Comments on: Article and feature suggestions - Speak your mind! http://www.computersinbusiness.com/general/article-and-feature-suggestions-speak-your-mind The home of IT @ The Sunday Business Post and Computers in Business magazine on the net Wed, 20 Aug 2008 08:09:10 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2.1 By: Fintan http://www.computersinbusiness.com/general/article-and-feature-suggestions-speak-your-mind#comment-51 Fintan Sat, 04 Aug 2007 14:38:26 +0000 http://www.computersinbusiness.com/general/article-and-feature-suggestions-speak-your-mind#comment-51 Personally I'd naturally like to see more coverage on the Data Centre Industry. Not just guides to choosing a hosting / co-location company or which server to choose but other articles detailing the services / products available to Data Centre managers. Best of luck with the new blog its a great idea and long over due! :) Cheers Fintan Personally I’d naturally like to see more coverage on the Data Centre Industry.

Not just guides to choosing a hosting / co-location company or which server to choose but other articles detailing the services / products available to Data Centre managers.

Best of luck with the new blog its a great idea and long over due! :)

Cheers

Fintan

]]> By: Mark http://www.computersinbusiness.com/general/article-and-feature-suggestions-speak-your-mind#comment-50 Mark Mon, 30 Jul 2007 08:47:59 +0000 http://www.computersinbusiness.com/general/article-and-feature-suggestions-speak-your-mind#comment-50 Agree 100%, it's always going to be something of a dilemma. I suppose the hope with the blog is that we get tip offs or well founded rumours that could highlight news stories to our journalists that bit earlier. Or even if there were topics that people feel we due to hit the news or should be in the news then we can go about making contact with people and companies that are in these areas. All too often there is after-the-fact reporting. Bit of a catch 22 but, as said, hopefully the blog might start bridging the gap to some degree. Agree 100%, it’s always going to be something of a dilemma. I suppose the hope with the blog is that we get tip offs or well founded rumours that could highlight news stories to our journalists that bit earlier. Or even if there were topics that people feel we due to hit the news or should be in the news then we can go about making contact with people and companies that are in these areas. All too often there is after-the-fact reporting. Bit of a catch 22 but, as said, hopefully the blog might start bridging the gap to some degree.

]]> By: Michele http://www.computersinbusiness.com/general/article-and-feature-suggestions-speak-your-mind#comment-49 Michele Mon, 30 Jul 2007 08:39:38 +0000 http://www.computersinbusiness.com/general/article-and-feature-suggestions-speak-your-mind#comment-49 Mark The problem I see with the SBP is that the supplement is monthly, so a lot of the "big" stories aren't that big by the time it goes to print. Even the weekend "tech" pages suffer from this. For example, this weekend the "big" story was about Google vs Microsoft. *yawn* The article was fine, but it didn't bring anything new to the subject. Michele Mark
The problem I see with the SBP is that the supplement is monthly, so a lot of the “big” stories aren’t that big by the time it goes to print.
Even the weekend “tech” pages suffer from this.

For example, this weekend the “big” story was about Google vs Microsoft. *yawn*

The article was fine, but it didn’t bring anything new to the subject.

Michele

]]> By: Mark http://www.computersinbusiness.com/general/article-and-feature-suggestions-speak-your-mind#comment-48 Mark Mon, 30 Jul 2007 08:24:44 +0000 http://www.computersinbusiness.com/general/article-and-feature-suggestions-speak-your-mind#comment-48 <p>Hi Paul, thanks for the positive feedback and glad to hear you're a reader. I do take your comments on board, and in theory (and pracitse with many publications) it can work like that, advertiser = positive editorial. I can assure you it's not the case here. If someone feels a product is crap, say it, absolutely say it, it's not going to benefit us to endorse a product that is sub-standard, we'd lose our credibility. All I would say is that it needs to be done objectively, there are ways of not giving a product the thumbs up/down - it could be an individuals user experience, it didn't meet 'their ' particular requirements - it doesn't necessarily mean the product is crap. Recently their was an article published which absolutely tore apart a service being offered by a regular advertiser, my client - I didn't see it until I read the paper myself that Sunday - so as said, I have no sway over editorial content, nor would I want it. As for advertisers taking their business elsewhere - it would be pretty short sighted of them not to try to convince the reader why their products deserve to be purchased, despite the bad press (they do say there's no such thing as bad press). </p> <p>Philip, welcome, some topics that definitely need to be covered here. I have to admit being quite naive myself when it comes to some of these areas and I fully intend to meet with the editorial department to see if we can raise the profile and explain the benefits of blogging and social networking to the business community at large. My take on it as it is currently is that is that it is a sleeping giant that is (slowly but surely) waking up. I'll post as editorial themes develop and keep you all in the loop as to what is being published and when.</p> <p>Michele, completely agree but I think Paul was over-simplifying intentionally to make a point, which I get. It is probably that bit easier to 'speak your mind' online than in print - maybe.</p> <p>Keep the comments coming people. It's all good feedback. I would ask though if there are areas outside or not related to blogging that you feel are bing adopted in other areas of the world and are yet to be introduced or accepted in Ireland please let me know. There are areas like SOA, SaaS, HaaS, Software agility etc etc that seem to be buzzwords at the moment - these kind of areas, what else is going on that needs to be written about? Who should we be talking to? </p> <p>Cheers,<br /> M.</p> Hi Paul, thanks for the positive feedback and glad to hear you’re a reader. I do take your comments on board, and in theory (and pracitse with many publications) it can work like that, advertiser = positive editorial. I can assure you it’s not the case here. If someone feels a product is crap, say it, absolutely say it, it’s not going to benefit us to endorse a product that is sub-standard, we’d lose our credibility. All I would say is that it needs to be done objectively, there are ways of not giving a product the thumbs up/down - it could be an individuals user experience, it didn’t meet ‘their ‘ particular requirements - it doesn’t necessarily mean the product is crap. Recently their was an article published which absolutely tore apart a service being offered by a regular advertiser, my client - I didn’t see it until I read the paper myself that Sunday - so as said, I have no sway over editorial content, nor would I want it. As for advertisers taking their business elsewhere - it would be pretty short sighted of them not to try to convince the reader why their products deserve to be purchased, despite the bad press (they do say there’s no such thing as bad press).

Philip, welcome, some topics that definitely need to be covered here. I have to admit being quite naive myself when it comes to some of these areas and I fully intend to meet with the editorial department to see if we can raise the profile and explain the benefits of blogging and social networking to the business community at large. My take on it as it is currently is that is that it is a sleeping giant that is (slowly but surely) waking up. I’ll post as editorial themes develop and keep you all in the loop as to what is being published and when.

Michele, completely agree but I think Paul was over-simplifying intentionally to make a point, which I get. It is probably that bit easier to ’speak your mind’ online than in print - maybe.

Keep the comments coming people. It’s all good feedback. I would ask though if there are areas outside or not related to blogging that you feel are bing adopted in other areas of the world and are yet to be introduced or accepted in Ireland please let me know. There are areas like SOA, SaaS, HaaS, Software agility etc etc that seem to be buzzwords at the moment - these kind of areas, what else is going on that needs to be written about? Who should we be talking to?

Cheers,
M.

]]> By: Michele http://www.computersinbusiness.com/general/article-and-feature-suggestions-speak-your-mind#comment-47 Michele Sun, 29 Jul 2007 17:37:15 +0000 http://www.computersinbusiness.com/general/article-and-feature-suggestions-speak-your-mind#comment-47 @Paul - It´s an over-simplification to say that bloggers don´t have conflicts of interest. Unless you are blogging anonymously of course Michele @Paul - It´s an over-simplification to say that bloggers don´t have conflicts of interest. Unless you are blogging anonymously of course

Michele

]]> By: Philip Davis http://www.computersinbusiness.com/general/article-and-feature-suggestions-speak-your-mind#comment-46 Philip Davis Sat, 28 Jul 2007 00:23:31 +0000 http://www.computersinbusiness.com/general/article-and-feature-suggestions-speak-your-mind#comment-46 I meet very few people who have a good understanding of social networking. A lot of people are blogging, but few know how to truly network. A series of social networking articles covering: 1. Blog basics 2. Commenting 3. Social Networks like Stumble Upon, Second Life and how to use them 4. Submitting articles 5. Linking 6. SEO etc. would be helpful for many people. The point being to not write just the technical how-tos, but also the implications. For example, I came to this blog because you popped up on mybloglog. I did a $1,500 quote today for a gentleman who was one of the first commentors on my blog - it took 4 months - I just spoke with a woman who found me because someone on some blog commented that ZDocs was a good place to publish. These kind of practical examples of what can result from blogging would be useful. Also, covering ethical issues like spamming and buying comments etc. would be good. I meet very few people who have a good understanding of social networking. A lot of people are blogging, but few know how to truly network. A series of social networking articles covering:

1. Blog basics
2. Commenting
3. Social Networks like Stumble Upon, Second Life and how to use them
4. Submitting articles
5. Linking
6. SEO

etc. would be helpful for many people.

The point being to not write just the technical how-tos, but also the implications. For example, I came to this blog because you popped up on mybloglog. I did a $1,500 quote today for a gentleman who was one of the first commentors on my blog - it took 4 months - I just spoke with a woman who found me because someone on some blog commented that ZDocs was a good place to publish. These kind of practical examples of what can result from blogging would be useful. Also, covering ethical issues like spamming and buying comments etc. would be good.

]]> By: Paul Browne http://www.computersinbusiness.com/general/article-and-feature-suggestions-speak-your-mind#comment-45 Paul Browne Fri, 27 Jul 2007 22:22:11 +0000 http://www.computersinbusiness.com/general/article-and-feature-suggestions-speak-your-mind#comment-45 Mark, Most of my comments apply to newspapers beginning blogging, and are not meant to be personal :-) I happen to buy the SBP as a first choice of Sunday papers, so obviously I like what it is doing. I think the fact that you are allowing open comments is good, but it can conflict with the fact that newspapers need to be nice (or at least not nasty!) to the advertisors. What if you do a feature on company X new product, maybe has advertised in the past, and I (with examples to back it up) leave a comment to say that the product is c**p? Those companies that get blogging will look to respond to why I think it is rubbish. 'Normal' companies (I'm guessing about 80% of them) will ask 'why don't we take our advertising budget elsewhere?' Bloggers don't have this conflict of interest, but there again , neither do they have the readership :-) Paul Mark,

Most of my comments apply to newspapers beginning blogging, and are not meant to be personal :-) I happen to buy the SBP as a first choice of Sunday papers, so obviously I like what it is doing.

I think the fact that you are allowing open comments is good, but it can conflict with the fact that newspapers need to be nice (or at least not nasty!) to the advertisors.

What if you do a feature on company X new product, maybe has advertised in the past, and I (with examples to back it up) leave a comment to say that the product is c**p? Those companies that get blogging will look to respond to why I think it is rubbish. ‘Normal’ companies (I’m guessing about 80% of them) will ask ‘why don’t we take our advertising budget elsewhere?’

Bloggers don’t have this conflict of interest, but there again , neither do they have the readership :-)

Paul

]]> By: Mark http://www.computersinbusiness.com/general/article-and-feature-suggestions-speak-your-mind#comment-44 Mark Fri, 27 Jul 2007 16:13:27 +0000 http://www.computersinbusiness.com/general/article-and-feature-suggestions-speak-your-mind#comment-44 Hi Paul, thanks for the comments. I'm not trying to get away from advertorials, they hold a value for particular clients, see page 7 of the July issue - some messages won't be delivered with a regular advert and need to be editorially based. Most of the time we label them as commercial profiles and it's very obvious that they are advertising. Are there particular articles that you have in mind, articles you feel have been 'bought?' I have no problem saying negative things or hearing negative things, that's the purpose of the blog - to get feedback from the readers and advertisers with a view to improving the title and building on it's strengths - I'm not really sure what you mean by the comment to be honest. I have said that 'All feedback, good and bad, will be taken on board'. So, how exactly am I not 'opening up?'. The SPB has a very strong circulation and unlike a lot other titles out there is growing every year. The JNRS and ABC figures speak for themselves - it doesn't matter if I open up or not, the figures are there and are available to the public. I have no fear whatsoever of losing clients, we've been quite modest about the strength of our readership, this is also something I want to change - a greater awareness of who we reach. Congrats on the new job BTW and you might find this relevant and interesting - 73,000 of our readers are O2 customers, we reach 30% more O2 customers than the national average and this information was gathered independently. Hope this helps, Mark. Hi Paul,
thanks for the comments.
I’m not trying to get away from advertorials, they hold a value for particular clients, see page 7 of the July issue - some messages won’t be delivered with a regular advert and need to be editorially based. Most of the time we label them as commercial profiles and it’s very obvious that they are advertising.
Are there particular articles that you have in mind, articles you feel have been ‘bought?’
I have no problem saying negative things or hearing negative things, that’s the purpose of the blog - to get feedback from the readers and advertisers with a view to improving the title and building on it’s strengths - I’m not really sure what you mean by the comment to be honest.
I have said that ‘All feedback, good and bad, will be taken on board’. So, how exactly am I not ‘opening up?’. The SPB has a very strong circulation and unlike a lot other titles out there is growing every year. The JNRS and ABC figures speak for themselves - it doesn’t matter if I open up or not, the figures are there and are available to the public. I have no fear whatsoever of losing clients, we’ve been quite modest about the strength of our readership, this is also something I want to change - a greater awareness of who we reach. Congrats on the new job BTW and you might find this relevant and interesting - 73,000 of our readers are O2 customers, we reach 30% more O2 customers than the national average and this information was gathered independently.

Hope this helps,
Mark.

]]> By: Paul Browne http://www.computersinbusiness.com/general/article-and-feature-suggestions-speak-your-mind#comment-43 Paul Browne Fri, 27 Jul 2007 13:59:36 +0000 http://www.computersinbusiness.com/general/article-and-feature-suggestions-speak-your-mind#comment-43 Mark, I'd underline your comment about trying to get away from Advertorials. While computers in business is a good section in the paper , I don't value what it has to say as too often good press can be bought. It's a fine line, but I think you have a licence to be more critical on the blog. Say what you really think. If you are uncomfortable saying negative things (because you have to pay the rent) at least link to somebody who does (and give the target the chance to respond). The biggest problems for *all* newspapers taking up blogging isn't the technology - they've been online for years - but the 'open to all opinions'. Refuse to open up , and nobody believes you. Open up , and you lose your current advertising base. It's a catch 22. Paul Mark,

I’d underline your comment about trying to get away from Advertorials. While computers in business is a good section in the paper , I don’t value what it has to say as too often good press can be bought.

It’s a fine line, but I think you have a licence to be more critical on the blog. Say what you really think. If you are uncomfortable saying negative things (because you have to pay the rent) at least link to somebody who does (and give the target the chance to respond).

The biggest problems for *all* newspapers taking up blogging isn’t the technology - they’ve been online for years - but the ‘open to all opinions’. Refuse to open up , and nobody believes you. Open up , and you lose your current advertising base.

It’s a catch 22.

Paul

]]> By: Dave Davis http://www.computersinbusiness.com/general/article-and-feature-suggestions-speak-your-mind#comment-42 Dave Davis Wed, 25 Jul 2007 07:24:11 +0000 http://www.computersinbusiness.com/general/article-and-feature-suggestions-speak-your-mind#comment-42 <p>The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) & web accessibility.</p> <p>There is some useful info <a href="http://www.webcredible.co.uk/user-friendly-resources/web-accessibility/uk-website-legal-requirements.shtml" rel="nofollow">here</a>: <p>But also have a read of ALA's rundown on it:<br /> http://www.alistapart.com/articles/accessuk/</p> <p>Either way you look at it, it had an overall positive impact (In my opinion).</p> The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) & web accessibility.

There is some useful info here:

But also have a read of ALA’s rundown on it:
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/accessuk/

Either way you look at it, it had an overall positive impact (In my opinion).

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