Planet Nottingham – 12th October 2007

October 15th is Blog Action Day. This years theme is the Environment, where people are asked to blog about something relating to any environmental issues. We’d like to take the opportunity to tell you about an environmentally friendly event which is taking place in Nottingham this weekend.

Planet Nottingham is an event focussed on raising some of the most important environmental issues that affect 18-30 years old today. Not only the major worldwide issues of climate change and global warming but more individually pertinent issues such as recycling, reducing consumption and local environmental issues

Nothing new you say? Well this event is going to put its money where its mouth is and in doing so will become the world’s first ever green club event.

Aims of the Event:

1. To be carbon neutral (using carbon offsetting)
2. To be advertised using recycled materials and more non-paper based methods
3. To showcase artwork of all descriptions from green inspired artists
4. To showcase film shorts with an environmental theme
5. To promote major issues that affect 18-30 year olds and inspire them to change
6. Recycle or reuse all materials used on the night
7. To sign up people on the night to make pledges to improve their eco-footprint
8. To show that is it possible for young adults to have a great time and make a positive difference at the same time.

All of the profits from the last Planet Nottingham event that took place in June were donated to green community projects working in deprived areas of the city.

The plan is replicate this event across the UK in the near future in the hope of raising awareness of environmental issues, helping people understand what they can do to make a positive difference and also to provide finances for interesting local environmental projects.

This time the ante is upped in spectacular fashion with one of the UK’s most recognisable DJs. Famed for his “How to Cut and Paste Series” and his awesome audio visual projects we have the mighty DJ Yoda for company.

Friday 12th October2007 Planet Nottingham @ Marcus Garvey Ballroom

DJ Yoda
Pete Jordan (Spectrum)
The Chosen Ones
Sliders from Mars
Spamchop

Advanced tickets (on recycled paper) are available at: UNU Box Office / Bag of Nails / Café El Gordos / Happy Return / Golden Fleece / Funky Monkey / Selectadisc / Planet Nottingham Reps

For more information please see: myspace.com/planetevents

Vouchermania.com

One website we’ve recently started visiting regularly in the office is vouchermania.com. We all like a bargain every now and again! The site is “designed specifically to help you make savings, whilst at the same time promoting the products and services of local and national businesses.” The site originally started off in Nottingham and Derby but has now branched out across other cities in the UK.

In the past websites like this have always tended not to live up to expectations, but the interface and content of Vouchermania is really impressive. The site allows businesses to advertise and promote any special offers. From a bargain hunter’s point of view, you select the area you live in and then you can search through a range of money off and discount vouchers.

The site caters for a wide selection of different business sectors and offers an extensive range of vouchers for any perspective bargain hunter. You can find money off anything from alternative therapies, estate agents, florists, restaurants, tattoos or taxis!

Some of our clients who are already using the site include:

Cascades Gardens – A luxury bed and breakfast near Chatsworth in Bonsall, Derbyshire

Southwell Racecourse – The Nottingham Racecourse who also have wedding and conference facilities

The Adrenaline Jungle – An Outdoor activities centre in Nottingham

The Olde Barn – A luxury hotel retreat set in the beautiful countryside of Grantham

The website is really easy to use. Once you’ve found a voucher that you’d like to use you simply fill in all the contact details on the form and print it out. Simple eh? If you need it, you can even click on the map to find out exactly where you need to take your voucher!

So, what are you waiting for? Get on the site and saving money!

Required: Web Developer – Nottingham

We are seeking an experienced web production person. You will be fluent in X/HTML and structural CSS and able to build sites conforming to W3C and WAI Level 2 standards. Experience with Javascript and working with content management and e-commerce systems is also required. Experience of working within ASP and PHP development environments would be a distinct advantage.

The role will initially be to take Photoshop layouts from the design team and convert them to HTML/CSS templates suitable for standalone site or use in e-commerce or content management systems, and then build the site around the existing software framework. The right candidate will be encouraged to progress into a full programming development role should they wish.

Please include with your application a list of URLs you’ve worked on detailing your level of involvement.

Closing date for applications: 5 October 2007

Send your CV including URLs and cover letter to pete@metafocus.co.uk

Liberty Industrial – Recruitment Agency in Nottingham

One of our client’s websites that has recently undergone a bit of a transformation and update is Liberty Industrial. Liberty Industrial is a Mansfield recruitment agency who also have an offices in Redditch. In the past the company have mainly focussed on helping organisations recruit for jobs in Nottingham and jobs in Redditch.

Due to the recent changes in European legislation many Polish and Eastern European workers have been moving to the UK to find better paid work. The influx of Polish worker to the UK is high and is highlighted by this recent article in the Irish paper, the Mayo News. The Polish Government is having to issue special work permits to workers from other eastern European countries to help fill labour shortages within the country.

Liberty have decided to specialise in the supply of Eastern Europe workers to UK companies. In particular the Mansfield employment agency is to focus on providing polish workers, polish construction workers, eastern European workers and migrant workers to companies in the East Midlands and Redditch areas. Using overseas partners the agency has access to thousands of workers in the UK and across Europe who are available for work with just a few days notice.

The Liberty Industrial website is now much more focussed to reflect the services that the company offers. Liberty are enrolled on our monthly search engine optimisation program. We have optimised their website for a range of key phrases including polish workers, polish construction workers and migrant workers. The site is already beginning to rank highly in the search engine results pages after only a few weeks.

The improvements to the Liberty site have affected both sides of their business: people seeking employment and employers seeking people. It is much easier for people, especially polish people, who are seeking work to find the site through the search engines.