"This page doesn't work on my computer". Quite often this is type of email I get from users trying to view a newly published page on our website. But of course, what I need to understand is the operating system and browser. Otherwise, how can I effectively diagnose the issue? And of course, then there's the added complications of the user's own browser settings. It's like trying to diagnose a patient without them in front of you.

There are loads of tools out there to assist with this and one which I've found particularly useful as a Chrome user is the 'Browserling' plugin. This is particularly useful when testing website compatibility with the dreaded Microsoft Edge! In fact, we're currently approaching a situation where there are likely to be less browser choices than ever given Microsoft's announcement that Edge is to soon be discontinued.

After 3 years Edge was doomed to failure. Despite being championed by a company who still have the desktop market share it's used by only about 2% of the internet community. This is chiefly down to it not adequately replacing Internet Explorer. I've never liked IE myself - it's caused me more problems than solutions but it's impossible to deny that for many people the 'Blue E' IS the Internet. It's the icon you click to go online but Microsoft themselves never gave any guidance about how to transition.

Then for users who are more aware of what a web browser is there was no sales pitch on why it might be better than Firefox or Chrome. If your current browser works for your needs why would you bother going to the effort of switching? Some people may not even know that Edge was even a thing! And finally, and as referenced above, for us web professionals it was just another mouth to feed - another browser in which your website rendered differently and demanded fixing...

With mobile devices now being the main way that people consume the internet, a browser that only worked on desktop could never compete with the mighty Google Chrome. By default if you purchase an Android phone or a Chromebook you've already made your browser choice. Google own the world's most important web services (whereas Microsoft own none). Search, Home, Maps, YouTube are all so good they ensure you use their interfaces in as many ways as possible. I'm writing this on my trusty Chromebook now. They push you towards their products at every opportunity meaning Edge was always doomed to failure.

So what does this leave us with? As well as Internet Explorer and Chrome there are a few other significant players such as Safari or Opera. But my old favourite was trusty Firefox. I always saw this as the most robust and reliable and it had the best logo and developer tools (like Firebug).

As I learnt more about them as a company I wanted to support them even more. They are a truly independent browser with superior, human values compared to the rest. But things are not looking good for them either largely because of similar reasons to the above. For example, as anyone reading this ever used Firefox on a mobile device? I haven't except to emulate it for browser testing. Mobile usage is essential for any browser to properly survive.

Even it's market share on desktop is now dropping off. Ever since I bought a Chromebook there's no longer a reason for me to use it. The amount of plugins in Chrome now dwarf those of Firefox. With our new website Firefox was at the bottom of the pile when we undertook our internal browser testing. This would never have happened 5 years ago, it would have been too risky, but now no-one cares.

If Firefox goes the same way as Edge it will be a real shame. They're trying to go down fighting (by making many technical improvements and championing privacy) but ultimately what people care about most is convenience. So, if your device comes with a decent browser pre-installed why would you go searching for another one.

So despite this grim outlook it does mean potentially an easier workflow of testing for people who build for the web. The web has always evolved so there's no reason why any of these browsers may not resurface at some point. It's tough at the top. I'd love to see my old friend Netscape Navigator from the late 1990's return rejuvenated to take Chrome's crown!
As part of our commitment to our ongoing 'Shaping Your World' campaign we have instigated the 1% pledge. What this means is than 1% of our workforce of 20,000 colleagues are committed to visiting one school each a year. We have provided the resources for this such as videos, presentations, promo goods and careers guides. We're proud to have smashed our target too with over 360 colleagues going into schools to educate them about the built environment.

As one of the main driving forces behind the whole campaign there was no way I was going to escape unscathed for long! So a few weeks ago we visited Ernulf Academy in St. Neots to talk to Year 8 students. Having worked in a school for 5 years I knew what to expect as we approached the school gates. This was organised by the Skills Service as part of their 'Meet the Professionals' school outreach.

The basic format was that we would answer questions from small groups of 5 students for 3 hours! I really enjoyed finding out about their career aspirations and was surprised how mature some of them were (only one wanted to be a YouTuber!) One question was 'would you rather be poor and doing a job you love or rich and doing a job you hate?' - food for thought! My personal highlight was the boy who wanted to be just like his Dad and be a handyman - a very heartwarming and sincere answer.

Some of the questions that were fired at us really got me thinking. Especially the one about advice I wish I'd had at school before embarking on a career. Here were some of my answers:

Try lots of different things

When you first start out in a career it's your chance to try lots of different career paths. You are all potentially going to be working for the majority of your life (I am old and still have potentially 25 years of work left) so make sure you've chosen the right path. As your career progresses it will get increasingly harder to switch jobs as you become reliant on a certain salary to pay the mortgage and feed the kids!

Say yes to anything

Look how enthusiastic I look!
The first thing I look for when interviewing people is enthusiasm. This is because it's impossible to teach someone how to care about what they do. If you're willing to learn at every opportunity this will really pay off in later life. I found that by being happy to undertake lots of seemingly 'menial' jobs it gave me a great grounding to be seen as a really useful asset to the team. As you progress at work you don't have the luxury of learning for yourself basic digital marketing techniques so pick these up as early as you can.

Pay attention in maths lessons

I hated maths at school. In fact I retook my GCSE after only getting a 'D' first time round as I thought it might hamper me in later life. All the pain was worth it when I got a 'B' and vowed never to try any complex calculations again! But working in digital marketing has taught me that no matter how hard you try you always end up using a calculator!

Whether it be working out the percentage difference in bounce rate or budget management on a complex website redevelopment all roads lead back to it. Even in my home life it's essential to ensure bills get paid and mortgage payments met!

Be present

It's important that you present your own brand to show you're passionate about what you do and that you can increase your company's visibility. I'm doing it right now by writing this blog! I also enjoy the opportunity to get out and network or speak at industry events. If you're not keeping up to date with the latest innovations you'll soon find you're not adding value to the business where you need to.

I really enjoyed going back out and engaging with schools. It made me look at my own career in a new light. I'm thankful that so far I've been able to enjoy what I do - even if my career path wasn't quite as well planned out as perhaps I portrayed it!
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