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Thursday Mar 29, 2007
Homepage horror
There’s an increasing amount of consensus about web design these days, but the launch of the new-look Wired.com suggests that getting the homepage right is as difficult as ever.
The looks and feel of most sites is largely determined by the needs of accessibility and usability. There are lots of things that can be tweaked, but essentially there has to be a clear text area and straightforward navigation.
The homepage is the one place that sits outside of these conventions. It is the most important part of the site and the page that everyone in the organisation will have an opinion about and a stake in.
The particular challenge for Wired is the organisation of a huge amount of diverse content and, in my opinion, they’ve not done a very good job.
First impressions, which count for a lot online, are that it just feels wrong. There are big photos, shout-y headlines and a page that doesn’t fit on my lap-top screen. The navigation runs across the middle and, for those who’ve not been to the site before, there’s no explanation of what the site is about.
Trying to make sense of the categories is also difficult. What is the distinction between ‘Culture’, ‘Entertainment’ and ‘Gaming’? While the long list of blog posts at the bottom of the page threatens to be overwhelming.
The editor has defended the redesign but I’m not convinced. His case for the headline sizes is particularly weak.
*Why are the new top headlines so big? Because we believe design is a direct reflection of editorial point of view. Big headlines give us the chance, rarely used online, to change emphasis dramatically in real time, based on the events of the day. When big news hits, we'll play it big, so you'll be in no doubt about what we think is really important.*
Other news sites seem to manage to change emphasis without taking up two-thirds of my screen width with big black letters.
I reckon BBC News still sets the standard for news sites. Very clear, very easy to use and packed with both content and innovative tools. The one problem is finding anything on it that is more than a couple of days old – the search is rubbish.
Wired looks to me like a site designed by print people rather than web people. Maybe I should go back to reading the magazine.
Posted by Tom Green ( 10:58 AM ) Link to this post Comments[1]
Monday Mar 26, 2007
Giving a toss
It's always good to see charities being rude and offensive, so my initial response to the Give A Toss campaign was positive. The fact is that they are trying to encourage men to wank in a cubicle - there's no point being shy about it. So, posters of women in tight T-shirts emblazoned with the legend "We want your sperm", spoof news videos and an (admittedly terrible) online game all seem appropriate enough.
However, a campaign like this needs to be backed up by facts. And that is where the site falls down. Badly. There is a short paragraph explaining that "the decision to donate can have far-reaching consequences" but nowhere on the site can I see mention of the fact that a law change in 2005 means that donors no longer have the right to anonymity.
That seems to me like a fairly crucial piece of information, and The National Gamete Donation Trust, the charity behind the Give A Toss campaign, should be up-front about it.
In fact, on reflection I even find myself sympathetic to the arguments of those who think the whole campaign is ill-conceived.
*Olivia Montuschi, of the Donor Conception Network, a group representing 1,000 families, said: "I was very shocked. This campaign appears to promote the image of a sperm donor as someone who is not hugely responsible - the very opposite of the image we would like to see portrayed.*
Quite why anyone, without anonymity, would wish to donate is another matter.
Posted by Tom Green ( 10:20 AM ) Link to this post Comments[1]
Thursday Mar 22, 2007
Olympic angst and opportunity
As the debate intensifies about the cost of the London 2012 Olympics, I'm finding it hard to decide if they're the 'biggest overselling scam in history' or the source of 'unparalleled new opportunities' for sport and regeneration.
From a voluntary sector point of view, there has been reassurance from Tessa Jowell that their budgets won't be raided to pay for the Games, but some organisations are still seeking reassurance about possible reductions in Lottery funding.
What's beyond doubt is that the Olympics present a fantastic opportunity to get more volunteers involved in sport. Thousands have already registered their interest at helping out during the Games, and there are ways to get involved right now.
But can there be a genuine culture shift in terms of volunteering and participation in sport? Volunteers are already running much of the sport in this country but could more be done? I walk past empty tennis courts every day near my home and often wonder what it would take to get kids kitted out and playing.
An article for the BBC by Joe Wilson looks at how Sweden has achieved its recent success in athletics, and finds volunteers at the heart of things.
*On a freezing Monday evening I visited the Satra athletics hall about 10km outside Stockholm. The wooden beams of this huge hangar still smell fresh five years after being built. No-one has vandalised it, it stays open in the snow and it is full. There are at least 300 participants, all apparently under 16, and a host of coaches. In one corner, a 16-year-old girl is whirling around with the hammer, watched proudly by a huge man with a grey moustache. He turns out to be former national champion Bjorn Holmstrom. Holmstrom is not being paid to be here, none of the coaches are. The Swedish athletics transformation has been shaped by amateur enthusiasm.*
There are around 600,000 sports volunteers in Sweden out of a population of nine million. And the government's investment in new facilities must be an encouragement to turn off the TV and do something less boring instead.
There are already several initiatives underway to boost sports volunteering, some of which YouthNet is involved in. If Britain can come close to emulating the Swedes in the next five years that will be one Olympic legacy everyone will be able to celebrate.
Posted by Tom Green ( 4:29 PM ) Link to this post Comments[0]
Wednesday Mar 21, 2007
TheSite.org goes mobile
What kind of content springs to mind when you think about surfing the web on your mobile? (because admit it, you do all think of it a lot).
If you've ever had a look at sites other than the BBC and a few notable exceptions, you've probably seen a lot of ringtones and wallpapers for sale, maybe some porn and not a lot else (see Charlie Brooker's rant on mobile content for "priapic halfwits" for a less subtle view...).
Well today that's changed, because we've just launched phase 2 of our mobile site. Consisting of hundreds of articles specifically designed to be viewed on a mobile phone, TheSite.org on mobile offers young people immediate access to information, advice and guidance on a whole range of issues.
From sex and relationships to interview advice, we've picked the kind of articles that our user panels have told us they'd need when they're out and about. You can also find the Local Advice Finder database on there, which gives details of local support organisations and is searchable by town or post code.
Have a look for yourself – on your phone go to www.TheSite.org or you can view the mobile version on your PC here: www.thesite.org/mobile/home. If you need any pointers on how to access the internet on your mobile there's a handy guide on TheSite.org here: http://www.thesite.org/multimedia/thesiteonmobilefaq.
We're really keen to reach as many young people as possible with this content, and we're currently negotiating with the networks to get it onto their portals. For the time being, you can access it on Vodafone Live!, T-Mobile's Web 'n Walk and 3's "whitelist".
We're still working on Orange, O2 and Virgin Mobile, so if anyone has any contacts feel free to give them a nudge!
Posted by Sam Thomas ( 5:03 PM ) Link to this post Comments[0]
Tuesday Mar 20, 2007
ohmygod 6 weeks to go!!!!!
Well it has been a nearly two weeks since my last blog so I thought I should update, as we only have 6 (ohmygod!!!!!) weeks to go. Training going well and is now more regular. Big runs on Sundays and regular runs in the week. Ankle seems to have strengthened so that is going well. Next plan is getting proper trainers broken in for the big day.
I think I have to say thanks here to my friends who have helped in my pursuit of long distance. Lyn and Penny, you know who you are. These are the girls who pick me up from random places, or arrange plates of pasta for incentive after a 10 miler. I don't know what I would have done without you both.
Anyway, as I said 6 weeks to go and am getting very nervous, but I do believe it is a lot about state of mind. When I go out for a 4 mile run, when I'm nearly home I've had enough and am glad to be home, however when I did a 12 mile run last week, I felt euphoric at the end and wanted to continue (although the lorries and trucks that were swerving to avoid me on the A46 may disagree with me!). The weather is helping and a colleague at work and I get very disheartened when the sun is shining and we are stuck in the office – we should be running somewhere. I certainly don't feel the same way as I did at the beginning of January when it was a chore. It is now an easier and more enjoyable experience.
Fundraising is going well, up to £690 even before the dress down day (in two weeks time). Also have a car boot planned, so if anyone out there wants to contribute by getting rid of any stuff for charity, please send to me at Vodafone in Newark. I was also in the local paper last week with a picture of me with Solo. Hopefully this will raise some awareness. Am running in town a lot more so if anyone out there is in Newark, please cheer me on when you see me and my dog.
Anyway not much else to say – going to go a 16 miler on Sunday - furthest yet - which means I have two more weeks to go before I do 20.
Will blog you all soon.
Help Donna raise her fundraising target for YouthNet - sponsor her here: www.justgiving.com/donnashaylerrunsthemarathon
Thursday Mar 15, 2007
Our survey says...
It seems to me that one of the great myths about volunteering in recent years has been that young people are reluctant to get involved.
It all started when the 1997 National Survey of Volunteering found a ‘sharp reduction’ in volunteering by people aged 18-24. With politicians eager to address the perceived alienation of young people, action was taken. First there was Millennium Volunteers and then the Russell Commission (leading to youth volunteering charity v).
I don’t know about the methodology of the 1997 research but we’ve just had the results of our latest survey of more than 700 users of YouthNet’s volunteering website do-it.org.uk, and it shows that 29.76% are aged 19-25, and more than 55% are under 30. Hardly a crisis of youth, and these results are in line with what we’ve found on do-it since we first started collecting data several years ago.
While YouthNet is a youth charity, the website is open to all and does not have any bias towards young people. So why are young people coming forward in such large numbers?
Or should I say ‘young women’. Only 21.39% of users taking the survey were male, confirming a gender split that has been apparent ever since do-it first started. Other interesting findings include the fact that 9.38% have a disability and almost 25% describe their ethnicity as something other than White British.
It’s hard to know why these results come about. Other surveys suggest that men and women are equally likely to volunteer and that people from ethnic minorities or with a disability are under-represented.
So is it something about applying online that increases access? Is that what has also made the difference for younger people? And what’s happening to all the men?
Answers on a postcard, please. (Or you could just post a comment.)
Posted by Tom Green ( 11:36 AM ) Link to this post Comments[0]
Wednesday Mar 07, 2007
Is Bono running into the (Red)?
Unless you've been living under a rock over the last few years you can't have failed to notice the (Red) campaign to raise money and awareness to support The Global Fund's mission of fighting AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in Africa.
This week has seen a really interesting reaction from advertisers, charities and (Red) themselves after the initial results of the campaign were reported. Since 2002, the campaign has generated $18 million for The Global Fund, soon to be $25 million when (Red) have completed their latest accounting.
Advertising Age gleefully reported that despite a marketing spend of up to $100 million the "Costly Red Campaign Reaps Meager $18 Million". In the article they ask the question:
"...is the rise of philanthropic fashionistas decked out in Red T-shirts and iPods really the best way to save a child dying of AIDS in Africa?"
I think this is a worthwhile question to ask about a lot of initiatives (have a read of Nick Temple's SSE blog post about Global Cool for a well put argument), and if you're asking which is better – everyone buying a (Red) product or the same amount of people making a donation to The Global Fund - then there's no question which is more effective.
However, in the case of (Red) I don't think it's as simple as that, and Advertising Age seem to have overlooked the point that maybe the majority, or even a significant percentage of (Red) customers may never have donated to charity before.
The overwhelming impression from the Advertising Age article is that this won't make any difference, and in fact may actually mean young people give less in the future. Trent Stamp, president of the Charity Navigator, says:
"The Red campaign can be a good start or it can be a colossal waste of money, and it all depends on whether this edgy, innovative campaign inspires young people to be better citizens or just gives them an excuse to feel good about themselves while they buy an overpriced item they don't really need."
Now I'm as cynical (if not more) as the next man, but I also think we shouldn't condemn the campaign already. (Red) have responded to the article on their site, and as they point out:
"There is actual data showing that when people become aware of crises, they give more money rather than less. Your writer doesn't mention that data. We believe (RED) will lead to more rather than less giving."
I hope they're right and I can't help feeling that there's an element of "Bono Bashing" behind the joyful reaction to the campaign raising less then they may have hoped for.
*UPDATE* I just (belatedly!) picked up on this post by Ann Hadley about Buy (LESS) Crap, a site created by WPI and Romantic Static - there's a great conversation about cause related marketing and the (RED) campaign going on - well worth a read!
Have your say
Sadly not another post about government petitions, instead a chance to influence the development of a brand new project for YouthNet.
We're developing a new service that aims to provide an online resource for self harmers, their friends, family, carers and professionals working with self harm. If you're interested in helping out with the services early development then take our new survey on TheSite.org and let us know what you think.
Oh and you might even win a prize :)
Posted by Jim Valentine ( 12:10 PM ) Link to this post Comments[0]
Tuesday Mar 06, 2007
USA Today 2.0
Following Tom's post about vinspired.com, fans of the News might have picked up that USA Today has just launched an all new "2.0" version of their site. It features a whole load of features, allowing you to tag content, see the most popular stories, submit your photos for relevant news stories and join in and comment on their Community Centre.
I was thinking about the launch of another "2.0" site last week as well, as I came across "MyActionAid", ActionAid's community site. The site allows fundraisers to share experiences and photos on the forum and create fundraising pages.
I'm really interested in how both of these sites will get on. I know ActionAid have nothing like the resources of USA Today, but I think it might highlight some interesting comparisons in terms of how useful some new "2.0" functionalities are, and what the other ingredients for success are for sites that thrive on contributions from users.
The reason why I think this comparison might be a useful is that I think people may use the sites in different ways, but the tools available to them are broadly similar. By that I mean both sites invite people to contribute and discuss issues that are important to them – but USA Today has a regular supply of topical, controversial content in the News, whereas I think it's fair enough to say ActionAid won't.
I like the look of the ActionAid site but I can imagine it'll be a challenge to get people to keep contributing and coming back to the forum. Having said that, if people taking part in a time specific fundraising activity for ActionAid use it for the duration of their activity and then never come back, maybe that should be viewed as a successful community site?
Posted by Sam Thomas ( 9:11 AM ) Link to this post Comments[0]
Monday Mar 05, 2007
V-inspired?
The new volunteering site, vinspired.com, from post-Russell Commission youth charity, v, is still in beta but that's perhaps the best time to offer some initial thoughts on the design and layout of the site.
YouthNet has worked with v to provide the search functionality on vinspired, and have also received grants from v, but I've not been involved in any part of the process and blog here in an independent capacity, so I'm coming to the site with no preconceptions or inside knowledge.
Let's start with the name. One of the benefits of the much-debated 'v' brand is the ability to put the letter in front of other words and phrases. In the context of the organisation 'v pleased to meet you', 'v excited' and 'vinspired' all work well.
Confusion might arise for people who've never heard of v, however. For example, what will football fans make of the hoardings at grounds at the moment simply stating 'vinspired.org'? Will it make enough sense to encourage them to find out more, or will they simply be confused?
This goes back to the debates around the branding of the organisation. On the one hand, young people say that 'volunteering' is an off-putting word. On the other, if you don't use it, people can be left with no idea what you're offering.
YouthNet's do-it.org.uk website has exactly the same problem, of course. One way to counter it, for us, has been to have a strapline – 'Volunteering made easy' - as part of our logo. On their homepage, v's strapline – 'Inspiring a million more young volunteers' is effective, but perhaps that message will need to be spread more widely.
Another area where confusion could arise is in the use of different urls. Vinspired.org is being used for a particular advertising campaign, but is it really a good idea to have it leading to a different site than vinspired.com? Perhaps that's just a beta issue, but there's also a third site: wearev.com, containing all the organisational information.
Moving on to the site itself, my first impressions of vinspired.com are positive. The colour palate is clear and restrained. The site feels modern and full of life and information. The search is prominent and easy to use. The navigation makes sense and the vquestions section seems comprehensive. I also like ability to search using vtags.
It's interesting that, like us when we redesigned do-it a few years ago, they've gone for a leaping man on the home page. The upside is that it's a neutral image that doesn't restrict the idea of what volunteering is. The downside, as we've been made aware many times, is that it doesn't say anything about what volunteering is.
The vcallback service – requesting a mentor to help you volunteer – looks like a real innovation, although the success of this, along with the blogs and forums won't be known until they've been up and running for several months.
A possible drawback with these new services and features is that the site gets a little cluttered. To my mind the homepage lacks focus slightly. My belief working on do-it.org.uk was that we didn't want anything to distract people from searching the database. That's the best way to learn about volunteering and what's on offer. Everything else is an extra.
There's also a problem using the site on smaller screens. On my lap-top, with the IE menu bar open, the right hand side of the site (including the search) isn't visible.
No doubt v will be adding to their site over the coming weeks and months, and tweaking it in various ways. It will be interesting to see how young people respond to it and how it develops.
Posted by Tom Green ( 11:53 AM ) Link to this post Comments[0]
Friday Mar 02, 2007
Tiger Tax Trauma
Seems like it's been a while since our last content update - so here's the new content that's gone live in the last few weeks:
Dealing with someone else's drug problem
Recognising disablism
Emergency first aid
Weird whiskey
Council tax chase
Hang on or move on
Tourette's trauma
Fingered at work
The big 'O'
Horror hair
Mum's making me homeless
GHB equals GBH?
Taxing house sale
Finding out you're adopted
When coming out goes wrong
Gambling addiction
Compulsive Eating
Grr, Tiger
Please forward this post to 10 of your friends
One of the mildly irritating trends of the early internet is making a return: the chain letter petition. And it's all the fault of Tony Blair.
Chain letters were a big thing in the mid to late nineties. Basically a gentle form of spam, chain letters arrived in your email inbox with one consistent trait: they always urged you to forward the email on to five, 10 or 20 of your best friends.
Some of these chain letters were nauseating but limited in their ambition – "we want everyone to smile at a stranger today" – while others were more serious in tone, like the ones containing elaborate stories of abduction, mass food poisonings or health scares. A basic Google search would prove them to be bunkum, and thankfully most people I know are savvy enough now not to be fooled by these.
But it's another type of chain email which is making a return – the email petition. These ones were traditionally focused on something terrible going on such as torture in Afghanistan or deforestation in Brazil and invited recipients to put their name to a petition calling for change. "Add your name and town to the list below and forward to 10 of your friends. If you are the 200th person, send the full list to xxxxx at the department of xxxx and then start a new email." Did anyone ever think that this would make one spot of difference? Obviously some people did, as the emails kept coming and the lists of signatories kept growing.
At some point the penny must have dropped for most people; these petitions were often bogus in their intentions and totally hopeless in their potential to enact change. I haven't been asked to add my name to any lists for a few years now – until last week when three requests came in.
The common link? No10 Downing Street's new petition site (which Jim has posted about before).
Does someone really think that I'm a rabid rights-of-car-owner supporter? Or that I care about photographers' need to take pics at live concerts? Or that I think cars are the devil's tool and that I might like to support a public transport cause?
No, I don't think so; it's not personal enough for that. The recipients aren't carefully selected - I even wonder if the sender has fully read the contents of the email themselves.
All three emails followed the traditional format of chain letter petitions: civilisation is on the edge of meltdown and can only be saved if we all sign this petition NOW! (and please forward this to everyone you know so they can sign too).
And this is why you get 2 million people saying road pricing is a bad idea without really understanding the policy. And it's also why half of them seem to be emailing me asking me to put my name to the list.
From YouthNet's point of view, it raises another question. When we receive these emails, we often also get asked to publish the requests on TheSite.org's discussion boards. But why (and how) could we make a judgment on whether repealing the Hunting Act is more or less important than building cycling lanes? The real fascination of this new petition site is how it shows the spectrum of viewpoint and for us to pre-filter is missing the point and setting us up for a fall.
All those that agree, please add your name and town in the comment box below. Just don't email me. Ever.
Posted by Dom Waghorn ( 11:38 AM ) Link to this post Comments[6]
