This first post came about because of the recent severe weather events that much of the UK has encountered.
At work, some of us struggled in and managed to get the site updated, messages out to press etc etc. But what if we couldnt access the work network? what if we couldnt update the LA website?
I sat and thought about this for a while and then realised there was a whole heap of freely available tools that we could use to get information out and update free of the constraints of being logged into a particular network. Becuase of this we set the following up:
A windows live mail address so that we had an email address we can access from anywhere and that service areas can send information to. I chose hotmail because on signing up we also 25GB of secure online storage in their "skydrive" that we can keep emergency contact information for press/web staff, service area contacts and lists of schools etc. One person can access this and distribute the information as it comes in to whoever else needs it (we have a handy list of phone numbers and personal email addresses of comms staff to work from).
We also set up a blog: http://redbridgeupdates.blogspot.com/ to place service disruption updates and emergency messages on. Again, having this independant of the council's main website makes updating it easy and free of the constraints of the council network.
As long as we can get a link to this blog on the LA homepage (be it through a static permanent link or an element that can be updated freely from anywhere) then we can still provide information.
Problem solved?
Feel free to comment or give any alternative ideas
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Why do you need to access a network to update a website? Our website exists outside of our network with separate logins, so it can be managed entirely independently and from anywhere.
ReplyDeleteIt does seem somewhat ludicrous that a website - which can (presumably) be accessed from anywhere in the world - has to be updated from within the confines of a local network.