Last night Richard Hudson was voted onto Manchester Digital council for the fourth year running.
Over the last few years Richard has been actively involved in developing the MD events programme and preparing for the rebuild of the MD website into an open, comprehensive and widely used resource connecting with all parts of our community.
Of his re-election Richard said, “It’s always an honour to be selected by members of the local digital community to represent them on the Manchester Digital council, and there are exciting times ahead.
However, there are many challenges facing the digital industry and we need to work together to raise the profile of our sector to put it more firmly under the spotlight. Last night’s AGM confirmed there is much willingness for people to get more involved in driving Manchester Digital forward, which is fantastic, as there is much work to be done. Being volunteer driven at the moment, we need as many people as possible to contribute to Manchester Digital to drive it to the next stage. With the BBC move North, continuing issues with standards/rogue traders and the skills shortage our industry faces, mainly caused by the lack of suitably qualified staff coming out of our colleges and universities, we can really make a difference by working together as one.”
Recently Richard was voted onto the board by other members of the council. The board is for people who are able to contribute more time to the running and direction of MD.
Manchester Digital is the independent trade association for the digital sector in the North West of England. Their vision is simple, ‘that by working together we can make Manchester and the North West an even better place for Digital Business’.
Their events programme brings members together to learn, network and share best practice. Manchester Digital’s annual Big Chip Awards celebrates the best digital companies and projects in the region.
Membership starts from just £25 per year for individuals and £50 for small businesses and is completely free for students learning to join the digital sector.
My View of London launches today through the Evening Standard and through their website www.myviewoflondon.org.uk.
Eye research charity, Fight for Sight has joined forces with the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel to launch a photography competition with the chance to win a 3-night stay in their penthouse suite. The winner and a friend will also enjoy dinner for two and two 60-minute spa treatments.
Well the day has finally arrived. It’s election day here in the UK and possibly (barring a hung parliament) an end to the campaigning that has dominated the media for the past few weeks. I don’t blog about politics and I’m not going to start now. Nor am I about to share any political views. What I will share is my opinion on the main party websites.
With the live debates and coverage across the internet, I’ve found this campaign to be quite exciting. The opportunity to interact with and question candidates has increased significantly and brought about a sense of openness that we haven’t seen before. This can only be a good thing.
After all the campaigning I returned to the three main party websites to make my final decision. It’s interesting to see how they present themselves and how they interact with the public.
Labour
The Labour Party website I found to be the least user friendly. The initial splash page gets in the way of locating information. You are presented with only a few options and have to hunt around for the link to proceed to the main site. This is not very helpful if you’re looking for something specific like policies on education or small businesses.
[Note: since starting to write this post three shortcut links have appeared at the top of the page. This helps a little but I still feel that the splash screen is intrusive and should be removed altogether.]
The internal pages are also a little confusing. I like the idea of the changing panels at the top of the page. However, the initial banner for ‘It’s your future, vote for it’ didn’t quite do it for me. It comes across as being a bit blasé and almost jokey. The calls to action on the right hand side are also not very clear. ‘Back the Ban’. What ban? ‘Save our Sure Start’. What’s Sure Start? We’re getting into mystery meat territory here. Even more confusing is that when you click on the Sure Start banner you’re diverted to a Facebook page where you’re asked to add your name to help the Labour Party save Sure Start. You are then invited to submit your first name, last name and email address. What isn’t clear is how this can help. What are they going to do with this information? How can it help their cause? Why should you submit your personal details?
I did however like their use of video under the Manifesto 2010 tab. Again they seem to have favoured an informal approach, which works well in this instance. The clickable links within the video allow you to skip to the policies that interest you most.
What is surprising about the Labour site is that their policy prompts appear towards the bottom of the page, suggesting that they’re not as important as the volunteering, voting and joining links. To be fair, they do appear as sub pages in the top menu but on election day when people are making their final decisions, surely this is vital information and not drawing attention to it is a bit of a wasted opportunity.
A well-positioned search box would be invaluable allowing you to locate information quickly and easily. This is missing from the site.
The Labour manifesto is well-presented. The design is clean and easy to follow, with information split into clear paragraphs and bullet points. It also allows the option of downloading and sharing on Twitter and Facebook. Policy information is not so easy to follow with large chunks of unbroken text stretching three quarters of the way across the page.
Liberal Democrats
Content on the Liberal Democrats site is much clearer in terms of design and navigation. There’s no splash screen. As soon as you land on the home page you can navigate to all sections of the site. The layout appears more cluttered than the Labour Party site. However, the calls to action are clear, with the use of icons and explanatory labels. A search box in the top right hand corner allows quick and easy access to information and removes the need for browsing.
Policy information is easy to follow too. Text is kept to a minimum and is split into readable chunks. Large prompts direct you to related pages.
The Lib Dems manifesto page is set out into easy to read sections, allowing you the opportunity to read a summary, read online via e-book or download a PDF. Perhaps most interesting is the Lib Dem’s use of video on this page. You are invited to mix your own video by clicking on three options. The footage then plays in your browser automatically, tailored to your choices.
Conservatives
In terms of aesthetics the Conservative Party site has the edge. The colours work well and the home page is broken into clear, concise sections, offering different ways to access information. Like the Lib Dems site a search box at the top right of the page cuts out unnecessary browsing if you want to find information fast.
The Conservatives favour a similar approach to labour with a main banner and links on the right of the page. This works well but then they go and spoil it by making the second link all about Labour. I suppose you can argue that this is understandable, given that they’re fighting for Labour’s position, but all this back biting and sniping doesn’t appeal to me at all. Don’t tell me what ‘they’re’ doing or not doing. Tell me what you’re doing or going to do. I can make up my own mind and I’m far more likely to be won over by clear and honest arguments that highlight the positives than negative comment on the opposition.
Of all three sites the Conservative manifesto page is perhaps least appealing in terms of its overall design. However, like the Lib Dems they also favour an e-book version of their manifesto which works well. Audio and accessible versions of the manifesto are much easier to locate on both the Conservative and Labour sites.
The Conservatives’ use of video comes in the form of Webcameron and Conservatives.TV. Their bank of videos are fully searchable with quick links to recent videos, most viewed or alternatively you can view a full list. Where they go one step further is providing related videos which change depending on what you’re viewing. Social media links allow you to share content on your networks.
So, there you have it. A quick run down on the main party websites. I’m a huge advocate for substance over design fluff. But I wonder what effect these sites have had on voters, in terms of clarity, ease of use and portrayal of their message?
We’re delighted to be exhibiting at this year’s Business North West. Now in it’s fifth year the conference will run on 27th and 28th October at Manchester Central (formerly G-Mex). This is the region’s premier business to business exhibition and conference.
Uniting all sectors, Business North West provides a platform to meet and communicate with motivated owners, directors and entrepreneurs.
In addition to the exhibition the Innovation Lounge will host a number of presentations by key note speakers from the world of business. ‘How to’ seminars will run from the Seminar Theatre covering a variety of topics such as HR, Sales, Marketing, Finance and IT. If you’ve ever wanted to learn more about Google Analytics and Adwords the Google University will be on hand to offer tips and advice. The Network Cafe and Business Link Speed Networking will provide ample opportunities to meet like-minded people over the two days. And for those who dare, enter the Angel’s Den, the heavenly alternative to Dragon’s Den, and pitch your ideas to a panel of venture capitalists.
We’ll be exhibiting on stand 108. Do drop by and say hello. The event is free to visitors.
What: Business North West When: 27th to 28th October 2010 Where: Manchester Central (formerly G-Mex), Manchester Admission: Free to visitors More Info:www.businessnorthwest.co.uk
Scientist John Greenwood, Actor Lloyd Hutchinson, and Jeweller Alex Monroe will take on a 1000 mile Land’s End to John O’Groats cycle ride later this year, to raise funds for Fight for Sight. They will be joined by a number of friends and celebrities along the way.
Vanilla Storm has worked with Alex Monroe for a number of years, building his UK and Japanese websites. We are delighted to be doing our bit for Eye Cycle by providing an interactive website and blog.
The website includes information on the cycle ride, details on patrons and information on how to make a donation. It also includes a live auction where Alex Monroe will be auctioning some of his key pieces to raise funds for the charity. An interactive blog and Twitter feed keep supporters informed of news and updates.
Last week saw the inaugural SAScon event at The Bridgewater Hall in Manchester. SAScon stands for ‘Search - Analytics - Social Media Conference’.
YouTube’s Bruce Daisley delivered the opening speech and was followed by some of the biggest names in Search, Analytics and Social Media. Covering subjects such as The Online Video Revolution, Advanced Link Building and Who is Best to Exploit the Social Media Opportunity, sessions were split between presentations and panel group discussions.
The conference culminated in a comedy night at The Frog and Bucket, complete with networking, pie and peas and a few sore heads in the morning.
It was a welcome event, both in terms of having the space and time to discuss a relatively new and growing phenomenon and in the fact that it took place in Manchester, highlighting the north’s strong digital presence.
Hats off to the organisers for a well run and informative event. Looking forward to next year’s conference.
