[Gllug] ACM at City - Websites for Tiny Businesses - 13 July

[John Southern]

Preliminary Announcement

ACM Discussion Meeting on Websites for Tiny Businesses

             6.45 for 7pm,  Wednesday 13 July 2005
              Room CM302, City University, London

       Attendance is free and open to anyone interested
        (Preceded by ACM British Chapter AGM at 6.40pm)

Advertising over the web - whether locally or globally - offers
great opportunity for businesses, especially new or tiny ones. But
creating even a very modest business website presence and keeping it
updated and working well is fraught with complexity, risk and cost.
For businesses with less than around 250,000 Pounds annual turnover
- called tiny businesses here - this cost can be a major obstacle.
It can easily prevent many potential entrepreneurs from funding and
getting on with promising businesses that may become much bigger.

Tiny businesses need to avoid undue system complexity, risk and cost.
For example, few tiny business websites need the technical and legal
complexity and risk exposure involved in electronic transactions.
Many get by fine just advertising on the web and inviting mail order.
Few need sophisticated graphics or any technology not yet mature.
Few need complex web hosting or support offerings. A new generation
of simpler options, and perhaps some new standards, seem overdue.

What are the important website requirements for tiny businesses?
What options exist now? how much money, time and risk do they cost?
What better options are there? Can simpler options cost less?
What should tiny businessess beware getting locked in to?
Is open-source software a key part of the answer? If so, what else?

Attendance and Speakers

No bookings are required but if you plan to attend, informing
dcd at soi.city.ac.uk would be welcome.

There will be a panel of both business and computing specialists.
If you wish to contribute a brief presentation before general
discussion is invited, please submit to dcd at soi.city.ac.uk
a very brief outline of your proposed contribution.

Organised by ACM British Chapter, Supported by
the Department of Computing, City University, London.

Further Details

For further details please see:   http://acmbc.soi.city.ac.uk
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