People in business will lose a percentage of that business however successful they are, however good their service is, and however good their products are.
Changes in market trends are the main cause.. Today the current market trend being rumours around the big ‘R’ for recession.
We’ve returned from our annual weightwatchers trip. Where we (my future wife and I) (try to) shed a few pounds, we decided to use our bikes this year.
The plan: To cycle the Sustrans West Country way bike route from Bristol to Padstow. A 300 mile part traffic free route which leads us from Bristol to the quiet and country lanes of Cornwall.
We camped throughout the journey, apart from our night on Exmoor where where had the luxury of a B&B in Dulverton.
The trip took us 6 days from start to finish, covering 3 sets of interesting hills - The Quantocks, Somerset. The Exmoor National Park, Devon, and various Cornwall hilly bits.
We were covering about 50 miles a day on average, and carrying around 80 litre capacity clothing, food and camping equipment.
A list of the best books about user experience, usability and Information design.
These will all make you see use of web pages and applications in a different way, encouraging User Centred Design (UCD) which allow your users needs and requirements to be met and not just yours or your clients.
Emotional Design - Why we love (or hate) design
Mental Models: Aligning Design Strategy with Human Behavior
Communicating Design: Developing Web Site Documentation for Design and Planning
Designing for Interaction: Creating Smart Applications and Clever Devices
Don’t Make Me Think - A common sense guide to usability
The Elements of User Experience: User-Centered Design for the Web
From the GeeKyoto conference a few weeks back.
Mark Simpkins and Ben Hammersley ran a one day conference in central London, with designers, technologists, artists, architects, policy-makers, explorers, economists and scientists, and lots of clever clever people, to discuss the future and how we’ll live in it.
I was attracted to this conference partly as I am fascinated about how other people percive the future, but also likeminded people attend conferences because we ‘are’ thinkers, innovators and shapers.
Seen as a progression or journey by developing ideas together, online, offline to make communication easier, quicker and without boundaries or frontiers. And perhaps encouraging others to think about their role in society now and in the future.
Play in todays world:
Beyondcurrenthorizons.org.uk - what will the future of education look like in 2025?
Paleofuture - A blog that goes ‘Looking into the future that never was’.
‘The future demands your participation’, says Richard sandford. Who helps transform the way people learn through innovative technology and practice.
A good introduction and demonstration of diykyoto.com - electricity consumption that you can see, with the help of Wattson.
Finally, we were shown the wide channels of different way of thinking with todays online tools that let us collaborate and share more than ever before. At sites like:
A really thought provoking day and inspiring event, something different from the web design and development events I have recently attended. A new bunch of people to meet and share ideas with. Certainly will be back next year for what looks like to be a larger event.
A message to let you know of a few opportunities that could be of relevance to you, especially if based in the UK.
1 - Catalyst Awards
Catalyst is an award programme for people who’ve used social technology (web, social networking, gaming, mobile, etc) to do something good for their community in the UK.
It’s for all kinds of people: in business, volunteers, employees, individuals and groups. And it’s for all kinds of ideas, including education, environment, skills, health and community cohesion.
If you’re running a relevant project, or have a good idea, then check it out: Catalyst Awards
2- British Library IP Centre
The British Library Business & IP Centre is designed to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurs from that first spark of inspiration to successfully launching and developing a business.
The Centre offers free access to the UK’s most comprehensive collection of business and intellectual property information, including around 50 million patent specifications, unique databases on trade marks and registered designs, thousands of market research reports, company reports, trade journals, business directories and guides to legal information and government publications. British Library information experts are on hand to guide you to the resources.
There is also a programme of workshops and events run by British Library experts and partners.
Usability is at a crossroads - are we looking at “Back to Basics” or “Brave New World? I attended the latest event from Chinwag, and here are the notes.
On the panel were a Brighton trio - who were presenting their ideas and beliefs on usability and accessibilty as part of the tools for effective web marketing. Bryan Rieger, Andy Budd and Niqui Merrett.
I'm Jim Callender, a Freelance web developer based in Brighton, UK
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