Technology

Start Thinking About Your 2020 Website Redesign Now

The Web Design Process

Many businesses and organizations start to think about redesigning their websites now so they can have brand new sites for the new year.  Here are some things to think about before embarking on this endeavor:

  1. Do you really need to redesign your website?  Not everyone needs a redesign.  If you and your website users are happy with the look and functionality, then the website serves its purpose.
  2. What exactly is the problem with your current website? Are users complaining about site navigation?  Maybe the homepage is too busy, or the site has too many dark colors.  Now is a good time to do a content audit, document the problems and what you envision the solutions would look like.
  3. Can you afford to do a redesign? This is something you have to put a lot of thought into before embarking on a redesign. If you have to hire a web designer, depending on what your redesign requirements are, it can be very expensive if you don’t have a budget set aside already for website maintenance. Even if you redesign the website yourself, you might lose money because it takes away your time from what would otherwise be used to run your business.
  4. Are you re-branding your organization? If so, do you need a new logo or color scheme? Are you selling a new product or providing a new service? What is the new organizational messaging that you need to be reflected in a new website? An organizational website should accurately reflect what is going on in the company right now.
  5. Are you changing your content strategy? Will you integrate social media into your website? How about a blog or a video strategy? Do you want to put testimonials from satisfied customers or supporters on it? Who is going to create new content and how often?
  6. What is your competition doing? It is always a good idea to check in with your competition to see what they are doing and see how you can one-up them in doing something uniquely different.

Time to Cut the Cord

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I have mentioned here a few times that I was seriously considering getting rid of my cable television subscription. I have been thinking about it for a while due to the growing cost of it and lack of interest in watching most of the hundreds of channels in my package.

This decision is bittersweet. When I was growing up in the early 1990s, we were one of the last households (it seems) to get cable. I remember begging my dad to get us cable TV because it seemed like all the cool kids had it. He didn’t understand why we needed to pay for TV when we could get five broadcast channels for free.

Eventually, he relented, and we got cable, and I finally felt like I was part of the in-crowd. There was a lot of great things to watch back then for a curious kid. I was finally able to watch Teen Summit on BET and Yo! MTV Raps on MTV. I believe Tevin Campbell’s music video for Round and Round was the first video I had ever seen.

MTV was great back then because they actually used to show music videos! There was also this new show called The Real World, which was awesome because it exposed me to people and issues I wouldn’t have seen in my life. I think Pedro from the San Francisco cast was the first openly gay, HIV-positive person I had ever seen, and Tami from Los Angeles left an impression on me when she had her abortion on the show. MTV culture back then was different from today. The VMAs were worth watching back then, Kurt Loder was MTV’s Walter Cronkite, and who could forget Bill Clinton being asked about wearing boxers or briefs?

In my later teens, I started watching more CNN, which helped me decide to become a journalist. I loved watching Christiane Amanpour reporting from Bosnia and Bernard Shaw covering the Gulf War.

Today MTV, CNN, and the many other cable channels have become complete garbage. It is possible that I have “aged out” of MTV’s targeted demographic, but the programming on there now is just awful and lacks any substance. The same is true with CNN, which used to report the news. The last time I turned it on, I was watching Anderson Cooper, who had ten people on his panel yelling at each other. Now with Trump becoming president, I will want to watch even less of the cable news pundit yelling.

Enough, enough, enough!

In the next few weeks, I am going to look into alternative options to replace my cable. I get most of my news and entertainment from online these days. It is funny how life makes a full circle. Most of the shows that I like to watch today are on broadcast channels, like Law and Order SVU, Jane the Virgin, Designated Survivor, Quantico and Madame Secretary. The only regular newscast beside local news that I watch are Democracy Now, BBC, CBC, France 24 and CNN International online.

If you have any suggestions for the cable weening process, please let me know. I need to get off this cable habit real quick!

Making Thoughtful Global Educational Connections Through Technology

suvansri-creatingmeaningfulglobalconnections-authorMuch of the divisiveness going on today, especially in the U.S. presidential campaigning, is due in large part to ignorance.  Whether we are talking about intolerance towards Muslims, Latin American immigrants, Syrian refugees or young black males, much of the fear of the “other” seems to really come from a place of not knowing a lot about people who are different and understanding their perspectives.

This is why I am big proponent of using literature as a way to educate people about differences.  However, technology takes learning to a higher level of interaction.

I was really excited to read this story about an American middle school class that has reinvented what a pen pal is in 2016.  After having her class read I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai, Connecticut educator Bridget Suvansri had her students collaborated one-on-one with middle-school peers at an independent school in Karachi, Pakistan via video message exchange.  Facilitated by the educational technology firm Level Up Village, the American and Pakistani students were able to discuss issues such as cultural stereotypes, common misconceptions, leadership and role models, community service, and life in both Pakistan and the United States.

The exchange was meaningful because all the students developed more empathy for each other.  The most interesting part of this is that the Pakistani students have most likely not read Yousafza’s book, due to her controversial rise to fame.  However, both the American and Pakistani students were able to discuss the themes in her book, namely unequal access to education in Pakistan.  

Most importantly, all the students have learned that they have more in common than they thought before this program began.  This is what respecting diversity should look like!  

Support Positive Images of Black STEM Students

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hoodsmartTwo things are evident in American society today. For one, there are not many positive images of black people in mainstream media, especially black males. While there have been some recent victories in television, like Scandal, How To Get Away With Murder and Black-ish, most of what’s on TV today are reality shows awashed in the very worst stereotypes about African-Americans.

The other evident thing is that there is a lack of African-Americans in STEM careers. I am sure you all have heard all the discussions about having more racial and gender inclusion in Silicon Valley and other STEM sectors.

Well, here is an interesting thing I stumbled upon that attempts to deal with these two racial issues simultaneously.

Maryland assistant principal Ateya M. Ball-Lacy is the creator and executive producer of a new reality show she is trying to launch called HoodSmart: The Urban STEMulus Project.

This would be a reality show that takes its cues from MTV’s The Real World, where 15 African-American STEM students are put into a house and compete in a variety of science, technology, engineering, and math related challenges for the ultimate prize of a full college scholarship.

“There are so many dimensions to us as a black community and our experiences in America, and I started to wonder why no one was telling that story,” said Ball-Lacy to UrbanGeekz. “There has always been a focus on the negative parts. Through this revolutionary reality show, we intend to change the image of urban America by providing a platform for African American youth to observe, celebrate and ultimately emulate the academic prowess of their peers, all before a live national T.V. audience.”

I don’t know what the status is on this show and if it was picked up by a network. It doesn’t look like HoodSmart raised enough money on their Indiegogo campaign. I get the impression the creator is only looking to put this on traditional network or cable television. If I was her, I would actually just produce a video series that can be viewed on YouTube and build momentum from there. Either way, I hope HoodSmart gets the greenlight somewhere.

I am a strong believer in being the change I want to see in the world. So I guess I am doing my small part by presenting this on my blog this week. I know a lot of people who work in the media who follow this blog, and, maybe one of them will take an interest in HoodSmart…

Watch the trailer here:

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