Damien Mulley

I’m giving a talk on Monday for IBAC (Institute of Business Analysis and Consulting ) in the IPA building in Landsdowne. The slightly bullshity title is: Social networks: The foundation for long-term business relationships with your customers. 45 min talk, 25 euros in.

On the theme of Innovation yesterday and 2009 being the European Year of Creativity and Innovation, the IIEA have a lunchtime talk with Paul Garner of BT Innovate & Design, on Wednesday, 7 October 2009 at 12:45 p.m. with the title: Open Innovation in Practice

and two weeks later another one to do with innovation:
“Creativity and Innovation: the European Perspective” by Mme Odile Quintin – Wednesday 21 October 2009 at 12.45 p.m Mme Odile Quintin, Director General, DG Education and Culture, European Commission

And on BT, I blogged last year about their Community Connections scheme for groups and it’s back again now. Open to Irish charity type groups. Free laptops, broadband etc. The deadline for postal applications is 5 January 2010. The deadline for online applications is 7 January 2010

Update: More more thing.
Llama-rama
Statement from the LAMA Awards:

Zurich LAMA Awards wish to issue a statement vehemently denying any involvement in yesterday’s disturbances on the M50, involving a loose herd of llamas. Hannah Bates, Event Executive for the awards says “there will be no awards given out to any llamas, at the Red Cow Roundabout, or indeed anywhere else today. The awards are solely for the Local Authority Members Association and local developments and no matter what stunt these llamas pull, they will not be included in the awards ceremony”

Previously on the Mulley soapbox I mentioned a blogger evening with the IDA I was involved with. I’ve met with the IDA a few times and they do appear to get the idea that the group is more intelligent than the individual and the network is more intelligent than the group. Thus eminating from meetings and the blogger briefing is the Innovation Ireland LinkedIn Discussion group, facilitated by the IDA and with people interested/concerned/working in the future of Ireland contributing to all forms of discussion on current innovation in Ireland, on what other countries are doing and what Ireland should be doing.

Photo owned by torontodailyphoto (cc)

I’ve already expressed strong opinions on the death of manufacturing in Ireland and how those that moan about the demise are as bad as the taxi drivers complaining about the inevitability of inevitability. There are close to 200 members of this LinkedIn Group and more opinons are welcomed. Lots of news resources being shared in the group. Don’t be afraid to join and point to a blog post of yours if it covers that topic. In addition we need to accept the situation we’re in and move on. Too much shoegazing and concentrating on the past and all the bad stuff that was done, talking about what others have done and how we can achieve through innovation is better than writing only about job losses, I hope.

A conversation seems to be slowly happening on value added services and proper design thinking these days. I was at DIT (where Seán Haughey got that welcome) this week where some Swedish people as well as Seán McNulty from Innovator talked about Innovation as a way of saving money and increasing business. This was part of their Quality of Life exhibition. Innovation is not just about product design and it’s not about bunging money into R&D. We talk about sales focus, marketing and PR focus, maybe we should ask everyone in every business conversation about how they’re innovating?

This blog post on design houses have entrepreneurs got me thinking about businesses and how they should always be in an adapting frame of mind. It made me think of dancing and specifically of dancing at weddings. We start off with the bride and groom and the traditional waltzy dance and move there to the “classics” and pop hits with the wedding band and then as the DJ comes along we wobble our extremities to all different songs, rhythms and so on. Some businesses are perfect at the traditional stuff, no stamping on feet at all while others are shit and do their best not to crash into others as they spin about. The ones good at the waltzes sometimes find themselves in foreign land at this “modern” stuff and leave the dance floor.

I often think that while being fantastic at one style of dancing is great, the ones that are rough around the edges and will stand in the middle of a dance floor and give it a bash have the better attitudes. Trying different things out, being game for something new is a survival skill. I’m reminded of this by three tech companies in particular: Odeo, Seesmic and Game Neverending.

Photo owned by edenpictures (cc)

Odeo created a tool called Twittr which became Twitter and Odeo the shell got sold on. Seesmic started as a video service and now their main product is an aggregator for Twitter and more and Game Neverending had a photosharing tool that turned into Flickr. Sometimes if you do join the dancefloor after watching the ebb and flow and studying the dance moves you’ll be grand, sometimes the music changes without notice and you’ll need to improvise and adapt.

It seems this year more companies than ever had to adapt and yet still haven’t. Taxi drivers are a great example. All complaining there are too many plates. That can’t be changed but they won’t adapt in other ways. Offer premium services. Create a driving standard way higher than the regulator enforces and push that as a selling point. New music, they sit in chairs and grumble. Any other examples of Irish industries that are not dancing to different tunes when they could be?

You dancing? I’m asking. And an all too serious video to end the post with:

Ran an event with WhoseView.ie yesterday evening (more on that later) in the Casting Couch facilities in Fitzwilliam Square. Bord Gais Energy did their blogger thingymajig event there earlier this year. The staff there were beyond helpful and I’ll definitely be doing more events there and that’s not even taking the good value for money it was for renting the place out.

The event involved food and they have no issues bringing your own grub and booze in, handy kitchenette in there and two rooms with wireless, laptop and the likes there. From running other events, hotels can get snooty when you bring in outside food. The Casting Couch is used for event launches, TV/Movie castings (duh) and other bits and bobs. It’s a nice alternative to a hotel situation. Check it out if you’re doing some events.