The course is made up of three blocks:

• Networking Fundamentals, which uses the CompTia Network+ learning materials for much of it.
• Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure Configuration, which closely follows the syllabus of the Microsoft exam 70-642.
• Windows Server 2008 Active Directory Configuration, which is similar to the Microsoft exam 70-640.

Practical Windows Server experience

The course is a very hands-on, practical course and students use the Microsoft Official Academic Coursework (MOAC) books and virtual machines to gain real experience of configuring and troubleshooting Windows Server 2008. I used Oracle’s Virtual Box for my virtual machines because I had experience of it and this is the supported OU environment.

Microsoft certification

The course content is similar to the Microsoft Windows 2008 Server exams and although the goal of the course isn’t to prepare students for taking these exams, students do use the official MS books and have access to Microsoft Labs if they want additional study materials. When I started the course, I intended to take both Microsoft exams but found the OU course took up more hours than I expected and didn’t really leave me with enough spare time to do the additional studying required for the exams.

I was disappointed not to sit the exams but extra preparation is definitely required on top of your OU studies if you want to be confident of passing 70-642 or 70-640 first time. TM128 is a level one course but is still quite challenging. I’ve got plenty experience of configuring Windows 2003, 2008 and Active Directory and found it was the amount of work you were expected to do and how long some of the practical exercises took to complete that was the main challenge.

TM128 – Blocks 1,2 and 3

I found block 1′s “Networking Fundamentals” was a dry start to the course and too heavy on the theory for my liking. Other students found this section more enjoyable than me. I found I knew most of what was covered and it just didn’t excite me.

Blocks 2 and 3 were more enjoyable, mainly because of the practical exercises. Large chunks of blocks 2 and 3 were already familiar to me from the experience I have gained from work but there were areas of Active Directory and Windows networking that I hadn’t touched before. Despite my knowledge, I found I still had to complete most of the practical exercises to do well in the written assignments.

Good…but not a shortcut to Microsoft Server certification

The course provides a thorough understanding of Windows Server 2008 and a solid introduction to networking. I suppose I viewed it as a shortcut to achieving Microsoft certification, effectively killing two birds with one stone by getting some more credits towards my degree and gaining another qualification, but the course isn’t really that. TM128 is good, well run and as detailed as I have come to expect from the Open University though.

The post Completing The OU’s TM128 Microsoft Server Technologies appeared first on John Swaffs.

So when I came to replace an aging Windows 2003 HP server, I had no concerns about ordering a Windows 2008 Dell PowerEdge. But after three hardware failures in three months, I will think again before buying Dell again.

This particular server was configured with a software RAID controller and two hard disks in a RAID 1 mirrored array.

The first issue I reported was disk 0 dropping out of the RAID array. The offline diagnostics didn’t identify any faults on either disk but did report a couple of motherboard faults. This was replaced by a Dell engineer and the replacement motherboard included the onboard software controller.

Then a month later – just days before the server was due to be deployed – the other disk dropped out the RAID array. I’ve been in IT long enough to know that sometimes faulty hardware can be shipped and had purposely left the server running for a few weeks to ensure any issues were identified before deploying the server but this was bad timing.

Again the diagnostics did not identify a fault with either disk. The Dell support team suggested the most likely cause was a bad stripe across both disks and recommended re-installing the operating system…not something you want to consider days before you are due to deploy a server but hey, the Dell guys support thousands of PowerEdge servers and could I risk ignoring their advice? So the operating system was re-installed, the server roles and security reconfigured and deployment put back a month to ensure I had confidence the issue had been resolved.

A month passed with no issues, the server was deployed with minimum disruption and users were happy. Then disk 0 failed again.

This time the diagnostics did report a disk error – but on disk 1! Dell Support recommended replacing disk 1, even though this was clearly the only disk remaining in the RAID array. I replaced disk 0 and redundancy was restored to my mirrored RAID array.

Hindsight is a marvelous thing and I really should have just replaced the disks as errors were reported, doing it myself if Dell support would not. Whilst I don’t believe the software RAID controller was the problem, perhaps I should have spent more and bought a server with a hardware RAID controller instead.

My main issue is the constraints Dell support operatives have to work within.

Procedure states they must follow the diagnostic tool results and replace the hardware it identifies as failed. If the offline diagnostics don’t show a disk error when they know from experience that is probably the problem then they won’t replace it.

It would have been refreshing to see a more comprehensive approach to hardware failures in a new servers. In my case the diagnostics were not conclusive but replacing the hard disks and motherboard when I first called may have resolved the issue at the first attempt. Of course, I know the reason this isn’t done is because it would be more expensive.

But when looking at the bigger picture, it is more expensive to lose the faith of a customer.

The post Troubleshooting RAID and Hard Disk Issues In a New Server appeared first on John Swaffs.

The CHSW support children who have conditions that they will die from before they reach adulthood. The hospices give the parents of these children a much needed break and support during and after their child’s life. The hospice staff also care for the brothers and sisters of the children affected, many of whom feel confused, scared and worried about it all.

Having two children of my own, I knew this was an excellent charity to support and was fortunate to visit the Barnstaple hospice during one of their open days for fundraisers.

I was really impressed by the level of care that is provided and the obvious dedication by staff and volunteers. The charity was founded in 1991 by Eddie and Jill Farwell after they experienced for themselves the need for hospice care for children in the South West. Their two eldest children had life-limiting illnesses and they had to travel over four hours to Oxford, then the country’s only children’s hospice.

Eddie and Jill’s objective was to ensure families in the South-West didn’t have to travel for more than 90 minutes for hospice care. What struck me was what an ambitious target this was and how easy it would have been to give up.

But having achieved the objective, the CHSW still needs to raise £8 million every year to keep it’s three hospices in Barnstaple, St Austell and Bristol open.

To do my bit I will be taking part in a firewalk on Teignmouth beach on Saturday 23rd March. I’ll be walking bear foot across embers that reach up to 800°C.

If you’d like to support me then you can donate online at Virgin Money Giving.

The post Sponsored Firewalk In Support Of The Children’s Hospice South-West appeared first on John Swaffs.

The first was to complete the latest Open University course I am studying, “TM128 Microsoft Server Technologies”. This shouldn’t be too difficult as I’m now used to combining a full-time job with distance learning, having completed many Open University courses over the years.

I had deliberately got ahead in my studies and completed blocks 1 and 2 so I had spare time before the third and final block of TM128 started. I had planned to use this spare time to complete my second objective, which was to become Microsoft certified.

Having worked in IT for many years, Microsoft certification was something I had always intended to achieve but had never got round to. TM128 follows the syllabus of the Microsoft Exam 70-642 “Windows 2008 Network Infrastructure Configuration” quite closely. My Microsoft knowledge is pretty good anyway (I’ve already deployed one Windows 2008 Server this year) and I am doing well on TM128 but for some reason I’m struggling to build up any momentum during my revision for the Microsoft exam.

Having experience of Windows 2008 and networking in the real world is a big advantage when studying for 70-642 but the exam still requires some revision to be confident about passing first time.

I think I’m struggling to stay interested in the study materials because it is all a bit familiar. New topics are exciting to learn and it feels like you are making progress rapidly. Familiar topics can feel a bit dull and uninspiring in comparison.

In the back of my mind is another one of my objectives for the year: working towards Google Adwords or Analytics certification. I feel my time would be better spent working towards these as the digital marketing side of my job is something I really enjoy.

Sometimes there are just not enough hours in the day and perhaps the effects of having a 6 month old baby and an active three year old are also having an effect!

When your motivation drops, the best thing to do is take same time to recharge your batteries and remind yourself why you set yourself the targets you did. Break the objectives into smaller, more achievable tasks and steadily work towards them, rewarding each milestone that you get to.

I’m still going to work towards Microsoft certification but I may have to accept that it will take longer than I anticipated. Studying with the Open University whilst holding down a full-time job is more than most people attempt anyway so sometimes I just need to remind myself I’m already achieving more than I expected.

The post A New Year With New Objectives appeared first on John Swaffs.

With so many people instinctively turning to the internet when they need to find a product or service, it is natural for many businesses to focus their marketing on digital strategies such as Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising, SEO and social media. But traditional marketing is still important and should not be neglected. It has a particularly important role for small businesses whose customer base consists largely of local consumers. These businesses will benefit from raising their profile within the community and traditional PR can help achieve this.

It’s not really about traditional marketing v digital marketing. A coherent strategy that encompasses both will cover a wide demographic and ensure your “message” reaches as many people as possible.

Below is a summary of some promotional ideas that I like and you may not have considered before. It is very easy to spend large amounts of money on marketing with little return and not all the ideas below will be suitable for every business. The difficult bit is spending your marketing budget wisely but you may find some of the suggestions useful for you.

Exploit Your Location

If you already pay to lease an office space, shop or other building then why not use it to your advantage? Wall space, windows and car park areas can all be used to promote your services to passing traffic. Signs and posters are obvious ideas but how about something a bit more eye catching…

Inflatable men
No, not that kind that kind of inflatable! I mean high visibility marketing inflatables. These are typically 20ft in height and can be customised with your own colours, slogan and accessories.

People will definitely notice it as they are passing and you could make it even more fun by giving your inflatable man his own Twitter account.

They cost around £500 for the “sleeve” and fan, with replacement sleeve figures costing approximately £200. That might seem a lot but if you want something to make a big impact and get people talking then its not bad value compared to the cost of a printed advert in a local paper, which could be around £200.

Flags & banners
If you have some land outside your office then flags or banners will get the attention of passing traffic. Permanent flag poles would probably need planning permission but there are plenty of alternatives such as these tear drop banners.

Bollard sleeves
If you really want to make use of space and have bollards in front of your shop then bollard sleeves are a low cost idea.

You often see them at supermarkets where they are used to good effect with simple and bright designs.

These cost around £50 and fit over the top of the bollards. There is no need for planning permission and the materials should be hard wearing enough to last a couple of years.

Are you sitting comfortably?
If you like a bit of guerilla marketing then how about getting your own toilet rolls printed? It would certainly get the attention of a captive audience if you replaced the standard rolls with your own!

Get Out and About

Vehicle designs
How do you get to work? If you drive then you should consider sign writing your vehicles. Your car can be a 24/7 advert, promoting your business as you commute, whilst it is parked and even when you are not working. Just be careful how you drive! A road rage incident would not be good publicity…

If you cycle then you could get your business details printed on the back of a high-visibility vest. That would increase your safety as well as advertising your services.

Farmers’ fields
A large, well positioned sign near a busy road is guaranteed to get people’s attention. I always notice advertising boards that are on the side of the dual carriageway when I drive up and down the A38 between Plymouth and Exeter in Devon.

Prices will vary depending on the location, landowner and your negotiating skills but an enquiry costs nothing.

Roundabout sponsorship
Local councils normally let businesses “sponsor” roundabouts. Sponsorship usually starts from £1000 for 12 months and pays for a couple of signs on the roundabout and the upkeep of it e.g. gardening costs, flowers etc.

Like roadside signs, roundabout sponsorship can reach a large number of local people and increase your brand awareness. You will probably have to sign a long-term contract but the right roundabout could drive lots of traffic to your business (pun intended).

Be Part Of The Local Community

If your business depends on the local community then make sure you have a high profile.

Local Events
Fetes, festivals, fayres, sports events and other local events all attract lots of local people to one place and are a good opportunity to link your business with a feel good factor.

There are lots of ways to get involved, including advertising in programmes, giving away prizes for raffles, sponsoring the event, running a stall, handing out free samples or putting up an advertising sign in a prime location.

Local Charities
You could choose an annual charity to work with over the year. The charity would benefit from some much needed fund raising and you would benefit from some great free publicity in the local press.

It can be really good fun organising fund raising activities and gets your business out into the community. If you are smart about it then you can get several pieces of free publicity in the press over the 12 month period. These sorts of stories show your business in a positive light and are an opportunity to show the “human” side of what you do.

Free Stuff

Everyone loves something free and no-one throws away a free pen! Free stuff has an even bigger impact if people don’t expect to receive it, for example when they have finished using your services.

You can get your company’s logo or slogan printed on almost anything from pens and balloons to beer mats, t-shirts, fridge magnets and water bottles. Think about what would appeal to your potential customers and don’t forget to put your web address on it.

If you sell a physical thing then giving away free samples is another way to make people aware of what you do.

Leaflet Drops

Leaflet delivery is unglamorous and has a low response rate compared with other tactics. It is less targeted so you get a small return for the number of leaflets distributed but it’s reasonably low cost. 1000 leaflets may only cost you £100 if you use a professional distribution company. If you provide local services to Plymouth home owners then leaflet distribution is a quick and easy way to promote your business. A professional distribution company should be able to deliver more than you will be able to and provide a checking facility to ensure your leaflets have been delivered.

You can also increase your chances with good content, for example a newsletter with local features or a crossword.

Your Marketing Ideas

What ideas do you like? I’d like to hear your suggestions!

The post It’s Not All About Digital Marketing, SEO and Google Adwords! appeared first on John Swaffs.

Somehow or other, I also managed to give this site a face lift. I had been working on it for a while because I thought the previous design was a bit impersonal. I also wanted to move away from Yii, a PHP Framework, and use a Content Management System.

Web development with Yii PHP framework

Yii is basically a library of functions and classes that help you get your web site up and running faster than if you had to write everything yourself. Yii provides the basis of your web site or application by taking care of the CRUD functions (create, read, update and delete database records). This leaves you free to focus on your application’s unique requirements.

At the time I chose Yii to write a blog app because I wanted to improve my knowledge of Object Oriented PHP. I expected to use Yii in a couple of projects later in the year so it was a valuable learning exercise. However, once the previous version of this site was “finished”, I found I was spending as much time extending my blog app and tweaking it as I was writing posts. I wanted to spend more time on the content and other projects so I decided to replace it with a CMS powered site.

Choosing a Content Management System for your web site

There are so many features built into Content Management Systems for a web site owner to take advantage of that choosing a CMS can be confusing. I have been using Drupal and ModX recently and fancied a change so I ruled out those two. Also Drupal is pretty heavyweight and would be OTT for this site. ModX isn’t that great as a blog solution, although it is a reasonable CMS that I have grown to like. I considered using Joomla! because its been a while since I used it and I was keen to refresh my knowledge. I knew using Joomla! for a simple blog site would have been overkill however so I went with WordPress because of its great blog functionality.

WordPress is easy to use, has a large user community and loads of free plug-ins. Its straightforward to get a site up and running using WordPress. It is also free, SEO friendly and very flexible.

Creating a WordPress theme for your web site

I’ve created a custom WordPress theme that inherits from WordPress Bootstrap. This is a responsive theme based on Twitter’s Bootstrap framework. I have wanted to use Twitter Bootstrap for some time now to see how easy it would be to create a mobile friendly site. I’ve never really liked CSS or HTML grid frameworks but Bootstrap looks good.

Bootstrap was created by the guys at Twitter as a framework to encourage consistency across internal projects. It has support for HTML5, CSS3 and is cross browser compatible. It uses a grid system and responsive design to support different devices, resolutions and browser window sizes. Bootstrap has re-usable components such as buttons and uses jQuery for JavaScript functionality such as menus, tabs and modal boxes.

There are other ways to create a mobile friendly site and I did consider WPtouch, a WordPress mobile plugin. WPtouch is a a reasonable solution and makes it very easy to create mobile sites but using it would have defeated the purpose of implementing Bootstrap. WordPress Bootstrap was pretty simple to use though and I learnt a lot about it along the way.

My next blog post

Now all I need to do is keep my promise and write blog posts more often. I am considering writing something about unique marketing and promotional ideas so let me know if you have any favourites you would like to share.

The post A New Version of JohnSwaffs.co.uk! appeared first on John Swaffs.

Running a competition can be a great way to drive traffic to your site, raise your business’s profile and increase the number of people in your marketing database. We had some great interaction with existing customers and reached some new prospects who hadn’t previously had any contact with us.

You can run the competition on your web site, Facebook page, through Twitter or on a third party competition site. Whatever you do though, you need to plan ahead and think carefully about your competition.

Who are you targeting?

Decide what it is you want to achieve and who you want to target. For example, do you want to re-connect with past customers, build brand loyalty, reach new customers, add to your marketing database or raise your company’s profile locally?

Determine how will you measure the success of your competition. Will it be by the quantity of entrants you receive, how many people sign-up to your newsletter, product enquiries/sales, the number of Facebook friends you attract or visits to your website?

Keep it simple

Be clear about the competition and what the prize is. If you try to be too clever or make the rules complicated then you will turn people off.

Make the terms and conditions clear and jargon free. Don’t put too many restrictions on who can enter.

How are you going to run it?

What you want to achieve will determine the best way to run the competition. For example, if you want to build up your Facebook friends then you may decide to offer a prize to a randomly selected person who has liked your page.

If you want to drive traffic to your site then you could host the competition on your web site and use a web form to receive entries.

Plan ahead

You may want to tie your competition in with another promotion you are running or other events so you will need to plan ahead. This will give you time to test and refine your competition and write some strong copy to entice people to enter.

If you are planning on promoting the competition on social networks then build up your Twitter and Facebook followers in the weeks leading up, otherwise you will be trying to promote your competition and your social media accounts.

Work hard to promote it

No matter how good you think your competition is, it probably won’t sell itself.

People are suspicious of free stuff so you need to encourage people to enter without overselling. If you tell people there is no catch then they will probably assume there is a catch!

Be open about what they can win and give people the option to opt-out of further contact from your company.

Promotion ideas

Just promoting the competition on your web site won’t be enough. This will only reach people who would have visited your site anyway.

• Promote the competition on Twitter, Facebook and Google+
• Use a social media plug-in on your competition web pages to encourage people to spread the word to their friends
• Promote your competition in store with posters and encourage your staff to talk to people about it
• Word of mouth is free so get other staff and departments on board
• Promote it online on other competition sites and get your competition pages listed in Google early to attract more visitors. Remember Google indexing takes time
• Get creative with other promotional ideas, such as mentioning it in email signatures or your web site’s 404 error pages and acknowledgement pages
• Follow a few celebrities on Twitter and see if you can get them to retweet your competition to reach more people. You may find minor or local celebrities more willing to do this
• You can use leaflets and adverts but this may be relatively expensive with little return

Email Newsletter

I found email newsletters are a good way of starting the competition off. You will be able to reach the contacts in your marketing database and may be able to encourage them to tell their friends or colleagues if you offer an incentive.

If the competition runs for a long period of time then send regular emails so the competition is fresh in people’s minds and keep them updated with who has won. Don’t send too emails too frequently and I suggest one a week is the maximum.

Publish results

By publishing the results, people will begin to trust the competition and your business. It will encourage them to enter because they will know its genuine and that they stand a chance of winning.

Ask permission of the winner before publishing their names. If you can use their names then this makes the competition feel more personal. You can offer an incentive such as including their business details and web address in your marketing materials.

Be fair

Don’t be tempted to fake the results, influence the outcome or be anything other than honest. You want good publicity and don’t want to run the risk of anything going wrong. Keep a record of activity and proof of the winner so that you can demonstrate the competition was run fairly.

The post Internet Marketing: Tips For Promoting Your Competition Online appeared first on John Swaffs.

With that in mind, I thought I’d write a short post about the courses I’ve done so far because it might encourage others to study with the Open Uni or help them choose a suitable course.

Comparing the Open University to ‘real’ universities

I already have a 2:1 degree in Digital Art & Technology, previously called MediaLab Arts, from the University of Plymouth so I’m well placed to compare the Open Uni experience with a "real " university.

Studying with the Open University is much the same as any other university: courses are assessed by coursework and a final examination. The main difference is that much of the studying is done on your own and over the internet through the OU’s online forums. Each student is assigned a tutor who you can contact by email or phone and they are generally very responsive and knowledgeable.

During a course, there will normally be four or so regional tutorials on a Saturday where students can meet up with their tutor. These are similar to the kind of tutorials you would get at a bricks and mortar university. They are not compulsory but students do tend to do better if they attend the tutorials. I haven’t attended every tutorial (mainly because I don’t want to devote all my time to work and study!) but have found them beneficial. I think they aid motivation as much as anything because of the physical interaction with other students and staff.

Studying with the OU is certainly not an easier option than studying with a "real university". The courses have to adhere to the same standards as any other university and I would say the quality and depth of course materials is just as high, if not better. Employers generally view Open Uni degrees as being extremely valuable and I would agree with this. They are excellent academically but if you have completed a degree whilst working full-time then you have also demonstrated character, determination and a great ability to learn and these are traits that I feel are valuable to any employer.

In comparison to my time at Plymouth University, I’m older and more experienced technically, professionally and emotionally, which makes a difference in terms of time management and motivation. I’m not sure I could have completed an Open University course when I was twenty because you do need to be quite strict with yourself. Apparently most Open Uni students that drop out are under thirty and the reason given for this fact is that they lack the life experience they need to manage their motivation and time.

All courses are either level one, two or three and this corresponds to the type of course you would do in your first, second or third year at a bricks and mortar university i.e. a level three course is most difficult. Here is a brief assessment of the courses I have completed so far:

Designing applications with Visual Basic (MT264)

This course teaches how to write applications in Visual Basic using Object Oriented programming and is the most recent course I completed. I don’t expect to use VB professionally but the concepts here are applicable to other languages. I didn’t enjoy this one as much as the Java courses, partly due to the way the course teaches a simplified design language for the concepts and VB for the practical exercises. I found this unnecessary because the VB syntax isn’t complicated enough to warrant using a simplified design language to explain the basics.

However, this course has given me more programming experience and from a software perspective as opposed to the web development work I do professionally.

Relational databases: theory and practice (M359)

This was the first level three course I had done and was by far the most difficult. I’m fairly experienced with databases (I’m MySQL certified, have been a database admin for Microsoft SQL Server DBMS and developed sites with PHP and MySQL) but I found elements of this course hard going. It is heavy on the theory and that made some of the learning materials quite dry. I prefer a lot of practical work in the OU courses because that has a direct benefit to my professional work.

It was very thorough and in-depth though. I certainly finished the course with a better understanding of advanced SQL topics.

Putting Java to work (M257) &
Object-oriented programming with Java (M255)

I’ve grouped these two Java courses together because they follow on from each other. I really enjoyed both courses and they were very well run. A few years earlier, I had taught myself PHP and covered Object Oriented Programming in the Zend PHP exam so I was familiar with a lot of the concepts but these courses made it all a lot clearer.

I have found that much of what was taught in these courses relevant to PHP programming and the syntax is very similar.

Microsoft server technologies (TM128)

I start this course in October and it is a bit different to the others I have taken because it isn’t a programming course. I do have a fair amount of Microsoft Windows Server experience having managed NT, 2000, 20003 and 2008 servers but the syllabus is close to the Microsoft Server Certification so I aim to pass this course and get Microsoft certified.

It is also a level one course and with a new baby due in July I hope it won’t be too challenging…

Certificate in Web Applications Development

Before I started my Open Uni degree, I completed this qualification. It is an Open University course that covers the web application development process, including PHP programming, database design and open source development and versioning tools.

It took two years to complete and was a lot of work considering it is not a diploma or a degree. It was an excellent course, packed full of great practical experience combined with strong theory. It consisted of:

Web applications: design, development and management

An introduction to web application design and development. The practical side covered usability, HTML and CSS.

The client-side of application development

Designing and developing client-based applications using JavaScript. That’s real, proper JavaScript, none of that jQuery stuff!

The server-side of application development

Exploring the role of the server in web applications and using ASP to create dynamic Web pages.

Databases within website design

This covered database design using entity-relationship diagrams and SQL. The practical work used MySQL and Cold Fusion. I’d heard of Cold Fusion years earlier so it was interesting to finally get my hands on it.

Open source development tools

The origins and aims of open source software, and its principles of software development and distribution. The course provides practical experience of CVS, PHP, MySQL and Apache.

Web server management, performance and tuning

The role of server administration and its contribution to planning, deployment, and management of a web application. It introduces tools and techniques to assist with capacity planning, monitoring of workloads, identification of performance bottlenecks, and security failures.

The post Reflecting on my Open University Computing Studies appeared first on John Swaffs.

There is still plenty of confusion from web professionals regarding the Cookie Law, ranging from burying their heads in the sand to hysteria and panic.

It’s hardly surprising though when the UK Government’s sites seem unwilling to adopt the letter of the law themselves. I almost feel sorry for the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), who is responsible for enforcing the legislation. A recent interview with the ICO’s Group Manager for Business and Industry did little to resolve any confusion, although I do feel his answers were meant as realistic, level headed responses.

There are plenty of resources on the web that provide information about what steps you should take and a number of code solutions you can incorporate into your site to ensure compliance. I quite like the look of these two jQuery plugins but what I wanted to research was what steps other web sites and businesses had taken to ensure compliance.

It is interesting to see there is no industry standard yet. I suspect this will change in the next few months once the deadline has passed. As it becomes more common to adopt an opt-in policy and users become more familiar with the solutions, businesses will not want to be seen to disregard consumer’s privacy rights if their competitors are compliant.

An example of full compliance

The Information Commissioner’s Office
Unsurprisingly the ICO’s web site has adopted a fully compliant solution. Visitors are greeted with a rather uninspired box at the top of the page that requests they accept cookies from this site.

As a result 90% of visitors declined to accept cookies, which meant the ICO was unable to track the vast majority of their users with Google Analytics.

Clearly, this would be unacceptable to most web site owners.

Compliant – but too clever for their own good?

BT
BT’s solution is an elegant slider that users can drag to indicate the level of privacy/functionality they wish to accept.

Despite its sophistication, I feel this asks a bit too much of visitors. Checking one box to allow all cookies is a lot simpler than being presented with three options and having to work out which one is right for you.

Graceful and compliant

Evosite
This Somerset web design company has achieved compliance with an unobtrusive opt-in prompt at the top of the page. In fact, I didn’t notice it at first because the colour scheme of the opt-in prompt was similar to the rest of the site.

This is good from a visitor’s perspective because it doesn’t detract from the user experience. But it might mean that so few visitors accept cookies that it isn’t worth the site using them at all.

No more pop ups!

The Delia Smith cookery web site, Delia Online, now has an updated privacy policy.

What is interesting about this site is that it used to have an opt-in mechanism (according to this article) but I guess it was dropped because of the effect it had on visitors!

More updated privacy policies

Many web sites have decided to just update their privacy policies and presumably adopt a wait and see approach. The BBC has a well respected online presence and they have a separate page regarding their use of cookies but so far, no opt-in mechanism.

It will be interesting to see if they adopt one before the Olympics when they will expect a big surge in traffic.

If you expect the Government’s Number 10 web site to lead the way then you’ll be disappointed! They simply have a rather bland privacy policy page with a link from the footer.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport wrote the UK version of the Cookie Law. They’ve decided that a link in header is sufficient…

The UK’s biggest companies

And what are the UK’s biggest companies doing? A few random selections from Wikipedia’s FTSE100 list shows not much!

Admiral Group
At first I thought the Admiral Group had taken no action and I couldn’t even find their privacy policy. Then I realised the site didn’t use cookies at all! A perfectly valid solution of course…

BAE
Their privacy policy is hidden and not particularly easy to find. Visitors have to expand the "Explore BAE" area to find a link to a separate cookie policy page from their privacy policy.

Barclays, HSBC, Legal & General, M&S, Unilever
These five companies have a similar approach with cookie information available from their privacy policies.

What about this site?

Yes, I use cookies. Yes, I should do something about complying with the Cookie Law. Not because I feel it is the right thing to do or because it is in the interests of my visitors though. The main driver for this change will be because other similar web sites will be compliant and not being compliant will reflect badly on me in comparison…and I expect this will be the real reason for the majority of sites too.

The post The EU Cookie Law: How Are Web Sites Complying? appeared first on John Swaffs.

Using Guest Bloggers can help you maintain traffic to your site by providing new content on a regular basis. By using good writers and being selective about what you publish then you can also ensure a flow of good quality articles without having to do too much.

Publishing articles by different authors will also add variety to your site and prevent your audience from getting bored with the same style. Different authors will have different opinions, writing styles and have expertise on topics you may not be so familiar with.

You may also be able to entice experts who might be of interest to your audience to write articles or at least provide a quote that you can include in one of your posts.

Guest Bloggers don’t usually get paid so it might not be clear what the benefits are for writers. As well as writing blog posts on this site, I recently wrote an article for Plymouth SEO experts ClubNet Search Marketing entitled Why You Should Avoid ‘Create Your Own Website’ Services .

I did it because it helps to promote me as an expert in my field by driving quality traffic to my site.

It should assist in improving my site’s Search Engine ranking by providing a valuable back link, as well as providing me with professional contacts.

Writing for someone else also encourages you to be a better writer. You know that your article will
be reviewed by an editor and you certainly don’t want to come across as unprofessional.

Contact me for content!

If you are looking for a guest blogger or someone to provide content for your site, then contact me. I enjoy the writing process and can provide quality copy-writing and proofing services. I can write articles on a wide range of web development and IT topics, as well as local issues relevant to Plymouth, Devon and Cornwall.

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