Strictly come cookietime

There’s a lot of concern and talk right now in the online world about the implications of a forthcoming EU law on the use of cookies on the internet.

Cookies, as you probably know, are small text files that web sites can send to your computer. They are used in many different ways, from analysing the way a site is used to remembering payment details during online shopping. At their best, they make the interaction between you and a website faster and easier. In fact, without cookies, it would be very difficult for a website to allow a visitor to buy anything, remember any of their details or even keep them signed in.

So what does it all mean?

The ‘new’ law is actually an Amendment to the EU’s Directive on Privacy and Electronic Communications which came into force in July 2002. At that time the Directive recognised cookies as a "legitimate and useful tool" for many activities and made it compulsory for web sites to:

• inform users if and how cookies were being used on the site;
• make users aware that they could set their computers to reject cookies.

The new legislation goes even further in protecting a consumer’s right to control what information businesses and other organisations can access and store.

From 25 May 2011 all businesses and organisations with websites in the EU will have to get a user’s consent if they want to store or access usage information from users’ computers.

Reading the wording of the Amendment, it seems as though users should be notified every time a cookie is to be placed on their computer unless the cookie "is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested".


Take a look at this (tongue-in-cheek) interpretation of what this could look like...
http://www.davidnaylor.co.uk/eu-cookies-directive-interactive-guide-to-25th-may-and-what-it-means-for-you.html


People are rightly seeing that an immediate problem will be the interpretation of the phrase “strictly necessary” and worrying about the effect that such ambiguity could have on businesses. Others sensibly point out that the directive is currently just that: it will take time for national governments to incorporate the directive into their own laws – and for regulatory bodies (like the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office - ICO) to clarify how it will actually be applied.


Here’s what’s been said so far by the ICO and the government.

• The UK’s Information Commissioner, Christopher Graham has announced:

“We are proactively working with the government, businesses and the public sector to find a workable solution. We recognise that the internet as we know it today depends on the widespread use of cookies and there are of course legitimate business reasons for using them. So we are clear that these changes must not have a detrimental impact on consumers nor cause an unnecessary burden on UK businesses. One option being considered is to allow consent to the use of cookies to be given via browser settings. Once the new regulations are published there will be a major job of education and guidance to be undertaken. In the meantime, both the business community and public sector organisations need to start thinking clearly about how they will meet the requirements of the new Directive.”

Until we know exactly how the UK government will interpret and implement the directive it is virtually impossible for us to work out what we’ll need to do meet the new requirements. If they interpret it as being a browser choice which requires education we won’t have to do anything major to our sites (except, perhaps, beef up the cookie statement). But if they decide active permission has to be given by the user we will all have to make radical changes to our sites.

• A pragmatic approach appears to be being recommended by the Minister for Culture, Communications and the Creative Industries, Ed Vaizey:

“Businesses need to be working to address the way they use cookies [but] we recognise that work will not be complete by the implementation deadline. The government is clear that it will take time for meaningful solutions to be developed, evaluated and rolled out. We recognise this could cause uncertainty for businesses and consumers. Therefore we do not expect the ICO to take enforcement action in the short term against businesses and organisations as they work out how to address their use of cookies.”

So – in the light of all this - what do organisations need to do right now while we wait for the decision?

• Be aware of the issue
• Include this awareness in our website planning
• Watch the ICO closely to see what they recommend
• Don’t panic!

Further reading

Press release from the ICO:
http://www.ico.gov.uk/~/media/documents/pressreleases/2011/data_protection_officer_conference_news_release_08032011.ashx

More cookie chatter:

• http://econsultancy.com/uk/blog/4964-eu-no-cookies-without-consent-will-eu-affiliate-programs-be-killed
• http://www.out-law.com/page-10510
• http://www.dma.org.uk/news/nws-reitem.asp?id=6470&t=The+DMA+prepares+members+for+new+EU+legislation+on+cookies
• http://econsultancy.com/uk/blog/7275-why-eu-e-privacy-directive-is-not-a-real-threat-to-the-internet-industry
• http://www.iwr.co.uk/stm-and-legal/3010792/%E2%80%9CWake-up%E2%80%9D-to-new-EU-laws-on-cookies-warns-information-commissioner

5 things you can’t afford not to know (if you have a website): Effective Online Comms #3

As usual, we’ve been busy recently helping organise the redevelopment of a number of websites. And we’ve been reminded once again that there are a number of things that you can’t afford not to know – but which a frightening number of us don’t know.

So many not-for-profit organisations had their website set up by a techy volunteer/the director’s geeky nephew/nobody-can-quite-remember-who-but-it-was-definitely-a-long-time-ago. And back then, most of us didn’t tend to think ahead, to picture the day when we might want a new website – we were all just grateful and excited to have a website up and running. All very understandable.

But when it comes to developing your website, there are 5 things you absolutely need to know – and make sure you record for posterity:

1. The domain names (URLs – eg www.your site.org.uk) that you have registered – and the company you’ve registered them with.
2. The username & password used with the company where you’ve registered the domain name.
3. Who is hosting your website.
4. The control panel details: username and password - even if a web agency set this up for you, you should ask for superadmin access to the site, so that you can access and change it easily in the future.
5. The ftp address, username & password for your website.

Otherwise you are likely to find your development stymied at the last moment when you want the new site to go live and find no-one knows how to throw the switch.

Next time: Everything you ever wanted to know about Twitter...

The best things in life are free...

A brilliant resource has been put together to help you find out more about your target audiences – and you can download it for free.

Public Zone, a digital agency that ‘helps pro-social organisations use digital to improve people’s lives’ has produced the drily named but immensely practical User Research Handbook. Don’t be put off by the name: it’s quick and easy to read and full of tips to do exactly the kinds of things we do for our clients (so we know they work!). Advice like:

• Talk to your users (you don’t need to talk to every single person who uses your services, just a good sample);
• Watch your users (this works with as few as five people – and they could be people you know, as long as they’re not part of your work team!);
• Involve your users (for example, get them to draw the way they think the homepage should be set out, an exercise I was introduced to by the excellent Winona).

All the way through, Public Zone share quick, easy ideas of things you can do yourself –potentially saving large amounts of money in the process.

See what you think... http://www.publiczone.co.uk/whats-happening/user-research-handbook/

10 tips for effective emails: Effective Online Comms #2

What makes a great email? I’ve been thinking about this over the past week - and reading up about it, too.

As a result, I’ve come up with 10 points – none of them rocket science – which would improve all our emails if we kept them in mind while we were writing.

See what you think. Is there anything you would add to the list? Let us know.

1. Start by thinking about what you want to achieve – and keep it in mind the whole time you’re writing.
2. Create a meaningful subject line – people are more likely to open an email with a clear purpose.
3. Get to the point – and stick to the point. A great tip is to imagine you’re texting rather than emailing and seeing what you’d leave out as a result.
4. Be friendly – write as though you’ve just been introduced.
5. Keep your message focused – on whatever it was you wanted to achieve in the email.
6. Avoid attachments – links are better. Of course, if you are using a bulk email service, you won’t be able to include attachments.
   
7. Make sure you are identifiable – state clearly who you are and make sure you are easy to find online (eg include your website details).
8. Avoid jargon – use plain English so that you are immediately understandable.
9. Think about formatting – remember your email arrives on someone’s computer, so stick to the rules for effective web writing.
   
10. Trim your content – when you think you’ve finished, read through and if you could imagine someone saying ‘so what?’ to anything, take it out.

Oh, and if you’re interested in reading more about this:

• http://thinksimplenow.com/productivity/15-tips-for-writing-effective-email/
• http://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/e-text/e-mail.htm
• http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/examples.html
• http://www.nngroup.com/reports/newsletters/summary.html

Next time: The things you can’t afford not to know if you have a website...

Exciting and welcome? Or restrictive and damaging? The ASA’s CAP Code

Really interesting to see what Rachel Hawkes reported last week in Third Sector Online about the Advertising Standards Authority’s new regulations (‘The CAP Code’) and the effect they could have on the way charities use social media.

She describes the changes that could ensue from the new regulations as ‘exciting and welcome’ because they could be ‘the start of legitimising social media marketing’. Including an organisation’s use of Facebook and Twitter as forms of marketing covered by the regulations is certainly an interesting development and we’ll look forward to seeing what effect this has on social media.

However, we were concerned to read that the regulations will extend to a charity:
"'Liking' a post on its Facebook page (or even on other Facebook pages of the charity) and to retweeting other people’s tweets on Twitter"

As Rachel points out,

"You should actively participate in your social communities – but if a message or tweet is somewhat dubious in its content, then it would be prudent to not reply, like or RT."

This is concerning. All the advice about successful social media underlines the importance of response. Social media are all about two-way communication. If charities are going to feel nervous about whether or not they should be responding to their supporters online, surely this is going to limit their responses and weaken their ability to enter into real dialogue with their supporters? And this can’t be a good thing, can it?

Of course we’re in favour of encouraging transparent, responsible marketing – but could these regulations prove to be a negative development for charities?

We’d like to know what you think.

How to get blogging in 3 easy steps: Effective Online Comms #1

We’ve already blogged about why you should bother to blog at all. So if you are now convinced that blogging is for your organisation, what are the next steps?

1. Plan it. Who is going to write the blogs? Just one person? A few of you? How often? When you’re thinking about the frequency, remember to build in time to respond to comments – so if time is limited, it would be better to blog a little less often and use the remaining time to interact with the people reading and commenting on your blogs.
2. Try it out. Amy Sample Ward recommends what she calls ‘test driving’ and we really like this idea. Try writing regular blogs, say for a month, without actually publishing them and seeing if this is do-able for your organisation. It’ll reveal who is up for it, whether the frequency you’ve planned is realistic etc.
3. Be flexible. Planning is important – but it’s just as important to be prepared to learn along the way. You may decide that what you want to blog about is X. But your blogs may get most interest when you mention in passing Y. Keep an eye on what works. And then adapt what you’re doing accordingly.

Next time: 10 tips for effective emails...

Why bother to blog? effective (online) writing #4

I was talking to a friend over the weekend about the fact that I contribute to this blog on a regular basis. And they asked what they felt was a very obvious – potentially dumb – question. Why bother to blog?

Not dumb at all, I thought. I hate the thought of doing something just because it’s the current, trendy thing to do. I want there to be a good reason for doing things.

And there are good reasons. Here are 3 that we’ve come up with.

• It gives people a reason to come back to your site. People who are interested will come back on a regular basis (or subscribe via RSS). This keeps your site visible and makes it more likely they’ll become more involved in the future (or stay involved if they are already).

• Blogs and news sites are often quoted by other blogs and news sites. This increases the exposure for your site and will probably bring you more traffic.

• Constantly-updated content increases your search engine visibility. This makes it easier for people actively looking for information related to your organisation to find your site.

Have we missed any good reasons for blogging? If we have, please let us know. It would be great to put together a really comprehensive list.

Next time: How to get blogging (if you haven’t already started)

Debate: Activism vs. Slacktivism

Does activism via digital channels work? It depends on who you ask. Join a debate of skeptics, realists and optimists exploring the impact of digital activism.


Overview

All activism depends on the belief and hope by participants that acting together will make a difference. With increasing debate and rhetoric around the influence and power of digital activism, what will the future be for this form of mobilisation if misinformed commentary or ill-conceived use of digital tools and networks attempt to undermine it?


The debate will challenge and provoke:


• campaigners who are not using online mobilisation strategically and the debate will challenge them to up their game


• skeptics of the power of digital activism and the debate will challenge them to learn how and when digital activism does work


Speakers

• David Babbs - Executive Director, 38 Degrees


• Paul Hilder - Director of Campaigns, Oxfam


• Eric Lee - International Trade Union digital consultant & LabourStart.org


• Naomi McAuliffe - Campaign Manager, Amnesty International


• Sam Smith - Democracy & Transparency activist


• Tom Steinberg - Director, MySociety


• Micah White - Adbusters & Guardian contributor (Via recorded video presentation)


• Other (academic) to be confirmed + chair


Format

1. Each articulates their points in a 10-minute presentation (TED-style)


2. Opportunity to respond to others' points for 20 minutes


3. Audience question, answer, comment and debate


Online

We aim to stream the event live, allow questions from online audience as well as recording it for later viewing online.



Sponsors

Sponsorship only covers part of the costs of organising and hosting the event.


FairSay


Sue Fidler Ltd


Advocacy Online


nfpSynergy



Register at http://fairsay.com/debate

6 DOs and DON’Ts for effective thank yous: effective (online) writing #3

Sue recently forwarded me this advice in an e-newsletter from Nonprofit Marketing Guide.com – as she said, it’s simple but it’s really worth going back to basics sometimes. It’s easy to get so caught up in what our organisation is doing that we forget to think about the people we’re writing to.

A bit like I was saying last week about effective blogging: always keep your audience in mind while you’re writing your blog, actually picture the person you’re talking to. It’s the same when you’re writing thank yous.

Here are the DOs and DON’Ts, 3 of each:

DON’Ts

Don’t start with a tired and predictable opening. For example, "On behalf of . . . " or "Thank you for your gift of . . ."

Don’t speak in generalities about how the gift will be used. Avoid regurgitating your mission statement or what we do web page. Tell your supporters how you are actually going to use their money.

Don’t be depressing. People want to know that their gifts are helping. If you go on at length about how great the need is, you risk making them feel that their gift won’t make much of a difference.

DOs

Do explain how the gift will be used. However hard it might be to be specific, do your best to say how the money will (or is most likely to) be spent.

Do explain what's next. Let your supporters know when you’ll next be in touch. For example, will you be sending them a newsletter, an invitation to an event? When?

Do make it personal. Thank you letters should be from one person to another. Personalise the greeting and the signature.

The Nonprofit Marketing Guide blog follows up with some examples of good thank yous. You can read them here:

http://www.nonprofitmarketingguide.com/blog/2011/02/02/nonprofit-thank-you-letters-3-i-love/

Next week: More about writing online: Why bother to blog?