This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Executive website scores a hit
17/03/2002
Traffic to the Scottish Executive website has risen dramatically since the launch of the dedicated daily news and features site Executive News Online last September .
The section of the site aimed at a youth audience - Junior Exec and virtual presenter Seonaid who was launched two months later, have also contributed to the increase in visitors.
The site has also been selected as the MSN top site for Scotland.
Analysis of website traffic by Bigmouth Media, a Search Engine Optimisation agency, has revealed a 36.7% increase in the number of Unique Users visiting the site each week.
Outside Scotland and the UK, the United States, Canada and Australia are amongst the most active countries for accessing the website. The Netherlands, Ireland, France, Germany and Spain are the most active European countries.
Commenting on the traffic growth, Minister for Finance and Public Services Andy Kerr said:
"This marks a positive step forward for the Executive. The internet has created many possibilities for informing, communicating and interacting with the people of Scotland and these figures show that our efforts to become more open and accessible are being well received.
"And it is not just the people of Scotland or even the UK, but people from around the world, who have an interest in what the Scottish Executive is doing. Features like a dedicated daily news site allow people to access the latest Executive news and view webcasts at any time of day or night.
"We are committed to better public service delivery and modernising government - technology can play an important part in achieving this. It can enable the development of innovative solutions to many of the challenges we face in delivering improved choice and quality in those services.
"But it is important that the Executive takes the lead in this - and we are doing just that. Our website is just one example of the Executive harnessing technology to deliver better customer-focussed services. This fits in with our goal to enhance openness and accessibility in public life."
The Executive has recently broken new ground with the first 'virtual interview' between cyber presenter Seonaid (pronounced Shona) and Health Minister Malcolm Chisolm.
Seonaid (which stands for Scottish Executive Online News and Information Distributor) is a virtual character on the cutting edge of modern animation technology, believed to be the first to be based on a government website anywhere in the world.
Accompanying the interview is a special feature - 'A day in the life of the Health Minister'. Running at just over four minutes long, this webcast has been designed to illustrate a 'typical' day for the Health Minister.
In another first, the feature uses footage captured on 'Minister-cam', to show what actually goes on behind the scenes.
Both pieces have been produced as features on the Junior Exec section of the Executives News website ( www.scotland.gov.uk/jx) which aims to extend the Executive's aim of delivering open and accessible government to a youth audience (target age group: 8-16).
Seonaid also recently launched an interactive youth consultation on Radioactive Waste Management and has presented several features relevant to school-age children on the Junior Exec site, such as the history of the Stone of Destiny and explaining how a Bill passes through Parliament.
Modelled on children's television presenters like Konnie Huq of Blue Peter and Melanie Sykes of the Big Breakfast - with inspiration from a range of other on-screen reporters - she was designed to add a new dimension to the educational e-learning experience of young people who are already part of a modern online culture.
Bigmouth Media were established in 1997 and have a wide ranging client base ranging including: Sony Playstation; MTV; 20 th Century Fox; Pfizer Pharmaceuticals; Miller Beer; and Interflora. Their expertise lies in Online Marketing and Promotion with Search Engine Optimisation forming a large part of their business.
Traffic analysis of the Scottish Executive website is based upon weekly Webtrends reports which process site traffic log files.
DAG, a world-leading computer animation company based at the Lighthouse in Glasgow, were previously responsible for creating Annanova, the world's first cyber newscaster and other virtual characters like Head and Shakespeare who are now regularly seen on television.