"It can be quite difficult to find the perfect gift on father's day." So begins Prezzybox.com's press release about finding the right gift for your old man. The online firm suggests a couple of presents, which I'll run you through in a minute. But to be honest, the following is basically a memo to my one-and-a-half-year old daughter (and my wife, who will have to buy the gift).

Prezzybox - who according to the release, pride themselves on a wide range of gifts suitable for any occasion - suggest a bunch of stuff for dads:

"Created especially for dads with a passion for fast cars, the Personalised Stig Poster gives you the opportunity to out the biggest mystery on television. Who is the Stig? Is it your dad?"

Daughter, take note - I am not Stig. In fact, as you may have noticed, daddy doesn't even drive. What else is on offer?

• For dads who like to play, the micro pico z mx-1 extreme, is ideal. The world's smallest remote controlled helicopter which promises to drag the inner child out of any dad.
• Its no secret that Dads love fire and the urban safety firepit brings a fiery centrepiece to your garden, patio or decking. It can even double up as a barbecue to cook his steak on.

"It is no secret that Dads love fire" - which pyromaniac fathers are we talking about here?

Certainly not me and my dad. As for us, two season tickets for Aston Villa would certainly suffice. I'll buy one, my daughter/wife can buy the other...

Further reading

• Be proud of being a technology nerd
• Red is probably not the key to technology success
• Soho celebrity spots 2: From Sykes to Littlewood...
• Soho celebrity spots: From Oddie to Mortimer...
• Second city Blues

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Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

Everyone is doing it, but no-one is allowed to do it at work. What are we talking about? Social networking, the addictive habit of the UK masses. Researcher Datamonitor says Britain has the highest membership of social networking sites in Europe.

Continent-wide, usage is predicted to more than double from 41.7 million to 107.4 million. But at the same time, companies remain sceptical about the benefits of social software, with 32 per cent of firms now choosing to block social networking sites, according to ScanSafe.

Time to wake up, says analyst Gartner - who suggest retailers, in particular, need to be more open to social networking - possibly creating a social community to gather feedback, or creating a marketing presence on large social networks.

The analyst has created a top ten tips for retailers considering a social network, summarised below (for full list, visit Gartner).

1. There are Social Sites, and Then There are Social Platforms - Social sites can include features such as discussion forums and consumer reviews. A social platform is a large public site that enables users to do the same things as on a social site, but also creates a platform that encourages and eases the development of applications, widgets and mashups.
2. Social Network Sites Go Way Beyond MySpace and Facebook But Reconsolidation Has Started - Gartner estimates that an individual is able to participate in one to three social networks in any meaningful way. Because there are only so many social networks to participate in, consumers are starting to shift to the large centres of gravity (for example, MySpace and Facebook in North America). Analysts believe that the social network market has not yet settled, so retailers should be cautious with their investments on any one social network.
3. Social Networks Are Rich in Word-of-Mouth Discussions About Retailers and Products - Retailers should view social networks as a lead-generation channel just as they would search engines, review sites, and price comparison sites. Lead-generation vehicles range from banners, to search term bidding, to application programming interfaces (APIs) that enable social networks to access the retailers’ consumers.
4. Social Graphs Make Word-of-Mouth Relationships Known and Usable - Social graphs describe how friends are formally linked to each other on a social network. Word of mouth is effectively amplified by making social graphs usable by friends and business entities on a social network.
5. Viral Propagation is Boosted in Social Networking - Viral marketing is the most obvious route to take with viral propagation but must be closely monitored and managed. Communication between friends about something as simple as a pricing or promotion mistake on a Web site can propagate very quickly in social networks.
6. Applications for Social Networks are Easier to Build - The latest push in the social network world has been the focus on creating a platform that allows individuals and companies alike to build applications (sometimes called widgets) that are designed to run on the social network. Social platforms, especially Facebook, have been providing a platform and technical guidelines to make building these applications easier.
7. Social Networks Are a Huge Source of Consumer Data, but Retailers Cannot Easily Access It - Already some people are regretting having made available so much information available on social networks and access to this information will decrease further over time. However, access to some of this data can be gained by building applications that require members to agree to share some of their data in exchange for using the application.
8. Communities, Groups and Networks Can Be Created By Anyone and Are Impossible to Control - If a social network provides corporations too many capabilities in interacting with members (for example, advertising and selling), there is a risk that members will leave the network. Gartner advises retailers to build their social network presence on content produced by members and create applications that engage members in providing feedback in areas such as product design.
9. Social Networks Are Not Capable of Commerce, Yet - Gartner advises retailers against becoming an early adopter of commerce capabilities on social networks. This lessens the chances of being part of a movement that may drive away social network participants because of the perceived commercialisation of the social network.
10. Social Networks Are Merging Into the Real-Time World - For now this remains an emerging consumer practice, but the ability to access social networks from mobile phones is being promoted by the wireless carriers.

Gartner's tips range from the obvious (social networking is more than just Facebook and MySpace), to the more interesting (social networks are not yet capable of supporting commerce).

The analyst says retailers should stay away from commerce-based social networking - a rule of thumb that might apply to all sectors. I guess the follow-up question might be: "How can you commercialise a successful social network?" After all, the security issues are so significant that most individuals are not keen to give away valuable personal information.

The continuing consolidation - which Gartner refers to as reconsolidation (has there been a previous consolidation stage, then?) - of social networking sites might help provide some clarity. As individuals find useful platforms and begin to trust the methods of operation, more firms should be able to create commercial operations.

Well, that's the theory anyway. If not, expect to be drowned by more and more social networking "opportunities" - most of which offer few benefits and little in the way of commercial viability.

Further reading

• How can a CIO make the most of Web 2.0?
• Social web is about improvement, not innovation
• Next generation social networking
• Finding useful Web 2.0 and social networking tools
• Web 2.0: Your business needs a strategy now
• Social networking creates waste and exclusion
• Facebook? LinkedIn? Social networking is rubbish

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Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

A free laptop, you say? There must be a catch. And there is. Fifty participants from around the world have signed up to a project where they have been provided with a clean laptop without spam protection and a new email address.

Worse still, the participants will be expected to surf the web, make online purchases and register for promotions.

Sounds crazy. But Christopher Bolin, chief technology officer for project sponsor McAfee, says it's becoming more difficult for internet users to detect spam and it's vital individuals understand the risks of leaving computers unprotected (which, of course, is McAfee's specialism).

Thanks be to good old McAfee, then. But hand on a minute, what's this? Dave DeWalt, chief executive officer for McAfee, seems to be suggesting we already know the answers of the research project:

"This experiment will raise awareness of the problem by showing that a 30-day diet of spam is bad for your online health."

Oh. If we already know that, why is the project taking place? Mmmmm... Rather than canned meat, I can smell the not-so-subtle whiff of marketing guff...

Anyway, if you're interested in the results, check the participants' online diary here: http://www.mcafee.com/spamexperiment

Further reading

• Time to focus on the good in databases
• Check the fine print of the Data Protection Act
• Security technology is not a priority for firms
• Flexible working creates a security nightmare
• Stop buying illegal software, or face the risks...
• How to cope with rogue IT

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Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

Former Boots IT chief Rob Fraser has joined services specialist CSC as the firm's vice president of retail, technology and consumer business - a move that raises some important questions.

Fraser's beat will cover UK, Ireland and the Netherlands - and he will report to Nick Wilson, president of CSC’s Northern European operations.

"With technology becoming increasingly more important in the consumer industry, understanding the customer and helping to shape and develop services that enhance the client experience will be key to my role," says Fraser, who began his IT career in 1985 at Marks and Spencer. He then held business management roles at Lafarge Redland Aggregates and Andersen Consulting, before joining Boots in 1997.

Back in November, Computing Business ran a couple of pieces about Fraser's departure from Boots. Writer Joe Devo suggested the move should be seen in the wider context of other transformations, specifically a potential move away from the CIO title at major UK organisations:

With their decisions to drop the title of chief information officer (CIO) or IT director from their boards, the new owners of Boots and House of Fraser prompted suggestions that the end is nigh for boardroom technology leaders and that, just maybe, there is no longer any room at the top for today’s crop of IT leaders.

Sources have suggested the work of Boots’ former IT director, Rob Fraser, came to a natural end. After a six-year overhaul of the company’s IT systems, a decision was made to drop the role of IT director.

Fraser is clearly not the first IT leader to make a move to 'the dark side'. For example, John Worth, CIO at financial services specialist Prudential, took a partner role at consultant Ernst & Young a couple of years ago.

But decisions to move into IT provision, rather than implementation, suggest an interesting trend: what is the explanation?

• Is an obsession with the alignment between technology and business underplaying the role of IT?
• Do some IT leaders believe the room to lead change at blue-chip organisations is limited?
• Are CIOs losing their power in relation to finance directors?
• Or is it a case of more opportunities, and better terms and conditions, in the service sector?

The answer for many over-stretched and under-appreciated CIOs is probably all the above - and a bit more, too.

Further reading

• CIOs will need to transform to survive
• Career moves: Robin Terrell is John Lewis web MD
• Career moves: Steve Markwell is new NCC CEO
• Career moves: Carl Powell becomes Unipart CEO
• Modernise to beat IT and skills obsolesence

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Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

Leeds United might be struggling to make the League One play-offs, but they are at least top of one division - the hotly contested title of football clubs with the best-performing mobile web sites.

Leeds are actually joint top with Aston Villa, Glasgow Rangers, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United, according to content provider AnimationFC and mobile specialist Bango. Apparently, clubs who use animated promotions on their homepage generate the most sales.

“Teams like Tottenham Hotspur often accompany features on its star players such as Robbie Keane with links to download mobile photographs and cartoon animations," says director of AnimationFC Gavin Skelhorn, choosing to outline the approach of Spurs, rather than Leeds or the other three contenders.

Which is a shame, because Spurs have already won the League Cup this season. Come on - spread the joy around, AnimationFC and Bango.

Further reading

• Red is probably not the key to technology success
• IT skills crisis not solved via death by powerpoint
• Recycle? WEEE don't understand the rules, stupid
• Soho celebrity spots 2: From Sykes to Littlewood...
• Soho celebrity spots: From Oddie to Mortimer...
• Second city Blues

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Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels

John Lewis department stores has appointed Robin Terrell as managing director of web site and catalogue business John Lewis Direct.

Terrell will be responsible for all aspects of the retailer's on-line business and will report to commercial director Phil Hullah. He will join John Lewis on 14 April from Figleaves, the online lingerie company where he has been chief operating officer for the last three years. Prior to working at Figleaves, Terrell spent four years as managing director of retailer Amazon.co.uk.

"This is a great brand committed to delivering the best multi-channel customer experience - and I am looking forward to being a part of making that happen," said Terrell. The John Lewis web site (www.johnlewis.com), for example, stocks more than 26,000 lines.

Further reading

• Career moves: Steve Markwell is new NCC CEO
• Career moves: Carl Powell becomes Unipart CEO
• Modernise to beat IT and skills obsolesence
• IT needs to show the boss it means business
• Depressed technology professionals need a boost
• CIO best practice: Six tips for beating the recession

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Almost 120 years after the original land run across parts of North America, and a new territory grab is taking place.

At high noon, on 22 April 1889, an estimated 50,000 people raced across Oklahoma to claim a piece of land. The location for the modern-day land run is very different ­ – cyberspace, as opposed to terra firma. As of 20 February, companies and the general public could begin registering for available .asia domain names in a so-called land rush phase.

According to DotAsia, the firm overseeing domain registration, the land rush represents: “A golden opportunity for individuals looking to invest in the most prestigious and potentially profitable cyber real estate in Asia.”

That sentiment, as well as sounding remarkably like the wording in a timeshare advert, expresses the hype surrounding the latest release of domain name suffixes.

There have been a lot of previous releases, with businesses and cybersquatters ­ – people buying popular names in the hope of making a quick profit ­ – forcing up interest and prices.

But the times are possibly changing. The BBC reports that just 30,780 applications have been filed for .asia domain names so far, compared with 330,000 at the same point in the launch of the .eu domain name.

Instead of lining up for a slice of cyber real estate, are circumspect internet users choosing to ignore the latest virtual land grab? No one would be surprised if IT leaders, bombarded and bamboozled by a series of suffix releases, are struggling to see the point of yet another domain registration.

However, a proactive reaction really is in your firm’s interests. First, DotAsia’s registration rules mean squabbles over names will lead to domains being auctioned off to the highest bidder. Ace.asia has already been sold for $20,501 (£10,400) and a quick look at the upcoming auction list reveals a highly competitive tendering process (dotasia.org/about/auctions.html).

Second, Asia really is the next web frontier. Researcher Global Reach estimates 64 per cent of the world’s internet population are non-English speakers, with Asian languages accounting for 33 per cent of users.

So, while a dose of scepticism to yet another cyber land run is healthy, you should not let your cynicism cost you a competitive advantage.

Further reading

• Web 2.0: Your business needs a strategy now
• Access? Open source? Rethinking the digital divide
• Social networking creates waste and exclusion
• Facebook? LinkedIn? Social networking is rubbish
• Web 2.0 technologies = five hours of depression

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Organisations now have a range of business and IT processes to call upon as they attempt to create seamless supply chain integration.

Rather than holding stock in expensive warehouse space, firms are looking to make the most of innovative technology to speed up logistics processes, source products direct from suppliers and push final goods quickly to customers.

Successful supply chain management is all about overseeing multiples: multiple shopping channels; multiple technologies, including radio frequency identification (RFID); and multiple sourcing locations, such as the Far East.

Maintaining consistency across multiple channels, technologies and locations is a considerable task.

Take retailer Argos, who has seen its product line increase from 7,700 to more than 18,000 during the past seven years.

As highlighted in this month’s Computing Business cover story, Argos’ supply chain director Steve Melton says providing the goods for a broad range of lines requires a firm hand.

“We have been working with key suppliers, particularly those in the Far East, to reduce order quantities and reduce lead times,” he says.

RFID technology can help IT leaders track and trace deliveries when errors occur, but it remains a pipe dream for most.

Too expensive to tag all but the big-ticket objects, RFID remains associated with the bulk movement of goods, rather than individual items.

With more external sourcing now taking place, anything that can improve item tracing might be sensible.

The EU-wide number of dangerous products reported on a week-by-week basis this year is up 43 per cent, with 48 per cent of them involving Chinese products.

However, strong supply chain management is not just about controlling external suppliers. You will also need to take charge of internal systems and ensure that staff are not scared by innovative IT.

Supply chain processes traditionally over-rely on acquired knowledge, a process that can leave a firm exposed when key individuals leave an organisation.

Service-oriented architecture (SOA) is allowing organisations to re-use resources on-demand in a modularised fashion.

Some firms are already taking a lead here, illustrating how enterprise resource planning and electronic point of sales systems can form part of a holistic logistics system.

The innovative use of IT should mean the days when the supply chain was the most intractable leg of the product delivery journey are increasingly distant memories.

Good news - possibly. Analyst Gartner has unveiled what it believes will be the top 10 strategic technologies for 2008. It's good news, I guess, in that chief information officers should have a heads-up about the technologies that - to quote the analyst - will have a "significant impact on the enterprise in the next three years".

Which is always helpful, especially if you're planning on spending a big wedge of the finance chief's cash. Gartner suggests proactively planning in the following areas:

1. Green IT: Which is common sense, really - both from a strategic and public relations perspective.
2. Unified communications: Gartner suggests 80 per cent of companies are already involved in trials and refers to unified communications as the first major change in voice communications since the digital PBX.
3. Business process modelling: Service-oriented architecture is tough - BPM helps executives make the most of software resources.
4. Metadata management: Firms keep creating and pumping out increasing amounts of content. Metadata management helps chief information officers make the most of their information, creating consistency and integrity.
5. Virtualisation 2.0: Just when you getting used to the concept of storage emulation, along comes virtualisation 2.0 - stronger, fitter and altogether sleeker. Includes a whole lot more resiliency and real-time automation.
6. Mash up and composite apps: Gartner says mash up technologies will evolve significantly during the next five years - get wise and formulating an enterprise strategy.
7. Web platform and web-oriented architecture: Basically, the web is going to become the standard service delivery model. Prepare for that development, too.
8. Computing fabric: The future of servers - a move beyond blades to create a larger, single system that is the sum of its components.
9. Real world web: Informal term, referring to places where information from the web is applied to the particular location, activity or context in the real world. It is intended to augment the reality that a user faces, not to replace it as in virtual worlds. Gartner says businesses now need to seek out new applications and revenue streams from the web in a real-world situation.
10. Social software: Web 2.0 will experience considerable flux, with continued product innovation and new start-ups. Expect significant consolidation.

Gaining value from outsourcing contracts is one of the most intractable challenges for users. Organisations regularly farm out problematic areas of the technology department, with little awareness of where value is being delivered.

Which is why The Corporate IT Forum is launching a new benchmarking service to give technology leaders a more accurate understanding of supplier contracts.

Designed, developed and financed by the corporate organisations that make up The Forum, Continuous Performance Improvement for Outsourced IT Services (CPI OS) allows users to contrast the cost and service levels of contracts against other large businesses.

The full service will be officially launched to corporate IT executives on 1st November at an event featuring presentations by IT leaders from BAA, British Energy, Friends Provident and Hampshire County Council.

John Parker, director of improvement services for The Corporate IT Forum, says: "We expect CPI OS to revolutionise the procurement process, increase competition and mark a step change in the relationships between corporate IT users and suppliers."

Big aims, certainly - but you can expect the service to be a success. After all, The Corporate IT Forum has a long history of delivering similar platforms. CPI Benchmarking was established in 2001 by a group of Corporate IT Forum members that were unsatisfied with existing forms of benchmarking.

The current CPI service allows users to benchmark across a range of areas, such as desktops, infrastructure and staff costs, and has been significantly expanded to include network services, including LANs, WANs and e-commerce.

More information on CPI OS benchmarking service - Continuous Process Improvement

The Business Software Alliance (BSA) has announced it prevented more than 36,000 illegal software products from being sold on a select number of online auction sites in the first six months of 2007. The BSA's figures also revealed that the value of the software being offered illegally via during the period totalled over $8m.

“And this is the tip of the iceberg”, said John Wolfe, the excitingly titled director of internet enforcement at the BSA, who warns that counterfeit copies can pose a significant data protection risk.

The BSA release quotes a study from researcher IDC that states the chances of buying legal software that hasn’t had viruses, trojans or spyware embedded into the code on an auction site is less than 1 in 2 (which was a mistake in the press release, by the way - it is actually meant to say 'illegal'). Now that would have been a story: 'Fifty per cent of commercial software is embedded with viruses, Trojans or spyware'...

How long is a piece of string? More importantly, what on earth is service-oriented architecture?

Such questions can be answered by mobile text question and answer service AQA (Any Question Answered), which Metro reports recently answered its 8 millionth question.

The newspaper provides a list of the top ten most popular questions (which includes 'How long is a piece of string?').

IT-based questions are notable by their absence in the top 10. Which got me thinking - what would a chief information officer (CIO) ask AQA? Here's my stab at the top 10 most popular questions for CIOs:

1. Why can't I get on the board?
2. Why won't the financial director let me spend any money on IT?
3. How can I adopt a service-oriented architecture-based approach?
4. What is service-oriented architecture, anyway?
5. How does opening up 20 new data centres square up with our green computing strategy?
6. What on earth has love got to do with it?
7. How can I outsource the entire IT department and still look like I'm responsible for something?
8. How can I tell the chief executive to get stuffed?
9. Why does everyone hate me so much?
10. How long is a piece of string?

As 16th birthday parties go, it’s likely to be pretty quiet: no disco, no birthday cake, and no cheap cider surreptitiously drunk behind the community centre.

But for the record, 6 August marks a special anniversary – of the web’s debut as a publicly-available service.

As he introduced the service on the alt.hypertext newsgroup in 1991, web inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee said: ‘We are very interested in spreading the web to other areas, and having gateway servers for other data. Collaborators welcome!’

It would be fair to say that the web’s 16-year growth from niche research tool to the most extensive and important knowledge network on earth has been nothing short of staggering.

Today’s ubiquitous web has been built around the trial and adoption of a range of networking systems.

Such systems allow partners in different continents to share ideas and firms to electronically procure supplies around the globe.

But, of course, with the upside comes the downside. Pity the poor IT manager who has to support and control an ever-increasing range of web-based technologies.

Time was when users were told what systems they could and could not use. You had your desktop PC, your telephone and your printer.

Then Berners-Lee got all clever and invented the world wide web, potentially connecting billions of people to billions of pages of information.

And while the web provides an extraordinary tool for connection and communication, it also provides a fantastic opportunity for procrastination and work avoidance.

The contemporary web is very fad-based, lurching rapidly from trend to trend.

It currently seems that the whole of the Western world is sharing photos and wall-writing on social networking technology Facebook.

Until next week, perhaps – when the craze dies, just as it did with Friends Reunited.

And while users argue for the networking potential of Web 2.0 technologies, most individuals seem more intent on posting photographs and movie clips, desperate to get their 15 seconds of fame.

Employees waste more than two hours a day on recreational computer activities, according to research by AOL and performance review specialist Salary.com. Take a look around your office – I bet at least half your colleagues are using the web for non work-related activities.

Whose job is it to monitor and control such activities? Is it the responsibility of the line manager or the IT manager?

Two answers usually suffice: both and neither. Users will be told what they can and can’t do by their boss.

And the IT manager will usually be expected to set policies for web use, in line with business expectations.

But if there’s a sudden panic associated with social networking sites and time-wasting at work, someone has to make a decision.

Who is draconian enough to turn off the drip that feeds employees their fix of dancing dog films and speed-eating videos?

Good luck if it’s you – you’ll be more unpopular than the person in human resources who decides to offer below inflation pay rises.

Harrods' IT director David Llamas has transformed the luxury retailer's systems during the last four years (Computing, 26 July). The affable technology leader has ripped out legacy applications, replacing old infrastructure with a service-based architecture.

Chatting at London's exclusive Mosimann’s Club, Llamas highlighted how a period of consolidation and standardisation means he is now ready for a sustained phase of innovation.

Llamas doesn't just have a keen eye for business technology and improved efficiency, however. While we were talking, the eagle-eyed IT director spotted film star Hugh Grant walking past the club.

But despite our excitement, neither of us 'papped' the Four Weddings and a Funeral actor. Which was odder than your might expect, given the context of the hysteria surrounding soul singer Amy Winehouse walking past Computing Towers the other day.

People were pushing and shoving each other to take photos of the celebrity pages mainstay and her husband Blake-Fielder-Civil, probably knowing that they can quickly upload the pictures and sell them for a quick buck...

Another survey shocker - and this time it's bad news for everyone, with UK job seekers apparently splashing out £4bn a year on job interviews.

The average individual spends £154.62 on preparation and commuting, which seems like a pretty hefty wedge. The survey of 2,500 UK citizens by video recruitment web site www.jobs2view.com provides a breakdown for the regular cost of an interview:

• New outfit - £58.67
• Professionally written CV - £31.76
• Beauty salon - £20.16
• Recruitment consultants - £20.04
• Travelling to and from the interview - £16.64
• Interview technique books - £7.35

Travel, of course, is a necessary expense. And this week's Computing (released 19 July) shows that investing in recruitment consultants and CV techniques might also be a necessary evil.

But more than fifty quid on a new outfit for each job interview? Do me a lemon – no wonder this country has to counter high consumer spending with ever-increasing interest rates.

Insight comes from jobs2view managing director Jon Glas who says: ' Everyone goes to a job interview at some point and it's staggering to think we spend so much on them.'

Meanwhile, one of the survey's other findings concerns interview attire: 'Ten per cent of women admit to dressing provocatively because they knew they were going to be interviewed by a bloke.'

No comment required...

How rubbish are Birmingham City Football Club? With a far from glorious history and an almost empty trophy cabinet, very rubbish indeed would seem to be an appropriate answer.

The second city's second club's only major honour came in 1963 when they won the League Cup, beating Aston Villa in a two-legged final. Beating your local rivals would seem like good news, at least. But fans of Birmingham - or the Blues, as they are known - should not get too cocky. The Villa can boast 21 major hours, including the European Cup, seven League titles and seven FA Cup wins.

Fans of the Blues blame a curse for the club's bad, or should I say, appalling luck. Birmingham's attempt at a football ground was built on a former gypsy camp - and the gypsies were reputed to have put a curse on the ground when they were evicted.

Enough is enough, says one Villa fan - who has used the government's e-petitions system in an attempt to out Birmingham's gypsy curse excuse as a sham.

Launched in November 2006, e-petitions allow users to electronically create and sign petitions - before delivering the request directly to Downing Street.

The Villa fan's request - launched by Dan Carroll - states the following: 'We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to ban Birmingham City fans from blaming an apparent gypsies' curse for being the reason they never achieve any success.'

Further details from the petition creator state: 'Let's face it, have you ever heard anything so patently ridiculous? The reason they have had no success is that they are rubbish!'

At this point, I should make my allegiances clear: I am an Aston Villa supporter - and I too believe the curse and Birmingham City, more generally, are rubbish.

But the public at large and the UK government clearly do not agree. Dan Carroll's petition was rejected for the following reason: 'It was intended to be humorous, or have no point about government policy.'

Which is fair enough - Carroll's petition was a bit silly and I cannot see it affecting wider, public sector thinking.

More to the point, the Blues believe the curse has now been lifted - given that the date of the 100-year hex apparently passed on Boxing Day, 2006.

Proof, however, will be on the pitch. And with Birmingham challenging at the top of the Championship, am I worried? Nah (well, not too much).