October 2008

Today I used Skype for the first time ever. Now I'm asking myself why I never bothered to find out more about it earlier!

I heard about Skype, probably the most famous VoIP (Voice over IP) service about a year or two ago, but never really knew of anyone who used it on a daily basis, or even tried it for that matter. In the past, though very rarely, I would have used MSN messenger to hold voice conversations with friends.

I didn't think I had a need to use something like Skype, until my Italian teacher suggested last week different methods to improve my learning. Read the news in Italian, watch Italian TV, listen to the radio in Italian, talk with people in Italian.

Talking with people in Italian is a bit of a problem when you live in Scotland. There are not many Italians here, and if they don't want or need to learn English, then they have no real reason to be interested in listening to you speak very broken Italian.

That is where Skype came to my rescue! After creating an account, wiring up my microphone and such devices, I was easily connected. A quick search on Google for "language exchange on Skype" turned up The Mixxer. 5 minutes later, I was speaking with an Italian from Rome, whose English was about the same standard as my Italian. He spoke in English, I replied in Italian. And vice-versa, correcting each other (and there were many!) of any mistakes.

Ok, so knowing how old someone is, where they are from or what they do isn't the most advanced topics of discussion, but you have to start somewhere!

We spoke for about 2 hours, only in the languages we are both learning. A benefit of Skype is that you can text-chat while holding a voice conversation. In this instance it was particularly beneficial to be able to see how words are spelt.

While it's probably easier for the Italian in Rome to meet English speaking people, it's not quite so easy to find willing Italians in Stonehaven! After the conversation tonight, I can definitely see how this will help improve my language skills. It's all very well being able to read and write, but if you can't speak it, what use is it?

Some information about Mixxer language exchange via Skype.

The Mixxer is a social network for language exchanges. The first thing to do is find people for a language exchange. You can do a search for other language learners then contact and add them as your friend.

Once you have made a few friends, practice your writing by submitting a document and asking for help from native speakers. In exchange, help others who are asking for help correcting a document in your native language. You may also receive invitations from teachers seaking language partners for their students at certain times. Sign-up if you're interested. All language exchanges should give time for each person to practice the language they are learning.

Managing a website takes time, effort and commitment. Quite simply, if you don't have these three, you won't go very far on the web. Follow these 10 tips below for the path to successful website management.

1/ K.I.S.S - "Keep It Simple Stupid"

This should be seen as the golden rule when managing your website. Website visitors come to your site because they want to find out information about your product or service - is that flashing, spinning image really necessary? Avoid anything that distracts the user from the reason they first visited your site.

2/ Jargon

Sure, you may know what XHTML means, but does your visitor? Be aware to define such jargon or abbreviations to visitors and potential customers/clients. You want to attract them, not scare them!

3/ Usability

Usability is a key factor to a successful website. If the visitor can't find what they're looking for, they'll simply find another site which provides a similar service, at a click of the mouse. Don't make browsing harder than it should be - make sure everything is obvious and easy to find.

4/ Update Update Update

Nothing puts a user off more than visiting a page which was last updated 2 years ago. Keep your website up to date with latest services, news, articles etc. Your visitors will return, and this will also benefit you in the search engines, too.

5/ Copywriting

The W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) accessibility guidelines state "Use the clearest and simplest language appropriate for a site's content", and rightfully so - after all, your visitor wants to find out about you, and not become agitated that he cannot understand the text written on your website.

6/ Writing for Search Engines

When writing for the web, you have to consider key words and key terms, so that you can be found for those terms in search engines. However, too many key words and terms within main content is an annoyance for the user. Try to balance key words in your content so that it is still easily read by the user, though not apparent that certain features are for search engine purposes.

7/ Links

Back in the days when the web was young, link directories (commonly known as "farms") were popular among webmasters for website promotion. There are now alternative means to optimising your website, other than submitting to these directories. Links to your website are important, though many website owners believe that a long list of links on their site to other websites benefits them - wrong! Links only benefit you, as a website owner, if they are linking to your website, not from.

8/ User Interaction

Browsing the web is exactly that - browsing. Nowadays though, new technologies allow developers to build interactive applications, which let the visitor play their part on the website. An example perhaps, is to allow users to sign up to your website, and create their own profile where they can communicate with other members.

9/ Consistency

Inconsistent websites are a pain to browse. Keep your navigation structure and page layout consistent throughout the site and avoid causing the user having to shift their eye to other positions between pages. This keeps the visitor focused and allows easier browsing.

10/ Marketing

The web provides a great marketplace to sell your product or service. However, don't think because it's online, you have to stick to internet marketing. Feature your website address where possible offline, such as on business cards or brochures, company cars and signs etc