For years the BBC have set the standard for the delivery of a huge amounts of content in an accessible way. At ruralnet|uk many 'how should we do this' discussions end up with someone suggesting that we look at the BBC's website to see how they do things, what screen widths they publish for etc etc.
Well, I think they have done it again. The BBC's new beta site is very interesting and gets close in many aspects to the ideas emerging in this co-design process.
The new site owes a lot to those innovators at Netvibes and Pageflakes. Most of the new BBC's home page consists of 'tablets' of information that you can move around! If you're really interested in the weather, move that tablet to the top. If you like sport, then drag that tablet to the top too. Oh, but you're intersted in Rugby? Well, edit the sport tablet so that it displays Rugby information instead of Football. Brilliant. Oh and I really like the retro clock too.
This approach was the one we took when faced with the challenge of 'getting farmers online' in Warwickshire at the end of last year. See 'Google Apps For Farmers'.
Is this how the new ruralnet|online should work?
ruralnet|online feed
I'd tend to say Yes! I've
I'd tend to say Yes!
I've been using iGoogle as my homepage for over a year now and can honestly say i'd be lost without it!
It is such a simple way to organise your life, I have news, bookmarks, blogs I watch and my Twitter Tweets all in one simple interface.
I think a ruralnet page in the style of iGoogle, BBC Beta or Pageflakes would be an instant hit.
I also have iGoogle, but my
I also have iGoogle, but my challenge is normalising it into my daily workflow... especially working within an organisation that already uses corporate systems for email, calendar, tasks, etc...these are the drivers for my work.
I know iGoogle can do all of this and more, but it doesn't integrate my work with corporate colleagues, nor does it sync with my laptop(s) or mobile/pda... So, my iGoogle ends up being little more than a convenient homepage which I visit occasionally to check the weather (when I'm bothered) but it's certainly not a lifeline.
However, email is definitely critical - I have 3 mail accounts (for different arenas of my life) and I check 'em all frequently. I would 'feel' lost without it... given the choice I generally sign up for email alerts rather than rss-feeds, and manage my inbox using mailbox rules to filter messages (and with Mac 'spotlight' finding stuff is a breeze). Hey, it works for me, and I can do this within my corporate workflow parameters...
Some people drive a 2 seater, some need a 7 seater, most of use have 5 seats... People choose the tools that serve their 'felt' wants and needs...
Perhaps ruralnet|online should jump ahead to an iGooglesque-flakey-bloggy format, but it should seek to accommodate the email centric Luddites as well as the web-geeks (no offense intended :-))
I'm not an iGoogle person
I'm not an iGoogle person but I do use Bloglines because it is web based so I don't have to sync it with my phone I can view it on there with their mobile interface. I'm going to try and show how it integrates with a 'normal' daily workflow at the focus group tomorrow with my session on 'Workging 2.0' which we'll try and capture in sound video or our usual standby - post-it notes.
Michele Martin has a good take on it here - she suggests Internet Explorer 7 (yuk) and My Yahoo (yum). It's all about personal preference, what's important is that you're engaging, I don't think it really matters how. Which potentially is a problem if the aim is set your network up as a 'portal', but less so if the 'network' is just a means to an end - an updated dashboard which can be slotted into what ever system you use, allowing you to dip in as much or as little as you like (but I agree you should have the option of being alerted by 20th century tools like email :) )
The bigger problem might be convincing people of the benefits of working like this in the first place - we know it works, and it will go on without them anyway, but it's trying to get that across to people have been put off Web 1.0 by expensive websites and email overload.
...but what's the business
...but what's the business model for ruralnet?
Comparing to the Beeb is interesting given their fairly unique income source from license fees.
Good point Damian. May be
Good point Damian.
May be the business model goes something like this. A certain percentage of people who get to know about the Experts Online service and the GRANTnet service will subscribe (and pay) for these services. So we setup and really useful, low maintenance set of services which are really useful but don't cost much to maintain and are free and through this service make more people aware of the high value (and high cost) services like EOL. The more people that know about EOL, the more will subscribe.
As long as we are sure that the people paying are getting a high return on their payments ie what they pay is far exceeded by the benefit they get, then both the free and paid for services will contribute to us meeting our charitable objectives.
There was a nice posting
There was a nice posting about customisable websites on Webcredibles excellent site today, which highlights some of the areas of usability and accessibility and also purpose and need which may be useful in this exercise!
It also refers to the Redbridge Council which has been highly acclaimed (and critised) in various fora for taking this approach.
Good useful food for thought though and well worth a read if you are considering approaching it from this angle ...
check it out at: http://www.webcredible.co.uk/user-friendly-resources/web-usability/custo...
One of the key features on
One of the key features on the BBC Beta site , and one that I particularly admire, is that not only is it user-configurable, but that how to do it is very intuitive. No great explanatory paragraphs. No interminable User Guide. Just simple intuitive imagery, and clear conscise labelling and wording. For such an eclectic user audience, it's neither patronising nor challenging. Clever, eh? Designed for both simplicity and capability. God is in the detail (or, indeed, the absence of it!)
Roger G... (Aged 53, Too old to die young)