No to Cloaking
April 27, 2007 at 4:45 pm
Bit of scandal for a Friday afternoon – apparently one of the search engine companies in Dublin is advocating the use of cloaking! Shock! Head shaking all round. Richard Hearne covers it very nicely here.
Here at Brightspark we certainly do not or have ever advocated cloaking.
Why are they advertising then?
April 27, 2007 at 8:07 am
In research mode for a bed, it seems that all the activity on Google is on the pay per click side. Organic listings throw up news articles on hospital beds, dog and cat beds, books on beds. . .
On the pay per click side, one of the top 3 advertisers is bedsdirect.com yet they don’t deliver beds to Ireland. Why would they bother advertising on Google Adwords where they’ve obviously geographically targeted their search to Ireland when they can’t take orders from here? Is it to tempt Irish customers to buy a bed online, have it delivered to some relative’s address in the UK and then drive over on the boat and pick it up?
I don’t think so!
But one thing’s for sure – they obviously have plenty of money to burn. If they can afford to run a national pay per click campaign in a country in which they can’t do business. You could help them use up their budget by clicking on their ad! Search for “beds” on Google and you’ll see them around the top on the right. Go on. Click it. Beddirect.com – how not to advertise online!
Busy Sickness
April 23, 2007 at 9:56 am
It’s a national epidemic. And one that could cause the economy to grind to a standstill if we’re not careful!
Here’s how it works:
- You’re so busy you can’t look at what I’ve sent over to you for approval. Times this by everyone else and we can’t do any work.
- Because we’re waiting to hear back from all you guys, we can’t pass on that small piece of outsourced programming to someone else.
- Programmmer relys on this and lots of other small pieces to keep him going. Because everyone is busy nothing is coming his way. He’s not going to invest in that new piece of kit now.
- Multiply this out across multiple industries and soon enough everything grinds to a standstill.
On a related note, I know someone who was saying recently that they spent 2 years and lots of money attending a psychotherapist. The upshot of it was that they learned how to feel and not just busy themselves out of it. Everyone in Ireland is busy busy. Does that mean that we’re all secretly depressed and, not having attended this therapist, we are just doing what we know best: busying ourselves out of it?
From Blogs to Bebo
April 20, 2007 at 11:46 am
Last night I spoke at a PRII event, along with Mark Tarbett of Generator, and Ronnie Simpson of Simpson FTPR. The title of the event was ‘From Blogs to Bebo’ and my bit was a hands-on show and tell about blogs, news readers, video blogs, and video content. I love this kind of thing because it allows me to show interested people many of the things I love online.
Mark spoke about the opportunity presented by Bebo and about user generated content in general. Did you know that Bebo get about a million kids using it every day? The stats he quoted for daily page impressions was enough to make my eyes water. He was very open and upfront about the cost of a commercial spot on the home page, and it seems quite egalitarian in terms of how it’s priced out. It’s a flat fee per week. I’d suggest to anyone looking at Bebo to choose your weeks well, obviously leaving and junior cert weeks aren’t going to be as successful as say, mid term breaks and the holidays.
Ronnie made a very good point when he said that he’s been working in PR for 30 years and in that time, nothing really much has changed – until now. Ronnie believes that for PR people to be doing their jobs successfully, they’ve got to ensure their client’s messages are searchable and that means being on Google. Whether that’s achieved through search engine optimisation, blogs, Bebo, online advertising, it cannot be overlooked any longer.
Now for anyone who was there – here’s your chance to leave a comment. . . I’d love to hear from you. And you will be creating a 1 way link back to your own site!
Rant 001 for 2007
April 17, 2007 at 2:40 pm
I’ve been told I’ve gone soft and that my blog doesn’t have the same ire and anger that were so prevalent in the early years! Maybe that’s because I’m a little older and calmer. Perhaps it’s to do with the fact that I now know that some things take time in this country (broadband connections, clients paying for work done well, etc.). But a couple of people have commented or blogged about how the early years featured a lot more me giving out about things and I think it’s time to address this. I’d like you all to know that I’m still as opinionated as ever, and in the coming weeks I’ll be sharing some more of this with you.
First off I’d like to ask a question: do you think web design is a skill? Has web development moved to the professional realms yet? Or is it still a necessary evil that you’re not willing to pay for? (the old ‘my nephew is just out of college and he knows a bit about websites’ syndrome).
Cos I don’t think so…
Of course I think creating a website and online strategy is something that must be done professionally. It takes skill, time, talent, love, and lots and lots of creativity. I just don’t think that many people in Ireland think the same way. And so I present below my Top 3 Impediments to an Easy Website Redesign:
- Content Clutter - at the start of a project, people always want to remove lots of the surplus clutter that doesn’t get read. They get it when we say that people read 25% less online. They nod their heads when we suggest pared down content for home pages. Then when it comes to content delivery time, they get scared, and do a dump of all their existing content and a bit more.
- Cold Feet – this can happen in relation to design and functionality. When we meet, they’re all up for doing something new. They brief us in to deliver edgy new stuff, and when we do, they get scared and ask for white background, images of chess pieces or people on phones. Same old same old. Similarly, the idea of adding a blog instead of a dull and boring ‘company news’ page or video content instead of yet more pdf tat gets cast aside. Cold feet has killed many a delightful new design.
- Losing Momentum - we meet, they want their site and they need it fast. We rise to the challenge and aim to deliver and pull out all the stops to get it done. Everyone’s in agreement on the milestones and recognise the need to be speedy in the feedback if we are all to pull our weights and do what it takes to meet the client imposed tight deadline. And then what happens? Nothing. The home page design gets signed off and the client mysteriously disappears. Busy busy not able to look at anything. Project languishes. Weeks pass. Site goes live half a year after it begun, featuring an abundance of content, no risks taken, all of the above.
Please don’t get paranoid if you’re a Brightspark client. This is not about you. This is a general moan. It’s about everyone else. It’s not meant to offend, but I do want to inject a little bit of the real me back into this blog. And the real me is a bit moaney, especially on a Monday morning. Come back on Friday when I’ll be posting about flowers blooming in April!
Imagine Dublin in 2050
April 16, 2007 at 10:48 am
I just came across a rather thought provoking new blog – it’s about the future of Dublin and imagining how it will be in 2050. I’m thrilled to see someone out there actually giving serious thought to planning for green space, pedestrian zones, and the environment in general.
If you are interested in having a say in how the future generations will live – and indeed the quality of your living environment when you’re a pensioner – then check it out, comment and let your voice be heard. Visit the Imagine Dublin blog.
Good Post on Web 2.0 Design Styles
April 12, 2007 at 9:54 pm
I know some say Web 2.0 is dead and gone. Many are sick of it. But for others, Web 2.0 is still a new-ish concept that’s being got to grips with. The basic premise of Web 2.0 development is to get it out fast and refine based on user activity. Charge a little – but charge it often! Get people using your service and make it indispensible. In terms of design, this post is a good one. It pretty much sums it up : it’s about simplicity. Read more here.
Vote Early Vote Often
April 11, 2007 at 5:44 pm
The Webby Awards are now open to the people. It’s your chance to have your say on which sites are the best in the world. From now until 27 April, you can vote in any number of categories including video, mobile and web.
Winners will be announced on 1st May and will be honoured at the ** star studded ** awards ceremony in New York in June.
Some interesting facts about this year’s shortlists:
- The BBC received the most nominations (5). No surprises there because we all know that the BBC rocks online! Other multiple nominees include NPR (4), NYTimes.com (4), Salon.com (4), Flickr (3), JonathanYuen.com (3), LinkedIn (3), The Onion (3), TruthDig (3), WeFeelFine.org (3), and Yahoo! (3).
- In interactive advertising, several agencies received multiple nominations including: Crispin Porter + Bogusky and R/GA (5); Farfar (4); AlmapBBDO (3); DDB Brazil (2), McCann Digital (2), Saatchi and Saatchi LA (2), and Euro RSCG 4D (2).
- The nominees for Best Practices – del.icio.us, digg, Facebook, Flickr, and Last.fm – represent the leading edge of new technologies and trends reshaping the Web.
With so many great sites and campaigns to choose from, it’s hard to choose a winner from that bunch. Comments please – what’s your favourite? And why?
Google April Fool
April 4, 2007 at 11:28 am
This is funny! Google spoofily announced the launch of a new service on 1 April. “Because everyone loves paper, you asked for it, and we’re bringing it back . . . Google Snail Mail”. Read more here.
What The Politicians Have To Say About Broadband
April 3, 2007 at 11:27 am
Dublin Chamber of Commerce organised an event this morning in which a member of each of the political parties was invited to attend and take questions from the Dublin Chamber members on election issues. Mirian O’Calaghan MC’ed and tried to keep them to the point. Because it’s not very often that we get a chance to have our say in these things, I went along and posed a question about broadband. Below is my question and the answers that came from the various representatives. Take from it what you like. But it’s very clear to me who has a clue about broadband and who doesn’t.
Question: I would like to ask the panel how they plan to deliver the broadband infrastructure that is needed for a knowledge based economy. I run an internet business and have had to move 3 times in the last 2 years. Each time I was without broadband for an average of 6 weeks. When I telephoned Com Reg to see what they could do about my poor broadband service, I was surprised to discover that they are not responsible for this area. What are your specific policies that you have for broadband provision? What specific ideas do you have to provide commitment and accountability in the provision of broadband infrastructure?”
Note that I said specific twice!!
The replies were as follows:
- Oisin Quinn, Labour: eircom has too much control. We need local loop unbundling and a regulator with teeth. Either expand the powers of Com Reg or establish a new regulator.
- Sean Ardagh, Fianna Fail: broadband is ‘a failure for all of us’. There is a difficulity for local loop unbundling to be delivered at a competitive price. He then took credit for the increase in the number of broadband subscribers since 2002.
- Richard Bruton, Fine Gael: believes we should move to tender for 100% coverage like in Northern Ireland. ‘If we’re going to go for it let’s build and be ambitious”. For knowledge is a key sector in the economy. . . bla bla . . he lost me there when he went into politician speak.
- Mary Lou McDonald, Sinn Fein: talked about collaboration between Universities being important. Didn’t answer the question.
- Eamonn Ryan, Green Party: encourage competition between cable, mobile and fixed line providers. Encourage more competition between the three. If that doesn’t work, buy the network back! When Miriam O’Callaghan asked how much that would cost, he said €2 billion. But given the €300 million per year we’re spending on [something else I didn't catch?], it would be a good investment.
- Liz O’Donnell, PD: didn’t answer the question
So there you have it. As far as I can gather, the incumbent government parties (FF and PD) have no policy on broadband. The Shinners don’t really get it. Greens offer the most radical approach. Labour, perhaps the most logical. FG gave the most waffly political. However, overall on the day – Richard Bruton did come across as one of the most well prepared.
