'Web ideas'

The PM Programme has a Flickr account

Posted on August 30, 2006 ~ Filed Under Culture, Web ideas

This made me laugh today: Flickr: BBC Radio 4 – PM Programme. There are several things that are brilliantly entertaining (in a techie way) about this in my view. 1. It’s a free account 2. The pictures are TINY and out of focus. Gloriously amateurish. 3. They haven’t set up a proper url for it [...]

Yell.com vs Yellowikis.com

Posted on July 12, 2006 ~ Filed Under Web ideas

As my English teacher almost used to say, compare and contrast the logo, branding and feel of Yell.com and Yellowikis.com. When I did just that, I found it hard to work out how Yellow Pages could think anyone might confuse Yellowikis for Yell.com, but the BBC reports that they do. The bit that really got [...]

Free ad space for artists

Posted on June 29, 2006 ~ Filed Under Web ideas

Gawker Media, publishers of Lifehacker amongst other things, have a great idea for their unsold ad space: they put art work in it. Traditionally this space is used for in-site promotion (the latest features, mailing list sign-up etc.), cross-site promotion (sister sites) or free ad space as sweeteners for clients. The genius of putting art [...]

TV licensing for BBC television streaming

Posted on June 13, 2006 ~ Filed Under Web ideas

The Evening Standard yesterday made a big deal about a potential £1,000 fine for people who watch the World Cup at work. I laughed because the angle of the story made it seem like it is somehow everyone’s right to be able to watch football at work, but the more serious point is about how [...]

Google calendar

Posted on April 13, 2006 ~ Filed Under Web ideas

Oh My Word! Google Calendar is amazing. Granted, I’m used to Outlook calendars, which are pretty awful, but Google Calendar just seems to do so many things so well. My experience with electronic calendars has been so poor in the past that I currently happily use a paper diary. I don’t think Google Calendar will [...]

“New standards for website access” – but you’ll have to pay to find out what they are

Posted on March 8, 2006 ~ Filed Under Web ideas

The BBC reports today that the British Standards Institution has produced a report about website accessibility, giving lots of helpful information to ensure websites are accessible to disabled users. Thinking that sounded very interesting, I dashed over to the BSi website, RNIB website, and the Disability Rights Commission website, all of which were linked from [...]

Ebay usability really sucks

Posted on March 3, 2006 ~ Filed Under Web ideas

Ebay is a fantastic concept with some mind-bogglingly poor execution. Just a rant, really, but I am fed up with the following: Having to log in to Ebay every time I start a new session, despite saying I would like to be ‘remembered’. The new Javascript thingy that pops up to tell me what else [...]

mmm.thorntons.co.uk

Posted on December 20, 2005 ~ Filed Under Web ideas

There are ads on the tube at the moment the grab my eye every time I see them. Thorntons, the chocolate makers, are promoting their website for Christmas with an interesting url. Instead of www.thorntons.co.uk, they’ve used a sub domain to make mmm.thorntons.co.uk. A really easy, witty way to get their message across. I’m surprised [...]

Reload source in Firefox

Posted on December 2, 2005 ~ Filed Under Web ideas

I’ve been using Firefox for about a year now and hate those days where I’m on someone else’s machine and stuck without tabs in Internet Explorer. I downloaded v1.5 as soon as possible and have been enjoying the new possibilities. I’ve just discovered something that has made me ridiculously excited. I tend to use php [...]

Thoughts on automation vs. editorial

Posted on February 6, 2005 ~ Filed Under Web ideas

Look at almost any website today and you’ll see a level of automation at play. Perhaps as simple as a Dreamweaver template, or as sophisticated as the BBC News publishing system, but there will almost certainly be something happening without pure hand coding and individual attention. Skill in web programming now often lies in allowing [...]

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