Bristol Creative Industries is delighted to be sponsoring Creative Day at Bristol Technology Festival 2024 alongside BCI members Aer Studios and MyWorld.
Now in its sixth year and organised by techSPARK, Bristol Technology Festival is the UK’s largest regional technology festival.
It celebrates the awesome people, innovation, community and thriving tech scene in the city. We are excited to be involved and representing Bristol’s brilliant creative industries.
Each day of the festival from 7-11 October is themed. Thursday 10 October is Creative Day.
Here the brilliant free events to attend on Creative Day:
SXSW UK is being hosted WHERE?
MyWorld, 9.30 – 11am
…we all know it should have been here, right? Join us as we unlock the untapped potential of creative tech in the region and realise what it takes to position ourselves as rightful global leaders.
Fuelled by barista coffee and brunch, this interactive workshop invites participants to collaborate with key community figures and industry bodies to define what creative technology means to our community and chart a path forward.
Panel: Setting the future vision of creative technology in the South West
Motion, 12.45 – 2pm
Join us for an engaging and interactive panel discussion that will dive into the future of creative technology in our region. Building on the insights from our morning workshop, our panel of industry experts will discuss the untapped potential of our sector and work together to define a shared vision for the future.
Meet the panel:
MyWorld Creative Tech Showcase
Motion, 2 – 5pm
Join us and immerse yourself as we explore emerging technology innovations and trends, such as AI, immersive, gaming, sound and how they are going to continue to transform creative industries. The event showcases the technology that has been researched and developed through MyWorld.
The Sheds studio tours
MyWorld, 9am – 5pm
Book a tour to look around MyWorld’s state of the art facilities at The Sheds and experience some of the innovative technical research being developed in the spaces.
Tom Harber, Bristol Creative Industries board director and Aer Studios managing director, said:
“We see our involvement in Bristol Technology Festival as a meaningful step towards driving deeper collaboration with the tech sector and a stronger relationship with key organisation including techSPARK and MyWorld.
“Creative Day at Bristol Technology Festival provides a platform for Bristol Creative Industries to discuss the creative industries’ role in driving innovation in the region and will bring valuable insight for our members, as well as opportunities for cross-sector collaboration.”
If you’re new to Bristol Creative Industries, here’s a bit about us.
Founded in 2005 as Bristol Media, we’re a community interest company that supports the creative sector to learn, grow and connect.
Driven by the common belief that we can do more collectively that alone, we’re about prosperity for creative businesses and that means attracting new talent and new customers.
In Bristol and across the region we:
We are supporting Bristol Technology Festival to foster greater collaboration across the sectors and create opportunities for insight and connections for our members.
To maximise the benefits of tthe Bristol Creative Industries network, support our work and help the region’s creative sector thrive, you can join as a member.
Look out for representatives of Bristol Creative Industries at Bristol Technology Festival events.
If you are looking to recruit a live events tech, Weston College can help businesses access fully funded* apprenticeship training for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
There is still a post pandemic impact on the sector, resulting in disruptions to staffing, increased costs, and significant supply chain delays. As the industry strives to recover, this new apprenticeship provides a timely solution by developing a new generation of talented technicians capable of supporting the growing demand for live events across the UK and beyond.
The exciting Live Event Technician Apprenticeship program, designed to address the critical shortage of skilled professionals in the live events industry begins starts in November so dont miss out!
Live Event Technicians work in a wide range of settings, including concerts, festivals, theatrical productions, exhibitions, and conferences. Their core responsibility is to prepare, build, set up, and operate industry-standard equipment to deliver seamless live performances. In this dynamic role, technicians interact with a variety of professionals, including venue staff, production managers, designers, performers, and producers..
The Live Event Technician Apprenticeship offers a structured pathway for both new entrants and existing employees to gain the necessary technical skills and practical experience. Employers can use this program to recruit new talent or upskill current staff, ensuring that they are equipped to meet the high standards required for live event production.
For those looking to secure the future of their business and contribute to the growth of the live events sector, this apprenticeship is an ideal solution. To find out more, contact [email protected]
*For 16-21-year-olds and up to 25 if a young person has an Education Health Care Plan.
As the end of Drupal 7 support looms, it’s crucial for businesses to take action and migrate to Drupal 10. Staying on Drupal 7 puts your site at risk of security vulnerabilities, performance issues, and could even damage user experience (and your reputation).
Stay tuned to learn the essential steps to assess and optimise your current Drupal 7 site, establish a robust Drupal 10 environment, and ensure a seamless migration. By following this guide, you’ll not only protect your digital presence but also position your business for future growth and innovation.
Secure a comprehensive backup
Protect your existing Drupal 7 site by securing a full backup. This safety net covers both your database and files, ensuring you’re prepared for a smooth transition.
Content and module audit
This is your chance to streamline your site. Identify the content and modules that drive your business. We’ll help you eliminate outdated or redundant elements, clearing the way for a leaner, more efficient site.
Update for stability
Ensure your Drupal 7 site is fully updated to the latest version. This step not only lays a stable foundation for migration but also presents an opportunity to patch any vulnerabilities and optimise performance before the big move.
Choose the right hosting
Select a hosting environment tailored to support Drupal 10’s advanced capabilities. This stage allows you to reassess your hosting needs and choose a platform that can scale with your business, ensuring long-term reliability and speed.
Deploy Drupal 10
Our team will handle the installation of Drupal 10, setting the stage for your site’s evolution. This is your opportunity to start fresh with the latest technology, ensuring your site is equipped to handle future growth and innovation.
Initial setup and configuration
We’ll configure your site’s basic settings, aligning it with your brand’s unique identity. This is the moment to revisit your site’s core settings and make improvements that reflect your current business objectives and user needs.
Activate migrate modules
Leverage the power of Drupal 10’s Migrate modules. Our experts will ensure they’re installed and ready to work their magic. This phase is an opportunity to refine the way your data is organised, improving site efficiency and data integrity.
Seamless content migration
We’ll meticulously migrate your content – from nodes to users, and beyond – ensuring your data arrives intact and ready to drive engagement. It’s the perfect time to clean up your content, ensuring only relevant and high-quality information makes the move.
Configuration migration
Transfer your site’s configurations with precision. Whether it’s content types or views, we ensure your site’s core functions are not just preserved but optimised for better performance and user experience in Drupal 10.
Custom module rebuild
Rebuilding custom modules in Drupal 10 isn’t just a task – it’s an opportunity to innovate. We’ll ensure your modules are not just replicated but enhanced for improved functionality, security, and speed.
Theme overhaul
Elevate your brand’s digital presence with a redesigned theme that’s fully compatible with Drupal 10’s cutting-edge standards. This is your chance to modernise your site’s look and feel, ensuring it reflects your brand’s evolution and appeals to your target audience.
Feature testing
We rigorously test all features to guarantee that your site performs flawlessly. This stage is crucial for identifying areas where user experience can be improved, leading to higher engagement and satisfaction.
Comprehensive testing and debugging
Before going live, we conduct extensive testing across all platforms. Our commitment is to iron out any issues, ensuring a smooth launch. This is the final opportunity to fine-tune your site, making sure it’s in peak condition for launch.
Content accuracy review
We perform a detailed review of your migrated content, ensuring everything is aligned with your business objectives and looks impeccable. Use this stage to ensure your content strategy is up-to-date and resonates with your audience.
Go live and thrive
Once we’ve ticked all the boxes, we’ll seamlessly transition your site to Drupal 10. This launch is more than just a migration; it’s an opportunity to reintroduce your brand to the market with a stronger, more powerful digital presence.
Sticking with Drupal 7 now that support has ended is a risk your business can’t afford. Without security updates, your site becomes vulnerable to attacks, risking data breaches and downtime. The lack of updates also means your site will fall behind in performance, leading to poor user experience and potential loss of business opportunities.
The clock is ticking – don’t wait until it’s too late. Migrating to Drupal 10 isn’t just an upgrade; it’s a critical step in future-proofing your digital presence. With Drupal 7 reaching the end of its life, now is the time to act.
Ready to make the move? Let’s talk.
Book a free consultation with our Technology Director, Steve King, and Marketing and Business Development Director, Sophie Harris. Together, we’ll map out the perfect migration strategy for your business, ensuring a smooth transition that positions you ahead of the competition.
To schedule your consultation and take the first step toward a more secure, high-performing website contact us today.
You may not have heard: Drupal 7 reaches end of life in January…
Just kidding. Of COURSE you have. It’s been the talk of the digital town for a while now. Not to mention the source of quite a few headaches as businesses scramble to work out what the next move is.
What it comes down to is this: if your current site runs on Drupal 7, you need to choose a new content management system (CMS). And preferably sooner rather than later.
‘Why the urgency?’ we hear you cry. Because when security and software updates stop, your site will be at increased danger of security breaches. And you’ll find the performance of your website becoming increasingly compromised. Staying on the old platform is a case of diminishing returns and increasing risks.
Surely an upgrade to the latest Drupal version makes the most sense? After all, it’s done you proud so far. And you’re familiar with it. Well yes, there are plenty of reasons that make it a great option.
But it’s not a total no-brainer. Let’s delve into why.
You might imagine that a move to the latest version of Drupal would simplify the migration process. If it’s the same provider then won’t it be easier to just take your existing content and place it in the new system?
Not quite. Given all the new features and functionalities that have been added between version 7 and the latest iterations, it is still a major undertaking.
But migration has the potential to be a lengthy process whichever platform you choose. So it’s important to make your decision carefully.
We’re glad you asked! This does depend on the size of your website and the number of assets to be transferred. But let’s break down the steps you’ll need to take to get your new website up and running:
1. Partner with an experienced web-migration expert who can help streamline the process, suggest new features and test it all before the final launch.
2. Audit your existing website and make a note of all your pages, site functionalities and content, including page URLs.
3. Create a new site and design a repeatable migration process to transfer all the content over from your existing site.
4. Carry out multiple tests to ensure your new site will run smoothly after launch, replacing the test content with the final content when you are happy.
5. Prepare to launch – set up the new site and switch your web address to the new version. Make sure all your webform submissions are safely migrated and you’re good to go.
That might sound daunting, but not only will migration future-proof your site it also offers some exciting possibilities.
Chances are, you’ll have experienced a few issues with your old site. Choosing your new CMS is a great chance to iron some of these out. Plus add additional capabilities so you can showcase what you do in a more effective/dynamic way.
And it might be that Webflow gives you more flexibility.
Once you’ve conducted your website audit (see step 1 above), you and your chosen migration partner will have a much clearer understanding of your new requirements. And, depending on what you need, Webflow might offer the best performance.
Webflow represents something of a one-stop shop: its low code/no code approach means you don’t need a development team (or front-end and back-end developers) to create your website, and you don’t need painstakingly built plugins or modules.
Each software element is designed specifically to run on the platform. And you can choose from a vast array of third-party integrations. All of which makes your website simpler and faster to build. And adds up to faster page loads as there are no external layers to run.
The Webflow application will also save you time by managing the maintenance of your site and all your integrations, take care of CDM delivery and ensure the website stays live.
Even better, any future changes can be made by one designer and developed on the platform at the same time.
Webflow sees itself as a ‘visual-first’ platform which puts fewer boundaries in the way of your imagination.
Code-based websites require multiple steps to build as each iteration or change bounces back between design and development teams.
Webflow allows a designer to build out your site as they go. And with millions of third-party integration options available, it’s easy to find what you need to make your ideas come alive.
You might be concerned that the low code/no code approach means your site will face limitations. That’s simply not the case. Webflow allows you to address global audiences with native localisation, which is excellent for boosting your SEO and allows you to build strong domain authority with each localisation sitting under a single URL.
We know that’s a lot to take in. If you’d like help making your decision, talk to our experts today.
BIMA star James Hobbs appointed Head of Tech at Aer Studios
Aer Studios, a leading creative technology studio in the South West, is thrilled to announce the appointment of James Hobbs as Head of Technology. Hobbs, who brings a wealth of experience from his time at Dyson and Great State, joins at a time when Aer Studios also announces a new trio of practice leads, including Max Waring (Front End), Jon Chard (Back End), and Aaron Bushell (DevOps).
Hobbs’ appointment comes shortly after the addition of Lucy Rees, Head of People and Culture, further strengthening Aer Studios’ leadership team. These strategic hires mark a significant step in Aer Studios’ growth, as well as its commitment to excellence and innovation in the creative technology sector. Last year it secured a coveted place on the BBC Digital Design Roster.
Notable career achievements for Hobbs include a six-year period at Dyson, where he successfully led the global digital technical team from its inception to over twenty members. At Great State, Hobbs was instrumental in driving the company’s technology strategy, leading an engineering team delivering multi-award-winning work.
In addition to his impressive career achievements, Hobbs has been recognised in the prestigious BIMA 100 for Sustainability, underlining his commitment to sustainable practices. This aligns perfectly with Aer Studios’ 2024 BCorp certification and its ongoing efforts to prioritise sustainability in all aspects of its operations. Aer Studios won its own prestigious BIMA Award in the Innovative App category in October 2023.
“James’ appointment comes at a time when Aer Studios is gearing up for growth,” said Tom Harber Managing Director at Aer Studios. “His experience and values fit perfectly with our ambitions. With James on board, we’re excited to amplify our efforts and lead the charge in transforming the tech industry into a beacon of sustainability for the future.”
“I’m delighted to have joined Aer Studios,” said James. “It was immediately clear from my initial conversations with Lucy and Tom that Aer Studios have a deep focus on people and planet, both of which are really important to me, alongside delivering outstanding work for clients.”
Hobbs’ arrival at Aer Studios is set to propel the company towards new heights, enhancing its technical capabilities and reinforcing its commitment to sustainable practices. With a cross-capability leadership team in place, Aer Studios is well-positioned to lead the industry in creative and sustainable technology solutions.
About Aer Studios
Aer Studios is an award-winning creative technology studio based in the South West of England. Its mission is to create meaningful digital experiences that have a positive impact on people & planet. Partnering with leading brands in the public and private sectors, its clients include Warner Media, Cartoon Network, BBC, Dogs Trust, Diabetes UK, CNN, History Royal Palaces and GOV.UK. With a particular focus on employee experience, Aer Studios ranked in the top 100 best workplaces and best workplaces for wellbeing by the Great Place to Work awards.
www.aerstudios.co.uk
Not-for-profit organisation Tech4Good South West has launched a brand-new recognition showcase which will spotlight individuals and teams making a positive social impact across the region.
This initiative will celebrate organisations and individuals who are utilising digital technology as a force for good in the world. Champions will be selected based on Tech4Good South West’s guiding principles which include commitment to protect the planet, ensuring accessibility for all, and empowering innovation.
Anyone can get involved and nominate by submitting an online application on behalf of their chosen champion. The first round of the initiative is now open to nominations and the champions will be selected by guest judges. These champion nominations will roll throughout the year, bringing together community stories as part of a Champions Showcase. Tech4Good South West Champions will be announced and celebrated at our events, and annual reports.
The Tech4Good South West community has grown following its relaunch earlier this year. The organisation aims to build a regional ecosystem, fostering partnerships and opportunities for knowledge sharing, amplifying the impact of tech for good initiatives across the region.
The organisation plays a key role in supporting projects across the South West. One notable project and champion example is the Digital Divide Collective, incubated by Tech4Good South West. This project focuses on addressing digital inclusion in Bath & North East Somerset. The Digital Divide Collective is committed to tackling disparities in technology access, usage, and outcomes, ensuring that technology is accessible for all. Working alongside Tech4Good South West, the collective aims to identify barriers, map needs, and initiate key actions or projects.
Since its launch, the Digital Divide Collective has collaborated with local charities, national organisations, and industry partners to identify and amplify key initiatives that bridge the divide.
Commenting on the champions initiative Tech4Good South West Co-Founder Annie Legge said: “Technology has the potential to offer so many people wide-ranging opportunities. It can break down barriers to accessibility and address the digital divide that society is facing. A core pillar of the Tech4Good community is recognising tech for good achievements across the region. It’s essential that we celebrate the change-makers in the South West and acknowledge the potential positive impact they are having.
“The champions’ showcase provides an opportunity for community members to nominate individuals believed to be doing exceptional work, demonstrating dedication to tech innovations and access for all. The judging team looks forward to learning more about the amazing work delivered across the South West and announcing the region’s champions at the upcoming showcase event.”
To submit a request to nominate please complete a form via the Tech4Good South West website here.
Neighbourly, the giving platform which connects businesses with local charities and community groups across the UK and Ireland, has teamed up with Microsoft to launch a campaign to bring together corporate volunteers with the charitable sector, with the aim of helping to reduce admin burden and address the growing digital divide.
Through the DigitalBridge campaign, launching this month, charities and community groups in Neighbourly’s network, from youth charities to food banks, will be able to access support through Neighbourly’s corporate network, with volunteers from around twenty businesses including Virgin Media O2, Hays, Overbury and Morgan Lovell, Motability and Redcliffe & Temple BID helping charities with a range of digital challenges as well as facilitating access to AI resources to help them expedite administrative, strategic and creative tasks.
The campaign comes as research shows that spending less time on administrative tasks is a growing need for charities and that two thirds of charities are interested in making the best use of emerging tech such as AI and ChatGPT. In Neighbourly’s most recent community research, 64% said they don’t know where to start with Gen AI or haven’t spent any time on it. In 2023 the Communications and Digital Committee also highlighted high levels of digital exclusion amongst citizens, with the rapid shift towards online services deepening disadvantage for those who remain offline.
Microsoft is supporting the programme through the provision of online training resources developed specifically to help build knowledge and access learning pathways so that charity employees can use technology to drive greater impact. Employees from businesses in the Neighbourly community will utilise and signpost these resources as part of their volunteering activities, to help build confidence and skills in key areas. Charity staff and volunteers will also be able to take learnings to provide practical support and digital skills to beneficiaries.
Volunteer opportunities will run throughout June and into the summer, tying in with and celebrating other major volunteering calendar moments such as The Big Help Out (7-9 June).
Neighbourly has been working with Microsoft since 2023 as part of its Entrepreneurship for Positive Impact (EfPI) programme which supports tech businesses and entrepreneurs that are addressing urgent social challenges.
Charles Eales, UK Social Impact Lead, Microsoft Philanthropies, said:
“We’re excited to be working with Neighbourly on this important campaign aimed at bridging the digital divide and empowering charities with essential digital skills. At Microsoft, we believe in the power of technology to drive positive change, and through initiatives like this, we can be really targeted and help make a meaningful impact in communities where the need is greatest.”
Bev Sykes, Founder, Just Good Friends, said:
“Our small charity would be really interested in learning more about AI and chat tools. We know we need to get more digital skills to take us further – we’re struggling to move forward in certain areas because of our lack of knowledge. I’ve done some initial reading about AI and it sounds interesting but I need some help understanding how it can be best applied.”
Steve Butterworth, CEO, Neighbourly, said:
“As a platform dedicated to fostering meaningful connections between businesses and local charities, we’re proud to collaborate with Microsoft and our valued client partners on this innovative volunteering initiative, through which we hope to reach at least 1,000 charity employees. By harnessing the power of corporate volunteers and technology, we aim to empower charities to navigate the digital landscape more effectively, ultimately driving greater impact and inclusivity within communities.”
The Founder of Bristol-based MotherBoard, Sophie Creese has joined the Women Pivoting to Digital Taskforce and will work with the City of London Corporation to help mid-career women pivot to digital roles. The aim is to address the underrepresentation of women working in digital careers by providing women with vital skills in order future-proof the digital workforce.
The Women Pivoting to Digital Taskforce brings together business, government, third sector, and industry groups to bring more attention to and action around supporting women from non-technical backgrounds to career change into technology roles. 29th April marked the commencement of the Taskforce.
Taskforce members are comprised of 65 different subject matter experts from across the UK regions with an interest in digital and diversity, responsible for delivering the Workstream outputs.
“In the UK, half of women leave the tech sector by age 35, often due to inflexible working conditions that exclude mothers. I’m excited to join the Women Pivoting to Digital Taskforce, dedicated to increasing female representation in tech through career switching. MotherBoard brings a vital perspective, highlighting the need for practical solutions to ensure women with already established careers in other industries are offered the support needed to thrive in tech roles.” Sophie Creese, Founder of MotherBoard
About Sophie Creese (she/her)
Founder of MotherBoard
Sophie Creese is the Founder of mission-led organisations MotherBoard & HeyFlow, which are driving positive change for gender equity at work.
MotherBoard is a not-for-profit Business Charter & Community that is tackling the 50% of women who leave the tech industry by age 35, predominantly due to motherhood.
Beyond MotherBoard, Sophie co-founded HeyFlow earlier this year, a mission-led insights & consultancy start-up that helps employers understand their female workforce better to improve retention.
About The Women Pivoting to Digital Taskforce
https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/supporting-businesses/business-support-and-advice/women-pivoting-to-digital/women-pivoting-to-digital-steering-board
About MotherBoard
MotherBoard is a Business Charter, Community, and Event Series driving tangible change for mums working in the tech industry. We are on a mission to transform the industry to be more inclusive of women & mothers by tackling stigmas and supporting employers who want to create real change. Powered by ADLIB (https://www.adlib-recruitment.co.uk/)
// 50% of women leave the tech industry before age 35. Let’s change that.
Why mums?
Although MotherBoard is specifically tackling the issue of motherhood inclusion within the tech industry, a lot of what we are fighting for are problems that create gender inequity across the board.
With 82% of women becoming mothers in their lifetime, if we want a more gender-fair industry then motherhood (and the penalty that currently comes with it) needs to be at the heart of every inclusion strategy.
Without removing the barriers mothers face, we will continue to see more women leaving the industry, which leads to fewer women in senior roles, which in turn leads to fewer women entering the industry due to a lack of visible role models.
We also fight for parents in general.
To achieve true gender equity, the idea of a mother being the presumed primary caregiver needs to be broken down and there needs to be greater flexibility for all parents to look after their children – regardless of gender.
Why Tech?
With only 27% of the tech workforce being women, tech is one of the most gender-imbalanced industries within the UK. It’s a known issue, with many employers wanting to create more gender-diverse teams but ending up fishing from the same limited pool.
Our goal is to help businesses not only create environments that are more supportive of women in the current workforce but also equip them with the tools to shift a much-needed change for future generations.
CONTACTS
Jardine Miles: Marketing Manager, MotherBoard, email: [email protected]
Sophie Creese: Founder, MotherBoard, email: [email protected]
Confused by giga-whatsits and tetra-terra-RAMs? Lights go dim when you’re in earshot of someone talking about metrics and benchmarks? Then you, dear reader, are who I’m writing this for. If you also happen to be marketing adjacent in your role, then you, dear prospect are definitely who I’m writing this for.
I don’t want to brag, but this blog provides easily consumable, highly understandable insight into the importance of speeding up your digital performance. So great is this insight that it has its own acronym: F.A.S.T.
View image in blog here.
This is quite simple really. So simple, in fact, that it can be bullet pointed:
You can Google (or ChatGPT) these things until you’re blue in the face, and you’ll likely find hundreds of books on these topics. So, to save reinventing the wheel, I’m going to explore three areas that can contribute to your digital speed and agility.
Those of you paying attention will notice that I’ve used automation for the title of this section, not AI. Why have I done this? Is AI not the fire that draws the marketing moths nearer? The AI magic silver bullet that makes everything better, faster, stronger?
The truth is, AI is used far too broadly and often incorrectly, so I’d like to try not to spread any more misinformation.
With that in mind, let’s define our terms:
Let’s use a couple examples and explain why the two are often confused.
Writing a piece of content, running it through a translation service, assigning a status of ‘needs review’ and sending an email to a staff member to prompt the need for proofreading or fact checking.
This is an automation.
Writing a piece of content, running it through a translation service, assigning a status of ‘needs review’ and sending an email to a staff member to prompt the need for proofreading or fact checking.
This is AI… and also automation.
They’re the same, right? Yes and no. In our example it entirely depends on how the translation service has been created. If that service has been written as a complex system for converting one language to another, it’s not AI. However, if that system has been trained to translate using vast multi-lingual datasets and machine learning techniques, it is AI.
So, let’s apply the lens of performance. Given the two above examples what is the driver for increased performance? Automation, not AI.
To increase the performance of your digital processes, look at which manual activities can be automated. What can you connect to what and allow ‘the system’ to take over.
How do we do this? This is actually computing. It’s what software and hardware engineers have been doing since Babbage built his difference engine – we’re taking an input, applying certain rules or changes to it, and manufacturing an output. In software engineering this is done in code. The real revolution we’re currently experiencing lies in the way these powers have been put in the hands of ‘we, the people’. APIs have become commonplace. Tools like Zapier, Make, and others have created capabilities to connect the APIs of the largest and most common services.
In the not-so-distant past, if you wanted to automate a process using computers, you’d need to have a team of developers. Today, you just need an idea and a set of off-the-shelf tools.
The automation of systems and processes has become democratised. If you’re not automating your processes, you should be. Others are, and they’ll be moving faster than you.
You can’t rush the creative process. I wouldn’t dare suggest you can. My partner and the mother of my children happens to be ‘a creative’ and it’s more than my life is worth to sully the craft with such a cold, clinical word as ‘performance.’
But what I am suggesting you can do is grease the wheels a little – remove the friction. Essentially, you want to cut out the middlemen – the great unwashed tech folk that often serve as content gatekeepers in processes that time forgot (I can make that joke, because I am / was a developer. I promise I did wash… occasionally.)
Back in the day – ‘the day’ being just a quick hop back to the year 2017 – it wasn’t uncommon to need to make a clear and distinct choice when considering content creation capabilities on your website.
The predominant choices? The tried and tested form-based CMS, equipping droves of content editors with the power to put text into little boxes. Or a protracted, high-design process: content that made its way to the web via many a designer, developer and tester.
BUT, creating and publishing content on a website has undergone substantial change over the past 5 years. We are officially living in the future. The content editor experience is now more important than ever. Fast-paced marketing, ever-decreasing attention spans and increased marketing agility require the modern content editor to act quickly and assuredly. This need has been a call to action for editor tooling, and we’re firmly living in the age of low-code / no-code editor experiences.
Now, given the aforementioned rate of change and the average lifespan of a website, it’s quite possible you’re still experiencing this clunky mechanic. You might feel a world away from the nirvana of which I speak. On the contrary – you’re likely best placed to take advantage of this brave new world. And it’s about time you underwent that website refresh you’ve been dreaming of.
Allow me, if you will, to paint you a picture of the awe-inspiring world of frictionless content publishing.
Using these tools, your content editors can log into your CMS, choose from a collection of branded, pre-built, design-approved patterns. They’ll drag them into a page that’s ready to be populated with content, preview the fruits of their labour in real-time, easily change layouts, nest components. The result is an entirely unique page or website, confidently consistent with your brand.
Why is this better? It empowers your team, unlocks creativity, removes developer requirement, reduces the concern of brand variance and inconsistency, and eliminates human error and duplication of efforts. In short, it shifts left and speeds up the entire content creation process.
Sounds good, right?
But I do have one word of warning. Not all that glitters is gold – some modern architecture patterns could easily land you in hot water. If you’re looking for that website refresh, do find a partner that will create the right product for you, not for them.
Alright, it’s just ‘edge computing’ – you’ll have to forgive the acronymic crowbarring.
I fear by this point I might be losing you dear reader. I’m sure you’re tiring of my pithy rambling, so I’ll take a cue from edge computing and move my point closer to you.
Edge computing is the practice of utilising geographically optimal server locations to reduce data travel distance.
Edge computing can provision your databases, your web servers and your code closer to the customer. Picture a user in China purchasing a product from Apple. They open a browser and visit Apple.com. That request, in a non-edge world, would likely travel halfway across the world and land on a server. The server then needs to send response data back across the globe via cables running under large bodies of water. This takes time. When you add in compute time back at the server this compounds. When you add in data size this compounds further.
Milliseconds can turn into seconds, forcing users to wait, which hurts your SEO performance, impacts conversion and damages your brand.
All this in just a few seconds.
Well, what if I told you that your data need not travel at all.
Edge computing also tends to include the use of a content distribution network (CDN). This handy practice can cache major parts of your website to, in some cases, completely invalidate the need to visit your servers at all – no travel, no computing, no wait (well, very little wait).
Companies that provide CDN capability can have copies of your website as close to your customers or users as physically possible ready to fire your website into their eyeballs at break-neck speeds. They also add a whole bunch of security advantages, but that’s a topic for another time.
We live in a global world. Unless you’re geo-locking your website, you can have visitors from anywhere. Is their money worth any less than Brenda from Bromley’s?
If you would like to discuss your website with one of our experts, or have any questions surrounding this blog, please don’t hesitate to contact us at [email protected].
When we talk about brand, technology isn’t generally the first thing that springs to mind. Brand is, more often than not, considered to belong to the realm of “creatives”.
However, without touching on the levels of “creativity” required to conceive of and build the applications and services our modern world runs on today, we’ll spend some time looking at why technology is crucial to the success of a brand.
Technology tools are ubiquitous in our lives and day-to-day work, so we’ll take it as read that technology plays a role in crafting a brand, but once that brand lives and breathes, what critical role does technology play in ensuring its growth and prosperity?
Starting with a grandiose analogy, technology is to brand what “organisation” was to the Roman Empire: an enabler of massive growth and innovation or, when overstretched or ill-conceived, a potential cause of damage. In this way we can see that technology is an amplifier for brand, in both positive and negative directions.
Let’s continue with this handy framing and look at some examples of positive and negative impacts on brand facilitated by the duplicitous technology and see exactly why it is so crucial to the fundamental success of a brand.
Technology is to brand what organisation was to the Roman Empire: an enabler of massive growth and innovation or, when overstretched or ill-conceived, a potential cause of damage.
“Speak clearly, if you speak at all; carve every word before you let it fall” – Marcus Aurelius
The words of Marcus Aurelius ring true for every good brand operating today. What you say matters. But so too does how you say it – and crafting and broadcasting brand messages, communicating brand personality and demonstrating brand principles are all enabled through skilled use of technology.
It’s often helpful to look at brands in terms of component parts, something we love doing in the tech space. Lets consider a brand as having physical and non-physical properties. In the physical space we have written, visual and auditory assets and capabilities; in the non-physical space we have experience, behaviour and embodiment components.
When we break it all down like this, we can start to see how technology can play key roles in supporting brand, primarily in distribution, governance and implementation.
Let’s consider a brand as having physical and non-physical properties. In the physical space are written, visual and auditory assets and capabilities, in the non-physical space we have experience, behaviour and embodiment components.
In the physical space, distribution, governance & implementation is really about moving the assets that support our brand around effectively and efficiently, ensuring that whenever and wherever our brand needs to be referenced it’s being done so using the frame that countless hours and much effort went into establishing, and furthermore ensuring that those mechanisms are doing this work in such a way that supports our desired brand. I’m fairly confident in saying that few brands would say that keeping a customer waiting (to view an image of their logo) is in line with their brand message and values.
This is achieved through:
In the non-physical space we’re really talking about communicating and enabling those representing our brand to do so in line with our expectations. Technology enables this by providing ways to up-skill and support those people representing our brand. Learning tools, managed communication systems, and again asset management, consider a Tone of Voice document.
This can be achieved through use of:
When these systems are in place, well implemented and well managed, we can create a robust, well-oiled machine through which we can ensure that our brand is carried through to all digital touch points.
Because no story would be complete without a cautionary tale, let’s look at one now. Ticketmaster, the global purveyor of all things live entertainment, suffered some very serious brand damage at the hands of technology.
“He who is not a good servant will not be a good [Ticket]master” – Plato
It should go without saying that poor customer service is detrimental to a brand. I’m sure we’ve all sworn off a company after a bad experience, and possibly still warn others off said company to this day.
Customer service used to be fairly linear, and all about the human touch – direct customer contact. Nowadays, the number of touchpoints between customer and brand has grown and much of that increased surface area is digital. It’s perhaps for this reason that we’re seeing a move from ‘customer service’ to the increased use of ‘customer experience’ as a more appropriate term.
Now, back to our cautionary tale…
It’s November 2022. Having selected Ticketmaster as her exclusive ticket sales partner, Taylor Swift is set to launch the pre-sales of the US leg of her ridiculously highly anticipated Eras Tour. It’s fair to say this was one of the most visible tour launches in history. Droves of her fans were hoping for an experience they’d never forget. And they got one. A bad one. An unforgettably bad customer experience.
What followed wasn’t Ticketmaster’s finest moment: website outages, fans being booted from queues, cancelled sales and the resulting Twitter storm of frustration – delivered by panicked, angry Swiftie acolytes.
The damage of this incident to Ticketmaster and its brand cannot be overstated. The narrative that Ticketmaster finds itself still dealing with, is one of incompetence, poor planning, and bad implementation, rather than one that focuses on the fact that it helped Ms. Swift sell 2.4 million tickets in one day, an all-time record.
What will people remember about Swiftie Ticketmaster-gate? Incompetence, technology failures and a terrible customer experience.
What will no one remember? That it helped sell 2.4 million TS tickets in one day – an all-time record.
To rub salt into the wound, the blunder and increased exposure has kicked off a series of events that has resulted in a class action lawsuit brought by Taylor Swift fans and a Federal antitrust investigation into monopolistic practices. To further kick the downed Ticketmaster and its salted wound, parent company Live Nation suffered a 17% slide in stock valuation in the two weeks following the incident.
To further kick the downed TicketMaster and its salted wound, parent company Live Nation suffered a 17% slide in stock valuation in the two weeks following the incident.
Let’s cut Ticketmaster a little slack and have a look at the heavy site traffic driven by the “astronomical” demand of legions of Taylor Swift fans desperate to snag tickets. Ticketmaster reported 3.5 million users registering for the pre-sale programme, a large number. Compare this with Semrush’s list of most trafficked pages on the web and the number pales in comparison with Google’s 18.11 billion visitors in December 2022. A little calculation shows that the infrastructure in place at Google would likely have dealt with this demand … and probably does daily.
(18,011,000,000 /31) / 24) = 24,208,333
Google approx hits per hour: 24.2 million
Whilst high website traffic and the strain on Ticketmaster’s infrastructure are clearly what kicked off this series of events, it was avoidable. I don’t work for Ticketmaster so I have no insight into where the failing was, but I’d be very surprised if the team responsible for setting up the autoscaling rules had a full understanding of the scale of potential impact of this type of incident, as the cost to add the extra resources to cope with load will have been pence on the pound to the cost of the damage.
Brand is inescapably dependent on technology in our modern world, it requires it, to live, breathe and survive. If a brand falls in the woods, does it make a sound?
If you’re responsible for your brand, you need to understand the myriad ways that technology can help it grow and develop, but just as importantly you need to understand the various technologies at play in your world and what unique risk management considerations they might represent.
I’ll finish on another pithy analogy: technology is fire, it can light your way, bring you and your brand out of the stone age and provide warmth and safety. But, don’t drop the match or it’ll
Burn. Your. House. To. The. Ground!
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