IIA National Congress 2007
It is time again for the IIA’s National Congress, being held on May 17 in Dublin. The theme is all around buying, selling and making money online. We have the pick of international cyber celebs and some homegrown famous web folk as well. Google will be introducing their new Checkout service which should raise a few eyebrows with some of the other speaker companies - eBay and Realex Payments perhaps? We will also look at monetising blogs and podcasts and a host of other issues.
Last year the tickets sold out and we sold some on eBay to the waiting list. So, don’t delay and book today, the Early Bird rate is still available until April 13. If you want to see the line-up before you part with the funds then here it is.
Learning from your peers
Into the gap left by the State’s underwhelming provision of national training programs (see my last post) come individuals from the ICT (Information and Communication Technology) sector in Ireland. The only drawback is that the events organised by this group are usually more relevant to internet and technology start-ups – however they are a valuable resource for that group of IIA members.
Share IT
Spawned by Damien Mulley, the Cork based journalist and Irish Blog Awards founder, comes this free initiative to deliver day long training to those entrepreneurs in the early stages of ICT businesses. Last Saturday nearly 20 people turned up to hear presentations from and discussions with some Irish businesses on topics such as:
- Bootstrapping a small independent software vendor
- Effective communications
- How to use outsourcing to grow a small IT business.
- Marketing research for Tech Startups
- Search Engine Optimisation for your website
- Managing web projects.
- Sales in the IT environment.
The next one is scheduled for Dublin on April 28th – see www.businessadvisory.ie for more
Barcamps
These free conferences are based on the willingness of entrepreneurs to share their experiences and learning with each other. There have been 2 held in Ireland in the last 6 months – 30 Sept last in Cork and 20 Jan in Waterford. See here for the schedule for the next year.
The format? Nothing to do with bars! A couple of people take it on themselves to organise a venue and date. The conference is announced and as the attendees sign up some of them also offer to do talks. So in both Cork and Waterford there were 3 streams of talks happening all day long combined with some great panel discussions. Wouldn’t it be great to see the IIA supporting barcamps?
keith
Internet training for small business
One of the many challenges facing any entrepreneur in a small to medium sized business is the requirement to keep up to speed with the internet. Structured training is one way of doing that – and in the ideal world that training would be presented in a variety of options.
Introductory talks
Aimed at businesses with limited knowledge, but a strong appetite for learning, these talks are shorter than evening training (1 to 1.5 hours long) and address basic aspects of the internet (how do I set up POP email. What is POP email? How do I find things on the internet)
Longer, one off sessions
These sit between the introductory talks and training that happens over a number of evenings. A typical session would cover the area of dealing with website developers – what should I expect in terms of cost, managing the process, preparing for the initial contact etc
Structured training
Taking place over a couple of evenings or days these courses are relatively in depth and could cover areas such as email newsletters, website design or being found by search engines.
Mentoring
This would allow a business to receive impartial advice on which internet tools are suitable for a business at this stage of its development, and for its current business objectives.
Networks
A network of experienced internet users (who are non-technical) would allow the experiences and knowledge of the group to be shared and evolve together.
In reality the complete structure above would be impossible to deliver in all locations – there is a critical mass needed for some training that will not be possible in smaller counties and towns. However most SME’s will find that almost no aspects of the training above are available in their areas – or that the courses available are offered in a general context and are not tailored for the needs of small business.
The three obvious mechanisms for delivering this training are City and County Enterprise Boards (CEB’s), Leader Groups and Skillsnet. The CEB’s are the only ones with universal coverage so the following applies to them.
- Is there a system of structured internet related training nationally? No
- Is there uniform delivery of at least elements of the above requirements across all CEB’s? No
- Is there national guidance and support available from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment for any CEB that wants or needs guidance in this area? No
In fairness all of the above applies across the board – the CEB’s are deliberately set up as independent entities and allowed to develop training for local requirements. However the complexities of internet training mean that a national program should be in place and that is not the case.
Small businesses around the county will find it almost impossible to find relevant training in the absence of such a national program. Some great training is provided in some areas – however is the exception rather than the rule.
keith
[disclaimer - I deliver elements of this training on a local basis in a number of CEB's so my commentary is at least partially informed. The introduction of a national program could mean the loss of business for me in the face of competition from larger providers more capable of meeting national guidelines]
Blogging: New Media, Business and the Law – PODCAST
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Blogging: New Media, Business and the Law
presented by The IIA and Fleishman-Hillard
RECORDED
21 March 2007 – The Shelbourne Hotel Dublin
COMPERE CIARAN BUCKLEY Fleishman-Hillard
CLIENT DIRECTOR, BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS
introduction by Julian Davis head of consumer & brands in Fleishman-Hillard
SPEAKERS ARE
* Tom Murphy, Public Relations and Community Affairs, Microsoft: How Marketing and PR people can take advantage of these technologies.
* Sarah Carey, Sunday Times, Blogger turned columnist, talks about the way in which blogging is affecting traditional media.
* Richard Delevan, Business Editor, Sunday Tribune: Columnist and blogger, outlines how the failure of Irish companies to embrace new media means that they are missing out on new markets and better employees.
* TJ McIntyre, Barrister, Lecturer in Law (UCD), Consultant with Merrion Legal Solicitors: The privacy, defamation and copyright issues that arise in new media and the old legal issues that impinge on this brave new world.
duration 2 Hours 13 Minutes – podcast service provided by Brian Greene www.talkingvoices.com
Do you really want to edit your CSS?
Not likely. Most entrepreneurs in small businesses have enough to be doing with getting the text right for their website without learning obscure skill sets. (CSS=Cascading Style Sheets. An adjustable template on steroids)
There are a couple of good alternatives to Sitekreator around and one of them allows to do just that!
Weebly – www.weebly.com
This one is a prettier interface than Sitekreator and thus will suit some users well. It is also template driven and offers some additional functionality such as the ability to download your site as a zip file and “pre-filled” integration with Google Maps. Their service is currently free.
Squarespace – www.squarespace.com
This service is pitched somewhere between websites and blogs – it uses the efficiency of blog publishing tools to allow you to build a website as well. And with Squarespace you can start with a template and then adjust that to suit yourself. This flexibility makes this service attractive to designers who may want that customisation without having to learn to use a tool such as Dreamweaver.
The Squarespace service does not have a free component – it starts at $7 a month with $17 a month being the most expensive. For the hosting and content editing of any business site I would always be more happy to pay so that the business model of the service is clear.
This is a screenshot of part of the Squarespace customisation interface showing the complexity of that page – this is where you get to tinker with that CSS.
The next couple of posts will look at some collaboration tools online and also the state of Government support for internet adoption by small businesses.
keith
Build your own site – Sitekreator.com
After the euphoria of the dotcom days settled it became clear that most businesses could comfortably survive without a website for a while longer. Internet use in Ireland was slower to catch on than had been forecast and it is only in the last year or so that broadband penetration has reached the tipping point.
Today we have finally caught up with those forecasts! It is increasingly important for most businesses (probably still not all) to have a website – with nearly 50% of the population using the internet and research being one of their top activities. (For more information see the IIA State of the Net reports here)
For many businesses the process of getting their first website is daunting. Web developers have to charge €400 to €600 a day for their services so even an entry level site can be expensive. This leads to a part of the market considering the option of building their own site.
There are a number of tools on the market that make that possible – however there are big differences between them. One of the best ones that I have found is Sitekreator - a web based tool that is usable by entrepreneurs with no html skills or training. This is the one I use on the training programs that I run so my comments here are based on my experience with SME’s on those courses.
Summary
Although it’s interface is not always intuitive Sitekreator allows a normal computer user to build a business website in 10 to 12 hours. The $7.95 a month package that they offer includes hosting, the use of your own domain name and the ability to use funtionality from other places on the internet (such as forms, calendars etc)
Control over Look and Feel
Sitekreator is template driven and users have always found one that suits their businesses. With a couple of them you can also include your own custom header – an image that you can make up to include your logo etc. Some of the templates are basic – however they are getting better as the service develops.
Affordability
While the service can be used for free it is the $7.95 a month level that is most attractive to SME’s.
Functionality
Because Sitekreator allows you to include snippets of HTML within your site it is possible to build in all of the basic functionality that a small business will require. That includes calendars and forms (using the Wufoo service)
The End Result
Have a look at these – some sites built in the last couple of weeks by entrepreneurs in Kilkenny using Sitekreator. Design purists will not necessarily like them – however they do the job. And they are fully updatable and maintainable by the business concerned – one of the keys requirements for them.
www.2ofakindband.com
www.allpatchedup.com
www.callan800.com
www.fitzgeraldfleming.com
www.kilkennyphysioclinic.com
Reliability
The Sitekreator service can be slow at times – however it is only once been unreachable in the last couple of months. The business model is clear and the founding company is in existance for 9 years.
My next post will look at a couple of interesting alternatives to Sitekreator that take a slightly more complex approach and so open the door to more control over the look and feel of the sites that can be developed.
keith
Intro – SME theme
Hi, my name is Keith Bohanna and I will be filling the guest blogger spot ovet the next two weeks. I am a non-techie consultant and my work focuses on helping small and medium sized enterprises (SME’s) to use the internet effectively. My own blog is at keith.bohanna.com.
My posts will have two themes:
- Reviews of various online tools that could make life easier for entrepreneurs in SME’s. The internet has changed a lot over the last couple of years and services and functionality that were the preserve of large businesses have now been made available to the rest of us!
- How the various state bodies support (or don’t support) the use of the internet by businesses. The track record of the government on this is patchy – to put it mildly.
Looking forward to hearing your comments over the next 2 weeks and thanks to Fergal O’Byrne for the invite.
keith
Case Study: AIB & The Business Benefit of Web Standards
Hello again, Lar here from iQ Content, writing my third in a series of posts on accessibility. This time, I’ll be discussing the business benefits of adopting web standards, using the new AIB (Allied Irish Banks) homepage as an example.
Via Michele Neylon’s blog, AIB have redesigned their homepage, this time using web standards.
Big deal, so what? In this post, I’m going to compare the before and after, hoping to quantify the tangible benefits of designing with web standards.
The argument against web standards: that old chestnut!
The argument (that I’ve heard) against adopting web standards is that it compromises the existing look and feel of the site, and make a site look boring. Presumably, that argument has been well and truly lost by now. But, just in case, let’s look at AIB’s new homepage and compare it to the previous Personal Banking homepage.
What’s the difference?
Although the content has changed, we’re not directly comparing like with like, hopefully I’m still making a good case. The difference between designing with web standards and not, i.e. using tables, is less code. Let’s take a look under the bonnet of the previous version. The layout is based on using tables and “spacer.gifs” (not good).
The new AIB site: DIVs, not tables
So, let’s tot up some numbers. The old design
- used 22 tables to layout the page
- used 42 “spacer gifs” (invisible images used purely to help lay out the page) and
- file size of the HTML (not including decorative images) was 34 KB.
What about the new design?
The new homepage
- is 29KB in size, (a saving of 5KB, or 15%)
- Uses no tables and
- Uses no spacer gifs
Saving 5KB: Surely this makes no difference?
Actually, it can. According to AIB, they received 40 million visits to the site last year. If each of these visits came throught the homepage, this translates (roughly) into a saving of 20 gigabytes. So, a saving of 20 gigabytes for only one page! Multiply that by the number of pages in the site, and we’re beginning to see big numbers.
Clearly, there are the benefits of bandwidth savings and better server performance. But what else?
Benefit: Faster downloads, happier customers
Less code means faster downloads for your customers. Making your customers queue, whether online or offline is not really ideal for business. In AIB’s own words,
“Bank online. Not in line.”
Benefit: Reduced development time, happier staff
With regard to development and maintenance the bare HTML is much simpler code to deal with which allows for faster development and faster changes. In addition, as structure is now separate from presentation, the integration of the HTML in the development process can proceed independently of the look and feel, i.e. before the final visual design has been signed off.
Benefit: Reaching a wider audience, happier users
As structure is now independent of presentation, the same content can potentially have a number of different presentation layers to suit different devices and different abilities of users:
- PCs / laptops
- Printers
- PDAs/phones/other handheld devices
- Braille and aural browsers.
Benefit: Accessibility Compliance, happier users (and a happier legal department)
Though web standards doesn’t equate to accessibility, it can get you much closer. Legal compliance and avoiding litigation may be the main motivation for accessibility for some organisations (something I’ll discuss in a later post). With web standards firmly in place, accessibility is a lot easier to integrate. Building accessibility in, rather than bolting it on is much easier and cheaper.
Kudos to AIB
Introducing web standards can be a long a difficult path, particularly for a big organisation with a large and complex website. In my experience, there’s an initial steep learning curve, but it’s definitely worth it. So, well done to anyone and everyone involved in the new AIB homepage.
Disclaimer: iQ Content did not work on the redesign of the AIB website. These opinions represent my opinion and not those of the IIA.
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