Archive October 2009
Trafigura, The Guardian and social networks
The Guardian newpaper has recently had a gagging order stamped on it which prevents it reporting (in any detail) about parliamentary proceedings regarding how the company Trafigura has allegedly dumped toxic waste.
In doing so, however, the gagging order has kinda had an unwanted effect – in that it’s becoming more popular than regular news: social networks are picking up the news story and perpetuating it. Twitter is, at the time of writing, apparently going bonkers with about 200 TPM (Tweets Per Minute) containing the name Trafigura. eConsultancy points us toward this trendmap of Tweets.
Plus, given that the news has already been reported on by the BBC and The Guardian themselves, it only makes people more interested as to why they’re suddenly being denied any more information on the case. As every kid knows, as soon as you are told you can’t have something, you want it even more.*
If ever there was a case for social media becoming, as eConsultancy puts it, a toxic avenger, this is it. Interesting stuff, and one to keep an eye on.
*: To be fair, this effect isn’t the sole preserve of kids. Try telling my girlfriend that we can’t have a kitten.
::update:: Gag lifted! Well done Internets. 
::update::
Bethere.co.uk – I’ve changed my mind.
I took a good long look at the BE site this eve, and I’ve decided I don’t like it after all. Functionality is all well and good, but there’s a balance between functionality and … well, pants. Structurally, the IA is fine, but the design itself really needs re-doing.
However, people on their forums need to get a grip: hysterical cries of “I won’t be recommending BE to anyone any more because of their branding!!!!” is quite simply retarded.
0A review of the new Schuh.co.uk site!
In the latest part of the on-going saga of my reviewing the Schuh website(s), they’ve relaunched their website today! So, without further ado…
A review of the new www.schuh.co.uk site
After my previous entries about the Schuh sites, you may recall some of the previous points:
- Ineffective design templates
- Bad site structure, both technically and IA-wise
- Bizarre graphics
- Inconsistent user journey
- Lack of hierarchy
Have they addressed these issues? Does the site now support the brand adequately? And – perhaps most importantly – do they stock those Dekline shoes I wanted all those months ago? Read on!
5Ridiculous legal disclaimers on websites
Recently, I was asked to update a selection of legal pages on a website. The changes were, largely, dull as batshit. However, one bullet point stood out for me in terms of utter stupidity:
f) Hyperlinks:
You may not create a hyperlink to this website without our prior written consent.
A bit of searching unearthed a whole bunch of sites that use this wording on their legal or T&C pages! Boing Boing recently posted about something similar about the T&Cs for the new Vegemite site. Firstly – and call me Mr Silly if you like – but this is completely ridiculous. It is:
- Unenforcable
- Completely unrealistic
- Against the nature of the web
- If the website is a commercial/retail concern, it’s actually a hindrance
Unenforcable because, being the Internet, anyone can link to anything – much in the same way that anyone can step out of their house and say anything they like to whomever they like in the street.
Unrealistic because you can’t stop people linking to wherever they want from wherever they want.
Against the nature of the web because it’s meant to be a free-speech platform*. Unless you live in N.Korea or China, of course.
If the website is a commercial/retail site, not allowing inbound links is like saying you don’t want to sell anything: people linking to your site is one of the main ways other people will find you and people spread the word.
Finally, having content like that on a site makes the organisation look completely behind the times in terms of how they understand the world (and more importantly the Internet) to work.
*: Yes I know there’s lots of stuff going on with bogus DMCA takedowns and similar, but – generally speaking – people can say what they like.
1A review of Directline.com
Whilst wandering around the web, I stumbled across the Direct Line website and thought I’d write a quick review of their web offering.
Being the most dominant direct insurer in the market brings great responsibility. Does your website support your brand and support your customer proposition? Can a visitor tell where they’ve arrived at? As the biggest fish in the pond, it’s easy to get complacent and neglect your website.
Have Direct Line done their duty? Or have they let it go to the dogs? Read on and find out!
1The ‘Wonky Tray Table Effect’
Chris Rourke has just posted a small article on eConsultancy about what he calls the ‘Wonky Tray Table Effect’. It’s worth a read, and what it alludes to is the way in which small things can affect our confidence.
I completely agree with Chris. A website that contains errors – whether they’re spelling mistakes, broken links or something else equally trivial – makes me question the integrity of that site:
- Are they going to handle my credit card details properly?
- Are there typos in the code that could mean the SSL security is broken somehow?
- Are the staff trustworthy?
The moral of the story (as I’ve concluded in my Hotmail post) is to check everything, and assume nothing.
And bring me pie.
0Peep Schuh – wherefore art thou?
Still no word of the new Schuh site (Peep Schuh!)…I’m actually excited to see it. I clearly need to get out more. Don’t keep me hanging, Schuh: let’s see the new site. 
A review of www.graze.com
One could be forgiven for thinking that a) I’ve an obsession with online shoe retailer reviews, and b) that I only like to review sites that I think are complete pants…and, in a way, you’d be right. But I intend to break the mould this lunchtime!
Last year, I spotted www.graze.com – basically an online fruit & nut seller – with a vaguely unique proposition of delivering these lovely bowel-movement-inducing goods direct to your desk. Well, your office, at least. I promptly signed up because I was in need of an excuse to eat slightly better, and also because the design of the site was really rather good.
It’s been a while since I looked at the site, so without further ado, read on and find out whether it’s still tickling me in the designlustpants.
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