It’s time again for the annual trade union website league table. So how have the metrics changed in the last 12 months? (Previous results can be seen at 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013 and 2012). The league table doesn’t judge the quality of the website directly. Instead, it uses leading industry metrics to measure how many times the website is

If ten years ago you were asked what the next major trend in website design would be, not many people would have mentioned ‘responsive design’. With the iPhone yet to be launched and the iPad another three years away, people were still happily building websites that worked on a fixed size. It took quite a

Back in 2014, Prospect launched the Careersmart.org.uk website, providing information and guidance on careers and work issues from a union perspective. The site has recently undergone a major revision, with the new version launched at the end of April 2017. I’ve been leading on the redevelopment. The main focus of the redevelopment has been tapping

When the UK’s Data Protection Act came into force in 1998, the term ‘Data Protection’ entered our vocabulary as a representation of the legal rights individuals have over their personal data. Far fewer people understood the ins and outs, but the concept of data protection entered mass consciousness, just as the internet age was starting

Passwords are an essential part of life now, from carrying out the weekly shop, to accessing social media, to logging into your union website. The problem with passwords is that many people use the same one multiple times, or use an insecure one which is easy to guess. We don’t have to wait long nowadays

Every November I look at how influential the TUC-affiliated unions are on Twitter (see results for 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015). I’ve been asked to look at Facebook as well, and may well do this soon. I’ve been testing out some tools for this already. For my annual Twitter analysis, I’ve used a tool called Klout. Klout considers factors

I’ve been working on a website for a new initiative, designed to encourage greater diversity and inclusion in the investment and savings industry. The site has recently gone live, and can be seen at http://diversityproject.com. The project started after a group of leaders in the investment industry got together in early 2016 and decided to

I’ve recently taken on a new role in addition to running the Infobo digital consultancy.  I’ve been appointed as the first virtual Chief Information Officer at the Trades Union Congress (TUC). It’s ‘virtual’ as it’s a part time role. I’ll be dedicating a handful of days a month to the role, but it comes at

The 1995 EU Data Protection Directive was an important initiative, designed to protect an individual’s privacy and prescribe how information about individuals is stored and used.  This resulted in similar Data Protection standards across the EU, including the Data Protection Act in the UK in 1998. With the rise of the internet, this legislation was

It’s the time of year when the TUC give out their awards for the best use of communications amongst unions. I’m always interested in the digital categories to see how unions are developing their websites and other tools. There is one big change this year. Previously there were two digital categories – best website and