Category Archives: Web Content Management

At 20 years old is the Web at a difficult age?

While enjoying another wonderfully sunny English summer with the kids (in between the days of torrential rain) I spotted that the Web has turned 20.

It was on August 6, 1991, that the Web made its debut as a publicly available service on the Internet when the first webpage was launched by Sir Tim Berners-Lee.

For me personally, turning 20 marked the mid-point of a torturous 10 year period. Mid teens to mid twenties are often described by people as a difficult age – that often awkward transition from being a child to becoming ‘grown-up’. It seems the Web is experiencing similar growing and transitional pains as it continues on its journey to becoming a mature and totally ubiquitous environment that is an accepted part of all our lives. Continue reading →

Software vendor landscape is looking softer…

This is a literal and metaphorical observation based on some vibes that are filtering through.

In the literal sense it comes from a half year review of the landscape as seen by the Real Story Group and their excellent ‘subway’ map. I’ve always found this to be an insightful and interesting way to show the different strands of content technologies and how they interconnect and I have ‘borrowed’ this in the past for presentations about content management (like the one copied below for reference). So, comparing the 2011 map versus the 2010 map the most striking difference is that where once there were sharp angles and corners, the paths between vendors look much softer 🙂 Whether that is a subconcious statement that implementors may not need to make so many ‘sharp turns’ these days when negotiating the vendor map or the designer’s illustration skills have improved remains to be seen…

In a metaphorical sense, I am hearing about tougher times as multiple factors combine to ‘soften’ sales. This quote from an article I’ve read recently tends to reinforce those vibes… Continue reading →

Drupal 7 – a true 'multi-scenario' best fit?

Drupal Commerce in action (click for larger view)

Before I go offline for the summer months to enjoy the UK sun (yeah right 😉 ), here is a summary of my findings from spending the last 9 months immersed in Drupal – and particularly the new Drupal 7 offering.

Since becoming involved with web development in the mid 90’s and spending most of the last decade working on CMS orientated projects, I have become a great supporter of the Real Story Group and their excellent approach to CMS evaluation.

The terms ‘scenario‘ and ‘best fit‘ are synonymous with its analysis and I have always found its commentary insightful and bang on the money.

For my latest wave of professional and personal web projects, I have become drawn increasingly to the Drupal community and with the excellent support of a former colleague Simon at Holistic Drupal now have a range of commercial and social sites running on the platform – each of which has provided some different learning experiences. Continue reading →

"The Internet is inherently a force for democracy" …or not?

This is the conclusion of a debate that ran on The Economist website a couple of month’s back. In what appeared to be a well structured debate the conclusion of the moderator was as follows…

“By a narrow margin, the floor has chosen to oppose the motion. In so doing, you have declared your belief that the internet is “inherently” a force for democracy.

The motion did not ask to what extent the internet favours democrats or tyrants. Yet it is notable that in comments from the floor contributors on both sides of the argument frequently played down its significance. “Just another tool” was a commonly used phrase. Perhaps, as I suggested in my opening, such caution is a reaction to breathless media coverage of the web’s role in revolutions. Perhaps you are naturally cool-headed.

Over the past two weeks, supporters of the motion frequently refused to accept that such a “tool” could inherently favour either side. Such a question, they argued, was nonsensical. Sometimes it was used for democratic means. Often it was not.

But the majority disagreed. The internet is naturally inclined to encourage the free circulation of information, many contested. And the free circulation of information, they argued, is inherently incompatible with authoritarianism—even if some governments have succeeded so far in inhibiting the internet’s full power. It is this view that has largely carried the day. I hope such optimism proves well-founded.”

While I accept the moderator’s view and the weight of current public opinion on this particular debate I remain ‘uncomfortable’ with the conclusion. Continue reading →

A year of Desire

It’s 12 months now since I first started using an HTC Desire smartphone and I can’t think of a more aptly named device.

Before I expand on these comments – some context…

At the outset of this new century, I was involved in the development of 3G mobile internet technologies with US telco giant Lucent where we were envisaging what future services might look like. By the middle of the decade I was working for a hosted services company specializing in Windows Mobile and Blackberry based mobile email services. And, right now, I am working for a company immersed in how mobile and smartphone technologies can be integrated into cars, homes and the workplace.

So, here are five main reasons why I find the Desire so desirable? Continue reading →