These are my links for March 23rd from 09:22 to 23:16:

  • Scrolling and Attention – Jacob Nielsen, usability legend, with some very interesting research on user experience tracking in relation to below-the-fold content: 80% of users ONLY read what's above the fold, but some layout that encourage scrolling can still command attention.
  • 5 days until Mediacamp, Nottingham’s first barcamp for creative media March 27 – If you're not following me on Twitter (please do, I'm @susioneill) I may have been remise to inform you that we're once again hosting another Mediacamp in Nottingham this Saturday. It's a day long energised discussion, presentation and exploration barcamp to discuss all aspects of how digital media is rocking our world. I'll be experimenting with social reporting, capturing highlights of the day for our website www.creativenottingham.com, and hosting a session to talk about the CreativeNottingham project and our plans. <br />
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    The event is currently sold out – if you *really* want to come email me (susi@digitalconsultant.co.uk) and I'll see if I can help, otherwise they'll be live streaming of the main hall and live reporting on CreativeNottingham.com.
  • How to build Augmented Reality into your digital strategy – Augmented reality – building in a layer of digital information and content into real world places – is the next real innovation from the future that's already hitting our world through services like Google Goggles and Layar. This article talks about how you can bring AR into your brand's digital strategy.
  • Project Canvas is open and standardised – and great for consumers – The CEO of video-on-demand service Blinkbox counteracts Sky's claims that Project Canvas, providing a standardised broadband to TV service, will be bad for business. He counteracts that producers are aggregators will be able to delivery pay-as-you-watch programming and in will generative innovative 'apps' like for the iphone to provided added value services through the open network. I can't wait – this could be yet another exciting platform for technologies and video producers.
  • Creative funding database – Although I'm sure this is probably the same data as the funding database on Business Link site, this creative funding/business support from the excellent Creative Choices skills website works very well, it's easy to use and seems to be pretty comprehensive.
  • Conservatives’ ‘Cash Gordon’ web campaign backfires – And in the blue corner, the Tories have made a pigs ear of their latest venture to discredit Brown. 'Cash Gordon' site had a rent-a-crowd vibe, and was based on a back-end system used by right-wing lobbying groups against healthcare reform in the US. Trolls quickly hacked the site and used the unmoderated hashtag's on the site's display to make a disparaging remark or two. Well done Tories for going web 2.0, poor show on making such a #hashtag of it. Lessons learnt: although an election is a fast and furious thing, it's essential to allow time for user-testing of a site launch, rather than a very public flop.
  • Brown outlines advanced UK digital strategy – As we're all on tenderhooks for the notice of the UK election date, the parties are lining up their policies. In the red corner, Brown the encumbent plans to introduce two new bodies to advance the digital economy, An Institute fo Web Science headed up by web inventor Tim Berners-Lee, and a digital public service unit led by Last Minute.com founder and digital inclusion champion Martha Lane-Fox (one has to have double-barrelled names to succeed nowadays in government). Whilst creating two new quangos, Brown dashes against the rest, replacing 'first gen' e-government with an integrated MyGov portal (cue expensive new makeover). It will be interesting to see how the development of this policy unfolds, particularly in line with the forthcoming digital economy bill and whether this does progress through parliament despite public uproar.
  • Direct Marketing 2.0 – You are what you click – Net Imperative article briefing on how user insight and split-run testing can help to build better return on investment as part of a digital strategy. Some important lessons here like 'rubbish in, rubbish out' data sources, and the idea of an A-Z rather than A-B, testing iteratively all aspects of a campaign or conversion web page as an ongoing beta.
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These are my links for January 14th from 20:28 to 22:29:

  • Webinar On Demand: Website Redesign Strategy for 2010 – A good 1hr audio/slide show presentation on what to consider on a website redesign – both on technical design, SEO and inbound marketing. Fun quote: "building a website is like putting a billboard in the desert."
    This article on A/B testing (using the example of eHarmony dating site's marketing tactics) is an interesting companion read: http://carsonified.com/blog/marketing/how-eharmony-kills-the-romance-with-ab-testing
  • Shadow’s starting the New Year off with a bang – Interesting blog and response from artist DJ Shadow having a rant about the sorry state of music biz, and how file-sharing is killing the art of new music. The comments show some fans support that his art should have value, others feel he is failing to move with the times. 2010 will be a year of a seismic shift between the thinking of emerging artists and established, the latter believing the industry model has failed, the former exploiting and benefiting from new opportunities based on direct engagement with fans.
  • HOW TO: Create Custom Backgrounds for Twitter, YouTube, & MySpace – If you're not too techie put want to pimp up and customise your social media profile, this handy article gives you step-by-step instructions and dimensions.
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These are my links for December 21st through December 23rd:

  • 500 Internal Server Error – 500 Internal Server Error
  • Browser Size – A neat tool that lets you see how visitors view your website who are using different browser sizes and programes, which can show you where the majority of people will start to see content drop out from the right or drop down 'below the fold' of the web browser.
  • The End Of Hand Crafted Content – Tech Crunch's excellent Michael Arrington on the worry for online publisher that re-writes and lack of attribution from online sources will lead to a wealth of 'fast food' content where journalism is pushing out the skill in the online – as well as print – space. "The disruptors are getting disrupted". A gripey moan? Well maybe, but I go with him that there's little income now in quality journalism as well all become sapped into the Google link well…
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These are my links for November 2nd from 09:17 to 12:36:

  • User-generated video to broadcast on Dublin streets this Christmas – Here's an example of web culture traversing to mainstream culture: Zozzy TV will allow people to "streetcast": broadcast their 30 sec films on a screen in Dublin's major shopping streets (interspersed with adverts, presumably). One to bring to other shopping districts?
  • Major console games maker mulls a move from UK to Ireland – Scotland is losing its status as a producer of quality games as more developer threaten to leave to exploit tax breaks in other nations. This time Realtime Worlds threaten to move to Dublin – not known as a centre for games as yet but it's certainly developing the infrastructure for a digital production economy.
  • Report claims illegal downloaders buy more music – A report by lefty-think-thank Demos, paid for by Virgin Media, claims downloaders spend 50% (£33) more on music each year, and would download more if prices reduced to 45p a track. I'd question this research generally though: Virgin have lots to gain from a decrease in peer-to-peer traffic clogging up their network, and it's based on what people say they would do rather than proving behaviour and outcomes.
  • 12 Essential Plugins that Extend WordPress as a CMS – If you're a web developer working with clients to develop websites built on the awesome, free WordPress system, these plug-ins are great for increasing the editorial rights, changing images and adding custom forms amongst other things.
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These are my links for October 15th through October 16th:

  • How to Understand Your Users with Personas – Great cartoon pictorial explanation and links to explain the basics of using personas in digital design. Personas basically are like typical users in advertising, mapping their needs and desires and how these are supported through the user's journey and actions through a website.
  • Leaving TV: From producer to professional – Barry Shaverin with some no-nonsense career advise from those seeking to escape the gloom and uncertainty of TV production and seek transferable roles in marketing and comms. There's some very savvy advice about cultural difference – like not spouting crazy ideas or any subject goes rants typical in telly. Gosh wish I'd read this when I left TV in 2005!
  • Ofcom online research – UK research by Ofcom shows rapid growth between 2007-2009 in number of 65+ adults online, and 38% of internet users on social networks, although more keep their profiles and data private.
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