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Mixd Blog
Keep up to speed with all that’s going on with the Mixd team; comings & goings, highs & lows, ins & outs and so on. (Incidentally, blog is a contraction of the term web log; why use two syllables, when one will do?!)
Flash. Saviour of the BlackBerry universe?
BlackBerry losing mobile smartphone market share
With the introduction of the iPhone and Android phones, BlackBerry’s share of the worldwide mobile smartphone market started to reduce dramatically… some might say plummet. In fact, it was only a couple of days ago that a San Francisco Chronicle article reported that Research in Motion Ltd (RIM), the Canadian company behind BlackBerry, plans to cut 2,000 jobs; that’s roughly 10% of their workforce. A RIM spokesperson stated that the reductions are part of a plan to:
“focus on areas that offer the highest growth opportunities”
Now then, is one of these areas the lucrative ‘tablet’ market?
Tablet devices
The argument into whether tablet devices serve sufficient purpose to warrant the cost or whether they are just a gimmick; a nice to have; a status symbol; and so on, finds many supporters in both camps… and I’m not going to go into that here!
However, there are a great deal of them on the market from all the usual suspects, including Samsung, HTC, LG, HP, Acer, Dell and of course the BlackBerry PlayBook. However, if you asked the ‘man (or woman) on the street’ to name one, the most popular answer would undoubtedly be the iPad.
So, if RIM sees this market as one of the “areas that offer the highest growth opportunities”, they will have to impact on the iPad’s impressive current market share of circa 75%. (Incidentally, Android devices are fighting hard too and have already reduced Apple’s share that once stood at 96%!) But how to do this? Obvious… find a weakness and put the boot in!
Flash… arghhhhhhhhhhhhh!
Another argument that has been well documented and rumbles on and on is Apple v Adobe; CEO v CEO; Steve Jobs v Shantanu Narayen. (In my opinion, just let Harry Hill sort it out… FIGHT!) Jobs’ reasoning rotates around a number of factors that many tech experts say don’t stand up to scrutiny.
In terms of a web developer though, as Apple products don’t support Flash, you have to consider this in terms of accessibility and find alternative technologies such as HTML 5 and jQuery (why alienate certain users at all?)… again, another topic too comprehensive to delve into here.
However, going back to the ‘man (or woman) on the street’…
- Do they really want to know about all of this?
- Do they really care?
I’d say not. The majority of the buying public just want things to work; take the famous Honda ad campaigns as an example. So, on the subject of adverts and back to putting the boot in, BlackBerry saw this opportunity and released this promotional video for their tablet, the PlayBook:
This throws up a number of questions…
- Will the BlackBerry PlayBook eat into the Apple iPad market share?
- Is this a shot in the arm for Flash?
- Will Apple contemplate supporting Flash in the soon to be released iOS 5 or in subsequent releases? Will this even bother them?
- Is Flash a good thing for the web?
- Who would win in a fight between Steve Jobs and Shantanu Narayen?
- As a developer, what do you think about Flash?
- As a ‘man (or woman) on the street’ do you care about this?
- If a turtle doesn’t have a shell, is it homeless or naked?
- Are tablets worth the price tag or just a gimmick?
- As a client commissioning a website, is it important to you that it works across all platforms?
So many questions, so little time… but we’d love to know what you people out there think. Whether you’re a digital professional, a commissioning client or a ‘man (or woman) on the street’, please let us know your thoughts.
Prince Charles visits Great Yorkshire Show, Harrogate
HRH Prince Charles turned up in Harrogate yesterday with Camilla in tow to visit the Great Yorkshire Show.
We believe the couple arrived around lunchtime, landing on the stray in their private chopper. The welcome party included many local dignitaries including the Mayor of Harrogate, the Chief Executive of Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire Police Chief Grahame Maxwell. No members of the Mixd team were invited to join the party.
The Royal couple looked around the Great Yorkshire Show for over two hours and had a slap up lunch in the Pavilion before hopping back in the chopper and departing for whatever Royals do of an evening.
One onlooker is believed to have said:
“It was nice to see the Prince having a good look around, but he seemed a bit perturbed when the judges tried to place the rosette for first price in the horse category on Camilla.”
The path towards working on the web
There’s an awful lot of discussion and criticism regarding education and training in the Web Design community lately, and subsequently the University of Leeds’ BA (Hons) degree in New Media has recieved a lot of attention. The criticism mostly regards the relevence of the more broad modules such as Communication Research Methods and Communication Sciences and Technologies, and as a second year student on the course, I’ve found much of the criticism to be unjustified and somewhat closed-minded.
The New Media degree is a very wide course, covering a great deal of aspects in both traditional and digital communication. Because it covers such a broad range of subjects, individual areas aren’t covered in as much depth as many students would like, making it more challenging to specialise in particular fields. Personally, I see this as more of a benefit than a flaw – the course gives me a strong understanding of the entire New Media field, whilst the time outside my studies can be spent building a more specialised skill set.
And that’s where Mixd came in…
Part-way through my second year, I began to realise that even though I’d been putting an awful lot of effort into acquiring new technical skills and building on my knowledge of the best web practice, I didn’t really have a strong idea of how the industry actually worked – and this was something I was never going to learn through formal university education.
I met Matt from Mixd at a networking event hosted by the university, and after showing my portfolio I was invited to come and meet the rest of the team to discuss a work placement. A few weeks later, I find myself sat in the Mixd office, working on some of the most exciting projects I’ve seen so far.
So what have I been doing?
As of now, I’ve spent 6 days working with Mixd: 5 days over the last couple of weeks and today! Already I find myself heavily involved in the company and working on a front-end development project for a client. I’ve spent time getting to know how Mixd approach their projects and the processes they go through in order to deliver them. Working here has been encouraging me to put what I already know to practical use, whilst pushing me to keep learning more and more.
The pace at which I’m working and learning here is much faster than anything I’ve been used to; which is pretty exciting – though maybe I’ll regret saying this further down the line when I’m working to tighter deadlines. I’m 6 days into a summer of working at Mixd and (bar the early mornings) it hardly feels like ‘work’.
Working can be fun, who knew?
It’s hard to say whether or not the experience so far has been as I expected, because in all honesty I had no idea what to expect from the start. And that’s a good thing. I came in with little knowledge of how the industry works; and only 6 days in, the only thing I find myself thinking is “I definitely made the right career choice”.
Some sss-simple rules to guide great web copy
Guest post by Chris Solloway, Wordbird Communications; great web copy, Yorkshire
Hurrah!
Someone has arrived at your shiny new website. Now you’ve got them, you want to keep them as long as possible. Clearly content, design and functionality are crucial – but the fourth pillar of any good web platform is words. Is your copy up to the task of keeping people engaged – so they open more pages, bookmark you, buy something, get in touch?
Be specific…
Start by being specific about your audience. For the web (as with all copywriting) the main trick is to know who you’re speaking to and what motivates them. If I was in the market for clothes, what sort of language goes with the fashion I’m interested in? Or, if I was after a lawyer, how would their website speak to me in a way that gave me confidence in their ability?
Get the tone right…
Tone is nearly as important as content. Don’t be patronising and do think yourself into the head of your customer. A young fashion brand can afford an irreverent style – but if you’re that lawyer, you won’t want to be cracking too many jokes. And don’t worry about pleasing everyone – there’s no point trying to speak to people who aren’t your target audience.
Grab attention…
Grabbing the right person’s attention is made even harder by the fact that our concentration spans seem to be shrinking in proportion with plummeting sales of newspapers. We’ve all got so much to squeeze into our online time – that constant pressure to open an email, click to an irresistible offer, catch up on tweets, book that holiday. The web is full of distractions. Not like print where the reader is more focused – indeed I think people mostly read print these days precisely as a way to block out the world (just witness all those commuters glued to their books and Metros every morning).
Don’t blather…
If your web user doesn’t find a reason to stay on your site, you’ve lost them in a click. On your home page your copy therefore needs to be short and sweet. If someone doesn’t get the gist of what you’re saying in probably a few short seconds they’ll be gone. Then what you’re after is stickiness. In other words, copy that invites people to stay around and get more involved.
Clearly signpost…
Stickiness does of course also mean you’ll be using longer copy on certain pages, particularly for informational content about specific topics or professional issues. So, where you need longer copy, make sure you signpost to make it accessible. This can mean using links so people can jump to different parts of a long article; incorporating clear sub-headings or bullet points and in particular breaking up the copy into manageable paragraphs – much easier on the eye than a full page of unbroken text.
Add substance…
And finally another s, substantiate. People hate hype so, if you’re making a big claim in your copy, be prepared to offer substantiation – perhaps with a link to another page, a pop-up explanation or a cross reference to another site. The internet is a landscape laden with information – the real trick with copy is to distil what you need to say into easily accessible language and then optimise it using all the rich opportunities offered by the web to add texture, credibility and substance to your words.
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We hope you’ve found this guest blog post useful.
If you’d like to write a guest post for Harrogate digital agency Mixd, please get in touch.
The use of social media in the hotel industry
We’ve seen a huge growth in how social media is being used in the hotel industry. So much so that the vast majority of luxury, boutique hotels across the world now have a blog, a Facebook fan page, a YouTube Channel, thousands of Twitter followers and a Flickr photostream! Hotels are increasingly embracing social media as a means to effectively reach potential customers and develop relationships.
It is therefore no surprise to see that many of the hip, New York hotels are increasingly adopting social media as part of their overall marketing strategy. One of my personal favorites is The Standard Hotel in Manhattan that are actively harnessing the potential power these tools offer to promote their businesses and develop relationships with their customers.
What I love most about what The Standard are doing is their unique, personal approach to a traditional blog. Standard Culture is a great demonstration of how great, informative content can be used to engage customers.
Do you want to know where you can dress up like a pirate and have a chic sushi dinner? Stan will tell you.
A hotel concierge with a Twitter feed can make the difference between an average stay and an amazing ‘must go back’ experience. Instead of stopping off at the concierge desk to ask questions on where to go, guests could ask questions before they get to the hotel, from their rooms, or while they’re out exploring. They would also have easy access to the questions other guests asked and past recommendations.
On a recent visit to New York, I was not only able to obtain the best possible hotel rates for our holiday (thanks @HotelGansevoort) but also picked up a heap of advice and recommendations prior to even leaving the UK. With the help of Yelp, Twitter and Facebook I was able to research where I was going, decide which restaurant to visit for my wife’s birthday and find out what events were happening in the city that we were doing. Yes, I could have easily spent time searching on Google or visited the NYC tourist website, but I was after local suggestions from people that actually live and work there.
My advice for anyone planning getaways this summer is make the most of these social channels before you go. If nothing else you may get an upgrade!
We would love to hear your stories from holidays this summer, if you’ve had a good (or bad) experience please let us know using the comments feature below.
If The Wurzels did social media…
Showering with the Wurzels
I often have strange thoughts when in the shower. This morning was no exception. I found myself singing The Wurzels’ classic hit ‘Combine Harvester (brand new key)’. I sing a lot in the shower, but have no idea why the Wurzels entered my tired morning mind. Anyhow, this got me thinking that the catchy chorus hook to the song was a stereotypical Facebook status update. Then I started to apply the chorus to many social media platforms… please don’t ask how my mind works, especially in the morning. The results:
‘I’ve got a brand new combine harvester and I’ll give you the key.’
‘I want a brand new combine harvester. Please can you help me?’
Foursquare
‘I’m at this brand new combine harvester showroom to collect the key’
‘I’m good at driving brand new combine harvesters, you can trust me.’
Quora
‘Why am I obsessed with brand new combine harvesters? Please explain to me.’
Flickr
‘Look at my pics of brand new combine harvesters. Good, I hope you agree?’
YouTube
‘Watch vid of brand new combine harvester. It is great, you’ll see.’
Any more you can think of?
Back on the bike
The appearance of a bit of sunshine in England brings about many changes. Those early mornings seem easier, everyone’s in a happier mood, beers taste better and the ladies don their bikinis.
After having a decent bit of decent weather of late, I decided sitting in front of a computer all day needed to be offset with some sort of outdoor activity to set me up for the summer.
Something that a lot of people don’t know about me (I’m not one to brag) is that I used to be a bit of a dab-hand on a bike. By “dab-hand” I mean, you know, stunts an’ that. Two or three years ago, my life-long hobby fell by the wayside a little bit (probably due to growing up and the responsibilites of forging a career path!) Oh, and this happened…
Enough to put someone off I think you’ll agree! And it did.
You must be mad!
I’m pleased to say I was okay (physically) after that crash (minus a broken pair of glasses!) and spurred on by the recent sunshine — as well as watching a few of my old riding videos one evening — I decided it was time to start riding again!
So that’s what I have been doing, and will be doing over the summer months. It’s not been going too badly so far, after a dozen rides I’m slowly but surely working my way back up to the sort of things I was doing a few years ago. I’m actually off to Bristol this weekend to ride in a street jam / contest organised there, although I will probably get a bit of a shock at how good everyone else has got in the time I’ve been away!
Watch this space as I’m determined to film some new clips and perhaps make another video sometime in the future. You can watch a video of me “nailing it” below, from back in my hay-day!
What about you..do you have any hobbies you will be dusting off this summer? Go on!
Got pop?
I’m sure we’ve all heard the dreaded line before. As a long-standing joke in the design industry; when a client says about your design – “it just doesn’t…pop!”
What exactly is “pop” anyway? How can it be quantified? Surely it means different things to different people?
To me, it simply means grabs your attention. And something was unveiled this week which certainly did that.
The announcement of Red Pop
Charismatic creative Brendan Dawes is known for his obsession with all things design and seems especially excited by products. He recently founded Beep Industries to nurture this obsession; born out of his first product creation – the brilliantly simple MoviePeg.
Thursday saw the launch of Beep’s latest invention – Red Pop.
Sticking with the iPhone accessories market, Red Pop is an add-on to give you a more traditional camera ergonomic for your phone complete with shutter release button.
Straight away I knew they were onto a winner. How frustrating is it when you try and use your iPhone to take a photo only to fumble about trying to use the less-than-responsive capture button, missing exactly what it is you’re shooting?!
The product video and branding they have come up with is perfect – very fun and very “now”. Check it out!
I just love it. Such a simple solution to a genuine problem and a very elegant piece of kit, brought about with great attention to detail and clearly a lot of thought and research.
The product is only currently at working prototype stage, using Kickstarter as a platform to raise funding for a first production run. You can back the project on Kickstarter to help bring the product to market; although at time of writing they have doubled their funding target of $20,000 (in 4 days!)
Quite an achievement, and a sure sign of seeing this product in the future!
So there you have it. I know I will be first in line for one when they are released to the public. Hopefully the price will represent the simplicity of the product and knowing Brendan, the point of sale / packaging will be superbly made. You only need to look at the new MoviePeg point of sale to see that Beep really are an innovative company and ones to watch for the future!
You’re hired…
Over the last few months the Mixd team has steadily been growing and as a result we have been encouraging web designers and web developers of the future to get in touch. Those of you that regularly read the Mixd blog will know that we work closely with York College and the University of Leeds on their graphic design and digital media courses. We get to meet a whole range of students, all eager to land their first job. Of course finding your first job involves one big hurdle that we must all overcome – the interview! And I think we can all remember that interview where you fell flat on your face with the first question or some other embarrassing moment!
First, a little bit of interview advice
So all this talk of interviews got me thinking about what lessons I have learnt and I think the biggest single piece of advice I can offer is do your homework!
It really should not need to be said but so many times I have interviewed people with little or no knowledge of the company or the kind of work we do. With the web being what it is these days, there really is no excuse for not knowing every little detail about the company. Twitter and Facebook are wonderful tools that can be used to gain insight and knowledge before going for that dream job. Check out the company Twitter feed and find out the names of key members of staff. Then find them on Twitter! Engage them and build up a relationship prior to going for your interview. If nothing else, you will get to know the company and are more likely to know whether or not they are right for you. You will also build up a list of topics to talk about if you are stuck for something to say!
My strangest job interview
So back on the subject of worst / strangest job interviews, I thought I’d tell you a little story about an interview that I had some time ago and the lessons I learnt. I was applying for a job as a white water raft guide and had been shortlisted and asked to attend an interview at a hotel close to London. I arrived early (always a good start) and was directed to a particular suite in the hotel. Expecting a one-on-one interview with the owner of the company, I was somewhat surprised to find a room full of other raft guides, all eager to land their dream job guiding on rivers in the Alps. My interview was at 11am, so I had time to chat with a few of them and it quickly became apparent that we had all be asked to attend an interview at the same time, 11am. At this point I did think the situation was a little strange as there was no one to be seen from the company.
11am came and went and we were all left waiting. No one knew what was going on. I tried calling the number I had been given but got no answer – the hotel didn’t know either and as time went on the ‘interview’ got stranger and stranger. First a buffet lunch was served followed by the opening of the hotel bar “It’s all paid for, have what you like” I was told by the barman. It was at this point that the room divided – those that took advantage of the free bar and had a ‘few’ drinks and those that felt it wasn’t appropriate to drink whilst waiting to be interviewed. Not one to look a gift-horse in the mouth, I found myself with a small group of others stood at the bar chatting and getting stuck in to the free hospitality. After an hour or so the barman ushered the small group of drinkers round into a smaller round adjacent to where we had been. As we walked into the room our faces dropped – the owner of the company was stood there with one or two other members of staff. He simply smiled, opened his arms and said “congratulations”!
At the time, I didn’t quite know what had just happened but I later realised that the owner had planned the entire day and was sat watching us all from the adjacent room. Those that were outgoing and sociable (and enjoyed a drink) were exactly the kind of people they wanted in their company.
Have you had a strange or particular bad interview experience?
p.s. I was also once asked at a job interview “If you were a mythological creature, what would you be and why?”
p.p.s. Bob once attended an interview where the only task was dished out by a miserable looking bloke “Get this raw egg in this glass milk bottle without cracking the shell. I’ll be back in an hour.”
12 months of MixdMessages!
Time flies…
As I was preparing the content for the May 2011 edition of MixdMessages, it occurred to me that we had completed our first year of our monthly eNewsletter of ‘what’s hot and what’s not’ according to the team here at Mixd towers. Crikey… that’s flown by!
Any good?
Over the last year, we have received a lot of pleasing feedback and comments regarding our broadcasts that have helped shape the format and month-on-month content. We want more though! If you are an existing subscriber, please use the comments feature on this blog post to tell us what you like about MixdMessages, or indeed what you feel could be improved. If you aren’t a subscriber (you can sign up towards the bottom of this page on the right-hand side) we’d love to know what you’d want to read about in a digital agency’s eNewsletter. More importantly perhaps, if you were a subscriber that unsubscribed, please let us know why… it would really help us shape the next 12 months of MixdMessages!
Let us know…
Thanks for your time and attention… now just submit a comment in the box below!!