I spotted an interesting question on another blog today, "Can you make a Freedom of Information request via Twitter?" and my immediate thought was, "No, don't be daft!" but then I read through the said article, you can find it here http://pigsonthewing.org.uk/freedom-of-information-twitter/ by local government website pioneer, Andy Mabbett, and realised I was wrong!
So should an FoI request be submitted via Twitter or Facebook or any other form of social media? You might think, as I did, that such channels aren't serious enough to be used for a formal request, but according to Andy's post linked above you'd be wrong too!
If an organisation has an official channel such as a Twitter account or a Facebook page then, by dint of its being there, it should be properly monitored and replied to by the organisation which owns it. Furthermore, anything on that channel should reflect the organisation's policy and attitude, so it's important to ensure that whoever is responding on behalf of an organisation is both authorised and qualified to do so, or the organisation might find itself in hot water if they get it wrong. So don't leave it to the office junior!!!
Friday, 29 July 2011
Sunday, 24 July 2011
A timely warning!
I was shocked to read this http://www.twitlonger.com/show/bt5akp long message from a Google user who has had his account terminated for an alleged but unexplained breach of terms and conditions.
It is claimed that Google hasn't explained or responded in a professional manner to the user concerned, and this should be a heads up to anyone about the danger of relying solely on online services to store their information, whether it be emails, images, documents, videos, or whatever. One word is needed here: BACKUP!
If you have everything stored in Gmail, Yahoo!, Flickr, Facebook, YouTube or anywhere other service you risk losing it if you do not have a copy of it yourself, offline, in a safe and secure location such as a standalone backup drive like the example here http://www.ebuyer.com/product/200792. Such devices are not expensive*, they are simple to set up (plug into your USB port and use), and you can even get free software which will back everything up for you on a schedule of your choice - an example we have used is here: http://www.karenware.com/powertools/ptreplicator.asp [Note: * Compared to the cost of losing all your data, the hassle of delays, lost work, lost emails, and all the other inconvenience.]
Although these huge online services have apparently good Terms & Conditions, it seems that their implementation is not always carried out in the way which smaller businesses do. These huge businesses have long been abused by spammers and those with less than respectable intentions, and objections to those persons' activities, via an email to the relevant abuse@ address for the service, has normally resulted in reasonably swift termination of problem users' accounts. But times have changed, and rather than simply being a spammers' tool these services have marketed themselves to those users who want to undertake legitimate online activities. By doing so these big services need to change their approach to reports of abuse and not simply press the terminate button, but they need to set up a system of notifications to the account holder advising them of a complaint and allowing the user a reasonable time to investigate and respond to and disprove the allegation. In law, an accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty, online it seems that an accused is guilty, full stop. The only way to improve things is for users to raise this issue with the big services and request an alteration in the way they do business. Otherwise nothing will change.
We have a huge sympathy for the person who has lost everything, and we understand how frustrating it must be to not be able to get answers to the questions raised about the account. By sharing this here we hope to help prevent others from suffering the same fate.
It is claimed that Google hasn't explained or responded in a professional manner to the user concerned, and this should be a heads up to anyone about the danger of relying solely on online services to store their information, whether it be emails, images, documents, videos, or whatever. One word is needed here: BACKUP!
If you have everything stored in Gmail, Yahoo!, Flickr, Facebook, YouTube or anywhere other service you risk losing it if you do not have a copy of it yourself, offline, in a safe and secure location such as a standalone backup drive like the example here http://www.ebuyer.com/product/200792. Such devices are not expensive*, they are simple to set up (plug into your USB port and use), and you can even get free software which will back everything up for you on a schedule of your choice - an example we have used is here: http://www.karenware.com/powertools/ptreplicator.asp [Note: * Compared to the cost of losing all your data, the hassle of delays, lost work, lost emails, and all the other inconvenience.]
Although these huge online services have apparently good Terms & Conditions, it seems that their implementation is not always carried out in the way which smaller businesses do. These huge businesses have long been abused by spammers and those with less than respectable intentions, and objections to those persons' activities, via an email to the relevant abuse@ address for the service, has normally resulted in reasonably swift termination of problem users' accounts. But times have changed, and rather than simply being a spammers' tool these services have marketed themselves to those users who want to undertake legitimate online activities. By doing so these big services need to change their approach to reports of abuse and not simply press the terminate button, but they need to set up a system of notifications to the account holder advising them of a complaint and allowing the user a reasonable time to investigate and respond to and disprove the allegation. In law, an accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty, online it seems that an accused is guilty, full stop. The only way to improve things is for users to raise this issue with the big services and request an alteration in the way they do business. Otherwise nothing will change.
We have a huge sympathy for the person who has lost everything, and we understand how frustrating it must be to not be able to get answers to the questions raised about the account. By sharing this here we hope to help prevent others from suffering the same fate.
Sunday, 17 July 2011
Spelling matters!
I have said so for years, and now I find that both Charles Duncombe, director of the Just Say Please group, and the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) agrees with me: spelling does matter! http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-14130854
The sloppiness of bad spelling & poor grammar is not for me. Having been a lover of words all my life, I cringe at incorrect spelling and misplaced punctuation. My toes curl at jumbled prose or the use of the wrong version of a word. Everywhere I look I see examples - from sign-writers who cannot spell, to writers of websites whose text frequently not only includes errors, but also makes little sense!
It would seem that now there is evidence to show that such poor writing, spelling and punctuation does have an adverse effect on online sales, and therefore on a business's image and credibility.
I recall that, a couple of years ago, I emailed a large national clothing & housewares retailer about the number of errors in their website and how damaging I felt it was to their brand. The response from that company was mildly sarcastic, "We are sorry that spelling errors spoiled your enjoyment of our site..." It did more than spoil my enjoyment, their attitude also resulted in my not buying from them. If a business has so little respect for its customers that it cannot understand that their website had an issue which needed addressing, why should I spend my hard-earned cash with them and support such sloppy practices?
As a former web developer I know how important websites are as part of a company's image, and this is why I now offer copywriting services to other website builders. I will also proof-read and correct web texts before (or after) they are uploaded, and can create texts for email, marketing or other written word requirements. There is no excuse for poor written standards when services such as mine are available.
The sloppiness of bad spelling & poor grammar is not for me. Having been a lover of words all my life, I cringe at incorrect spelling and misplaced punctuation. My toes curl at jumbled prose or the use of the wrong version of a word. Everywhere I look I see examples - from sign-writers who cannot spell, to writers of websites whose text frequently not only includes errors, but also makes little sense!
It would seem that now there is evidence to show that such poor writing, spelling and punctuation does have an adverse effect on online sales, and therefore on a business's image and credibility.
I recall that, a couple of years ago, I emailed a large national clothing & housewares retailer about the number of errors in their website and how damaging I felt it was to their brand. The response from that company was mildly sarcastic, "We are sorry that spelling errors spoiled your enjoyment of our site..." It did more than spoil my enjoyment, their attitude also resulted in my not buying from them. If a business has so little respect for its customers that it cannot understand that their website had an issue which needed addressing, why should I spend my hard-earned cash with them and support such sloppy practices?
As a former web developer I know how important websites are as part of a company's image, and this is why I now offer copywriting services to other website builders. I will also proof-read and correct web texts before (or after) they are uploaded, and can create texts for email, marketing or other written word requirements. There is no excuse for poor written standards when services such as mine are available.
Saturday, 16 July 2011
Stolen motor bike: Yamaha YBR reg: NK58 DFO
PLEA FOR HELP FROM A TWITTER CONTACT OF MINE: Please look out for motorbike Yamaha YBR Reg: NK58 DFO stolen Thursday 14 July from @Dannyboy_37 in Dipton near Consett - please circulate the details to help raise awareness. Contact Police if spotted, thanks!
Saturday, 2 July 2011
Thank you to all who voted for Kosy Komfy Kidz!
Thanks to all the fabulous support from all over the country, but especially locally, the Memorial Hall was successful in the vote and won £60,000 in the telephone vote. So, a huge thank you to everyone who telephoned in and voted for Kosy Komfy Kidz, we are thrilled that the project won such terrific public support!
Monday, 27 June 2011
Supporting Burton Memorial Hall's project Kosy Komfy Kidz in the Jubilee People's Millions
http://www.peoplesmillions.org.uk/2011-finalists/border/kosy-komfy-kidz
I'm making a plea for help! Help Burton Memorial Hall in Burton-in-Kendal, south Cumbria, is 1 of the final 6 projects in the 2011 Jubilee People's Millions contest in the Border TV region. The contest will be determined by public telephone vote on Tuesday 28 June 2011 (a bit like X-Factor for community groups!) and the Hall is going head to head with another project in the north west of Cumbria - and the project with the most telephone votes on the day will win.
The Hall (which is a registered charity and raises all its own revenue from room rentals and fundraising events) needs a lot of work doing to it: building a new toilet block for very small kids who currently can't reach the adult loos or washbasins, replacing the cracked concrete play surface with some jolly coloured softer surfacing, replacing the heating boiler that is so old (and unreliable) that no-one can remember when it was installed!, and installing better lights so our table tennis teams can compete properly to national competition standards and our drama and music groups can have some stage lighting instead of striplights! The total cost is just shy of £100,000 of work needed for this phase of restoration of our old but much-loved and well-used village hall - we're hoping to win the vote on the night for £60,000 from the Jubilee People's Millions fund (the rest comes from Hall reserves and a legacy of £20,000 left us by one of the Hall's founders.)
I'm asking for the support for the Hall's entry Kosy Komfy Kidz by voting for us on the day and by spreading the word through your contacts and networks to ask for others to support them too. All it takes is one call any-time between 9am and 12 midnight on Tuesday 28 June at a cost of 11p per call (BT landline rate) to the number which will be published on our JPM web-page: http://www.peoplesmillions.org.uk/2011-finalists/border/kosy-komfy-kidz and in the Daily Mirror on Tuesday 28 June 2011. Every vote for the project will be vital and anyone can vote (up to 10 times from the same number if you'd like to! girl cheer but just one vote would help!!!), you don't need to be local to south Cumbria or even the Border TV area in order to vote. I'll add the number here too as soon as I have it on Tuesday morning.
The Hall is vital to the village of Burton-in-Kendal, it really is a community hub and is busy every day of the week with activities for all ages and interests, but Burton is only a small community so if you can help us along by voting just once on the day you would be doing us a great service and earn the gratitude of all those involved in the project. Please help us if you can and spread the word to anyone and everyone who might help us also. Thank you!
http://www.peoplesmillions.org.uk/2011-finalists/border/kosy-komfy-kidz
I'm making a plea for help! Help Burton Memorial Hall in Burton-in-Kendal, south Cumbria, is 1 of the final 6 projects in the 2011 Jubilee People's Millions contest in the Border TV region. The contest will be determined by public telephone vote on Tuesday 28 June 2011 (a bit like X-Factor for community groups!) and the Hall is going head to head with another project in the north west of Cumbria - and the project with the most telephone votes on the day will win.
The Hall (which is a registered charity and raises all its own revenue from room rentals and fundraising events) needs a lot of work doing to it: building a new toilet block for very small kids who currently can't reach the adult loos or washbasins, replacing the cracked concrete play surface with some jolly coloured softer surfacing, replacing the heating boiler that is so old (and unreliable) that no-one can remember when it was installed!, and installing better lights so our table tennis teams can compete properly to national competition standards and our drama and music groups can have some stage lighting instead of striplights! The total cost is just shy of £100,000 of work needed for this phase of restoration of our old but much-loved and well-used village hall - we're hoping to win the vote on the night for £60,000 from the Jubilee People's Millions fund (the rest comes from Hall reserves and a legacy of £20,000 left us by one of the Hall's founders.)
I'm asking for the support for the Hall's entry Kosy Komfy Kidz by voting for us on the day and by spreading the word through your contacts and networks to ask for others to support them too. All it takes is one call any-time between 9am and 12 midnight on Tuesday 28 June at a cost of 11p per call (BT landline rate) to the number which will be published on our JPM web-page: http://www.peoplesmillions.org.uk/2011-finalists/border/kosy-komfy-kidz and in the Daily Mirror on Tuesday 28 June 2011. Every vote for the project will be vital and anyone can vote (up to 10 times from the same number if you'd like to! girl cheer but just one vote would help!!!), you don't need to be local to south Cumbria or even the Border TV area in order to vote. I'll add the number here too as soon as I have it on Tuesday morning.
The Hall is vital to the village of Burton-in-Kendal, it really is a community hub and is busy every day of the week with activities for all ages and interests, but Burton is only a small community so if you can help us along by voting just once on the day you would be doing us a great service and earn the gratitude of all those involved in the project. Please help us if you can and spread the word to anyone and everyone who might help us also. Thank you!
http://www.peoplesmillions.org.uk/2011-finalists/border/kosy-komfy-kidz
Friday, 10 June 2011
Respecting your customers
I read a very interesting article today by Michael Schrage on the Harvard Business Review website in part of which he discusses the damage which being disrespectful of dismissive of your customers can be incredibly damaging to your business.
http://blogs.hbr.org/schrage/2011/06/do-you-think-your-customers-ar.html
Whilst few now follow the old adage "the customer is always right", it seems the change of attitude in many companies to one of "the customer is just a nuisance or simply thick" is becoming more pervasive in many businesses, which the consequence that many customers no longer feel valued at all by the businesses they deal with.
Regardless of the size of a business, the customer should be the most important part of it, which is why our ethos right from the start has been "affordable, effective and ethical" web services. We won't sell you a service you don't need just because we can, and we won't treat you as an idiot if you don't understand what we do. After all, if you did understand it like we do you'd not need our services anyhow!
If we can help you with any aspect of a web service of if you just need some advice in the first instance, please drop us a line or give us a call at Yobunny.
You'll find contact details for each part of what we do via our portal website http://www.yobunny.co.uk.
http://blogs.hbr.org/schrage/2011/06/do-you-think-your-customers-ar.html
Whilst few now follow the old adage "the customer is always right", it seems the change of attitude in many companies to one of "the customer is just a nuisance or simply thick" is becoming more pervasive in many businesses, which the consequence that many customers no longer feel valued at all by the businesses they deal with.
Regardless of the size of a business, the customer should be the most important part of it, which is why our ethos right from the start has been "affordable, effective and ethical" web services. We won't sell you a service you don't need just because we can, and we won't treat you as an idiot if you don't understand what we do. After all, if you did understand it like we do you'd not need our services anyhow!
If we can help you with any aspect of a web service of if you just need some advice in the first instance, please drop us a line or give us a call at Yobunny.
You'll find contact details for each part of what we do via our portal website http://www.yobunny.co.uk.
Sunday, 5 June 2011
Copywriting & proofreading service for websites, blogs, emails etc
Have you ever looked at a website and thought, "UGH! What horrible spelling or grammar?" We have that reaction to a lot of websites, even those built by big professional companies.
As a result of some of the horrors we see, we are now offering a full proofreading & copywriting service for websites, blogs, emails, or any other written material you may need.
Our rates are very reasonable, and we can guarantee you a good accurate service and swift turnaround of work. If you want to know more please drop us a line at awd@yobunny.co.uk or you can order work directly from us via the Copify agency: http://www.copify.com/copywriters/view/507
As a result of some of the horrors we see, we are now offering a full proofreading & copywriting service for websites, blogs, emails, or any other written material you may need.
Our rates are very reasonable, and we can guarantee you a good accurate service and swift turnaround of work. If you want to know more please drop us a line at awd@yobunny.co.uk or you can order work directly from us via the Copify agency: http://www.copify.com/copywriters/view/507
Saturday, 4 June 2011
Jubilee People's Millions and Burton Memorial Hall - will you help please?
A plea for help! Burton Memorial Hall in Burton-in-Kendal, south Cumbria, is 1 of the final 6 projects in the 2011 Jubilee People's Millions contest in the Border TV region. The contest will be determined by public telephone vote on Tuesday 28 June 2011 - the Hall is going head to head with another project in the north west of Cumbria - and the project with the most telephone votes on the day will win.
I'm asking for your support for the Hall's entry Kosy Komfy Kidz by voting for us on the day and by spreading the word through your contacts and networks to ask for others to support them too. All it takes is one call any-time between 9am and 12 midnight, to the number which will be published on the JPM web-page here: http://www.peoplesmillions.org.uk/2011-finalists/border/kosy-komfy-kidz and in the Daily Mirror on Tuesday 28 June 2011, at a cost of 11p per call. Every vote for the project will be vital and anyone can vote (up to 10 times from the same number if you'd like to!), you don't need to be local to south Cumbria or even the Border TV area!
The Hall is vital to the village of Burton-in-Kendal, it really is a community hub and is busy every day of the week with activities for all ages and interests, but Burton is only a small community and we are up against a much larger community on voting day, so we're feeling a bit like David against Goliath. If you can help us by voting just once on the day you would be doing us a great service and earn the gratitude of all those involved in the project. Please help us if you can and spread the word to anyone and everyone who might help us also. Thank you!
http://www.peoplesmillions.org.uk/2011-finalists/border/kosy-komfy-kidz
I'm asking for your support for the Hall's entry Kosy Komfy Kidz by voting for us on the day and by spreading the word through your contacts and networks to ask for others to support them too. All it takes is one call any-time between 9am and 12 midnight, to the number which will be published on the JPM web-page here: http://www.peoplesmillions.org.uk/2011-finalists/border/kosy-komfy-kidz and in the Daily Mirror on Tuesday 28 June 2011, at a cost of 11p per call. Every vote for the project will be vital and anyone can vote (up to 10 times from the same number if you'd like to!), you don't need to be local to south Cumbria or even the Border TV area!
The Hall is vital to the village of Burton-in-Kendal, it really is a community hub and is busy every day of the week with activities for all ages and interests, but Burton is only a small community and we are up against a much larger community on voting day, so we're feeling a bit like David against Goliath. If you can help us by voting just once on the day you would be doing us a great service and earn the gratitude of all those involved in the project. Please help us if you can and spread the word to anyone and everyone who might help us also. Thank you!
http://www.peoplesmillions.org.uk/2011-finalists/border/kosy-komfy-kidz
Tuesday, 26 April 2011
A little bit of internet history being made... twicket!
http://twicket.info/ Coverage of the first village cricket matched to be streamed live on the internet was broadcast on Easter Monday 2011 - Wray versus the rest of the world!
This is a proof of concept. If they can do a cricket match, think what else can be done... live streams from events which wouldn't necessarily attract mainstream media coverage but which have supporters around the world. Communities can promote all sorts of events and activities - from the quirky to the bizarre to the deadly serious.
The point is that we need stronger broadband infrastructure to handle this sort of live event - and currently there are probably only three villages in the UK which could do this... just three! out of all the online communities in the UK, and Wray came up with the idea to showcase what can be done.
Over 2700 people tuned in during the match to watch it - none of those could get to watch it in person, but with a live stream could still be a part of them as they happen. It means we don't have to wait for kind people to take pics and upload them, we don't have to wait for someone to process their video footage and upload a film some days later. As wonderful as having those things are, we can aspire to something even better and that is live coverage such as was seen from Wray today.
It's the first step in the journey to next generation broadband - a campaign which is actually being lead by folks from Wray village itself and it will benefit rural communities especially, as those are often at the back of the queue when it comes to technological progress.
This is a proof of concept. If they can do a cricket match, think what else can be done... live streams from events which wouldn't necessarily attract mainstream media coverage but which have supporters around the world. Communities can promote all sorts of events and activities - from the quirky to the bizarre to the deadly serious.
The point is that we need stronger broadband infrastructure to handle this sort of live event - and currently there are probably only three villages in the UK which could do this... just three! out of all the online communities in the UK, and Wray came up with the idea to showcase what can be done.
Over 2700 people tuned in during the match to watch it - none of those could get to watch it in person, but with a live stream could still be a part of them as they happen. It means we don't have to wait for kind people to take pics and upload them, we don't have to wait for someone to process their video footage and upload a film some days later. As wonderful as having those things are, we can aspire to something even better and that is live coverage such as was seen from Wray today.
It's the first step in the journey to next generation broadband - a campaign which is actually being lead by folks from Wray village itself and it will benefit rural communities especially, as those are often at the back of the queue when it comes to technological progress.
Saturday, 2 April 2011
World Backup Day
31st March has been designated World Backup Day, which is a useful reminder that if you store data on your computer, you really should safeguard against its loss by backing up to another location.
The big danger is that people might think they should only do a backup once per year! The truth of the matter is that if you have data you do not want to lose, you should back it up every time you make a change!
Simple, sensible backup routines are available to everyone, regardless of ability or equipment. Depending on quantity and frequency, you can back up to an external disk drive, a network drive, a thumb drive, a writeable CD or DVD, or an online backup repository or cloud backup.
Easy to use software can automate the process for you too, so you can set it and forget it. One we like especially is Karen's Replicator from Karen Kenworthy http://www.karenware.com - it's freeware and so easy to set up a child can manage it.
With such easy ways to do it, there's no reason why you should not be backing up daily or weekly. Go try it out and save yourself a lot of hassle if your hard drive fails.
The big danger is that people might think they should only do a backup once per year! The truth of the matter is that if you have data you do not want to lose, you should back it up every time you make a change!
Simple, sensible backup routines are available to everyone, regardless of ability or equipment. Depending on quantity and frequency, you can back up to an external disk drive, a network drive, a thumb drive, a writeable CD or DVD, or an online backup repository or cloud backup.
Easy to use software can automate the process for you too, so you can set it and forget it. One we like especially is Karen's Replicator from Karen Kenworthy http://www.karenware.com - it's freeware and so easy to set up a child can manage it.
With such easy ways to do it, there's no reason why you should not be backing up daily or weekly. Go try it out and save yourself a lot of hassle if your hard drive fails.
To interact or not to interact, that is the question...?
The ability to interconnect different bits of social networking with a website is quite exciting. By integrating Facebook or Twitter buttons into your webpages you can enable easy sharing of your content by your visitors.
The huge growth in popularity of social media sites means that any site can benefit from linking to them: not only in terms of spreading the word, but also as a means of raising the bar with search engines, as all the social media sites seem to score highly in results terms.
The code to add links or widgets into a webpage code is usually fairly simple to incorporate, especially in plain HTML pages. Many php scripts can include them too, but a good number of those such as Wordpress, PHP-Fusion, Joomla, etc. have mods (add-ons) that do this to save you having to hack (and possibly break in the process!) the code.
Go on, give it a try, you might be surprised as to who drops by!
The huge growth in popularity of social media sites means that any site can benefit from linking to them: not only in terms of spreading the word, but also as a means of raising the bar with search engines, as all the social media sites seem to score highly in results terms.
The code to add links or widgets into a webpage code is usually fairly simple to incorporate, especially in plain HTML pages. Many php scripts can include them too, but a good number of those such as Wordpress, PHP-Fusion, Joomla, etc. have mods (add-ons) that do this to save you having to hack (and possibly break in the process!) the code.
Go on, give it a try, you might be surprised as to who drops by!
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