A Million more homes go online!

Anyone who dismisses the power of the internet must surely be getting ready to accept defeat.

The national statistics office has revealed that over the last year nearly a million more homes have taken up internet access. That means a staggering 61% of UK homes now have access, compared with 54% last year.

84% of web enabled households have a broadband connection installed, an increase on the year of 15%.

This in itself has backed up our own findings here at UFindUs which show a huge upturn in usage of our directories and portals which include Smile Local and Lets Look Beautiful.

Rapidsite evolution comes a step closer

The long awaited launch of the new rapidsite software has come a step closer.

This truly is a big deal to not only us here at UFindUs and Customer Street but more importantly to our customers.

Over the last few years we have continued to develop our range of products and services, keeping pace with the ever changing demands placed on us by our customers as well as staying one step ahead of our competition. I think that in general we have been able to achieve both things.

An area that we have however tended to overlook, and which has brought us more brickbats than bouquets, has been our templated websites which we provide free of charge for the majority of our customers. Stuart Laverick, our developer assigned to this  mammoth task has now been left alone long enough to be able to finish an alpha version of the new software.

This prototype has been passed to Stuart Forrest, our technical director with the brief to “do his best to break it”. Stuart will now undertake to pick as many holes in it as possible, checking it thoroughly to see if it has any coding errors before it goes onto the next stage which will involve the creation of the new template skins.

If you haven’t come across the development blog why not check it out, as even from a layman’s point of view it makes interesting reading to learn about the many processes which deliver something we feel will only improve further our ability to continue to deliver a first class service.

Toni Schneider – wordpress is making the world a smaller place

I have just seen an interview with Toni Schneider on WallStrip. He is the CEO of Automattic. He doesn’t really do labels so his colleagues affectionately call him the “band leader”.

If you get time then check out the interview, you may need to bear with it whilst it buffers. Listening to him put me very much in mind of our own Customer Street Technical Director, Stuart Forrest. The longer I work within this industry the more people I am coming across like both Toni and Stuart.

These guys, and many more besides, never seem phased by anything, they are approachable, passionate about what they do and most of all are natural. Nothing is for show, they are who they are and a big part of why they do what they do is because they feel they can make a difference that will shape peoples lives for the better.When you listen to Toni he is very frank and open about the things he’s asked in the interview and not full of his own self importance like many CEOs in other industries.

At the end of the day the public are the ones who ultimately decide how good they are and they know that the public can on occasions be very fickle so they take nothing for granted. I would like to think that if you read Stuarts own blog you can get an insight into the man and the passion behind Customer Street.

You don’t have to have a technical mind to appreciate the technically minded

I wrote a few weeks back about the work that our developers do and how we are currently having all our web software fully redesigned in house so that it becomes web based rather than pc based, a big asset as we can make changes which become instantly available for our customers. I keep threatening Stuart the developer in charge of this project that I will to go and have a look at what has been done so far.  

There are two reasons for this, the first one is that I genuinely do have a passion for UFindUs and want our customers to be able to get the best from what we can offer. Secondly if I am being honest I am just plain nosey. I once did a course in networking and have my City and Guilds certificate to prove it. My motivation for doing the course was the fact I love pottering on a pc and I wanted to do more than just scratch around the surface of computing. Sadly I soon discovered that in actual fact it was not what I thought it would be and I couldn’t wait to get through the course. This has only served to increase my admiration of the technically minded and fuel my curiosity and indeed excitement about the new products they create. I hope that some point soon I can see what’s being going on in there and share some of it with you prior to the full launch.

Graham Armstorng – UfindUs  

Microsoft Surface – bringing ideas to the table

On any day in UFindUs development studio you can almost hear, if you can manage to get in past the security swipe card door, the ticking of minds far greater than mine as they dissect, examine and rebuild the really cool programmes that go to make up our directory and the other techie systems and gizmos that we are lucky enough for them to furnish us with.

 

If you zoom out a bit you will see this same thing happening not only up and down the country but right across the globe as we continue to hurtle forwards at breakneck speed. Whether this is always good for mankind is another matter but at least our own contribution in the shape of the UFindUs directory does serve a practical purpose.

 

Where will it end? I guess it probably won’t end, techies will keep on developing, gadgets, widgets and systems for as long as the earth keeps spinning. For those who work outside the box, our own guys included, the results can make a real impact on the domestic and working lives of millions of people.

I thought it would be nice to share something I came across that Microsoft have developed. They call it Microsoft Surface.

 

When I first came across a this video clip I thought it was a scam, but its not. Take a look yourself and feel free to share your thoughts on this clever piece of kit.

Graham Armstrong – UFindUs

Scissor Sisters vs Hoyt Axton – Terry Wogan Rocks!!!

I just love the drive into work, time to reflect and relax before walking through the double doors at UFindUs Towers.  Driving along Morecambe promenade I have buildings on my right ranging from severe decay to outright splendor and then on my left, one of the most stunning views across the Bay to the Lakeland Hills, complete contrast all round and yet it all fuses together perfectly. Today however I was in the mood for a change from the usual silence, so I turned the radio on expecting to listen to the mix of insults and general abuse that Chris Moyles dishes out on a daily basis. His rants, sandwiched between some pretty good music, can be quite amusing.

I pushed the button and turned the volume up as the Scissor Sisters proclaimed their lack of interest in dancing, great for really getting you buzzing first thing. However all was not as I had expected and instead of a bit of Moyles, I got a lot of Wogan. I never listen to Radio 2 so all I can imagine is that my parents had changed the channel when I took them out for lunch on Fathers Day. I haven’t listened to Terry Wogan since my childhood when my Mum treated him with the same reverence as a religious icon and we were forced to eat our toast in absolute silence when he was talking. Those happy (and they were happy) memories stopped me from reaching to push another button to get the Radio 1 fix that I thought that I wanted. I drove on and listened. 

The man is a genius, he uses his programme to bring a smile to the faces of hundreds of thousands (possibly millions, but I don’t really know) through his verbal blogging. Where others, like myself, convey their ramblings, thoughts and opinions via the keyboard, he verbalizes his thoughts with such dexterity and aplomb that I was smiling within seconds as he read out listeners emails, and used his two trusty radio companions as the perfect foil for his Irish humour. A truly skilled wordsmith, highlighting a complete contrast between the two sister radio stations. One offering the throwaway insults of Mr Moyles, and the other the gentle poking and prodding from Mr Wogan which left me smiling and laughing as his wit spilled out of the speakers into my own safe haven.

The second contrast of the day and I have only been on the road for 10 minutes.  Even within his own show he provides yet more contrasts, making me wonder how many others could truly pull this one off. Sandwiched between the Scissor Sisters and Kelly Clarkson is Hoyt Axton. Who? I know, I had to Google him when I got into work to find his name out. His song, which is more familiar than his name, once more took me back to the breakfast table of my youth. I bet you remember “Della and the Dealer” if you are over 40, but enough about age, lets move swiftly on. I know far too many of the words to this song, but the resultant mish mash of modern pop with this 70’s country and western hit worked so well. Put it all in the mix and Terry Wogan really does rock. I never thought I would be blogging about Wogan but he’s made my day already. I think there’s enough room in my life for both radio stations to share my morning drives on the occasions I need them.  Graham Armstrong – UFindUs Ltd

Getting under our skin.

I have made an executive decision (just don’t tell the executives!) that everyone who reads my blogs should really get to know those people who make UFindUs tick. Regular readers of my blogs will know that this isn’t exactly a new thing, I have been round the different UFindUs offices and have, on occasions, twisted a few arms so that I could get staff at all levels to tell me (and of course that includes you too) a bit about their time with the company.  

I think that the time is right to move a step further on and every now and then I will do a staff profile, asking questions that help to show who the person really is rather than having it all work related. Those executives that are now reading this will also be subjected to having a spotlight shine in their eyes whilst they are asked relentless questions about their favorite food, holiday destination or football team. Our technical director Stuart Forrest already has his own blog so you can catch up on his own perspective there, but it will still be interesting to get to cover off a few things that haven’t been mentioned yet. What’s even scarier is that I will try to get some pictures of them on their profiles. I guess that I too may even have to succumb to my own questioning before anyone says anything.

Graham Armstrong – UFindUs Ltd