My first introduction to the web was through Demon Internet in
early 1994. The internet was still a puppy, and I had just founded Epoch
Software with my business partner.
We were both working from our respective bedrooms and predominately
using email to manage our development projects.
Back then I was excited to receive a single email. Today, I am on an
email treadmill, with around 150 a day needing attention. I barely keep
up.
The medium has engendered a culture of immediacy with most people
expecting a response within 24 hours.
I am beginning to wonder if the benefits outweigh the burden, but always
come to the conclusion that they do.
Domain names and branding are subjects close to my heart. With nearly
every conceivable domain name taken, you might think that there is no
scope left. But a strong brand name is rarely a generic name such as
clothes.com.
How many fashion houses call themselves 'clothes'? None, of course.
They use names which can create a definition in the customer's mind,
such as Gucci.
So what about all those well-funded dotcoms that have spent millions
buying generic names such as business.com or wine.com? Was it was truly
a good use of valuable funds?
Having recently moved home, I have not yet subscribed to a
newspaper.
Instead, when I grab a sandwich at lunch time, I catch up on all the
latest news online.
I have recently had ADSL installed in my home and it's a revelation.
Suddenly I feel truly connected. I believe that permanent connection at
high speed is the panacea to open up the web to its full potential.
I have found myself listening to radio from around the globe.
I used to have a strong dislike for sites that had heavy use of graphics
or Flash as I found the final effect was rarely worth the wait. But with
high-speed connection, this is less of an issue. I often go to
Macromedia and visit the site of the day to see how design is
evolving.
The revolution has only just begun. Is this a cliche? I think not. I
believe the internet will continue to surprise industry after industry,
will make governments and dictatorships sit up and think and, of course,
will give academics further food for thought.
Mydomain.com
This is one of the most useful domain registration sites I have come
across. Membership is free, domain management is free and domain
registration is fully automated, instant and at cost price. I still have
not figured out how it makes money.The only drawback is that it does not
register .co.uk sites. After you have registered a domain, you have full
control over its use, including email forwarding, web site redirection,
and domain pointing.
Web address: www.mydomain.com
Developer: In-house
Sky News
Information at your fingertips is a promise made by the web and lived up
to here. It is not rocket science, and it doesn't have an especially
creative design, but sometimes overkill on design can get in the way of
function. This site offers plain and simple news, updated, well-written
and easily accessible. It also has webcams across London and an
excellent radio news feed. And it delivers with no wait times.
Web address: www.skynews.co.uk
Developer: In-house
Real.com
This site is updated regularly and includes the ability to download free
or paid-for audio players. Once you have the player, you can connect to
sites that offer streaming audio or video. The site can be used to
search for radio stations broadcasting over the web. It is also a great
springboard to its content partners, which will assist in keeping its
technology alive and vibrant.
Web address: www.realaudio.com
Developer: In-house
Pure Silk
Design is the key on this site. It takes a while to load, but there is
good use of Macromedia Flash when it does. It is a great place to visit,
particularly if you are into garage music, and is a good example of how
diverse the web is getting - it is now a medium that allows for
creativity and art when appropriate. Navigation is easy and I enjoyed
the wash from picture to picture in the gallery.
Web address: www.puresilk.co.uk
Developer: The Design Factory.
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