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EU Cookies The EU's Privacy and Communications Directive comes into force on 26 May 2012. The act requires user's consent before using cookies.

So what is a cookie?

At its simplest level a cookie is small text file which stores the name of the site and a unique reference for the user. It is usually date stamped so it will expire naturally if you don't revisit that site.

Time to Track the Impact of your work - Outcomes

in one placeWorking to improve the quality of lives of service users is what people in the sector are driven by. The problem is translating the stories and the benefits of the services into measurements that can be demonstrated to funders.

Social Impact Tracker is an on-line database designed to provide a solution for front line organisations.

Social Impact Tracker is a secure online database that:

Capture and publish audio interviews Ipadio

ipadio ipadioRecently I have been working with a few groups who want to capture peoples thoughts about the services they use and what could be done to improve these services.

The concern is that using on-line surveys and traditional paper based tools self excludes many people who do not feel confident with the internet and/or reading and writing.

Help people to find you with Google Places

Google placesSomething like 20% of the searches on Google is related to a place, town or county. Using Google Places allows you to increase your on-line visibility.

Important Stuff

It is Free, no cost
You need to have a location: sorry if that sounds patronising but if your organisation doesn’t want p

5 tips to avoid Discrimination on your website

Training at illuminateYou are discriminating against people with disabilities if they cannot access the content of your web site.

In October 2010 the new Disability and Equalities Act came into force to try to bring together the various strands of discrimination and equality.

Launching New Services

Developing the skills, knowledge and expertise to get the most from computers can be difficult and time consuming. Pete Read has developed a range of services that are aimed at helping you get the most from your IT.

Training at illuminateThis site has a wealth of articles and links to get you started. Pete has also developed a comprehensive range of traiing events and workshops that can be tailored to your specific needs. here are a few examples

Short session for Trustees/directors on the potential of social media,
Staff Away day workshops on collaborative tools
Closed company sessions

Health and ICT

Display Screen Equipment Assessment (DSE)

Ability Net LogoWorking with technology at the desktop can be a cause of discomfort and pain to many people. Often these sensations of aching wrists and fingers, aching neck and shoulders can be helped with some fairly straight forward help.

Publish your podcast to ITUNES from IPADIO

Many people who carry mobile phones, MP3 Players, Ipods etc. use Itunes to help manage their music and podcasts.

Now I am not a great music fan, my phone has a the Beatles album Sgt Pepper, some Beautiful South and a few other songs. But it does have around 50 podcasts ranging from History of Ireland, Friday night comedy from radio 4, Beekeeping and then some random stuff.

You can now publish podcasts to Itunes direct from your IPADIO account.

How to make your site more readable!

read readUp to 16 million adults - nearly half the workforce - are holding down jobs despite having the reading and writing skills expected of children leaving primary school.

The above sentence needs the reading ability of an undergraduate. That is the problem. People have spent years at school being told that good writing has big words.

The aim of writing is communication. Communication fails if it is not understood.

Here are some simple guidelines for accessible writing.

Creating effective web content - 5 tips

ShakespeareWhen you have a CMS (Content Management System) website then you have the power and the opportunity to create your own content. However, with great power comes great responsibility, (I heard that somewhere). Before you start to create your content you should consider the following points.

Who are you talking to?

There is a tendency for organisations to talk to themselves. Sentences start with ‘Our objectives are...'; ‘We have our ethical...'

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