Oct 18
Four websites in one week? No wonder we're off to the pub tonight! Well it's because of Jamie's birthday but it doesn't harm us to celebrate the four websites last week either. You can find out more about the websites, including the
muse website, in our
web news section.
We're also in the final stages of going through the first revision of our own website. Since the launch three months ago we've had a fantastic amount of positive feedback. Even the crtical feedback has been constructive. As a company that likes to practice what we preach we're taking those comments and making the website a wee bit more friendly and adding additional content in some current sections. It's still a couple of days away and we're still wondering if the phrase "View Our Past Hot Action" is acceptable. Find out first if we put it in by signing on to our mailing list that you can access via the
news page.
Lots of cool stuff. Macromedia Labs was launched yesterday and I downloded the new framework for Flex, the technology that I discussed for creating rich internet applications. So far I'm impressed and we're looking forward to getting right in about it to see just what we can do to make our client's customer's that wee bitty richer. That'll give something for Stuart to get his teeth into when he starts tomorrow.
A shout out to those people who were on my residential course last weekend at a nice hotel with terrible, terrible service. It was a great weekend, hilarious even. It was good to meet 12 or so lovely people, each one made me laugh very, very hard. Top notch. I didn't get to my bed until at least 4am which made learning the next day some what of a challenge. Still if it wasn't for everyone's good humour, insight and interest I wouldn't have learned a thing. Thanks guys and see you all next week.
What else? Well I'm hoping to announce four new clients by the end of the month, stay tuned for that, and I have been invited to
Dolph's birthday celebrations in Glasgow. It's the glamour, the only reason I do this job, the glamour. Networking event Friday morning, the Angel's Ambulance on Friday night as well as Sean's birthday, grandparent's 60th
Wedding Anniversary on Sunday, Mr Murray on Monday and all other sorts of stuff next week.
And I'm waning on Lost. Has
Lost jumped the shark?
Take it easy,
S
Oct 11
we've launched a few websites recently, more on that later. i'm up for putting my neck on the line so i say this: apple will launch a video Ipod and push BBC content as a driver for the product. This isn't
original but it does make sense from a
content driving demand sense. In 24 hours we'll see........
Oct 5
i have no idea what that title refers to.
Well. It's been a crazy couple of weeks and no mistake. Work wise we've beenbusy, we found Allan's replacement a couple of weeks ago and we're delighted that he accepted. We're all very excited about our new man and more details will be forth coming. I've just got to get my act together as I've been off for a couple of days on a 'personal matter'. All good but I'm now a couple of days behind.
Love. Love is the theme for the next baby design of the homepage. We've also taken on board some comments on the client pages and so Jamie is beavering away quite the thing on getting those pages done while I have to come up with some cheeky text. Time, time, time, time.
The events section is going to change too, more of a roadshow. That's a mid-term addition and it all depends on the time as I have to do more writing but we think it's a cool idea and we're going to do it. Soon. After we get everything else out the way.
We're lucky to be working with some old clients on some new work and it's looking good. We're excited and honoured that these clients come back to us and they've said nice things to us, about us. It was enough to make a grown man cry.
We also were lucky enough to be working with Tracey from D8 on creating a wee e-mail flyer from their design for a Channel 4 thing called
7hings. It was all lovely and nice and it was even alright sort of working with Tracey, all things considered. Half an hour....
Tomorrow (today) is busy, two meetings and lots, lots of phone calls. Then, like an oasis, I get to meet the beautiful Mr Shea to say hello and have beers. My friends all seem to be going through the good just now what with babies and scans and trips to Loch Lomond. Excellent.
Also meeting the good Mr Maxfield next week to see if he can help us with a project that we may be working on that requires supery-dupery video. Be good to see Mr Maxfield, always has a good tale to tell.
it's way too hot in here, i'm off to bed.
s
Sep 22
Just some of the topics that I've covered with various people in the last week.
It's two months since we pushed this website onto the world and we're going through our review process. If you'd like to see anything in the website that we've missed or that isn't clear please either
drop us a line or respond here. We're all up for the feedback.
The search is over, we found the impossible. We found Allan's replacement. More news to follow as we plan the grand unveiling in true footballing stylee.
I'd like to share a poem that was read to me last night by, of all people, a polis. He's was saying a lot of good stuff last night while speaking at the
Govanhill Housing Association's AGM. It stayed with me all night and today.
Scotland
It was a day peculiar to this piece of the planet,
when larks rose on long thin strings of singing
and the air shifted with the shimmer of actual angels.
Greenness entered the body. The grasses
shivered with presences, and sunlight
stayed like a halo on hair and heather and hills.
Walking into town, I saw, in a radiant raincoat,
the woman from the fish-shop. 'What a day it is!'
cried I, like a sunstruck madman.
And what did she have to say for it?
Her brow grew bleak, her ancestors raged in their graves
as she spoke with their ancient misery:
'We'll pay for it, we'll pay for it, we'll pay for it.'
by
Alastair Reid.
I know that woman, met her husband too.
The polis was very interesting and had some great points. It wasn't anything new to me, I had heard a great deal on my
Common Purpose course last year, but he was a very intelligent speaker, clearly passionate about his job and determined to make a difference. Go on.
He asked everyone, before they go to bed, to write down three things during that day that made them happy. Three things, no matter how small, as lang as they made you happy. He said that if you did that in a week you'd be a happier person. I am already happy but I might just try it anyway.
Tonight I have new 'Lost' and new 'House'. I'm as giddy as a fat kid round cake!
Sep 15
Well we got our nice mention in the Drum, you can have a wee look at what the said about the
GFO website and let us know if you agree or disagree.
I also was quoted in the Do's and Don't section. What pearls of wisdom fell from my keyboard? Well, what was printed was....
Do Have Fun. Online is probably the best place to have fun with your brand. That’s not about breaking brand conventions, just stretching them a little to engage a little.
and this little gem....
Don’t make people think. Thinking doesn’t really go down well on the Internet. If you give your users an option to do something then make sure it’s clear, concise and explain the benefits.
As in some kind of director's cut DVD extra type thing I will also show you what was dropped from the final edit...
Don't reinvent the wheel. If you're taking a process online then make sure that you've mapped a similar off-line process to ensure that the experience is the same. This will help users orientate themselves to the process. Worst offenders? Restaurant booking websites that ask for your personal information first before giving you an option to find out if your table is free. Not one restaurant asks for that in the real world, why do it on-line? Monkeys.
Ricky's deffo tip was dropped too. It's still better than what I wrote...
Immediate impact means a lot, but the subtle difference of web design to traditional printed media is trying to try to think about how you get the user to the content quickly and effortlessly. It's all about their time online and how to get them to where they want to be as quickly as possible. I suppose it's similar to a magazine front cover and a contents page rolled into one- it has to appeal- but it has to concisely inform too. A website which is time-consuming to navigate is like a magazine with the pages glued together- frustrating.
Remember, nobody's got any patience when they're online- they're full of Web-Rage.
I know I am.
Thanks to the Drum judges for their kind words.
I like posting at lunch, it feels so
self indulgent.
Had a good look at
Studio 8 and so far I'm kind of under whelmed, esp Dreamweaver. Admitally I'm not the guy who uses it all day, everyday but I am looking forward to getting stuck into a project to see if it does make life easier. Jamie will be diving into Flash Pro soon and I'm sure he'll be posting away about it. I'm excited about the mobile authoring environment for Flash so it's going to get sweet, quickly.
A good week here, the Visible Fictions sat-site is looking good and we're just awaiting content, the Mono website proceeds apace and I have nice chat with Langs tomorrow to go over content and video scripts.
Off to a cheeky wee networking thing to night in Glasgow’s stylish Marriot Hotel. The guy who started Yo! Sushi is doing a wee talk about stuff. I’m really selling this isn’t I! It’ll be good and Tracey is going too, minus her wee clockwork motor. I am looking forward to it and it doesn’t run on for long. I hope.
Next week, apart from all the usual stuff we're getting re-doing out homepage and also thinking about adding additional content. If you have any thoughts, hints, tips or suggestions then let us know.
Sep 7
It's all been quiet at biscuitmedia, our heads are collectively down working away doing our do. So much so that there isn't really that much to report. We're lucky enough to do a wee microsite for a groovy theatre company by the name of
Visible Fictions. The main website wasn't designed by us (but with a bit of luck that will change) but we did do the micro site for the production last year,
Into The Dark and this year we're doing Big Baby's micro.
The production sounds great and after seeing the design today I am delighted at how Ricky's taken the elements of the poster and made it beautifully web based. It's really good and I'm looking forward to launching it next week sometime.
We're also mentioned in a magazine called
'The Drum' which is Scotland’s media and marketing magazine. The GFO website is listed as one of the best websites in Scotland, which is nice. I'm not entirely sure what the deal is, we may get slagged off as we've not seen the finished articles but we'll see next week.
Ricky and I may also be quoted in a do and don't feature in the magazine. My original don't was my old stand by of 'Never Eat Anything Bigger That Your Own Head!!!" but Ricky wisely pointed out that really wasn't relevant when creating a web development. Twenty minutes of hot debate and I was forced to concede the point. Swine!
If we don't get our pearls of wisdom mentioned then I'll post them up here as I'm not letting the 2 minutes I spent on it go to waste. It was a busy day. Even if it does get included I'll post it up then those 2 minutes will have been
really productive.
Sky are showing the last season of 24 on the tellybox and I enjoy watching it on a non-demand, not on DVD way. I got season 3 on DVD and I found it annoying. I think you need a break from each episode to properly appreciate the next one. I am enjoying the series a lot more as a result. When I grow up I'm going to Jack Bauer and torture people for a living. Cool.
Tomorrow is me doing my legendary impression of a blue bottomed fly, dashing about Glasgow, meeting and greeting. Mono in the morning, up to Langs, hopefully popping in to 999 to pick up some images, meeting Visible Fictions for design sign off then meeting Mr. B for a wee chat. Looking forward to Mr B, he gives exceedingly good chat.
Magic.
Take it easy,
Steelso
Aug 29
Well it's been a great week, I got my hands dirty with the new Mono website and made myself Ricky's bitch. A position a bot could only dream of. It's looking good and I'm hoping that it'll be all done, all dusted in the next fortnight or so.
We had a good meeting with Langs in Glasgow on their new web design and that went well too, working out content. This week is looking sweetly hectic with interviews being held on Thursday for our new member of the team. Not a developer, someone else. If you are looking at this blog candidates (and I sincerely hope you are....) then see you Thursday!
Dating website is getting passed to Allan to work his magic after Jamie sprayed his mojo over the pages. That should be up soon too.
I'm going back to Prince lyrics as the inspiration for the titles of my blogs. I have no imagination.
Been playing with a couple of wee things. First up is Google Talk which is ok, it's another IM client. ooo. Next is a crazy wee app for visualising your web statistics from
Visitor Ville. We had a right laugh on Friday watching people coming off teh Google bus and taking a taxi around our website.
Another way people are looking at visualising information is at Gvisit. You can see where people have come from in biscuitmedia's website by going to
here. It's pretty cool but doesn't seem to be wholly accurate. Fun though.
Can I also say that this software has made me so
much more productive. I love this device, so simple, so clever, so needed......
Top notch weekend, finished Season 5 of The West Wing which I really enjoyed. It did start of a wee bitty wobbly with everyone fighting each other but that quickly passed to some really good stories. Continunity dodesn't seem to be a big concern but the acting easily made up for it. Watching CJ vs The Muppets is worth the admission alone.
Also saw the last two episodes of House. I love House, it's getting past the 'illness of the week'setups nad really adding some emotion. I hate cliffhangers and was delighted that House didn't go down that route. What it did do (whcih is so much better than a cliffhanger) is add some spice to make the next season well worth watching. Hugh Laurie, you're a god in my eyes.
Talking of Gods, Jamie's on holiday for two weeks. You'll miss his blog. You know you will.
Glasgow's leaves are falling off the trees. This is not good nor desirable. It means that summer's over. I love autumn though and looking forward to O.D.ing on freshly juiced apples and pears. Chestnuts too.
Nearly six, must get back to the magic.
Watch the Roads!!!!!
S
x
Aug 23
Sunday was good, went to see
On A Clear Day and enjoyed the whole evening. Met up with Tina, got soaked, went to
GFT, bumped into
Peter (who I hadn't seen in ages), met with various peeps then went to see the movie.
I really enjoyed it, it's funny, it's brilliantly acted and I was glad I saw it.
Billy was great in it and I did feel that the whole thing worked. I totally get what Peter said about it being 'a nice Sunday afternoon' movie as it's not going to challenge anyone in anyway but it is a great bit of escapism for 100 minutes and I would throughly recommend it. I think that the best thing I can say for the movie is that at the end of the film I was still interested in the characters and wanted to know more about their return home. If you're still interested 100 minutes in then it has to have something going for you.
Also it was nice to see Glasgow in film protrayed as a 'nice' city and not one that is dingy and grim. You can see a nice interview with the director of the movie at a wee website we did for the
Glasgow Film Office. It was also great to see Peter again after so long. It'll be good to catch up with him and hear his chat, we did some great work back in the old days.
After the film had a few more drinks, met some more people then went up the road. A very lovely night all in.
And the episode of House that was on when I got home was pretty good too.
Aug 23
A sad day at Biscuitmedia, The Major, the Godfather of Code, the hardest working man in dot business, Big Al, is leaving to see the world. It's a sad day for biscuitmedia, a great time for Allan. He's going to be missed but he's not leaving just going on a sabbatical. As such his blog will still be part of biscuitmedia's and his entry is the 'About' section will be merely altered. Have fun Al, see you next year. We still have his Zen like presence here for a couple of months which gives me plenty of notice to plan his leaving week. Yup, that's right, week.
So that means that we're looking for a developer. Not just any developer, a developer who loves Glasgow, loves web design, loves being creative with code, loves learning, loves new things, loves old things, gets excited about the good stuff, gets even more excited about the old stuff.
Have a look around here, see what you think. You interested? Then have a look at the recruitment page, see if you have the things we need and send us your CV.
We love you all.
S
x
Aug 19
It's been raining heavily for the first time in ages here in Sunny Glasgow (the Miami of the North I was recently told). Normally rain doesn't bother me but it does when it starts seeping into my shoes. Time to buy new shoes. Joyous.
Busy at work, showing a new design for a dating website that we're building for a client and, as always, Ricky's done a first class job. It's looking very polished at this stage and I can't wait to show the client tomorrow the first draft of the design.
Other stuff since I last blogged includes Macromedia annoucing the release of their latest software suite, Studio 8. I'm sort of so-so about it which is odd for me coming from a pro Macromedia kind of place. I'm not sure what it is that's making me so-so. Some of the features in Dreamweaver will be helpful and should've been done some time ago (background FTP will be hugely welcomed) but I don't see any huge leaps in usability in the software. Of course I've not got stuck in so I'm reserving judgement until I get it next month.
Interested in the advances that the Flash player is going through but, apart from a couple of things, I'm left scratching my head at some of the additions to the player such as being able to put a motion blur on items, photoshop type filters, etc. Performance gains within the player are welcomed but I really want to see what the community does with all these fancy new filters that actually improve the experience of being on the web. With some of the changes I'm a bit feart of seeing Flash being thought of again as the thing that you have to click on 'Skip Intro' to avoid. I'm sure I'm being a little nippy about it. Looking forward to seeing the new video codec in action as well as being to upload files in Flash.
Sweet Jesus, I've used more jargon there than in the last month. You can tell I'm tired.
I have a small mountain of expenses to collect from biscuitmedia and have decided to treat myself. But to what? Well it's either a new Ipod with a speaker system thing or a PSP. I'm leaning to the side of the Ipod with the cool speaker system that either Bose or Altec system thing for the house as my amp was destroyed by the little pigs. Frubes and Wharfdales amps do not make good bedfellows...
I do want a PSP, I'm interested how the PSP and the inevitable video ipod will change the way that video is delivered to you. I think that'll porn will be the first to capitilise on the new way that you can view video but then I can't waait to see if , for example, the BBC will create 10 minute news downloads that you can dump onot your device that you can then view on the bus, train, whatever. I'd so it, more interesting than Metro. We'll see. Anyway, I'm weaning myself of the PSP idea.
I did however pre-order my Xbox 360 Deluxe package. Firstly because I want one one and secondly because I'm a deluxe slut. I would buy two gallons of rancid milk as long as the stinking paper bag it was held in was marked 'Deluxe' in big gold letters. Or small silver letters, it's not the presentation, it's the word.
Sites to go to.
King Danny I has a great website and I would urge you to join his country. A great website, well thought out, designed and funny. The
national anthem is brilliant but I wish it was a easily downloadable MP3. Actually as a citizen I demand it! Noam Chomsky's involved, it must be good!
Well, crazy day tomorrow, working on Saturday morning, playing Power Rangers on Saturday afternoon, Justice League Sunday (I have it on expert authority that Wonder Woman's power is actually wondering about being a super hero) then off to see a wee film Sunday night with some old and new friends. All go, all good.
Excuse the spelling, grammar, it's late and I'm sleepy headed.
Take care of yourselves
And each other.
*wink*
S
