Author Archive

Baba O’Reilly takes on Greenslade

Tuesday, June 17th, 2008

Here we go.

Greenslade blogs:

In many ways the O’Brien saga is a distraction from the stark reality facing a company that has put its faith in the longevity of newsprint and averted its gaze from the digital future. It has invested online, of course, but it is way behind many other newspaper companies.

The consequence of playing the digital ostrich is that INM is hurt more by the newsprint advertising downturn than those publishers who have been chasing online revenues fo several years.

Note the tone of INM’s trading update. While claiming that revenues were “marginally ahead in constant currency terms” so far this year, advertising conditions remained volatile in the second quarter. Volatile is usually code for problematic. So, in plain-speak, revenue is falling and likely to fall further in the second half of the year.

Baba O’Reilly replies:

Firstly, for the record, at INM we make no apologies whatsoever for putting our “faith” in newspapers/ newsprint, as our record 2007 results speak to (advertising growth, circulation growth and record profits)… On the face of it, that’s just good business and that might just appear to your readers to be a winning strategy (and perhaps, other media groups should follow our lead?)

and

Being at the vanguard of digital developments as we are, your somewhat strident (and mistaken) views on INM might have been suitably moderated by revealing (or at least reflecting) some of INM’s other digital ventures/ investments, such as the hugely successful creation, expansion and flotation (and subsequent profitable sale for c. €100m) of iTouch PLC (mobile content), as well as INM’s recent investments in price comparison (Germany), mobile VoIP, image search and online bingo/ gaming.

Denver the last dinosaur:
Dinosaur and Astronaut
Photo owned by Tom Hilton (cc)

Business Blogging Training – Open sourcing it

Monday, June 16th, 2008

I’ve been doing this Business Blogging Training lark for over a year at this stage both privately and in public training events and it’s a lot of fun and you get a great kick when you see new bloggers come online from these events. There is however a lack of good trainers in this area and too many “consultants”. Ones without blogs! I’d like to see more competition in this area as it’s healthy for companies and healthy for me to have competition. There’s a need for fresh air and new thoughts in this area.

To help this along I’m going to “open source” my training, in a way. I’ll give away all my course material (once I add some of the latest additions after recent courses) and put them online but in addition to this I’ll happily train up to 12 people (for free) in how I train people in Business Blogging.

Are you interested? I’ll be doing this course on a Saturday and more than likely in Cork. Probably everyone’s fav funky Hotel. But I might be convinced to do another in Dublin or elsewhere. 🙂
There are of course some conditions if you want to sign up:

0. You’re a blogger already.
1. You agree to start offering the courses after being trained and give at least one free public Business Blogging Training Course (like I did in Cork and Dublin).
2. You agree (though it’s not enforceable and screw is subjective) to not screw people over on charging them for your courses.
3. If you use my material you give attribution somewhere and you should strongly consider also open sourcing your training material.

The more people with a clue giving these courses and updating training material and giving it away, the better for those giving the training and receiving the training.

Send me an email damien < at > mulley.net with the subjectline “Train the trainers” if you want to take part. There are no guarantees you’ll make the cut. I’ve a feeling there might be an over-subscription. 🙂

marco free bike good friend
Photo owned by frankh (cc)

Fluffy Links – Monday June 15th 2008

Monday, June 16th, 2008

Check out the blog Leeside Story by Emer Harrington

IMRO now suing Eleccy Picnic. Nice sort them.

Euan riffs in Enterprise 2.0 but it can apply to any new idea inside a company.

I believe I can fly. No you can’t you conman. How David Copperfield flys.

Mossberg reviews the Samsung phone and mentions the iPhone how many times?

Only recently found the blog Photoshop Disasters. This one is fantastic.

Metallica has to backtrack after telling bloggers they were not allowed to review their music. Gobshites.

Google Browser Synch discontinued. Damn.

But they are building an ISP throttling detection tool. Interesting.

Via Fabulist
:

Young Fine Gael sing Enda Enda Enda

Monday, June 16th, 2008

Can anyone decode the lyrics? It mentions Bertie and Harney. I’m actually impressed (no really) with the clever lyrics that I can make out. Gift Grub material, almost. The person that uploaded this video called them bigots, I don’t see how. Boggers maybe.

What are ComReg up to these days?

Sunday, June 15th, 2008

Well according to the eTenders site, the Telecoms Poodle are

Looking to hire someone to write a report for them on the Digital Dividend:

To enter into a contract (commencing on 31 July 2008) for the provision consultancy advice for the Commission for Communications Regulation (hereafter referred to as ComReg) on a suitable approach to its Digital Dividend strategy. It is intended that the consultants will produce a report, based on experience of other countries, which have begun implementing Digital Dividend, and an overview of Digital Dividend strategies adopted there to ensure that consumers will benefit from the future release of Digital Dividend spectrum.

The Digital Dividend is that spectrum released when analogue TV is switched off. Something that will not happen for years in Ireland I should think, though it’s meant to be 2012 in most places. The EU has yet to make a proper decision on it and some consultation about it is meant to happen later this year.

Ofcom, a proper telecoms regulator started their consultation in 2005 on this and another this month.

Another report needed on the shutting down of GSM frequency bands and telcos moving to full 3G.

The purpose of this tender is to engage the services of an experienced and suitably qualified professional contractor to analyse the technical implications of liberalisation of the 900MHz and 1800MHz GSM bands, taking into account the expiry dates of existing GSM licences on behalf of the Commission.

And finally a tender to Build and run a call centre for ComReg. Ah handy, outsourcing their “Hah, you must be joking, that’s not our problem, go back to your telco and sort it amongst yourselves.” phoneline. Surely a recording would do?

Report: Internet nearly twice as influential as TV in Europe

Friday, June 13th, 2008

Read this highly interesting post from Matt Dickman about his employer’s report on digital influence.

As you can see the internet is more influential in each country than any other type of media. It’s nearly twice as influential as TV and eight times more influential than traditional print media. Interestingly, consumers spend a marginal amount more time on TV than the Internet, but it’s not effecting their decisions proportionally.

The study found that consumer behavior falls into one of five categories. They are research, commerce, communication, mobility and publishing.

Teatime TV
Photo owned by dominiccampbell (cc)

Upcoming Blogging and Online Marketing training events

Friday, June 13th, 2008

In association with the Irish Computer Society I’m doing a Business Blogging Training course on Tuesday June 24th and an Online Marketing training course on July 8th. If you’re interested in attending then contact the ICS.

Both the Blogging course and the Online Marketing course are interactive and you’ll be doing practical stuff. Watching Powerpoints wastes everyone’s time.

Balloons at Luminato
Photo owned by paolo.demarchi (cc)

Fluffy Links – Friday the 13th of June 2008

Friday, June 13th, 2008

What a great post. Blogging really is therapeautic.

Alexia has a new blog gaff.

South of Dub. Property blog. Very interesting stuff on it.

Well done to the Dial2Do folks who won the SVASE Launch in Silicon Valley.

David Behan has launched an online memorial service. Congrats.

Seriously? Eamon Ryan opts out of addressing data retention issues? He’s Comms Minister, the law is all about spying on our communications.

So Linux on servers is greener?

Microsoft sync software, not one, not two but how many different ones have they got?

Fred Wilson gives good advice on conducting meetings that won’t waste your time.

Twingly – New blog search engine. Meant to be less spammy.

It was a hidden setting but you can enable the iPod 3G videoconferencing system easily enough.

Black Affair – It’s Real

Gotta love Freedom of Information requests

Thursday, June 12th, 2008

Tis the season for FOI requests innit? Another one from the DCENR (pdf) where Finian McGrath writes to Eamon Ryan and asks him to have a phonebox removed from a neighbourhood in Marino. The forwarded letter from the constituent is funny but tragic.

From what I have seen the phone box serves the following purposes in descending order.
1. Target for throwing practice – which results in glass shattered all over the street and the footpath.
2. Public Toilet.
3. Drinking Den and subsequent dumping spot for Vodka bottles
4. Meeting place for drunken youths
5. Phone box

RTÉ News Now launches – A new 24-hour online news ‘channel’

Thursday, June 12th, 2008

Blurb:

RTÉ News Now is the only place you can watch the latest Irish news from anywhere in the world.

Watch up-to-the-minute news streamed 24 hours a day, seven days a week with live coverage of special events and full-length current affairs programmes.

http://www.rte.ie/live/index.html?news

Realplayer or Windows Media Player only. Hmm.