nor(DEV):con 2019 Call For Speakers

Thursday 21st to Saturday 23rd February 2019 Kings Centre 63-75 King Street Norwich NR1 1PH   nor(DEV):con, the Norfolk Developers Conference is back for 2019 and stronger than ever with new tracks and an updated format. nor(DEV):con is Norfolk and Norwich’s premier and most well attended conference for everyone involved in software development and business.  

Call for Speakers

The call for speakers is open from now until Friday 28th of September 2018. To submit a proposal, please send an email to paul@norfolkdevelopers.com with the following:  

• Session Title
• Session abstract
• Session topics:
  • Pre-conference workshop
  • Tech
  • Process
  • Workshop
  • Stephen Fry
  • Business
  • Lightning talk
• Session length
  • 45 min presentation
  • 90 minute presentation
  • 90 minute hands on workshop
  • Full day hands on workshop
  • 5 minute Lightning talk
• Technical level
  • Beginner
  • Intermediate
  • Advanced
  • Business
• Speaker(s) Bio
• Availability for Thursday 21st (full day workshops only), Friday 22nd and Saturday 23rd February.

  Further information will be required if you proposal is accepted.  

Conference Topics

Pre-Conference Full Day Workshops

We’re looking for three full day pre-conference hands on workshops. These should be on a software development or process theme and we’re looking for one beginner, one intermediate and one advanced workshop. Pre-conference workshops attract between 5 and 30 people.  

Tech Track

We’re looking for 45 minute and 90 minute beginners, intermediate and advanced presentations primarily on coding, techniques and libraries. This year we’re particularly keen to include a few Blockchain sessions.  

Process Track

Rather than just concentrating on Agile, this year we have a process track for any type of software development process. Yes, you can even propose a session on Waterfall if you’re feeling brave!  

Stephen Fry Track

Software Development is more than just code and practices. It’s about people. And people are not logical entities that follow easily understood rules. We’re illogical, irrational, and tend to shy away from difficult subjects like mental illness, inequality, and bias. This track looks at the softer side of Software Development, at the people, how they interact, and how we can work with the whole gamut of humanity, because it’s not just Stephen Fry who has  manic depression.  

Workshop Track

We’re looking for 90 minute hands on workshops for up to 20 people. These can be on any of the topics above and delegates bring their own laptops.  

Business Track

The business track is the track for everyone! We’re looking for business based sessions with a technical slant.  

Lightning Talks

On the Friday evening during the wine reception, which will be in the main hall, we’ll also be opening the floor to lightning talks. A lightning talk is a 5 minute presentation and we encourage new speakers as well as experienced speakers to present.  

Speakers Package

• Free entry to the Friday and Saturday sessions at the conference
• Free entry to the Friday night speakers dinner
• Travel and accommodation at the discretion of the conference organise

When was the last time you made a decision to buy something significant without doing some investigation first? When did you last buy a ‘big thing’ without looking at the options or comparing the price? Before the internet this ‘research’ was done on the high street or maybe over the phone with a copy of the Yellow Pages to guide you. While I bet few people are calling bookshops asking for Fly Fishing by J R Hartley, it is searched for more than 200 times a month online. Just like people looking for fictional fishing books the first place you probably do your ‘research’ now is Google. You go there to type in either the name of the business/product you’re looking for, or if you haven’t yet chosen, the type of thing that you want. You are not alone. These two methods of search are the most common; they are sometimes referred to as known search or generic search. For example, if you want shoes you might search for ‘Big Dave’s Shoe Shop’ or ‘Shoe shops near me’. You either know Big Dave and want his shoes or you don’t know Big Dave but still want shoes. Both of these searches are crucial to Big Dave because he just wants to sell shoes. This kind of activity means a business needs a website and that website needs to be optimised to show up on a search engine… Search Engine Optimisation. If you already spend money on newspaper ads, radio ads, outdoor advertising and aren’t seeing that convert into customers then the first thing to look at is what happens when someone hears your ad on the radio… I bet they Google you. If they do, what do they see? SEO isn’t optional anymore – especially if most of your marketing is done offline. If you want people who see your offline advertising to reach your business you need SEO. If this has piqued your interest, and you want to know more, go and have a read of how we get SEO to drive results for small business on our website.

Enquiries about ‘seagulls’, which usually relate to the large Herring Gull are certainly on the increase. You just need to read the press and every week you will find a story about these birds causing havoc somewhere on the coast or inland.

The main issues that come from business owners relate to mess, attacks on people and property damage.  Typical problems will include bird droppings (guano). Guano is generally known to be a source of bacteria which can be transmitted to humans and ultimately lead to disease. Property issues include blocked gulley’s and drainage problems, however, we also have incidents of gulls pecking through skylights on roofs and attacks on people.

With bird control, you need to put in place a detailed disruption and dispersal programme. Its not a quick fix, it’s a method that over time will reduce the amount of birds or even make the location a bird free zone. The key to success is timing, education and physical deterrents.

In March, Herring Gulls start their nesting season, so it is important to get the plan in place before this time. 

During the summer season, Herring Gulls are feeding and protecting their young and under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, you cannot disturb nests, eggs or the young which include trying to disperse the adults leaving the young behind. The gulls will seek out food by any means possible. If you feed the birds, leave unsecured rubbish bags out for collection and drop litter in the street, people will make it easy for the gulls and this will be the main reasons the area is experiencing problems, particularly in the spring and summer seasons. People need to take responsibility over educating others on litter and food.

At the end of every nesting season (usually September until February) all nests and nesting material should be removed from buildings as they will return to breed. Gulls will typically return to site year after year as they are fairly territorial. If chicks also return to ‘their site’, any problems experienced now are only likely to increase in line with an increased volume of birds present, year on year.

This is the key time to implement bird control measures.

Bird exclusion netting

Professionally installed bird netting protects buildings without harming birds. The netting will act as a barrier preventing the birds from landing on the building roof. Our team design and install bespoke bird netting systems based on a site survey and when completed they typically don’t need much maintenance.

Bird repellent gel

Bird deterrent gels are non-toxic, they do not harm the birds and are much more discreet than netting. Birds are deterred from landing on a surface by the UV light reflected from the gel. We apply the gel to small dishes at close intervals and will remain effective for at least two years even in harsh climates.

Laser control

Enter the world of technology. Laser control is a very effective way of managing bird issues. An approaching laser beam appeals to the survival instinct of birds, causing them to fly away immediately. One laser system installed on a roof can cover up to 3,000 acres and reach 2,500 meters in the right conditions. The lasers are programmed to operate on various roofs and at set intervals during dawn and dusk. We have had major successes with this method at Sizewell Power Station. One laser has significantly reduced the number of gulls present at this facility.

Dispersal of Gulls using Distress Calls

Another method of dispersing birds is using a device which transmits digitally stored distress calls. The system we use has 9 different bird distress calls, including different gull species, starlings and pigeons. When sounded the birds will lift, circle around where the distress call is coming from, look for a predator below and start to feel that the area is unsafe as they cannot locate anything. These systems are available as a portable megaphone or can be hardwired on a timer. This is the same system as used at airports to keep birds away from runways reducing the risks of bird-strikes.

What is the law? 

All wild birds, their nests, eggs and chicks are protected by law (Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981). Even an empty unoccupied nest may not be removed within the breeding season.

However, in very particular circumstances property owners can have Herring Gull nests and eggs removed by a specialist contractor, under the terms of a Natural England General Licence. This may include:

• It must be for reasons only of public health or public safety. (Nuisance, noise or mess are not legal reasons for removal).
• Other legal methods of resolving the public safety issue have been tried and were unsuccessful or impractical.

Our advice is to start looking to plan a programme which will commence in September. We are happy to provide a free survey and quotation. Please get in touch by calling us on 0800 980 9767 or via our website.

We are delighted to be working with new brand Ohmies, a company dedicated to helping individuals smoke less through cheaper alternatives. It is estimated that smoking in the UK costs the NHS around £2.5 billion per year and it is a very costly habit for individuals, costing the average person around £3,700 per year to maintain the addiction.

With the rate of smokers not slowing down, we are pleased to working with Ohmies, a new website offering a number of smoking alternatives at affordable prices, helping people get off smoking altogether and helping them save money effectively.

Launching a new eCommerce site

The owners of the site needed a simple eCommerce platform to list all their products, images and payment checkout facilities. Using Shopify, it creates a professional platform for shop owners to design the site, list products and monitor any orders and payments. The site is well adapted to desktop, mobile and tablet and offers a simple navigation so customers can scroll through smoking alternatives effectively. 

Using SEO for an eCommerce site

As SEO is our speciality, we took a very methodical approach to help Ohmies optimise their website and boost their rankings on Google for a number of keywords such as ‘smoking alternatives’ and ‘ways to stop smoking.’ 

To target these keywords, we put together a specialist landing page and added relevant content relating to that key term. This creates relevancy in Google’s eyes and creates a page that they can index effectively. 

We ensured that of the hundreds of products featured, every image had specific alt-text so Google could read the image and meta-titles and meta descriptions so each page can be categorised and found by Google.

Acquiring links from other websites is not easy in this highly competitive industry. As a result, we are putting together a number of useful guides about smoking, filled with statistics so that other companies and resources may find it interesting and want to link to it. We then intend to use outreach to ask other websites, resources and guides to link back to the site – helping the site build up its domain and this will strengthen the site’s SEO and its rankings.