Heritage Project wins Award for Bridging Digital Divide

The East England based "Community Heritage Stores" project (CHS) has won the e-Gov ‘Best in Category’ award for its work in bridging the digital divide. The project, funded by Fens LeAP LEADER+ programme and a grant from the e-Innovations fund from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM), beat 14 other projects from throughout England to take home this prize and was commended for its work in bringing older people online.

People from throughout West Norfolk have contributed their stories, photos and memories to the project website, which is linked below (http://www.localCHS.co.uk). All individuals have their own webpage within the site, every community and village has its own pages and the site reflects the rich heritage of the West Norfolk area. Most of the information has been collected by those considered least likely to use technology: the older residents of the communities, with several contributors in their late 80s.

The ODPM Minister for Local e-government Jim Fitzpatrick presented the award to Ellie Stoneley from UKVillages.co.uk, whch manages and delivers the project on behalf of the Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk.

In his speech Fitzpatrick said: 'The theme of "bridging the digital divide" is about reaching socially excluded groups - those who could easily be the last to benefit from e-delivered services but who generally are in most need of them.'

CHS project manager Stoneley said: 'This combination of heritage, community support and internet seems just right to encourage people who are generally shy of technology to try it out. We’ve held local workshops – which have been very well attended with many older residents getting together in some of the more isolated areas of West Norfolk to share their memories and stories and explore the local benefits of the Internet.'

Associated Link: Community Heritage Stores

Study: Mobile Web sites need Improvement
Source: CNET, 13 October 2008
 
A new study suggests that the usability of many mobile Web sites still needs improvement.

Better Usability makes Online Backup more Appealing
Source: UN, 11 October 2008
 
Repeat after me: "Backup via the Internet is for everybody."

IBM Task Modeler version 6 now Available
Source: Unknown, 10 October 2008
 
The latest release of IBM Task Modeler is now available for download. This includes many new features to support efficient and collaborative task analysis and synthesis.

Caroline's Corner: Design to Read - Designing for People who do not Read easily
Source: Caroline Jarrett, 9 October 2008
 
Reading is a skill many of us take for granted. Chances are that if you’re reading this, you’re one of the lucky ones who read easily.

Bill Buxton to change Microsoft from within
Source: The Register, 8 October 2008
 
"Last year Steve Ballmer said to 85,000 employees 'If you don’t change and you don’t go in this direction, we’re dead, and I don’t want to die.' I wanted to go hug him when he said that."

New Report: Innovative Marketing in the Digital World
Source: E-consultancy, 7 October 2008
 
A new report from E-consultancy provides a distillation of ideas and suggestions provided by digital marketing experts.

Linking Industry with Academia
Source: unknown, 6 October 2008
 
Customer experience research consultancy, fhios, based in London, has just launched an innovative internship programme, aimed primarily at postgraduate students.

Online Travel Booking: What influences Consumers?
Source: Webcredible, 4 October 2008
 
What influences consumers when booking a holiday? How can travel companies offer the best user experience?

Getting the Word out
Source: UN, 3 October 2008
 
I SAID, I'M ON THE TRAIN... Voice recognition technology can now translate all those pesky garbled voicemails into manageable text messages.

Mobile hardware outpaces Software and User Capabilities
Source: ComputerWorld, 2 October 2008
 
The main issue dissuading users from employing all the capabilities of their mobile devices is the complexity involved in operating them.