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The Chinese are Coming
In the last decade I have read numerous snippets of advice, some might say warnings, that say future success depends on how well you can adapt to the rise of China. I admit to having contented myself that most of these predictions related only to, say, car manufacturers. Now comes a report showing that although Google still owns the search world, the third largest search portal in August was Baidu; yes, from China. If you look closer at the numbers, Google is still a total giant, with 37 billion searches. Yahoo could only manage 8.5 billion, but Baidu got a respectable 3.2 billion, beating Microsoft (2.1 billion) by 50%. Time to start brushing up on your Mandarin.
Jeremy Spinks, Studio Director
Rethink Accessibility
From time to time we like to remind you of an important element of website design that continues to be overlooked: accessibility. The World Health Organization last year claimed that only 3% of sites meet minimum requirements. Government websites, especially here in Florida, are paying more and more attention to the subject, but the private sector continues to ignore it. The latest test of laws surrounding the problem made the news recently: Target Corporation is being sued by the National Federation of the Blind and a Federal Judge just gave the suit class action status. The precedent for such suits was the State of New York suing Priceline.com, a case that ended in a settlement with Priceline adjusting their site. This time, Target is standing its ground, which means this case could provide a firm ruling for businesses everywhere on what Section 508 means to them.
Apart from watching with interest, we're here to help. If you would like us to review your site for ADA compliance, or actually
make it compliant, 3W Studios knows the ins and outs of proper accessibility.
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Darby Bank is Website of the Month
It has been 6 months since Darby Bank launched their new brand. The refreshing image was an instant hit with customers and has propelled the bank forward. Now the branding is receiving industry recognition. "Internet Banking Growth Strategies" named darbybank.com as its website of the month. The article covers a quick history of the implementation with a focus on the site itself. It is a great read for anyone who might doubt the importance of a properly designed and executed brand.
Read the full article (PDF) and visit the site
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Launch News
Florida Farmers Sow New Site
The Florida Farm Bureau is the largest agriculture organization in the state, and provides numerous services to members including insurance and banking. To better serve the 144,000 members, FFB has launched a new website. The first of a family or related redesigns, the main FFB site involves a fully-capable CMS to allow FFB to maintain and operate the site. Features such as the president's blog make it much more interactive than previous iterations. The site launched in time for the FFB annual meeting, with more content and other related sites coming online in the coming weeks.
Visit the site at http://www.floridafarmbureau.org/ |
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New Advocate for Florida's Children
The Florida Children's Services Council (FCSC) is a non-profit umbrella organization for the 11 existing CSCs in Florida. Focused on advocacy and awareness at the state level, FCSC needed a website that could actively promote information about the issues critical to children and families in Florida. The site serves the general public, a legislative audience and with a members-only area, helps member organizations communicate.
Learn more about CSCs at http://www.floridacsc.org/ |
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'Inn' with the New
The Georgian Inn Beach Club has launched a redesign of their long-standing website, after completing renovations on the building itself. The new site provides information to current owners, prospective owners, and acts as an information sharing tool for board members.
Take a look around the photo gallery and contact Georgian Inn for unit availability at http://www.georgianinnbeachclub.com/ |
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