Podcast appearances and mentions of Sarah Richards

Recorded Saturday, February 22, 2025   Barb and Tracie are both appalled at what has been happening since the Trump inauguration.  What can we do? Call your representatives Sign up at Indivisible - STOP THE TRUMP-MUSK COUP February 28 - Economic Blackout - no purchases in person or online.  thepeoplesunionusa.com is planning a series of boycott days - I will post the link and all of the dates in the show notes   Please join our  Colorwork KAL!  Here are the details:   Starts 2/1/25, ends on 5/1/25   Any project with colorwork - could be stranded, fair-isle, stripes, mosaic, intarsia, etc.   Your project can be a hat, mitts, mittens, gloves, anything around the neck, a toy - but it must be larger than a washcloth!  You might want to go big, like a sweater, vest or poncho WIPs less than 50% done are eligible for the KAL   Have fun with it.  Challenge yourself to try something new.  Chat it up in the Colorwork KAL thread here!   Our Zoom group is continuing.  Please join us on Saturdays, 12 noon Pacific time.  All the info you need is in our Ravelry group!   I am the guest on Episode 283 of the Life After MLM podcast talking about my experience as the mother of someone on the autistic spectrum    EVENTS NoCKRs 2025 -  April 10-13, 2025 at the St Francis Retreat Center in San Juan Bautista, CA.   If you are interested in getting on the waitlist, please contact Tracie at 2knitlitchicks@gmail.com Fiber Frolic - Saturday, June 7, 2025 at Soul Food Farms in Vacaville, CA.  Bring a chair and lunch!  Presented by Treadles to Threads Spinning Guild 2 Knit Lit Chicks Get Together!  Are you interested in meeting other knitters and crocheters who listen to the podcast?  Please join us at the 2 Knit Lit Chicks Get Together next September 18-21  at the Zephyr Point Presbyterian Retreat Center on the shores of Lake Tahoe in Nevada.  For more information, take a look at the Get Together Thread thread on Ravelry.  Please get your registration in as soon as possible.     KNITTING Barb has finished: 4 Knitted Knockers   Tracie finished: Alignment by Katrine Birkenwasser in Seattle Sky Dyeworks Mismated in Rhododendron Purple rainbow socks for Rachel in Alexandra the Art of Yarn Dark Side of the Moon in Purple Haze Never Not Gnoming #29 for our Capitola realtor in bright blues Ever After Sweater by Claire Jackson in Malabrigo Rios in the Gemini colorway   Barb is still working on: Marklee #2 by Elizabeth Doherty, using Serendipidye 24 Carat MCNin the Peppermint Julep colorway Garter Stitch Scarf, using Sirdar Colourwheel Knitted Knockers   Barb has cast-on Navelli pullover by Caitlin Hunter, using Cloudborn Fibers Highland Fingering in the Caribbean colorway, and 2 skeins of Greenwood Fiberworks Indulgence, one in the Black colorway ad 1 in the Natural colorway Bankhead hat #33 by Susie Gourley using some Lion Brand Mandala picked up on a destash table   Tracie has cast on: 2 Knitted Knockers Raise the Woof by Casapinka in Indigodragonfly ROU Sport in Spock Puppet and many others - doing both dog motifs! Socks in LMFA Show Stopper in Shantay You Stay held double on size 2 needles   BOOKS Barb read: You Like it Darker by Stephen King - 4.5 stars The Worst of You by Sarah Richards - 3 stars Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout - 4 stars Tracie read: Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid - 4 stars All the Rage (DI Adam Fawley #4) by Cara Hunter - 4 stars The Future Was Now: Madmen, Mavericks, and the Epic Sci-Fi Summer of 1982 by Chris Nashawaty - 5 stars

Send us a textWhen the Georgia General Assembly passed legislation in 2023 focused on improving literacy among students kindergarten to third grade, they called for the appointment of a Statewide Literacy Coach to serve the Georgia Council on Literacy. They found this person in a longtime educator who has served as teacher, administrator, and Literacy Master Teacher with the Atlanta Public Schools.  Sarah Richards started in this role last July and is part of the Governor's Office of Student Achievement. Support the show

Canadian actress Sarah Desjardins (Yellowjackets, The Night Agent) joins us to talk about her very first work of audiobook narration. She discusses the transition from acting to narrating, the challenges of a first-time narrator and the joys of recording audiobooks. As it so happens, the book she got to narrate is set where she grew up, in Vancouver and Vancouver Island. The Worst of You, by Sarah Richards, is a gripping suspense/thriller told from multiple points of view. Here is the link to this Audible Original: https://www.audible.ca/pd/The-Worst-of-You-Audiobook/B0D1KW16NQ Plus, Spotify recently expanded its audiobook access to premium users in Canada. Is it good value? Can Spotify compete with Audible? Stick around until the 2nd half of this episode to hear our side-by-side comparison

Wrap Session 33 Design & Culture: In this episode, The Royal Court heads to sunny San Diego, California where we wrap with music lover, Lakers fan and Content Design Manager at Intuit, Aladrian Goods. Aladrian candidly shares her journey from Marketing Events to UX Content Design, from working 3 part-time jobs at the same time to funding her Design Education, and describes the early days of ClubHouse helping to grow one of the largest Design rooms. Finally, Aladrian shares gems on leadership, becoming a People Manager, a list of resources that have helped her along her career including, Content Design by Sarah Richards and Writing is Designing by Micheal Metts , as well the songs she finds joy listening to by Stevie Wonder and Kendrick Lamar. Another episode overflowing with Energy, Vibes and Inspiration. Listen Now! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/techwrapqueen/message

Were you unable to attend the Sew Sustainable Fair in London last month? Would you have liked to have been there? Well, through the power of audio, in this episode you can come along with me to the event! Hear some of the awesome conversations I had with the organisers, helpers and businesses in attendance, plus my ramblings as I travel to and from the venue. Support the podcast over on Patreon! Find some info about this year's event, plus keep an eye on the details for next year's as they are revealed, at the Sew Sustainable Fair website. The event is organised by Sarah Richards, owner of Olive Road London, a source for original vintage fabrics. Sarah told me about ‘Secrets of the Singer Girls' and ‘Secrets of the Sewing Bee', both books written by her friend Kate Thompson. The Sew Sustainable Fair took place at the wonderful Craft Central building. Other sellers at the event included: Bornella Fabrics Missy Mop Fabrics Maven Sewing Patterns Find Rebecca Evans-Merritt on IG @revansmerritt Listen to my previous conversations with her: Episode 24: Conscious Making in Real Life with Rebecca Evans-Merritt and Episode 37: Pledge and Participants #1 with Rebecca and Meg When I met Rebecca in real life, she was wearing her Birgitta Helmersson ZW Gather Dress in Merchant and Mills Lunar Jacquard. We also discussed her railroad stripe two-piece and her Refashioners project lounge wear set. Find the Stash Hub app on their website, on IG @stash_hub, or in your smart phone's app store. You can contact Yvette's friend Mel who works with the charity Guildford Refugee Aid via their Facebook page. Find Louise's business, Ethel & Joan, on her website, Etsy shop and IG @ethelandjoan. Louise used to make videos for the Youtube channel, Pattern Pals. We talked about her popular flower buckles. My favourites are the turquoise Deco buttons.

If you track our legislative sessions at all, you'll know it's hard to keep up, so if you're looking for an all-in-one update on issues that concern Indivisible members, this episode is for you. Lead members of the Washington Indivisible Legislative Action team (also known as WILA) recently joined Seattle Indivisible to give an update on key legislation concerning: Criminal justice & police accountability (Deb Carstens, Wallingford Indivisible) Healthcare (Jim Austin, Indivisible WA's 8th District) Gun safety (Stephen Wilhelm, Snohomish County Indivisible) Climate & the environment (Sarah Richards, Kirkland Indivisible) Housing (Ruth Lipscomb, Indivisible Eastside) Special thanks to Lysondra Ludwig, and to Alex Fayer!

Are you often overwhelmed by the need to come up with constant ideas for your online content from social media to blogs, product or service launches and articles etc?  Is advance planning something that you never quite have time for? If you could benefit from some guidance on planning your content, ditching the overwhelm and actually start enjoying the process then today's episode of Cracking Copy is for you. In this episode, Minnie talks to Sarah Richards, Content Coach and Instagram expert about how to effectively create and plan your content. Learn how to cultivate a content mindset. get the results you want and never run out of ideas! This could be one of the best spent 20 minutes of your life, listening to Sarah's top tips for defining your content pillars, effective content planning and productivity hacks. Before you even start thinking about when and how to craft your messages to engage with your ideal customer, you need a plan. Sarah also runs an online course, The Content Reboot, a three-week course which starts again in January 2023. Its aim is to build joy in your content and establish a strategic process that works for you. The course covers content foundations, creation of content systems, gathering inspiration and auditing your content so you are calm, organised and set up for success. Click here for more details. Resources  Manage your project, workflow or task tracking with: Trello  Notion    Contact us!   Contact Sarah Richards:   Website and Content Reboot info: sarahrichardssocial.co.uk Instagram: @sarahrichardssocial   Contact the Cracking Copy team:    Please drop us a voice note at memo.fm/crackingcopy and let us know what you think or what topics you would like us to cover. Twitter @cracking_copy Facebook @crackingcopy    ➡️ Share this podcast with someone who'll find it useful   You can also find us at:   Instagram: Ella Hoyos - @flurrymarketing Minnie McBride - @minnie__writes   LinkedIn: Ella Hoyos - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellahoyos Minnie McBride - https://www.linkedin.com/in/minniemcbride   Ella Hoyos and Minnie McBride are co-hosts of this new podcast. We are professional copywriters and marketers. We deep dive into a different aspect of copywriting in each ‘snack-sized' episode so that we can help you become better writers for your business.   Support this podcast!   If you found this episode helpful you can show your appreciation by making a donation! This helps offset the costs of producing the show and we'll love you for it :)   Buy me a coffee   

September always feels like a fresh start, and that is what I feel some people need with instagram right now, a fresh start or a new lease on their socials and their approach to instagram. So if you are feeling a bit lost with instagram  this episode will help you regain that focus and that motivation. Join myself Nicole and this week's guest, content coach and instagram trainer, Sarah Richards as we discuss how to refocus on instagram and get your motivation back.    KEY TAKEAWAYS Once every six months every business should go back to the basics, who you are and what your values are. You need to think about your customers now and what they need and what you can provide for them. If you don't know what they need then you can just pick up the phone and talk to them.  What are your key messages? What content pillars do you want to share on your socials?  Your content pillars are basically your buckets of content and each bucket of content has a different purpose. Sarah's five buckets are About your business, tips and hacks, lifestyle, community, and promotion.  Sarah's three tips are 1. Reboot your content, spend 20 minutes thinking about what content is helpful to your audience. 2. Adopt a content mindset, you're living the content every day and you just need to remember to capture it. 3. Write your captions as if you are writing to a friend then relook back and make sure you have included SEO words that are about the product. It's okay to share a bit of your knowledge or content for free because if you do that once, people are more likely to come back because you've helped them and built that trust.    BEST MOMENTS ‘Build that know, that like, and that trust' ‘A product business sells through more of your content than a service business'  ‘You don't always have to be in front of camera'  ‘The audience needs to see a window into your world'  ‘Swim towards the positivity'    EPISODE RESOURCES Free mini guide to Instagram  Sarah's blog Sarah on Instagram   VALUABLE RESOURCES  www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach  www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/   ABOUT THE HOST Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line.  Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM)  Join the Start Scale Succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme:  thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist   CONTACT METHOD  Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/ TikTok www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk  Email nicole@thebuyerandretailcoach.com  Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/ Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycallSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode I chat to former student Sarah, who is a now an Interior Designer! We talk about how it's so important to listen to yourself and what really interests you, how she ended up designing for palaces in Dubai and about the time she knocked over a Tracey Emin painting!Remember, if you are interested in finding out more about what it takes to be an Interior Designer then head on over to our Instagram account @astrozookeeper where Sarah has kindly given us her follow up 3 pieces of advice!And of course, thanks to you for listening! Support the show

This episode highlights Dr. Sarah Richards, a hospitalist at the University of Nebraska, and her work with well-being in her personal and professional career. She is an Associate Professor in the Division of Hospital Medicine at UNMC and the Senior Medical Director of Clinician Experience at Nebraska Medicine. She has been a hospitalist at UNMC since 2011 after completing medical school, residency, and a chief resident year at there. She was named the Medical Director of Patient Experience for Nebraska Medicine in 2015. Her role then expanded to include physician and advanced practice provider (APP) experience in 2018. Given the evolving landscape in healthcare and high rates of professional burnout, Dr. Richards transitioned from her patient experience role to focus all her efforts on physician and APP wellbeing in 2021. In this system- wide leadership role, she has responsibility for developing, coordinating, and implementing strategies to improve clinician wellbeing and enhance professional satisfaction. Dr. Richards is also the current nominated chair of the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) Wellbeing Taskforce in which she leads a team of national experts to reduce hospitalist burnout. She completed a Chief Wellness Officer course through Stanford University in 2021. Well-being Pearls: Organizational Opportunities for Well Being Organizational Wide listening campaign: Talk about positives, write about opportunities for improvement. Consider the "one wish list". Circle back with feedback to participants about changes being made, or opportunities being considered for further change. Anti-stigma campaign Fostering organizational leaders to build trust-- this is paramount to matters with burnout. Personally Breathe. Give yourself grace. Give others grace. Create boundaries: Take time with new opportunities before committing to make sure bring you joy, meaning, purpose and align with your career Assume positive intent in others. Be present. When listening, focusing on coaching rather than mentoring. Ask curious questions to get to their why. Be vulnerable.

In this podcast Sarah shares some of the priorities being worked by the Cornwall AHP Faculty to invest in an allied health professional workforce to be proud of across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, in relation to being proud to be Cornish and achieving their ambition to deliver thriving health services and lifelong careers for those in the local communities wanting a rewarding career working as an AHP in health and social care. This podcast was facilitated by Robin Lansman an Osteopath AHP, former President of the Institute of Osteopathy and founder of COGUK which he set up to provide training programmes to help health practitioners communicate more confidently and effectively with others. In this podcast Robin is interviewing Sarah Richards the Cornwall AHP Faculty Support Worker Lead. Email - ahp.sw@hee.nhs.uk Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/nhshee/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/nhs_healthedeng Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/nhshee/ A transcript of this episode is available here.

In this episode we speak to Sarah Richards an Adoptee, therapist, postgraduate researcher studying adoptee experiences of therapy. She discussed her experience as well as the issues facing adoptees accessing affordable and effective support in adulthood.  If you're interested in finding out more about her research you can email her here. Sarah.richards18@my.Northampton.ac.uk Or get in touch through Twitter here The No Borders Training advertised at the beginning of the podcast can be found here  As always if you've experience of adoption, Fostering or special guardianship from any perspective and would like share that on the podcast please get in touch through the Facebook or twitter page or email us at AandFpodcast@gmail.com Listen/subscribe on iTunes here Spotify here Google here

On this episode, we peek behind the curtain of the locked unit. Joining us to discuss psychiatric nursing was special guest, Sarah Richards, MSN, PMHNP-BC, who has worked as both an inpatient and outpatient psych nurse during her career. Calling on her unique experiences, Sarah sheds light on typical psych nursing patient populations, understanding psych ward codes, the effects of COVID on the psychiatric health community, and more. We Discuss(0:00) An introduction to Sarah and her nursing background (4:44) The typical patient population for inpatient and outpatient psych nursing(10:29) How to address psychiatric patients (18:20) Understanding psych ward codes (22:09) The importance of specialty therapists in psych nursing (25:22) Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome (NMS)(37:09) Memorable stories from outpatient psych nursing (39:44) COVID effects on the inpatient psych community(45:43) The challenges and rewards of being a psych nurse (50:56) Areas of improvement for the psych nursing discipline(54:31) Advice for prospective psych nurses About Sarah Riggleman Richards, MSN, PMHNP-BCSarah Richards is a newly certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. She has seven years of psychiatric nursing experience, including four years working in an acute inpatient psychiatric hospital setting and three years of community case management. Sarah will be starting the next step of her career at an outpatient community clinic in Boston, where she currently resides with her husband and their three-legged golden retriever, Sydney. You can keep up with Sarah by following her on:LinkedInInstagramAbout the ShowProducer – Jonathan Cary Assistant Producer – Katie SchraubenAssistant Producer – Sam MacKay Music & Editing – Aidan Dykes Powered by American Mobile

An interview with Rob Boyle and Julian & Sarah Richards by COM Church

Welcome to episode 10 of season 2.  This is the last episode of this season but we'll be back after a short break with some more amazing news, interviews, top tips, and best dive ever stories.In this episode: The latest scuba diving, freediving, ocean, and diving travel news that has happened in the last week from around the world underwater with Host Stephan Whelan and producer Jason Elias.Then co-host Sarah Richards speaks with Inka Cresswell, filmmaker, and marine biologist.  They have a fascinating discussion on the biases inherent in the diving industry before Inka shares her incredible story of getting her big break shooting for the BBC.We then hear a top tip from Beth Scuba "The Dive Nanny" on why it pays to hum underwater and what Bethy is humming these days.And then finally we hear yet another incredible listener-submitted Best Dive Ever from freediver shares a great late-night dive with Dolphins.The DeeperBlue Podcast is brought to you by Suunto.  Finnish engineering pioneering adventure from mountain top to ocean floor since 1936.Don't forget to give us ★★★★★, leave a review, and tell your friends about us - every share and like really makes a difference!

When COVID-19 hit, many governments reverted to a panic publishing approach, getting as much content up on their websites as quickly as possible. Structure, organization, testing, it all got shoved aside in the rush to publish. Sarah explains how this sort of panic publishing culture can be avoided in the future because panicking serves nobody. Sarah Richards defined the term ‘content design' in the early days of GOV.UK, where she led the award-winning content team in the design of the UK government website. For me, GOV.UK is one of the shining lights when it comes to true and genuine quality web design and management. GOV.UK has shown what online government for the people, rather than for the politicians, can be like, by being functional, evidence-based, rigorously tested, clear and succinct. Sarah now runs Content Design London, a content design consultancy. Sarah is a wonderful person and a true digital pioneer. Buy the book by Gerry McGovern - https://gerrymcgovern.com/books/world-wide-waste/ Sarah / Content Design London - https://contentdesign.london/ Upcoming online live classes with Gerry McGovern - https://www.thisisdoing.com/team/gerry-mcgovern More from This is HCD https://linktr.ee/thisishcd Join our Slack community / https://www.thisishcd.com/community/join/ Training with This is Doing   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When COVID-19 hit, many governments reverted to a panic publishing approach, getting as much content up on their websites as quickly as possible. Structure, organization, testing, it all got shoved aside in the rush to publish. Sarah explains how this sort of panic publishing culture can be avoided in the future because panicking serves nobody. Sarah Richards defined the term ‘content design’ in the early days of GOV.UK, where she led the award-winning content team in the design of the UK government website. For me, GOV.UK is one of the shining lights when it comes to true and genuine quality web design and management. GOV.UK has shown what online government for the people, rather than for the politicians, can be like, by being functional, evidence-based, rigorously tested, clear and succinct. Sarah now runs Content Design London, a content design consultancy. Sarah is a wonderful person and a true digital pioneer. Buy the book by Gerry McGovern - https://gerrymcgovern.com/books/world-wide-waste/ Sarah / Content Design London - https://contentdesign.london/ Upcoming online live classes with Gerry McGovern - https://www.thisisdoing.com/team/gerry-mcgovern More from This is HCD https://linktr.ee/thisishcd Join our Slack community / https://www.thisishcd.com/community/join/ Training with This is Doing   Become a Premium Member: https://thisishcdnetwork.supercast.tech See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jonah - Sarah Richards by COM Church

Come With Expectation - Sarah Richards by COM Church

Albie is joined by Sarah Richards, a Ngiyampaa woman who is currently Operations Manager at PwC Indigenous Consulting and a member of the Indigenous Accountants Australia Advisory Committee. Sarah also creates story-based art through her own business initiative Marrawuy Journeys. They discuss Sarah's career, how we might raise the profile of accounting in Indigenous communities, as well as the opportunities for Indigenous-owned businesses.

Vanessa Schneider:  Hello and welcome to the Government Digital Service podcast. My name is Vanessa Schneider and I am Senior Channels and Community Manager at GDS. Today, we are looking back as fondly as we can on 2020. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that this was a momentous year and we have many reasons to be proud of what our organisation and our colleagues have achieved.    What better way to reflect on the year than to ask a couple of my colleagues to put their knowledge to the test? We're going to see who has been paying attention to GDS happenings in 2020. Please welcome my guests Louise Harris and Kit Clark.   Louise Harris:  Hey, Vanessa, good to be here.   Vanessa Schneider:  Great to have you on, Lou. Do you mind telling us what you do at GDS and to spice things up a little bit for the end of the year, maybe a fun fact about yourself?   Louise Harris:  Sure. Well, of course, we know each other very well, Vanessa, because I have the pleasure of working with you in the Creative Team. But for everybody else, I'm Lou and I head up the Channels and Creative Team at GDS. I'm a relatively new starter - I'm one of our lockdown joiners because I joined in May 2020. In terms of a fun fact, it may surprise some of you given my accent to know that I'm a fluent Welsh speaker.   Vanessa Schneider:  You sou-I-do you sound very Welsh? You know what? We've got to put it to the test. Can you tell me what the team is called that you work for in Welsh?    Louise Harris:  Ok, this is something I think I can do. So I'll give you my intro again in Welsh. Louise Harris dw’ i, a rwy’n gweithio yn y Tim Creadigol a Sianeli yng Ngwasanaeth Digidol y Llywodraeth.   Vanessa Schneider:  Ok, anybody who knows Welsh, you've got to contact us and tell us if she got it right or not. Kit, would you mind introducing yourself?    Kit Clark:  Sure. My name's Kit, I'm an Engagement Manager within the Strategic Engagement Function. An interesting fact I suppose about myself, is that my uncle composed the Eastenders theme tune. So that's something I always, always bring out in introductions.   Vanessa Schneider:  I was warned that your interesting fact would be amazing. And I think it does live up to that disclaimer. I think that is a very, very fun fact indeed.   Louise Harris:  I was not warned that your fun fact was going to be as good Kit, I'm so impressed by that. What a claim to fame.   Vanessa Schneider:  I think I might just start with the quiz. Of course, if you're at home, you can play along if you like. Just make sure to keep score as you go, as I'll be sharing the answer after each question.   So let's start with the first question of the quiz.    Here it is: what was the most popular GDS podcast episode in 2020? So what topic do you think was in the most popular episode? I'll take that as an answer.    [horn noise]    Louise Harris:  I'm presuming that we're excluding this episode from the list of most popular ones, so it's the most popular one before this one, right?    Vanessa Schneider:  Yes. I'm afraid we don't have any foresight, so it'll have to be one from January to November.    Louise Harris:  OK, well I think we've had some really great guests and different people from across government this year. The big one has got to be the GOV.UK response to Coronavirus and setting up the Coronavirus landing page - I think that was such a big achievement, both in terms of the work that was done to get that product up and out, but also for you folks over here on the podcast, because I believe that was the first remote recorded podcast that we did.   Vanessa Schneider:  Hmm. Any thoughts, Kit? Any competing offers?   Kit Clark:  Not too sure. I know that accessibility's been quite a theme this year, and I believe that was in January. But I also know there was a couple of celebration ones - there was one looking at two years of Local Digital Declaration. So I think I might I go, I think COVID's a great shot but I'm going to go different and go accessibility.    Vanessa Schneider:  Alright. So there are some pretty solid guesses with both of you. Well done. I can reveal that the third most popular episode was in fact our accessibility episode. Good hunch there Kit. Second most popular was about the GOV.UK Design System. But indeed in first place, most popular episode this year was on the GOV.UK response to COVID-19.    Louise Harris:  Wahoo!   Vanessa Schneider:  Points go to Lou on that.    Vanessa Schneider:  Alright. So GDS has run a lot of stories this year. My second question is about the blog and which post attracted the most attention?   [horn noise]    Louise Harris:  This is a really tricky one because I think we've had so many good stories go out this year about the work that GDS has been doing across government. And of course, so much of what we do is used by our colleagues in the public sector. So there's often a lot of interest in what we have to say, which is great.   I mean, a big moment for me this year was our Global Accessibility Awareness Day celebrations where we were joined by thousands of people who came together to talk about digital accessibility and the work that we needed to do. So I feel like maybe the wrap up blog that we did about that, which had all of the links to the training webinars, I feel like that might be pretty popular. And even if it wasn't the most popular, it was definitely my favourite.    Vanessa Schneider:  Yeah, I, I can reveal to you that the third most popular post this year introduced GOV.UK Accounts.    Louise Harris:  How could we forget? That was such a big story.    Vanessa Schneider:  Well, you might want to hold onto that thought. It could just help you later in the quiz. Our second most popular post described the launch of our online Introduction to Content Design course. Content Design, hugely popular. I think we might have done a podcast episode about that. Finally, I can reveal our most popular post in 2020 explained how GOV.UK Notify reliably sends text messages to users.    Let's go on to our next question. As a bit of a preamble GDS leads the Digital, Data and Technology Function in government, which is also known as the DDaT Function. And we believe firmly in user-centred design, hint hint - keywords. So there are several job families in DDaT, but can you tell me how many job roles feature in the user-centred design family?    [buzzer noise]    Kit Clark:  There's seven.   Vanessa Schneider:  You seem pretty sure about that. On a dare, could you name all of them?   Kit Clark:  I hope so because I've had some training on it relatively recently. So in the user centred design family, there's the user researcher, content strategist, the technical writer, and then there's the content design, graphic design, service design, and the interaction design.   Louise Harris:  Wow, hats off Kit. I had a feeling it was like about seven roles, but I don't think I could have named them.    Vanessa Schneider:  I am, I am very impressed. You gotta make sure that that team doesn't poach you away from us now. For those of you following along at home, you can find out more in the DDaT Capability Framework which is hosted on GOV.UK.    And as it happens, we actually spoke to some content designers earlier in the year. So we're going to play a clip.    ---------- [clip begins] Laura Stevens:  So GDS is actually the home of content design in the government too as the term and the discipline originated here under GDS’s first Head of Content Design, Sarah Richards. And why do you think it came out of the early days of GDS?   Amanda Diamond:  So really good question. And I think it is really useful for us to pause and reflect and look back sometimes upon this, because it's not, you know, content design, as you said, it came from, as a discipline it came from GDS.   So really, it only started to emerge around 2010, so 2010, 2014. So in the grand scheme of things, as a discipline, it is very young. And so it's still evolving and it's still growing. And so back in the early 2000s, before we had GOV.UK, we had DirectGov. And alongside that, we had like hundreds of other government websites. So it was, it was a mess really because users had to really understand and know what government department governed the thing that they were looking for.    So what GOV.UK did was we brought websites together into a single domain that we now know of as GOV.UK. And that was a massive undertaking. And the reason for doing that was was simple. It was, it was to make things easier for users to access and understand, make things clearer and crucially to remove the burden on people to have to navigate and understand all of the structures of government.    So back in the early days, GOV.UK, GDS picked I think it was around, I think it was the top 25 services in what was known as the Exemplar Programme. I think things like that included things that Register to Vote, Lasting Power of Attorney, Carer's Allowance. And so I think through that process, we, we, we discovered that it actually wasn't really about website redesign, it was more about service design.    And that's where content design and service design, interaction design and user research kind of came together under this banner of user centred design because you can't have good services without content design essentially.  [clip ends] ----------   Vanessa Schneider:  Alright on to our next quiz question. So at GDS, we like to talk about “build it once, use it often”, and are responsible for a number of amazing products and services as part of our Government as a Platform or GaaP offer. Many of our products have been put through their paces during the coronavirus response and have hit some impressive milestones in the last 12 months.    I'm going to award 2 points in total. It's a 2-part question, so I'll ask the first part first. So how many messages had GOV.UK Notify sent as of the beginning of December?   [buzzer noise]    Kit Clark:  Is it two billion?    Vanessa Schneider:  Oooh, ok.   Yes, Notify has sent more than 2 billion messages as of the beginning of this month. As you buzzed in first, I will give you first right of refusal. How long did it take Notify to send its first and second billion messages?    Kit Clark:  I'm going to pass it over to Lou and see, see what she knows about Notify?   Vanessa Schneider:  Very gentlemanly.   Louise Harris:  I'm really glad that Kit kicked this over to me because I remember seeing one of our colleagues, Pete Herlihy's tweet, which said that it took them a full 4 years to send the first one billion messages, but it only took them 6 months to send the second billion, which is an absolutely incredible achievement for Notify, and has shown just the kind of pace that that team's been working at.    Vanessa Schneider:  Truly is an incredible number. But Notify has really had a big year. And Pete Herlihy actually shared some of Notify's story in our May episode of the podcast. Let's have a listen.    ---------- [clip begins] Laura Stevens: But to talk specifically about Notify, they, in the blog post it’s talking about this huge increase in numbers, like 2 million SMS messages were sent using Notify on a single day in March compared to the daily average of 150,000. I’ve also got a figure here of daily messages up as much as 600%, as high as 8.6 million a day.    So what services are using Notify to help with the government’s coronavirus response?   Pete Herlihy:  Yeah, there, so the, the increase in communication is obviously massive and needs to be. And one of the biggest users of Notify is the GOV.UK email service, and they, they do all of the email for people who subscribe to any content that the government publishes - so travel alerts for example, if you want to know can I take a flight to Namibia, here’s the guidance, or if there’s hurricanes coming through the Caribbean and these countries are affected, then I need to like push out information to say don’t go to these places, or whatever it might be.    And those alerts are, you know, again potentially protecting people, life and property - they’re like really important. And there’s been a huge amount of travel advice and alerts being given, as, as you can imagine. So that’s been one of the biggest users.    And then I think, from, from the health perspective there’s, I’ll just say NHS because there’s like various bits of the NHS that are working like ridiculously hard and fast to spin out new services really quickly, and these services are like just incredibly crucial right now.    So the extremely vulnerable service, this is one where the government said if you are you know, in this extreme risk category you should stay at home for 12 weeks, and they’ve been texting this group of people.   There’s all the stuff around testing and results for testing, ordering home test kits, all these sorts of things. So there’s the very specific COVID response type stuff and that is, there is a significant volume of that that’s still ongoing.   It all came very quickly as well. You know this wasn’t a gradual ramp up over weeks and weeks to 5,6,700%, it was, it was almost overnight. [clip ends] ----------   Vanessa Schneider:  Ok, I feel like this has been a bit too easy. So I thought about making the next 2 tricky and then I thought I was being too mean. So they are again connected questions, but they will be multiple choice this time. So again, if you buzz in for the first one, you get first dibs at the second question as well. So on 20 March, the GOV.UK Team shipped the Coronavirus landing page, which established a critical central source of guidance and information for people across the UK. But do you know how many days it took to go from concept to live?    Was it A, less than 5 days, B, less than 12 days or C, less than 15 days?   [horn noise]    Vanessa Schneider:  Lou.    Louise Harris:  I think it was less than five days.   Vanessa Schneider:  Alright. That is correct.    Louise Harris:  Wahoo.   Vanessa Schneider:  In fact it was only 4 and a half days. We had Markland Starkie and Leanne Cummings join us on the podcast in April to explain how we did this and what effect it had.   ---------- [clip begins] Markland Starkie:  The thing that the landing page I suppose was able to do over and above the standard solution was really to bring together, in a more consolidated fashion, wider signposts to existing and new content across government. It also allows us the flexibility to redesign or extend or iterate on that landing page at pace, which we’ve been able to do in the, in the week since. So that’s based on ongoing research into the landing page and insights to move certain content around, add certain content that was missing in the first instance, and remove content that’s not working, all of those things.   Laura Stevens: And was also, one of the reasons why it’s been able to be built quickly and iterated quickly, is we’re using other GDS tools that already exist, for example the GOV.UK Design System. Is that, was that, has been part of it as well?    Markland Starkie: Oh absolutely, yes. So without those things in place, like the Design System that you’ve mentioned, this would take weeks and weeks. So we’ve been able to take existing patterns, modify them where needed to. So being able to bring in elements whilst using existing patterns to really like kind of push it through at pace. [clip ends] ----------   Kit Clark:  I mean, I personally still find it incredible that things went from conception to actually delivering in such a short span of time. It’s incredible I personally think. And also when you're talking with such high stake products as well. You know, this is a time when the nation was looking for trusted sources of information about what they could do to keep themselves and their families safe. So it's just an incredible body of work to have done. And not only that, but also in true GDS style, they were keeping the user at the centre throughout the whole process. So I believe the Coronavirus landing page was the first landing page that we designed to be mobile first because we recognised that was where our users were going to be accessing that information. So in addition to delivering some incredible services and information at a pace we’ve probably never had to do before, we’re also continually iterating and innovating to give people the best possible experience on the site. I think there's so much to be proud of. And just really hats off to GOV.UK.    Vanessa Schneider:  So you've earned yourself the right to answer the next question first. GOV.UK receives thousands upon thousands of visits every day, but in a week in March, it experienced a peak of how many visits? Was it A, 2 million, was it B, 67 million or was it C, 132 million?   Louise Harris:  Ok, so it was back in March, so that is kind of peak COVID times. I think it's got to be 132 million. It must be.    Vanessa Schneider:  You are officially on a roll.    Louise Harris:  Wooo.   Vanessa Schneider:  Yes, the answer to the second question is 132 million. Although that is probably an underestimate as our analytics only count users who accept cookies that measure the website use. So the true figures are likely even higher, as Jen Allum explained in a blog post on the topic. So visit gds.blog.gov.uk to check that nugget out.    Onto our next question. GOV.UK Pay has also had a busy year and last month we celebrated some recent milestones with them on this podcast. What were they?    [horn noise]   Vanessa Schneider:  All right, Lou.   Louise Harris:  I think it's been a really exciting time for Pay over the last couple of months. And I know that we spoke to them on a recent podcast, so I think that the milestone you're looking for is that they've onboarded their 400th service.    Vanessa Schneider:  Well, I'm sorry, Lou, but that was only half the answer I was looking for.    Louise Harris:  Oh no.   Vanessa Schneider:  Kit, it's your chance. Do you want to score another half point maybe?    Kit Clark: I believe they processed half a billion pounds since their inception.    Vanessa Schneider:  Well done. That is spot on. And together, those two factoids make a pretty sweet nugget - that was so cheesy. But yeah, it's, it's incredible. And they only started in 2015. So that's an amazing number of services and sum of payments to process.    So my next question for you both is that we were also very busy on the GOV.UK Twitter account this year and saw a huge spike in users coming to us with queries and looking for support. That is something that I actually blogged about back in May. But can you tell me as a percentage how much our engagement increased on our posts? Was it 12,500%? Was it 150% or was it 700%? And for a bonus, can you tell me to the nearest 100,000 how many people are following the GOV.UK Twitter account right now?    [buzzer noise]   Kit Clark:  I want to go with the 12, 12 and a half.    Vanessa Schneider:  All right, Kit, I can confirm that you are right. Do you want to, do you want to try and punt for the bonus point? Do you reckon you've got that?   Kit Clark:  Yeah, I’ll go for it. I think the GOV.UK Twitter account has got around 1.2 million people following it.    Vanessa Schneider:  Oh, you are so close. I'm going to give you a half point. It's 1.8 million. And I have to say, it's been a real whirlwind of a year because of that. So we completely changed the way that we approach community management, responding to people. Lou I think you oversaw the project, what did you think?    Louise Harris:  Well, I think it certainly felt like we experienced a 12,000% increase in engagement, and I know that you, Vanessa, and so many of our colleagues over in Comms have been working really, really hard to make sure that we get back to the, frankly, thousands of people who come via the GOV.UK Twitter account every day looking for advice and signposting to guidance on the GOV.UK website. So it's been a phenomenal year. You've all done a phenomenal job and I think you've got lots to be proud of.   Vanessa Schneider: That's very kind of you to say. I wasn't really fishing for compliments, but I'll take them anyway.    You can actually find out a little bit about how we tackle that, as I mentioned in the blog post I wrote. But we've also put out our Social Media Playbook earlier this year. We've made an update and it just talks about the kind of things that we've been considering over the course of the year. It includes updates on accessibility, security and very important in this time of year, mental health.   Louise Harris:  I think that's a really important point, Vanessa, because so often in digital comms, people think about the technology, but not the people behind that technology who are using it day in, day out. So I was really pleased when we were able to include that section on wellbeing in our GDS Social Media Playbook. And it's just another example of that GDS mentality of build once, use many. So we created that as a resource to share how we do things and what we're learning and what's working for us. And we just hope that that's a useful tool that our colleagues across government can put into practise as well.   Vanessa Schneider:  All right. I think we've got some points to pick up on this next question. Earlier this year, we launched the Data Standards Authority with our friends and counterparts over at ONS, which is the Office for National Statistics and DCMS, which is the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. You’ll hear from our former Director General Alison Pritchard now who explains a little bit more about the DSA.    ---------- [clip begins] Alison Pritchard: Government holds considerable volumes of data in a myriad of places. But often this data is inconsistent, incomplete or just unusable. If the government is going to realise the benefits data can bring, we'll need to fix the foundations. And one way of doing this is by focussing on data standards.    GDS is leading a new authority, the Data Standards Authority (DSA), that focuses on making data shareable and accessible across government services. The metadata standards and guidance we published in August were our first deliverable. They cover what information should be recorded when sharing data across government - for example in spreadsheets - to assure it's standardised and easy to use. It's a step in quality assuring how government data is shared. Our focus on standards is one part of the bigger picture around better managing data to assure better policy outcomes and deliver more joined-up services to citizens.  [clip ends] ----------   Vanessa Schneider: So now, you know what the DSA is. Have your pens at the ready. I'm going to read out a series of letters that relate to the DSA that I would like you to unscramble.    Louise Harris:  Oooh, ok.    Vanessa Schneider:  Alright.    So it's T-E-M-A-T-A-A-D. Those are the letters, 8 of them.    Louise Harris:  I find these so difficult. I'm so rubbish at these.    [buzzer noise]    Kit Clark:  I think I've got the letters written down right in my dyslexia mind might not be playing in my favour here but is it Data Team?   Vanessa Schneider: Oh, I would love that. That is a great one. And it makes use of the right letters. It's not the answer I'm looking for unfortunately. It has to be about the Data Standards Authority.   Louise Harris:  Oh, ok. I don't think I would have got this had Kit not unscrambled half of it. But if it's not Data Team, is it metadata?    Vanessa Schneider:  We've got a winner here. That's right. I'm not going to repeat the letters. It definitely spells out, if you get them in the right order, metadata.   So Kit do you mind sharing with our listeners what metadata is?    Kit Clark:  I realised that I was going for speed over quality in that answer and Data Team is a bit of an overly simplistic answer. Metadata is correct me if I'm wrong, but actually data that provides insight into other data, it's a little bit inception.    Louise Harris:  Other Leo films are available.    Vanessa Schneider:  Spot on. Yep, that's right.    Last month, so that's November, we blogged about the Document Checking Service pilot that is running until next summer. And there's still a number of points up for grabs here.   So let's see who's been paying attention. What does the Document Checking Service let you do?   [buzzer noise]   Kit Clark:  So the Document Checking Service is a project to see whether organisations outside government can use real time passport checks to build useful digital services.    Vanessa Schneider: Oh, I will score that as right. So it is great that we've got this pilot underway, especially considering that a lot of people are working remotely right now, given that individuals can provide their details without needing to go any place in person to prove their identity.    All right. So now we're onto a topic that both of you've already broached. So I'm confident we're going to get some points to some people here. In May 2020, we celebrated Global Accessibility Awareness Day by running a series of webinars and talks to help prepare public sector organisations for a forthcoming accessibility regulations deadline. Can you tell me what deadline we were building up to?   [horn noise]    Vanessa Schneider:  All right, Lou, point, a potential point for you.   Louise Harris:  So the most recent deadline, and particularly the one that we were working to for Global Accessibility Awareness Day, or GAAD, would have been the 23rd September 2020, which was the date by which all existing public sector websites and intranets needed to be accessible.    Vanessa Schneider:   Yep, that’s right.   To hear more about that, we are going to go back in time cheekily to January where we had Chris and Rianna on the podcast telling us a little bit more about public sector duty to accessibility.    ---------- [clip begins] Laura Stevens: I guess part of this is also thinking like why is it particularly important that government is a leader in accessible services. Like what, why is that so important?   Chris Heathcote:  I mean as you said at the beginning, you know you don’t choose to use government, you have to use government. So you can’t go anywhere else. So it’s, it’s our obligation to make sure that, that everything is accessible to everyone. And it does have to be everyone, and especially those with disabilities, or needing to use assistive technology, tend to have to interact with government more. So we do have an obligation for that.   Rianna Fry:  And I think if you think about it, these are public services. They’re online public services so they need to be able to use, be used by the public not exclusive groups. And I think that’s what it's all about.  [clip ends] ----------   Vanessa Schneider:  So looking ahead, there is another accessibility regulations deadline coming up. When is it and what is it for? One point to award here.    [buzzer noise]   Kit Clark:  Is it the 23rd of June next year, so 2021?    Vanessa Schneider:  That's right. Yes. And what is the deadline for?    Kit Clark:  And I think it's all mobile apps to become compliant as well. So not just websites.   Vanessa Schneider:  That is right. If you are worried about those deadlines, we have some great resources. You can find them on accessibility.campaign.gov.uk. That's not just restricted to the public sector. Accessibility is important to everyone. So please visit. We've got everything you need there.    All right. So we are slowly but surely coming towards the last few questions. GOV.UK is built on the principle that you shouldn't need to know how the government works to use government services. Very prescient. But the way people interact online has changed a lot over the 8 years since GOV.UK launched. Services like shopping, banking or entertainment are increasingly personalised, and that is something that GDS wants to explore for citizens too.   In September, we were excited to share our future strategy for GOV.UK Accounts. We think this is important and exciting work that will make it simpler for citizens to interact with government to do the things they need to do. But can either of you tell me how many times will the average individual in the UK visit GOV.UK in a year? Just guess away please, folks, guess away.    [buzzer noise]   Kit Clark:  Is it 400?    Vanessa Schneider:  I like the optimism, but also in a weird way, that's pessimistic, isn't it? I'd say it's a, it's a 2- digit number.   Kit Clark:  I doubted myself halfway through that.    Vanessa Schneider:  No worries. No worries. Try again. Like cut a zero.   Kit Clark:  Is it around 40 times a year?   Louise Harris:  I think this is a really difficult question because on the one hand, GOV.UK is such an important part of our national infrastructure. I mean, you can do so many things on GOV.UK, you know, you want to renew your car tax, you do it there. You want to check when the next bank holiday is, you do it there. But on the other hand, it's so easy to use that it's almost you're in, you're out. You got what you need. So often, like, I'm trying to think how often I maybe visit it. It's got to be at least like 4 or 5 times a month. So yeah, I think I would maybe land some where where Kit is.    Vanessa Schneider: That's a really good point, Lou. I think you've just overestimated it a little bit. We’ve done rough calculations and it looks like it’s more like 2 interactions with GOV.UK a month. So according to our rough calculations - it's something like 22 times a year. If you head over to the GDS blog you can see how we reached those numbers.   But yeah, it's really hard because obviously there's no competitor to government to provide the services that people need. It's not like you can register your car somewhere else. So we, we have to just try and make this kind of interface, the service, as easy as it can be. So it is painless, you know, that people aren't frustrated with that experience.    And we've come to our final questions of the quiz and we're ending by testing your knowledge of some common words and phrases you’ll hear used in digital government. So a lot of people refer to us as GDS, which stands for the Government Digital Service. But how well do you know other acronyms that we've been throwing around all year long?    Louise Harris:  Oh, I think Kit is going to have the edge on me here because he does so much cross-government engagement. I think this is where I'm going to really fall down.    Kit Clark:  Fingers crossed.   Vanessa Schneider:  All right. So fingers on buzzers.   What is DDaT?    [horn noise]   Louise Harris:  I'm going to get in there with this and an easy, early one. So DDaT is Digital, Data and Technology. And I know that because during my round of welcome coffees on day one, that was the acronym that kept coming up. And people said, if you just get one acronym under your belt today, make it DDaT, because it's so important to the work that GDS does as the Head of the DDaT Profession.   Vanessa Schneider: That is correct.   All right. Our next term that we're looking for is Retros.   Kit Clark:  Does it stand for retrospective?    Vanessa Schneider:  It's as simple as that. Indeed. So what happens at a retrospective, if you don't mind sharing?    Kit Clark: So a retro is I think it kind of does what it says on the tin really, where the group that's been working on a project will come together and essentially evaluate the good, the bad and the ugly of the work that's just being done to see what could be applied in the future, both in terms of positives as well, and things that could be improved in future, future pieces of work.    Vanessa Schneider:  Nice. An iterative process.    So obviously there's been a lot of change this year, but I think most of it has maybe been unanticipated. However, what we had been planning for this year is recruiting two leadership positions and I know everyone at GDS is excited about welcoming them in due course. One of them is for CEO of GDS and the other is GCDO. No pressure, given that they'll be your bosses and you don't know, they might even be listening.    But can you tell me for one more point what GCDO stands for?    [buzzer noise]   Kit Clark:  GCDO stands for the Government Chief Digital Officer.    Vanessa Schneider:  That is correct. Sorry Lou.    Louise Harris:  Missed out, too slow.   Vanessa Schneider: The quiz has come to an end. So let me quickly tot up the scores.   I hope everyone listening did well and I hope we don't have to go to a tiebreaker.    Louise Harris: Oh, do you have a tiebreaker?    Vanessa Schneider:  Well, fact is, I won't need a tiebreaker because the winner is Kit. Well done. Congratulations to Kit and commiserations to Lou. You almost had it.   Louise Harris: Kit, a worthy opponent. Very well played.   Vanessa Schneider: So, Kit, finish us off. Why don't you share with us what your highlight of this year has been? Might be tough. It's been a crazy year, but I'm sure you've got something.   Kit Clark: Yeah, it's been a bit of a funny one starting a role completely remotely. I think the the people that I work with have been a definite highlight, but also with this being my first role within the Civil Service and within the public sector, just the kind of confidence of standing on my own two feet and being more confident in the work that I'm doing and getting more responsibility with each passing month is, is a really good feeling.    Vanessa Schneider:  That is such a lovely thing to say. I'll make sure to pass that on to your colleagues, because, yeah, I really enjoyed that. How about yourself Lou?    Louise Harris:  Well, I think similar to Kit it's all about the people, so I'm lucky enough to lead the team that's responsible for recording the podcast that you're listening to. And what you folks don't get to see or rather hear is just how much work goes into this each and every month. And of course, earlier this year, the team had to pivot, as so many of us did, to do things differently because recording in the way that we once did would not be safe or within the guidance. So I wanted to say a big shout out to Emily and to Vanessa. So Emily is our Producer, you never hear her here, but she's a big part of the podcast. And also to Laura Stevens, who's one of our old hosts and is now in another part of GDS. And to everybody else that's been involved, because it really is a huge challenge to do this. And I think they do a phenomenal job. So we hope you enjoyed listening and we hope to see you again in the New Year.   Vanessa Schneider:  I don't want to sound like I'm gloating, but actually it's been a really good year for me. I've had a lot of great opportunities come up this year, maybe because of what's changed, you know, and working remotely. But I don't think it's a bad idea to not acknowledge it. I got to write for the blog for the first time at GDS. I presented to the entire organisation, which was simultaneously nerve wracking and thrilling. And I've been able to share my expertise among members of the devolved nations thanks to our National, International and Research Team. So there's a lot to reflect on really positively. I think all of that could not have been done without having a really good team backing me. So I think that's probably my highlight.    Louise Harris:  Oh, my God. So cute.   Vanessa Schneider: Thank you so much to our guests Lou Harris and Kit Clark for coming on today. We wish all of our listeners a happy New Year and look forward to sharing new episodes with you in 2021. You can listen to all of the episodes of the Government Digital Service podcast on Apple Music, Spotify and all other major podcast platforms. And the transcripts are available on Podbean. Goodbye.   Louise Harris:  Bye folks.    Kit Clark:  Bye.

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Sarah Richards and Gerry Scullion speak about the role of Content Design within Services and speak about the cross over between the disciplines of content design and service design - ahead of their upcoming course.  As a valuable listener, we wanted to give you a 15% discount - available until 10th September. Just email mail@thisisdoing.com to request the discount! https://www.thisisdoing.com/product/content-design-within-services/?sn https://www.twitter.com/thisisdoing https://www.instagram.com/thisisdoing Become a Premium Member: https://thisishcdnetwork.supercast.tech See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information.

Sarah Richards and Gerry Scullion speak about the role of Content Design within Services and speak about the cross over between the disciplines of content design and service design - ahead of their upcoming course. As a valuable listener, we wanted to give you a 15% discount - available until 10th September. Just email mail@thisisdoing.com to request the discount! https://www.thisisdoing.com/product/content-design-within-services Train with Sarah https://www.twitter.com/thisisdoing https://www.instagram.com/thisisdoing See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Laura Stevens: Hello and welcome to the Government Digital Service Podcast. My name is Laura Stevens and I'm a Creative Content Producer here at GDS. And for this month's episode, we're talking about Content Design. We're going to find out what it is, how it helps government and where you can learn more. And to tell me the answer to these questions are Amanda Diamond and Ben Hazell. So welcome both to the GDS Podcast. Please could you introduce yourselves and your job roles here at GDS. Amanda first.    Amanda Diamond: Yeah, hi, Laura. I'm Amanda Diamond and I'm Head of GDS Content Design and Head of the Cross-government Content Community. I joined GDS in 2016, so August 2016, in fact. So it is 4 years exactly that I've been at GDS. Last year I went on loan to Acas as their Head of Content to help with their digital transformation. And prior to that I have worked in journalism. So I started out as a journalist. Prior to GDS, I worked at Which?, the consumer association, as their Deputy Editor for Which? magazine, Deputy Editor for their travel magazin, and I helped launch and run their consumer rights website as their Consumer Rights Editor.     Ben Hazell: Hello, I'm Ben Hazell. I'm a Content Product Lead here at GDS on the GOV.UK programme. I currently work on a team dealing with Coronavirus Public Information Campaign. In the recent past, 5 months ago, I was working on the EU Exit Public Information Campaign. And prior to that, I've been working on the means of publishing and production for content on GOV.UK, looking at workflows and providing the tools and data that help people manage the content on GOV.UK. Prior to that, like Amanda, I was actually in journalism. I worked on a big newspaper website for about 9 years.   Laura Stevens:  So thank you both for introducing yourselves. And I want to start with the first of my questions which is, what is content design?     Amanda Diamond:  I don't mind starting, and that is a great question, Laura, and one that I love to answer. So basically and I'll tell you for why, people often confuse content design with different things, mainly comms. They also think that content design is just about the words. And of course, words are really important and content design is you know concerned with words. But it's not the only thing when you're talking about content design.    So content design could be a map, it could be text on a button or a sign. It also includes things like charts or graphs. Content design is about packaging up the right information in a way that makes it easy for people to understand at the point that they most need it.    So for me, I often tell people that content design is at its core: problem solving. And what do I mean about that? Well, I mean that it's about asking the right questions to get to the best solution for your audience. So the best solution for your users. So asking questions like, well, what do our users need to know? What do they need to do? And what evidence? - it's all about the evidence - what evidence do we have to support what we think our users need to know or need to do? Because there’s a big difference between what we think our users need, and what they actually need. And that can often confuse things. And we also ask things like, how can we make the overall experience better for our users? So before Content Designers even put like a single word to a page, what they need to do is like dedicate a lot of time, a lot of effort to understanding the problem in the first place so that we can give people what they need.    Ben Hazell:  Yeah, and I definitely, I agree with all of that. There's no doubt that there's a fair chunk of writing in what we do. But it's also about use of evidence, about research and about iteration, about constant improvement. And I think a lot of it comes back to being humble about understanding that it's not about what we want to say, it's about finding out what people actually need from us.   We're trying to make things simple. In my teams, we often talk about making information easy to find and making sure information is easy to understand. And making things simple - that's not dumbing down. That's actually opening up and being able to process complexity and distill it down to what other people actually need to know and can act upon. That is both important and rewarding. And it's often the kind of fun puzzle and it can be as much about what you're getting rid of and pruning down to find the shape. So perhaps I could compare it to sculpting. You know, the thing exists in the centre of the marble and you just keep chipping away to get to the beautiful thing that people need.   Laura Stevens:  I did enjoy the sculpture one as well because Amanda you're coming to us from an artist's studio as well. So clearly there's something in this recording.   Amanda Diamond:  And interestingly, my other half, he -it's not my studio, my artist studio, I’ll hasten to add, if only! It’s my partner’s and he is a sculptor by trade. So yeah, full circle.    Laura Stevens: So now we know what is. Let's go back in time a bit. So GDS is actually the home of content design in the government too as the term and the discipline originated here under GDS’s first Head of Content Design, Sarah Richards. And why do you think it came out of the early days of GDS?   Amanda Diamond:  So really good question. And I think it is really useful for us to pause and reflect and look back sometimes upon this, because it's not, you know, content design, as you said, it came from, as a discipline it came from GDS.   So really, it only started to emerge around 2010, so 2010, 2014. So in the grand scheme of things, as a discipline, it is very young. And so it's still evolving and it's still growing. And so back in the early 2000s, before we had GOV.UK, we had DirectGov. And alongside that, we had like hundreds of other government websites. So it was, it was a mess really because users had to really understand and know what government department governed the thing that they were looking for.    So what GOV.UK did was we brought websites together into a single domain that we now know of as GOV.UK. And that was a massive undertaking. And the reason for doing that was was simple. It was, it was to make things easier for users to access and understand, make things clearer and crucially to remove the burden on people to have to navigate and understand all of the structures of government.    So back in the early days, GOV.UK, GDS picked I think it was around, I think it was the top 25 services in what was known as the Exemplar Programme. I think things like that included things that Register to Vote, Lasting Power of Attorney, Carer's Allowance. And so I think through that process, we, we, we discovered that it actually wasn't really about website redesign, it was more about service design.    And that's where content design and service design, interaction design and user research kind of came together under this banner of user centred design because you can't have good services without content design essentially. All services contain words or images or artefacts, content artefacts, workflows, journeys, and so you need a content designer to help build these. So I think that's kind of where it, where it sort of emerged from.    But really, fundamentally, with a relentless focus on putting the user at the heart, heart of everything, rather than always relying on what government wants to tell people and what government wants to, to push out to folks. It was a sort of like a reversal of that and a relentless focus on what folks needed of government and what folks needed to, to understand and learn to do the things they need to do as a citizen.     Ben Hazell:  I felt what I could add to that is perhaps my journey into content design and how I came to understand what GDS was doing, because in the late 2000s, kind of 2008, 2009, a lot of my work in newspapers was around search optimisation. And that was quite a big change for that industry, because instead of everything being based upon some kind of monthly reports of sales figures and editors who had a kind of supernatural knowledge of their reader base, suddenly you actually were presented with almost real time data about what people were looking for and interested in.    And sure, there were all the criticisms about tons of stories about Britney Spears all of a sudden, but what it actually came back to was you could see what people wanted to find out from us and we could start to model our online content around what people's expectations were. And it opened up a really interesting era of kind of experimenting with formats, experimenting with the ways in which news content was produced.    And from there, I started to kind of get quite interested in what I could see GDS was doing and they were winning awards at that time for user centred design because it was taking that evidence base about what people actually need for a variety of digital mechanisms and applying it to create not just pieces of content, but structures of content that better serve people. And of course, it was wonderful to move from the media over to somewhere like GOV.UK, which is not beholden to advertising.   So it was that combination of the availability of digital data and being able to more effectively get to what government wanted to happen, because this is also all about not just about making things simpler for users, but making things simpler for users has great benefits for government. If you make things easy for people to do, you reduce any burden on support services, you increase the level of compliance, they're happier. It's more cost effective for government.    Amanda Diamond:  I don't have exact figures, but I, I do know that savings in the millions have been made because of, as Ben rightly describes, our reduce on support services, calls to contact centres and enabling people to do the things they need to do more easily and to self-serve. And so, I mean, that's a huge, that's a huge benefit not just to government, but to the taxpayer, to the public purse.    Laura Stevens:  And I think one example of content design that has also got a bit of attention recently was the Sara Wilcox NHS blog on the language of health and why they need to be searched and found using pee and poo, people understood that and that is a huge benefit that people will search that and that will help their health. So I think as well as saving time or money, it's also directly making sure people get the information they need when they need it at those urgent points.    Amanda Diamond:  Exactly. If you think about the history of language and the history, sort of professional or sort of authoritative language - it’s, it's lofty and it is full of jargon and it is full of often if you think of legal, the legal profession is full of Latin terms and even science as well it’s full of, you know, the medical profession is full of Latin phrases.    Now, that doesn't do anybody any justice because it is just putting up barriers for people to be able to understand and act on. And so what we do as content designers is we and, and that blog that you talked about, Laura, is about reducing those barriers and really sort of democratising language - like language is for everyone. And we shouldn't be, we shouldn't be sort of putting those barriers in place. We should be trying to break them down.    Ben Hazell:  Yes. And I'd say we have to also we do think about the audience for any given piece of content. So it's not that there's a general fight against technical language. Sometimes something has a precise term and a precise name, and that is the efficient way of communicating it that's right for the audience in question.    But on the other hand, what we also know and we have evidence to show this, is that there's this assumption that as people pick up more professional skill, they like more and more verbose language, which seems exclusive. Whereas actually the opposite is true. People in high skilled professions, highly qualified professions, often want things to be simple because they don't want to have to spend their time unpicking complex documents. They need to get on with their job. So, yes, we use technical language where it's appropriate to do so. But we're also always looking to make things simple whilst also keeping them precise.    Laura Stevens:  Picking up on what you’re both just saying, and I just want to talk about the link between content design and accessibility. We should always think about accessibility with everything GDS does because people don’t have a choice when they interact with government, they have to use our services. They can't shop around. So would you would you talk about how the language being used helps with making sure that we don't create any barriers unnecessarily to services?   Amanda Diamond:  Yeah, absolutely, Laura. I mean, like accessibility is, I think really is at the heart of content design as a discipline. If you make things clear and simple, that means writing things clearly and simply in plain language and in language that users use themselves.    Also, I think people, people make a mistake and often kind of confuse what we mean by accessibility. Accessibility is not something that is just for a certain group or subset of people. Accessibility is about catering to everyone and all of the time. So there is a difference between, you know, there might be people who have permanent accessibility needs, there might be people who have some temporary accessibility needs and there might be people who have situational accessibility needs.   And the great example that I can point to is, you know, somebody who has got - who’s had an arm amputated. That is one that that is a permanent, that is a person with a permanent need, accessibility need. Somebody that might have sprained their wrist or broken their wrist. And so their need is temporary, but they still need, they might still need to access and access our services. And then there's a sort of a situational need as well. So, you know, if you're a parent and you have to hold a child, well, you have to do something quickly, then you are impaired because you are holding a child and that’s situational, that's not going to last, but you still may need to you know, do something in that time.    And the same thing goes, I think, for sort of cognitive access needs as well. If we are, you know, if, if we are writing in language that is convoluted and verbose and lofty, we are unintentionally creating barriers to people who might have cognitive challenges or who might have dyslexia or people who who are just reading at speed and need to do something really, really quickly and access and sort of comprehend something really, really quickly.    So, yeah, I think like accessibility for me, beyond the legal requirements that we have, we know that there are new accessibility requirements coming into force on the 23 September this year. It's beyond for me, beyond a legal duty and it's also a moral duty as well. And I think that should be at the heart of everything that we're that we're doing as government.    As you said, Laura, people don't have a choice other than to interact with government. People are not looking at the GOV.UK website and hanging out in their lunch break and just browsing and having a good old read. People are coming to our site because they need to do something because government has mandated that it's a legal requirement to do a thing or to get, you know, get document to do a thing or whatever it might be. And so it really is our duty then if we're making people do these things that we have to make the information in the ways in which they need to do these things as simple and as clear as possible.    Ben Hazell:  I would agree with all of that, I’m reminded of that phrase, ‘this is for everyone’. I specifically work for GOV.UK, which is always worth mentioning is just one highly visible part of what GDS does. But GOV.UK as a platform is designed to be very, very adaptable. So all the information that is published should be in a clean HTML form, which can then be picked up and experienced in different ways. Now, some of that is going to be about assistive technologies, but actually it also speaks to the need for people to come by information from GOV.UK in a variety of different ways now.   So by having properly structured clean text, we can work with voice interfaces. We can make sure that Amazon, Alexa or Google Home can interpret our information. We make sure that a Google search results page can quickly deliver a quick answer to a person. We make sure that content can be syndicated out through API so it can be republished by other organisations who might have closer contact with people who need it. So we can syndicate things very efficiently in a structured way over to organisations like Shelter or Citizens Advice if they were able to make use of it. There's a lot to be said for the platform itself being quite an open platform which can easily be adapted upon.   One interesting thing about coronavirus content has been the accelerated shift in the mobile audience, as you might imagine, with everybody staying at home, they're not actually accessing the internet quite as much on work computers. And we saw at the peak up to 90% of all traffic to coronavirus information was coming from smartphones. Now, we've long on GOV.UK practiced mobile-first design, but something like that really draws attention to needing to communicate clearly and put things in a logical order for people viewing it in a single narrow screen. So when we talk about accessibility, another thing to think about is just the sheer movement to a mobile audience. And what that actually means for how we produce things. We simply can't get away with big charts or diagrams that are only designed to be read on a work computer screen. People are using their mobiles at home and that's what we need to design for.    Laura Stevens: And sort of I thinking about, Ben, what you're saying about your SEO, your search engine optimisation experience earlier, also content design surely helps like how, where to find all this information on GOV.UK.    Ben Hazell: We're in a time with coronavirus and the EU Exit when lots of things are changing quite rapidly. I think some of the most exciting things we've been playing with on GOV.UK is around adaptive content, about the fact that there are many variables. So the guidance for any one person needs to follow could vary quite a lot based on their individual circumstances. And we've been doing more and more with experimenting with content, which actually asks the user some questions so that we can understand exactly what their needs are and then modifies and adapts the guidance to give them just the elements which are relevant to them.    So one of the most interesting examples of that has been the Get Ready for Brexit campaign or which we refer to as the EU Exit Checker. The Brexit Checker is about, is about asking people to help us understand exactly what they need and only showing them the information which is relevant to their circumstances. So it makes - it drills the information down to just what they can act upon without needing them to wade through lots of supporting material. And it also can join up quite effectively lots of related documents that relate to the task they have in mind. So they're not having to look up one list over here to see if they are included in the category and another list over there. That's a challenge across government. And I think adaptive content is a really exciting opportunity. And we've been trying lots of things and we've been making mistakes and we've been learning a lot of things.    Laura Stevens: Well, that's led me nicely on because I was going to ask actually what are some of the challenges you've both faced in your career as content designers. Is, is it something to do with the, perhaps it's an emerging discipline, so you're working with people who are unfamiliar with what you do or what you're trying to do? Or is it something broader than that? Or yeah, what challenges have you come across when working in content design?    Ben Hazell: An interesting challenge I'm aware of at the moment is recruitment. Is how do we expand the pool of people we're bringing in as content designers? Because I did a lot of work, that was probably content design adjacent in various roles, often job titles I got to make up because professions didn't exist. And it was very late in my career in newspapers that I’ve ever heard of the term content design. And I think we can do a better job. And we're definitely doing a lot at the moment with running events. But we're trying to widen access to content design to help people who have things to offer, map what they already can do and their skills to the sorts of things we're looking for.    There's quite a wide variety of skills which can blur into it, and we have colleagues with a wide variety of backgrounds, because these are overlapping skill sets, they are thinking about an audience or user need and how things can be communicated and how you can better understand people. So that's a really interesting challenge for me. How do we widen the pool from which we are drawing people in to both increase our diversity and also make sure we're getting the most skilled people we can get because it's really important work and we need we need people who are going to really thrive on it.    Amanda Diamond: Yeah, that's a really great point Ben. And as Ben said, we are we're doing quite a lot at the moment in this in this area, both, as Ben said, to bring in diverse voices, but also to bring in people from underrepresented groups into the profession.   There are lots of different routes into content design and the skillset is varied. And so I think, again, in the way that I think it's incumbent upon us to educate, you know, within government about the value of content design, I think we also need to think beyond government and talk to sort of a wider pool of people, wider audiences, about what content design is and how, you know, what transferable skills, skills are useful.    To that end, we've been running with our UCD, user centred design colleagues, careers events and we're actually going to run a content design careers event so dedicated for content design.   And it's also probably worth saying as well that the actual profession, the discipline as itself, is changing. As Ben mentioned, this idea of structured content, of serving up content to people that is configured to their specific circumstances - there’s quite a big technical element to that as well. And so I think content designers of the future, I would certainly encourage them to to be more technically minded and also to look across different disciplines.   So, yeah, it's an exciting profession. And it's exciting time, I think, to be in content design. But it's changing as the world is around us. And so I think we need to be adapting to that and looking ahead to what the profession needs so that we can be equipped as government to continue providing, you know, excellent digital services to our citizens.   Laura Stevens: And talking about new ways in which you're reaching out to people to speak about content design. I also wanted to talk about The introduction to content design course. And I've got it a clip now from our colleague, Agnieszka so I'll just play this.   Agnieszka Murdoch: So my name is Agnieszka Murdoch and I'm a Content Learning Designer at Government Digital Service and I'm part of the content community team.   Laura Stevens: And what are some of the things you've been working on during your time over the past 8 months or so you've been in the Content Community Team?   Agnieszka Murdoch: Yes, I started in January this year and basically I sort of jumped straight into working on the introduction to content design course scheduled to go live in May.    Laura Stevens: And so what is the course?   Agnieszka Murdoch: Yes, Introduction to content design is basically a course hosted on FutureLearn, which is a social learning platform with approximately 12 million registered users. The introduction to content design open course that we launched in May actually had just over 11,000 learners register, which was fantastic.    And it's basically an introductory course for anyone who's interested in user centred content design. We teach people about things like how to think about your users, how to do user research a little bit, how to design and kind of clearly structured easy to read accessible content, how to write in plain English. We also cover topics like evaluating the success of your content and managing the content lifecycle. So a wide range of topics. And it's basically a self-paced course, it’s divided into 4 weeks and learners can kind of do it in their own time.   Laura Stevens: And you mentioned there that 11,000 people did the course when it was launched in May. So who were these people? Who can do the course?   Agnieszka Murdoch: The original pilot of the course was just for those working in government, whereas the open course that we launched in May and that we're now launching the second run of is open to anyone who's interested in content design.     So this will be obviously colleagues from different government departments. There will be people working in local government as well. Other public sector organisations as well as the private sector. And we had people from lots of different places in the UK, all different nations, lots of different countries around the world.    The pilot of the course was intended just for content designers, but this open course actually attracted more people than just content designers and people who have ‘content designer’ in their job title. So it's obviously for those starting out in the role. But it's also for those working in related disciplines.   What was also interesting was that was the range of experience among the learners on the course. So even though the course is called an Introduction to content design, we had people who were completely new to the field, but also people who are very experienced. And what we found was that it was sort of equally beneficial for those different groups, regardless of the level of experience they had.    So like I said at the start, FutureLearn is a social learning platform, which means you're not just following the content of the course, but you're also expected to get involved in conversations, to complete tasks, to answer questions and to interact with other learners. And that's part of the learning.   Laura Stevens: And I also saw on FutureLearn you received a 4.5* review from the learners. And so can you talk a bit more through about people's response to the course? Was there anything particularly that went well or anything that needed improvement? And perhaps has that changed as the course has gone from pilot to first opening and now to the second one?   Agnieszka Murdoch: Yes. So we got, we got quite a lot of feedback actually from that first open run, which we did in May. And the second iteration of that we’re working on at the moment is going to be addressing some of those feedback points. So what people really enjoyed were the interactions with other learners, so being able to kind of share experiences, but also read about other people's context. Yeah, the social interactions between learners was something that we got a lot of positive feedback on.    Also, the fact that we conveyed the content through stories rather than just telling people the rules or sharing the theory of content design. I think that was a very important aspect of why people, why learners potentially benefited from the course. Also, the variety of content so FutureLearn is a platform that allows you to add different types of content to it, such as video, audio, articles, polls, quizzes. So I think the variety of content really was a great thing because sometimes it can be quite tedious if you're just going through a self-paced course that just has video or just has articles.   And in terms of improvements, we had some feedback on actually accessibility. There was one task that we included that wasn't accessible because it involved highlighting things in green and red. And if you know anything about the basics of accessibility, you will know that that's not very helpful for people with kind of accessibility, certain types of accessibility needs. So that was, that was a mistake that we're correcting.    Laura Stevens: I also wanted to talk about it being an online learning course, which has always been the case since it’s development back in 2019. Of course given the developments of 2020 with coronavirus and a move of lots of things to remote working or remote learning, but why were you thinking about online back in 2019?   Agnieszka Murdoch: So the main reason, so that kind of if we go back to the pilot, the reason why the pilot was designed was to address some of the kind of practical challenges with running face-to-face training.    So things like obviously the cost. The fact that the trainers would have to go, travel around the country and go to each face-to-face session, kind of separately, train the people there. It costs a lot to travel. It costs, it takes up a lot of time. But also, I think another challenge of face-to-face learning is that you only have access to those people who are in the room at the time the training is happening. Which means that you're not really able to share ideas or generate new ideas as effectively as as you are if you're doing things online and opening it up to thousands of people. The practical kind of challenges and the challenge of sharing were the 2 main reasons.   So just to give you some numbers, like I said, we had about 11,500 people enrolled and we were actually only expecting 2,400 because that was the mean number of sign ups in that specific course category on FutureLearn. We had 18,500 comments. So as you can see, this is quite an overwhelming number for a moderator or somebody who's even reading those comments as a participant. But it shows the kind of how active the discussions were and how active the learners were and how much knowledge was shared.    Sixty-seven per cent of those learners were active learners, which means they completed a step and 26% were social learners, which means they commented at least once. So, again, you know, if you're running face-to-face training, you can't expect every single person to contribute. There isn't enough time for that. And also, the different kind of learning styles that people have don't always allow for that.    Laura Stevens: So yeah, I want to talk about this - the September opening of the course, which starts on the 21 September. And so if I'm hearing you speak about it, and I’m really excited to hear more. How do I sign up?    Agnieszka Murdoch: Yeah so if you want to join the course, you can keep an eye on the GDS Blog. We will be blogging about how we built the course and how we sort of iterated it. And there will be a link there to sign up. But if you're too impatient and you don’t want to wait for the blog posts, then you can go on FutureLearn and you can search for it there, it's called Introduction to content design.   The course is perfect for anyone who is starting out in content design or who is thinking about moving into content design or anyone who kind of already works with content and feels that their work could benefit from learning more about content design.    Ben Hazell: Yeah, so the thing that put me in mind of was the content design is a set of job titles and a role within the government digital jobs framework. So there's a nice clear job track that you can join. But it is also a set of practises. It's a set of methodologies and a mindset so I think it's a really valuable skill set even if you don't intend to become a titled ‘content designer’. I think you can apply it in lots of ways and this is a great opportunity to dip your toe into those waters.    Amanda Diamond: And for me, I am just astonished at the number of people who signed up and who are interested and also the number of folks who completed the course as well. And just the level of social interaction that Agnieszka spoke about there. I mean, that is fantastic.    And I think for me as well, it's just about the reach. You know, an online course like this that can scale to this extent would, is, is, is, is the only way we can reach all of those people from different backgrounds, different, you know, different skill sets. And we would never be able to reach that number of people and that volume of people around the world as well if we were just doing face-to-face training.    Ben Hazell: And most importantly, it can be taken at the user’s own pace and in their own time - they can go back over things, they can expand in particular areas of interest. And I think when you have engaged and willing learners, that becomes a very effective opportunity. And I used to do a lot of in-person training for GDS on content design, but obviously with a reach of more like 12 people a day rather than 10,000. It was always hard with a classroom full of people to meet each of their individual needs and to find a pace that wasn't leaving people behind. And it was also not kind of losing the engagement of the people who were running ahead. And that's where this adaptive content in these online courses can really excel. And I think are really interesting examples of that sort of personalisation of content to people's minute by minute needs and requirements.    Laura Stevens: Yes, for sure. And as Agnieszka said, there will be a link to the course on the GDS Blog if you’re interested. And so that's all for today, so thank you both so much for joining me, and to Agnieszka too.    And you can listen to all the episodes of the Government Digital Service Podcast on Apple Music, Spotify and all other major podcast platforms. And the transcripts are available on Podbean.    So yeah, thank you both again.    Ben Hazell: Thank you.   Amanda Diamond: Thanks Laura, thanks for having me having us.

In Episode 7, we find out about how to set a freediving World Record by accident, deep connections forged on the reef before heading off to boarding school and how to make the most of your liveaboard diving trip.We have an interview with Tanya Streeter - a mother, world champion freediver, TV personality, and environmentalist - not necessarily in that order. She talks to us about some of her pioneering freediving world records including setting one by accident, and how she developed her deep connection to the ocean living as a child in the Cayman Islands before moving to boarding school in the UK. Then we hear from Sarah Richard, founder of Girls That Scuba and co-host here on the DeeperBlue Podcast who gives us 3 tips on how to make the most of being on a liveaboard.And then finally we hear from Rob Mackins on his Best Dive Ever.Don't forget to give us ★★★★★, leave a review, and tell your friends about us - every share and like really makes a difference.

Fix Your Eyes - Sarah Richards by COM Church

In this episode, we talk with Sarah Richards of Content Design London, the founder of what has become an entire movement in the world of content: content design.Like all good movements, and in line with the movement's own philosophy, it is synthesis and clarification of what came before. Content design has aspects you might consider content strategy, UX research, and customer journey mapping, all under a unified umbrella discipline. It is a research-driven approach to passing content requirements, planning, content strategy and copywriting through a design thinking and service design lens. It’s based on a research and human-centric approach which puts user needs at the center of all content decisions. Rather than considering producing a deliverable or format in a channel as a goal – for example, creating a webpage or video – the goal is satisfying the requirements laid out in a user story. In our conversation, we discuss how content design came to be and how Sarah both needed it and used it to reset the conversation with the entire organisation of UK government about what a content professional is and does, and how the inter-team dynamics need to work to make sure that content is meeting the user's real goals.Finally, we discuss the many resources that Sarah publishes where you can learn more. Oh, and Noz gets his first job-title change in over a decade!

This week we are joined by very special guest Sarah Richards, CEO of The Planning Inspectorate.

by Sarah Richards

If you came along to the London Midweek Jingle in December, you'll remember that Sarah Richards's goal for 2020 was to move to Jordan and encourage more Arabic women to dive. As the Founder of the world's largest female dive community that is Girls That Scuba along with the plastic-free shop that is A Waste Free World, Sarah and her boyfriend packed up their belongings, moved out of their home and made the move in early March; a decision which she hoped would allow her to finally launch her mission whilst continuing to manage her two businesses and team remotely.A week into her new life out there however, Jordan went into what has been quoted as "the most extreme lockdown in the world"...With travel put on pause worldwide and a business that relies heavily on sponsorship and affiliate sales from travel bookings within her community, Girls That Scuba's revenue fell by 80% and overnight, Sarah's plans for the next few months went into disarray.This is the extraordinary journey that Sarah's been on since then and her timely advice for all of us as we continue to adapt to this somewhat surreal chapter...The good old social handles should you fancy a further peek!She can. She did. @shecanshedidSarah Richards @coffeethentravelGirls That Scuba @girlsthatscubaA Waste Free World @awastefreeworld See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Sarah Richards is a nurse studying to be a specialist in geriatrics, working at the Skåne University Hospital in Malmö. She discusses the challenges faced by hospitals and their elderly patients as we prepare for COVID 19 in Sweden. She also shares a...

Promises - Sarah Richards by COM Church

No matter how great your software is, poor copy can still ruin the entire user experience. How do we choose the right words then? Our guest today is Yael Ben-David, a UX writer and thought leader. We talk how UX writing process works in real life, how to develop (and capture) voice and tone for your product, and how to improve your microcopy using simple proven methods.Podcast feed: subscribe to https://feeds.simplecast.com/4MvgQ73R in your favorite podcast app, and follow us on iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play Music.Show NotesYael's blog on MediumEpisode 134: UX Writing with Yuval KeshtcherTranscript of the interview I never had — Yael's article that inspired this episodeJohn Saito — a famous UX writer at DropboxMailchimp Content Style GuideMicrocopy: The Complete Guide — a book by Kinneret YifrahOne voice, many hands — an article by Slack teamContent Design — a book by Sarah Richards (she coined the term)The Man Who Lied to His Laptop — a book by Clifford Nass and Corina YenDon't Make Me Think — a timeless book by Steve KrugLetting Go of the Words — a book by Ginny RedishConversational Design — a book by Erica HallFollow Yael on Twitter: @YaelBenDavidToday's SponsorThis episode is brought to you by Lightmatter. Lightmatter helps some of the world’s fastest growing companies design and develop their software applications. Whether you don’t yet need an in-house engineering team, or you’re busy growing the next unicorn and can’t hire fast enough, there’s an immense value in working with a group of experts like Lightmatter. Check them out at lightmatter.com/uibreakfast to learn more.Interested in sponsoring an episode? Learn more here.Leave a ReviewReviews are hugely important because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes. Here's how.

Show Notes Moe Factz with Adam Curry for November 18th 2019, Episode number 15 N.B.A. Shownotes 'We're Self-Interested': The Growing Identity Debate in Black America - The New York Times Mon, 18 Nov 2019 12:50 In Hollywood, Harriet Tubman is played in a new movie by a black British woman, much to the annoyance of some black Americans. On the United States census, an ultrawealthy Nigerian immigrant and a struggling African-American woman from the South are expected to check the same box. When many American universities tout their diversity numbers, black students who were born in the Bronx and the Bahamas are counted as the same. A spirited debate is playing out in black communities across America over the degree to which identity ought to be defined by African heritage '-- or whether ancestral links to slavery are what should count most of all. Tensions between black Americans who descended from slavery and black immigrants from Africa and the Caribbean are not new, but a group of online agitators is trying to turn those disagreements into a political movement. They want colleges, employers and the federal government to prioritize black Americans whose ancestors toiled in bondage, and they argue that affirmative action policies originally designed to help the descendants of slavery in America have largely been used to benefit other groups, including immigrants from Africa and the Caribbean. The American descendants of slavery, they say, should have their own racial category on census forms and college applications, and not be lumped in with others with similar skin color but vastly different lived experiences. The group, which calls itself ADOS, for the American Descendants of Slavery, is small in number, with active supporters estimated to be in the thousands. But the discussion they are provoking is coursing through conversations far and wide. Those who embrace its philosophy point to disparities between black people who immigrated to the United States voluntarily, and others whose ancestors were brought in chains. Roughly 10 percent of the 40 million black people living in the United States were born abroad, according to the Pew Research Center, up from 3 percent in 1980. African immigrants are more likely to have college degrees than blacks and whites who were born in the United States. A 2007 study published in the American Journal of Education found that 41 percent of black freshmen at Ivy League colleges were immigrants or the children of immigrants, even though those groups represent 13 percent of the black population in the United States. In 2017, black students at Cornell University protested for the admission of more ''underrepresented black students,'' who they defined as black Americans with several generations in the United States. ''There is a lack of investment in black students whose families were affected directly by the African Holocaust in America,'' the students wrote to the president of the university. University administrators say that black students from other countries contribute to increased diversity on campus, even if their admittance does not mitigate the injustices of American slavery. Many black immigrant groups are also descended from slavery in other countries. The film producer Tariq Nasheed is among the outspoken defenders of the idea that the American descendants of slavery should have their own ethnic identity. ''Every other group when they get here goes out of their way to say, 'I'm Jamaican. I'm Nigerian. I'm from Somalia,''' he said. ''But when we decide to say, 'O.K. We are a distinct ethnic group,' people look at that as negative.'' This year, responding to requests for ''more detailed, disaggregated data for our diverse American experience,'' the Census Bureau announced that African-Americans will be able to list their origins on census forms for the first time, instead of simply checking ''Black.'' The goal of ADOS's two founders '-- Antonio Moore, a Los Angeles defense attorney, and Yvette Carnell, a former aide to Democratic lawmakers in Washington '-- is to harness frustrations among black Americans by seizing on the nation's shifting demographics. Embracing their role as insurgents, Mr. Moore and Ms. Carnell held their first national conference in October, and have made reparations for the brutal system of slavery upon which the United States was built a key tenet of their platform. Their movement has also become a lightning rod for criticism on the left. Its skepticism of immigration sometimes strikes a tone similar to that of President Trump. And the group has fiercely attacked the Democratic Party, urging black voters to abstain from voting for the next Democratic presidential nominee unless he or she produces a specific economic plan for the nation's ADOS population. Such tactics have led some to accuse the group of sowing division among African-Americans and engaging in a form of voter suppression not unlike the voter purges and gerrymandering efforts pushed by some Republicans. ''Not voting will result in another term of Donald Trump,'' said Brandon Gassaway, national press secretary of the Democratic National Committee. Shireen Mitchell, the founder of Stop Online Violence Against Women, has been embroiled in an online battle with ADOS activists for months. Ms. Mitchell contends that the group's leaders are ''using reparations as a weapon'' to make Mr. Trump more palatable to black voters. Others have pointed out that Ms. Carnell once appeared on her YouTube channel in a ''Make America Great Again'' hat. Image Attendees take selfies with ADOS founder Yvette Carnell at the group's inaugural conference in Louisville, Ky. in October. Credit... Danielle Scruggs for The New York Times Image The goal of the group's two founders is to harness frustrations among black Americans by seizing on the nation's shifting demographics. Credit... Danielle Scruggs for The New York Times Image The founders of ADOS have described the group as nonpartisan, but the hashtag has been used by conservatives who support Mr. Trump. Credit... Danielle Scruggs for The New York Times Image Marianne Williamson, who has made reparations a key plank of her platform as a presidential candidate, attended the conference. Credit... Danielle Scruggs for The New York Times Over a thousand people attended the group's first national conference, hosted by Simmons College of Kentucky. Guest speakers included Marianne Williamson, a white self-help author who has made reparations a key plank of her platform as a minor Democratic presidential candidate, as well as Cornel West, a black Harvard professor who said ADOS is giving a voice to working-class black people. [Read more about how Farah Stockman reported on the American Descendants of Slavery.] Tara Perry, a 35-year-old paralegal, was among the attendees. A former employee of the Los Angeles Black Worker Center, which used to count the number of black laborers at construction sites, Ms. Perry said she believed that the influx of Mexican immigrants had made it more difficult for black men to find construction jobs in the city. ''People call us divisive. We're not divisive. We're self-interested,'' said Ms. Perry, adding that she was prepared to see Mr. Trump re-elected. Critics consider the movement a Trojan horse meant to infiltrate the black community with a right-wing agenda, and question why the group would target Democrats, who have been far more open to discussions of reparations. ''You are willing to let Donald Trump win, who clearly says he doesn't see reparations happening?'' asked Talib Kweli Greene, a rapper and activist who has become a vocal opponent of the group. ''Get out of here!'' Recently, Hollywood has become the source of much of the frustration around the dividing line between United States-born African-Americans and black immigrants. When the black British actress Cynthia Erivo was hired to play the abolitionist Harriet Tubman, the casting received immediate backlash. Similarly, the filmmaker Jordan Peele has been criticized for hiring Lupita Nyong'o, who is Kenyan, and Daniel Kaluuya, who is British, to play African-American characters in his movies. But Mr. Moore, 39, and Ms. Carnell, 44, say they are not scapegoating black immigrants or trying to lead black voters astray. They say they are merely demanding something tangible from Democrats in exchange for votes and trying to raise awareness around the economic struggles of many black Americans. Ms. Carnell said she learned of the huge disparities in inherited wealth that left black Americans with a tiny share of the economic pie by reading reports, including an Institute for Policy Studies report that predicted the median wealth of black families would drop to zero by 2053. Mr. Moore had been talking about some of the same studies on his own YouTube channel. The two joined forces in 2016 and coined the term ADOS, which spread as a hashtag on social media. Image From front left to back left, Ms. Carnell, Cornel West and Antonio Moore before the conference. Credit... Danielle Scruggs for The New York Times ''What they have done is taken the racial wealth divide field out of academia and packaged it under a populist hashtag,'' said Dedrick Asante-Muhammad, of the Institute for Policy Studies. Mr. Asante-Muhammad lamented that the rhetoric of the movement comes off as anti-immigrant and said that Mr. Moore and Ms. Carnell ''over-dramatize'' the impact of African immigrants on the wealth and opportunities available to black Americans. William Darity Jr., a professor at Duke University, has written a series of reports about wealth inequality cited by Mr. Moore and Ms. Carnell. In one report, Dr. Darity found that the median net worth of white households in Los Angeles was $355,000, compared with $4,000 for black Americans. African immigrants in the city had a median net worth of $72,000. Dr. Darity's research also shows that not all immigrant groups are wealthy. Dr. Darity did not attend the recent conference in Kentucky, but he said he saw ADOS as a social justice movement on behalf of a segment of the black population that is being left behind. But not everyone agrees with Dr. Darity's view that empowering disadvantaged African-Americans is the extent of the group's message. Some who have used the hashtag have used racist, violent language when going after their detractors. Ms. Carnell once defended the term ''blood and soil,'' a Nazi slogan, on Twitter. Ms. Mitchell, the founder of Stop Online Violence Against Women, said she was harassed online by the group's supporters after she mentioned ADOS on Joy Reid's MSNBC show in a segment about Russian disinformation campaigns. During the segment, Ms. Mitchell implied that ADOS was made up of Russian bots impersonating real black people online. After the segment aired, the group's supporters harassed Ms. Mitchell as well as Ms. Reid, who they noted was born to immigrants. ''If you do not agree with them, or acknowledge their existence, they go after you,'' Ms. Mitchell said. Ms. Carnell has also been criticized for her past service on the board of Progressives for Immigration Reform, an anti-immigration group that has received funding from a foundation linked to John Tanton, who was referred to as ''the puppeteer'' of the nation's nativist movement by the Southern Poverty Law Center. A September newsletter from Progressives for Immigration Reform touted the growing political clout of ADOS and praised it as ''a movement that understands the impact unbridled immigration has had on our country's most vulnerable workers.'' This summer, ADOS ignited a flurry of criticism after Ms. Carnell complained that Senator Kamala Harris, Democrat of California, was running for president as an African-American candidate but had failed to put forth an agenda for black people. She noted that Ms. Harris is the daughter of an Indian mother and a Jamaican father. Critics quickly accused Ms. Carnell of ''birtherism'' and xenophobia. And although Ms. Carnell and Mr. Moore say ADOS is a nonpartisan movement, the hashtag has been used by conservatives who support Mr. Trump. ''I like #ADOS,'' Ann Coulter, a white conservative commentator, wrote on Twitter. ''But I think it should be #DOAS '-- Descendants of American slaves. Not Haitian slaves, not Moroccan slaves.'' At the conference in Kentucky, supporters pushed back against the idea that they were anti-immigrant or surrogates of the president's agenda. ''We're not xenophobes,'' said Mark Stevenson, a director of talent acquisition in the Navy who said he founded an ADOS chapter in Columbus, Ohio, this summer. ''If you ask somebody who is Latino what is their heritage, they'll tell you they are Puerto Rican or Dominican or Cuban.'' ''This is our heritage,'' he added. ''I don't see the issue.'' Farah Stockman Mon, 18 Nov 2019 14:06 Latest Search Search Latest Articles Times Insider Deciphering ADOS: A New Social Movement or Online Trolls? I spent weeks trying to figure out what was true '-- and not true '-- about American Descendants of Slavery, a group aiming to create a new racial designation. By Farah Stockman 'We're Self-Interested': The Growing Identity Debate in Black America Why a movement that claims to support the American descendants of slavery is being promoted by conservatives and attacked on the left. By Farah Stockman Three Leaders of Women's March Group Step Down After Controversies The departures come after years of discord and charges of anti-Semitism and at a time the group is gearing up for political engagement in the 2020 elections. By Farah Stockman El negocio de vender ensayos universitarios Estudiantes en Estados Unidos, el Reino Unido y Australia estn contratando para que les redacten sus trabajos a personas de otros pa­ses que lo hacen por necesidad financiera. By Farah Stockman and Carlos Mureithi Here Are the Nine People Killed in Seconds in Dayton The gunman's victims ranged from a graduate student to a grandfather, a young mother to longtime friends. By Farah Stockman and Adeel Hassan Gunman's Own Sister Was Among Dayton Shooting Victims The nine people who were killed outside a popular Dayton bar also included the mother of a newborn and a fitness and nutrition trainer. By Farah Stockman and Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs Back-to-Back Outbreaks of Gun Violence in El Paso and Dayton Stun Country In a country that has become nearly numb to men with guns opening fire in schools, at concerts and in churches, shooting in Texas and Ohio left the public shaken. Gunman Kills 9 in Dayton Entertainment District Nine people were killed and 27 others were wounded, the police said. It was the second American mass shooting in 24 hours, and the third in a week. By Timothy Williams and Farah Stockman Heat Wave to Hit Two-Thirds of the U.S. Here's What to Expect. Dangerously hot temperatures are predicted from Oklahoma to New England. Here's the forecast, with some tips on staying safe. By Farah Stockman Child Neglect Reports Sat Unread for 4 Years Because of an Email Mix-up A small change to an email address led to reports to a Colorado hotline for child abuse and neglect cases sitting unread for years, officials said. By Dave Philipps and Farah Stockman 7 Died in a Motorcycle Crash. How Their Club of Former Marines Is Mourning Them. A motorcycle club of ex-Marines struggles to pick up the pieces after a horrific crash killed its leader and six other members and supporters. By Farah Stockman A Man Licked a Carton of Ice Cream for a Viral Internet Challenge. Now He's in Jail. Law officials and store owners across the country are wrestling with how to stop a flurry of copycat videos made by people committing the same crime. By Farah Stockman Manslaughter Charge Dropped Against Alabama Woman Who Was Shot While Pregnant The case of Marshae Jones, who was indicted over the death of the fetus she was carrying when she was shot, had stirred outrage across the country. By Farah Stockman Alabamians Defend Arrest of Woman Whose Fetus Died in Shooting The indictment of a woman in the shooting death of her fetus has sparked outrage across the country. But in Alabama, many people consider it just. By Farah Stockman People Are Taking Emotional Support Animals Everywhere. States Are Cracking Down. More Americans are saying they need a variety of animals '-- dogs, ducks, even insects '-- for their mental health. But critics say many are really just pets that do not merit special status. By Farah Stockman Birthright Trips, a Rite of Passage for Many Jews, Are Now a Target of Protests For nearly 20 years, Birthright has bolstered Jewish identity with free trips to Israel. But now some young Jewish activists are protesting the trips. By Farah Stockman 'The Time Is Now': States Are Rushing to Restrict Abortion, or to Protect It States across the country are passing some of the most restrictive abortion laws in decades, including in Alabama, where Gov. Kay Ivey signed a bill effectively banning the procedure. By Sabrina Tavernise Harvard Harassment Case Brings Calls for External Review and Cultural Change A Harvard government department committee issued a report criticizing a culture that let a professor stay employed despite a history of complaints. By Farah Stockman Baltimore's Mayor, Catherine Pugh, Resigns Amid Children's Book Scandal The resignation came days after the City Council proposed amending the charter to make it possible to remove Ms. Pugh and amid a widening scandal involving a book deal worth $500,000. By Farah Stockman U.N.C. Charlotte Student Couldn't Run, So He Tackled the Gunman Riley Howell was one of two students killed and four injured when a gunman opened fire in a classroom. The police charged a 22-year-old student with murder. By David Perlmutt and Julie Turkewitz Skip to Navigation Search Articles 114 results for sorted by Times Insider Deciphering ADOS: A New Social Movement or Online Trolls? I spent weeks trying to figure out what was true '-- and not true '-- about American Descendants of Slavery, a group aiming to create a new racial designation. By Farah Stockman 'We're Self-Interested': The Growing Identity Debate in Black America Why a movement that claims to support the American descendants of slavery is being promoted by conservatives and attacked on the left. By Farah Stockman Three Leaders of Women's March Group Step Down After Controversies The departures come after years of discord and charges of anti-Semitism and at a time the group is gearing up for political engagement in the 2020 elections. By Farah Stockman El negocio de vender ensayos universitarios Estudiantes en Estados Unidos, el Reino Unido y Australia estn contratando para que les redacten sus trabajos a personas de otros pa­ses que lo hacen por necesidad financiera. By Farah Stockman and Carlos Mureithi Here Are the Nine People Killed in Seconds in Dayton The gunman's victims ranged from a graduate student to a grandfather, a young mother to longtime friends. By Farah Stockman and Adeel Hassan Gunman's Own Sister Was Among Dayton Shooting Victims The nine people who were killed outside a popular Dayton bar also included the mother of a newborn and a fitness and nutrition trainer. By Farah Stockman and Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs Back-to-Back Outbreaks of Gun Violence in El Paso and Dayton Stun Country In a country that has become nearly numb to men with guns opening fire in schools, at concerts and in churches, shooting in Texas and Ohio left the public shaken. Gunman Kills 9 in Dayton Entertainment District Nine people were killed and 27 others were wounded, the police said. It was the second American mass shooting in 24 hours, and the third in a week. By Timothy Williams and Farah Stockman Heat Wave to Hit Two-Thirds of the U.S. Here's What to Expect. Dangerously hot temperatures are predicted from Oklahoma to New England. Here's the forecast, with some tips on staying safe. By Farah Stockman Child Neglect Reports Sat Unread for 4 Years Because of an Email Mix-up A small change to an email address led to reports to a Colorado hotline for child abuse and neglect cases sitting unread for years, officials said. By Dave Philipps and Farah Stockman 7 Died in a Motorcycle Crash. How Their Club of Former Marines Is Mourning Them. A motorcycle club of ex-Marines struggles to pick up the pieces after a horrific crash killed its leader and six other members and supporters. By Farah Stockman A Man Licked a Carton of Ice Cream for a Viral Internet Challenge. Now He's in Jail. Law officials and store owners across the country are wrestling with how to stop a flurry of copycat videos made by people committing the same crime. By Farah Stockman Manslaughter Charge Dropped Against Alabama Woman Who Was Shot While Pregnant The case of Marshae Jones, who was indicted over the death of the fetus she was carrying when she was shot, had stirred outrage across the country. By Farah Stockman Alabamians Defend Arrest of Woman Whose Fetus Died in Shooting The indictment of a woman in the shooting death of her fetus has sparked outrage across the country. But in Alabama, many people consider it just. By Farah Stockman People Are Taking Emotional Support Animals Everywhere. States Are Cracking Down. More Americans are saying they need a variety of animals '-- dogs, ducks, even insects '-- for their mental health. But critics say many are really just pets that do not merit special status. By Farah Stockman Birthright Trips, a Rite of Passage for Many Jews, Are Now a Target of Protests For nearly 20 years, Birthright has bolstered Jewish identity with free trips to Israel. But now some young Jewish activists are protesting the trips. By Farah Stockman 'The Time Is Now': States Are Rushing to Restrict Abortion, or to Protect It States across the country are passing some of the most restrictive abortion laws in decades, including in Alabama, where Gov. Kay Ivey signed a bill effectively banning the procedure. By Sabrina Tavernise Harvard Harassment Case Brings Calls for External Review and Cultural Change A Harvard government department committee issued a report criticizing a culture that let a professor stay employed despite a history of complaints. By Farah Stockman Baltimore's Mayor, Catherine Pugh, Resigns Amid Children's Book Scandal The resignation came days after the City Council proposed amending the charter to make it possible to remove Ms. Pugh and amid a widening scandal involving a book deal worth $500,000. By Farah Stockman U.N.C. Charlotte Student Couldn't Run, So He Tackled the Gunman Riley Howell was one of two students killed and four injured when a gunman opened fire in a classroom. The police charged a 22-year-old student with murder. By David Perlmutt and Julie Turkewitz Skip to Navigation Shireen Mitchell - Wikipedia Mon, 18 Nov 2019 14:05 Shireen Mitchell is an American entrepreneur, author, technology analyst and diversity strategist. She founded Digital Sisters/Sistas, Inc.,[1] the first organization dedicated to bringing women and girls of color online and Stop Online Violence Against Women (SOVAW),[2] a project that addresses laws and policies to provide protections for women while online. Career [ edit ] Shireen Mitchell began designing bulletin board systems and gopher (protocol) sites prior to the advent of websites. She was the webmaster for PoliticallyBlack.com, a site that was sold to Netivation (NTVN)[3] a large media company as one of the web transactions in the late 1990s that later went public.[4] Mitchell formed the first woman of color web management firm in 1997, the Mitchell Holden Group (MHG). She then founded Digital Sisters/Sistas in 1999, first as a website and then an advocacy and training organization that focuses on technology, new media and diversity. Digital Sisters was the first organization created specifically to help women and girls of color get into the STEM field and use technology in their daily lives. In 2010, she formed Tech Media Swirl LLC, a digital social strategy company focused integrated media strategies for outreach to diverse communities. In 2013, she founded Stop Online Violence Against Women (SOVAW). The project highlights diverse voices of women, and in particular, women of color. Honors and awards [ edit ] Eelan Media, Top 100 Most Influential Black People on digital/social media,[5] 2014DC Inno, Top Ten Influencers in Social Media,[6] 2012Fast Company Most Influential Women in Tech,[7] 2010Washingtonian's Tech Titans,[8] 2009The Root, 100 African-American Leaders of Excellence,[9] 2009Published works [ edit ] Gaining Daily Access to Science and Technology, 50 Ways to Improve Women's Lives . Inner Ocean Publishing. 21 June 2007. ISBN 978-1-930722-45-3. References [ edit ] External links [ edit ] Digital SistersStop Online Violence Against Women (SOVAW) Comcast Shouldn't Challenge the Civil Rights Act of 1866 | Fortune Mon, 18 Nov 2019 14:05 Sign Up for Our Newsletters Sign up now to receive FORTUNE's best content, special offers, and much more. Subscribe Marcus Garvey - Wikipedia Mon, 18 Nov 2019 14:04 Jamaica-born British political activist, Pan-Africanist, orator, and entrepreneur Marcus Mosiah Garvey Jr. ONH (17 August 1887 '' 10 June 1940) was a Jamaican political activist, publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, and orator. He was the founder and first President-General of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL, commonly known as UNIA), through which he declared himself Provisional President of Africa. Ideologically a black nationalist and Pan-Africanist, his ideas came to be known as Garveyism. Garvey was born to a moderately prosperous Afro-Jamaican family in Saint Ann's Bay, Colony of Jamaica and apprenticed into the print trade as a teenager. Working in Kingston, he became involved in trade unionism before living briefly in Costa Rica, Panama, and England. Returning to Jamaica, he founded UNIA in 1914. In 1916, he moved to the United States and established a UNIA branch in New York City's Harlem district. Emphasising unity between Africans and the African diaspora, he campaigned for an end to European colonial rule across Africa and the political unification of the continent. He envisioned a unified Africa as a one-party state, governed by himself, that would enact laws to ensure black racial purity. Although he never visited the continent, he was committed to the Back-to-Africa movement, arguing that many African-Americans should migrate there. Garveyist ideas became increasingly popular and UNIA grew in membership. However, his black separatist views'--and his collaboration with white racist groups like the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) to advance their shared interest in racial separatism'--divided Garvey from other prominent African-American civil rights activists such as W. E. B. Du Bois who promoted racial integration. Committed to the belief that African-Americans needed to secure financial independence from white-dominant society, Garvey launched various businesses in the U.S., including the Negro Factories Corporation and Negro World newspaper. In 1919, he became President of the Black Star Line shipping and passenger company, designed to forge a link between North America and Africa and facilitate African-American migration to Liberia. In 1923 Garvey was convicted of mail fraud for selling its stock and imprisoned in the Atlanta State Penitentiary. Many commentators have argued that the trial was politically motivated; Garvey blamed Jewish people, claiming that they were prejudiced against him because of his links to the KKK. Deported to Jamaica in 1927, where he settled in Kingston with his wife Amy Jacques, Garvey continued his activism and established the People's Political Party in 1929, briefly serving as a city councillor. With UNIA in increasing financial difficulty, in 1935 he relocated to London, where his anti-socialist stance distanced him from many of the city's black activists. He died there in 1940, although in 1964 his body was returned to Jamaica for reburial in Kingston's National Heroes Park. Garvey was a controversial figure. Many in the African diasporic community regarded him as a pretentious demagogue and were highly critical of his collaboration with white supremacists, his violent rhetoric, and his prejudice against mixed-race people and Jews. He nevertheless received praise for encouraging a sense of pride and self-worth among Africans and the African diaspora amid widespread poverty, discrimination, and colonialism. He is seen as a national hero in Jamaica, and his ideas exerted a considerable influence on movements like Rastafari, the Nation of Islam, and the Black Power Movement. Early life [ edit ] Childhood: 1887''1904 [ edit ] A statue of Garvey now stands in Saint Ann's Bay, the town where he was born Marcus Mosiah Garvey was born on 17 August 1887 in Saint Ann's Bay, a town in the Colony of Jamaica. In the context of colonial Jamaican society, which had a colourist social hierarchy, Garvey was considered at the lowest end, being a black child who believed he was of full African ancestry; later genetic research nevertheless revealed that he had some Iberian ancestors.[3] Garvey's paternal great-grandfather had been born into slavery prior to its abolition in the British Empire. His surname, which was of Irish origin, had been inherited from his family's former owners. His father, Malchus Garvey, was a stonemason; his mother, Sarah Richards, was a domestic servant and the daughter of peasant farmers. Malchus had had two previous partners before Sarah, siring six children between them. Sarah bore him four additional children, of whom Marcus was the youngest, although two died in infancy. Because of his profession, Malchus' family were wealthier than many of their peasant neighbours; they were petty bourgeoise. Malchus was however reckless with his money and over the course of his life lost most of the land he owned to meet payments. Malchus had a book collection and was self-educated; he also served as an occasional layman at a local Wesleyan church. Malchus was an intolerant and punitive father and husband; he never had a close relationship with his son. Up to the age of 14, Garvey attended a local church school; further education was unaffordable for the family. When not in school, Garvey worked on his maternal uncle's tenant farm. He had friends, with whom he once broke the windows of a church, resulting in his arrest. Some of his friends were white, although he found that as they grew older they distanced themselves from him; he later recalled that a close childhood friend was a white girl: "We were two innocent fools who never dreamed of a race feeling and problem." In 1901, Marcus was apprenticed to his godfather, a local printer. In 1904, the printer opened another branch at Port Maria, where Garvey began to work, traveling from Saint Ann's Bay each morning. Early career in Kingston: 1905''1909 [ edit ] In 1905 he moved to Kingston, where he boarded in Smith Village, a working class neighbourhood. In the city, he secured work with the printing division of the P.A. Benjamin Manufacturing Company. He rose quickly through the company ranks, becoming their first Afro-Jamaican foreman. His sister and mother, by this point estranged from his father, moved to join him in the city. In January 1907, Kingston was hit by an earthquake that reduced much of the city to rubble. He, his mother, and his sister were left to sleep in the open for several months. In March 1908, his mother died. While in Kingston, Garvey converted to Roman Catholicism. Garvey became a trade unionist and took a leading role in the November 1908 print workers' strike. The strike was broken several weeks later and Garvey was sacked. Henceforth branded a troublemaker, Garvey was unable to find work in the private sector. He then found temporary employment with a government printer. As a result of these experiences, Garvey became increasingly angry at the inequalities present in Jamaican society. Garvey involved himself with the National Club, Jamaica's first nationalist organisation, becoming its first assistant secretary in April 1910. The group campaigned to remove the British Governor of Jamaica, Sydney Olivier, from office, and to end the migration of Indian "coolies", or indentured workers, to Jamaica, as they were seen as a source of economic competition by the established population. With fellow Club member Wilfred Domingo he published a pamphlet expressing the group's ideas, The Struggling Mass. In early 1910, Garvey began publishing a magazine, Garvey's Watchman'--its name a reference to George William Gordon's The Watchman'--although it only lasted three issues. He claimed it had a circulation of 3000, although this was likely an exaggeration. Garvey also enrolled in elocution lessons with the radical journalist Robert J. Love, whom Garvey came to regard as a mentor. With his enhanced skill at speaking in a Standard English manner, he entered several public speaking competitions. Travels abroad: 1910''1914 [ edit ] Economic hardship in Jamaica led to growing emigration from the island. In mid-1910, Garvey travelled to Costa Rica, where an uncle had secured him employment as a timekeeper on a large banana plantation in the Lim"n Province owned by the United Fruit Company (UFC). Shortly after his arrival, the area experienced strikes and unrest in opposition to the UFC's attempts to cut its workers' wages. Although as a timekeeper he was responsible for overseeing the manual workers, he became increasingly angered at how they were treated. In the spring of 1911 be launched a bilingual newspaper, Nation/La Naci"n, which criticised the actions of the UFC and upset many of the dominant strata of Costa Rican society in Lim"n. His coverage of a local fire, in which he questioned the motives of the fire brigade, resulted in him being brought in for police questioning. After his printing press broke, he was unable to replace the faulty part and terminated the newspaper. In London, Garvey spent time in the Reading Room of the British Museum Garvey then travelled through Central America, undertaking casual work as he made his way through Honduras, Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela. While in the port of Col"n in Panama, he set up a new newspaper, La Prensa ("The Press"). In 1911, he became seriously ill with a bacterial infection and decided to return to Kingston. He then decided to travel to London, the administrative centre of the British Empire, in the hope of advancing his informal education. In the spring of 1912 he sailed to England. Renting a room along Borough High Street in South London, he visited the House of Commons, where he was impressed by the politician David Lloyd George. He also visited Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park and began speaking there. There were only a few thousand black people in London at the time, and they were often viewed as exotic; most worked as labourers. Garvey initially gained piecemeal work labouring in the city's dockyards. In August 1912, his sister Indiana joined him in London, where she worked as a domestic servant. In early 1913 he was employed as a messenger and handyman for the African Times and Orient Review, a magazine based in Fleet Street that was edited by Dus(C) Mohamed Ali. The magazine advocated Ethiopianism and home rule for British-occupied Egypt. In 1914, Mohamed Ali began employing Garvey's services as a writer for the magazine. He also took several evening classes in law at Birkbeck College in Bloomsbury. Garvey planned a tour of Europe, spending time in Glasgow, Paris, Monte Carlo, Boulogne, and Madrid. During the trip, he was briefly engaged to a Spanish-Irish heiress. Back in London, he wrote an article on Jamaica for the Tourist magazine, and spent time reading in the library of the British Museum. There he discovered Up from Slavery, a book by the African-American entrepreneur and activist Booker T. Washington. Washington's book heavily influenced him. Now almost financially destitute and deciding to return to Jamaica, he unsuccessfully asked both the Colonial Office and the Anti-Slavery and Aborigines' Protection Society to pay for his journey. After managing to save the funds for a fare, he boarded the SS Trent in June 1914 for a three-week journey across the Atlantic. En route home, Garvey talked with an Afro-Caribbean missionary who had spent time in Basutoland and taken a Basuto wife. Discovering more about colonial Africa from this man, Garvey began to envision a movement that would politically unify black people of African descent across the world. Organization of UNIA [ edit ] Forming UNIA: 1914''1916 [ edit ] To the cultured mind the bulk of our [i.e. black] people are contemptible['...] Go into the country parts of Jamaica and you will see there villainy and vice of the worst kind, immorality, obeah and all kinds of dirty things['...] Kingston and its environs are so infested with the uncouth and vulgar of our people that we of the cultured class feel positively ashamed to move about. Well, this society [UNIA] has set itself the task to go among the people['...] and raise them to the standard of civilised approval. '-- Garvey, from a 1915 Collegiate Hall speech published in the Daily Chronicle Garvey arrived back in Jamaica in July 1914. There, he saw his article for Tourist republished in The Gleaner. He began earning money selling greeting and condolence cards which he had imported from Britain, before later switching to selling tombstones. Also in July 1914, Garvey launched the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League, commonly abbreviated as UNIA. Adopting the motto of "One Aim. One God. One Destiny", it declared its commitment to "establish a brotherhood among the black race, to promote a spirit of race pride, to reclaim the fallen and to assist in civilising the backward tribes of Africa." Initially, it had only few members. Many Jamaicans were critical of the group's prominent use of the term "Negro", a term which was often employed as an insult: Garvey, however, embraced the term in reference to black people of African descent. Garvey became UNIA's president and travelling commissioner; it was initially based out of his hotel room in Orange Street, Kingston. It portrayed itself not as a political organisation but as a charitable club, focused on work to help the poor and to ultimately establish a vocational training college modelled on Washington's Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. Garvey wrote to Washington and received a brief, if encouraging reply; Washington died shortly after. UNIA officially expressed its loyalty to the British Empire, King George V, and the British effort in the ongoing First World War. In April 1915 Brigadier General L. S. Blackden lectured to the group on the war effort; Garvey endorsed Blackden's calls for more Jamaicans to sign up to fight for the Empire on the Western Front. The group also sponsored musical and literary evenings as well as a February 1915 elocution contest, at which Garvey took first prize. In August 1914, Garvey attended a meeting of the Queen Street Baptist Literary and Debating Society, where he met Amy Ashwood, recently graduated from the Westwood Training College for Women. She joined UNIA and rented a better premises for them to use as their headquarters, secured using her father's credit. She and Garvey embarked on a relationship, which was opposed by her parents. In 1915 they secretly became engaged. When she suspended the engagement, he threatened to commit suicide, at which she resumed it. I was openly hated and persecuted by some of these colored men of the island who did not want to be classified as Negroes but as white. '-- Garvey, on how he was received in Jamaica Garvey attracted financial contributions from many prominent patrons, including the Mayor of Kingston and the Governor of Jamaica, William Manning. By appealing directly to Jamaica's white elite, Garvey had skipped the brown middle-classes, comprising those who were classified as mulattos, quadroons, and octoroons. They were generally hostile to Garvey, regarding him as a pretentious social climber and being annoyed at his claim to be part of the "cultured class" of Jamaican society. Many also felt that he was unnecessarily derogatory when describing black Jamaicans, with letters of complaint being sent into the Daily Chronicle after it published one of Garvey's speeches in which he referred to many of his people as "uncouth and vulgar". One complainant, a Dr Leo Pink, related that "the Jamaican Negro can not be reformed by abuse". After unsubstantiated allegations began circling that Garvey was diverting UNIA funds to pay for his own personal expenses, the group's support began to decline. He became increasingly aware of how UNIA had failed to thrive in Jamaica and decided to migrate to the United States, sailing there aboard the SS Tallac in March 1916. To the United States: 1916''1918 [ edit ] The UNIA flag, a tricolour of red, black, and green. According to Garvey, the red symbolises the blood of martyrs, the black symbolises the skin of Africans, and the green represents the vegetation of the land. Arriving in the United States, Garvey began lodging with a Jamaican expatriate family living in Harlem, a largely black area of New York City. He began lecturing in the city, hoping to make a career as a public speaker, although at his first public speech was heckled and fell off the stage. From New York City, he embarked on a U.S. speaking tour, crossing 38 states. At stopovers on his journey he listened to preachers from the African Methodist Episcopal Church and the Black Baptist churches. While in Alabama, he visited the Tuskegee Institute and met with its new leader, Robert Russa Moton. After six months traveling across the U.S. lecturing, he returned to New York City. In May 1917, Garvey launched a New York branch of UNIA. He declared membership open to anyone "of Negro blood and African ancestry" who could pay the 25 cents a month membership fee. He joined many other speakers who spoke on the street, standing on step-ladders; he often did so on Speakers' Corner in 135th Street. In his speeches, he sought to reach across to both black West Indian migrants like himself and native African-Americans. Through this, he began to associate with Hubert Harrison, who was promoting ideas of black self-reliance and racial separatism. In June, Garvey shared a stage with Harrison at the inaugural meeting of the latter's Liberty League of Negro-Americans. Through his appearance here and at other events organised by Harrison, Garvey attracted growing public attention. After the U.S. entered the First World War in April 1917, Garvey initially signed up to fight but was ruled physically unfit to do so. He later became an opponent of African-American involvement in the conflict, following Harrison in accusing it of being a "white man's war". In the wake of the East St. Louis Race Riots in May to July 1917, in which white mobs targeted black people, Garvey began calling for armed self-defense. He produced a pamphlet, "The Conspiracy of the East St Louis Riots", which was widely distributed; proceeds from its sale went to victims of the riots. The Bureau of Investigation began monitoring him, noting that in speeches he employed more militant language than that used in print; it for instance reported him expressing the view that "for every Negro lynched by whites in the South, Negroes should lynch a white in the North." By the end of 1917, Garvey had attracted many of Harrison's key associates in his Liberty League to UNIA. He also secured the support of the journalist John Edward Bruce, agreeing to step down from the group's presidency in favor of Bruce. Bruce then wrote to Dus(C) Mohamed Ali to learn more about Garvey's past. Mohamed Ali responded with a negative assessment of Garvey, suggesting that he simply used UNIA as a money-making scheme. Bruce read this letter to a UNIA meeting and put pressure on Garvey's position. Garvey then resigned from UNIA, establishing a rival group that met at Old Fellows Temple. He also launched legal proceedings against Bruce and other senior UNIA members, with the court ruling that the group's name and membership'--now estimated at around 600'--belonged to Garvey, who resumed control over it. The growth of UNIA: 1918''1921 [ edit ] In 1918, UNIA membership grew rapidly. In June that year it was incorporated, and in July a commercial arm, the African Communities' League, filed for incorporation. Garvey envisioned UNIA establishing an import-and-export business, a restaurant, and a launderette. He also proposed raising the funds to secure a permanent building as a base for the group. In April 1918, Garvey launched a weekly newspaper, the Negro World, which Cronon later noted remained "the personal propaganda organ of its founder". Financially, it was backed by philanthropists like Madam C. J. Walker, but six months after its launch was pursuing a special appeal for donations to keep it afloat. Various journalists took Garvey to court for his failure to pay them for their contributions, a fact much publicised by rival publications; at the time, there were over 400 black-run newspapers and magazines in the U.S. Unlike may of these, Garvey refused to feature adverts for skin-lightening and hair-straightening products, urging black people to "take the kinks out of your mind, instead of out of your hair". By the end of its first year, the circulation of Negro World was nearing 10,000; copies circulated not only in the US, but also in the Caribbean, Central, and South America. In April 1918, Garvey's UNIA began publishing the Negro World newspaper Garvey appointed his old friend Domingo, who had also arrived in New York City, as the newspaper's editor. However, Domingo's socialist views alarmed Garvey who feared that they would imperil UNIA. Garvey had Domingo brought before UNIA's nine-person executive committee, where he was accused of writing editorials professing ideas at odds with UNIA's message. Domingo resigned several months later; he and Garvey henceforth became enemies. In September 1918, Ashwood sailed from Panama to be with Garvey, arriving in New York City in October. In November, she became General Secretary of UNIA. At UNIA gatherings, she was responsible for reciting black-authored poetry, as was the actor Henrietta Vinton Davis, who had also joined the movement. After the First World War ended, President Woodrow Wilson declared his intention to present a 14-point plan for world peace at the forthcoming Paris Peace Conference. Garvey was among the African-Americans who formed the International League of Darker Peoples which sought to lobby Wilson and the conference to give greater respect to the wishes of people of colour; their delegates nevertheless were unable to secure the travel documentation. At Garvey's prompting, UNIA sent a young Haitian, Elizier Cadet, as its delegate to the conference. The world leaders who met at the conference nevertheless largely ignored such perspectives, instead reaffirming their support for European colonialism. In the U.S., many African-Americans who had served in the military refused to return to their more subservient role in society and throughout 1919 there were various racial clashes throughout the country. The government feared that black people would be encouraged to revolutionary behavior following the October Revolution in Russia, and in this context, military intelligence ordered Major Walter Loving to investigate Garvey. Loving's report concluded that Garvey was a "very able young man" who was disseminating "clever propaganda". The BOI's J. Edgar Hoover decided that Garvey was worthy of deportation and decided to include him in their Palmer Raids launched to deport subversive non-citizens. The BOI presented Garvey's name to the Labor Department under Louis F. Post to ratify the deportation but Post's department refused to do so, stating that the case against Garvey was not proven. Success and obstacles [ edit ] Garvey speaking at Liberty Hall in 1920 UNIA grew rapidly and in just over 18 months it had branches in 25 U.S. states, as well as divisions in the West Indies, Central America, and West Africa. The exact membership is not known, although Garvey'--who often exaggerated numbers'--claimed that by June 1919 it had two million members. It remained smaller than the better established National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), although there was some crossover in membership of the two groups. The NAACP and UNIA differed in their approach; while the NAACP was a multi-racial organisation which promoted racial integration, UNIA was a black-only group. The NAACP focused its attention on what it termed the "talented tenth" of the African-American population, such as doctors, lawyers, and teachers, whereas UNIA emphasized the image of a mass organisation and included many poorer people and West Indian migrants in its ranks. NAACP supporters accused Garvey of stymieing their efforts at bringing about racial integration in the U.S. Garvey was dismissive of the NAACP leader W. E. B. Du Bois, and in one issue of the Negro World called him a "reactionary under [the] pay of white men". Du Bois generally tried to ignore Garvey, regarding him as a demagogue, but at the same time wanted to learn all he could about Garvey's movement. In 1921, Garvey twice reached out to DuBois, asking him to contribute to UNIA publications, but the offer was rebuffed. Their relationship became acrimonious; in 1923, DuBois described Garvey as "a little fat black man, ugly but with intelligent eyes and big head". By 1924, Grant suggested, the two hated each other. To promote his views to a wide audience, Garvey took to shouting slogans from a megaphone as he was driven through Harlem in a Cadillac. UNIA established a restaurant and ice cream parlour at 56 West 135th Street, and also launched a millinery store selling hats. With an increased income coming in through UNIA, Garvey moved to a new residence at 238 West 131st Street; in 1919, a young middle-class Jamaican migrant, Amy Jacques, became his personal secretary. UNIA also obtained a partially-constructed church building in Harlem, which Garvey named "Liberty Hall" after its namesake in Dublin, Ireland, which had been established during the Easter Rising of 1916. The adoption of this name reflected Garvey's fascination for the Irish independence movement. Liberty Hall's dedication ceremony was held in July 1919. Garvey also organised the African Legion, a group of uniformed men who would attend UNIA parades; a secret service was formed from Legion members, providing Garvey with intelligence about group members. The formation of the Legion further concerned the BOI, who sent their first full-time black agent, James Wormley Jones, to infiltrate UNIA.In January 1920, Garvey incorporated the Negro Factories League.According to Grant, a personality cult had grown up around Garvey within the UNIA movement; life-size portraits of him hung in the UNIA HQ and phonographs of his speeches were sold to the membership. In August, UNIA organized the First International Conference of the Negro Peoples in Harlem. This parade was attended by Gabriel Johnson, the Mayor of Monrovia in Liberia. As part of it, an estimated 25,000 people assembled in Madison Square Gardens. At the conference, UNIA delegates declared him the Provisional President of Africa, charged with heading a government-in-exile. Some of the West Africans attending the event were angered by this, believing it wrong that an Afro-Jamaican, rather than an African, was taking on this role. Many outside the movement ridiculed Garvey for giving himself this title. The conference then elected other members of the African government-in-exile, and resulted in the production of a Bill of Rights which condemned colonial rule across Africa. In August 1921, UNIA held a banquet in Liberty Hall, at which Garvey gave out honors to various supporters, including such titles as Order of the Nile and the Order of Ethiopia. UNIA established growing links with the Liberian government, hoping to secure land in the West African nation where various African-Americans could move to. Liberia was in heavy debt, with UNIA launching a fundraising campaign to raise $2 million towards a Liberian Construction Loan. In 1921, Garvey sent a UNIA team to assess the prospects in Liberia.Internally, UNIA experienced various feuds. Garvey pushed out Cyril Briggs and other members of the African Blood Brotherhood from UNIA, wanting to place growing distance between himself and black socialist groups. In the Negro World, Garvey then accused Briggs'--who was of mixed heritage'--of being a white man posing as a black man. Briggs then successfully sued Garvey for criminal libel. Assassination attempts, marriage, and divorce [ edit ] In July 1919, Garvey was arrested and charged with criminal libel for claims made about Edwin Kilroe in the Negro World. When this eventually came to court, he was ordered to provide a printed retraction. In October 1919, George Tyler, a part-time vendor of the Negro World, entered the UNIA office and tried to assassinate Garvey. The latter received two bullets in his legs but survived. Tyler was soon apprehended but died in an escape attempt from jail; it was thus never revealed why he tried to kill Garvey. Garvey soon recovered from the incident; five days later he gave a public speech in Philadelphia. After the assassination attempt, Garvey hired a bodyguard, Marcellus Strong. Shortly after the incident, Garvey proposed marriage to Amy Ashwood and she accepted. On Christmas Day, they had a private Roman Catholic church wedding, followed by a major ceremonial celebration in Liberty Hall, attended by 3000 UNIA members. Jacques was her maid of honour. After the marriage, he moved into Ashwood's apartment. The newlyweds embarked on a two-week honeymoon in Canada, accompanied by a small UNIA retinue, including Jacques. There, Garvey spoke at two mass meetings in Montreal and three in Toronto. Returning to Harlem, the couple's marriage was soon strained. Ashwood complained of Garvey's growing closeness with Jacques. Garvey was upset by his inability to control his wife, particularly her drinking and her socialising with other men. She was pregnant, although the child was possibly not his; she did not inform him of this, and the pregnancy ended in miscarriage. Three months into the marriage, Garvey sought an annulment, on the basis of Ashwood's alleged adultery and the claim that she had used "fraud and concealment" to induce the marriage. She launched a counter-claim for desertion, requesting $75 a week alimony. The court rejected this sum, but ordered Garvey to pay her $12 a week, but also refused to grant him the divorce. The court proceedings continued for two years. Now separated, Garvey moved into a 129th Street apartment with Jacques and Henrietta Vinton Davis, an arrangement that at the time could have caused some social controversy. He was later joined there by his sister Indiana and her husband, Alfred Peart. Ashwood, meanwhile, went on to become a lyricist and musical director for musicals amid the Harlem Renaissance. The Black Star Line [ edit ] From 56 West 135th, UNIA also began selling shares for a new business, the Black Star Line.The Black Star Line based its name on the White Star Line. Garvey envisioned a shipping and passenger line travelling between Africa and the Americas, which would be black-owned, black-staffed, and utilised by black patrons. He thought that the project could be launched by raising $2 million from African-American donors, publicly declaring that any black person who did not buy stock in the company "will be worse than a traitor to the cause of struggling Ethiopia". He incorporated the company and then sought about trying to purchase a ship. Many African-Americans took great pride in buying company stock, seeing it as an investment in their community's future; Garvey also promised that when the company began turning a profit they would receive significant financial returns on their investment. To advertise this stock, he travelled to Virginia, and then in September 1919 to Chicago, where he was accompanied by seven other UNIA members. In Chicago, he was arrested and fined for violating the Blue Sky Laws which banned the sale of stock in the city without a license. A certificate for stock of the Black Star Line With growing quantities of money coming in, a three-man auditing committee was established, with found that UNIA's funds were poorly recorded and that the company's books were not balanced. This was followed by a breakdown in trust between the directors of the Black Star Line, with Garvey discharging two of them, Richard E. Warner and Edgar M. Grey, and publicly humiliating them as the next UNIA meeting. People continued buying stock regardless and by September 1919, the Black Star Line company had accumulated $50,000 by selling stock. It could thus afford a thirty-year old tramp ship, the SS Yarmouth. The ship was formally launched in a ceremony on the Hudson River on 31 October. The company had been unable to find enough trained black seamen to staff the ship, so its initial chief engineer and chief officer were white. The ship's first assignment was to sale to Cuba and then to Jamaica, before returning to New York. After that first voyage, the Yarmouth was found to contain many problems and the Black Star Line had to pay $11,000 for repairs. On its second voyage, again to the Caribbean, it hit bad weather shortly after departure and had to be towed back to New York by the coastguard for further repairs.Garvey planned to obtain and launch a second ship by February 1920, with the Black Star Line putting down a $10,000 down payment on a paddle ship called the SS Shadyside. In July 1920, Garvey sacked both the Black Star Line's secretary, Edward D. Smith-Green, and its captain, Cockburn; the latter was accused of corruption. In early 1922, the Yarmouth was sold for scrap metal. In 1921, Garvey travelled to the Caribbean aboard a new BSL ship, the Antonio Maceo, which they had renamed the Kanawha. While in Jamaica, he criticised its inhabitants as being backward and claimed that "Negroes are the most lazy, the most careless and indifferent people in the world". His comments in Jamaica earned many enemies who criticised him on multiple fronts, including the fact he had left his destitute father to die in an almshouse. Attacks back-and-forth between Garvey and his critics appeared in the letters published by The Gleaner. From Jamaica, Garvey travelled to Costa Rica, where the United Fruit Company assisted his transportation around the country, hoping to gain his favour. There, he met with President Julio Acosta. Arriving in Panama, at one of his first speeches, in Almirante, he was booed after doubling the advertised entry price; his response was to call the crowd "a bunch of ignorant and impertinent Negroes. No wonder you are where you are and for my part you can stay where you are." He received a far warmer reception at Panama City, after which he sailed to Kingston. From there he sought a return to the U.S., but was repeatedly denied an entry visa. This was only granted after he wrote directly to the State Department. Criminal charges: 1922''1923 [ edit ] In January 1922, Garvey was arrested and charged with mail fraud for having advertised the sale of stocks in a ship, the Orion, which the Black Star Line did not yet own. He was bailed for $2,500. Hoover and the BOI were committed to securing a conviction; they had also received complaints from a small number of the Black Star Line's stock owners, who wanted them to pursue the matter further. Garvey spoke out against the charges he faced, but focused on blaming not the state, but rival African-American groups, for them. As well as accusing disgruntled former members of UNIA, in a Liberty Hall speech, he implied that the NAACP were behind the conspiracy to imprison him. The mainstream press picked up on the charge, largely presenting Garvey as a con artist who had swindled African-American people. After the arrest, he made plans for a tour of the western and southern states. This included a parade in Los Angeles, partly to woo back member

Not Today - Sarah Richards by COM Church

Harvest: God's Goodness, Part 1 - Sarah Richards by COM Church

It Is Well, Part 1 - Sarah Richards by COM Church

Mentioned in this episode : Microcopy & UX Writing Facebook group Content Design Book Content Design London Gov.uk Styleguide Top 14 Content Style Guides 2019 Bulb - Making energy simpler, cheaper, greener Who gives a crap The Listening Device In Your Pocket Business Daily podcast Free Code Camp

--Blurb #1: Author: Steve N. Lee Title: Blood Justice (Angel of Darkness Thriller, Noir & Hardboiled Crime Fiction Book 3) When killing is so wrong, how can murder be so right? ★★★★★ “Kick-ass non-stop action and intrigue will keep you reading when you should be somewhere else.” Dave In the dead of night, a simple car theft in suburbia turns into a brutal homicide. White-picket-fence dreams aren’t supposed to turn into blood-drenched nightmares, so ex-assassin Tess Williams suspects dark secrets lurk behind the carnage. She’s hunted killers all over the world using her lethal skills, so believes tracking down some lowlife in her own backyard should be easy. With the trail going cold, Tess launches a full-throttle investigation. Not just in the hope of finding the killer, but in the hope of finding redemption through helping those most in need of her unique talents.  Stalking NYC’s sleazy streets, Tess clashes with thugs and car thieves, but slams into one dead end after another. Gradually, she pieces together clues to the mystery, only to discover that a ruthless crime boss might hold the key to unveiling the killer’s identity. Someone not to be messed with. Someone connected. Someone deadly.  With the clock ticking, Tess has only two options if she’s going to survive this job – let the murderer go free to kill again, or confront a criminal mastermind and his army of henchmen.  Some crimes are worth killing for, but are they ever worth dying for? Love assassin books, revenge thrillers, vigilante series, action novels, noir fiction, hard boiled mystery? Then you’ll love Steve N. Lee's kick-ass hero, fast-paced plots, and Jack Reacher-style action   --Blurb #2: Author: Katherine Kim Title: Sarah's Inheritance (Spirits of Los Gatos Book 1) Sarah only knew her grandmother left her the house in her will. The rest came as a bit of a shock.  Learning of her grandmother’s death shook Sarah Richards. She hadn’t seen the woman since she was a child, kept far away on the other side of the country by her overbearing mother. Now, though, she owned the house Gran had lived in, and Sarah was determined to break free of her mother’s controlling grasp.  Sarah was ready for the exhausting phone arguments with her mom and the grief that sat like a stone in her chest as she sorted through Gran's things. She was not ready to come face to face with a nightmare creature on a suburban jogging path, nor to be rescued by a man who talked as though a wild fox like it was a normal conversation. Now Sarah is learning about Gran's secret life, her not-quite-human friends, and even less human enemies. Sarah has the house, now she has to decide if she's ready to accept the rest of what Gran passed down to her. Assuming they all survive the next few weeks.  Sarah’s Inheritance is the first book in the Spirits of Los Gatos series. If you like Andre Norten and Jaymin Eve, you’ll enjoy this tale of one woman finding out what she actually wants from life. Buy Sarah’s Inheritance now and see what secrets Los Gatos is hiding.   --Abigail's Targeted Tip: The first cliffhanger (end of your first paragraph) should be relevant to your book’s genre. For example, if it’s a murder mystery that’s where you put the dead body. If it’s an urban fantasy, that’s where you put the magic.     --Question of the Week: Should we talk about box sets, critique headlines only, or critique your ad copy? Send your opinions and submissions to bestpageforwardshow@gmail.com    Jim's thriller interview project.   Ready to learn about time management and mindset for authors? Visit www.thejugglingauthor.com   Want to submit your own blurb for consideration? Fill out the form at www.bestpageforward.net/podcast or send an email to BestPageForwardShow@gmail.com  

Cross Examination - Sarah Richards by COM Church

Imposter Syndrome - Sarah Richards by COM Church

#Blessed, Part 2 - Sarah Richards by COM Church

Content design, how teams are using it and what trends to look out for in 2019. We chat with Sarah Richards, founder of the content design movement and ex-head of content design for the Government Digital Service (GDS). After leaving GDS, Sarah took her knowledge and wrote the respected and highly popular Content Design – a book for anyone creating user-centred content.She also launched Content Design London to provide training and consultation in content strategy and content design for governments, charities and organisations in the UK and worldwide.Sarah is also a respected and in-demand speaker and shares her expertise to audiences at conferences, meet-ups and events globally.

Sarah Richards, author of 'Content Design' and creator of the content design discipline takes us through some of the key techniques for creating amazing content. She goes through ways to reflect users’ mental models back at them by using their language and their way of thinking. We chat about journey mapping, value mapping, job stories and other ways to ensure you're creating purposeful content and bringing your organisation with you. We also discuss the importance of accessibility and the need for some solid readability guidelines we can all use. Message us on Twitter @DigiContentPod if there are any content design topics you'd like us to cover or people you'd be keen for us to talk to.

Pure Sex, Part 2 - Identity - Julian & Sarah Richards by COM Church

Pure Sex, Part 1 - Julian & Sarah Richards by COM Church

Hello and welcome to another episode of ‘This is HCD'. My name is Gerry Scullion and I'm a service design principal now based in Dublin, Ireland. Recently I caught up with Sarah Richards in London. Sarah's a founder of Content Design in London, an organisation focused on delivering content designed training courses as well as working with organisations to help build the content design function internally. Sarah previously held the role of head content design within the GDS, the government digital services team for the gov.uk. And in this conversation we actually go back in time to discuss what that was like, working with people who had no idea what content design was and how Sarah worked around that. Also joining in in this conversation was Joris Beets, international service design director for EY Seren in London. Sarah on Twitter Content Design website Buy 'Content Design' the book (Amazon UK) Joris on Twitter This is HCD is brought to you by Humana Design Follow us on Twitter Follow on Instagram Sign up for our newsletter Join our Slack Channel Follow us on Medium Support the show.

Hello and welcome to another episode of ‘This is HCD'. My name is Gerry Scullion and I'm a service design principal now based in Dublin, Ireland. Recently I caught up with Sarah Richards in London. Sarah's a founder of Content Design in London, an organisation focused on delivering content designed training courses as well as working with organisations to help build the content design function internally. Sarah previously held the role of head content design within the GDS, the government digital services team for the gov.uk. And in this conversation we actually go back in time to discuss what that was like, working with people who had no idea what content design was and how Sarah worked around that. Also joining in in this conversation was Joris Beets, international service design director for EY Seren in London. Sarah on Twitter Content Design website Buy 'Content Design' the book (Amazon UK) Joris on Twitter This is HCD is brought to you by Humana Design Follow us on Twitter Follow on Instagram Sign up for our newsletter Join our Slack Channel Follow us on Medium Support the show.

Power Lines Part 8 - Recap - Julian & Sarah Richards by COM Church

On this episode of The Drive Home to Hawkesbury, Rachael speaks with Councillor Sarah Richards on local events and issues including one subject close to everyone's heart the proposed Bells Line of Road Castlereagh corridor. Please share this community link and join us online for the open discussion, thank you. Sarah is a local resident, […] The post Ep # 36 – Rachael speaks with Councillor Sarah Richards about local events appeared first on Rachael Goldsworthy Realty.

Content design expert Sarah Richards speaks with Kristina about how we can use data and evidence to give users exactly what they need in a way they expect. Sarah also reflects on her experience overhauling GOV.UK as an example of content design in action.

Power Lines Part 1 - Life In The Spirit - Sarah Richards by COM Church

 Sarah Richards created the field of content design as she revamped gov.uk's web presence. From a messy amalgam of hundreds of government websites, she created a user-focused "storefront" where UK citizens could get their most common questions answered.

Sarah Richards Sarah Richards created the field of content design as she revamped GOV.UK's web presence. From a messy amalgam of hundreds of government websites, she created a user-focused "storefront" where UK citizens could get their most common questions answered. Always focused on her users' needs, Sarah developed an approach and methodologies that can help anyone design, create, and manage better content. Sarah and I talked about: the origin story behind the field of content design the importance of people (80%) over tech (20%) in digital transformation Sarah's diabolical scheme to wrest control of government content from department heads her commitment to a user-focused approach to content design how to get high-level buy-in for a big project balancing business goals with user needs the folly of "push" publishing using pair writing and crits to improve content Sarah is the author of the edifying and amazingly designed book, Content Design. Sarah's Bio Sarah spent 10 years working in digital government, ending as Head of Content Design for the UK Government Digital Service. There she created and developed content design as a discipline for the GOV.UK. Sarah now runs the Content Design Centre, training and consulting in content strategy and content design for organisations and governments around the world. Video Here's the video version of our conversation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UpsazMWxx8 Show Notes/"Transcript" [Not an actual transcript - just my quick notes on first listen-through] 0:00 - intro 1:15 - Sarah intro - actually started in design - had the dungarees and half-shaved head, and "terribly arty-farty" - heard that copywriters made more money - "massively mercenary" at age 19 - better now :) - then on to editorial and checking grammar and then on to "what is content?", where should it go? - then user-centered at GDS 2:15 - when did you articulate the field of "content design"? 2:35 - conversation with boss at GDS, late 2010/early 2011 - outside in freezing cold - Tom Loosemore, GDS director and founder - he said, "Tell me about editorial in government. What do you want? If you had anything, what would it be? Blank sheet. Go." - and she went off - years of frustration with infrastructure, leadership, etc. - "Content people should not be stuck with just words because we have developers on this project. We have designers sitting right next to us." - if audience needs a calculator, or calendar or other tools, give it to them - need to change the way government thinks about content team; spent a lot of time thinking about how to speak to audience but not to each other - and that's where content design came from - they were designing with designers, developers, user researchers - across the government, folks were laughing, "Oh, that's what you call yourselves now." - editors, copywriters were doing their best but had had trouble pulling it all together - now, idea that they were just proofreaders and grammar checkers stops now - now we design content for user need - 5:35 - great origin story 6:00 - percentage of her work is people stuff vs. word stuff? 6:05 - 80% people - "digital transformation is very little about the tech. It's mostly about the people." - you can just analyze tech and decide - content is all about who does what, what we'll say, consistency across channels - "It's all people based." 7:10 - how did you come to have control over the gov.uk content? 7:15 - "we created a content management system, and didn't give anybody access." - it was very difficult - big meeting with Tom Loosemore and franchise [department] heads - Tom rolled out new workflow and process - had her charter in place, top 100 user needs - said that her team would write them and come to their folks for fact checking - and they said "Sign-off?" and she said, "No, fact checking. You don't need to sign things off. I'm not asking for your approval.

Sarah Richards Sarah Richards created the field of content design as she revamped GOV.UK's web presence. From a messy amalgam of hundreds of government websites, she created a user-focused "storefront" where UK citizens could get their most common questions answered. Always focused on her users' needs, Sarah developed an approach and methodologies that can help anyone design, create, and manage better content. Sarah and I talked about: the origin story behind the field of content design the importance of people (80%) over tech (20%) in digital transformation Sarah's diabolical scheme to wrest control of government content from department heads her commitment to a user-focused approach to content design how to get high-level buy-in for a big project balancing business goals with user needs the folly of "push" publishing using pair writing and crits to improve content Sarah is the author of the edifying and amazingly designed book, Content Design. Sarah's Bio Sarah spent 10 years working in digital government, ending as Head of Content Design for the UK Government Digital Service. There she created and developed content design as a discipline for the GOV.UK. Sarah now runs the Content Design Centre, training and consulting in content strategy and content design for organisations and governments around the world. Video Here's the video version of our conversation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UpsazMWxx8 Show Notes/"Transcript" [Not an actual transcript - just my quick notes on first listen-through] 0:00 - intro 1:15 - Sarah intro - actually started in design - had the dungarees and half-shaved head, and "terribly arty-farty" - heard that copywriters made more money - "massively mercenary" at age 19 - better now :) - then on to editorial and checking grammar and then on to "what is content?", where should it go? - then user-centered at GDS 2:15 - when did you articulate the field of "content design"? 2:35 - conversation with boss at GDS, late 2010/early 2011 - outside in freezing cold - Tom Loosemore, GDS director and founder - he said, "Tell me about editorial in government. What do you want? If you had anything, what would it be? Blank sheet. Go." - and she went off - years of frustration with infrastructure, leadership, etc. - "Content people should not be stuck with just words because we have developers on this project. We have designers sitting right next to us." - if audience needs a calculator, or calendar or other tools, give it to them - need to change the way government thinks about content team; spent a lot of time thinking about how to speak to audience but not to each other - and that's where content design came from - they were designing with designers, developers, user researchers - across the government, folks were laughing, "Oh, that's what you call yourselves now." - editors, copywriters were doing their best but had had trouble pulling it all together - now, idea that they were just proofreaders and grammar checkers stops now - now we design content for user need - 5:35 - great origin story 6:00 - percentage of her work is people stuff vs. word stuff? 6:05 - 80% people - "digital transformation is very little about the tech. It's mostly about the people." - you can just analyze tech and decide - content is all about who does what, what we'll say, consistency across channels - "It's all people based." 7:10 - how did you come to have control over the gov.uk content? 7:15 - "we created a content management system, and didn't give anybody access." - it was very difficult - big meeting with Tom Loosemore and franchise [department] heads - Tom rolled out new workflow and process - had her charter in place, top 100 user needs - said that her team would write them and come to their folks for fact checking - and they said "Sign-off?" and she said, "No, fact checking. You don't need to sign things off. I'm not asking for your approval.

Pride And Pitiful - Sarah Richards by COM Church

Genius Of Generosity / Gravity Of Giving - Julian & Sarah Richards by COM Church

LarrySwanson - host of the Content Strategy Interviews podcast Triskaidekaphobia is the fear of the number 13. I'm beginning to understand this fear. I had first scheduled a guest for episode number 13 several weeks ago. The day before we were going to talk, he contacted me to report that he had been clobbered by that flu that is making the rounds. "No worries," I thought. "I'll just move my next interview up a week." That worked fine, on paper anyway. Just as we were about to begin that interview, the school nurse called my guest to let her know that her kid was sick. So we had to reschedule. I decided not to risk sickening any other guests. So this episode is a quick retrospective interview with myself, looking back at the first dozen episodes of this podcast. Show Notes 0:20 - triskaidekaphobia concerns 1:00 - quick review of shows to this point 1:30 - overview of upcoming episodes with 1990's content strategists Natasha Banta McDermott and Laura Porto Stockwell, Lynda.com instructor and WordPress guru Morten Rand-Hendriksen, UK-based government UX expert Sarah Richards and then across the Irish Sea to talk with Elizabeth McGuane about building a content strategy team 2:45 - plea for leads to strategically minded content marketing experts 3:25 - request for brainstorming on how to anonymously share the content-strategy insights of my friends at Google, Amazon, and Facebook in a way that won't get them in hot water with their PR departments 4:00 - my "content first" and currently busy life have kept me from promoting this podcast as much as I'd like, so please subscribe at iTunes, the Android store, SoundCloud, and/or YouTube and leave me nice reviews - and tell your friends!

LarrySwanson - host of the Content Strategy Interviews podcast Triskaidekaphobia is the fear of the number 13. I'm beginning to understand this fear. I had first scheduled a guest for episode number 13 several weeks ago. The day before we were going to talk, he contacted me to report that he had been clobbered by that flu that is making the rounds. "No worries," I thought. "I'll just move my next interview up a week." That worked fine, on paper anyway. Just as we were about to begin that interview, the school nurse called my guest to let her know that her kid was sick. So we had to reschedule. I decided not to risk sickening any other guests. So this episode is a quick retrospective interview with myself, looking back at the first dozen episodes of this podcast. Show Notes 0:20 - triskaidekaphobia concerns 1:00 - quick review of shows to this point 1:30 - overview of upcoming episodes with 1990's content strategists Natasha Banta McDermott and Laura Porto Stockwell, Lynda.com instructor and WordPress guru Morten Rand-Hendriksen, UK-based government UX expert Sarah Richards and then across the Irish Sea to talk with Elizabeth McGuane about building a content strategy team 2:45 - plea for leads to strategically minded content marketing experts 3:25 - request for brainstorming on how to anonymously share the content-strategy insights of my friends at Google, Amazon, and Facebook in a way that won't get them in hot water with their PR departments 4:00 - my "content first" and currently busy life have kept me from promoting this podcast as much as I'd like, so please subscribe at iTunes, the Android store, SoundCloud, and/or YouTube and leave me nice reviews - and tell your friends!

A conversation with Sarah RichardsGov.uk is perhaps the most prolific website of the last 10 years. It stands out because of its simplicity and timelessness. Its no-frills design and content didn't come easy. Just try and strip down thousands of pages of content to the very core, leaving only what's necessary to help its visitors to get the information they need, and to complete their goal. All the while dealing with many different stakeholders (and their politics). But that's exactly what Sarah Richards did.  Sarah Richards What should it look like, that bit of information that people in a particular situation, really need? Sarah Richards and her content and design team at GDS (Government Digital Services in the UK) asked that question, hundreds, perhaps thousands of times, for just as many situations and pieces of content. They found most of their answers by going after and using the data that was available to them, and by creating user stories and job stories (a practice also used in software development), where you create a little story to tune into the particular need you would need the content for. It creates space for different forms and formats of content, by not assuming that the solution would for instance be a web-text, per se. It could be an image, a flowchart, a video, a map, a calculator, or something completely other than that. Sarah named their practice 'Content Design'. My own, battered and dog eared copy of the book In her book, also titled 'Content Design', she shares its core approach and tactics. I really enjoyed reading Sarah's book and attending her workshop on content design. I learned a lot of new skills that I have already put in practice in a few of my projects. I'm sure those skills can be helpful for you, as well. So, have a listen to this episode and our conversation. You'll hear what it was like to work on gov.uk during the first few years (spoiler alert: it was not completely void of stressful situations), how Sarah and her team implemented their methods and what content design entails. Please note:Unfortunately, I have been very clumsy with the recordings, so this episode's sound quality is way below the standard I set for myself, and I'm so so sorry about that. Podcasting is very humbling in that way: I'm constantly reminded of how much I still have to learn... Links:Gov.ukContent Design LondonSarah's book: Content DesignSarah's colleague Tom Loosemore

Vision Cast - Julian & Sarah Richards by COM Church

Welcome to another season of the Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra! In this episode, we'll speak to Artistic Director Nick Armstrong about our first concert of the BSO's 44th seasons. We'll also hear from our principal 2nd violinist and newly appointed co-president of the BSO Board, Sarah Richards. Enjoy!

All Together - Sarah Richards by COM Church

Drew Perkins talks with Jeff Lowe and Sarah Richards from SMART Technologies about the challenges and best practices for implementing #Edtech and effective collaboration strategies. 

Tea is one of the most popular beverages in the world. We Mainers love our tea—and have many ways in which to enjoy this healthful and nourishing drink. Today we speak with Ray Marcotte and Ellen Kanner of Dobrá Tea, and with Sarah Richards of Homegrown Herb and Tea, about types of tea, how tea is best enjoyed, and what specific benefits we may derive from drinking tea. You will love this informative episode. https://www.themainemag.com/radio/2016/02/tea-time-230/

Recorded live at Arlington Street Church, Sunday, June 22, 2014.

Recorded live at Arlington Street Church, Sunday, April 27, 2014.

Why are there a growing number of African-Americans who openly don't believe in God or the church? Sarah Richards reports.