Dros y penwythnos, ddaru mi penderfynu o’r diwedd i gloi’n cyfrif ar Facebook.
So, this Sunday I finally hit the ‘Deactivate My Account’ button on Facebook.
Pam? Fyswn i’n hoffi dweud bod o dros ryw reswm ideolegol, neu fy mod i’n protestio dros reswm X neu Y, ond y gwir yw fy mod i wedi diflasu a’r peth. Yn wir, rheswm preifatrwydd yw’r cam diwethaf, ond y gwir yw doedd fawr ddim mwy i’r peth.
Fe ddaeth i’r amlwg ar ôl cynhadledd F8 Facebook wythnos diwethaf fod y gwefan yn gwneud newidiadau sylfaenol i’w ffordd o weithio. I mi, y peth mwyaf diddorol oedd bod hi nawr yn bosib i bartneriaid fel Spotify a’r New York Post cysylltu gyda’ch cyfrif Facebook a phostio i’ch wal eich bod chi wedi darllen rhyw erthygl neu wrando ar ryw gan yn awtomatig (fysai Netflix hefyd yn gwneud hyn, ‘blaw am fod deddf yn yr UDA yn nadu iddynt wneud).
Yr ateb yn aml i sefyllfaoedd fel ‘ma yw eich bod chi wedi cytuno i ddefnyddio’r gwasanaeth, ac eich bod chi’n gallu allgofnodi o’r gwefan i nadu Facebook cael mynediad i’ch data heb i chi fod ar y gwefan. Fel arfer, fyswn i yn cytuno… ond, gwnes i ddarllen erthygl ddiddorol gan blogiwr o’r enw Nik Cubrilovic: Logging out of Facebook is not enough. Yn yr erthygl, mae’n datgan manylion ei waith i edrych mewn i’r ffordd mae Facebook yn ymdrin â cookies. Mae’n ymddangos bod Facebook, hyd yn oed os eich bod chi wedi taro’r botwm “Log Out” yn gallu eich dilyn chi os bod elfen Facebook ar y gwefan (e.e. y botwm “Like”). Dwi di’n synnu gan pa mor dan-din maen nhw’n gwneud y fath beth, gan fy mod i’n teimlo bod trwy allgofnodi, da chi’n dweud ‘dyna ni, dwi wedi darfod’. Yn fy marn i, mae Facebook yn ysbeio ar bobl sy’n ceisio cymryd ei phreifatrwydd o ddifrif.
Hwnnw oedd y peth diwethaf i ddweud y gwir, ond mae’n benderfyniad dwi di bod yn osgoi ers peth amser nawr. Ddaru mi ond ymuno a’r peth oherwydd bod cyn-gariad wedi gorfodi fi i wneud. Y peth dwi di sylwi oedd bod 300 “ffrind” ar y gwefan unai yn bobl dwi heb siarad hefo ers blynyddoedd (hen gyfeillion ysgol ayyb), pobl dwi’n siarad hefo yn fwy aml ar Twitter/Google+, neu bobl dwi’n e-bostio’n weddol gyson. Y gwir yw, doedd Facebook ddim yn werth yr amser o’n i yn buddsoddi yn y peth.
Ydw i’n argymell i chi adael y peth? Dwi ddim yn rhy siŵr. Os bod chi’n teimlo eich bod chi wir yn cael defnydd allan o’r peth, mae’n syniad da i chi aros. Os ddim, meddyliwch yn galed os bod chi wir angen ffordd i gadw mewn cysylltiad gyda’r person ‘na o’r ysgol, neu’r hogan ‘na o’r coleg. Mae’n debygol fyswch chi’n darganfod, fel fi, eich bod chi wir heb siarad mewn blynyddoedd, ac eich bod chi ddim am fethu nhw.
Reit, nol i weithio…
Why? I’d like to pretend it’s because of some massive ideological issue, or that I’m making a stand on X or Y, but honestly it’s because I’m bored of it. Yes, a privacy issue was the final straw, but there’s little more to it than that.
So, the final straw came after Facebook announced some changes over the last week at its F8 conference, where it announced a re-design to the interface, and some API tweeks. For me, the most interesting were to do with the ability of partners such as Spotify to automatically post what you’re listening to on your wall. The same system could also be used for sites like the New York Post to post the articles you’ve read, and as soon as they get a law repealed, what films you’ve watched in Netflix.
Now, the normal response to this sort of thing is that you’ve opted in to using the service, and if you don’t want Facebook to track what you’re up to, then log out. Ordinarily, I’d agree with you, except for a rather interesting article Logging out of Facebook is not enough where a blogger called Nik Cubrilovic shares his insights into how the Facebook login cookies work. It seems that even when logged out, Facebook can still obtain and track your activities when you visit a website with any of its elements loaded (e.g. the ‘Like’ button). In my view, this is a particularly underhanded thing to do, since the logout should be the last interaction you have with that website. By surreptitiously gathering user data with (what is essentially) a hidden bit of code, Facebook is spying on those users who’ve made an effort to take their privacy seriously.
So, that was the straw, but it’s a decision I’ve been putting off for some time now. I only really got into the whole thing because my Ex kept bothering me to join the damned thing. What I realised is that the 300-odd people I have listed as “friends” are either those I lost contact with years ago (people I went to primary/secondary school with), people I follow on Twitter/Google+, or people I email on a semi-regular basis. What little time I invested in it isn’t showing a return, and I’ve got better things to do with my time.
Am I saying you lot should leave it too? Honestly, I don’t know. If you feel like you’re getting something out of it, then keep using it. Otherwise, consider if you really need a way to keep in touch with that annoying guy you went to primary school with who keeps posting pictures of his drunken nights out in your old home town, or that girl you knew at University who keeps posting pictures of her kids. Like me, you’ll probably discover that you’ve grown so far apart, you won’t miss them at all.
Now, back to work…
B
Gyfeillion, mae’r hen bwnc llosg ‘S4C’ yn ôl unwaith eto. Dwi ‘di gwneud sawl cynnig ar fyrdd i ddiweddaru’r sianel, dwi di gael sylwadau da a drwg yn ôl, a hyd yn oed wedi cael sylw gan ei swyddogion y wasg. Yn anffodus, dwi’n teimlo nawr bod nhw wir ddim eisiau help. Dwi’n dychmygu fod nhw’n hwylio i ffwrdd, heb y modd i newid cyfeiriad, ac yn suddo’n araf. Yn sicr bod nhw’n mynd i rywle (gyda “Nearer, My God, to Thee” yn chwarae yn y cefndir).
Gyda diolch i Leighton Andrews AS, ddaru mi darllen erthygl yn y Western Mail bod Prifysgol Cymru ddim heb gefnogi ymchwilydd ar ôl iddo ysgrifennu adroddiad beirniadol o S4C a gwir i chi, daeth dim o’r pethau gwelais i yn syndod. Yn ôl y Western Mail, mae’r adroddiad yn feirniadol o’r tîm rheoli, y strategaeth a bron popeth arall.
Mae’r erthygl yn mynd ymlaen i ddweud bod S4C nawr (yn ôl y sôn) eisiau ei arian yn ôl. I fi, mae ‘ny yn dweud cryn dipyn amdanynt. Ddaru nhw ofyn am yr adroddiad ‘ma i ddarganfod beth sy’n bod, maen nhw di cael gwybod a di nhw ddim yn hapus gyda’r ateb (sydd i weld bron yn cadarnhau canlyniad yr adroddiad). Dylsa’r adroddiad ‘ma wedi bod yn uffar o gloc ‘larwm i S4C, yn gweiddi ‘wbath dwi di dwyn o’r blog Risky Business ychydig wythnosau’n ôl…
Friends, I’ve ridden my hobby horse called ‘S4C rant’ to death. I’ve suggested things, had feedback both good and bad, and even got a few lines back from their press office. Sadly, I fear they’re not wanting any help. I imagine they’re all cruising along to somewhere, rudderless and taking on water, in denial that there’s anything wrong, convinced they’ll make it… somewhere (with “Nearer, My God, to Thee” playing softly in the background).
With a hat-tip to Leighton Andrews AM, I saw this article in the Western Mail about University of Wales failing to back a researcher over a critical report of S4C and I can honestly say I wasn’t the least bit surprised. Based on the Western Mail’s report, it seems that the report is pretty damning of the management, the strategy and pretty much everything going. Nothing said in the report is of any surprise to anyone who’s been watching what S4C is up to.
It goes on to say in the article that S4C now apparently wants its money back. To me, that says quite a lot about them. They commissioned the report to supposedly find out what they’re doing wrong, someone has told them and they don’t like the answer (confirming pretty much exactly what the report is supposed to have said). This type of a report should be the mother of all alarm clocks, shouting a quote I’ve cannibalised from a Risky Business blog post from a few weeks ago…
“LOOK AT THE GIGANTIC FUCKING ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM ZOMG WHY CAN’T YOU SEE IT??? ITS TRUNK IS IN YR COFFEE FFS!!!”
Dwi wir yr yn ystyried nawr pan fy mod i’n poeni rhagor. Mae’n eithaf amlwg bod does ddim diddordeb ganddyn nhw yn newid ei hunain, a does fawr ddim gallwn ni ei gwneud i’w achub bellach, a dwi wirioneddol drist am ‘ny.
Honestly, I think I’ve coasted far past the point at which any normal person would have given up. I’m now at the point where I doubt anything can be done to save it, which is something I that find truly dispiriting.
B
Ar ôl llwyddiant ysgubol o’r daith ddiwethaf i mewn i fyd y Llyfrau Llafar wythnos diwethaf, dwi yma unwaith eto. Wythnos yma, dwi wedi darfod The Thank You Economy gan yr or-frwdfrydig Gary Vaynerchuk, ddaru ddod i’r amlwg ar y we am ei waith ar Wine Library TV. Mae Vaynerchuck yn disgrifio (yn ei ffordd unigryw) sut mae angen defnyddio teclynnau fel Twitter, Facebook a YouTube i ymdrin ag ymwneud gyda chwsmeriaid a defnyddwyr. Mae’n disgrifio’n bellach sut dylid cwmniau ‘traddodiadol’ ymwneud gyda’r byd newydd, a symud arian o’r byd marchnata traddodiadol. Fy rhan orau yw pan fod o’n hedrych mewn i ymdrechion cwmnïau yn y byd newydd (gan gynnwys methiant Old Spice i fanteisio ar lwyddiant hysbysebion “I’m on a Horse”, i’r pethau bach neis mae’r cwmni gwestai Joie de Vivre yn gwneud).
So, following the runaway success of last week’s adventures into audiobook land, I’m back again with another. This week I’ve finished off The Thank You Economy by the manically enthusiastic Gary Vaynerchuk who rose to prominence on the internet for Wine Library TV. Vaynerchuck explores (in his insanely enthusiastic style) how to use tools such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube to better interact and engage with your customers and users. He devotes large passages of his book to discuss how ‘traditional’ businesses need to make inroads into this world, and that they need to push forward their efforts to engage with customers via new media, rather than putting all of their money into traditional advertising. My favourite passage was his exploration of new media campaigns, and where he thinks they’ve done well or done badly (from Old Spice’s failure to capitalise on the gains made by the “I’m on a Horse” campaign, through to the little ‘human’ touches of the Joie de Vivre Hotel company).
Pwynt fwyaf Vaynerchuck yw bod y teclynnau cymdeithasol yn meddwl bod y cyhoedd llawr fwy o allu i ledaenu neges am gwmnïau neu sefydlodd sydd wedi rhoi profiad drwg iddynt. Ei neges yw, os nad ydych fodlon cymryd y siawns i siarad gyda’ch cwsmer neu gynulleidfa, fydd un o’ch cystadleuwyr wedi, a gwnewch chi golli allan.
Vaynerchuck’s over-riding theme is that social tools mean that customers have a megaphone to tell their friends, and the public at large if they’ve had a bad experience with a company that doesn’t care. His premise is that if you engage, and show that you’re approaching it as a genuine opportunity to interact, one of your competitors will, and you’ll lose out.
Ar nodyn technegol, mae’r llyfr yn bron i 6 awr, ac wedi ei ddarllen gan yr awdur ei hun. Dwi ddim yn siŵr faint ohonoch sy’n gyfarwydd gyda gwaith Vaynerchuck, ond mae’n cyflwyno’r peth yn ei dull unigryw. Dwi’n eithaf sicr fysa’r llyfr oeliaf awr yn fyrrach os fysai Vaynerchuck ddim yn neidio o un lle i’r llall ac yn dechrau ychwanegu pethau mewn tra bod o’n recordio. Mae’r pethau yma, yn fy marn i yn ychwanegu cryn dipyn trwy dangos ei angerdd tuag at y pwnc.
On a technical note, the audiobook comes out to 5hrs and 41 minutes and the version I listened to was read by the author himself. I don’t know how familiar you all are with Vaynerchuck’s work, but he presents it in his rather unique style. I’m pretty sure that the book would be at least an hour shorter if it wasn’t for Vaynerchuck’s ‘off script’ moments. These moments though reflect his passion for a subject he believes in quite strongly, and therefore add a significant amount to the book.
Tan tro nesaf.
Until next time.
B
Mi ges i’n cyflwyno ychydig cyn cynhadledd nôl yn 2010 i wefan newydd o’r enw
Lanyrd.com. Syniad gan raglennwyr o’r enw
Natalie Downe a
Simon Willison, a gafodd ei ysgrifennu tra bod nhw’n aros mewn gwesty yn Casablanca yn ystod ei mis mêl nhw.
Mae wedi ei dylunio i fod yn gofrestr ‘cymdeithasol’ ar gyfer cynhadledd, sy’n galluogi pobl creu tudalen coeth o’r bobl sy’n mynychu, siarad ag hefo diddordeb yn y gynhadledd. Da chi’n cysylltu eich cyfrif Twitter i’r gwefan, ac mae’n cysylltu eich cyfeillion at ei gilydd, ac unrhyw gynhadledd maen nhw di bod i, ac i unrhyw gyflwyniadau maen nhw ‘di gwneud.
Fel esiampl, fel y gwelwch yn y llun isod, mae proffilproffil fi‘n edrych ychydig fel hwn:
So, I was introduced prior to a conference in 2010 to a new website called
Lanyrd.com. It’s the brainchild of
Natalie Downe and
Simon Willison, and was apparently written in a hotel room in Casablanca (three months into their honeymoon).
It’s designed as a social conference directory, letting users compile an elegant page to list attendees, speakers, trackers and event coverage. You connect your Twitter account to the site, and it links your friends together, the conferences they’re attending and gives you links to any presentations they’ve made.
As an example, you can see below my profile looks a bit like this:
Mae’n cysylltu i’r cyflwyniad nes i nôl yn Hacio’r Iaith, fideos a lluniau.
Un o’r rhesymau dwi’n blogio amdanyn nhw heddiw yw oherwydd fy mhrofiad gyda nhw heddiw. Mi o’n i yn adeiladu tudalen ar gyfer digwyddiad dwi’n helpu trefnu, a ges i syniad am ychwanegu ystafelloedd i’r lleoliadau’r gynhadledd. Ges i neges ‘Chat with Lanyrd’, a nes i feddwl… pam ddim? A nes i yrru neges yn gofyn am y ‘stafelloedd. Ges i neges yn ôl mewn eiliadau gan Sophie, yn esbonio bod ystafelloedd yn un o’r pethau maen nhw’n gweithio arno, ond yn y cyfamser o’n i yn gallu e-bostio nhw hefo’r manylion.
Ar ôl i mi yrru’r e-bost, o’n i’n hystyried faint o amser fysai’n cymryd iddyn nhw ateb, nes i ddim disgwyl ymateb am ddyddiau… ond, wedi awr, ges i neges ‘nol yn dweud bod y manylion wedi ei ychwanegu. Blydi hell medda fi.
I fi, mae criw Lanyrd yn dangos yn union sut i ymdrin â phobl a’r byd gwe gymdeithasol. Maen nhw’n ymateb yn brydlon i’w defnyddwyr, ac yn gweithio yn galed i wella ei gwefan sy’n dod a (i fenthyg gan Zuckerberg) “elegant organisation” i’r wledd o digwyddiadau sy’n digwydd dros y byd.
y 7fed yw ei penblwydd gyntaf, a mae nhw newydd enill rhagor o arian. Dwi’n dymuno’r gorrau iddynt yn y dyfodol, ac yn edrych ‘mlaen cael y siaws i’w cyfarfod yn y dyfodol.
It links out to slide decks, videos and photos of any talks or events I’m involved with.
One of the reasons I want to talk about them is my experience with them today. I was populating the page for an event I’m involved with, and thought it’d be nice to see sub-venues (you know, rooms within a conference venue) and was prompted by a message “Chat with Lanyrd”. I figure… nothing to lose, so I send them a message to ask about it. I get a message back from Sophie, explaining it was a feature they’re implementing, but in the meantime I should email the details through to their support team.
So, I send the e-mail off, and an hour later I get a note back from Lanyrd telling me the whole thing is done. Damned good going I thought.
The Lanyrd guys I think are a walking demonstration of the way a company like this should work. They’re active in dealing with their customers and refining a product that delivers (to borrow a Zuckerberg phrase) “elegant organisation” to the wealth of conferences that happen all over the world.
The 7th is their 1st birthday, they’ve just secured a new round of seed funding. I wish them every luck in the future, and look forward to getting to meet them in the future.
Gan fod fy ngwaith yn cadw fi’n teithio yn reit aml, gwnes i ymuno cynnig ‘Un Llyfr y Mis’ oddi wrth
Audible (diolch yn bennaf i gynnig
TWiT).
Bore ‘ma, daeth syniad i mi, yn lle ysgrifennu tamaid arall blin, pam ddim ysgrifennu am y llyfrau llafar dwi di fod yn gwrando ar wythnos ‘ma? A hefyd rhestru’r rhai dwi’n mynd i’w wrando yn yr wythnosau nesaf?
Felly, mae llyfr llafar wythnos ‘ma yw “What Would Google Do?” gan Jeff Jarvis. Yn y llyfr, mae’n rhannu ei feddyliau am y gwersi fysa Google yn gallu rhannu gyda’r byd busnes, addysg, arian, farchnad tai a mwy. Mae’n diffinio deddf gyntaf Jarvis, sy’n dweud “Give the people control and we will use it; don’t and you will lose us.” sydd, heb i mi wybod yn un o’r pethau o’n i wedi cynnig ar gyfer S4C ychydig yn ôl. Mae’n disgrifio ei llyfr lot yn well na allai gwneud ar ei wefan: Buzz Machine: The WWGD? World.
Mae’r llyfr ar gael ar Audible.co.uk trwy’r linc ‘ma: “What Would Google Do?”.
Fy rhestr ar gyfer yr wythnosau nesaf:
Os bod gennych chi unrhyw gynigion ar gyfer llyfrau llafar, fyswch chi’n mor garedig ai rhannu nhw yn yr adran sylwadau?
Diolch!
Since my work has me traveling quite a bit, I opted some time ago to sign up for
Audible‘s ‘One Book a Month Plan’ (signing up through
TWiT‘s offer code).
I figured that, to avoid descending into another round of ranty blogposts, I’d instead list off the audiobooks I’ve listened to this week, and the ones I’ve got left on my listening list.
So, this week’s audiobook is Jeff Jarvis’ “What Would Google Do?”. In which he shares his thoughts on the lessons that Google can teach us in the worlds of business, education, finance, real-estate and more. He defines his first law as “Give the people control and we will use it; don’t and you will lose us.” which, without realising it is one of the things I’d suggested for S4C in an earlier blogpost I’d made. He writes a far more eloquent description of his book here Buzz Machine: The WWGD? World.
You can find “What Would Google Do?” on Audible.co.uk.
So, my upcoming list is:
If you’ve got any audiobook recommendations, please feel free to share them in the comments below.
Thanks!
B
Mi ddaru fi darganfod neithiwr bod ‘na meddalwedd newydd wedi cael ei ryddhau gan gwmni o Sir Fôn o’r enw ‘
Dysgu Gyda Sam‘. Cyfres meddalwedd sydd wedi cael ei adeiladu i helpu plant 3-6 oed dysgu Cymraeg. Sa’ chi’n dychmygu fy mod i o blaid y syniad, ac mi ydw i. Y broblem yw’r ffordd mae’r syniad wedi ei weithredu.
Yn anffodus, nid app, neu gwefan yw ‘Dysgu Gyda Sam’, ond CD-ROM ‘aml-gyfrwng’.
Ie, CD-ROM…
Mae’r ffaith yna yn ben ei hun yn ddigon drwg, ond mae’r cwmni yn datgelu ei bod wedi derbyn arian a chefnogaeth trwy raglen ‘Bauhaus‘ Menter Môn (sy’n cael ei chefnogi gan y Cynulliad), sydd yn fod i ‘Tanio Arloesedd’.
Ie, gwnâi adael i chi feddwl am hwnnw am foment bach…
O ddifri ‘rŵan… beth yfech?
Sut mae cwmni yn cael cymorth cyhoeddus (a grant o bosib) i ddatblygu cynnyrch ar CD-ROM trwy brosiect sy’n fod i helpu datblygu rhywbeth arloesol? Pwy yfech sydd dal yn coelio bod CD-ROMs yn arloesol? Mae’r cymeriad yn edrych yn dda, a dwi’n hoffi’r syniad, ond mae’r dewis i gloi’r peth mewn tri bocs CD-ROM am £35 fesul bocs yn mynd i ladd y peth a’r cymeriad. Mi o’n i yn rhan o’r genhedlaeth gyntaf i ddefnyddio CD-ROMs, ac o’n i yn meddwl bod nhw’n beth fwyaf dibwynt erioed. Tamaid bach o blastig oedd yn rhy haws i’w golli, a llawer mwy hawdd i’w dorri (ac ar y pryd yn ddrud iawn i’w ail-brynu).
Fel y mae o, fysa CD-ROM wedi bod yn arloesol 15 blynedd yn ôl, ond nawr ein bod ni yn yr oes ‘post PC’, gwe 2.0, appstoraidd ‘ma, di CD-ROMs yn dda i dawl o ddim. Beth sy’n synnu fi fwy yw, ar ôl edrych ar y specs, bod y peth yn rhedeg mwy neu lai trwy’r porwr we (mae’r gofynion yn dweud bod angen prosesydd 450mhz neu fwy – go ddifrif, gafodd hwn i’w greu yn y 90au?) ac yn angen oeliaf Safari 3.0 (o 2007) ac Internet Explorer 6.0 (o 2001) – a ddim sôn am Google Chrome.
Dwi’n meddwl nawr bod hi’n syniad da i mi ddweud bod Dysgu Sam ydi’r bobl anffodus sy’n derbyn fy sylw ar y pwnc ‘ma, a dwi’n ymddiheuro ymlaen llaw iddyn nhw os bod nhw’n teimlo fy mod i’n cyfeirio’r holl beth tuag atyn nhw. Dwi’n hollol sicr ei bod nhw’n bobl neis dros ben, ond maen nhw wedi cael ei gadael lawr. Maen nhw’n amlwg wedi mynd at Fenter Môn gyda syniad bach gwych, a doedd neb wedi gofyn iddyn nhw “fysa App ddim yn well?”. Mae Dysgu Gyda Sam wedi datgelu trwy ei thudalen Twitter i fy nghyfaill (a’n cyd-gyflwynydd ar y Haclediad) Sioned (@llef) bod nhw yn edrych mewn i greu app. Fy mhoen i yw ei bod nhw wedi methu allan ar greu rhywbeth sy’n wir arloesol trwy gloi ei hunain mewn i fformat sydd ddim hefo fawr o fywyd. Mae ‘na sibrydion trwy’r amser bod Apple ar fin cael gwared â gyriant CD o’i chyfrifiaduron, a fysa gweddill y diwydiant yn sicr i’w dilyn.
Y ffordd orau i wneud y peth yma fysa i lansio app ar gyfer iOS/Android, gyda gwefan HTML5. Mae’r cymeriad newydd yn un da, a fysa plant wrth ei bod yn syth. Mae natur dyfais gyda sgrin ail-gyffwrdd yn meddwl bysa plant wedi gallu dechrau chwarae yn syth, yn hytrach na disgwyl i Fam neu Dad rhoi’r peth yn y cyfrifiadur, disgwyl iddo lwytho a gwylio nhw tra bod nhw’n eistedd o flaen y cyfrifiadur gyda’r llygoden (dwi’n wastad yn clywed storiâu gan rieni am sut mae ei phlant 3 oed yn gallu gweithio ei iPhones a iPads yn well na nhw).
Mae Menter Môn wir angen ail-ystyried beth maen nhw’n meddwl gyda ‘arloesol’. Tydi CD-ROMs heb fod yn arloesol ers dros 15 blynedd nawr, ac mae’r person ddaru un ai cynnig bod Dysgu Sam yn datblygu CD-ROM, neu ddim yn cwestiynu ei dewis nhw o’r fath technoleg angen ateb cwestiynau pwysig dros ben. Mae hwn unwaith eto yn cysylltu lan gyda’n hoff bwnc llosg am sut bod y Llywodraeth a sefydliadau yng Nghymru ddim yn deall technoleg, ac yn cael ei thywys o gwmpas gan rhyw foi mewn siwt grand. Storiâu fel sut oedd y Cynulliad dal yn defnyddio NT 4 am flynyddoedd (oherwydd cytundebau), methiant llwyr S4C i gadw lan gyda darlledu ar y we a’r we gymdeithasol, a thrafferthion y Lolfa i gael e-llyfrau Cymraeg ar y Kindle.
Mae Cymru mewn peryg o ddisgyn yn ôl ar y fath datblygiadau, ac yn disgyn yn bellach yn ôl ar ddatblygiadau yn y Gymraeg. Yn fy meddwl i, mae bodolaeth ac iechyd yr iaith yn dibynnu ar ein gallu ni i greu cynnwys newydd mewn ffordd sy’n gweithio gyda’r dechnoleg dda ni’n defnyddio nawr. Y gwir yw, os bod pobl yn parhau i ddatblygu technoleg ar blatfform hen fel CD-ROMs, mae angen iddynt roi terfyn arno nawr. Mae Google, Apple a chewri’r byd Technoleg yn mynd a ni lawr y llwybr tuag at y Cwmwl. Os bod rhaglenni fel Menter Môn ddim yn helpu gyda’r newid ‘na, maen nhw’n gwneud cam ar y bobl maen nhw’n ceisio cynorthwyo, ac yn fwy difrifol, yn gwneud cam ar ddyfodol Cymru.
Dwi’n mynd i orwedd lawr nawr.
B
Hefyd – os bod Dysgu Sam neu Fenter Môn eisiau ymateb i beth dwi di ddweud, dwi’n hapus i ddiweddaru’r erthygl (gwnâi ddangos unrhyw ymateb ar y gwefan ‘ma, ac os dwi’n anghywir, gwnâi cyfaddef ac ymddiheuro yn gyhoeddus). Y rheswm dwi mor flin am y peth yw fy mod i’n cymryd technoleg o ddifrif, a dwi’n teimlo’n sâl yn gweld syniadau da del Dysgu Sam yn cael ei gadael lawr gyda dewisiadau technoleg sâl. Os bod chi eisiau siarad gyda fi, dwi ar gael trwy’r ffurflen sylwadau, trwy e-bost neu trwy twitter (@bryns).
So, I found out last night about the launch of a new educational product by an Anglesey based company called ‘
Dysgu Gyda Sam‘ (Learning with Sam). This is a series of educational programs devised to help 3-6 years old learn Welsh (before we go on, let’s just set aside whether or not you think teaching Welsh to kids is a good idea – I happen to think it is). So, you might think I’d like this idea, and in principle I do. The problem has to do with the implementation.
Y’see, they’ve not launched an app, or a website… they’ve done it on CD-ROM.
Yeah, you heard me… a CD-ROM.
This in itself is bad enough, but the company proudly states on their website that they got help and support by the Welsh Assembly Government backed ‘Menter Môn’ (an Anglesey Business Development Quango) to make this. What’s more, the support came as a result of Menter’s ”Bauhaus Project” (which aims to foster innovation and new products from companies on the Island).
I’ll also pause so you can enjoy that little irony.
Seriously… what the hell? (I did have something stronger there, but it wouldn’t translate well)
How does a company get publicly funded help (and possibly grants) develop a CD-ROM product under a project aimed to foster innovation? Who the hell still considers CD-ROMs to be innovative? The character they’ve developed seems to be quite good, but their decision to lock all this up in a 3 part series of CD-ROMs (with the associated books) for £35 each will (in my view) kill the product and the character. I was part of the first generation to be exposed to ‘educational’ CD-ROMs, and I can tell you that they were utterly useless. They were shiny bits of plastic that were all too easy to lose or damage (and at that point quite expensive to replace).
In its current incarnation, the product would have been innovative 10 or 15 years ago, but in this grand and shiny post-PC, web 2.0, Appstore future we now live in, CD-ROMs just simply don’t cut it. What’s even more startling to me is that the whole system (based on what I can deduce from the tech specs on the site) works through the browser (the minimum system specs calls for a 450mhz processor as a minimum – seriously, was this developed in the 90s?), and requires Safari 3.0 (released in 2007) or Internet Explorer 6 (released in 2001) as a minimum – with no mention of Google Chrome.
I should probably add at this point that Dysgu Sam are the unfortunate victims of my simmering rage at this issue, and I appologise to them in advance if they feel that this is a direct attack against them. I’m sure they’re really lovely people, but they’ve been seriously let down. They’ve clearly gone to Menter Môn with a sound concept, but have been let down by people at multiple stages who should have asked “is a CD-ROM really the best way to go?”. To their credit, Dysgu Gyda Sam did respond via their Twitter page (@dysgusam) to one of my Haclediad co-presents Sioned (@llef) that developing a mobile app is one of the ideas they’re investigating. I fear though that they’ve missed out on an opportunity to develop something truly innovative by locking themselves into a format that has no future. Rumours continue to abound that Apple plans to drop optical drives from their range, which the rest of the industry is sure to follow if it turns out to be true.
The ideal way to launch this kind of a product would have been as an iOS/Android app, with a tie-in website. The character they’ve created would have been instantly engaging, and the kinaesthetic nature of touch-screen devices would have meant that kids would be able to interact with it all by themselves, rather than having parents supervise a 3yo trying to use a mouse (I’ve spoken to many tech-savvy parents who are still amazed by how easily their very young children are able to pick up and use touch-based devices unaided).
Menter Môn needs to seriously re-consider their definition of the term ‘innovative’. CD-ROMs have not been an innovative technology for well over 15 years now, and the person who either guided Dygsu Gyda Sam down the CD-ROM avenue, or didn’t question their use of an outmoded technology has serious questions to answer. To my mind is further evidence for my pet rant on how Governments and Institutions in Wales haven’t a clue when it comes to technology, and seemingly get led down the garden path by sharp suited sales guys. We’ve seen that WAG was using Windows NT for years (as a result it seems of a support contract stipulation), S4C’s complete inability to get going on streaming/web based TV and social media (something they’re only just starting to rectify), and Y Lolfa’s troubles in getting Amazon to release their books on the Kindle store.
Wales is falling badly behind on this type of innovation, and falling further behind on such innovations in Welsh. To my mind, the future health and the existence of the language depends on our ability to produce modern and relevant content in a way that fits with new consumption models. Anyone still developing CD-ROMs or such anachronistic media should pack it in. Google, Apple and the tech giants are leading us merrily towards the cloud, and if innovation programs like the Menter Môn’s Bauhaus project isn’t fostering *that* kind of development, then it’s failing the people of they’re trying to help, and more importantly, the future of Wales.
I’m going to lie down in a dark room now.
B
P.S.
In the event that Dysgu Sam or Menter Môn want to come back to me with a response, I’d be happy to update this article (I’ll give your responses a full airing, even if I’m completely wrong and have to retract the article — infact, I sincerely hope I’m wrong). The reason for my ire is simply that I take technology seriously, and I’m deeply frustrated when I see nice ideas like Dysgu Sam’s being let down by poor technology choices. You can reach me in the comments field, by email (see the ‘About’ page, or through my twitter page @bryns)