Author Archive

Fuck the Recession – Links to think about

Friday, January 16th, 2009

The worst thing you can do if you read the below post and what I consider some inspiring links and feel energised from them is to bookmark this blog post or any of those links. So let’s make an agreement before we begin. If you like this blog post, don’t bookmark it and don’t go off and write a blog post and link to this. If you really really want to do something go off and do it, there and then. Register a domain for a business idea, drop every damned thing and do that. Way better than that, walk out of the office or where you happen to be with a pen and paper and using the energy or elation that you have, plan something out on a pen and paper right then. But do not, do not, DO NOT bookmark, do not consign to the back of the browser drawer these webpages. This allows your excited brain to eject those feelings and move back into doing something comfortable, routine, mundane.

But.
But do not spec out an elaborate plan either. Concentrate on one piece of it. See that piece as a a whole part and work on figuring out that and that alone. Forget the overall system that it ties into right now. You want to challenge all parts of your brain and get them working together. Visio is evil. Wire diagrams are evil. Bookmarks (I’m just reiterating) are evil. It is better to build a nut and bolt for a system than it is to spec it out. Yeah you want to build a new car but concentrate on the alternator for now. (Spot the guy who calls the AA to start his car)

Here’s another thing. If the idea turns out to be shit. Grand. Your brain however has now been exercised. It’ll let you know it liked it. Pretend that silly joke about the guy that made 1up and 2up and 3up and gave up at 6up is true. Think of these as warm-up laps and one warm-up lap you realise you’re not so much running as flying. When it all clicks and it all makes sense you’re going to have a good environment to start. Here’s why:

The economy is going to shit but with it prices are falling down, people need money, companies are charging less, people are charging less, many are happy to take a job that pays the mortgage and will work at home afterhours doing work to pay the other bills, work you can provide, non-unionised labour is going to be cheaper, people will want to work on things that help their portfolio and get their name spread if YOU do well. Inflation is going to go into negative percentages soon. 2009 is the best year ever for those with spare cash or who can rob a piggy bank for some. Fuck the recession, break the routine. Fuck the recession, try something. Fuck the recession, build something. Fuck the recession, fail at something. Fuck the recession, start again. FTR. And yes I have badges that say this.

One in a series. And being another. And Hero.

And with my lecture to you out of the way…

KARPOV THE WRECKED TRAIN
Photo owned by karpov the wrecked train (cc)

Links:

The mobile web is here. Look at how much mobile web traffic the iPod Touch has created. Think app store.

An idea that started on Twitter is expanding out now that they have traction.

Om Malik talks about 2009 being the year of the hacker. Go try things out. Go write stuff, go break stuff, go use your spare time to do.

Less features, less rules, less restrictions and the community will evolve your platform.

“Given fewer rules, people actually behaved in more creative, co-operative, and collaborative (or competitive, as the case may be) ways.”

Tim O’Reilly suggests working on the stuff that matters. Brilliant essay.

I’ve been a professional developer about ten years now and I don’t want to do it any more. I don’t mean developing, I love coding. I mean work.

Read on.

Fluffy Links – Friday January 16th 2009

Friday, January 16th, 2009

Nice guide from Steph on how to get to the Blog Awards. Plane, train, automobile, boat and maybe foot.

Still looking for Blog Awards judges. We have about 50 judges now. Another 30 are needed. There are lots of blogs to judge. Lots.

Gareth asked me to Fluffy Link mySwiftstore which allows anyone to get themselves selling online quickly. Linked!

Newsweaver are looking for a Head of Marketing.

Via Iaino Dual Pricing. Nice price comparison site for Irish and UK prices.

90+ productivity links for twitter addicts

Rick was the new Doctor? Jaysus. Missed that.

Another ceremony has an award for Irish Blogging. You can’t apply if you’re heterosexual though. What if you’re in the closet, can you be nominated then?

Internet > Newspaper. Lovely project where the best web bits of 2008 were made into a newspaper. Amazing typography.

So some guy suggested newspapers should teach the Internet a lesson by not updating their online presence for a day. Six additional and sarcastic suggestions.

No WiFi in Hell, it’s official. Damn. Laptops running Vista too.

Via Kottke: David O’Doherty – Very mild superpowers

Via Monster Munch: Puppies:

Online Marketing Material

Thursday, January 15th, 2009

Over on the Mulley Communications site I’ll be giving away my Online Marketing training documentation if 103 people leave comments on the post. Oh and there might be a free Online Marketing training course resulting from it too. The training material can be used for commercial and non-commerical activities too once Mulley Communications get attribution. We’re almost halfway there when it comes to comments.

Crash
Photo owned by thrig (cc)

Parking fines in Cork City – Some stats (One vehicle gets 95 tickets in ’07)

Thursday, January 15th, 2009

2007:
31,929 tickets issued.
20,495 tickets paid.
Income generated: €1,014,968
Most number of tickets issued to a single vehicle: 95

2008 – First six months
14,963 tickets issued.
9,835 paid.
Income generated: €473,350

Thou Shalt Not Park
Photo owned by jbcurio (cc)

Fluffy Links – Thursday January 15th 2009

Thursday, January 15th, 2009

You can apply to be a Blog Awards judge here.

Ronan Carroll aka Tenaka released his deput EP on January 10th. You can download it for free or get a hardcopy for a fiver. His mySpace allows you to listen to his songs via the browser. Check it out.

I’m liking the Choice Music Prize lineup. Some talented people in that list.

Hothouse are currently recruiting for the 17th Venture Programme which will begin in March 2009. This PDF has more details. Many people in the blogging world have done the Hothouse programme and it has a good reputation from what I hear. Now is the time to go for it…

Michael Flangan has a new online portfolio.

Rick Protest, now with photoshops.

Thomas Brunkard is a funny man.

New blogs to me: Brian H Fitzsimons.

And another: Colin Fitz.

One would have thought Channel 4 got digital.

New video from Beirut. Ah good old Beirut.

These toys, I want.

ComReg make the rules that eircom plays within, now they tell the Oireachtas they’re getting tough on eircom. After you gave them free reign the past few years.

Terrorvision – Tequila

Terrorvision – Oblivion

Jack and Jill Prize Time

Wednesday, January 14th, 2009

Following from the post asking you to donate phones to the Jack and Jill foundation, we have three winners.

The winner of the Nokia 5220 XpressMusic is Úna Ní Chonghaile. Congrats.
The winner of the Voyager 815 bluetooth headset and an Elextex rubberised portable keyboard for phones is Fin. Congrats.

And the blogger who won the Nokia N810 Internet Tablet is Chris D. Congrats.
Nokia N810

Please keep donating phones. Donating a phone is easy as you drop the phone and charger (if you have it) in a jiffy bag and send it to their freepost address: The Jack and Jill Mobile Appeal, Freepost, Ratoath Road , Finglas, Dublin 11

If you collect 10 phones they’ll send a courier to you.

Fluffy Links – Wednesday January 14th 2009

Wednesday, January 14th, 2009

TeenCamp is on Saturday. You going? Got suggestions for group discussions? What would you want teens to tell you about your business or industry?

NiallerH interviewed me on the tellyweb thing about blogs and me and me being narky with EVERYONE and PR in Ireland being dead in two years and got me to say rude words about things. I carried it on over on the business site too.

Today is the last day to nominate blogs for the 2009 Blog Awards. Today is also the day when we have opened up sponsorship for the Blog Awards.

The Rick Campaign is spreading!

McNightmare. If you dislike clowns and stuff, don’t click.

Value Ireland is now on Twitter.

List of Google products that make Google direct and indirect money.

Short fluffy links today. Get nominating!

Skip James sings “Crow Jane”

Rick O’Shea is not a Castrato, give his show back its balls

Tuesday, January 13th, 2009

I’m completely biased in this because Rick O’Shea is a good friend but I’d listen to his show if he was a mate or not. Except his show isn’t a show anymore. It’s a playlist with a voice that doesn’t get enough coverage. As you may have read on some blogs and in the press, 2FM made a very silly decision to take an axe to Rick O’Shea’s afternoon show along with the shows of Nikki Hayes and Will Leahy. Rick’s show was a modern radio show, meaning it was interactive, it was guided by pop culture and whatever zeitgeist was happening, it read texts out, it got people to do funny things, it spread the 2FM wings out from radios and into the general populace and the ratings showed it was working quite well. The future of Radio is not the “broadcast out and that’s it” model, the future of radio is about reaching out and getting back and reaching out again. Radio needs to be guided by the voices of those that are listening. We don’t need a Carson Daly radio model.

And now the personality and the soul of it has died. The music lives on but nobody wants just music anymore, as someone said, our iPods will do that for us, we’re much better at being our personal DJs.

They won’t take his blog away though or his chat and banter with us the audience at the Blog Awards or the Web Awards so we can still have fun with Rick there. You can join the Facebook group If It’s Not Broken Don’t Fix It: Keep Rick O’Shea and Nikki Hayes Talking to show your support. Or has Una says, email complaints@rte.ie.

Backstage chatter at the All My Models Are Plastic Studios
Photo owned by kevindooley (cc)

I don’t think a Facebook Campaign is enough though but at least it’s a way of showing our support. Join the group, write a blog post and maybe suggest ways of getting this more attention.

Online Business/Marketing style jobs, Cork and Dublin

Tuesday, January 13th, 2009

A little clue about the future of business comes from two recent job adverts.

Boards.ie are looking for an Online Community Manager. Someone to look after and work with their 200,000ish community. As more people go online, this idea will not be so rare. I love this part of the spec:

We are looking for logical thinkers with the ability to facilitate community discussion with fairness and impartiality. This is a unique opportunity to work with the most fantastic web community in Ireland.

Then in Cork we have a company looking for an Online Retail Specialist:

Online Retail Specialist required for a large Cork based organisation

Reporting to the Online Project Manager, the successful candidate will play a key role in the delivery of a large scale online ecommerce solution. Role will involve working with the online team to shape the entire online proposition and support the delivery of the solution as well as creating the appropriate brand experience

Ideal candidate will have a recognized background in online marketing, in particular with brands with well established online trade as well as excellent commercial acumen, budgeting experience and knowledge of online design.

Email: poconnell@berkley.ie if you want more info.

Fluffy Links – Tuesday January 13th 2009

Tuesday, January 13th, 2009

Recruit Ireland are giving free ads to Limerick companies. Fair play.

And for those in Limerick, Evert and Chris are giving free advice.

Emily Tully is giving free PR Advice.

Via Adrian: Chris Horn tears a new one over Dell. Mary Coughlan, the Government and Michael Dell are not spared. Thank fuck someone who has weight is saying this and not being an apologist and not wanting to offend.

Via Brendan. Take the IIA Business Blogger survey.

I do like a bit of Cedarification.

LOL Fail.

Pocket Walsh. Haha.

Handcrafts are on the way back it seems. Which is not a bad thing is it?

The guy who played Omar has a blog.

Irish Website owner arrested over incitement to hatred?

I do like this poster. Getting people to choose a candidate using gum.

Some amazing social media stats.

Tricky – Overcome