If you’re a tech-talking person, with tons of experience, who loves working with a really talented dev department (and agency for that matter), this position could be right for you. Check out Tim’s post for a full description of the job and if you’re ready to apply, click here.

Online visitors skim and scour copy, they forage blocks of text for information relevant to them. So when we create content for use online we must always remember that it’s not what we think should be online, it’s what the user wants online. After all, we don’t create websites for ourselves, we create them for users and their experience is paramount.

Always Be Engaging

The Internet today is a two way street. Consumers expect and appreciate the ability to connect with brands and companies online. Unlike traditional broadcast and print media, consumers want to engage in a conversation with you, so make sure your content is accessible and promotes user engagement. Implementing sharing, bookmarking and commenting are simple ways to create engagement with your content.

Also, you should try and develop content that encourages engagement from users. Ask questions, solicit feedback and opinions, this will empower users and increase the popularity of your content. Make your brand accessible and remember that user feedback is important. Use it to improve your brand and digital marketing efforts.

Things to remember when developing web content.

• Keep SEO in mind when writing for the web. Search engines love to scour copy, so incorporating keywords into your copy will help users find you. Remember not everyone enters your site through the front door.
• Visitors scan web pages for information, so organize your content in a way that helps them find the most relevant information on your page. Effective use of H1 tags, lists and callouts will draw their attention to your key messages. Reading on a monitor is more difficult than reading on paper, so your writing should be clear and lean.
• The back button is only mouse click away, so be engaging. Visitors respond to content they can relate to. Ensure your copy gives them a reason to read on and never lose sight of who your audience is.
• Make user direction clear, don’t leave them guessing. Use the copy and design to make it clear what users should do next.
• Write with the intent of generating buzz, feedback and comments.

I’m always looking for great ideas and feedback so let me know your web content development rules of thumb. If you disagree, leave me a comment and let’s chat.

Let’s face facts

Jonathan Schwartz beat me to the punch. Today is not my last day at Dashboard. March 31st is. Like Mr. Schwartz I will miss it. Unlike Mr. Schwartz I don’t write poetry (haiku to be specific). I write code.

When Flash Was King

When I started at Dashboard back in early 2006 things were different. Flash was king, SEO was an afterthought and web analytics were measured in ‘page hits’. Social media… well that was exchanging files via CD-ROM at the bar. I was primarily a Flash coder, working with 2 other guys on brand microsites. The website animations were slick, load times…slow and content was light. It was all about ‘the show’. Programmers myself included, were responsible for building the ‘Creative Vision’. We didn’t really have a voice.

Technically speaking

Things have changed in the industry, not just technology and connection speeds but how things are done and what requests clients make. Dashboard has also seen many changes. You could say ‘we grew up’ that’s debatable (see flickr feed). As for me as of about 3 years ago I became Director of Technology and Innovation. For me job #1 was to become a voice for the programmers.

Being a voice

Being a voice is a big job. It requires listening, information gathering, researching, being aware of technology/ trends and voicing thoughts. Relaying technical information to non-technical people can be a challenge. I work with many people on a daily basis, clients, account people and more often than not those pesky ‘always pushing the limits’ creative types.

When I’m not in meetings – I lead my team which means I need to code. I believe if you’re too far removed from something you’re bound to lose touch. If I don’t code “do I really know what I’m talking about”? I can’t tell my guys how I think they should structure files or be more efficient if I don’t code.

I do a lot of research, so I get to see what’s coming up and what others are doing. That might be checking out what’s going on with Doctrine (ORM) or testing JQuery plugins. Based on industry trends blogs, books and just chatting – I’m knowledgeable. I’ve become ‘A Voice’ not ‘The Voice’ (Listen…don’t just wait for your chance to talk).

How long to build the internet? Scoping / Estimating / Projects

Some days I feel like I’m being asked to scope the internet. ‘Hey Tim how long do you think it would take to build something kind of like facebook but better?’ Quite a bit of my time involves resourcing, scoping/timelines, planning and technical consulting. Sometimes I have to rely on my guys (especially when I don’t know). A lot of times I rely on my experience from past projects. Sound advice often comes from a good quote. Here’s one from my collection which helps me slow down and ask ‘Why are we doing this?’

“A complex system that works is invariably found to have evolved from a simple system that worked. The inverse proposition also appears to be true: A complex system designed from scratch never works and cannot be made to work. You have to start over, beginning with a working simple system.”
— JOHN GALL

Tim broke it! (I.T Services)

‘Hey Tim – my internet isn’t working – what did you do? I code therefore I must know about computers right? Somewhere in the midst of quotes, meetings and projects. I work with our I.T company and our hosting partners managing hardware, software and servers. If something’s not working, I’m the guy getting the call. Those days aren’t fun but it’s all part of the job.

Moving On

So what’s the point of this post well…here’s the deal – Sadly I’m leaving Dashboard and moving the entire clan to Kingston on March 31st.. So I ask, do you want my job?

Well here’s your chance. Let us know you want Tim’s job by:
Applying here

Or

Follow @dashboarddotca on twitter and send us a tweet using the tag #IWANTTIMSJOB
Let us know why you’re the right fit for Dashboard and if we think you’re super awesome we’ll be in touch. If you’re lucky, in a future post we’ll introduce you to the team.

The Bumping Uglies and Serves You Right dug deep in both the rec and comp divisions, with our comp team missing the playoffs by mere points.

The three biggest things we took away from the event? (besides the sand in our pants…)

- Pride in our hard-diggin colleagues

- A clear understanding of the double-hit rule (hello Adam)

- A commitment to bring it even harder this summer

Stay tuned for exciting trade announcements and free agency news in the coming months. Or better yet, assemble your own team and challenge us mano a mano. We never shy away from a little friendly competition (right, Nik?)

Congrats to all who participated and helped a very worthy cause!

Dashboard, in partnership with Due North Communications and Calador Communications, launched H&R Block TaxTALK in early January just prior to Canadians actively seeking tax advice. We created a social media hub to house all the online activities providing a perfect forum for answering tax questions. Within the site, users can ask Tax Experts their questions, browse a multitude of FAQ questions and peruse through blogs and resources, such as podcasts and articles. Ultimately, users can share information and provide input on the content that H&R Block provides.

All areas of the site are managed through the back end content management system which allows non-technical editors the ability to update blog posts, answer questions posed by users and send the response by email, and add tax resources all from one easy to use system in both French and English.

This project had the whole shop excited from day one. A great client and great partners made this an easy build and something we could all get behind and relate to. Let’s face it, all of us have felt the stress of preparing taxes and often can’t find the answers we’re looking for. By creating a community and delivering on an expressed need of relevant and timely tax information on a personal level, Tax Talk is giant leap forward for H&R Block to tighten their relationship with their consumers. I can also honestly say everyone who has worked on this project has found some helpful bit of information regarding their own taxes.

Tax Talk has allowed H&R Block to listen to what clients are saying about the brand and showcase their authentic and real expertise from some of the best Tax pros in Canada. We believe this framework will successfully launch H&R Block into the social space and showcase to Canadians that H&R Block is there for you during this taxing time.

ALC is a leading-edge gaming organization, headquartered in Moncton, New Brunswick.  They are driven by an incredibly strong, innovative interactive team, led by Bob Rybak, Michael Sandalis and Claire Seguin of the Digital Gaming Group (DiGG).

Early in 2009, ALC enlisted Dashboard’s assistance to develop a digital strategy demonstrating the revitalization of all of ALC’s online channels, including alc.ca, PlaySphere.ca and RedShores.ca, along with the enhancement of their loyalty and account management systems.   The “Digital 21” strategy will be rolled out over the next few years, along with the introduction of several new and exciting gaming platforms.

The launch of the redesigned and rebuilt alc.ca represents completion of their first major strategic milestone. Dashboard collaborated with Mike and Claire to complete the site design. HTML and back-end development was completed by New Brunswick-based T4G.

User experience was considered throughout the design and development phases, focusing on delivering key information, such as lotto jackpot alerts, winning numbers and key promotional messaging in a clear, concise, easy-to-navigate format.  Internal ALC brand teams were provided the opportunity to customize product pages with various cross-promotional banner advertisements in order to create a truly unique brand experience.

The new alc.ca showcases Atlantic Lottery’s commitment to delivering “Richer Moments” to Atlantic Canadians.  The brand messaging focuses both on the many exciting opportunities to win offered by Atlantic Lottery products and on the many ways in which Atlantic Lottery gives back to communities – with 100% of profits going back to the Atlantic Provinces.  Atlantic Lottery’s commitment to responsible gaming is also featured prominently throughout the site.

We look forward to more “Richer Moments” ahead with our terrific Atlantic Lottery partners.

Why? Because it’s wrong to think that online media is a creative Bermuda Triangle when online media, including banners, offer tremendous creative flexibility and opportunity.

A banner ad that mirrors tea steeping and the relaxation that you can feel.

The real key for success is to know the medium and understanding that online media isn’t locked into a straight banner ad. It is an unlimited canvas that can be stretched and molded any way your imagination can take you. There are opportunities to re-skin an entire web page so that your brand truly owns every pixel. You can use interactivity to create engaging experiences including games, art, polls, contests… anything can be crafted within the actual media placement and before you click-through to the destination site. You can even serve banners in many spaces that go beyond the internet, including live in-game advertising where you can reach consumers within a video game environment as they are playing.

Powerful communication can show product benefits while getting attention

While the online media environment can be a challenging one, it can offer great potential when developed well. But this is no different than realizing that radio and billboards are difficult to craft, but when they are done well, wow… they are powerful.

Demonstrating how much gum you get through an interactive game.

Welcome to the banner world where a bad banner is easily ignored but a great banner not only captures your attention, but keeps you engaged and involved. But if you’re our competition, banners really do suck.