Stating the blindingly obvious, this is an increasingly technological world we are living in and, to put it simply, I’m not sure that I am keeping up with the rest of the class. In other words, technology is progressing at a faster rate than my brain’s capacity to handle it. I’m being left behind.

Questions then arise – is it me? If it is, am I a lone voice? Is it an ‘age’ thing?

Let me explain something. Firstly, I have always thought of myself as something of a technophile (definition: ‘a person who is enthusiastic about new technology’ – Compact OED) so I’m not, either by instinct or inclination, technophobic – which means exactly the opposite.

To be honest, I have never shown much if any interest in what I may broadly describe as the ‘hands-on’ technology stuff, by which I mean that I don’t bother with the mechanism or ‘how’ something works – for instance I don’t need to know the details of microwave technology in order to cook my supper – I press a button and it either works or it doesn’t. End of story.
Incidentally, note the word ‘enthusiastic’ in the above definition – it doesn’t say ‘proficient in’ or ‘knowledgeable about’ – it just requires ‘enthusiasm’ – and I have enough of that!

To digress for a moment. When I was growing up my father would ‘make’ clocks and radios etc. from bits and pieces that he bought for shillings and pence (old currency) in Petticoat Lane and East Street markets in London.   These skills haven’t been passed down my particular genetic path but, well, each to his own! The point is that if he was alive today he would revel in this ‘new technology’. Disappointingly I don’t take after him.

So, to get back to my problem.  Basically, I’m confused.  Take a look at this list: iPad, iPod, iPlayer, DVD, Blu-ray, mp3, iPhone, Android, Bluetooth etc.etc………there must be many more that I haven’t heard of!.  What do they all do?

I recently logged on to the website of a well-known TV, audio, etc. retailer because they advertised (and I quote) ‘if you’re confused about technology then we have all the answers’.

Well, their ‘jargon buster’ comprised 89 terms and corresponding ‘explanations’ and, worryingly, they don’t sell computers or mobile phones!   What would an all-encompassing, all-technology ‘jargon buster’ list look like?  War and Peace couldn’t begin to compete.

Understanding what all these items do is one thing – the first step you might say.  Getting to understand the functionality and maximising the use of that functionality is something quite different

For example, I have used a PC or (currently) a laptop for years and can ‘surf the net’ and word process to an acceptable (to me) level.  But, if I want to do something slightly out of the ordinary word-processing wise I have to wade through an inch-thick MS Word manual – without any guarantee that I will actually find what I am looking for.  Quite frankly life is too short.

I also have an iPod Classic and a portable DVD player – proof positive I would suggest of my enthusiasm for such modern ‘aids’ – although the limited extent to which I make use of the full range of facilities available just reinforces my case.

Having to bear the twin crosses of the passing of the years and the ever-quickening pace of technological change I now suspect that I may be exhibiting some worrying signs of the dreaded technophobia (which can be defined as ‘a person who dislikes or fears (my emphasis) new technology’).  I am putting up a struggle but I need some help.

Short of having access to a technology ‘guru’ who is permanently available to answer any conceivable question on the state and operation of modern technology, my solution to this problem of generational ‘technology gap’ is simple.  Have children.  The more the merrier.  These days toddlers are IT-literate almost before they can walk.  Having grown-up children and growing-up grandchildren who are all IT- literate brings wonderful benefits when advice of any sort is needed and I can heartily recommend this as a solution – although if you are starting now from scratch it will take a few years to bear fruit!

Incidentally, later this week my daughter is coming to de-install my old Dell printer and install my new Canon all-in-one printer.  Honest.

‘Fair enough’ – I hear you say.  Anything that helps with the raising of educational standards (which is the declared intention of the new policy) must, by definition, be a JOLLY GOOD THING!

Reading on in the same article I spotted something that, arguably, could be of far more significance than anything Mr Gove may be planning for A-level students.  This was a very brief, almost incidental, reference to the apparently fast-growing trend to online learning.

‘What’s new?’ I hear you say.  After all internet learning of one sort or another (and I am not just talking about Wikipedia) has been around for years.

The example given in the report refers to the Khan Academy, a US-based FREE online learning institution.  The school-type lessons (covering over 3000 subjects) are delivered online, and have been viewed over 136 million times, principally in the USA but also in many other parts of the world.  Lessons can be viewed either via YouTube or on the Khan Academy website.

You don’t need to be a futurologist to appreciate the significance of this development and the impact that it is likely to have in the future on the way we teach our children at all stages of the learning process.  Both The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Google (among others) have contributed financial and other support to the Academy.
To quote Bill Gates  – ‘it’s the start of a revolution’  – and who are we to argue with the great man?

Click image to open interactive version (via Simply Business).

A good website brief is essential to the development of a successful website. If possible, your brief should cover all of the following:

Overview
The Overview should lay out the current situation for the web development team.  Are you planning a brand new website, an overhaul of an old site or just a cosmetic makeover?

Aims and Objectives
The Aims and Objectives section should explain what you hope to achieve by building a website. Is the site to act as a ’shop window’ for your business, e-commerce, or will it be more of a resource for information about your company?

Will you be collecting money, if so do you accept credit cards, etc?

Use this section to give us an insight into the type of website you need.

Audience
The intended audience for your website can make a huge difference to the way it looks, feels and works. It is essential to take the time to identify audiences clearly in the design brief. Please resist the temptation to say ‘everyone’, as this will lead to a website that satisfies nobody’s requirements.

Design Specification
The Design Specification covers how your web pages will appear on the screen – it covers everything from layout to colour. Web designers will generally interpret a Design Specification quite literally, so it is important to be as clear as possible.

Specific points to consider include:

Does your business have branding guidelines?  If so, what elements should be reflected in the website design (font-face, colours, logo and branding etc)?

How will the design appeal to your audiences? This will govern how much text you want to see on a page, how you use pictures and whether you design pages specifically for a certain audience.

Functionality Specification
The Functionality Specification covers how your website will work. This includes the way people will navigate through your pages and the actions performed by any buttons or effects you want to include on the site.

It is a good idea to draw up a draft site structure as part of this section. You can do this as a basic flow-chart with boxes for pages and lines representing the links between them. This will highlight any areas that may cause additional cost and delay later in the process.

Always ensure that your Functionality Specification includes the following:

• Navigation
• Media requirements (just text and pictures or animation, virtual reality and sound?)
• Interactive elements (e.g. ‘Print this Page’ or ‘Email this Page to a Friend’)
• Will the site consist of ’static’ web pages or be assembled from a database?

Also consider how you will view the site as it progresses.  We are able to host a ‘live’ version to which you have access over the Internet so that you can see how it is developing and provide essential feedback before it is accessible by the general public.

Accessibility Specification
The Accessibility Specification gives us precise instructions on ensuring that your website is accessible to the widest possible audience and meets accessibility guidelines and legislation.

Deliverables
The Deliverables for a project specify exactly what we must provide by the end of the contract period. These will usually include:

• Documentation – a list of the pages along with a map of how they fit together
• Clear information on how your business will manage the site
• The website itself – usually a series of HTML pages

Budget
The Budget for your website will be a key factor in the website you receive. It is particularly important to remember that you may be charged for any changes you make to the design along the way.

It is to your advantage to provide as much information in the brief as possible to avoid incurring these additional costs. Also, interactive elements on your pages will be expensive and you should always consider whether they add significantly to the user’s experience. If not, leave them out.

Timetable
Always ensure that the timetable for developing your site includes ample time for checking and evaluation prior to launch.

Also, establish clear milestones for delivery within the project, including dates for initial concepts, completion of functionality and sign-off of design.

It is important to establish clear lines of communication from the outset of the project. Make sure there is a single point of contact in your company and with our development team, and that all project-related information is passed through these two people.

And Finally…
dbd will be happy to work with you, as required, during this development process. We recognise that writing a website brief can be a daunting task but we are here to help you, in any way we can, through this important phase of your website creation.

We have been working with websites for years, the internet is like our second home.  To some however, it is a strange and scary place full of weird things and words they don’t understand.

We have compiled the following Jargon Buster to help you understand what the hell we are talking about!

If you think we have left something out, add a comment to this post and we will get straight back to you.

Banner Ad – is (usually) a rectangular advertisement on a website above or to the side of a website’s main content.  It will usually have a link through to the advertiser’s own site.

Blog – Short for Web Log is a web page in the style of a personal diary/commentary by the author that is usually updated on a very regular basis.  It can be accessed by anyone and often allows visitors to the site to post comments.

CMS – Short for Content Management System is the software that enables the user to manage their website content, such as adding news items or uploading images etc.

Data Capture - Collecting data (name, email address etc) from your customers / clients. Useful for e-marketing purposes.

Domains – A domain name is used in a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) to identify specific websites.

E-Commerce – Short for Electronic Commerce it is business that is carried out over the internet, but more specifically relates to buying/selling – shopping carts/online purchasing.

Flash – (Adobe Flash) is the description of the technology that allows web developers to incorporate animation and interactive content into their websites.

Hosting – A web hosting is a service that enables individuals/companies to have their websites online and accessible to all via the world wide web.  You can lease space on a web host company’s server but still have your own domain name, this is a less expensive way of doing things.

HTML – Short for Hyper Text Mark-up Language is the name of the language used to create Web documents.  It defines the page layout, fonts and graphics etc.

HTML Emails – is the use of HTML (see above) in emails to provide more possibilities for use than just text ie diagrams, tables, graphs etc.  They are used in email marketing campaigns and email newsletters etc.

Javascript – Is the name of the programming language that enables web designers to design interactive features into their websites.

Keywords – These are words used by the search engines to find the most relevant websites.

Online Advertising – uses the internet to deliver marketing messages to attract potential customers, including the use of Banner Ads (see above), social network and email marketing etc.

PHP – Short for PHP: Hypertext Pre-processor is also a language that enables web designers to create dynamic content that interacts with databases.

PPC – Short for Pay Per Click is an online marketing strategy in which the advertiser pays the search engines a certain amount for every click received on their site.

Rich Media – This is a description of media that allows for active participation by the recipient or interactivity usually incorporating audio, video and high resolution graphics.

RSS – Short for Really Simple Syndication is a web-feed format specifically used to publish frequently updated websites, such as news, blogs, audio etc.

SEO – Short for Search Engine Optimisation it is the process of increasing the number of visitors to a website by ensuring it appears high in the search results of Google (and other search engines).  It gives a website a “web presence”.  Websites can be built to be “search engine friendly”.  These search results are known as organic results.

SSL – Short for Secure Sockets Layer is the procedure that enables you to send secure/private documents/data via the internet – sites have it when privacy/security is essential for example when credit card information is involved.