next generation access refers to the faster speeds at which we can connect to the internet, and research has revealed that 8% of UK households now benefit from a super high speed of connection. But, while this super high speed news may sound amazingly progressive, we really should be aiming to spread this rate of access beyond just a twelfth of households. Because if we compare the rate of connection at the highest rate – 30Mbps or higher – with the UK average of 9Mbps, it is easy to see that the improvements in connectivity are far from inclusive. Indeed, it is particularly important in a climate of economic crisis that a reliable and fast connection to the internet does not turn into the preserve of the wealthy: news articles reporting on the higher speeds being accessed in the UK have also taken care to note that ‘In the current economic climate, spending an extra £10 a month to get faster broadband is simply not a priority for most households’. And this is definitely true in regions where ICT infrastructure leaves much to be desired. Now is really the time then to look seriously into the issue of how Britain can avoid creating a new category of social inequality based on technical computer skills and access to information. Investment in community broadband is happening too gradually.
Philosophers and thinkers have been speaking recently about how our economy is shifting from an economy of production and consumption to an economy of contribution. To gloss the terms, this means that the future might see fewer global corporations in charge of the goods the rest of us depend on and a greater number of the general population might also be producers and consumers of a wider range of specialised services and goods. Obviously, things might not work out this way but, if we can look forward to greater independence and a dissolution of a rigid top-down economic model, we can be sure that the internet will have a major role to play.
Internet users with next generation access are in a really great position right now: there is so much open source software available in areas where ICT infrastructure is established that we can use to inform ourselves, produce artwork, write music, and even develop our own products. However, we must not get too excited about all of this, at the risk of forgetting about the under-developed countries and even the poorly connected areas of wealthy nations who have an unreliable or non-existent level of internet access. Improving community broadband is an urgent issue.
Bad Powerpoint presentations can be found in every type of business and government. There are several very simple points that are well-accepted – in theory – to improve Powerpoint design and create outstanding sales presentations. In practice, though, people don’t seem to be able to adhere to them. That has a major negative effect on the outcomes. A meeting that could have captivated and enthused an audience instead leaves them bored thanks to a convoluted, amateurish or nonsensical slideshow. A sales bid that could have resulted in a desirable contract is dead in the water. Reputations are eroded; bosses who are skilled at speaking lose their listeners.
It’s no wonder that firms are turning to professional outfits to put together their presentations, complete with Powerpoint slides: these people are skilled at creating an overarching narrative in which your Powerpoint presentation complements the spoken material – not distracts from it or undermines it. They will also train your employees to do it themselves, if you prefer.
If you are putting together your own slides, bear in mind a few basic points. Keep things simple. You’re not looking to duplicate on the screen what the audience is hearing from the front. Summarise information in short, pre-digested chunks – bullet points are good for this. Don’t be tempted by some of the flashier effects Powerpoint offers: it’s all too easy to try them, thanks to the software’s relative simplicity, but in practice they hardly add value. They just end up as a distraction. And don’t just limit the amount of information on any particular slide: limit the number of slides too. If your presentation is so complicated that it needs a long series of slides to make it clear, something is awry anyway. You can’t expect your audience to leave with the total content of your talk in their heads. What you do want is for them to take away a handful of clear, meaningful points. That’s far more effective than overloading them.
Effective Powerpoint design is about deciding what to show visually. Many sales presentations overlook this and do not distinguish between information that is communicated aurally and visually. Powerpoint presentations are very well suited to simple, graphical communication – even if those visuals conceal a wealth of complex detail, as in the case of graphs and charts. They are not suited to large volumes of text. Short captions and summaries are fine, but don’t believe your audience will take in much more from the screen.
Please visit http://www.eyefulpresentations.co.uk/ for further information about this topic.
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Although some areas of the country have a strong ICT infrastructure, in others the technology is years behind – which might as well be decades in such an important and fast-moving area. Next generation access might be an aspiration for the government, but it is far from the reality across the country. Some rural areas have little or no broadband access, or rely on old copper cables capable of carrying only a fraction of the information required for the high-bandwidth use of a modern business, for example. Community broadband is one way that groups of people have been able to do something about this disparity, sometimes referred to as the ‘digital divide’.
The areas where the ICT infrastructure is patchy are often called ‘notspots’ – the opposite of the ‘hotspots’ that enjoy a concentration of wifi networks or broadband coverage. If you live in one of these then you are likely to struggle to get online. Although there are some solutions, these can be pricey. Plus, some notspots are black areas for mobile networks as well as broadband. This means that connecting via a smartphone is a challenge, too.
That can be a real difficulty. Whereas just fifteen years ago internet access was considered unusual, or at least a luxury, now most people could not do without it – not without significant changes to their lifestyles and business practices. We depend on email for fast, easy communication. We access information about goods and services on the web. Work often heavily depends on it. Businesses interface online, orders are placed and bills paid. Broadband access is a utility, like electricity or water. Not having it is a serious disadvantage and represents a form of inequality.
Community broadband involves getting together with a group of other people in the same situation as you and securing the next generation access that much of the rest of the country enjoys without thinking about it. The group may be a collection of local residents, who require more reliable internet access. Or it could be a cluster of businesses on the same site, who know that their bottom lines would receive a real boost from a 21st century ICT infrastructure. There are organisations who can take account of these needs and address them by installing the architecture needed to bring you up to speed. These initiatives may be subsidised or organised by the government, who recognise the importance of country-wide coverage.
Please visit http://www.broadbandvantage.co.uk/ for further information about this topic.
http://www.broadbandvantage.co.uk/
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As websites and the internet have increased the speed of communication, it seems that the ability to be in several places at once without leaving your office will be the only way to get ahead in business. Video conferencing allows us to do exactly that. audio visual conferencing is a very good driver for productivity, allowing us to keep in closer contact with colleagues. The new closeness brought by telepresence video conferencing is likely to lead to new ideas on how to speed up the development of new products and services.
During a videoconference call, all participants are able to see the facial expressions and body language of all conference participants. These crucial features of communication are lost with a standard telephone call. Moreover, if this technology is used for customer service and sales, it has important implications for improving customer relations. If customers with an inquiry or a complaint can effectively meet internal employees by using telepresence video conferencing, your business relationship with customers could be significantly improved.
Furthermore, video conferencing offers a great opportunity to minimise travel expenses – a real winner in today’s economy. While many people still like to get out of the office and meet clients and associates in person, there are several situations where it is possible to save large amounts of money on airfare and hotel costs, as well as the loss of productivity that results from being out of the office. Although shaking hands with somebody can never really be replaced, video conferencing allows us to ask ourselves whether the cost of that handshake is really necessary in every case.
With video conferencing, you can easily assemble a meeting of various people from different locations, to discuss whatever it is that unites them. Whether they are at different ends of the same county or opposite sides of the globe, communication is just as easy. Many of us feel we can express more through facial expressions than through the tired clichés of business speak, which is why a live video call is often much more effective than a telephone call. In addition, if anything technical needs to be explained, the visual element is extremely valuable in facilitating an easily understandable demonstration.
Video conferencing is not just a new technology that might be worth getting used to, it is the future of communication. With telepresence video conferencing, participants genuinely feel as if they are sharing a room with fellow conference participants. audio visual conferencing is there to make our lives easier – we would be foolish not to take advantage of it.
Please visit http://www.edgevision.co.uk/ for further information about this topic.
http://www.edgevision.co.uk/
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