Syntagma Media is pleased to relaunch Moneyizor.com as a tracker of the hot topic of the moment : macroeconomics.

If that doesn’t sound terribly exciting, think “credit crunch”, “global financial meltdown”, “economy falling off a cliff”, “new Great Depression”, and your adrenalin may just kick in.

The news has been so alarming since last summer, I’ve been writing a lot about this developing crisis here in Syntagma. It’s not really the right place for it, though, so Moneyizor has been galvanized as a vehicle for this crucial topic.

“On the day when the UK’s biggest mortgage lender, the Halifax, reported a staggering 2.5pc drop in house prices in March alone, the IMF warns governments, central banks and regulators that they now face a test of their mettle unique in modern times.” An extract from today’s article.

Make sure you keep up to date on Crunch matters with Moneyizor.

Syntagma Media is delighted to launch our first totally health-oriented website, Sideways Health.

The site will provide many tips on how to maintain health in unexpected ways.

Sometimes called “alternative treatments”, but basically simple, homely ways to maximize your well-being, the guidance may help readers avoid invasive technological treatments and drug-based regimes which can produce unwanted side-effects.

Our in-house team of writers will aim at delivering lots of food for thought (and body) in this field.

Visit Sideways Health.

After our specialist retail information site (corporate subscriptions only) gets underway soon, we will start to set up a similar project in the real estate sector — first in Britain, then the U.S.

We are looking for genuine expert analysts in this sphere to participate in producing top-of-the-range information reports for the site. Get in touch if you have the necessary experience and expertise.

Our Sideways Health site for the Syntagma network should get underway next week.

If you have a commercial website or a network of them, you probably spend a lot of time chasing up advertising on the internet. You may also use an agency or two which take 40-50pc of the income they generate.

Maybe it’s getting a bit harder out there now, with PageRank depressed and an almighty credit funk hanging in the air like a bad smell.

Here’s an alternative. Depending on the topic(s) of your site(s), try placing small display ads in the business section of your local newspaper or trade press.

Ask readers to consider internet advertising. You might remind them that it’s very competitive with comparable colour display stuff in magazines, or text lines in the small ads.

I stumbled on this field while following up our plans for a local West Country subNetwork. While assessing the potential for local ads, I saw how many national and international companies are present here in Devon. There are also lots of small businesses that trade internationally, often selling produce online, and also bags of computer and tech SMEs, some on the new technology park set up by the university.

It occurred to me that this was a treasure trove of potential advertisers for the Syntagma network, let alone a dedicated local one. As a source of text-link ads and 125s — which we haven’t picked up on yet, but intend to — it’s a veritable goldmine.

Advertisers don’t have to be based in the U.S. — a common assumption online, mainly because volume-wise it’s such an enormous market. But, for a middling sized digital network, there is literally huge potential in your local area.

I can happily pass on this piece of intelligence because there are no digital networks based in the West Country of England — that I know of.

Maybe they’ll all come jumping out of the undergrowth now.