Alison Cork: Web Profile

Alison Cork's impressive career has seen her work extensively in TV, radio, publishing and journalism. The founder of ProblemSolved.co.uk and HomesandBargains.co.uk, she is best known for her weekly columns in the Daily Telegraph, Independent and Evening Standard and as the Home Expert for ITV's This Morning, where she helps people to find quality homeware at affordable prices.

1) Mac or PC?

I've always used a PC and given what I use it for, I don't see the need for an upgrade (if you'd call it that). Plus, I'm a sucker for a bit of Flash animation...

2) iPhone or Blackberry?

The speed at which I type just doesn't lend itself to touch screens and the autocorrect on iPhones would drive me crazy. Blackberry it is...

3) Mozilla Firefox or Internet Explorer?

I asked the team on this and their answer was both. We have 2 websites and we're just launching a third; about half our users are on IE with Firefox and Chrome growing all the time - we have to cater to everyone.

4) Facebook or Twitter?

I'm a self-confessed Twitter addict, it's the instant gratification of it that I love. The character limit imposes some self-discipline - a welcome dock leaf to the verbal tsunami you often find on Facebook.

5) Free-for-all or paywall?

The jury's still out on this one - websites have to find new ways of generating revenue but will people pay for content or comment which is widely available for free? I agree with the Times that quality journalism does come at a cost but would argue that, with the rise of blogging and social media, newspapers no longer decide what quality journalism is - we do.

6) Gmail or other mail?

I'm a fully signed up member of the MS Outlook club - I run my life through it. My only foray into webmail of any kind is yousendit.com which I'll often use for filing features with hefty image files.

7) Google or Yahoo?

Google. A complete no-brainer. It's like comparing an Ipad with a Gameboy - they're sort of the same and yet a whole different kettle of ballparks.

8) Wordpress or eblogger?

I use Wordpress for my blog, www.alisoncork.com. The guys tell me it's because it's open source and can be hosted by us.

9) Mostly online or often offline?

Mostly online - let's just put it this way, my consultant confiscated my Blackberry in the later stages of labour…

10) Technophile or technophobe?

At the risk of sounding like a Luddite, I leave the techie stuff to the team. I love technology, just don't bore me with the details.

11) As a judge, what are you looking for in The Good Web Guide's Website of the Year this year?

I'm quite an instinctive person so I'll know it when I see it. Broadly speaking, I'm looking for a great concept that's been translated into a well designed end product.

15th July 2011