The project represents an excellent demonstration of our ability to create a community hub using the open source WordPress technology.  A number of commercial plugins are being utilised to manage secure content for members and shopping cart functionality.

The user engagement strategy is case studied here in our site – http://www.futuremedium.com.au/solutions/view_User-centric_design_15135195/

Use of the web ‘on the go’ is increasing.  The launch of the iPhone certainly had a lot to do with this and amounts to almost 2/3rds of mobile browsing.  Viewing typical websites on screens a few inches tall became much easier but still not quite right.

But not everyone on a mobile device is seeing the same thing.  Clever people behind the web can make different users see different things depending on the device in use.  And I don’t just mean pretty colours or fewer graphic.

A mobile version of a website can be an entirely different site in its own right with tuned functionality and special design.

Take yellow pages as an example for a moment (and let’s pretend that we’re not all using Google instead). Yellow’s website had a fairly complicated set of input boxes that relied heavily on type to drive it.

Well that’s too hard in a mobile environment – even with the iPhone it was clunky.

A mobile version of Yellow’s website is available instead and it’s got just two input boxes – that’s all – and the design is as simple and clean as possible.

This stuff has been happening quietly without most of you realising.

We built a mobile version of Petrusma Property years ago.  If you’re on a compatible device it will automatically show you a different website.

But why have a different mobile site?

Well, how many intricate search panels are customary in real estate websites?  Heaps!  When you’ve got a full keyboard in front of you and a big screen you’re relatively happy to be very descriptive about what you want.  But on a mobile device, forget it, it’s too hard!

Creating the Petrusma Property mobile site wasn’t just about simpler functionality either.  The audience is different on a mobile device.  The user has different needs and exhibits different behaviour.

We cut huge amounts of content and tuned the site down to the critical items that were relevant.  We had to think like someone standing outside a property with a mobile device in their hand prepared to invest maybe 20-30 seconds of time.

So do you need a mobile version of your site?

That’s a tricky question as it depends on what sort of content you’re delivering and whether or not it’s hard to interact with ‘on the go’.

With the rise of iPhone-like devices it’s becoming increasingly easier to view normal websites with relative effectiveness so you may be just fine with one site.

But if your business depends on ease of use in terms of delivering content that is critical to your users you’re going to have to build tuned websites for each platform your customers use.

This is a bigger problem than you may realise.  With the Internet becoming more of a fabric between the community it’s not just PC’s anymore.  It is fridges, TV sets, phones, games consoles, cars and trains.

I’d place bets that even a toilet will be connected one day!  Hooray I could flush remotely… or use the web with one hand.

My point is that whilst the range of devices accessing the web increases we need to consider the different environments in which our customers and users will interact with each other.

Users will have different needs and perhaps even different ways of physically interacting with devices – take touch screen technology as an example.

It stands to reason that any organisation on the web needs to think more broadly than just showing one web design on one device.

Take the visionary steam power of what America is doing by opening up as many government services as possible via the web ( for the greater benefit of the community) and combine that with Australia’s National Broadband Network buzz and ‘Gov 2.0’ is our national problem.  Oops… I mean opportunity.

Please excuse my optimism slurs.  I’m from the private sector.

Vision. That’s what Barack Obama seems to have.  Issues.  That’s what we Aussies see, and particularly Tasmanians, if the recent Hobart chapter of the round tables was anything to go by.

In front of us right now is a massive opportunity to be a smarter, kinder, more connected community from government down.  Words and promises I’ve heard from many politicians in the last 2 years.

According to the gov2.net.au website its taskforce work falls into two streams.

The first relates to:

“increasing the openness of government through making public sector information more widely available to promote transparency, innovation and value adding to government information.”

The second stream:

“is concerned with encouraging online engagement with the aim of drawing in the information, knowledge, perspectives, resources and even, where possible, the active collaboration of anyone wishing to contribute to public life.”

Great! This is the stuff of dreams and is music to the ears of every web professional in the country.  But why are Tasmanians struggling with this?  Why did the round table focus so much on the issues and dangers of opening up data rather than looking for value creation?

I’ve been spruiking the benefits of opening up data systems in previous editorials and hopefully you remember views I’ve shared from visionary web leaders about the value that can be realised from mashing up data from various sources and extracting value for the community.

Let’s solve health problems, predict trends in viral movements, gain intelligence in financial decision making, improve access to services… don’t laugh, but the classic example is the issue of Google not knowing where our public toilets are in our country!

Why can’t we get this data out?

Commercial concerns about owning data sets and ‘they’re mine – you can’t have them unless you pay me’ stack up against internal issues resulting in organisations being too politically hamstrung to work out how to even open the door.  Add to these two hurdles what I’m calling a ‘cultural cringe to an open and connected world’.

Where is this cringe the worst?  At the risk of invoking a covert operation to assassinate yours truly I’ll put my hand up and say ‘at the heart of state government’.  It’s often all too hard and not within mandate or budget to have such a vision.

Thankfully the national taskforce has been led by visionary people and their function is not just to provide a report but to ‘fund initiatives and incentives which may achieve or demonstrate how to accomplish government 2.0 objectives.’

Unfortunately I guess our pessimistic Tasmanian stance in front of the taskforce means there won’t be many good pitches for concept projects and Tasmania may miss out on showing off our shiny new NBN roll out before the rest of the country stands up and capitalises on it.

Where are our Tasmanian internet thought leaders?

Who will drive the culture shift needed to embrace open data sets and create value in our new web future?

Anybody want to join me in a gov2.0 project pitch?

Disparate units all working from one common framework and lacking the individual attention they need to provide an efficient web offering to the Tasmanian public was an immensely confronting problem.

Concerns about who the target audience was ‘really’ comprised of and how they wanted to interact with DHHS, we engaged a specialist usability firm to undertake focus group explorations for needs, wants, and behaviour. This was supported by a mix of online and moderated testing for information architecture to build and assess the effectiveness of a new content structure.

Combining months of research Future Medium presented a strategy which clearly addressed the following issues:

1. What users wanted and their behaviour online
2. What business units needed and how to match this to user expectations
3. A rationale for a revised design
4. A revised information architecture, content authoring process, and stakeholder management recommendations
5. Comprehensive use cases and associated wireframe design plans; and
6. A structured management plan for the next 12 months.

Over the last two years, the TSO has been working with Hobart based website developer Future Medium Pty Ltd for a digital strategy and the delivery of a new public website as part of a major sponsorship deal.

Future Medium is utilising its Strategic, Creative and Technical strengths to deliver a state of the art website redevelopment to promote the TSO’s goals and objectives. This will benefit the TSO by presenting a new site that is visually engaging and strongly aligned to the TSO brand, and will act as a powerful communication and education tool. This work will be seamlessly integrated with the TSO’s current back-end systems, facilitating increased business efficiencies. Both parties see this as a ‘Win, Win’ situation.

“We are delighted to be able to assist an iconic Tasmanian organisation promote itself to the world” said José Navarro, General Manager of Future Medium.

During the initial stages of the process, Future Medium discovered the TSO required assistance with its branding position and prompted the TSO to establish a new brand strategy and identity with the assistance of Inspired By Marketing and subsequently Clemenger Tasmania.

With the arrival of the new brand material the web project went into full swing – for the last four months Future Medium have been designing and developing an exciting new website.

“Along with the new ‘Ignite’ look and feel, the website will include many new interactive features, bringing the TSO to the front of the pack on a global scale” said Glen Johnson, Managing Director of Future Medium.

An interactive timeline of upcoming and previous events has been created for users to browse both upcoming and historical events. Similarly, a browser has been created for users to view and purchase recordings produced by the TSO.

Facilities will be provided for user reviews and feedback of events and albums. Users can book tickets and purchase albums online via the new integration of the Tessitura booking system.

An array of information will also be available about the TSO, its venues and concerts.

Launch of the new website is scheduled for late 2009 and is sure to be a classic hit.