Beer & Bytes

Have you ever been chuffed with your performance on a date? Good news! You're probably also a natural at financial adviser social media marketing. Or so says Victor Sacks, known as The Naked IFA. Hosts Amy and Michael shoot the breeze with Victor about online trolls, making good radio and who he's voting in the General Election. They also dig into the emerging brouhaha between old and new media. Enjoy!

We've got an exclusive interview with former Pensions Minister Baroness (Ros) Altmann. She told us how the "terribly unhelpful" pensions industry tried to close her down when she campaigned for stricken workers. Baroness Altmann also talked about her upsetting battle with vicious online trolls. And she gave us a forthright view on whether ISAs (or LISAs) could ever replace pensions. We also delve Google's advertising goof. Cheers!

Have you ever received a marketing email at 3am? A cynic might think these types of communications are targeted at people who are having trouble sleeping. But maybe the cynic would be right? We asked Katie Evans of the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute to talk us through the ways in which the business community and the media could cater better for people experiencing mental health issues.

Ever heard of bacon-flavoured knickers? Neither had money blogger and journalist Kalpana Fitzpatrick - until she was sent some porcine undercrackers by a thoroughly confused PR. She tells the Beer & Bytes team the rather curly tale. Our hosts also meander through the prevailing spat between Channel Four News and Facebook. And, in a new segment called 'Michael's Media Minute', they pick over The Guardian's money worries. So join Michael and Amy in cracking open a coldie as they crank up the patter on the stories that matter.

The robots are coming...or are they? Doesn't matter! Because we went to the robots in this episode. In a rare outing from the safe dimness of the studio, the Beer & Bytes team emerged blinking at the bright lights of this week's much-talked-about "Financial Advice in a Digital World" panel discussion in Central London. We caught up with loads of old chums, including co-sponsor Ian McKenna from Digital Wealth Insights, a new robo-advice review service. Back in the studio, we debated the merits of Wikipedia's apparent ban of the Daily Mail as a credible source for its user-generated content. Who needs credible facts when you can get a strong opinion on Theresa May's shoes?! And, as usual, we begged for reviews on iTunes and SoundCloud. You could do that right now, actually. Cheers!

IBM security chief Caleb Barlow has just delivered a mind-blowing Ted Talk on internet fraud. We pick up the theme, probing the seething, scaly, scummy substratum of the web that is Cybercrime. Our interviewee this week is the delightful, insightful Jamie Campbell of banking app Bud. It's great news for coffee quaffers as Jamie drops the bombshell that saving money by cutting down on your regular cup might be a step too far. And, as per, we unapologetically imbibe some fine ales (donated this week by Martin and Nick Bamford of Informed Choice Financial Planning- thanks chaps!). Let's roll!

WORLD FIRST! Well, a first for Beer & Bytes anyway: we host the show from outdoors. That's right; in the actual cold, where people are! And we talk to people as we do it! The interview this week is great. We mull over the highs and lows of life as a professional blogger - meaning it's your ONLY JOB. How the heck do you make money that way??? Emma Bradley and Lynn James, authors of the new book "Blogging Your Way To Riches", tell us. Enjoy!

Ho, ho, hold on a minute! Can this really be the last episode of 2016? You're damn right - but what a Christmas cracker it is! We've got our ghosts of Financial Services Past, Present and Future, as well as a chat with money blogger extraordinaire Andy Webb, who runs the UK's biggest and best network for people who scribble about cash. Aaaand we've got an extra special festive twist on our beers of the week. Grab a mince pie and a sherry and tune in!

Well, you've lucked out this week, podfanz! We look at how retailers handled the tsunami of web traffic that accompanied the biggest Black Friday bonanza of all time. We also caught up the creators of brand new savings app Mulalo - and heard about their plans to take a trip to Ibiza. And we tell the Government to poke their proverbials in someone else's business over its plans for mass surveillance.

What happens when you mix SnapChat with retail banking? Nope, we had ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA either - until we quizzed Atom Bank's Head of PR and Internal Communications, Katy Ringsdore. We also asked whether AMP would be making sweet music anytime soon. AMP? It stands for Accelerated Mobile Pages and is Google's latest attempt to make the internet totally mobile-friendly. Aaaaand, with Christmas only a few million weeks away, we thought it would be a good time to discuss Christmas ads and the anti-ad campaign that's ruffling the turkey's feathers. As ever, we imbibed, bitched and buoyed up in equal measure.

Are you a digital doozy or a social media maven? That's the question we're posing to the UK's wealth management industry. We've also got a very upbeat Daniel Godfrey - former chief executive of The Investment Association - in the interview chair. He tells us about his new member-owned investment business, The People's Trust. And what about the kerfuffle over at Admiral, the insurance company? We're on it like a car bonnet with all the analysis and opining we can muster! As ever and always will be, we drink lashings of lovely lager. Enjoy!

This week, we’re talking pensions and investment scams and we’re asking whether cutting off the go-to marketing technique of fraudsters – cold calling – would disrupt their business model. We’ve also got a great interview with ‘all-round happy guy’ – those are his words – Peter Myatt, who’s the CEO and founder of Bean, the "world’s first personal finance assistant" (https://getbean.co/). Aaaand, back by popular demand, it’s our heroes and villains in financial services communications, including the new guide to getting verified on Twitter and Facebook's new Workplace service. And, of course, as ever, because we love it...beers! And, boy do we have two special brews for you.

We've got a fascinating interview with Darren Philp from The People's Pension, who gives us his verdict on "Workie", the pensions monster, and whether the word "pension", itself, is still useful. Our political reporter Jansev Jemal goes behind-the-scenes and spills the beans at the Conservative Party Conference. And, as usual, we've got News in Bytes and Heroes and Villains. Finally, there's beer. There's always beer.

WARNING: this one's a giggler. If you're upset, it will make you happy. If you're happy, it'll make you want to empty your bank account and party like it's 2099. We ponder whether Facebook is the best thing since sliced Jeremy Corbyn - or the worst thing since fried, toasted and, basically, any carb-related bread. We also spend some time Twittering with your Yahoo and we invite our roving reporter Jansev Jemal into the madness. She's been at the Labour Party civil war, sorry - conference...CONFERENCE. Enjoy! Or go home and lie down.

Star fund manager Neil Woodford told the BBC that the UK is 'appallingly bad' at funding start ups. Is that true? Michael Taggart and Amy Rowe from MRM's PR and digital team delve into the thorny issues surrounding venture capitalism and the ever elusive search for the next Google or Facebook. As always there is beer. There is also a shocking revelation about a new social network which could really shake things up around your local neighbourhood.* *There's not really any shocking revelation. But you should hear about it, it's a great idea. Beer & Bytes is recorded at Heathman’s Road Studio, London. Thanks to Hugh Fothergill & Tim Morris.

Boy oh boy oh boy have we got a cracking episode for you this week. Amy and Michael have been at the UK Money Blogger Conference and Awards talking about what fair pay for bloggers really means. Emma Bradley of Mum's Savvy Savings (mumssavvysavings.com) told us brands aren't doing enough to help sort the confusion around wildly differing pay rates. Listen to her interview here. For those of you in a start up, or just about to take the plunge, you should listen to our interview with Deepak Tailor of Latest Free Stuff about winning Dragons' Den and what happened to him and his business after the show. We also spoke to blogging paraplanner Adam Piplica about how and why more and more financial planners and advisers are blogging.

"The suit should be blue and the newspaper pink" - that's what bankers used to say but we argue over whether this is still true in the City of London? Oakley Walters, head of marketing at new investment app MoneyFarm, tells us what financial services can learn off the booze and ciggies industries. And friend of the podcast and mortgage adviser Danny Matthews is chucking in his job, his app and his podcast - but why? We also look at HSBC's new 'selfie security scheme'. Aaaand, there's the usual tasting of beers. Hurrah! Enjoy!

It's a rather fruity episode this week as Lloyds Bank chief António Horta Osório is forced to apologise to his own staff after getting caught 'on the job'. Meanwhile, Irish taxmen say they want to take a 13 billion euro bite from Apple. And we get to the core of Jeremy Corbyn's new digital policy and find it's all pips and no pop. Amy sups heartily from the cup of alcoholic raspberries, while Michael goes bananas about an Australian prison escapee. Is a banana a fruit? Anyone?

The Beer & Bytes team delves into the communications nightmare around Help to Buy ISAs, asking one saver how she now feels about her prospects of buying a first home. We also reveal how trading is increasingly entrenched in social media and how banks and investors are now making big decisions using Twitter. Last but absolutely not least, star fund manager Neil Woodford gets a nod for his move to block bonuses. As always, there is beer. And chat. And rave music. Beer & Bytes is recorded at Heathman’s Road Studio, London. Thanks to Hugh Fothergill & Tim Morris for recording & sound help, and thanks to Barney Wilkes for music.

Good news: Amy's back! And she wants to know why brands (and football teams) still don't get 'The Streisand Effect' 12 years after it became a thing. We're looking at YOU, Charlton Athletic! We also delve into the ever-expanding Mail Online's "odd" partnership with China's state media. And we chew the fat with Martin Slaney, founder of the latest investing app set to launch into the UK mass market. As usual, we've got the News in Bytes and we settle into proceedings with a hearty slug of ale.