Without a doubt, the impact of social media, such Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube, to disseminate information, and to nurture a collective consciousness, cannot be underestimated. We have not only heard about or experienced viral content, we have also witnessed social media being used to galvanise action, such as during the Arab Spring in 2010, the London riots in 2011, and even during the Obama campaign in the run-up to the 2012 United States (US) elections.

Although all social platforms have their place, with respect to emphasis and types of followers, by far, the most effective medium to disseminate information, nurture a collective consciousness, and galvanise people to action, appears to be Twitter. As noted in one of our earlier articles, Twitter is not the largest social network – Facebook is – but seems to have considerable impact in shaping what is considered newsworthy.

It is also instructive to note, and according to the Pew Research Center, that Twitter use is highest among millennials (18–29 years old) who are Internet users, at 32%, with the 30–49 years age group being a close second (29% of Internet users). Further, in a separate survey, over 80% of respondents indicated that they accessed Twitter to keep updated on news (Source: American Press Institute). As a result, has and continues have in indelible impact on our lives and how you see the world.

Could there be too much of a good thing?

As expected, those qualities, among others, made Twitter a crucial channel during the recently concluded US presidential election. As most of us would be aware, it was used to great effect by Donald Trump, who won the election. It was not only a means through which he energised his longstanding supporters and attracted new ones, it also allowed him to speak directly, and seemingly in a personal and intimate way, to his followers, and by extension Twitterscape. Further, Trump’s success in the election is even more remarkable, since he had raised considerably less money than his main opponent, and would have been outspent in almost every other media channel.

Having said this, all is not as it seemed: Twitter can be manipulated. A number of news reports have alleged the use of fake Twitter accounts, also called bots or robots, especially by the Trump campaign machinery. Many of the bots were modelled as grassroot supporters, who would amplify support for Trump, through their tweets or retweets, and eviscerate his opponents.This gaming of Twitter – through bots liking, tweeting and retweeting posts, gave Trump’s messaging considerable visibility among the electorate, which no doubt, contributed to election results.

So much impact, but still a tenuous existence

It is thus somewhat ironic that although Twitter has transformed media, as a company, it is still struggling. It is yet to turn a profit in the 10 years since it was launched, and the three years since it floated shares on the New York Stock Exchange.

Having said this, several firms, including Google, Salesforce and Disney, have expressed an interest in acquiring Twitter (Source: The Telegraph). However, whilst the Twitter’s management might be trying to hold out for the best possible offer, reportedly, prospective buyers are also concerned about the extent Twitter can be gamed by bots, and also the inflated subscriber base that can be attributed to these fake accounts.

As a result, in spite as of its impact, Twitter’s future remains tenuous since it has yet to develop a profitable and self-sustaining business model. As a result, and according to CIO magazine, the firm could be out of business within the next few years:

Twitter’s effect on the 2016 presidential election cycle will have lasting reverberations. Yet the company could potential be out of business by the time Americans head to the polls in 2020.

The current election also reinforces the idea that Twitter is becoming less of a social network and more of a news-making medium with a social bent.. Twitter’s future is uncertain, but the format it introduced will have a lasting impact on politics…

Image credit:  Annabelle Shemer (flickr)

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Earlier this week, reports emerged that global technology firm, Yahoo Inc. had been hacked and data associated with over 500 million email accounts were stolen. The hacking incident(s) appeared to have occurred several weeks, even months, ago, but is only now being made public. Whilst it is not clear how many subscribers Yahoo has worldwide, nor has any information been disclosed on whether the stolen accounts were limited to specific countries or geographic regions, it would be safe to assume that Caribbean subscribers of Yahoo have been affected.

The Yahoo platform offers a broad range services, including email, news, online mapping, video sharing, to name a few, and it is in the top five most visited websites globally (source:  Alexa). Further, the company is in the process of being acquired by Verizon Inc. and from some reports, Verizon may not have been made aware major security breach until just a few days ago. Accordingly, longer term implications of the breach and theft are expected – not just affecting the firm itself, but also to its subscribers.

So many of us would be lost without email access, especially for work. We therefore take it for granted, until something happens, and we are reminded how vulnerable our personal information and private communication truly are. Hence, although we, at ICT Pulse, have done so before, it again is opportune to remind all of us of some basic email security tips – this time from popular computer security software firm, McAfee:

1.  Obtain comprehensive security software.
2.  Share your email address with only trusted sources.
3.  Be careful when opening attachments and downloading files from friends and family or accepting unknown emails.
4.  Be smart when using Instant Messaging programmes.
5.  Watch out for phishing scams. (Phishing scams use fraudulent emails and fake Web sites, masquerading as legitimate businesses, to lure unsuspecting users into revealing private account or login information.)
6.  Use email wisely. (Be careful about what information you submit via email. Never send your credit-card information, Social Security number, or other private information via email.)
7.  Do not reply to spam email. If you don’t recognize the sender, don’t respond. Even replying to spam mail to unsubscribe could set you up for more spam.
8.  Create a complex email address.
9.  Create smart and strong passwords.
10.  Never enter your personal information into a pop-up screen.

An issue that the Yahoo email incident has emphasised, is the fact that frequently both the firm and the email account holders are blissfully unaware of any security breach, and may only learn of it well after the damage has been done. In being proactive and incorporating the practices suggested above, account holders would be doing their part to minimise their exposure and loss, should their email accounts be compromised.

Image credit:  Heartlover1717 (flickr)

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For those of us who love to read, electronic (e-)books have been a godsend. While we may miss the tactile experience of handling a printed book, or the pride of owning stacks of books, or even sharing a well-loved read with others, the convenience, availability and access to e-books, especially in the Caribbean, are compelling benefits for the latter.

However, in a recent article in the Barbados Today newspaper, local and regional publishers were accused of hindering the growth of e-books and e-textbooks in the region. According to the Project Director of the Caribbean Shared Educational Resources Service, Beverly Smith-Hinkson,

…there are approximately 2,000 e-books available on the online portal and accessible in over 25 Caribbean countries, but only five per cent of that content were the work of local and regional authors…

…I go to Caribbean publishers and I say, ‘may I have your books’ and they say,‘but we don’t have them as digital books as yet’. They may have 300 books but [only] eight digitized, [for example]. And they are in fact holding up this revolution within schools to get textbooks…

(Source: Barbados Today)

The limited number of e-books and e-textbooks by Caribbean authors and publishers is especially worrying, as many classic Caribbean books and novels – which should be on every must-read list – have been out of print for years, and may be lost to upcoming generations of readers. A saving grace for Caribbean novels is that a few of them make the reading list in secondary schools across the region; but fewer still are mandatory reading for students preparing to sit the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate examination in English Literature.

One of the overwhelming reasons why the back catalogue of Caribbean books has not been converted to e-books, and remain unavailable, is the cost involved, especially if there is no digital copy. Under those circumstances, a hard copy of the book would need to be scanned page by page and thereafter digitised, proof-read, and re-formatted for digital reading. Further, and if we are being honest, the market for Caribbean books and novels, outside of those those selected by secondary schools across the region, is relatively small. Hence even for e-books, publishers are unlikely to re-coup the cost of conversion, distribution and promotion.

It is also important to note that when a book goes out of print, typically, the rights revert back to the author, or the author’s estate. It therefore means that the author, or the managers of an author’s estate, would need to still have a copy of the manuscript or the book, and would also need to be the ones to drive the effort to get those books republished in a digital format. However, many of those individuals may not have the wherewithal, nor the resources, to make their out of print books available and accessible to the current crop of readers.

On another note, the current trend in electronic publishing is towards self publishing, which includes authors not only directly managing publication of their books, but also their books’ promotion, distribution and sales. Consequently, traditional publishing houses are no longer the sole gatekeepers of what gets printed and into the public’s hands. However, there is still considerable prestige and validation associated with getting a publishing house to print one’s book. Further, many authors do not have the knowledge or resources to successfully publish and promote their book, and so rely on publishing houses for that expertise.

Finally, it must be questioned whether Caribbean publishers have the channels, contacts, know how to properly leverage the digital space. Unlike with printed books, where they can be placed in niche, brick and mortar bookstores and the shops themselves may promote some of the books, in the digital space, a greater emphasis has to be on promotion. Promotion not only requires money, but also considerable marketing expertise, which is critical to help the public find specific books among all those available.

Image credit:  Sharon Drummond (flickr)

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Over the past five years or so, social network, Facebook, has been an essential channel through which businesses market and advertise their products and services to the social network’s 1.5 billion-plus subscribers. In turn, paid advertisements have become a major source of revenue for the firm, and the archetype of the create-a-network-and-the money-will follow business model that numerous tech start-ups and ventures have sought to emulate.

However, last week, Facebook announced it would again be changing algorithm it uses to determine what posts are seen by subscribers in their news feeds. On 29 June, Facebook announced that it would be changing its news feed ranking so that posts by family and friends are given the greatest priority and as a  result, would be found higher up the news feed.

Publishers, advertisers and marketers likely to be adversely affected

While Facebook indicated that the adjustment it is making is in direct response to its subscribers’ concerns and desires, the move appears to be at odds with its past efforts to encourage publishers, advertisers, marketers, etc., to use the medium and post content. However, it admits that the intended change is likely to cause a decline in reach and referral traffic “for some [Facebook] Pages” (Source: Facebook). Major publishers – that post dozens of articles, videos, etc., daily – are expected to be adversely affected. However, Facebook was of the view that:

The specific impact on your Page’s distribution and other metrics may vary depending on the composition of your audience. For example, if a lot of your referral traffic is the result of people sharing your content and their friends liking and commenting on it, there will be less of an impact than if the majority of your traffic comes directly through Page posts.

(Source: Facebook)

Sadly the reality might a far cry from what is envisaged, especially for smaller publishers, such as ICT Pulse (for example), that expect their posts to be included in the news feeds of (at least) some of their followers, which in turn would drive the referrals. However, if content from friends and family is being promoted – to the detriment of posts on Facebook Pages – when might a Page follower see a post from a Facebook Page, if it is no longer being readily featured in his/her news feed?

More paid advertising?

In light of the intended changes, it could be argued that Facebook wants to push more businesses towards paid advertising, as opposed to relying on the organic reach of posts. However, even paid advertising should suffer if the emphasis is on user-centric content. A recent Forbes article on the subject indicated the following consequences:

As a result of the decline in organic reach, it’s likely that more publishers are going to flock to paid advertising on Facebook to make up the difference. After all, it’s relatively inexpensive—at least for now. With more brands swarming to paid advertising to make up the losses on the organic side, it’s likely that Facebook will be forced to raise prices, or even adopt a more aggressive kind of bidding platform, similar to what we see in Google AdWords. This will make advertising less accessible to small business owners, and more of an expense for content publishers if they want to remain visible on the world’s biggest social media platform. This problem could be complicated even further if Facebook decides to restrict ad space in an even more concentrated effort to improve user experience.

Is it still worth it to market on Facebook?

So what does it all of this mean for businesses, especially Caribbean businesses and start-ups, that use Facebook to gain some visibility and to develop a customer base? So far, it does not look good. Whilst Facebook will continue to adjust its news feed algorithm, its usefulness into the immediate future may have diminished. Consequently Caribbean marketers, publishers, etc., may need to consider and rely other strategies – outside of Facebook – to secure the benefits that used to be realised on Facebook.

Image credit: howtostartablogonline.net

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The concept of “Open Data” is not new in the Caribbean. It began to gain prominence around five years ago, with the crystallised into the first Caribbean Open Data Conference, and the Caribbean Open Institute. With regard to understanding the term ‘Open Data”, the key focus should be on the word “open”, which speaks to being able to “freely access, use, modify, and share for any purpose (subject, at most, to requirements that preserve provenance and openness)” (Source: Open Definition).

Greater openness on the part of governments, with respect to data and information, along with the provision goods and services, foster not only improved transparency, accountability and public participation, but also contributes to innovation and entrepreneurship. According to a 2013 study by Capgemini,

…[p]ublic administration officials are now beginning to realize the value that opening up data can have. For instance, the direct impact of Open Data on the EU27 economy was estimated at €32 Billion in 2010, with an estimated annual growth rate of 7%.

Methodology

Launched in 2013, the Global Open Data Index is an annual effort to measure the state of open government data worldwide. The methodology employed is based on the following four assumptions:

• Open Data is defined by the Open Definition
• Government’s role is in publishing data
• National government as aggregator of data
• Federal (or national) government is accountable for the open publication by all its sub-governments

To secure a comprehensive view of the state of openness of data in 2015, 13 datasets on data that could and should be made public are examined, as outlined in Table 1.

Table 1: Datasets examined for 2015 Global Open Data Index (Souce: Global Open Data Index)

Caribbean results

The 2015 assessment comprised 122 countries, including the following 15 Caribbean countries: Antigua and Barbuda (A&B); the Bahamas (BAH); Barbados (BAR); Cayman Islands (CAY); Dominica (DOM); Dominican Republic (DR); Grenada (GDA); Guyana (GUY); Jamaica (JAM); Puerto Rico (PR); Saint Kitts and Nevis (SKN); Saint Lucia (SLU); Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG); Trinidad and Tobago (T&T); and Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI). Table 2 shows the rank and scores each Caribbean country received for the 13 datasets examined

Table 2: 2015 Open Data Index ranking and scores for select Caribbean countries (Source: Global Open Data Index)

In Caribbean, Jamaica was considered the most open, achieving a rank of 37th out of 122 countries, with Saint Kitts and Nevis being considered the least open, near the bottom of the list at 117th. The most open countries worldwide were: Taiwan (#1); the United Kingdom (#2); Denmark (#3); Colombia (#4) and Finland (#5), with the United States and Canada at number 8 and 17. respectively.

Across the Caribbean countries assessed, there is still considerable room for improvement, as it relates to the availability of data collected by government. evidenced by the number of ‘0’ scores received, here are still data for several datasets that either is not being collected, and perhaps more importantly, are not made being made publicly available. Additionally, for data that is being collected, the low scores suggest that they are not being comprehensively collected, or collected with adequate frequency.

In summary, the Open Open Index provides a benchmark for the state of Open Data in the countries examined. it also provides basis to evaluate all of the reported progress that has been communicated in the Caribbean in this area, and to truly gauge the extent to which our individual countries, and by extension the region, is incraesing in openness.

Image credit:  justgrimes (flickr)

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However, over the past several months and although membership on popular social networks might still be increasing, there are signs that users are becoming battle-weary. Below are some thoughts and observations.

Users are sharing less personal information

In April, several news reports emerged that Facebook users were sharing less personal content with each other (Source: Bloomberg). Facebook is the world largest social network, having 1.6 billion subscribers, and more than a billion active daily users; hence the trend it is experiencing, which could be unique to that platform, may also be a bellwether for social networks generally.

Further, there is an already known trend of people gravitating to newer (and seemingly more exciting) platforms. For example, whilst MySpace might have been the go-to network back 10 years ago, it was overshadowed and eventually decimated by Facebook. Now, Snapchat is gaining considerable popularity, and while it might be premature to suggest that it could cripple Facebook, it appears to be eroding Facebook’s popularity and use among a certain demographic of users and for certain types of content.

Advertising and revenue generation at the forefront

The typical strategy of most social networks is to aggressively grow their user base, create a captive audience that would attract from advertisers in order to generate revenue. With considerable effort, such an approach can work, such as in the case of Facebook, which has recently begun to realise a profit, however, it can come at a price. Users can begin to feel inundated with advertisements and sponsored content.

Further, outside of paid advertisements, businesses are also actively leveraging their own presence on those networks and generating considerable content that eventually makes their way into their followers’ news feeds. Hence between the sponsored content, and that posted by businesses they are also following, some social networks are losing their intimate feel, which in turn will affect user behaviour and attitude.

Users are also looking to generate income

Finally, it must be emphasised that increasingly, individual users themselves are leveraging social networks to generate income, and even to have a profession. The most obvious example of this is YouTube, where considerable revenue generation opportunities exist for users whose videos have high viewership. Thanks to the success of individuals such as: PewDiePie, who earned USD 12 million from YouTube in 2015 by commentating video games; The Fine Brothers, who earned USD 8.5 million on YouTube through a series of comedy clips; and Michelle Phan, who earned USD 3 million on YouTube, through makeup and beauty tutorials, others are hoping to have similar success.

However, again, behaviour such as this can change how other subscribers perceive a particular social network. Unlike other platforms, YouTube was not thought of a place for intimate, friends and family engagement. However, due to the considerable amount of content of varying quality now available, it can be challenging to find the gems among the chaos.

Image credit:  Tom Gill (flickr)

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Yesterday, the Huffington Post published an article, Why Are Caribbean Businesses Ignoring the Power of Digital Marketing!, written Ms Katyan Roach, a Social Media Consultant based in Trinidad and Tobago, who has written several articles for that publication. As the title of the article indicates, Ms Roach posits that Caribbean businesses do not see social media as a critical marketing tool, and so are not being as effective in their marketing efforts as they could be.

Without a doubt the writer appears passionate about the topic, especially social media, which was the focus of her discourse. However, the overall thrust of the piece seemed a bit broad-brush, when Caribbean countries, and by extension the region, often require more nuanced examination. In addition to the fact each business is unique, and how success is defined is different to for each owner, below are a few points that ought to be considered.

Inadequate resources to leverage digital social media properly

One of the first points that must be emphasised is that the majority of businesses in the Caribbean are in fact small and micro enterprises, that is under 50 people. Further most would be considered micro-businesses, as they have less than 10 employees, and frequently are single individual operations, or small family businesses, that just about provide an income for its workers, rarely never generate any significant profit. Further, they will almost never have a multi-million United States Dollar valuation, or become the darling of venture capitalists and angel investors. They provide goods and services that are needed, but essentially, subsist.

While some micro and small business may have a presence on at least one social network, it is more than likely true that the platform is being underutilised. However, in order to maintain an active presence, engage followers, and employ strategies that can result in increased sales, require resources – time, money and manpower – all of which the majority of micro and small business truly cannot afford.

Although it could be argued that investment in social media could help such businesses to grow, the business plan and model that have been established may not support that approach, and so the level of investment needed cannot be justified. Some understanding of the business’ goals is essential first to determine how best and the extent to which, social media, as one of many tactics, can employed.

Quality of input determines quality of output regardless of media

Regardless of medium, be it TV, print, radio, Facebook,Twitter or Instagram (to name a few), the effectiveness of the output, such as the marketing campaigns executed, is to a considerable degree dependent on the money and the quality of resources that can be applied.

For example, have you seen or heard TV and radio ads that made you cringe? Frequently, that reaction stems from the fact that the production and content were not as sophisticated as we have come to expect. The same can happen in social media. Hence while the previous point emphasised the need for resources to properly leverage social media, that very same argument are applicable to traditional media as well in order for the desired results to be achieved.

Social media to boil the ocean

Finally, and in today’s digital world, it is crucial for businesses to have a presence online, be it on a social network, and/or have a website, as a channel of engagement. However, it is even more critical for a business to understand its market, its customers, and the limitations of its environment, and thus how best to used the various media and platforms.

For example, while much is made of the size of popular social networks (Facebook has over a billion subscribers, Twitter has about 300 million, Instagram has over 400 million), the customers who may have an interest in your business’ goods or services might be minuscule in comparison. The following questions seek to illustrate:

• How much attention and resources should a Caribbean business be prepared to commit to a global (social) medium, if its goods and services can only be delivered within the country in which it is based?
• Further, although Facebook has over a billion subscribers, and using Antigua and Barbuda as an example, how much attention and resources should an Antiguan business be prepared to commit when only a fraction of the 32,000 Facebook subscribers that are located in Antigua (about a third of the population) may be among its target customer segment?

In essence, it is easy to get enamoured with the opportunity to market one’s business to a global audience, but it can be an illusion and severely misguided, if the business itself cannot service that market, or if it might not (yet) be necessary to promote the business’ brand globally. Typically, the actual target customer segment – for Caribbean businesses – is considerably smaller and so it is prudent for them to consider carefully their options, and the various  media and platforms available,  to determine how best to engage and market to their true customer base.

Image credit:  Yoel Ben-Avraham (flickr)

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From time to time, politicians and policymakers across the region call for more local content to be created and made available online. Those utterances tend to coincide with the launch of an Internet Exchange Point in a Caribbean country, but most recently, it was the Director of the National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission in Dominica, Craig Nesty, who was calling for more investment in capacity building and training in local content development, and in network deployment (Source:  Dominica News Online).

The impetus for Mr. Nesty’s concern was the fact that although Dominica has excellent  connectivity, it is not being leveraged locally – which many would argue is also the case in most Caribbean countries. Further, he was of the view that unless Dominicans becomes producers of content, and not just merely consumers of content that is created elsewhere, Dominica has not “truly joined the Internet” and is not capitalising on the potential the medium offers (Source:  Dominica News Online).

The concerns raised by Mr. Nesty are valid, and resonate with ICT Pulse: we in Caribbean should become more than just mindless consumers of technology, but should should find our voice and have it heard. While Mr. Nesty sought to make some suggestions on what might be needed to foster more local content online in Dominica, below are matters that should be considered in trying to achieve that objective in the region.

1. Government should lead by example

Without a doubt, governments generate and store considerable volumes of information – across their ministries, department and agencies. However, much of it is stored in files and folders, and may even be archived either for future use or for posterity. However, with the thrust towards (more) Open Government, Caribbean governments could lead by example by making more of the information it stores and generates available online. Three areas readily come to mind:

• data. Consistent with efforts to promote Open Data, lots of statistical data, in particular, is generated and stored for several sectors and industries, however, public authorities tend to be reluctant to share it. They either make it costly to purchase, provide in a read-only (or non-digital) format, or just not permit access.

Further, many of those authorities recognise that the data they possess may have value, but they do not know how to harness it themselves and so are reluctant to share it with others. However, as a country, it means that not only is it not encouraging entrepreneurship and innovation, there are also missed opportunities to benefit the country and their citizens.

• history and cultural heritage.  In virtually all Caribbean countries there has been a focus on documenting our history and cultural heritage. However much of the history is stored in musty files and even mustier museums and archives. The Internet provides countries with an opportunity to share what is most unique about them, and to tell their stories – of their traditions, their heros and their experiences.

In addition to the records that have been stored, there is a somewhat an ephemeral aspect to our history: oral storytelling, which shares not only firsthand experiences, but also tends to bring colour and vibrancy to the known facts. Sadly, we are at a point where we will soon lose access to people who can recall events in the first half of the 20th century, if measures to capture their stories are not implemented soon.

• government documents and processes.  As it current stands, every citizen (and resident) and business, must interact either directly or indirectly with the government in their country: from the cradle to the grave. Although, most Caribbean governments have implemented systems to facilitate some digital and online engagement with their citizens, it is still uneven. In many instances, basic forms and guidelines are still not available over the Internet, and if they are, they must be downloaded, printed and submitted either by post or in person to a specific office. Additionally, electronic payments are often not accepted, meaning that an individual can waste several hours on a regular basis standing in a line to conduct what might be pretty straightforward transaction.

Hence there is considerable scope for our governments to broaden and deepen the facilities and services they make available online. Not only would it increase their own efficiency, effectiveness, and transparency, but it would also be welcomed by their citizens and by local and international investors hoping to do business.

2. Local content versus local hosting?

Although it is not said, frequently it is implied, or even assumed, that much of the local content development that is being encouraged will be hosted in-country, or at the very least somewhere in the Caribbean region.  However, web hosting facilities and services in the region tend to be limited, and often, are not as competitively priced as those being offered further afield.

Depending on purpose of the website, for example, if it is just to share information, but will generate no revenue, the site owner may be inclined to secure a cost effective option, which is likely to be based outside the region. However, that scenario does beg the question: how important is it for content be hosted locally to be considered “local content”? Is it enough that the site owner resides in a particular country for that country to claim that content on the website as “local content”?

3. Local market versus international markets?

Following from the previous point, and in circumstances where the aim is to develop a viable business, within the context of the Caribbean, and depending on the business, many of our countries are too small individually to make it viable. Frequently, in order to move a project from what essentially might be considered a hobby, to a sustainable business, the products and/or services offered ought to have wider appeal than just for a specific country.

It therefore leads to a broader question: for content to be considered “local”, must they be relevant primarily to individuals domiciled in a particular country, and that country’s Diaspora? Again, is it enough for the site owner, or business owner, to reside in a particular country for that country to claim the website as a “local website”?

Final thoughts

In summary, there is much that Caribbean countries, and specifically their governments, can do in the first instance to increase the amount of local content that is available over the Internet. Further, those efforts are likely to stimulate their citizens to develop their own content. Whether or not, or the extent to which, the content is considered “local” may not be relevant. The bigger issue is realising greater participation by Caribbean citizens in the Internet economy: not only as consumers, but as suppliers of goods and services that are of interest to the local, regional, and even international, market.

Image credit:  Stuart Miles (FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

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Developing a personal or business website can an arduous and time-consuming process. In addition to deciding on matters such as layout, design, functionality, aesthetics and content, to name a few, many of us are dependent on web designers and developers to take us from concept to reality. Thereafter, we struggle to keep the site up to date, and hopefully relevant to our audience.

However, having successfully launched our website back in the day, the truth is that website features and functionality have evolved considerably over the past few years. More importantly, website visitors’ expectations of how they will experience and be engaged on a website have also changed.

This coming January, ICT Pulse will be five years old, and we believe the site is due for some freshening up. As the team prepares itself to debate – and hopefully eventually agree on – how best our platform can be improved, below are five tips we will be using to guide our deliberations.

1. The site ought be aligned with or support overarching purpose or goals

While it is great for an individual or business to have a website, invariably, it ought to serve a purpose. In preparation for the redesign process, that purpose ought to be reviewed against the your personal or your organisation’s strategic goals and objectives, which may have changed since the site was first launched.

2.  Strategic goals for the website (itself) should also be established.

In keeping with determining the purpose of the website, strategic goals and objectives for the site should also be clearly established. During the redesign process, it is easy for the initial concept to veer off course, as new ideas and inputs emerge. Having concrete goals and objectives can keep the discussions centred and focussed, so that the final outcome meet the requirements that had been set.

3.  Not every website trend must be followed

Without a doubt, and as indicated above, new and ingenious website features have emerged over the past several years. Although generally they serve either to enhance the user experience, or to improve the website development (backend) process, it may not be possible (or advisable) to try to incorporate them all into just one site. Each feature serves a purpose, which may support or undermine the goals and objectives of the website; thus they should be carefully considered within that context and prudently selected.

4.  Focus on the visitor experience

Although it is critical for the website to be aligned with one’s personal objectives, or that of your organisation, that cannot be the sole focus. The user experience – how visitors to the site will engage it, and the impression that will be made – must also be carefully considered.

An example of a situation where the developing team’s approach and the user expectation may be at variance with each other, is with respect to how information is organised. The development team may prefer a high hierarchical structure where users mine down to through several web pages to the information they are looking for. However, users today tend to prefer finding information in as few clicks as possible. Hence, sites that adopt the development team’s approach solely can be seen as unwieldy and not especially user-friendly, with users getting frustrated and going to another website for their needs.

5.  Invite visitor feedback

Finally, in order to get a better sense of what your website visitors might want or need, it is strongly recommended that the development team invite feedback and comments from site visitors, which can be considered during the redesign process. The survey can be as simple or as complicated as the team sees fit, but the point remains: most websites aim to attract traffic, and to the extent that users are happy with the site, makes achieving that objective more likely.

Image credit:  Salvatore Vuono (FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

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… ad control technology at the network level on its networks across the globe to ensure a better experience for customers and to encourage the likes of Google, Facebook and Yahoo to help connect the 4.2 billion unconnected people across the globe. 

(Source: Digicel)

Digicel contended that advertisements (ads) on mobile/cellular phones consume as much as 10% of their customers’ data plans. By blocking the ads customers, it is of the view that customers would have an improved experience. It also expects to benefit directly from the leveraging the control it will wield to secure revenue sharing agreements with major content providers, such as Google, Yahoo and Facebook, which it indicated would be reinvested in its networks.

Digicel, operates in 31 countries, 24 of which are in the Caribbean, and has around 13 million customers. The ad blocking technology it plans to use, which has been developed by Shine Technologies, an Israeli firm, will by default be active and controlled by the Digicel. The technology will be deployed in Jamaica first, and then rolled out in due course to all of the counties in which Digicel has a presence.

Although the announcement is just three days old, there have been vociferous discussions globally, with grave concern being expressed across the Caribbean and calls for regulators to intervene. While it may be possible to challenge Digicel on every point of its reasoning, below a few of what are perceived as the ‘big issues’ are discussed.

A possible shot in the arm for network operators in the net neutrality debate?

In recent years, and with the dominance of the Internet, Digicel, like most mobile/cellular network operators worldwide, have had to wake up to the fact that they can no longer protect the premium revenues they used to be able to generate from voice services. However, although these providers may appreciate that they must now play in the Internet/data space, their revenues would be adversely affected, and would need to be supplemented.

One of the main arguments against network neutrality typically is made by telecoms network operators, is that the services of major content providers (such as the Google, Facebook and Netflix) consume considerable bandwidth, but those providers do not contribute to, or in anyway bear the cost for, maintaining the infrastructure upon which their services are delivered. Hence Digicel ad blocking initiative – which reportedly is the first globally to be implemented by a network operator, and so is being closely watched – potentially could give operators control over some of the content that is being carried over their network. More importantly, it could give them bargaining power when engaging content providers, since although the content providers’ service itself might not be blocked, the means by which they generates revenue, through ads, would be under threat.

Bargaining with large content providers at the expense of the smaller ones

Although Digicel hopes to bring the Googles, Yahoos and Facebooks of the world to the negotiating table, the company plans to block all ads both on the mobile web and in mobile apps. It therefore means that the ads placed in all apps on a Digicel customer’s smartphone will be blocked.

Before we, the app users, jump for joy, do consider the following:

• Through their apps, most developers are trying fulfil a perceived need or void in the market
• Only a select few of the thousand of apps on the market ever generate enough revenues to recover the cost of their development
• Generally, we the users are reluctant to pay for apps; hence the majority of them are free in order to gain an audience or customer base
• Consequently, most app developers have had to rely on ads embedded in their free apps to try to generate revenue.

In a nutshell, blocking the ads would obliterate a critical income stream upon which most developers and their teams rely. However, their demise may just be collateral damage in a battle between network operators and major content providers.

Caribbean app development likely to be in the skids

Having said this, it is important to emphasise that should Digicel’s ad blocking plan eventuate, the Caribbean app development community would not be immune from its effects.

With few exceptions, the majority of the apps developed in the Caribbean are locally driven, that is, seeking to address very specific, national needs. Further, the apps that are having an impact are usually those focussed on the issues of individuals in the lower socio-economic brackets, for whom it is crucial to eliminate as many barriers to take-up (such as price) as possible.

Additionally, although many of the region’s governments, and by extension the countries, are benefitting from some of the local apps being developed and from other initiatives, such open data, frequently they are not compensating the developer teams for their products. Instead, there is an expectation that the developers will figure out ways of generating revenues – in an environment where freeness is expected – which frequently means a reliance on advertising.

It should thus be of great concern that whatever ad blocking technology Digicel plans to introduce could, at the very least, make the region an unattractive market for app take-up. Apps that we might love to access may no longer be available for download in the Caribbean. Further, our local developers may opt instead to create products for overseas markets that are more welcoming of their efforts and the need recover their costs through ad placements.

At the other end of the spectrum, it is also possible that tech innovation, which policymakers have been trying to encourage, could be stifled. Additionally, one might also find that Caribbean problems that could benefit for apps and other digital solutions may not be readily solved, since an ad-based business model may in no way be viable to recover costs.

Image credit:  KROMKRATHOG (FreeDigitalPhot)

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