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Blog posts tagged Internet
Do we really need Wi-Fi on the Tube?
March 15, 2012
News came this week that much-mooted plans for wireless internet access on London’s Underground are going full steam ahead in time for the Olympics.
Passengers at over 80 Tube stations will be able to log on while moving through stations and waiting for their trains.
On the face of it, this is A Good Thing. For a start, long-suffering commuters will be pleased they can check the exact reason for the delay on their smart phone or even fire off a complaint to Boris Johnson while stood shoulder-to-shoulder on the platform.
You’ll also be able to email your client if you’re running late for an important meeting with them or grab a map of your destination while on the escalator instead of having to wait till you’re back on the surface. If the connection is good enough, making calls via voice over IP services like Skype could be possible.
On the downside, I’m predicting an increase in the number of accidents on escalators as people check their tweets rather than watching where they’re going. We could even see the odd person attempting to use their full-size laptop on the platform.
(If you think that sounds farfetched, my experience suggests otherwise: I once saw a man playing a game of online poker on his laptop while simultaneously negotiating the ticket barriers and escalators at Reading Station, so anything’s possible.)
When is enough enough?
But as faster internet connections seep into every area of our lives, do we need to start guarding those precious moments when we’re cut off? Should we treasure those increasingly rare minutes when we’re out of signal, offline and unlikely to be disturbed by a buzz in our pocket or someone else’s loud Nokia ringtone? (Watch the video up to the 1:20 mark to make it worthwhile.)
I’m honestly in two minds about this. On the one hand, wireless internet has transformed the way many of us work. Within the office it’s brought extra flexibility to how we conduct meetings and work with colleagues. In the wider world, it’s this technology that enables us to stop for a coffee and catch up on email or get online even when we’re travelling.
But the flipside is that it’s much harder for us to switch off. Queuing in Starbucks? You’re much more likely to check your email or review your tweets than just stopping to look around you.
On the train? Never mind sitting there quietly to collect your thoughts or getting stuck into reading a complex document. With wireless internet available on many UK services, you’re more likely to get distracted by Facebook or spend the time dealing with email overload.
The tables will turn
Currently, losing internet access can be a frustrating experience. But we’re slowly but surely moving towards a world where you can stay connected everywhere.
So, once internet access has crept into every rural blackspot, once every plane has Wi-Fi and once underground trains pose no barrier to getting online (like in Tokyo), will we start to yearn for a place where we can be disconnected? Will the frustration of getting cut-off unexpectedly be replaced by the frustration of being always reachable?
Well, it’s maybe not that clear-cut. But we’re certainly going to have to learn more self-discipline and understand when unplugging ourselves is a good idea: whether it’s to focus on getting a task done or simply to find time and space to think.
Here's what happens in an internet minute
February 15, 2012
It’s a mistake to stop and think about the internet for too long. You’ll struggle to grasp the sheer size of the thing, its mind-boggling complexity and the rate at which it changes.
Still, it the internet is fascinating. And that’s why this infographic from Intel caught our eye. It gives you some idea of what happens online in a single minute.
While you’ve been reading this, a score of people have had their identities stolen, hundreds have signed up to social network LinkedIn and there have been 100,000 new Tweets. Bonkers.
Alt text: Infographic – what happens in an internet minute
Just to put some of that into context:
- The 639,800GB of data transferred is equivalent to sending about 135,000 full-length DVD films across the internet.
- Those 6 million Facebook views sound like an awful lot – but then you have to remember that worldwide, one in every nine people has a Facebook account.
- The number of internet-connected devices is set to soar over the next few years as cars, TVs and even kitchen appliances all get their own connections.
While there perhaps aren’t any hard and fast conclusions for your business to draw from this, it certainly highlights some of the opportunities out there. With 1,300 new mobile internet users every minute, having a mobile website makes sense. And with 1.3 million videos watched, perhaps your business should have a YouTube channel.
You know, I reckon this internet thing might just be here to stay...
- Social media – not as new as you think?
- Internet speed checker – test your connection
- Tech trends to watch in 2012
Social media isn't as new as you think
February 02, 2012
You can’t move round here for social media experts and social marketing agencies. Facebook, Twitter and their ilk are big business, because companies see them as vital new marketing channels.
It’s true that social media has had a huge impact on how companies communicate and interact with new and existing customers. If your business isn’t already on Facebook, there’s a good chance you’re thinking about it.
Social business is nothing new
But something’s got lost in the in the rush to claim this new, technological territory. Caught up in all the excitement of becoming a ‘social business’, many companies seem to have forgotten that there’s always been a social element to running a company.
Luckily, Global Dawn (who say they’ve created the first comprehensive ‘social business engine’, whatever that is) have put together an infographic showing how social business has grown and changed through the years.
Click the image below to expand and let us know what you think of it in the comments – and give us your examples of social businesses from before Facebook existed.
Do you want your website to travel second class?
August 23, 2011
Shouldn’t we all have fast fibre optic connections? (Image: James Laurence Stewart on Flickr.)
If you pay attention to the business or technology press, you may have noticed the term ‘net neutrality’ popping up in articles. But what does it actually mean? And why should it matter to you and your business?
Net neutrality (or network neutrality) is the idea that all internet traffic should be treated equally. It’s how the internet works at the moment: no matter whether internet traffic is from the BBC iPlayer, your business blog, a video-conferencing service or any other source, it isn’t discriminated against.
Network providers can’t charge more to transfer it, or prioritise certain types of internet traffic over others.
Net neutrality also prevents internet service providers (ISPs) and governments from restricting what you choose to access. It gives you the freedom to view whichever sites or content you want, using any equipment you choose.
See a great visual representation of net neutrality >
The threat to net neutrality
To some extent, ISPs already restrict internet connectivity to their customers. Some perform ‘traffic shaping’ to limit the use of file sharing services. Others give voice and video traffic priority to make sure calls don’t break up.
So what’s the problem? Well, thankfully not much at the moment, but internet traffic is growing and broadband providers are doing everything they can to keep costs low and stay competitive.
Currently businesses pay their ISP for the internet connection they require (depending on what’s available in that location). Whether it’s broadband over a standard phone line or a fast fibre optic connection, the speed is only restricted by the type of connection and the package they choose.
But the end of net neutrality could see broadband providers signing lucrative contracts and exclusive agreements with favoured customers such as search engines. This would mean that your choice of ISP could determine the quality of your connection to certain websites, forcing you to choose them over other options.
What about your business?
One of the best things about the internet is how it has put small businesses on an equal footing with bigger competitors. The website for a local greengrocer will load just as fast as a supermarket’s website.
But without net neutrality, that could change. With its deep pockets, the supermarket could pay broadband providers to deliver its website faster, forcing its competitors backwards. The greatest rewards would only be available to those with the most to spend.
Today, many small businesses exist only online. So changes to the way the network is regulated will directly affect their success and even their livelihood.
Net neutrality in law
Last month the Netherlands became the first country in Europe to write the concept of network neutrality into national law. Mobile phone operators in particular are now banned from blocking or charging consumers extra for using internet-based communications services like Skype.
In the UK, things aren’t quite so advanced. Ofcom published a paper last year designed to promote debate on network traffic management. And the telecoms regulator is expect to clarify its stance on net neutrality sometime in this year. We’ll keep our eyes peeled, but I wouldn’t hold your breath!
We have also conducted our own Powernet research that shows UK businesses overwhelmingly support net neutrality. Only 19% believe that ISPs should be allowed to treat different types of traffic in different ways, and just 17% would be willing to pay for a top tier service.
So who chooses what your business does online? Well at the moment, you do, but in the future, things might not be so easy. That’s why we need government backing for net neutrality.
- How to choose an internet service provider
- Check internet speed with our online speed test
What's web analytics all about?
July 12, 2011
See where in the world your website visitors come from
Disclaimer: Noah Merritt is a co-founder of Clicky Web Analytics.
When it comes to websites, many small business owners think that 'if you build it, they will come'. But how can you know for sure? You need a return communication or feedback mechanism.
The best option is a web analytics system. It can gather and organise data about visitors to your website, so you can start learning about them. Then you'll begin to understand where people are coming from, how they interact with your website, and - to an extent - who those visitors are.
The wrong measurements
The word 'hits' is often used to describe website traffic. But we need to stop using it. It's an ambiguous label that originated in the early '90s, when almost every website had a 'hit counter'.
A hit literally meant any request a client made to a web server. Maybe that was useful 15 years ago, but today, a single web page can produce hundreds of hits (there's a separate hit for every individual image, and for other elements).
So 'hits' has no clear definition, is based on a useless measurement, and doesn't allow for any deep understanding.
Some archaic analysers come as standard with web hosting. These are the original traffic analysis tools which produce raw, basic data. They often don't even differentiate between real people visiting your website and the 'robots' from search engines which scan your site. It's confusing and misleading. Don't bother.
What should you measure?
Use a decent web analytics package instead. There are lots of different things you can measure on your website. I'll cover the most important here - there's a long list of them on the Clicky website:
- Visitors. A visitor is generally calculated from the time a computer accesses your site until when they leave. If that same visitor then returns, they'll be recorded again in the total visits figure.
- Unique visitors. This is exactly the same as visitors, except it filters out repeat visits by the same person.
- Page views and actions. A page view is the metric used to track when a single page of your website loads. But actions measure things that happen within a page - like playing a video, liking a post on Facebook or placing a bid on eBay.
- Referrers. One of the main ways websites receive visitors is from sites that link to them. These sites are called referrers, and referrer data can tell you which websites are most valuable for sending you traffic.
- Searches. Search engines like Google will send you lots of traffic too, and you can see which keywords people are using to find your website.
- Geography. Knowing where in the world your visitors are coming from can be eye-opening. Maybe you're getting a traffic surge from a new part of the world - well, with the right web analytics you can determine why it's happening, or even open a chat session with visitors from particular places.
- Goals. Many website owners want to know when visitors complete a specific action. For instance, you can set up your web analytics package to register when someone makes a purchase from your online shop, and to record how much the purchase was worth.
- Campaigns. If you're running online advertising, campaign tracking will show you what happens to the visitors you receive from each different advert. And that lets you see which ads are sending you most new customers.
- Advanced filtering. Also called segmentation, this lets you split your visitors into groups. You can filter by visitor location, whether they're using a mobile phone, how they found your site ... almost anything you can think of.
- Social media. If people are talking about your business on social media, don't you want to know what they're saying? Some tools can monitor conversations on social networks like Twitter, and compile statistics about what people are saying.
Don't worry if you haven't taken in everything I've covered here. Web analytics can seem overwhelming at first. The best thing you can do is to get your website set up with some sort of web analytics (obviously I'd recommend Clicky), then start checking your numbers daily.
You'll soon get the hang of how to view, analyse and drill deep into your data in order to improve your website and its traffic levels.
What I learnt about the future of web design
May 23, 2011
Last week I headed on down to the Future of Web Design conference. Held in an old brewery in the City of London, this annual event brings together web designers and developers from all over the world.
I really enjoyed the conference and it was a great chance to get away from my day-to-day tasks for a bit. Although a lot of what I heard was quite detailed information aimed at professional web developers and designers, I took away a few bits of knowledge that I think nearly any business with an online presence can benefit from. Here they are:
- If you're considering building a mobile app for your business, don't forget about making your website friendly for mobile phones too. In particular, Josh Clark argued that people see mobile apps as tools for getting particular tasks done, whereas the mobile web is all about finding information.
- In fact, a lot of the conference covered mobile-related internet stuff. There were some impressive statistics involving the amount of money people spend when online with their smart phones, and the rate at which accessing the internet via mobile devices is growing. In short: if you're not thinking about mobile devices when you build your website, you're neglecting an ever-increasing group of users.
- Ian Hamilton is a senior interaction designer from the BBC. He gave a talk on accessibility, making me realise how far most websites still have to go in order to be usable by people who have visual, auditory, motor or cognitive disabilities. He suggested including people with disabilities in any usability testing that you run, providing transcripts of all videos on your website, and ensuring all linked text is meaningful ('more information' does not cut it).
- Dan James founded silverorange, a small web agency based in Canada. He spoke about running an open business. In his company, everyone - from the MD down to junior designers - earns the same salary. He says that often in business we talk about a lot of things, but we don't talk about money. He says we should try it. These sketch notes reveal more.
- To design great user experiences, we should try and stay naive. At least, that's one of the things I took from Aral Balkan's talk. In an entertaining 50 minutes, he explained how he tries to not think too hard when he uses things for the first time. Because if something's been designed well, you shouldn't need to stop and work out how to use it. You should just know. Watch a similar talk here.
What do you think the future of web design holds? What new innovations are you planning for your website? Leave a comment and let us know.
It's time to break down the broadband bull
March 08, 2011
By international standards, UK broadband isn't exactly super-speedy. But the worst thing is that when you buy it, often you have little idea what you're going to get.
Sure, your package might offer speeds 'up to 8Mbps', 'up to 16Mbps', or even (optimistically), 'up to 24Mbps'. But even if you know what 'Mbps' means, that 'up to' introduces massive uncertainty. You might end up with only a tenth of the promised speed, or worse.
It wouldn't be allowed elsewhere
In other industries, this wouldn't be allowed. Imagine if your car - which an enthusiastic salesman promised would do 'up to 100mph' - actually maxed out at 35.
You wouldn't stand for it. Yet with broadband, this kind of advertising is the norm.
The use of 'up to' stems from the way in which ADSL - which is how most of us get our broadband - works. It uses copper wires which were never designed for the purpose. And that makes speeds unpredictable.
We're relying on 1911 hardware to deliver 2011 connectivity. So if you're miles from a telephone exchange or your line is old and crackly, you won't get a good connection.
We want honest broadband
The obvious way to make our broadband better would be to introduce a modern, up-to-date broadband network. With guaranteed speeds, you could forget any 'up to' hassles.
And that is happening, albeit slowly. Some places can already get a fast fibre optic connection via Virgin Media or through BT's fledgling Infinity network. But those services won't reach many of us anytime soon.
So, while the rest of us are waiting for a fibre optic connection, ADSL providers need to shape up their act:
- Set charges to reflect real-world speeds. If I'm only going to get 10% of the advertised speed, I should only have to pay 10% of the advertised cost. That might give providers some incentive to improve things.
- Quote realistic speeds in advertising, not best case ones. Only a tiny proportion of broadband customers get the promised speeds (if any), so it's time advertising changed to reflect this. Even Ofcom seems to agree.
- Be open about fair use. Many packages limit what you can download each month to reduce network load. Hit your limit and your connection will crawl. But these limits are hard to understand. How much is 10GB?
Nowadays, internet access isn't just important to run your business. It's essential. So is it wrong to insist that broadband companies are open, honest and upfront about the speed of their services?
(Image of fibre optics from adrienneserra under a Creative Commons Attribution licence.)
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