Interesting Stuff 2009-05-06

In today's on-demand world, it's easy to forget just how far we've come. Gone are the days of schedulers deciding when we've seen enough sport, or enough news, or enough Ashes to Ashes. Instead, we're all our own schedulers now. The Guardian's Will Buckley gushes over the BBC's recent snooker coverage:

If a sport event is taken up by the BBC you can watch it live when it is on traditionally, and when it isn't on red buttonly, or catch up with it after it's over on BBC iPlayerly.

As anyone who will have watched Matt Le Tissier prance about on Sky Sports' Player Cam will appreciate, the red button hasn't always been that useful. This piece in the Telegraph celebrates ten years of innovation:

It was only for 2008's Beijing Olympics, however, that the scheme's popularity reached a point of near-universal acceptance. Deluged with sport, the BBC showed multiple live streams for disciplines it didn't have the space to show on its main channels, and millions of viewers fed - or discovered - at least a passing interest in challenges as diverse as open water swimming or the modern pentathlon.

For more Red Button related happiness, check out Andrew Bowden's entry on the Press Red blog.

Eamonn Fitzgerald writes a reaction to Jakob Nielson's praise of BBC News headlines:

And, anyway, what's so great about those BBC headlines? If we take Italy buries first quake victims and look at the URL we get this: https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7990029.stm. Now, let's take a look at a similar headline from the Daily Telegraph, which is not allowed to impose a tax on Britain's householders. Italian earthquake: more than 150 dead, Silvio Berlusconi confirms. Unlike the lazy Beeb URL, the one here, shows off the craft of an SEO artist, who has to make it work for a living by using elements such as https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/5116660/ and Italian-earthquake-more-than-150-dead-Silvio-Berlusconi-confirms.html to satisfy the needs of the all-powerful spiders. That address contains not just information; it is crammed with the kind of words that will help rank the story.

The Chelsea Flower Show is just a couple of weeks away. We've already launched our dedicated minisite, and the show's special blog is now well and truly back in action.

And finally, congratulations to the BBC News team for scooping two Webby Awards this week.

Dave Lee is co-editor, BBC Internet Blog, Future Media and Technology.