Writing for the Web

Would you like to learn how to write for the web? How to promote your activities and services in the best way online? How to structure your content to get the most impact?

This practical course will look at:

• Writing & language for the web / How to an stucture article / blog post
• How to write for Facebook and Twitter
• Plain English, Accessibility and Audience
• Appropriate content & how to deal with negative feedback
• Pingbacks, Trackbacks and Backlinks – what are they?
• Sharing on social media / integrating with social media
• What is SEO and why it is useful
• Tips and tricks on having an active online presence

The course will be delivered by Liz Hardwick. Liz currently works primarily in community media, is a self-confessed geek and is an audio, visual & digital artist. Liz is part of Manchester Girl Geeks, Lancashire Artists Network and Plug-In Lancashire.

• Date and time: Friday, July 22, 2011 from 10.30am to 4.30pm
• Cost: £80 (£40 subsidised price – for those unemployed, freelance or in full-time education)
• Venue: Lets Go Global, 3 – 5 Malvern Row, Old Trafford, Manchester, M15 4FD
• More details and booking: http://writingforweb.eventbrite.com

Social Media for the Arts

This one day workshop gives a broad overview of how social media is being used by writers, artists, and other creatives to develop work, in the work itself and to promote their work. You will get an overview of the social media “toolkit”, practical sessions on using social media, and advice on how to use social media safely and effectively.

Suitable for anyone who is interested in using social media for collaboration, creativity and communication.

The course will be delivered by Adrian Slatcher. Adrian works at Manchester Digital Development Agency and is an experienced blogger, enthusiastic Twitterer (@adrianslatcher) and regularly chairs Manchester’s Social Media Surgeries.

• Date and time: Thursday, July 28, 2011 from 10:30 AM – 4:30 PM
• Cost: £80 (£40 subsidised price – for those unemployed, freelance or in full-time education)
• Venue: Lets Go Global, 3 – 5 Malvern Row, Old Trafford, Manchester, M15 4FD
• More details and booking: http://socialmediaforthearts.eventbrite.com

Contents:

• The difference between online & offline shops
• What makes a good website: design, layout & content
• How to develop a website specification in plain English
• Ways to keep your online customers satisfied
• How to build customer loyalty
• How to make your brand work on the webmore about this session here

Resources:

• Presentation
• Useful Links / Bookmarks
• Website Specification Template
• Writing a Website Brief

If you’re a community or voluntary group in Manchester and want to learn more about using free and low cost online services to get things done, then why not come along to one of MDDA’s FREE morning web workshops, running once a month from October 2010 to March 2011.

You don’t need to be a technical whizz to benefit from these friendly, practical, hands-on sessions.

You’ll learn about ways to communicate to a wider audience, share information in a better ways and some new tools and techniques that you can start using straight away at no extra cost apart from your time.

What you’ll learn…

• How to use Dropbox – an “online USB memory stick” – to store your documents online, access them from anywhere and share them with other people
• How to use Google Forms to create contact forms for your website and simple online surveys
• What RSS feeds are and how to use them for research and faster news gathering
• Google search trips and tricks to help you find information quicker
• How to use the blogging service Posterous to blog via email
• How to edit photos online directly in your web browser without needing extra software
• Common keyboard shortcuts on Windows PCs and Macs
• How text expansion programs can save you typing time
• …and a few more as time permits!

Each workshop will be three hours long with a 30 minute break for refreshments half-way through. We’ll spend 15-20 minutes on each subject.

Feel free to bring along a laptop and use MDDA’s free high speed broadband connection during the workshop.

If you don’t want to bring a laptop, we’ll have some available for you to use, though you may need to share.

Workshop dates and times

• Tuesday 12 October 2010, 9.30am to 1pm
• Tuesday 9 November 2010, 9.30am to 1pm
• Tuesday 7 December 2010, 9.30am to 1pm
• Thursday 13 January 2011, 9.30am to 1pm
• Tuesday 1 February 2011, 9.30am to 1pm
• Tuesday 1 March 2011, 9.30am to 1pm

Venue

MDDA’s offices on Portland Street, city centre Manchester. You can find directions on MDDA’s website and a Google Map showing MDDA and travel stops is here.

Registration

If you want to register for one of these FREE workshops, please go to the event page on Eventbrite at http://mddawebworkshops.eventbrite.com.

Please note that places are limited to 15 people per session and a maximum of two people from one organisation per session.

More information

If you’d like more information about these workshops, please contact Alan Holding at MDDA by email or by phone on 0161 255 8111.

The Web Angels project is one of Manchester Metropolitan University’s community engagement projects, supported by government funds awarded for the university’s outstanding work with local communities.

The project will provide a  web presence to up to 20 community groups in Crewe, Hulme and East Manchester that will allow them to communicate with their funders, volunteers and client groups. Groups will then be able to maintain their websites themselves.

This programme will be delivered by up to 20 student volunteers from MMU’s Department of Information and Communications.

More information

You can find out more about the Web Angels project on the MMU website, or by contacting Guy Lancaster by phone 0161 247 3446 or by email at g.lancaster@mmu.ac.uk.

About the event

As we are approaching a new phase of mobile Internet, innovative companies are creating mashups incorporating 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth, video and location based services.

In this environment, it is crucial to understand the strategic and tactical steps that executives, entrepreneurs and investors should take to ensure that they are not left behind with the mobile Internet revolution.

Those who develop strategies to improve customer, supplier, employee and management communications using mobile Internet are bound to gain significant competitive advantage.

Does your product roadmap includes mobile Internet? Does mobile Internet form part of your communications strategy? Want to know more? Then this event is for you.

Confirmed speakers

• Katie Lips, Social Media and Mobile Strategist at Kisky Netmedia
• Dave Verwer, CTO, Shiny Development

More speakers and panelists will be added over the coming days and weeks.

More information and booking

Visit the Northern Startup website for more details about this event.

This resources below will cover the different ways to accept payments and how to choose the right one for your business & customers.

Contents:

• How to compare & contrast between the different options
• The payment services that are available, e.g. PayPal, Worldpay
• What’s involved in setting up a custom-built payments system
• How to make the payments process easy for customers
• The best model for your business

Resources:

• Presentation
• Sector Guide / Textiles
• Useful Links / Bookmarks

The meeting is being held at The Northern (next door nearly to Matt n’ Phreds) in Manchester city centre on 11 November 2008, from 6pm to 9pm. Please note that the capacity for the venue is about 50.

Guest speakers are being arranged and it will be a great opportunity to meet people involved in using social media and find out more about how you can use it.

See you there!

More information

• Join the Social Media Cafe group (you’ll need a Google account, but they’re free)
• Read the blog post from Martin Bryant that got the ball rolling
• Read the post on The Mancunian Way blog
• On Twitter? Tag tweets with #smc_mcr, then find out what people are saying using Twitter Search

It’s a grassroots knowledge sharing and networking social for folks involved or interested in the web and technology industry. Monthly events take place in Chester, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Preston and Sheffield.

While the focus for GeekUp is predominately web related anybody involved in the technology industry is more than welcome to attend a GeekUp. The monthly events are free, we just ask that you buy your own beer.

Links and resources

• GeekUp website
• GeekUp Job Board
• GeekUp Google Group
• GeekUp Flickr Group
• Follow GeekUp on Twitter

Before attending the Benchill Community UK online centre, Ann was caring full-time for her mother for some years before she died.  Ann was left not only grieving but rather lost, and the Benchill Community Centre proved to be the anchor she needed.

Ann explains: “When Mum died it hit me hard – I just didn’t know what to do.  I’d spent a good few years caring for her and the stress had taken a toll on my health.  I have asthma and all sorts of other conditions, so going back to my old job as a machinist was impossible.  I left school at 15, so I never even thought about starting to try and learn something new.  I wasn’t interested in computers or the internet but when my sister asked me to go with her to the Benchill Community UK online centre for moral support I thought, why not?”

After just a few sessions, the UK online centre quickly recognised Ann’s talent for IT and helping others, and invited her to help out as a volunteer. Ann said: “When I first went to the Centre I had no confidence, but thanks to the help I received from the staff I was soon doing things that I’d never considered possible.  I started off with a few courses and then managed to do my European Computer Driving Licence qualification – it’s really given me a boost, and I was so grateful that I decided I wanted to give something back.”

As well as volunteering at the Centre and helping others to get to grips with ICT, Ann now sits on the Centre’s management committee, marks and invigilates exams, and is a driving force behind many community events and activities.

Commenting on her Award, Ann said: “I’m over the moon!  It just makes me realise how far I’ve come along.  If I hadn’t come into the Benchill Community UK online centre that day, I’d just be sitting at home vegetating.  I’ve learnt so much and made so many friends, and actually I’ve found somewhere I really belong and where I can really make a difference.  I’m very proud of what I’ve achieved and I’d like to say thank you to everyone at the Centre, because without them, I really wouldn’t be where I am today.”

Ann was singled out by the judges from hundreds of nominations for her hard work and her dedication to help others.  She received her Award from GMTV’s Andrea McLean, and the new Minister for Digital Inclusion Paul Murphy MP.

Speaking at the Ceremony, Paul Murphy MP said:  “Computers and the internet can open up whole new worlds, and getting the skills and support to use them at places like UK online centres really can change lives for the better.  Ann is a perfect example, and it’s a combination of her new skills and sheer determination that have helped her forge a path to success.”

Andrea added: “We don’t say ‘well done’ enough to people who overcome personal barriers to accomplish extraordinary things in their lives.  Ann’s journey really is an inspiration to others, and I was delighted to be there to share her day, and privileged to be the person handing over an Award to mark her achievements.”

More information

If you want to follow in Ann’s footsteps and find out how technology could help, you get in touch with Benchill Community Centre by calling 0161 945 0879.

If you are at all involved in the development, programming, management, design or anything else to do with the production of websites, they’d like you to take part (and so would we!).

Take the 2008 survey.

2007 survey

You can download the findings from the 2007 survey from A List Apart, along with a bunch of anonymised data.