We’re back from Latvia, and I’ve uploaded some photos here.
It was a great holiday. Latvia is a very attractive, the hotel was great, the food was brilliant. No complaints at all, though it might have snowed. Anyone doubting the existence of global warming might like to explain where the hell winter’s gone this year!
The Queen has put her traditional Christmas Day message on the web, at http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page5323.asp. What’s more, they’ve put a “subscribe to Podcast using iTunes” link on the download page.
Did Steve Jobs pay for that link? Some sort of affiliate deal perhaps?
We’re in Riga, Latvia, for Christmas. It’s a small and attractive city. No snow yet, but we’ve got our fingers crossed.
Anyway, as they’re saying here: Prieci’gus Ziemsve’tkus un Laimi’gu Jauno Gadu!
A few weeks ago I posted something about the news that web 3.0 is apparently just around the corner, and wrapped up with a comment that as it’s 2006 I thought I ought to have my jet-pack by now. I guess they’ve been held back because of their environmental impact, which is a shame because my flight into the office would be beautiful most days.
Anyway, what this all leads up to is that there’s been a lot of talk at the shop about what the next big things will be, where our industry and media consumption will be in 5 years time, and how we should make the most of that. I thought I’d write something to try to get a discussion going about what we see as the really important trends. Here are some starters:
- A lot more video on the web, free and commercial
- Loads more bandwidth everywhere
- A lot more interactivity on TVs: Intel Viiv (basically a PC in every TV set) is coming, so is BT Vision
Well done once again to our team at Agency.com for launching the Textaid campaign for BT today.
It starts with a really fun viral video at www.getgoing.bt.com and if you click through from there you get into some very stirring stuff about with Tom Baker (the best Doctor Who ever for many of us) singing (is that really the word) "You Really Got Me". Absolutely hilarious.
The fund-raising part (this is all in aid of Shelter, a charity for the homeless and people in poor housing) is that you can buy the single for £0.79p with the profits going to the charities.
This looks like it could be the Christmas Number One to me!!!
BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | US plans for Moon base
NASA announced today they’re planning a base on the moon. This is very exciting, but it made me think of the recent Audi ad, which pointed out that the A6 had more patent applications associated with it than the all time record for NASA. Perhaps they ought to get someone else to build it.
From the BBC News and here a study launched to coincide with the International Day of Disabled Persons has looked at top sites across a range of business sectors and found that only 3 complied in the most basic way with WAI Priority 1. They write that:
These problems are really basic and it’s embarrassing that websites with these problems are being built today. One of the great things about the Internet is that people with disabilities can participate more easily, or ought to be able to.
My team asks if clients want an accessible site too. It’s the law in the UK, but still some say they don’t have the budget. Perhaps we should just make it a rule that we do it, every time.
It’s been a huge task for everyone involved, and I know it’s not done yet, but BT Vision launched today to huge media interest. We designed the whole web user experience, including the pre-reg site that went live today at http://btvision.bt.com The team has been amazing, and the client’s are some of the best I’ve ever worked with. I managed the project for a few months at the start of 2006, so I know what an amazing job the team has done. I really look forward to seeing the full user experience when it goes live soon: what you see today is the pre-reg site, the full service is on its way.
