Diffily.com

2008-06-26T16:50:00.004+01:00

dot anything

Now that anything can be a top-level domain name, here's some suggestions:

dot dot
dot dash
dot tedline
dot diffily?

2008-06-21T13:09:00.007+01:00

Deireadh na bliana

Cantóirí - the choir of which I am a member - recently came to the end of its choral year. Definately, it was one of the most enjoyable I have had for a quite a while. The highlight was the shared concert we performed with Danish choir Panumkoret in April.

Hosted by the famous Pepper Cannister Church in Dublin, both groups 'clicked' very well and partied well into the early hours after our gig in Toners Pub. Hopefully 2009 will bring us to Copenhagen to reprise this success.

Below you can watch Panumkoret and Cantóirí at rehearsal before our gig, directed by Jon.

2008-06-18T13:31:00.008+01:00

Convenient banking? Currently on-hold.

Yesterday, I called my bank (Bank of Ireland) via their automated phone system. Within the 20 seconds they had infuriated me so much, I just had to complain to the girl who answered me.

Why?

I had a very simple task to complete. I wanted to check a transaction. I wanted speed and convenience.

They wanted to sell me a loan.

Their needs came first

They made me listen to a long advertisement before I could do anything!

Listen to the monstrous Bank of Ireland telephone ad (WAV 4Mb)

Just like many awful websites, they forced me to follow THEIR narrative, instead of allowing me to create my own.

The girl's response? "Oh yes, we have had quite a few complaints about that."

I bet you have.

2008-06-08T14:29:00.009+01:00

Radiohead at Malahide Castle, Co.Dublin 2008

According to my colleague, Radiohead may not design great websites, but their music remains as as good as ever.

Last night I joined 40,000 others to see them play on a sun-drenched evening in the grounds of Malahide Castle (near Dublin city).

Below is a clip from 'How to disappear completely' from 'Kid A'. Listen carefully and you'll hear the crowd cheer when Thom Yorke sings the line "I float down the Liffey". The Liffey is the river that runs through the centre of Dublin.

Apparently, Thom wrote this song whilst staying here some years ago. They have been rolling it out as a crowd pleaser at all their gigs here, ever since.

2008-06-03T17:07:00.008+01:00

Explosion at StatCounter

An interesting test case for website disaster recovery and failover at StatCounter.

According to its blog, StatCounter's host facility exploded at the weekend. This had the effect of wiping our service for most of its customer base.

Happily Stat's customers are fairly forgiving and loyal (me included). BUT if this has been my bank, I would have been a whole lot less understanding.

This should make you think. How would your customers react if you had significant downtime? What contingency do you have, in case the worst happens.

Read a bit more about how to measure website host performance.

2008-05-26T18:24:00.003+01:00

Web Content Arms Race

The superpowers of the web are constantly coming up with new formats for online content. Over the past year we have seen Air from Adobe and Silverlight - the touted "Flash-killer" - from Microsoft.

In addition, widgets, mashups, RSS feeds, AJAX, podcasts, wikis and more continue to gain ground.

But, just cause they are new and cool - does that mean you need them?

When should you say YES and - more importantly - when should you say NO to a new format?

Read this post in full on the iQBlog.

2008-05-19T20:06:00.010+01:00

450km in 7 days on Corsica

Have just returned from another cycling trip to a Meditteranean island. Last year it was Sardinia. This year Corsica.

Myself and my brothers journeyed around the coast from Bastia to Ajaccio. Despite 2 days of very heavy, west-of-ireland style rain, we had an excellent time.

(A photo of me (middle) with 2 of my brothers overlooking the magnificent Corsican coast is shown below.)

In comparision with Sardinia, Corsica is very mountainous. This meant lots of climbing uphill and wonderful freewheeling descents. The highest ascent was 1,101 metres (higher than Carrauntuohil, Ireland's highest mountain).

2008-04-25T16:42:00.004+01:00

Post-Boot Camp

At 4.50pm yesterday - just 10 minutes from the end of Boot Camp '08 - a massive power outage struck south Dublin. Despite the sudden loss of lighting and overhead projectors, our resouceful iQ presenters managed to wrap up successfully.

Drinks in the Long Hall and Hogan's pubs then helped to soothe my throat - sore as it was after 8 hours of lecturing.

Read all blog postings from iQ Boot Camp '08

2008-04-23T12:51:00.004+01:00

Boot Camp faoi lan seol

Which means, Boot Camp is well underway. Keep up-to-date with regular blog entries at the iQ Blog.

Brian at Boot Camp

Elizabeth at Boot Camp

2008-04-21T18:06:00.000+01:00

iQ Boot Camp 2008 begins

iQ Boot Camp 2008 begins tomorrow in the SAS Radisson in Dublin. While my colleagues apply a final polish to their presentations, here are some thoughts on what you can expect if you come along.

Read the full post on the iQ blog

2008-04-18T11:02:00.002+01:00

20% discount on iQ Web Boot Camp

With a only few days (& places) left, the powers that be up at iQ Towers have decided to spread a little love. I can now offer readers of this website a 20% discount on Boot Camp attendance!

To use the discount, email me and I'll send you the booking code.

This year I'll be presenting on (my fave) Web Governance and Web Content Strategy. So, don't miss the boat. Contact me now and you can then get me a drink at the "Après Boot" event next Wednesday.

2008-04-06T16:55:00.002+01:00

Web Governance at iQ Web BootCamp 2008

Shoestring budgets, ad-hoc administration and insufficient support.

Sound familiar?

Too many websites and intranets fail because the management systems on which they rely are totally inadequate. It is almost as if they were supposed to runs on fresh air!

This is no longer good enough. If your website is going to succeed you need to create a robust and sustained approach to governance.
I will be presenting on this topic at the iQ BootCamp in late April.

What I’ll be covering

What web governance really means.
Why governance is so poor on many websites and intranets.
How to recognise a site with poor governance.
The activities of successful governance.
Finding the right balance – enforcement versus persuasion.
What’s happening outside your organisation and how it can affect your governance approach, e.g. the law, new technology.

What you'll get out of it? After attending this course, you will:

Have a practical model for managing a successful website.
Be able to evaluate the suitability of your existing governance systems.
Know what governance model works best for your website.
Know the responsibilities and activities of governance and how to do them.
Know the people, processes and structures you need to manage your site.

2008-03-03T10:50:00.003Z

Web content: more sizzle, less sausage!

Do airlines persuade you to fly with them because of the sophisticated engineering of their airplanes?

No. They do so by telling you what a great weekend you could have in Madrid and how easy it is to get there.

Yet many websites get it the wrong way around. They whine on and on about the technology, processes or people that support a particular service - without ever telling you why you should use it!

It reminds me of an old saying in copywriting - "Sell the sizzle not the sausage". Web managers would do well to remember that.

Read my article "Web content: highlight benefits not process".

2008-02-26T12:00:00.002Z

Web jobs in iQ Content (no downtown here!)

The company I work for (iQ Content) is having a hell of a time trying to find experienced staff for a number of senior and junior roles:

Web consultant
Web writer
Project manager

If you think you have what it takes, please contact us!

We also want to hear from you if you live overseas and want to move to lovely Dublin. Be-jaysis and begorrah. Sure, 'tis a fine place to live, says I!

2008-02-25T17:51:00.004Z

Obedienta Civium Urbis Felicitas

"The obedience of the citizens leads to a happy city"

So reads the motto of Dublin City. And now with their new website just launched, the city should be happier than normal!

My colleagues and I in iQ Content have worked with Dublin City Council for the best part of a year to redevelop its public web presence. This involved a root-and-branch redesign as well as a significant reworking of content.

For my own part I spent about 4 months onsite helping the web team to re-examine all their online messages. We then re-wrote many parts of it to ensure it would focus on the needs of citizens - not the preferences of internal departments.

To a large extent we have been successful. While many challenges remain, there is no doubt the new site represents a transformational change on what was there before.

Visit Dublin City Council's new website.

2008-01-30T21:01:00.000Z

"We don't get the web and we don't care"

I am considering buying a car (since my bike has not turned up - see below). So one of the first things I do is to visit the websites of major insurers to see how much it'll cost me.

During this research I try several online "Quote Calculators". All is well.

Then I visit Axa Insurance, click 'Get Quote" see this message presented on a plain HTML page.

"We continue to increase the numbers of people we insure in Ireland on a daily basis and we have found that we can best meet your needs by speaking with you directly and tailoring the cover and price that best suits you."

Which translates as...

"We couldn't really be bothered making it easy for you to get an online insurance quote. So, just give us a call and then we can do things just the way we prefer. Thanks!"

Is this really how one of Europe's biggest insurers tries to attract customers online? Not only is it naive, it is ugly. It doesn't even have any of the branding stuff that marketers usually fret so much about.

At first, I didn't read the text. I clicked 'back' because I thought it was a HTTP error message or something. I had to reclick 'Get Quote' 3 times to convince myself it was a real page.

Unbelievable!

Looks like they don't get the web as a means of doing business. And guess what? They don't get my business either.

2008-01-13T19:54:00.000Z

I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike!

But, I can't. Some sod has stolen it!

If you see a very nice Swedish Kronan 3-speed bike (brown in colour) with the number plate "IM216" on the streets of Dublin, please contact me.

I am lost without it. Getting around is so much more difficult.

2008-01-06T19:54:00.000Z

Chapter 2 (abridged) now available for free

In my Xmas video I promised to make an abridged version of The Website Manager's Handbook available for free. As a first step, Chapter 2 Website Maintenance is now ready for download.

Download Chapter 2: Website Maintenance (abridged)
(pdf 570kb)

So, why am I doing this?

Well, I want to help Website Managers, Webmasters, Editors, etc. to improve the administration of their sites. To this end, I decided to make my advice and research into the core concepts of Website Management available to anyone who wants it.

Of course in an effort to keep things short I have had to cut out a lot of detail, examples, illustrations and discussion. If after reading the free version you decide you want to learn more, you can buy the book to get a complete overview.

Next up, Chapter 3

My next move will be to redo Chapter 3 Website Development. However, as that chapter is quite long, it may take some time for me to prepare. If necessary, I will publish it in sections depending on how busy I am.

Following that I will be Chapter 4 Website Governance and finally Chapter 5 Website Infrastructure. As a rough guess, I hope to have it all done before the middle of this year.

PS - Chapter 1: Website Management Model (pdf 34kb) is already available for download in its complete form. Other downloads are also available, e.g. table of contents.

2007-12-26T11:58:00.000Z

Intranets and Information Architecture

I think J. Neilsen may have missed something when he said there is no preferred Information Architecture for intranets.

While this may be true, my own research suggests there are just 4 types of content used on all intranets. This implies that there should be a fairly limited number of ways in which they can be arranged.

Watch this video to find out more.

Video summary (4:31 length in total):

Welcome (0:00 to 0:23)
Comments on Jakob Neilsen's "Alertbox" column about Intranet Information Architecture (0:23 to 2:54).
Comments on Tax Calculators for Budget 2008 (2:54 to 3:37). This includes:
Closing comments including developments on "The Website Manager's Handbook" (3:37 to 4:31).

2007-11-20T12:59:00.000Z

Credit where credit is due (tax credits, that is!)

Fair play to the Revenue Commissioners! They allowed 279,020 self-assessment customers to post their tax returns online - without the website crashing!

Read my full post about the Revenue Commissioners and website infrastructure on the iQ Content Blog

2007-11-15T13:58:00.000Z

Second Life same as real life shock!

A journo from ComputerWorld chose to hang out in SecondLife for a while just to see what all the hype is about.

In particular he found that the 'islands' of major corporates such as IBM and Cisco were less like Ibiza, and more like that frequented by Mr. Crusoe. Basically, they were empty and almost devoid of information or services.

"If some friendly and attractive avatar at the Cisco center had approached me and said, 'Yes, sir, how may I help you?' and then had given me useful answers to my typed in questions about training, employment opportunities or products, I would have fallen out of my chair with amazement and delight."
Second Life: Is There Any There There?. ComputerWorld. November 2007.

Sounds eerily like the early web. I guess any business thinking of starting up in 2nd Life had better make sure they are well resourced for the job!

2007-11-13T19:02:00.000Z

For our children's children. Website archiving

A website archive prevents the loss of your hard-won online experience. It also preserves your site as a working model for the rest of eternity!

Find out if you need a website archive, how to make one - and where to keep it. (Note, This link will take you to the iQ Content Blog).

2007-10-25T17:36:00.000+01:00

Micro-trends? When (and when not) to make a microsite.

"Should I make a microsite?"

This is the question a web manager recently asked of me.

Well, possibly, maybe...but only if it is for one of the following reasons:

1. For a marketing campaign
2. For targeting content at a specific user group
3. As a temporary repository for extra content

Read my posting about 'Microsites' on the iQ Content blog

2007-10-14T13:19:00.000+01:00

Webmasters! Feeling ignored, undervalued or downhearted?

Fret no longer. Max Ehrmann's famous motivational poem "Desiderata", has been rewritten - just for you!

Use it as a source of inspiration and hope for rebuilding a sense of belief in yourself. For as the text says...

"Your site is a child of Berners-Lee,
No less than YouTube and Facebook;
You have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
No doubt your online objectives are unfolding as they should."

Read 'Desiderata - for webmasters'

2007-10-13T11:42:00.001+01:00

'Happy Content Manager' reviews my book

"Reading The Website Manager’s Handbook is therefore highly recommended for professionals. But they should also recommend it to their managers to help them to get a good overview of what managing a website involves."

Thanks Raphaele! You have excellent taste!