I’m speaking on behalf of BCS Dorset on Thursday 22nd October, I’m talking about The basics of Creating and Running a Website. The event is completely free, but you need you book a place as there are limited spaces available. The event is open to all, regardless if you’re a BCS member or not.

Location: Wessex Hotel, West Cliff Road, Bournemouth, Dorset, BH2 5EU, UK.
When: Thursday 22nd Oct 2009 – 7pm for start at 7:30pm

In the presentation, I will be covering the following topics.

• Starting a blog, discussion board, online shop or general website (and what tools to use)
• How to track and understand your visitors
• Useful free or cheap tools you can use to run your website
• Some golden rules to stick to when running a website.
• Read the BCS Dorset event details for the full brief.

There will also be an opportunity to ask me plenty of questions too!

My presentations on the basics of running a website have proven to be very popular, and I’m frequently asked to run similar presentations again and again. This is some recent feedback that I had on a presentation I gave on website basics.

Excellent presentation, very useful and informative; brilliant knowledgeable speaker. Best thing I’ve been to for years!

On 21st May, I ran a presentation on how to run a website. I only had space for an audience of 20, but I had over 45 people interested in attending! I filled up the 20 spaces I had available in just 3 days of advertising the event. Therefore I’m running the presentation again on 18th June. However, much to my surprise, the 2nd presentation was filled to capacity in just 12 hours of advertising it!

Suffice to say, I’ll probably be running the presentation again in the near future. If you are interested in attending one of my presentations (which will usually be near Southampton or Winchester in Hampshire), do let me know your ideas for topics.

I will advertise any events or presentations I’m doing here on RunningAWebsite.com. If you want the news as soon as its released (particularly as my presentations are filled up quickly), please just subscribe via RSS or email. The subscription buttons are on the top right of the page.

I shall be presenting on the topic of “Running a website (for business or pleasure)” at the IBM Hursley Clubhouse on 18th June 2009 (which is a repeat of the previous event on 21st May 2009). The event is sponsored by the British Computer Society (BCS), and so tickets are free to BCS and non-BCS members.

Please note that this is a booking only event. Sorry, but the event is now fully booked!

Here is the brief for the event:

More and more people are realising that they need to create a website for their business, club or special interest group. A successful website is not something that’s created overnight using Dreamweaver, Microsoft Word or any other off-the-shelf package. That’s only the beginning.

In order for websites to raise awareness about your services, products or group, websites need to be found in the search engines. Visitors to your site also need to be able to find out everything they need from your website before they actually contact you or before they purchase something.

In this presentation, Dan will introduce you to key aspects regarding running a website, such as getting into the search engines, being found by prospective visitors, gaining links to your site, making your site user-friendly and tracking who is visiting your website.

After the presentation, there will be a break, and then a Q & A session. If you have specific answers about your own website, do contact Dan Harrison with your questions, and he can prepare some answers for the Q & A session.

Time: Arrive by 6.45pm for 7pm start, ending at 9.00pm
Venue: (directions)
Osman Room,
IBM Hursley Clubhouse,
Hursley Park,
Winchester,
SO21 2JN.

Please note that the clubhouse is not near the main IBM building. The IBM clubhouse is further along the Hursley Park Road.

I shall be presenting on the topic of “Running a website (for business or pleasure)” at the IBM Hursley Clubhouse on 21st May 2009.

The event is sponsored by the British Computer Society (BCS), and so tickets are free to BCS and non-BCS members. However, this is strictly a booking only event, and all places are now reserved.

Here is the brief for the event:

More and more people are realising that they need to create a website for their business, club or special interest group. A successful website is not something that’s created overnight using Dreamweaver, Microsoft Word or any other off-the-shelf package. That’s only the beginning.

In order for websites to raise awareness about your services, products or group, websites need to be found in the search engines. Visitors to your site also need to be able to find out everything they need from your website before they actually contact you or before they purchase something.

In this presentation, Dan will introduce you to key aspects regarding running a website, such as getting into the search engines, being found by prospective visitors, gaining links to your site, making your site user-friendly and tracking who is visiting your website.

After the presentation, there will be a break, and then a Q & A session. If you have specific answers about your own website, do contact Dan Harrison with your questions, and he can prepare some answers for the Q & A session.

Time: Arrive by 6.45pm for 7pm start, ending at 9.30pm
Venue: (directions)
Osman Room,
IBM Hursley Clubhouse,
Hursley Park,
Winchester,
SO21 2JN.

Please note that the clubhouse is not near the main IBM building. The IBM clubhouse is further along the Hursley Park Road.

Yesterday evening, I had the opportunity to go to a Women In Technology networking event called Building a Confident Personal Brand. Ok, so I know you’re going to ask… as a bloke, why was I going to an event for women?

Although the event was run by Women In Technology, a company designed to help women build successful and satisfying careers in the IT industry, the events are open to everyone. Clearly the events have a strong female focus, but there is still plenty of opportunity to learn something regardless of your sex.

I must admit, I was one of about 4 men at the event, with around 150 women! I now know how women feel in the male-dominated IT sectors! I certainly felt intimidated at first, but Maggie Berry, the Director of Women In Technology, went out of her way to let me know I was welcome. A number of ladies at the event congratulated me on being so brave, and it was appreciated!

So the event was basically 2 presentations, one on confidence, and then another on online personal branding. Then there was a Q&A session where a panel were asked a few questions from the audience. You can find out most of what was said on the event summary page.

To finish up, there was a networking session. I got talking to Katie Ledger, who’s an advocate of Portfolio Careers, as well as a friendly lady called Sophie who was considering venturing into starting her own Portfolio Career. Last night was the first time I had encountered anyone who was interested in a Portfolio Career just like me. Portfolio Careers, in a nutshell, are basically where you do lots of jobs part time that each appeal to your core values. Often, people who have a number of jobs like this actually earn more and are happier compared to those who just have a single job.

I’m also just starting to build my own Portfolio Career. I have my own websites that I design and develop to bring in an income, then I’ll have my web consulting business that I’m in the process of starting up, and finally I’ll be doing something else that I enjoy that has nothing to do with IT!

So anyway, for any women in IT, I thoroughly recommend Women In Technology events. They run both free and paid-for events, but the paid-for events are surprisingly inexpensive. If you’re a gent, and you have the opportunity to go to one of these events, be prepared to be outnumbered! But also be prepared to learn something and have a great time!