How important is your web presence to you? It doesn't necessarily act as the instigator of interest but I think it's a great first entrance point - it's almost the reception point for people. Often we find that visitors will have had a look at the site before they come. That's also true for some of the academic and commercial partners we collaborate with. It saves us a huge amount of time as it allows people to visit the site and get a flavour of what the Eden Project is about beforehand.
What can visitors to your website experience? They can learn a lot about what's happening on site and what our future aims and ambitions are. In September we're hosting a big online conference after the Johannesburg UN world summit on sustainability and visitors will be able to participate and contribute to that dialogue. There are also QuickTime Virtual Reality clips of the biospheres and daily events programmes. We're launching the Eden Sessions in the summer so we're looking into webcasts for them.
You also have a tie-in with the Guardian's Learn.co.uk? When schools want to download educational packages, they can go straight there and the material is accessible directly from the classroom. We were quite keen to keep that separate from our general website, partly because there's commercial activity on the main site and we didn't want the two to be that closely linked.
What computer do you use? I have a Compaq Armada laptop that's like my right arm. I'm quite conscientious at backing up but I'd still be heartbroken if I lost it! When the technology fails I switch into "cajoling" mode and talk to my computer as if it has a personality! I also use an iPaq but I must confess my Filofax still travels with me.
Is the mobile important to you? Critical. When you're based in Cornwall you spend time travelling on the train and it's important to stay connected. I have a Nokia Communicator, which, theoretically, allows me to send files back to the office. Before they enable sending video-clips, they need to establish an efficient mechanism for sending and receiving big chunks of text. We've had situations where someone's tried to send me an attachment and the iPaq won't accept it. I'd like something that would allow the transmission of a reasonably large spreadsheet without being subject to the vagaries of satellites!
Visit: <A HREF="http://www.edenproject.com"" TARGET="_NEW">www.edenproject.com
The Eden Sessions will begin next month. There will be live performances from Pulp, Spiritualized, Beth Orton and Doves. There will also be a Womad concert in August.
