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paulrobertlloyd

Listed below are comments made by paulrobertlloyd between Monday, 21st April 2008 and Monday, 23rd March 2009.

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BBC Music Website Relaunch 9:18pm on 23 Mar 2009 Nick Reynolds - such is life at the BBC I would imagine! However life at the BBC is off topic also ;-)
U2 - Live from My Office 9:15pm on 23 Mar 2009 As the comments on this topic are being heavily moderated elsewhere, I'd too like to register my complaint about the BBC's eagerness to help promote U2's new album.

I'm not a huge fan of U2, yet I don't dislike them either (I've brought a few of their singles over the years), yet the fact that the BBC was so eager to help promote an album (which I understand is somewhat mediocre) sits uncomfortably with me.

As others have mentioned, I feel the BBC should be seen to be promoting new bands more than promoting artists who are already successful. At the same time, from reading the comments above, I can see this is a topic where opinion is split, so perhaps there was some benefit to the BBC taking part in the band's publicity tour. I just ask that in the future such events are not so heavy handed.
BBC Music Website Relaunch 9:01pm on 23 Mar 2009 I really love some of the latest work coming out the FM&T department, in particular the /music and /programme domains. Coupled with the iPlayer, and new TV and Radio websites, the level of care and detail put into providing a joined up system, in which different services support each other, and help avoid duplication is immediately obvious. Congratulations!

Also noted is the use of a Swiss typeface (if you can call Arial Swiss) rather than Verdana, which other teams within FM&T seem insistent upon using. Whilst I can understand the arguments for better readability, I'd much prefer to see Arial set at 13px rather than the wider (and uglier) Verdana. It's use on other sites such as BBC News Online, particularly for headlines in my opinion makes those sites look rather dated and amateurish. Luckily the Music site excellently demonstrates that Arial can give sites a more contemporary look, and it's used should be encouraged elsewhere on the site.

As to the comments on U2, whilst I can see why they were removed, I'm in total agreement with their viewpoint. Luckily I have seen a post about U2 elsewhere on the BBC Blog Network, so I shall register my complaint there. However, am I allowed to suggest that the moderation on this post has been a little heavy handed?
BBC Digital Services: Branding Changes 4:01pm on 01 Dec 2008 I do enjoy the cyclical nature of the BBC's management decisions. This is another brilliant example - it was not that long ago that bbc.co.uk was called BBC Online:

BBC Online - BBCi - bbc.co.uk - BBC Online.

In the process I'm sure the bigger picture is that it matters very little to people who use the service, just those within the organisation looking for ways to spend their allocated budget.

That said, I excitedly look forward to the next 'BBC Online' renaming exercise in a few years time.
Bye-bye Bill 2:59pm on 30 Jun 2008 With reference to an earlier post on the BBC Blog Network, about the BBC wanting to ensure it didn't over report Apple launching their new iPhone (and I believe the amount of coverage was about right), I can't help feel that the same level of restraint isn't being shown for this particular news story - it seems to me the the BBC has been reporting this departure for the entire month of June. Bill will be leaving at the end of this month. Bill we be leaving at the end of this week. Bill will be leaving tomorrow. Bill will be leaving in an hours time. Bill has left…

I understand the importance of this event, for he is a pivotal figure in the world of technology, and arguably made the personal computer mainstream, but seriously, enough with all the Bill Gates reporting already. The BBC reached saturation point on this story weeks ago.

I note also how the 'leaving video' is being reported as something new, but if I remember correctly, this was from his last keynote at E3 - earlier in the year - when we had a similar level coverage.

So please please please, can we start to see reporting of other technology topics?
BBC iPlayer 2.0: Sneak Preview 12:24pm on 25 Jun 2008 I was expecting the iPlayer to be draped in the new pan-BBC site layout, and I love how that has been combined with the existing iPlayer brand. I also love how you are integrating the station identities as well - I wasn't sure about the new BBC Radio logos when they were first launched, but their flexibility and iconic nature works really well in this context.

Will this release coincide with BBC Radio being streamed using a flash player, rather than Real Audio too? The updates to the Radio Player are what I'm really looking forward to in this respect.
Homepage Two Months On 02:26am on 24 Apr 2008 All I want is an end to the scandalous and inconsistent use of Verdana on all these update properties. I really don't get it.

In all honesty, it's bearable (just about) on the home page, but for BBC News Online, it makes the site look incredibly amateurish.

In fact, I wish the same level of iteration, care and attention to detail was given to that site - arguably the BBC's most important online property - as is obviously being paid towards the home page and iPlayer, which stand out as two recent successes.

So, please fix BBC News. When compared to the online presence of other news organisations have (cnn.com, timesonline.co.uk, nytimes.com, guardian.co.uk all come to mind) it's a complete and utter embarrassment. The BBC should and must to better.
Comments on changes 11:28am on 22 Apr 2008 A previous comment mentioned the similarities to the 1999 look, which is the aspect of this that baffles me most. We are told that this is a new pan-BBC News look, that ties together the regions, and all of the BBC's output, but that is exactly what happened in 1999 - in fact swap out the white for beige and you'd be close to what you had then.

So it strikes me as slightly patronising to say that the price will be spread out over the next few years, and that the regions will benefit from the global BBC News brand etc. when history dictates that in two years time, we will have the same sort of mess we had last Friday.

Then you can call Lambie-Nairn (again), and he can sell you the same set of branding components put together in a subtly different way, and you can write more or less the same blog post in which you tell us these are all 'new' ideas. It's pretty funny if you think about it…
New News 09:45am on 21 Apr 2008 I like the new look, and how it continues the evolutional approach that stems from the original BBC News rebrand back in 1999. In some respects however, this is just undoing all the tweaks and changes that have occurred over the last 9 years, to return it back to something very similar to what you had then (including the lighter colour palette).

I have huge respect for Martin Lambie-Nairn (the BBC certainly gets a better product when they use their trusted friend), but it does make you wonder how long it will be before this design gets dismantled piece by piece again - especially by the regions which seem to be a law unto themselves.

I'm not too sure of the name BBC News for the rolling news channel. I note that you are already diminishing the name by continually referring to it as 'the BBC News Channel', whereas BBC News 24 removed all ambiguity as to what aspect of the service you were referring.

More on naming - weren't the bulletins originally renamed 'BBC News at One' etc back in 1999? Again, I wonder how long before you return to using O'Clock. It may not sound as 'cool' and 'hip', but it's as much part of your brand as the pips are.

Now that this re-brand is out of the way, hopefully you will be focusing back in on giving the website the same level of quality and finish that these new idents certainly have, a finish it so evidently lacks currently. (And please, get rid of that God damn awful use of Veranda!)

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