Author Archive
* nods *
Thursday, December 24th, 2009Why? on Google
Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009The quare fella from Tipp suggested to try this and so I did.
Go to Google and type in Why and see the suggestions it gives as you type.
I got:
Fluffy Links – Wednesday December 23rd 2009
Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009Merry Christmas from Mulleyland.
So yes, Blog Awards 2010, aka Blog Awards the 5th part of the trilogy are on in March in Galway.
The Daft iPhone App is out and it’s pretty damned nifty.
Via Darragh. Twas the night before Christmas in Dubberlin.
Owen Rooney on The Myth of the Smart Economy.
Via MetaFilter download your video of a 7.5 hour train journey from Oslo to Bergen.
Loving this: Fyfe Dangerfield – When You Walk in the Room
The kids are alright? Irish Science Rap videos.
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009Blurby McBlurb:
Science Raps Challenge is a new competition aimed at encouraging young people to express their thoughts about science and technology through rap music. To enter the competition students were invited to compose and video a rap on this year’s Science Week theme: “Celebrating Creativity and Innovation”.
The winners:
David Genesis Jackson:
Spectrometry Rap:
Karimah Gambo:
Chloe Murphy:
Reminded of anything?
Social Media for NGOs/Charities – Followup
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009The Social Media for NGOs event earlier this month went down quite well. It was disappointing the number of people who pulled out at the last minute but as was pointed out, had there been a charge, this would not have happened. Big thanks to Nick McGivney, Darragh Doyle, Damian O’Broin, Susan Quirke from Spunout, Irene Lawlor from Barnardos and Red Mum for giving up their time to come to this and share their knowledge. Thanks too to Suzy for cracking the whip in the background.
Special thanks to Philippe and staff in the European Commission office who hosted the event and sponsored the teas, coffees and food and streamed the event on the EU Ireland website. Thanks to to Tom Duke in Digital Revolutionaries for the streaming video goodness on the day.
The video of the talks are available in two parts both here and here.
There will be a follow-up to the event early next year to act as a refresher and there is talk about a need for more in-depth workshops like how to set up a Facebook Page and Campaign, setting up a blog and figuring out engaging content etc. So stay tuned here or the Commission website. The NGO event was there to serve NGOs and to aid them in what they do and there will be more of these.
Fluffy Links – Tuesday December 22nd 2009
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009Pat Phelan is using tech to change his health. Some interesting tech to help him.
Well done LouderVoice with their American deal.
Blog from Rossa McMahon.
.ie domain names for €2.99 ex VAT from Blacknight.
20 pieces of music that changed the world.
The economist on online advertising.
Ten worst tech presents to buy at Christmas.
Via Art of the Title is one of the best single take steadicam opening scenes.
Bonfire of the Vanities
David McWilliams speaks at Google Dublin
Guinness Brewery on fire
Monday, December 21st, 2009While Guinness on their Facebook said this:
We can confirm that there was a small fire at the St. James’s Gate brewery site this morning. It has been contained. No-one was injured and there is no impact whatsoever on production. It occurred in a building that is seldom used.
Update: Original video pulled. Two alternatives:
Seems employees have been evacuated. No impact on production?
Update 2: view from Storehouse itself:
Fluffy Links – Monday December 21st 2009
Monday, December 21st, 200910 and a bit more days til chocolate!
Chris Horn on what should be next for Ireland’s industries.
Blogging is good for you. Very good for helping young people, it seems.
Google wants your voicemail. I vant your blood will be said in a while I bet.
Want. But not for 700 quids. Sponge Bob helmet.
You didn’t know they weren’t for real? Fakesters on Twitter.
Obama, Bruce and DeNiro. Wow.
Owen Pallett picks his top 10 of 2009.
Nice site: GeoAPI.
Given it’s coming to the end of the decade:
Blogs are bad, online marketing is bad, so get a cert!
Sunday, December 20th, 2009We already know that blogging is dead, the paper that asks or takes from blogs said so.
Now an “expert” has said that online marketing is something to have a Father Ted like attitude to. “Careful there”. Anne Keogh is former managing director of needahotel.com and currently management consultant to the DJ Carey Group and is quoted as saying this in the Biz Post: ‘‘Only 25 per cent of business in Ireland is done online and so if you are spending a lot of your time on Twitter and Facebook, you are quite possibly wasting your time”. In the new connected world concentrating on the Irish market is where it’s at right? So stay off the net and back to the fax and telex. Fuck. Me.
So get yourself a social media certificate to sort it all. Adrian (I’ll just ref [short for reference, yah I’m cool] his first name as that makes it seem like we are on first name terms) outlines reasons for getting your social media cert. Do remember MulleyGlobalMegaCorpComms is giving away a free one for free. For free. Premium editions are in Comic Sans.
And these are the questions and answers
Saturday, December 19th, 2009The Sunday Times got on to me about a piece they were doing on blogging and asked me a few questions. This is the resultant article that once again tries to put those damned bloggers in their place. (This is the same paper by the way where a staffer anonymously on my blog said I was on the payroll of Hell Pizza because I blogged that I liked their pizzas but they still come calling when they need on and off record information on articles they write). They really don’t like Twenty do they? Is anyone keeping track on how many articles in the paper by a few journos (Oh hi Mark!) are inspired by blogs in Ireland? Or as the Sunday Times puts it: “squawks of online indignation if newspapers steal their material without credit.”
Update: Forgot to add that this is how they described what the piece was about: I’m researching a feature for The Sunday Times this weekend on the role of the political in Irish public discourse
Below are the questions asked and my answers.
> (1) Would you agree that few Irish blogs (other than Irish Economy) have made it into mainstream public consciousness?
I’d disagree. Beaut.ie girls have a regular slot on Gerry Ryan and write a column for the Herald Nialler9 writes for the Indo’s entertainment mag Donal Skehan from Good Mood Food writes a section on food for the Indo weekend section I actually think bloggers are over-represented in media given there’s a few 1000 active blogs in Ireland
> (2) Does any Irish blog/blogger make money?
Arseblog.com was Irish and was acquired by OleOle.com and the guy who ran it works for them too I believe. Beaut.ie have an agency you have to talk to in order to put an ad on their site! I know some put ads on their personal blogs but I think that’s pretty vulgar but that’s me. Businesses are making money from having a blog, Komplett are making 6 figures from it and expect to make 7 figures. http://url.ie/4btp
Myself and others I know make money indirectly. We have nothing to sell or buy off our blogs but it establishes authority and credibility and leads to brand recognition and people recommending your services to others. I’ve lost count of the number of consultancy gigs I got from a reader of my blog who recommended me to a friend or their boss. A few of these people I’ve never met at all, we just know each other via blog comments.
> (3) Is Ireland too close-knit a society to need blogs – ie do we not just chat to each other down the pub?
Irish people use every communications tool going. Pubs and chat there, phone, text messaging (we send more texts than most other countries in the world), 1.2M of us are on Facebook and 900k of us log on every day to communicate and possibly remove drunken photos of ourselves. We sing, write, paint, I think we get hooked on every form. Blogging has definitely slowed down the past while as all these other tools that allow us to communicate have come along.
> (4) Have a lot of bloggers, in your experience, migrated to social networking sites and Twitter?
Yes, some have given up the ghost completely, some have gone from daily updates to weekly or monthly. It’s a bit like when texting came about. It has a massive impact on people making phonecalls.
> (5) Isn’t it unsatisfactory/annoying/disheartening that Twenty Major will get 50 comments for a posting “John O’Donoghue is a cunt”, but Gavin Sheridan will get none or 1 comment for a brilliant analysis of Nama?
> And even if none of the above, isn’t it reflective of the blogging/internet debate experience?
Everyone has their niche I suppose. TheStory is fine for posting up dull FOIs with a conspiracy theory hook to them. There’s a space for that. If you read the posts though, they are more like a noticeboard than something that really engages. Compare that to Twenty Major which is populist with a subtle intelligent analysis of current affairs. More people join in on the posts as the posts generally encourage discussion, even if it is to shout at TDs. Interestingly though, the traffic and numbers don’t matter as much online as it’s more about the quality of people. TheStory being read by both journalists and politicians means a post there might have way more impact than if Twenty blogged about the same topic.
> Damien, these are just generally areas I’m exploring. Wd welcome your views on any related themes re. the blogging experience in Ireland
I think blogging has actually become even more niche as time has moved on. More people are online, way more are communicating online but while Facebook goes from 400k users in January 2009 to 1.2 Million by the start of December we still have 4-5k blogs in Ireland. I think it’s good that there are now more ways to communicate than just blogging but they still have amazing reach if people use them effectively.