Our blog

Maximise the benefits of networking

03 May 2023 | Kate Ballantyne

Networking may seem daunting, but it is crucial to optimise its potential to establish genuine professional connections.

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Working with AI Singers - the future?

03 April 2023 | Darren Wilson

As a musician, there are few things more exciting than diving into new technology and exploring the creative possibilities it offers. Recently, I had the opportunity to experiment with Vocaloid6, a cutting-edge AI vocal synthesizer, and I am thrilled to share my experience with you.

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Conversing With Machines - Exploring ChatGTP

15 February 2023 | Kate Ballantyne

As a digital agency, we are always interested to see what new technologies are emerging and changing the market, so today we are looking at ChatGTP, which has recently taken the world by storm.

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Interview with the Head of Development

19 January 2023 | Kate Ballantyne

We wanted to show you what working at Pogo is all about, and as we are currently looking for an Umbraco Developer, we thought we would share an interview with our Head of Development, Dean Hunter. Read on for an insight into life at Pogo, from a developers point of view.

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2022 - That's A Wrap!

20 December 2022 | Kate Ballantyne

Pogo Studio has successfully completed another orbit of the sun!

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Hey Girls Win

14 December 2022 | Kate Ballantyne

Last week our accounts manager Zoë attended the UK Social Enterprise Awards 2022 along with our clients from the Hey Girls team, who ended up winning the Tech for Good Award. Hey Girls and Pogo Studio collaborated to create the PickupMyPeriod app, which has now been downloaded 12,000 times and can be used across Scotland.

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Pogo goes to the ball!

29 November 2022 | Kate Ballantyne

Members of the Pogo team spent a very enjoyable evening last week at the St. Andrews Charity Ball, hosted by Chest Heart and Stoke Scotland.

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Jack Fisher: New Board Member

26 September 2022 | Kate Ballantyne

We are delighted to announce a promotion within the team: our Operations Director Jack Fisher was recently made a member of the board here at Pogo Studio! It is always exciting to see both the company grow, as well as growth within the company, and we wish Jack all the best in this next step.

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Meet the team - Kate Ballantyne, Marketing & Account Executive

13 September 2022 | Elaine Taylor

Meet our new Marketing & Account Executive, Kate Ballantyne.

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I want to ride my bicycle

04 August 2022 | Elaine Taylor

It's 4th August - national cycle to work day. Hear what the team at Pogo have to say about their commutes to work and the benefits of cycling...

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Jack Francis shortlisted

04 August 2022 | Elaine Taylor

Jack Francis has been shortlisted for the Digital Professional of the Year award at the Herald Digital Transformation Awards 2022.

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Farewell blog

28 July 2022 | Annabel Hudson

Today marks the end of my two fantastic years at Pogo Studio. When joining the company, I was unsure what to expect of this new chapter.

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Nogo Pews

22 July 2022 | Elaine Taylor

No, we haven't suddenly lost the ability to write; it's just spoonerism day :-)

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More press for Pogo

07 July 2022 | Elaine Taylor

Pogo Studio have been featured in The Scotsman, covering updates on our work with NHS Lothian.

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Press coverage for Pogo

06 July 2022 | Annabel Hudson

Our mobile app MyTailoredTalks, developed in partnership with NHS Lothian and Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland has recently been piloted within NHS Lothian.

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Success with Fischy

04 July 2022 | Elaine Taylor

Our work with Fischy Music is generating some impressive results.

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MyTailoredTalks pilot showing results

01 July 2022 | Elaine Taylor

The ongoing pilot of MyTailoredTalks for long covid support in NHS Lothian is gathering pace.

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We've passed!

30 June 2022 | Elaine Taylor

We are thrilled to announce that Pogo have achieved the Cyber Essentials Plus certification.

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PickUpMyPeriod, Pogo Studio and Hey Girls

06 May 2022 | Annabel Hudson

Hey Girls, is an incredible ‘buy one, donate one’ social enterprise which produces environmentally friendly period products that fund the fight to end period poverty in the UK.

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The Power of Living Wage Employers

04 May 2022 | Annabel Hudson + Zoe Bennfors

Very few of us go through a day without thinking about our finances – it’s just one of those things that we can’t seem to avoid.

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Race report 36th Marathon des Sables 2022 - Morocco

12 April 2022 | Lucy Sykes

Our first day in the desert was spent completing medical and technical checks. The MdS is self-sufficient with runners carrying everything excluding water and tent; there are strict rules regarding race fitness and equipment.

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Why Sleep Matters

23 March 2022 | Annabel Hudson

March 18th was World Sleep Day 2022. World Sleep Day is all about celebrating sleep, while also acting as a platform to bring awareness to various sleep related issues. You may be wondering why we, here at Pogo Studio, are discussing this, but we recognise just how important sleep is for our both mental and physical health, and we want to use our platform to promote this.

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Meet the team - Zoe Strong, Account Director

16 March 2022 | Annabel Hudson

I’ve had a pretty varied career starting off as a primary school teacher, specialising in science. Teaching and leading expeditions (which I also got involved with) gave me a lot of variety and the chance to work and travel to places including Thailand, Africa, India and France. However, I felt trapped in the classroom and started to feel jealous of some of the parents' jobs in exciting areas such as marketing and journalism and so I took the plunge, handed in my notice and jumped to an unpaid marketing and PR internship, which after juggling lots of low paid roles eventually lead on to an MSc in Marketing Communications and very eventually my first marketing and fundraising role in the charity sector.

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Meet the team - Samantha Bedford, Commercial Director

09 March 2022 | Annabel Hudson

I've always gone after what looks interesting rather than thinking will it further my career.  Where others no doubt would have seen risk I thought "I'll give it a go".  This has enabled me to live in cities such as Boston, Manhattan and Dublin and work with brilliant people building and growing a range of different businesses both startups - Match.com and corporate Vodafone and Virgin Money.

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Women in Tech

08 March 2022 | Zoe Strong

“Tech is an incredible force that will change our world in ways we can’t anticipate. If that force is only 20 to 30% women, that is a problem” Susan Wojcicki, CEO of YouTube

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Pogo's 2021 Run Down

15 December 2021 | Annabel Hudson

From COVID19 lockdowns, to staycations, to Omicron taking over another Christmas, it is fair to say 2021 has been interesting for everyone, including the teams here are Pogo Studio and Pogo Digital Healthcare.

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How COP26 Has Inspired Pogo Studio

16 November 2021 | Annabel Hudson

As I am sure everyone knows, especially those living in Scotland, COP26 has taken over the streets of Glasgow the past few weeks.

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3 Summer Trends in Digital Healthcare

16 August 2021 | Sam Francis

Digital Healthcare is a rapidly evolving field, with new innovations and breakthroughs happening continuously. The need for digital healthcare was seen during the pandemic, when the traditional forms of healthcare became impossible as face to face interaction was curtailed. Therefore, there have been tremendous innovations in digital healthcare. Here are 5 of trends and the impact they have had.

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Happy Birthday Pogo!

12 August 2021 | Elaine Taylor

It's Pogo Studio's 5th birthday today!

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The benefits of using SEO (1)

27 July 2021 | Annabel Hudson

In simple terms, search engine optimisation (SEO) is the process of an organisation improving their website to increase the quality and quantity of traffic to their site through organic search engine results.

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The best educational apps for your children.

20 July 2021 | Annabel Hudson

I am sure that many parents will understand first-hand just how disruptive the past year has been to their children’s education.

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What actually is digital healthcare, and why is it important?

13 July 2021 | Annabel Hudson

Digital healthcare  has the power to save lives, improve our health and aid sustainable healthcare. Essentially, digital health involves merging digital technologies with the healthcare field, through incorporating software, hardware and services.

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A half year catch up with our Managing Director

09 June 2021 | Annabel Hudson

Our Managing Director, Jack Francis, recently had a sit-down chat with me, and explained how he feels the first half of 2021 has been for the company, and some of his plans and goals for the upcoming second half. Let’s take a look at what he said. 

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Why Working In STEM Is So Great

01 June 2021 | Annabel Hudson

It is that time of year again; graduation is approaching for many young university students, and school pupils are deciding which career path they will take upon finishing their studies.

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UK Tech Blogs We Can’t Get Enough Of

19 May 2021 | Annabel Hudson

Regardless of the industry your business is based in, or the enterprise you work within, technology is bound to affect your work in some way or another.

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Mobile Apps For Social Good

05 May 2021 | Annabel Hudson

Technology plays a huge role in the current world, especially during the unprecedented times we are currently living through.

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Meet the team - Annabel Hudson, Marketing Intern

28 April 2021 | Elaine Taylor

Tell us a bit about your professional background and how you ended up at Pogo Studio. Ok, so I am at University at the moment studying International Business and Marketing. Obviously at Uni I’m getting a lot of knowledge and experience, but it felt like a good idea to get some practical experience as well.

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Meet the team - Elaine Taylor, Head of Product

21 April 2021 | Annabel Hudson

Tell us a bit about your professional background and how you ended up at Pogo Studio. It’s a bit all over the place really; I started off working in pubs as a student, and worked my way up to management before getting a job in data entry in Bank of Scotland, which was exactly as uninspiring as it sounds…

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Everything You Should Know About Artificial Intelligence

07 April 2021 | Annabel Hudson

When research into artificial intelligence (AI) properly began in the 1950s, it was described as any task which was performed by a machine that would have previously been considered to require human intelligence.

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Meet the team - Jack Francis, Managing Director

31 March 2021 | Elaine Taylor

Your professional background and how you ended up at Pogo Studio. Well I did a degree in Zoology at Glasgow Uni, and in my 4th year decided I wasn’t a very good scientist.

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How to prepare your online business platforms for the post-pandemic world

24 March 2021 | Annabel Hudson

An extreme test for many people, but also for many businesses. Some industries have suffered, but others have seen unprecedented growth, especially those who hold an online presence.

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Meet the team - Jack Fisher, Operations Director

23 March 2021 | Elaine Taylor

Tell us a bit about your professional background and how you ended up at Pogo Studio. Well, I went to University up in Aberdeen where I studied psychology, but the reason I ended up here is because my best friend is the Managing Director, and he asked me if I wanted to go into it with him.

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The Influence of Technology in Fitness

01 March 2021 | Annabel Hudson

Considering the world has spent the last year in and out of lockdowns amid COVID-19, it isn’t surprising that technology is finding its way into many people’s fitness routines.

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Pogo Success: Sage Adjusting

24 February 2021 | Annabel Hudson

After having successfully worked with Sage Adjusting in the past, their team once again approached our team here at Pogo Studio in the autumn of last year and asked us to redesign and rebuild their company website.

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Meet the team - Darren Wilson, Creative Director

22 February 2021 | Elaine Taylor

I’ve been doing this for a long time; I’ve got 27 years experience in design work, having graduated in 1993. I was working in traditional branding and graphic design until the late 90s, then I saw the potential of digital and the first dotcom boom, so built my first website in 1997.

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Design, Time and Space

18 February 2021 | Darren Wilson

Design and technology have always gone hand in hand - it has produced fantastic products, like Apple's revolutionary designs of the late 90s, and modern social media user experiences where how something works and feels can lead to success (or failure - who remembers MySpace?)

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The Evolution of Tailored Talks

17 February 2021 | Jack Francis

Upon reflection, Pogo Studio has had quite the journey so far. What started off as a social media application, ‘Bounce it’, has since evolved to become a software development agency, and has recently expanded with a new healthcare product offering, plus another one in the pipeline.

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5 Web Development Blogs You Should Be Reading

15 February 2021 | Annabel Hudson

The web and app development field is a rewarding one, however it also requires a large amount of learning and self-development to gain that in-depth understanding.

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How You Can Create Your Dream Home Office

28 January 2021 | Annabel Hudson

Although there are many perks about working from home, here at Pogo Studio we are all excitedly anticipating the day we can finally get back to the office after COVID-19.

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The tech podcasts you should be listening to

23 January 2021 | Annabel Hudson

The world of podcasts is becoming increasingly more popular. People are switching off their music library, turning off their radio, closing their books and now sticking on a podcast to fill their time.

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The Benefits of Using Paid Search Advertising

18 January 2021 | Annabel Hudson

Here at Pogo Studio, we are starting to look into implementing paid search and paid advertisements into our marketing strategy.

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The Best Web Development Courses to Do During Lockdown

06 January 2021 | Annabel Hudson

The past 10 months have been difficult for many, for numerous reasons.

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Trends to expect in web and app development in 2021

04 January 2021 | Annabel Hudson

2020 saw some new and exciting trends in the app and development world, including; a huge increase in the use of mobile wallets and payments, a much greater use of augmented reality and the voice search for many search engines.

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How To Prepare Your E-Commerce Site for the Holiday Season

22 December 2020 | Annabel Hudson

The Christmas and holiday period is one of the most important times of year for an e-commerce site. Not only is it normally the busiest time of the year, but also the most profitable.

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4 Thing Your Website Needs to Be Successful

16 December 2020 | Annabel Hudson

When starting a business, the creation and launch of the website can often be one of the most stressful steps.

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The Benefits of Remote Working

14 December 2020 | Annabel Hudson

As a result of COVID-19, many organisations were forced to switch to remote working, virtually overnight.

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The Benefits of Using SEO

09 December 2020 | Annabel Hudson

In simple terms, search engine optimisation (SEO) is the process of an organisation improving their website to increase the quality and quantity of traffic to their site through organic search engine results.

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How COVID-19 Has Changed the Way Technology Is Used

30 November 2020 | Annabel Hudson

For the majority of people across the world, COVID-19 has touched their life in some way or another. The pandemic has fundamentally changed the way we do most things, whether its the way we interact with friends, the way we do business or the way we utilise technology.

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The Latest Trends in Mobile App Design and Developments

30 November 2020 | Annabel Hudson

The mobile app industry is continually evolving and improving, to keep up with technological advancements and consumer demands.

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The 6 Best Apps for Mental Wellbeing

23 November 2020 | Annabel Hudson

Here at Pogo Studio we are passionate about everything app related. We have helped in the app development process for companies across a range of industries, and we are very aware of the many great apps which now exist.

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Meet the MD

19 November 2020 | Annabel Hudson

Our Managing Director, Jack Francis, has received the fantastic opportunity to speak at the ‘Industry, NHS and Social Care Innovation Network’ virtual event, hosted by Scottish Health Innovations.

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Pogo Studio are on G-Cloud 11

10 July 2019 | Jack Francis

We’re delighted to announce that Pogo Studio have been accepted onto the G-Cloud 11 framework to provide services to the public sector via the Digital Marketplace.

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The 3 pillars of any good content management system

17 June 2019 | Jack Fisher

When it comes to choosing a content management system (CMS) for your new website the amount of choice can sometimes be overwhelming.

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How to write a requirements document

10 June 2019 | Jack Fisher

At Pogo Studio we see our fair share of requirements documents, so we thought we’d offer our top tips for creating one. Writing a good requirements document can be a lot harder than it sounds.

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What You Need to Know About Artificial Intelligence

29 April 2019 | Ally Quirk

You may have already heard of the website ThisPersonDoesNotExist.com which consists of Artificial Intelligence generated images (fake people).

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Start Saving Stress-Free

11 March 2019 | Ally Quirk

Saving money can seem like a daunting task always lurking over your shoulder. From budgeting to spending, these apps have got you covered. Let’s fill our piggy banks this year with these stress-free apps!

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Three Apps to Get Active

04 March 2019 | Ally Quirk

Spring is around the corner, which means warm weather is on its way and it is time to get outside and be active.

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Three Apps to Make Travel Planning a Breeze

18 February 2019 | Ally Quirk

Time to start thinking about your travel plans for 2019. But with the stress and time consumption of holiday planning, where do you even begin?

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Awesome apps for social good

12 February 2019 | Ally Quirk

It is time to take advantage of the numerous opportunities to make a change in our world. Creating social good is now as easy as a few clicks on your phone with these three apps.

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Check Out These Augmented Reality Apps

04 February 2019 | Ally Quirk

For this week’s blog, we will be diving into the world of Augmented Reality. Dictionary.com defines Augmented Reality as “a technology that superimposes a computer-generated image on a user's view of the real world, thus providing a composite view.”

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The History of Apps

28 January 2019 | Ally Quirk

Think about how many apps you use a day. Before breakfast, you have already turned off your phone alarm clock, opened the weather app, browsed on social media, and checked your email.

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Top 5 Productivity Apps

21 January 2019 | Ally Quirk

Let’s face it. You weren’t as efficient in 2018 as you had hoped to be. But 2019 is here and it is time to get back on track.

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Reflecting on the past 2 years of Pogo Studio

06 September 2018 | Jack Fisher

As we enter our third year as a company we’re growing faster than ever, but we’ve just about got enough time to pause for reflection. Let’s look back at the past two years and the journey we have been on to get to where we are today.

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5 mistakes to avoid when outsourcing app or web development

10 April 2018 | Jack Fisher

Outsourcing app and web development can seem daunting at first, and there are several common mistakes that you'll want to avoid. Let's take a look at a few of them and what you can do to ensure you don't make them!

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Developer talk: explained

13 February 2018 | Jack Fisher

Sometimes having a conversation with a developer can feel a little bit like talking to someone who speaks an alien language.

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5 features any great content management system has

31 January 2018 | Jack Fisher

Content is one of the most powerful tools in any business’ toolkit. If you want to connect with your customers and keep them engaged, it’s crucial that you regularly update your website with new information and blogs.

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5 reasons people will download your app

16 January 2018 | Jack Fisher

There are several reasons to develop a mobile app, but it’s easy to fall into the trap of making an app without thinking about why people will use it.

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How much does an app cost?

04 January 2018 | Jack Fisher

“How much will an app cost us?” This is a question we get asked a lot at Pogo Studio. Unfortunately, the answer is never that straightforward.

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Cash ain't king, mobile is

07 December 2017 | Jack Fisher

On June 29th, 2007 Apple released the iPhone. What we didn’t know at the time was that the iPhone would go on to change the way we lived our lives forever.

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What lies in the future of tech?

29 November 2017 | Jack Francis

I’m weirdly into those Youtube channels where they predict what the world will be like in X amount of time. Sadly, I’m not well informed enough to write a blog called “Where the universe will be in 1 trillion years”, so I’m going to tone it down a little and write one about the near future.

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Preparing for GDPR

23 November 2017 | Jack Fisher

We’re not lawyers at Pogo Studio, and we don’t pretend to be. We do however have a responsibility as software developers to understand the laws and regulations in place (and coming into place) that surround the projects we work on.

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What makes a mobile app great?

09 November 2017 | Jack Fisher

As a digital agency we are always thinking about what features make the projects we design and build truly great.

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Native vs Web app: What's the difference?

31 October 2017 | Jack Fisher

There’s a lot to consider when developing a mobile app. Something that is often overlooked, especially by those without a technical background, is the type of app you should create.

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5 Must have apps for staying organised at work

23 October 2017 | Jack Francis

Staying organised at work can be damn difficult at times. I can imagine it was even more difficult before your phones contained just about any information you could ever want to access, alongside a myriad of tools to help organise your day and keep all your contacts in the one place.

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The key to success for small businesses

12 October 2017 | Jack Fisher

In a world dominated by large corporations and powerful businesses it can be hard for the little guy to survive. The latest figures on startup survival rate are constantly changing, but you can be sure that over 90% of businesses will fail to survive their first 3 years of trading.

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5 tips for growing your sales pipeline

27 September 2017 | Jack Francis

When I was beginning to grow my agency (I still have a lot more growing to do!), a huge question I was being asked by everyone was “Where is the next sale coming from?”.

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5 things to consider when outsourcing app and web development

19 September 2017 | Jack Fisher

Outsourcing app and website development can be an extremely stressful experience for a business owner. There are several pitfalls that people fall into that can cause pain and misery on both sides of the equation.

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5 steps to a successful startup

11 September 2017 | Jack Fisher

Statistics suggest that over 90% of startups fail, but what is the reason for this? Why are so many startups failing before they even get their feet off the ground?

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Cross-platform frameworks - which is best?

06 September 2017 | Jack Fisher

When it comes to cross-platform app development there are several tools available that allow you to create one app for multiple devices using the same code.

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5 reasons we love using Xamarin for our app development

27 July 2017 | Jack Fisher

Xamarin is our product of choice for app development at Pogo Studio.

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5 Reasons you should build your site in Umbraco

14 July 2017 | Jack Francis

A CMS is great. A CMS stops you having to call your developer up at a silly time in the morning because you’ve realised there is a massive mistake in the copy of your site and you need to change it.

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