Coding In The Darkness

BT Better World Campaign Exhibition Bag

Today I happened to be scanning my Google Analytics account and noticed a big drop off for the BT Better World site.

Forgetting that i was still subscribed to the tracking data i decided to remove it when i realised that it had no fews on Tuesday, knowing that couldn’t be possible my fears had become reality, the URL btbetterworld.com had been redirected to the main BT CSR site.

Now of course many of the tools still exist on the BTPLC site and they are really, really useful for teaching young people vital and valuable communication skills, but after working on the previous site I was very sad to see it virtually die in the eyes of the web.

It always felt odd that the site was created off the BT main site and perhaps should of been built onto it in the first place although corporates have very strict rules when it comes to what sits on their webspace.

With much of my early web work hosted on the site and the hours I put into the web pages both my own and using the templates system, the newsletters from early HTML to the fancy Adobe designed masterpieces and even the beloved TalkDog mini site it’s a shame to see all that work now gone.

Even more so the special html pages i coded to make all of the Flash animations run in full screen on all browser types and sizes, they really should of kept that code.

It gave me a reason to look back and remember the good, fun times I spent on what i value as a major part in shaping the current person I am today, from what I learned and from the great people I met and worked with. Although I don’t miss waking up at 5AM to catch the first train to an exhibition up North!

So goodbye btbetterworld.com you’ll always have a found place in my heart.

Just to let you all know i work on the BT Better World Campaign, mainly on the web and interactive elements of the campaign.

The campaign aims to improve the spoken communication skills of young people from the UK and around the world. So far we have already helped 3 Million young people communicate better!

I just wanted to let you all know the campaign provides many free resources for teachers, parents, youth workers and anyone who works or interacts with young people.

The resources range from DVDs, online games, online activities, white board resources, teachers notes, comics, sticker packs, books & printable worksheets.
The resources cover ages -9 months to 19 and are all free to order or download from the site.

We also fund raise for ChildLine and help promote youth voice.

OK that’s enough for now, but seriously check out the resources

Ben