and honest than their less amusing counterparts. Men who wrote the funniest descriptions of themselves for lonely heart ads were seen as brainier, more genuine and a better bet for a long-term relationship, according to the research.

“The findings provide evidence that women use humour as an indication of a guy’s intelligence,” said Kristofor McCarty, from Northumbria University, who led the study.

“Intelligence is a very attractive quality as a clever man should be more able to provide resources for his offspring.”

But put those cheesy chat-up lines away. The study also found that only genuinely funny men could laugh a lady into bed. Bad gags were given the thumbs down.


Self-delusion

OK, maybe self-delusion is the wrong term. Maybe we should say overblown self-confidence.

A study published in the journal Psychological Science found that ordinary looking men often ended up with attractive women because of sheer persistence and a mistaken belief in their own attractiveness.

The research, from the US, discovered that men could make up for their lack of physical beauty by trying their luck with an increased number of women. They may receive a lot of knock-backs, but they also have the occasional success.

Of course, this self-delusion isn’t an attractive trait in itself, but it does lead ordinary looking men to at least try to charm women with other traits, like their intelligence, wit and generosity. The only lesson to be taken is that, whatever you look like, don’t be put off by rejection. The harder you try, the luckier you’ll get.




Intelligence

If women prize humour as an indicator of intelligence, clearly intelligence must be a prized trait in men.

Other studies have confirmed that women are attracted to brains, regardless of humour. For example, when a team from Elon University in North Carolina showed female students videos of men performing athletic and mental tasks and asked them to pick favourites, the women tended to go for the most intelligent men.

In other words, it’s worth bigging up your academic achievements (subtly, of course – women don’t like boasting) on a first date or even on your internet dating profile, waxing lyrical about culture or society (without hogging the conversation) or maybe just arming yourself with a really good joke.

So there you have it. If you want to increase your chances of attracting the women – or woman – of your dreams, science suggests that kindness, confidence, humour and intelligence – along with perseverance – are the keys to success.

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53 secrets girls don’t want guys to know

1. When we get whistled at in the street, we feel uncomfortable and we’ll always tut and roll our eyes. But we’re awesomely flattered and we’d be gutted if it stopped.

2. We will never grow out of our fascination with pop stars. A guy can be completely ordinary-looking, but we will fancy him if he’s in a band.


3. We are more likely to fancy a guy if his ex-girlfriends are really pretty.

4. We can be put off a guy by finding out that his ex-girlfriends are a bit ugly.

5. When we look through your Facebook photos, we’re looking to see how pretty or ugly your ex-
girlfriends are.

6. We look through your Facebook photos a lot, and we really hope that you haven’t downloaded anything that reveals who looks at them the most.


7. Here’s how to make us fall for you. One day, come on to us so strong that we’re a bit weirded out by it. Then totally fail to ring us. We’ll wonder what we did wrong, and we won’t be able to stop thinking about you.

8. The above strategy isn’t foolproof. We may just lose interest. It depends on how much we liked you in the first place.


9. We often don’t know how much we liked you in the first place. We may have to wait until you don’t phone us. If we’re disappointed, it proves that we fancy you. If we’re not, it proves that we don’t. It’s like when you toss a coin to help you make a decision.

10. Stop trying to understand how our minds work. Even we don’t understand how our minds work.


11. We constantly change our minds and reserve the right to do so.

12. We love getting a missed call from you. It makes us feel in control.

13. The pleasure of noticing a missed call doesn’t last long. We never know how soon to ring back, and it does our heads in.

14. We are constantly scared of putting you off by seeming too keen.


15. We are constantly scared of putting you off by not seeming keen enough.

16. We will never discuss this with you because we are constantly scared of putting you off by bringing “us” up in conversation.


17. “I’m scared of being hurt” means “I don’t fancy you as much as I thought I did.” You know it, we know it, and that is all that will be said on the matter.

18. We say “we’re not manipulative” because we’re really good at being manipulative.

19. We only manipulate your feelings because you manipulated our feelings first.

20. Snoring costs you sex.


21. Your feet disgust us.

22. We shave our toes.


23. We’ve got a rogue hair that needs regular plucking.

24. We went through a phase of shaving our moustache.


25. We leave our legs unshaven on a first date so that we won’t end up in bed with you.

26. We wear big knickers on a first date so that we won’t end up in bed with you.


27. We spend entire first dates fancying the pants off you and worrying that we’ll end up in bed with you, all unshaven legs and big knickers.

28. We don’t actually care that much about the loo seat.


29. We suspect that you like our bodies more when we’re carrying a few extra pounds, but we always feel better about ourselves when we lose weight. However we hate that our boobs look deflated, and we’re disgusted by the injustice of it.

30. We envy you for being able to eat more than us and not get fat. By “envy” we mean “occasionally hate.”


31. If a grown-up woman has light blonde hair, she’s bleaching it*. You can tell that a woman is a 
natural blonde from her mousey eyebrows. (* OK, or she’s Scandinavian.)

32. We trim our nose-hair.


33. Yes we’ve got nice eyes, blah blah. Boring. We are desperate for you to compliment our skin and our necks.

34. We are even more desperate for you to write poems about us.


35. When we’re at a party we clock the sexy girls far quicker than we clock the sexy guys.

36. We find female strippers sexier than male strippers. But that doesn’t mean we want to snog any of them.


37. However we do wish we were gay sometimes, if only to get oral sex from someone who really knows what they’re doing.

38. Size does matter, fellas.


39. What you do with it matters even more.

40. What you do with your tongue matters most of all.


41. We’re really scared that you’ll feel our back zits.

42. During breakouts we get up at 6am and cover our spots with concealer while you’re sleeping.


43. We don’t want you to stay for breakfast. We want you to leave immediately so that you don’t 
have time to register how dog-rough we look in the morning.

44. We want you to text us from your journey home to say how you can’t stop smiling.


45. If you don’t text or call within 24 hours we’ll feel so unhappy that no amount of chocolate and wine can cheer us up. Though we’ll give it a try.

46. We’d happily sleep with your best mate to make you jealous.


47. We’re scared of commitment too.

48. If you’re not very well endowed, your girlfriend won’t tell her friends. She’s as embarrassed about it as you are. However if you dump her, she’ll tell everyone.


49. We fake orgasms so that you’ll stop and let us go to sleep.

50. We aren’t always sure when we’re faking it. In orgasms, the line between fact and fiction can be very thin.


51. We love falling asleep in your arms, for the first few weeks of a relationship anyway. To be honest we’d sleep a lot better if you weren’t there.

52. We find your dark-coloured bedsheets a total turn-off.


53. We’re all little girls inside. You make us cry far more easily than you realise.


Source: http://dating.uk.msn.com/edito/index.php?mtcmk=080519&name=5/114/574-53-secrets-girls-don-t-want-guys-to-know.html

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Government Censoring Twitter

Twitter has made an announcement that local laws can censor certain tweets that are going forward based on a users location. No one can understand the reason for this decision to be made. Many Twitter users are furious about this decision because what this means is that many will have to think twice before tweeting anything controversial. I can just imagine Twitter users having their Tweets removed just because they said something against the government.

Do people remember 2011 being the year when people used Twitter to gather together and protest against the regime of the nation?

We doubt that can happen if Tweets are governed by local laws based on a users location. Many Twitter users as myself consider this to be a bad move because everyone should have the freedom to share whatever they want on the Internet, within certain limits. We might be having protests all around the World in the near future for our freedom to use the Internet to share how we feel just like many protested in the 60s and 70s for certain rights.

I can’t stop feeling that governments all around the World will cause more problems for humans in general by stopping people from expressing themselves in the modern world of the Internet. Many people will see handheld devices as technology that can not be utilisted 100% because we will fear what may happen to us if we share a Tweet, Facebook Status or even a blog post about something controversial.

As humans we change and improve by pushing the limits. If we do not have the freedom to push the limits then we can not change or improve. Many of us as average humans could not push those limits when there was no Internet but now with the help of social networking and websites such as YouTube we can share our feelings and interests.

Many people have suggested that Twitter investors may be the main cause for this decision to be made, Saudi Prince is one of the investors.

Does this mean limits will be applied to social networks just because some investor (individual, organisation or government) does not like certain content being shared?

For example a Tweet regarding SOPA or anything else that causes negative publicity for individuals, cooperations and governments. Twitter and other social networks will no longer be a useful tool for broadcasting the latest news if local laws censor any material. Broadcasting news to the World is essential if a certain population wants to make other countries aware of a bad or good. situation. For example during a protest or disaster people may need help and if another country identifies a major problem then they can intervene.

You may think the government of a country would ask for help but many do not if there is a protest taking place and so on. For example Egypt was one country who wanted a change in the government and the person who ran the nation. Much of the public and not the government was tweeting to raise awareness and seeking for help.

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The Next Generation of Television

More and more TV’s at CES 2012 were showing off that their TV has internet. People want internet on TV and want apps to go along with it. Apple TV is something that is rumoured to be coming out in the Television Market. Apple TV and Google TV will be competing against each other just as they are in the mobile market at the present. We all know how effective Apple are in their marketing campaigns, Apple does offer an interface that is smooth and user friendly. For example products like iPad and iPhones have that smooth and user friendly interface.

Google TV will be an interesting piece of technolgy because they have more online services than Apple. Google TV can offer what they always have, integration of all its services in one place. Google TV can bej ust like Google on the web with services like GMail, Google+ and the search engine integrated into one place for convenience. The brand offers even more by making books, documents, Android apps, movies and other stuff available on its TV. Many people in a few years time will be able to watch a programme/movie on the TV while using Facebook/Twitter/Google+ alongside it on the screen or the touchscreen tablet that replaces the remote.

The TV remote is also a peice of technology which is going to change to something more interesting. You ever heard of tablets? Of course you have because tablets are going through a demanding phase in the consumer market. Tablets will be the remote control to TV’s to make it easier for the user to type text, read information about a programme/movie or find out from a socail network how many are watching what you are.

Google TV and Apple TV will not be the only companies in the future television market but some such as Sony are behind in grabbing this opportunity for the future. That alone said it is likely that Google TV and Apple TV will be the major brands selling TV’s in the next generation and be fierce competitors for each other and build a barrier to new entrants in the market.

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Marketing News Summary: Episode 1

Morrisons targets students with convenience store

Morrisons has made a new move into the convenience market to challenge specialist coffee chains. Outdoor seating is going to be offered with this first store.  This is going to be targeted at students by offering an extensive food to go breakfast and lunch, including offers like a coffee and bacon sandwich deal for £2 at its food to go counter. This is an attempt to compete directly with coffee chains nearby such as Costa and Nero.

The store opened on 16^th January in Manchester’s Grafton Street, situated among Manchester University buildings. There are other offers that are being introduced by the chain to attract students, meal deal offers that include fresh ingrediants for £3 and coupons offering £2 off a £10 shop for the first three weeks. Offers like these will make students visit the store and buy products for breakfast and lunch.

Reebok reveals global brand strategy
 
Reebok is preparing to launch a global brand strategy to position itself as the world’s primary fitness brand, and will feature sportsmen including Lewis Hamilton and cricketer MS Dhoni in a campaign to support the new direction.

Reebok have indicated that the new strategy is designed to “change the way people perceive, define and experience fitness” and achieve Reebok’s ambition “to bring fitness to the world and be seen as the world’s fittest company”.
Reebok have identified the fitness sector as a “significant opportunity” and it hopes to have the largest market share in this market. The organisation has basically created a strategy that will change people’s perception, definition and experience regarding fitness. Once this strategy is implemented the company hopes to be the number one brand that people visit offline/online for products and services. The campaign includes a partnership with fitness programme CrossFit.

Tesco’s biggest underperformance

Christmas trading was disappointing for Tesco and its biggest underperformance in more than two decades. Retail research director at Mintel, Richard Parker dubbed Tesco’s underperformance as a “marketing failure”. It has been suggested that the supermarket should scrap its Clubcard loyalty scheme because most of the marketing weight at the start of the recessions was allocated to Tesco’s
Clubcard relaunch. Marketeers have been warned to treat promotions like heroin because it is only a short term high and not effective or efficient in the long run.

Vevo aims to become “recognised consumer facing brand”

Vevo is a music video platform and now it has planned to move on to connected TV devices and partner with some major brands and broadcasters this year in a bid to become a recognised brand in the market. “Connected TV/Internet TV” as mentioned in previous posts on my blog and YouTube channel is the future of television.

LoveFilm strikes ABC deal for US shows

LoveFilm has struck a TV streaming deal with Disney as it faces new competition from UK entrant Netflix for market share. LoveFilm have already struck a deal with broadcasters in the UK and have recently added TV series such as Blackadder, Skins, Doctor Who and many more. The new deal is already available for LoveFilm subscribers, Lost is available to watch right now and Desperate Housewives will be added later in the year. I am very happy with this deal because as a subscriber not can I only watch movies but now I can watch my favourite Desperate Housewives series.

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Hearing ‘Phantom Vibrations’ from Smartphones

A study has revealed that people who are addicted to their smartphones and wait in anticipation for their next notification to arrive are prone to hearing ‘phantom vibrations’. I can relate to this problem because I have heard ‘phantom vibrations’ when waiting in anticipation for the next notification, e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Text and more.

This study was conducted out at the University of Worcester and it indicates that users are finding themselves more stressed when they think they have heard a buzz and immediately check their email and social networking apps/sites. Hearing a ‘phantom buzz’ is leading users to check their phones more often than usual and this causing more stress. This is a problem for employers and this study should be considered if smartphones are affecting the employees stress levels.

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