Obviously hailed as a triumph in advanced technology and revered by critics and consumers alike, it could only have been good news that Amazon now offer the brilliant option to publish your own book as a Kindle.  However,  reflected in the many online forums dedicated to trouble shooting and advice, it would appear that for a lot of us, the instructions can become extremely confusing and frustrating.  Novices approaching this exciting new form of publishing soon discover that the process of converting a book previously published in print is not at all as straight forward as it may seem.  The Kindle is a very different medium and has a much more fluid text layout.

wight365 have made it our mission to discover every aspect of this amazing form of publication and we're pleased to already have taken the unnecessary stress away from a couple of clients and completed the operation for them hassle free and in half the time.  There is a definite code to creating a Kindle book and we've cracked it!

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According to the last SOLT (Society of London Theatre) Data Report, 2009 was a record breaking year for London Theatre and saw the highest number of attendances since the survey began in 1986.  In London alone, attendances reached 14,257,922 with ticket receipts reaching £ 504,765,690, contributing        £ 75,177,869 to VAT.  Roughly two fifths of these tickets were purchased by residents of Greater London, two fifths by visitors from the rest of the UK and one fifth by visitors from around the world.  The global earnings of the most successful British shows are far greater than those of Hollywood blockbusters such as Titanic and Jurassic Park. So it would seem only fitting that the promotion and booking systems for such events would follow this recipe to solvent success and provide the online customer with a very clear picture of what they are purchasing and how to go about this.

A quick scan of one of the main Ticket Booking Agency's  seating plan for a major London Theatre, showed us this.

Shanklin Theatre on the  Isle of Wight opened in 1879 and can presently seat a maximum  of 544 people.  A delightful local establishment, the theatre caters for a Christmas pantomime, a professional summer season and various local groups such as amateur dramatics and school party workshops.

When the theatre asked wight365 to provide them with a new website and online booking system we thought we could do a bit better.  Ladies and Gentlemen, we proudly present you with this !

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Sometimes you come across a genuinely inspiring success story and if your own involvement proved to be a crucial factor, then it is only fitting that you share the good news and endeavour to help others to achieve the same. 

A year ago at wight365 we were approached by a new client, Grant Vincent, who told us he was setting up business as a professional Mediator and wanted to launch DMC, 'Dispute Mediation Consultancy LLP' as an online source of professional mediation for the UK.  Dispute Mediation is a practical process of  mediation,  designed to address the real issues and obstacles behind conflict while reaching a viable solution without the cost, stress and time of court action.

Grant came in with a very clear idea of his objectives.  He wanted a website that was clean, extremely professional and one that would allow him to make his own changes by constantly updating his CMS and hero manager with the latest news and technological improvements.  Our team immediately got to work on providing a brand and an instantly recognisable set of visuals setting DMC apart from any potential competitors.  Grant told me that the concept of a missing jigsaw piece, both represented on the website and later in the printed literature we designed, was a brilliant symbolic representation of fractured relationships and made it clear that DMC were there to provide the missing pieces of that jigsaw.  We didn't doubt Grant's determination to make a success of his website, but the huge growth it generated in just a few short months was staggering, with over 10,000 page views.  Grant also utilised other forms of promotion such as social networking, Twitter and Linkedin have provided invaluable and have definitely played their part, as the web stats have rocketed, now reaching over 1,500 visits a month.

Although his initial plan was to concentrate on setting himself up as a Mediator, the website has now seen him become a central provider of Mediators around the country and he attributes a lot of this to the working relationship he has established with us. 

His visits to the office always include a fun conversation over coffee and the whole team are really keen to contribute ideas and look for ways to enhance both his brand value and his services.  Grant uses the ' Find A Mediator' link on his website as a prime example. 

With another 17 Mediators on board, Grant says a list of names and photos would result in the website losing its clarity, so wight365 developed a re-stacking set of business cards. Each individual Mediator's card is animated and can be filtered by region or specialised expertise, for assured simplicity. There is very little of the site that he cannot access, and as he was quick to point out, the bits he can't reach simply require a phone call to someone at our office.

The impact that the DMC website has had on Grant Vincent's business is indisputable and we're really proud to still be so closely involved.  We wish him all the very best for 2011 and indeed, hope we can provide the same success story for all of our clients in the new year.   

Take a look at http://www.dispute-mediation.co.uk

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Website copywriting and content development is totally different to copywriting for print or indeed any other media. The main reason attributing to this is your audience.  The online reader skims rather than reads every word. They are able to jump from page to page in an instant; enter content at different points and within seconds of making a judgement can have left your site and clicked onto the next.  According to research the average user reads 20% of a web page and 28% at the most.

So when copywriting new material or editing existing text, attention should be paid to SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) which is the process of improving the visibility of a website or page in search engines via search results.  This is not necessarily something the copywriter will have control over, but adding this extra layer to your copy (i.e listing the keywords for the web developer) when you submit the article, will help your web team ensure that these keywords feature in all your page titles and meta tags.  At wight365 we create a CMS (Content Management System) for our client's website and give the website’s author the opportunity to add their own keywords.

When beginning to produce content, remember, the heading on your page is the most important thing you will write.  Having picked out individual words and sentences, web pages should then employ text that is easy on the eye to scan, using highlighted keywords and meaningful sub-headings. Where at all possible, try to limit yourself to one idea per paragraph. Your aim must be to engage your reader’s attention on the first page and keep it there.  Content is all about selling and each phrase must drive your customers to take action.  With such a limited time span in which to capture peoples' imagination, you must first write about benefits, not features. A feature describes a product or service, while a benefit is what the user stands to gain from using that service or product.  So always begin by extolling the benefits and then describing why.  When writing your website copy, every line must be dedicated to telling your customers how your product or service will ultimately improve their lives.

Another extremely important ingredient when writing your content is language.  People have come to your website for a reason, so it is vital that you use the language your target audience are comfortable and familiar with. eg: If you are setting up a website designed to support parents whose kids are driving them mad, use those words.

‘This is a supportive website and forum for people whose kids are driving them mad.’

Someone who is slowly going demented over their child’s behavioural problem is far more likely to identify with this than a strap line which reads

‘We empower those experiencing the concerns of dealing with challenging young individuals.’

Be short, be succinct and be specific.  Tell it like it is and believe in what you are saying. Most people are very adept at producing their own copy as they are obviously the experts in their own field.  However, time in many businesses is at a premium and continually updating a website requires dedicated manpower.  At wight365, we are constantly looking at new ways to improve our clients' SEO and will happily advise and help with, or supply written and updated content.   

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Corporate Identity is said to refer to the ‘external personality’ projected by a Corporation.  Companies of all sizes invest a great deal of energy devising their corporate identities and style, since this directly influences the way people may perceive the Company, but we believe that maintaining regular and stylised communications is just as vital.

The first phase often adopted as part of maintaining a consistent corporate identity begins with branding and your Company logo is often at the centre of this.  Your logo is imperative as an instantly recognisable symbol which sets your Company aside from others. By carefully choosing an appropriate logo, your target audience will understand you and your product or service and choose to associate themselves with it.  If all packaging and communication carries exactly the same design, a consumer will easily be able to pick this out, even when sandwiched among rivals and competitors.  Consistency of corporate style is a very powerful promotional tool. eg. There are not many people in the world today who wouldn’t instantly recognise the red and white script of Coca Cola, or the golden arches of McDonalds.

At wight365, we are absolutely dedicated to ensuring our clients maintain  a seamless corporate image  through all forms of communication.  Once we have designed, developed, branded or refreshed, it is attention to detail which ensures that the efforts made to develop an identity are not lost on potential customers. So from website and logo design to newsletters and email footers, once we’ve begun aligning your style strategy, we leave nothing to chance.

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So how has the way we advertise changed today?  For one thing there is NO way, any responsible toy manufacturer wishing to stay in business would promote firing nuclear weapons as a fun and frivolous past time. The Advertising Standards Authority would first have to prove the authenticity of the missiles themselves, while the bleeding heart - politically correct -liberals would positively gag on their tofu.  So even though the kids of past generations, imagined themselves exploring the depths of their ponds, rivers and oceans in a cardboard Polaris, gleefully flicking it's little nuclear light bulb , we  like to keep such violent images and mawkish warlike antics to an absolute minimum.  Now little boys' disappointment is almost palpable as they feverishly search the catalogues and internet before Christmas, in desperate attempts to locate a toy gun. Because they're only kids and because the author of this blog is obviously a woman, it would appear that in our search for a toy gun e.g the one that perhaps a cowboy may use, we are using entirely the wrong language.  I was unable to find a gun, however, if I had looked for 'Peace Keeper Toys' I would have immediately seen that I can purchase a plastic AK47 with which to blast my playmate into total oblivion while enjoying one of our peacekeeping games.   Really hard kids can skip the sensitive wording and go straight onto kids-army.com where MK2 Airsoft grenades that fire 40-50 BB bullets up to 20 metres, can be theirs for the asking!  If I want to really make believe I'm enduring submarine combat and have all the visual effects applied for me, I can now purchase '505 games' latest release for Xbox 360's called Naval Assault 'The Killing Tide.'  Of course this was released in observance of the up and coming 65^th Anniversary of Victory in Europe Day ... and no doubt the peace that followed.

One cannot help but give a wry smile at the irony which prevails  in our latter day approach to advertising.  While 60's kid was given a cardboard box that provided room for himself and a mate to pretend they were searching below the high seas or firing off missiles at the enemy; noughties kid is given a complete arsenal of plastic weaponry including, guns, knives, grenades and attack vehicles, then told he's a 'Peace Keeper!'

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We are constantly striving to come up with innovative ways to proactively engage with our clients.  Recently we have begun to specialise in bringing them and the services they provide together, in order to maximise their combined marketing and advertising.  By encouraging networking of these uniquely talented people, from very different professions, not only does everyone benefit from sharing information and insight, but often it allows us to see and approach things from an entirely different perspective.

We have been working on an extremely exciting project recently, which provides a good example of how two completely diverse entities can intersect and create, with our help and introduction; a fantastic promotion embracing local business and talent.

Wightcable the Island’s local broadband and telephony service has teamed up with Gay Baldwin, esteemed and respected local author of the Ghost Island Books, for a  project which can only enhance both parties reputations and will evoke parochial support from the local community and consumers.  Wightcable employ approximately 33 people while Gay’s books have gained national notoriety.  A simple, yet inspired idea was quickly put into motion. wight365, Wightcable’s Head of Marketing- Karen Critchley and Chief Executive- Ian Renshaw along with Gay Baldwin, decided to combine  the latest Wightcable broadband promotion with the release of Gay’s new book, Ghosts of Knighton Gorges, published on November 4th this year.  Anyone signing up for Wightcable’s latest offer is also to receive a personally signed copy of Gays’ 8th book.  Recognisng the vast  potential for growth with this idea, we have also organised for our local Ghost Master, Marc Tuckey to partake in organised Ghost Walks with locals who sign up for the service. The first walk will be in late November around the ghostly haunts of Cowes and the second a Christmas themed ghost walk in Newport. wight 365 imagined this as a golden opportunity to employ all our expertise and with introductory meetings and agreements having taken place,  began designing and developing all the promotional artwork and literature for this ‘ Seriously Spooky’ offer. We implemented all changes required to the Wightcable website and once live, set about organising the amalgam of social networking vital to the campaigns success.  Having literally just got underway, we will now actively oversee and produce the day to day  promotional reminders on the social media sites and obviously work very closely with all clients, providing any form of back up support they may require. .  Consolidating the entire project from the very beginning gave us a great opportunity to see how best to merge the talent and service of all parties to their fullest advantage and after only a day ‘on line’ we are seeing the kind of results that can only encourage more of our clients and local businesses to do the same.

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Like it or not, social media is here, it’s huge and having created a fundamental shift in the way we now communicate, the voracity of its growth is awesome. Indeed there are companies worldwide now exploiting this massive potential and dedicating themselves entirely to helping other businesses promote themselves using this phenomenal, yet for most of us, relatively new advertising vehicle.

Recognising that social media is now practically a requirement in todays market, wight365 has embraced the ‘new age’ and in the same mind as a lot of small businesses. we are grasping at the opportunity to create a diary and reputation seen by potentially millions on line.

Like most people embarking on something new, we decided to learn everything we could to be properly informed and during our research, found some absolutely staggering statistics.

Social Media has now over taken pornography as the number one activity on the web, which is hardly surprising when you read that Facebook surpassed 500 million users this summer and added 200 million of those in less than a year. There are 60 million status updates posted each day and now, 50% of mobile internet traffic in the UK is for Facebook; YouTube is now the second largest search engine in the world; Kindle ebooks out sold paper books last Christmas; ipod application downloads hit 1 billion in 9 months and 2-3 Twitter accounts are activated every second, with Twitter averaging 50 million tweets per day!  It has also been predicted that Broadband access will grow from 55% to 90% by 2012, so with all these people having immediate access to one another and their information, surely this immediately begs the question.  What does this mean for bad customer experiences?  Approximately 34% of the 200 million bloggers are posting opinions about products and brands. The realisation for businesses has become very evident. Most of  their consumers are in this space.

While stories of promotional and marketing successes as a direct result of social media continue to flood the internet and other mediums, it would seem no one is immune to capitalising on this runaway gravy train.  In fact, according to Arnie Gullov-Singh, a prominent entrepreneur based in the UK, the worlds most famous celebrities are earning $50,000 in just a single month of tweeting, by finding ways to market products and services.   In some cases, major Companies actually write up tweets for celebrities to broadcast, which indirectly advertise their products.  Indeed, Range Rover have recently decided to take this initiative and hired a group of 40 fashion models and other social media enthusiasts to tweet about how it felt to test drive one of their newest vehicles.  It would appear that even a campaign some may have once considered a damp squib or resounding disappointment did absolute wonders for Burger King on Facebook last year.  Employing a rather cheeky promotional idea, the Company created an application for the ‘Whopper Sacrifice’ and set about telling Facebook users that if they dumped 10 of their Facebook friends, they would be entitled to a free Whopper Sandwich.  Facebook were very quick to pull the plug on this project. Citing privacy issues, they said the application platform notified other people when a user removed a friend.  Apparently they offered up other solutions but Burger King decided to disable the entire application after users proved that their love for the Whopper was undeniable.  In LESS than a week 233,906 friends were removed by 82,771 people!  The resulting media coverage given to this astounding result can only have boosted their profile further.

Obviously, these may appear to be extreme examples of how these sites work and I would never be naive enough to assume that people reading this blog are able to give 50 grand to Brad Pitt and ask him to tweet about deckchair hire on the Isle of Wight. However, they are not unlikely and provide fine examples of the power the world wide web has unleashed. There is absolutely no reason why each and every one of us should not be benefitting from this free and targeted form of advertising.  Apparently we should think of this as earned space rather than paid for space and in a nutshell that means allowing for absolute dedicated time.  Setting up on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Youtube, Flickr or any other social forum requires detailed attention and most importantly a daily routine of continuous updating and refreshing.  Constantly stimulating your audience with new information will ensure they have a reason to keep coming back and consequently want to share their experience with others, thus spreading the word and multiplying your followers/friends.  For most businesses, especially in the current financial climate, time and manpower is at a premium. Temptation to let social networking slide as an activity which doesn’t require as much urgency as the day to day running of a busy venture is absolutely understandable.  We’ve recognised that a lot of our clients, although very keen to establish themselves within social media, simply don’t have the time to investigate its merits let alone employ someone to set them up and manage the sites to their fullest potential.  So now we're doing it for them.  It’s been a huge but extremely exciting learning curve for the whole team here and we are more than happy to help or give advice to anyone who wishes to know more about the undoubted way forward in business progression.

Lou Waldegrave.

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With a photographic gallery and some grand examples of incredibly preserved cinematic footage, the site truly captures the essence and indeed, eminence of Cowes through the decades.  The site hosts an online shop offering books, DVDs and CDs cataloguing such intriguing topics as  'Cowes at War', 'The Changing Face of the High Street' and a list of all the pubs, inns and taverns of Cowes, Northwood and Gurnard.  Continuously being updated, the Cowes Heritage website gives details of any up and coming events being staged by the group and offers members of the public the opportunity to share their experiences and photos as well.  Allowing such an interactive platform for visitors, keeps the website perpetually growing with new and interesting information, while creating an invaluable archive for future generations, which is one of the most important advantages of creating a website such as this.

Anyone who wishes to indulge in some very informative and often moving nostalgia or feels they would like to contribute to the site, be sure to pay a visit. Cowes Heritage have not only given us the opportunity to help create  a wonderful tribute to yesteryear, but a gift to the future as well! www.cowesheritage.co.uk

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The streets are changing colour and if anyone was under any illusion of a downturn in the property market creating a depressing statement in the neighbourhoods of the Isle of Wight, they were wrong.  Embracing the opportunity for a positive move forward and determined to change the way we look at things, three local estate agencies did just that!  We sent , Sam from the office, out and about in Cowes and in one road  alone, there were three of the brand new design boards created by wight365.

Fox Properties, one of the most established and respected businesses on the Island required a brand refresh and the stunning results have been hailed a huge success.  Adopting a completely new colour scheme, the  quick green fox  replaces its purple ancestor and is far more representative of the sleek operation, Fox Property provide.  Simon Wratten, MD of Fox Property, is thrilled with the great feedback they’ve had from clients and if anyone is in any doubt as to why these improvements have initiated such excitement, check out their new website www.foxproperty.co.uk

For Island Lettings, wight365 needed to amalgamate  three existing letting specialists into a single brand - creating a clean, sharp and concise message that would be immediately understood as soon as viewed and ensure that their new website  was crystal clear in its instruction and delivery.  Mark  Burton told us that  the promotion of Island Lettings  and their enhanced  image  has more than lived up to expectations  and the business is  successfully forging ahead. You can see what they mean at www.islandlettings.co.uk

A year ago, Sarah Fish, came to wight365 with her ideas for a new rental properties business.  A Bigger Fish was hatched, branding matched and the boards dispatched. According to Sarah, the response has been exceptional and this entrepreneurial attitude is a shining example of what can be achieved, no matter what the fluctuations in the housing market.  See further details at www.abiggerfish.co.uk

We’re really proud to have contributed to the maximum impact of exposure for these local businesses - and to have added a bit of colour to High Streets around the Isle of Wight.  To see more of our ‘street art’ get in touch!

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The term ‘Hero ’ has come to mean , the area on your website homepage which carries the main graphic or image used to display your most important message or call to action.  Here at wight365 we have developed a Hero Manager that exists within the client’s Content Management System and allows them to upload and position their own large photos or text.  Our Hero Manager gives the freedom to generate slides either using your own imagery,  or graphics we have supplied. Text, titles and headings are then easily placed and obviously indexable  through search engines. We have produced a system which allows a number of different heroes to be present that will fade between one another like a slide show. By creating a number of slides you can tell several different stories on your homepage and also retain absolute control over the time each slide is visible.   The beauty of  managing your own Hero is that by saving a set of slides, you can create brand new sets for special occasions such as Christmas or amazing, one off, offers. 

Clients have reported very favourably about the freedom of choice the Hero Manager has given them.  Adding sophistication to websites without unnecessary complication,  creating the Hero Manager has proved to be an extremely worthwhile exercise. 

Needless to say we are using the Hero Manager on our own website - 'never get others to do something you wouldn't do yourself!' :-)

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Having designed and developed her website earlier this year, we were thrilled when Gay Baldwin, asked our Art Director to not only create the graphics and organise the page layouts for her new book, but design the cover as well.  Many of you will instantly recognise Gay's name as the extremely well known and respected author of the Ghost Island series.  For her latest and 8th documentation, she scribed the wonderfully haunting ' Ghosts of Knighton Gorges.'

To capture the austerity of the now, long gone mansion  and some would say, its still looming presence, a painting of the original building by Peter Leath  was sourced.   This was then re-constructed, using Photoshop CS5, to create a foreground representative of a contemporary site, bearing todays features and shimmering in the light of a full moon. The result is a picture that simply compels  the reader to discover more about our connections with this intriguing and chilling history.

Becoming involved with ,Gay, led the wight365 team further into the weird and wonderful world of another supernatural enthusiast, Marc Tuckey, who together with his team, create ghost walks around many historic towns and villages of the Isle of Wight.  This Halloween they're planning their most terrifying experience to date as they engage their intrepid explorers on a tour to celebrate the Village of the Damned.

We have just completed the graphics for the petrifying promotional leaflets and banners advertising this escapade and wish anyone partaking, a safe journey into the unknown! Mwa ha ha ha ha!....

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It has been through various javascript frameworks - although, originally we didn't use javascript at all, given the poor compatibility between browsers which is inconceivable with todays web applications.  We started on prototype then added scriptaculous, moved over to mootools and finally decided to settle with jquery, which is much more friendly to develop with.

We are now confident that we can produce a tailored CMS for all of our clients and their very differing needs.

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Here is an example of the way in which, wight365, employs the wire frame to begin a successful design and developement project.

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So how did our development team begin ?

We began this project the way we begin all our development projects, by working out a data schema for the database.  We needed a system to cater for three different types of user accounts; students, teachers and administrators.  It also needed to handle several different types of posts which are available across schools, or not, depending on a particular school's security settings.

Once development had begun, what processes did we put in place ?

Once the database schema had been completed, it was time to work on the interface.  Early prototypes of the 5th Matrix interface used a combination of standard HTML/CSS and flash for interactivity.  The flash section was used by the students to organise their chosen job information.  However, for later versions it was decided to drop the flash and implement Jquery and AJAX for a more efficient and friendly user experience.

Alongside development of the system, support media was created and refined.  Working with Generator Graphics, who were involved throughout, we created animations and videos to explain and introduce the system.  We also created a series of animated characters which students could use as their Avatar.

Were there any special requirements ?

After refining the prototype, the issue of safety for use by children was discussed.  It was decided to implement a full profanity filter as well as a URL filter to disallow any inappropriate websites from being linked to within 5th Matrix.  In addition to these security measures we decided to employ a post reporting system that allows teachers to monitor and remove posts and comments.  It was also decided to give teachers more control over unreported posts and a system of dividing students into 'tutor groups' was put into place, to improve the ease of administration and monitoring.

Overall, the project has come together smoothly with some exciting challenges and lively discussion only adding to the enjoyment of all involved with it.  We're really looking forward to any future promotions we undertake with the Young Chamber.  Their absolute committment in trying to secure the best possible future for young people is unquestionable and wight365 will continue to support them in any way we can.

View the 5th Matrix project

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