Archive for June, 2005

Googleshame

Thursday, June 30th, 2005

Googleshame definition: The use of Google tricks like Googlebombing to associate embarassing phrases with your Mark which result in the mark’s website appearing first in Google or using link phrases to make your protest site appear in search results for your mark’s site. An example would be the “more evil than Satan” googlebomb of a few years ago which brought you to the Microsoft website or doing a search for Beamish and Crawford will bring you to Tom Raftery’s Beamish and Crawford website.

Gavin – Ireland’s new Drudge?

Tuesday, June 28th, 2005

Gavin’s Irish Corruption Site is already number one in google for the phrase “Irish Corruption”. Bernie suggested the tag with technorati too. So, this appears to be the first to use this tag.

I would hope that as Gavin’s site gets more traffic and eyeballs that it will eventually draw in some people that could get Gavin new information not available in the press so that he becomes a prime newssource in time. Drudge, though maybe with less of the Jerry Springer tendencies. Ireland needs something like this. There’s certainly a gap in the market.

Pix N Mix for June24th 2005

Friday, June 24th, 2005

On Dec. 4, 1982, a deeply suntanned man, about 40 years old, walked into the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Boise, Idaho, and readied himself for confession…. the man swallowed a cyanide capsule. A few minutes later, he was dead.

Sounds like the opening of a thriller. This is a true story however and asks Who killed Fr. Paddy Ryan?

Elvis Mosiac made from stickies. Perfect for our “Statement Wall” in work.

How to deal with burnout.

I, Reporter. New citizen journalism project.

Nice B&W Tattoo photos

Friday, June 24th, 2005

Via Ebby

Comes a a link to photos like the below:

Yum.

Participative journalism is a dangerous precedent for our industry – Gavin O’Reilly

Friday, June 24th, 2005

Jarvis reports on a comment by Gavin O’Reilly made at a World Association of Newspapers event recently:

I think participative journalism is a dangerous precedent for our industry. People forget that newspapers have always been an interactive medium, people have always been able to interact with us through the mailbag.

This was in response to a question from the floor, slightly goes against what his his speech where he talks about the Internet being an integral part of their business. Perhaps he means people can email mailbag@dyingnewspaper.com

Surprised nobody in the irishblogs picked this up. Or even the real Gavin. 🙂

Jarvis on Public Broadcasting

Tuesday, June 21st, 2005

Jarvis on Public Broadcasting. Every day he posts something valuable. I think his blog is the most important one I read at this stage.

To feed a troll…

Monday, June 20th, 2005

Someone posted this on the LGB Forum on boards.ie this evening.

Im interested in working at a adult chat line, part time to earn some extra
money. Where and how do I go about applying for a job with one of them? all
the ads in the papers are for callers only. How much do the earn per hour?
any advice would help hugely. Thanks.

I asked the mods to keep it around but they don’t have a sense of humour. So here is what I tried to post before the thread was deleted:

It is actually quite difficult to get a job in this area in Ireland due to the controversial nature of the industry. There is strict regulation and you have to be a member of the Federation of Entertainment Chat and Adult Lines.

To be a member of this group means attending a 3 day intensive course run by the federation. The course is called “Matters”, it includes how to rationalise a conversation, knowing when to terminate a call, identification of breathing rhythms so you can judge call “completion”, first aid in case a caller has a medical emergency (quite common). The second day has a four hour long course on the special language that is used on these Adult Lines. The course is called the Alphabet and Neologisms of Adult Lines. This is where you use all the various phrases and “dirty” words to stimulate a caller. Remember at the end of the day you have to give the caller good service or they won’t call back or hang up the call early.

The third day is all role playing (but not in the sex game type way though I guess it’s close!) where each participant plays a caller with a specific need and the other person acts as the line operator or “taker” as the industry calls it. At the end of the day is a written test as well as oral. If your oral is good and what you put down on paper then you’re certified can can join the industry. The Federation are the ones who’ll put you in touch with employers.

Good luck with it all!

Activism in Ireland – Not many interested?

Monday, June 20th, 2005

Tasc the Irish social policy think-tank released a survey today on activism.

Most said they were happy to leave the job of holding the Government to account to the media and opposition parties.

More on this in the Irish Independent.

I have a deep bias since I’m involved with IrelandOffline but I do find that people want activist groups and are happy to let them do their thing and not get involved themselves. I wonder if we were doing a poor job would more people feel they’d need to get involved?

That new eircom product

Friday, June 17th, 2005

There’s been some reaction in the past 24 hours to the eircom pay as you go product that they are releasing. The Irish Liberal quoted consumer laws as well as saying

The whole point of broadband is that is is always on! Is this the only country where we are expected to pay absolute laughable amounts of money for such a completly rubbish service?

Planet Potato also dislike the idea and are saying what we’ve all been saying and that is that always-on was the biggest selling point of broadband and is one of the best properties of it.

It’s quite ludicrous that if you use this product for an hour and a half or more per day you are going to end up paying €50 a month on top of the €25 highest line rental in Europe. Meanwhile the same company is offering an always-on product for €29.99. So 672 hours for €29.99 or 20 hours for €20. Mad mad. Penalties and fines for using Broadband is quite scary. Low usage users can be captured using a cheap product with a low download limit. When they are given all the time in the world to use broadband their usage will go up until they eventually move to a more expensive package. Even Google wants people to stay online more and have said broadband is what does it.

IrelandOffline Press Release on timed broadband.

Dialpad! purchased! by! Yahoo!

Wednesday, June 15th, 2005

VOIP company bought by Yahoo!. Let the consolidations and fun games begin. I remember using dialpad years ago to ring my father’s mobile in Boston. It was quite handy back then even before VOIP was refined and improved and before VOIP became over-skHyped.

Update: Now Yahoo! has purchased Blo.gs. Interesting one that.