Archive for the ‘irishblogs’ Category

this little piggy went Wii Wii Wii all the way home

Thursday, December 7th, 2006

Baz has a Nintendo fanboy site. He covers the Wii and the DS and other stuff too I suppose. I don’t get a free Wii for pimping his site. (Mean git!) So check it out here: http://www.wiffy.ie/blog/

Blogging lesson for Brightspark Consulting: Tis hard to stop a “robust discussion” once you start it

Thursday, December 7th, 2006

Brightspark has a post about being bugged at the Netvisonary Awards. Bernie also mentions it on his blog here.

I called out Bernie on his comments and he responded to them, my reply to that has not been allowed through or comments from others I would guess but instead there is a comment from Brightspark, part of which states:

There has been quite a lot of interest in this post. However, the comments are tending towards the personal, between old rivalries with particular axes to grind. Thank you for your interest in this post, but I think that Brightspark’s blog is not the forum for continuing with this discussion

What old rivalaries are they on about? Who has an axe to grind? It seems from the reading of the post that people could come to the wrong conclusion. Guys, once you start any kind of controversial discussion, you can’t really decide to end it when you want it to end. It doesn’t work that way with blogs.

I wonder are things like this covered in the growing number of blog training courses? How does one try and stop a shitstorm once it starts, though this is far from a shit storm. I guess you could also include that in the guides for viral marketing. You can’t stop the virus once it gets out.

If the discussion about the rudeness of recording someone without their permission wants to continue over here, I am happy to facilitate it. Naturally anything deemed libelous will be removed.

UPDATE:

Mary apparently doesn’t like the title of this post and says: I don’t like the title, it smacks of someone who’s been blogging a very long time and thinks they know it all. I would point out that I’ve been blogging 1 month longer than Damo, so I don’t need lessons in how to manage my blog

(Her highlighting of that particular sentence, not mine)

I left a comment on this latest post but I’ll echo it here. Mary keeps suggesting her blog is about running a business yet the discussion about being bugged at a table was started by her on her blog. Was it an error in judgement to blog about it on her blog? Next, I want clarification about the original comment I highlighted above and here: the comments are tending towards the personal, between old rivalries with particular axes to grind

Can she clarify was it me or Adam she is referring to, or does she mean both of us?

Fluffy Links – December 7th 2006 – The possession of anything begins in the mind

Thursday, December 7th, 2006

Via Stunned comes news that MAKE magazine’s people are coming to Dublin. Go see them if you are a fan of MAKE.

Make a gif of your RSS feed. I’m still lost as to why this is useful.

“Evil Twin” Wifi hotspot interception. Creating a fake hotspot next to a commercial hotspot in order to get login details.

Nice gift wrapping.

Unschooling. The new latest thing always has “un” in it, doesn’t it? Some of the principles of this idea seem sound though.

A beginners guide to freelancing.

Overclock your brain – 22 ways. Isn’t it curious how to get the attention of those that zealously use Digg.com and their ilk, you have to dress everything up in tech terms?

DJ Shadow – Six Days

So very blonde.

BSkyB gets jiggy with Google – Branded GMail, Video sharing, VoIP and more

Wednesday, December 6th, 2006

Via James Enck. Really getting it on.

VoIP, User generated video portal site, search and branded GMail. Seems to be for Sky Broadband customers. Not Ireland then 🙁

Sky and Google will collaborate in three key areas:

Video

Sky will launch a multi-platform User Generated Video (UGV) portal powered by
the first global deployment of Google’s syndicated video content tools. The site
will allow users to edit, upload and share their own video content, including
the facility to upload and download from a mobile phone. The UGV portal will
form part of a content-rich experience for Sky Broadband customers that will
enhance the appeal of Sky’s broadband services, build community and promote Sky
content to online audiences.

Communications

Sky Broadband customers will enjoy access to a comprehensive online
communications platform. This will include a fully customised version of
Google’s email product, ‘Google Mail’, which will use the popular ‘@sky.com’
email address. Powered by Google with a user interface and functionality
customised to Sky’s unique specifications, the platform will also offer access
to key communications applications that attract and deepen relationships with
internet users, such as contacts, calendar and instant messaging. In addition,
Sky will explore opportunities to provide further services such as Google’s VoIP
(voice over internet protocol) telephony services, enhanced storage and future
product developments.

Search and advertising

Google will provide its industry leading search tools and targeted search
advertising across Sky’s portfolio of online sites. The two companies will also
explore future forms of web, TV and mobile advertising. Revenue generated by
click-throughs on sponsored links will be shared between Sky and Google,
increasing Sky’s exposure to the fastest growing segment of the UK’s advertising
market.

Oxfam Ireland promote Christmas shop via YouTube

Wednesday, December 6th, 2006

Clever. Oxfam got the students of the FÃ?S Television and Video Course in Tralee to make a video and have now stuck it on YouTube. Here it is:

This is in order to promote their Christmas offerings. Oxfam emailed Irish bloggers and asked us to spread the news as part of a viral push. I wouldn’t however class this as viral and even getting bloggers to put it on their blogs (like I’m doing) isn’t viral. The Viral tips I linked to yesterday would give a better idea on how to make this viral. I’m sure there is a little reward to the person in spreading the video but is it enough? Does it cause enough of a reaction from the viewer to get them to send it on to more people?

I do like the page which allows you to pick a banner to support them, which gives a nice choice and makes it easy by including the HTML for the banners.

James has also blogged about Oxfam and included the video. Like him, and as I said, I don’t think it is viral. So, an example of viral? Viral is the Threshers Offer that Hugh Macleod pushed out. Now that has some great viral elements.

  • Easy to spread: Just email, IM, blog the link to the voucher or the voucher itself.
  • Snowball effect: The more Threshers is selling out of stuff, the more attention the offer is getting, the more it spreads…
  • Reward/Ego/Power:
    You have that little bit of power over your friends by being the one to get them the discount by forwarding the link to them.
    In turn, your friends then too want to feel this power and send it on to their friends.
    You get that little kick of “getting one over on the man” since it looks like a “big business didn’t want you to have it but now they can’t stop it” type feel to it.
    You are in a special group since not everyone knows about the offer, for a little while you a more important that the general populace.

The Oxfam video has the easy to spread bit but the reward/ego/power part is quite weak. Still, I’m sure a charity viral is hard to do and you can’t be spreading something that helps getting one over on the starving kids. I guess what you’d need for a charity viral is build up some story and have a twist at the end that upsets/shocks/causes emotion, so much so that the viewer sends it on so their targets in order for them to experience what they just experienced.

Fluffy Links – December 6th 2006

Wednesday, December 6th, 2006

Just in case you ever wanted to have blue pee and to poison yourself in the process.

Save Pandora music as mp3s. Needs java though.
Richard Feynman saw letters in colour.

This is bling. Fo schnizzle. Yo.

World’s longest cross-sea bridge. You can imagine how much it would cost in Ireland.

Use your wii-mote as mouse in Windows.

Videos of people being interrupted while recording themselves in their bedrooms.

The Annoying Devil Part 1

The Annoying Devil Part 2

The Annoying Devil Part 3

Bloggers Christmas Drinks/Meal – Cork Dec 9th or 15th?

Tuesday, December 5th, 2006

Anyone in and around Cork interested in having a few social drinks on either December 9th or December 15th? Perhaps we could even get some food? Who’s about?

meWii Christmas for Nintendo?

Tuesday, December 5th, 2006

As well as the Elmo, I want a Wii, possibly. Damn these look fun.

You can’t beat these free ads for the Nintendo Wii. A search on YouTube for Wii Sports brings back over 1400 videos.

Hicks try it out:

Fluffy Links – December 5th 2006

Tuesday, December 5th, 2006

Wardrobe malfuntion!

Ed Droste (Grizzly Bear) and Owen Pallett (Final Fantasy) interview each other.

Riding a traffic wave.

7 Viral Marketing tips. Seems more about making viral videos. Good video examples included.

High number of downloads. But poor stickiness. Podcasts still not a killer app?

Faithless – Bombs. Banned by MTV. Wimps.

Richard Dawkins (who I consider an arrogant git) takes apart students from a Jerry Falwell “college”.

Cork Event: Staying Competitive in the International Arena – Ireland’s Wireless Sector

Tuesday, December 5th, 2006

I’m chairing a talk in the Rochestown Park Hotel on Wednesday called Staying Competitive in the International Arena which is part of the Wireless Wednesday

We’ve bitched and moaned that these wireless events are always in Dublin, well finally they’re coming to Cork. Hurrah.

Full details below, please do come along and don’t forget to register.

Date: Wednesday December 6th 6pm-8pm
Venue: The Maple Suite, Rochestown Park Hotel, Rochestown Road, Douglas, Cork.
Registration: 6pm – 6.30pm
Admission: Wireless Skillnet members are free
Non members Euro30

To register contact: admin [at] investnet.ie (David Neville)

6.00-6.30 – Registration
6.30-6.50 – Presentation
6.50-8.00 – Panel Discussion
8.00 Networking Reception sponsored by Selatra

Chair for evening: Damien Mulley

Speaker: John Dennehy, Director – Upstart Games Topic – Operating a Successful Mobile Games Company in Cork – Lessons Learned

Panellists:
Sean Cronin, CEO – Selatra
Ian Deakin, CEO – Pervenio
John Dennehy, Director – Upstart games
Chris Lynch, Co-founder – GMedia
Pat Phelan, Director – Roam4Free

Presentation will be followed by a Q&A session with the Speakers