Disqus - Latest Comments for gavinwray

Re: Challenges in soliciting contributions to documentation: Updating a single page versus updating the documentation as a whole

Gavin Wray — Tue, 20 Dec 2016 11:46:02 -0000

I use a similar approach to you Chuck. As part of setting up the documentation work as sub-tasks of the developers' Jiras, I review the existing documentation and note the URLs of related pages or screenshots that will be affected by the change. For larger documentation sites, I jot a note on the general section(s) that will need to be reviewed as part of the doc sub-task.

Re: Add Rich Snippet Support in WordPress and Dominate Your Personal Brand

Gavin Wray — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 14:51:29 -0000

The All in One SEO WordPress plugin has a field to enter your Google Plus Profile as a sitewide default. This adds in the head of each post and page. This seems like an easier solution than messing around in the theme code (especially if you're already using this common plugin). My profile image appears when using Google's Rich Snippet Testing Tool though I haven't seen it in actual search results.

Re: Open government, data and transparency

Gavin Wray — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 08:47:04 -0000

Thanks for sharing this stuff - I'm glad you did. I think this is a great model for transparency in local government and the strategic parts are backed up with specific roles for understanding this world and making it happen.

I really like the idea of a Chief Technology Officer at a senior enough level to implement things - and savvy enough technically to understand the nuts and bolts, and not have the wool pulled over their eyes.

Re: University hyperlocal sites need to be more than just educational tools

Gavin Wray — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 13:12:55 -0000

Hi Ross,

Interesting post - this is something I've come across in Birmingham networks too with each year of new students arriving at the universities.

My take on it is to welcome the students' enthusiasm, energy and, frankly, time. However, this should be channelled into supporting and developing existing hyperlocal sites and relationships, rather than creating new sites from scratch that become dormant once the student completes the course and moves on to new things.

Basically, it's more about saying "I'm here, I have resources and time, how can I support you and your hyperlocal [thing]?" rather than "I'm starting a new site all about Anytown, send me your stories!"

Volunteering at local social media surgeries are also a good way for students to meet local residents - and local bloggers, who are often helpers at the surgeries.

Re: The Smiths Music Map

Gavin Wray — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 04:34:39 -0000

Good stuff Dan. There might be some more ideas for your map in 'Morrissey's Manchester' by Phill Gadenby, a nice little guide.

Re: New, smaller Mr Egg. Now with… comic sans?

Gavin Wray — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 13:23:17 -0000

Wonder if they're now doing "Eat like a king for £1.53" after the VAT bump...

Re: http://stuartroseman.com/post/619953720

Gavin Wray — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 04:28:32 -0000

Hi Stuart. Just wanted to say thanks for all your work on verifiable. I've tried lots of free charting tools and, have to say, that I kept coming back to verifiable. Personally, I found your interface for uploading and describing data, and building the charts, to be clear, straightforward and gave great end results.

Best of luck in your future projects.

Re: New Page for Flickr

Gavin Wray — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 03:43:45 -0000

Hi Sarah - glad you found my post on embedding a flickr slideshow useful. Thanks for the mention. Good luck with the D365 project.

Re: New Page for Flickr

Gavin Wray — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 03:43:45 -0000

Hi Sarah - glad you found my post on embedding a flickr slideshow useful. Thanks for the mention. Good luck with the D365 project.

Re: The Big Paws 20/06/09 – Listen Again

Gavin Wray — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 16:47:59 -0000

Cheers Woodie, glad you liked it! Maybe you could sneak a track under the radar... pretend it's an early Faces demo.

Re: Five Reasons to Use WordPress

Gavin Wray — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 15:49:18 -0000

Well, two more would be scope and value for money.

From a developer's perspective, WordPress offers a lot scope. It isn't just a blogging platform (even though that is what many people associate WordPress with). It's flexible enough to be developed into many different site types or applications. Steven Snell recently summarised some interesting uses of WordPress:

http://designm.ag/design/11...

As WordPress is open source - no expensive licence fees or proprietary software consultants - site managers adopting it as a platform have extra resources to concentrate on developing the important stuff: the content!

Re: Five Reasons to Use WordPress

Gavin Wray — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 15:21:31 -0000

I would definitely recommend WordPress and agree with all five reasons you highlight.

From experience supporting non-technical colleagues in using different content management systems, WordPress has proved by far the easiest CMS for colleagues to get to grips with.

Re: 50+ Birmingham Twitter users you need to follow

Gavin Wray — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 13:54:29 -0000

Thanks for posting this list Stef. It's really helpful for new Twitterers to connect quickly with what is a thriving Twitter community in Birmingham. I'll certainly be acting on this and following new folk as a result.

@marcreeves good link on Twitter netiquette, I wish I knew of this when I started tweeting!

Re: Poll: Is RSS Mainstream?

Gavin Wray — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 15:59:09 -0000

RSS is not even remotely mainstream. The main obstacle is that it's too difficult to subscribe to a feed - even if you are already sold on RSS's benefits and want to give it a try.

Meromo is right on the issue:

Is it ready for mainstream? Let’s see, what happens when I click on the RSS icon I see on this web page?

It may well be possible to use feeds in IE7's sidebar but there are just too many potential stumbling blocks when attempting to subscribe by clicking on an RSS icon, depending on the browser. For example, you may get redirected to a Feedburner subscribe page, there could be old RSS software installed on the computer and, worst of all, you might just get the page of XML.

Increasing adoption inside Outlook would give RSS the best chance of going mainstream. This would circumvent the issues of 'locked down' IT policies and old browser versions that can hold back adoption in large organisations and the public sector.

Re: Poll: Is RSS Mainstream?

Gavin Wray — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 10:59:09 -0000

RSS is not even remotely mainstream. The main obstacle is that it's too difficult to subscribe to a feed - even if you are already sold on RSS's benefits and want to give it a try.

Meromo is right on the issue:

Is it ready for mainstream? Let’s see, what happens when I click on the RSS icon I see on this web page?

Re: Going mainstream

Gavin Wray — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 16:48:44 -0000

Excellent news Bounder! I shall be following intently.

Being a regular reader of the weekday print version, it'll be interesting to see where this new development goes. The new site is a real improvement.