iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Paul Bentham @paulbenthamesq.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Here’s my non-AI #Eighties image. Sightseeing in the Lake District, c.1985: Shoes: Adidas Trousers: Farah Watch: Timex Jumper: Bespoke (knitted by Standish couturier Marjorie Bentham)

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Paul Bentham @paulbenthamesq.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Paying homage to Sir Billy when I was in town, earlier.

Statue of Sir Billy Boston in Believe Square, Wigan - now re-named Sir Billy Boston Square

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Paul Bentham @paulbenthamesq.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

One of the coolest things in the 90s was James Richardson translating Italian papers in Gazzetta Football Italia. Today, I sat in a bar, mostly understanding a Gazzetta dello Sport, feeling all that Duolingo was worth it. 20 year-old me would’ve been impressed. share.google/egcokgGBlJFv...

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Paul Bentham @paulbenthamesq.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

If you’re not from the M25 cabal that views control of the UK as their ‘natural order’, be on the lookout for pot-stirring hogwash like this. Successful-man-spends-a-few-quid-on-clothes-so-mustn’t-be-a-socialist! We all know their reaction if he was in a donkey jacket, don’t we?

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Paul Bentham @paulbenthamesq.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

Things I learned at university: cold curry and cheese on toast is the perfect post-pub snack…

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Paul Bentham @paulbenthamesq.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

The retro-inspired shirt that Lancashire are wearing for tonight’s #Roses match has reminded me of that time I wore the 90s original at an Ashes match at Headingley - and for the subsequent pub crawl via The Oak and The Skyrack - which nicely triggered all the ‘Yawwkshu’ fans…

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Paul Bentham @paulbenthamesq.bsky.social · 17/02/2026

Happy Year of the Horse, everybody!🐴 🇨🇳 Even though every year here is the ‘Year of the Horse’. Best wishes, Nigel.

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Paul Bentham @paulbenthamesq.bsky.social · 01/02/2026

The standard ‘Dad joke’ reaction to passing 40 points is to understatedly say “well, that means we won’t get relegated” but after last season’s flirtation with the bottom four, it doesn’t seem quite so funny now.

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Paul Bentham @paulbenthamesq.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

NGL, somewhat buzzing at the revelation that Stage 2 of next year's #TourDeFrance will be climbing the 'Côte de Parbold' on July 3rd 2027. Tempted to buy a polka dot jersey and bang a saucepan by the side of the road!

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Paul Bentham @paulbenthamesq.bsky.social · 05/01/2026

I’ve waited almost 10 yrs for the 4th iteration of Michael Palin’s diaries - admittedly a year longer than necessary as I forgot to ask for it last Christmas - but I’ve devoured it in days. I’m now upto 2009, which is beyond the point when I started reading his first volume. How long until Vol.5?

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Paul Bentham @paulbenthamesq.bsky.social · 25/12/2025

Eight years ago, at the Boxing Day Test at the MCG…

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Paul Bentham @paulbenthamesq.bsky.social · 03/11/2025

Well, we haven’t had a fortnight since the clocks went back and I’m already ‘welcoming’ the first cold of the winter. Pushing back against the squelchiness and disconcerting nasal noises with a Lempsip - with an added splodge of manuka honey…

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Paul Bentham @paulbenthamesq.bsky.social · 19/10/2025

It blows my mind that, less than 48 hours after Paul McCartney played US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, the Minnesota Vikings played an NFL game held there. 🤯

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Paul Bentham @paulbenthamesq.bsky.social · 27/07/2025

In The Party Stand at Old Trafford…

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Paul Bentham @paulbenthamesq.bsky.social · 23/07/2025

Can't let the passing of Metal royalty go unmarked by one of the best riffs ever. I saw someone describing the Villa Park gig as #Ozzy sat before his followers, celebrating his life, wearing black - he attended his own funeral, "just about the most Metal thing you can do". Well played, Oz!

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Paul Bentham @paulbenthamesq.bsky.social · 13/07/2025

Draught excluder becomes draught includer… 🌞🥵

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Paul Bentham @paulbenthamesq.bsky.social · 22/06/2025

Had an amazing night watching Holly Johnson in Liverpool, last night. Awoke to learn that, 40 years after this masterpiece, it’s sadly just as true today as ever it was, thanks to (in Holly’s words) “that orange knobhead”…

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Paul Bentham @paulbenthamesq.bsky.social · 10/06/2025

After weeks of treating my car like a bin wagon, time to reward it at CJ Auto Spa in #appleybridge. 🧽 Full clean & freshen, inside & out 🎓 Expert advice on paintwork protection 💐 Choice of air freshening scent. + Free 🛜 wi-fi & 🎬 entertainment provided while I wait… 👍

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Paul Bentham @paulbenthamesq.bsky.social · 14/04/2025

I’ve visited the US many times over the last 30-odd years: East coast, West Coast, Midwest, Mountains & South. I’d love to return there in future but while it remains under the yoke of the current administration it’s not the place I fell in love with. And it seems many agree.

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Paul Bentham @paulbenthamesq.bsky.social · 23/01/2025

If you see this post, quote with a bridge from your gallery.

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Paul Bentham @paulbenthamesq.bsky.social · 18/01/2025

When I was a kid I was given the programme to the 1969 European Cup semi-final (2nd leg) between Manchester United and AC Milan. It featured this official photo of the United team, presumably taken the summer before, the holders of the trophy…

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Paul Bentham @paulbenthamesq.bsky.social · 12/01/2025

In 2018, we took a road trip around California, with a few nights in Los Angeles. We stayed in a swanky AirBnB in Los Feliz, just down the hill from the Griffith Observatory, with views of Downtown LA from the garden. It’s awful to see the city besieged by fire. I wish all Angelinos strength & luck.

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Paul Bentham @paulbenthamesq.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

Now that neither Meta nor X fact check content, I can confirm that I am OFFICIALLY the best guitarist in the world… 🤟🎸🤟🏆

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Paul Bentham @paulbenthamesq.bsky.social · 29/12/2024

Here’s a picture of one of my favourite birds, a nuthatch, using our window feeder, this morning. Have a look at those powerful feet and sharp claws that enable it to become one of the very few species that can travel forwards *down* a tree-trunk. 👌

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Paul Bentham @paulbenthamesq.bsky.social · 24/12/2024

I wish you all a brilliant Christmas and a productive New Year - especially anyone who has liked/shared/commented. If any of the preceding 23 doors have made you think differently, here’s what to do next… Door 24: Call To Action - What next? Click here now… resonation.biz/2024/12/24/2...

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Paul Bentham @paulbenthamesq.bsky.social · 23/12/2024

It should be the most fundamental requirement of any Marketing function to quantify the value of its activities to the business. But it requires accountability at every level. Door 23: ROI - What is it? How is it calculated? What does it prove? Find out here… resonation.biz/2024/12/23/2...

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Paul Bentham @paulbenthamesq.bsky.social · 22/12/2024

If the implications of this sort of silliness aren’t worrying the bejaysus out of you, I’m going to suggest you’re not fully aware of what has been unleashed by the voters of the US…

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Paul Bentham @paulbenthamesq.bsky.social · 22/12/2024

We’re all familiar with them but how many of us actually stand back and do them? And even then, isn’t it better done by someone not ‘too close’ to the business? Door 22: S/W/O/T - What can you lose? What can you gain? Find out more here… resonation.biz/2024/12/22/2...

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Paul Bentham @paulbenthamesq.bsky.social · 21/12/2024

Your website is your window on the world and the content on there is your shop window display. Is it fair to ask Chris from Accounts to refresh it for you? Door 21: WordPress & other CMS - Just because anyone ‘can’, does it mean anyone ‘should’? Find out more here… resonation.biz/2024/12/21/2...

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Paul Bentham @paulbenthamesq.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

If ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’, are your graphics saying enough? Or do you feel unable to ask for something more visually arresting than you’re being given? Door 20: Graphic Design - Does your imagery fit your image? Find out more here… resonation.biz/2024/12/20/2...

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Paul Bentham @paulbenthamesq.bsky.social · 19/12/2024

“Marketing is story-telling” say many of its luminaries. And yet the term “story-telling” is used frequently every Oscar Night. That can’t be a coincidence. Door 19: Video Production - Are you telling your story effectively? Find out more here… resonation.biz/2024/12/19/1...

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Paul Bentham @paulbenthamesq.bsky.social · 18/12/2024

A defining problem: why do we insist on treating customers according to what we’ve decided they ‘are’, not in terms of what they ‘do’? Door 18: Customer Focus - Why are tramlines used as a proxy for clouds? Find out more here… resonation.biz/2024/12/18/1...

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Paul Bentham @paulbenthamesq.bsky.social · 18/12/2024

Do you place a value on life experience? I didn’t always - but why would I have valued experience, when I didn’t have it? Door 17: Life Experience - Is it worth considering for an unforgiving minute? Find out more here… resonation.biz/2024/12/17/1...

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Paul Bentham @paulbenthamesq.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

If you’ve ever used the term “Mickey Mouse” to describe an ineffective, ill-defined process, Walt Disney would like a word. And you’d do well to listen and learn. Door 16: Process Mapping - Why should a flow chart get you animated? Find out more here… resonation.biz/2024/12/16/1...

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Paul Bentham @paulbenthamesq.bsky.social · 15/12/2024

You can use comms to order people to do certain things or simply tell them you exist. Neither are likely to be as successful as creating a context in which you can gain their affinity. Door 15: Concepts - Are we all speaking the same language? Find out here… resonation.biz/2024/12/15/1...

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Paul Bentham @paulbenthamesq.bsky.social · 14/12/2024

Whether you ‘like’ it or not, customers evolve and we have to find a way to agree on how best to keep our brands in line with their expectations of them. Door 14: Branding - The most challenging aspect of marketing? Find out more here… resonation.biz/2024/12/14/1...

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Paul Bentham @paulbenthamesq.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

From on-stage events to everyday call answering - writing for spoken delivery is, above all, about prioritising clarity and maintaining ‘flow’. Door 12: Script-Writing - What made me most nervous since being a parent at a Year 2 nativity play? Find out more here… resonation.biz/2024/12/13/1...

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Paul Bentham @paulbenthamesq.bsky.social · 12/12/2024

Speech-writing is not that different to article-writing. You just have to remember that someone (very possibly you) will be required to actually deliver it. Door 12: Speech-Writing - What does it take to impress a senior member of the Royal Family? Find out more here… resonation.biz/2024/12/12/1...

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Paul Bentham @paulbenthamesq.bsky.social · 11/12/2024

I’m going to claim I was Content Marketing before you’d even heard the term. “Prove Me Wrong”, as the internet meme says. Door 11: Content Marketing - What do I have in common with Benjamin Franklin? Find out more here… resonation.biz/2024/12/11/1...

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Paul Bentham @paulbenthamesq.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

It takes time to explain to colleagues and customers why something’s important to your organisation. Can you afford to make the effort. Or can you afford not to? Door 10: Thought Leadership - What does it look like? Find out more here… resonation.biz/2024/12/10/1...

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Paul Bentham @paulbenthamesq.bsky.social · 09/12/2024

Turn apathy into action in seconds! Get sales not fails! Click on the link now! Door 9: Selling Copy - Are you missing countless opportunities every day with uncompelling copy? Find out more here… resonation.biz/2024/12/09/9...

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Paul Bentham @paulbenthamesq.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

‘Location, Location, Location’. If you rely on proximity or location, this is the number-crunching for you. Door 8: Geographic Analysis - Do you already own the resource you need to solve your biggest problem or create your biggest opportunity? Find out more here… resonation.biz/2024/12/08/8...

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Paul Bentham @paulbenthamesq.bsky.social · 07/12/2024

With Profiling, knowledge *is* power - but only when used effectively. Grouping customers into useful segments gives you that power. Door 7: Segmentation - Idealists see the value in it but pragmatists need to be convinced. But which are you? Find out more here… resonation.biz/2024/12/07/7...

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Paul Bentham @paulbenthamesq.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

I’ve queried databases for years to find the customers most likely to respond. If that sounds like magic, maybe I can give away some secrets. Door 6: Propensity - If you really know your customers, you’ll know which are more likely to purchase more often than others… resonation.biz/2024/12/06/6...

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Paul Bentham @paulbenthamesq.bsky.social · 05/12/2024

I’ve sat on committees for two national NFP organisations and believe both experiences have given me valuable insights which are relevant in everyday business. Door 5: Not For Profit - A ‘talking shop’ or a useful window into affecting real change? Find out more here… resonation.biz/2024/12/05/5...

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Paul Bentham @paulbenthamesq.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

“B2B experience vital” say the B2B marketing job ads. But why? Is the process of selling to B2B customers all that different? Door 4: B2B Marketing - A separate philosophy or an unhelpful, unnecessary distinction? Find out more here… resonation.biz/2024/12/04/4...

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Paul Bentham @paulbenthamesq.bsky.social · 03/12/2024

The concept of Retailing gave us the word ‘marketing’ and we’re very much in the Digital Age now - but something happened in between, which would shape most of that digital progress… Door 3: Catalogues & DM - Marketing’s Renaissance Period resonation.biz/2024/12/03/3...

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Paul Bentham @paulbenthamesq.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

It’s Dec 2nd. Today I describe how Retail Marketing gave me the skills & disciplines that benefit all areas of marketing. As Sinatra may have said, “if you can hit your targets there, you’ll hit them anywhere…” Door 2: Retail Marketing: Art and Science? resonation.biz/2024/12/02/2...

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