To anyone who has ever struggled to maintain their site using a Content Management System (CMS): you’re not alone, we feel your pain.

Chris and Paul in DesignByFront.com are doing some research into the user experience of content management systems, so if you’ve ever been involved in managing a website, they’d love to get your insight.

Click here to take the short survey!

Why are they doing this?

Front believe that every website should get better and better and better over time. Unfortunately, many people find it difficult enough to look after the site they have, rather than getting to focus on continuous improvement.

Almost every site delivered at Front uses a content management system so that non-technical users can take ownership of the site once its live.

Key to this is the regular addition of high-quality content. However, too often the design of Content Management Systems don’t reflect the way that those involved in authoring, editing or reviewing content actually work; despite claims to the contrary, almost all CMS tools are designed around how a site works for its users, rather than focusing on the needs of those who’ll be responsible for it once live.

This creates a barrier to publishing good content, and restricts the growth and quality of the site. A better CMS experience should result in better content being created for a site, which in turn results in a better experience for the site’s users.

Front are not the first to think about this. Jeff Veen wrote about the problems inherent in Content Management Systems way back in 2004, but things haven’t changed much since then, and now it’s time to get the discussion started again.

So, if you’ve ever been involved in managing a website with a CMS, they’d love to hear your thoughts.

According to Front:

To make sure we really understand what the key issues are, we’re carrying out a small piece of design research on content management. We want to know how the experience of using a CMS could be improved, and so along with performing user interviews and usability testing, we’ve put together a quick survey to gather input from the broader web community.

We’re doing this research because we realise that while we put a lot of time and attention into creating beautiful online experiences for our client’s users, we perhaps don’t give enough thought to the experience of our clients themselves.

To take part, fill in our quick survey

Dublin City University’s Ryan Academy for Entrepreneurship is delighted to announce the establishment of a seed venture fund of €1 million for early stage technology start-up companies. The new venture fund is an accelerator fund, which will help fund new companies develop from concept to product. The aim of the venture fund is to jump-start a number of high technology start-ups in Ireland with an emphasis on software and biotechnology hardware ideas such as medical devices and diagnostics.

The successful companies will get approximately €50,000 in direct funding, as well as a three-month programme of support from the Ryan Academy for Entrepreneurship, which will include office space, mentorship and specially-designed networking and educational programmes. The financial support for the venture fund is provided by the One Foundation. In addition any profits generated by the Accelerator Fund will be returned to the Fund for further investment.

“This is an important initiative for Ireland and I am delighted that the Ryan Academy is providing a catalyst for the next generation of Irish entrepreneurs. This initiative is not only another clear manifestation of DCU’s commitment to be the University of Enterprise but also addresses an obvious deficit in the pathway from concept to successful product”, said Professor Brian MacCraith, the new President of Dublin City University.

The first round of investment will open for applicants in October this year, with the first four successful entrepreneurs being announced before the end of the year. A further eight entrepreneurs will be funded in 2011 and again in 2012. Each of these entrepreneurial groups will then work with the Ryan Academy to develop their company, building key and lasting business relationships along the way to help them sustain a viable business. The Ryan Academy is aiming to work with other seed funds and individual investors, and will be seeking to increase the fund size over time.

“Raising the money to get through the first year is often difficult for entrepreneurs and our objective is to support twenty early-stage entrepreneurial teams over the next two and half years” said Gordon McConnell, Deputy-CEO of the Ryan Academy and venture manager for the new fund. “We will work with other later-stage angel investors, other funds and the venture capital community to help ensure further funding for these new companies. We want to help nurture innovative technology ideas and act as a launchpad for new entrepreneurs.”

The fund is unique as it is both a university-related venture fund for start-ups across Ireland, as well as offering a programme of support for these startups through the Ryan Academy and its network.

The new fund will be governed by a Technology Advisory Board, which will be announced later in the summer. Further and regular updates on the new fund will be posted on the Ryan Academy Tech Entrepreneurship Blog.

About the Ryan Academy

The DCU Ryan Academy is a partnership between Dublin City University and the family of the late Tony Ryan (Ryanair). The Academy exists to promote entrepreneurship and innovation and to use our iconic building in Citywest as a dynamic hub for entrepreneurs and researchers to develop ideas, learn new skills and network. The Ryan Academy is working with researchers and entrepreneurs to help them achieve their potential.

Titled “Doing Business in the Cloud”, this document is written specifically for the Irish market. A section focuses on small to medium sized businesses (SMEs) but the bulk of the document examines the benefits and obstacles of cloud computing for large enterprises.

The whitepaper was driven and shaped by market research commissioned by the Irish Internet Association in August 2009. It discovered that 54% of respondents did not have a clear idea understanding of cloud computing; how it works and the advantages, efficiencies and savings, that it brings to Irish businesses.

One of the whitepaper’s first and notable successes the adoption of an Irish industry accepted definition of Cloud Computing, overcoming this market confusion. This definition has been accepted and endorsed by Enterprise Ireland, the IDA, the Irish Software Association, ICT Ireland and the Irish Internet Association to be used from now on.

Back Row Pictured from left: Don Ryan, Christoph Dobroschke, Cormac Keogh; Front Row Pictured from left: Suzanne Walsh, Trevor Dagg, Gerry Power, Lavinia Morris

“This collaboration between all the major Irish IT industry groups is unparalleled”, says Joan Mulvihill, CEO of the IIA, “Progressive and proactive steps in Cloud Computing will give Irish enterprises the opportunity to be early adopters and to drive competitiveness. This is what our working group set out to achieve and this whitepaper is pivotal to starting the commercial debate.”

The composition of the IIA’s working group deliberately included both cloud computing vendors and cloud computing customers. By representing both perceptions and perspectives, the output is a balanced representation of Cloud Computing. The working group comprising nineteen individuals from world leading cloud vendors like Google, IBM, Salesforce and Microsoft to successful enterprise customers like McCormick MacNaughton, elan, Jones Engineering, Kepak, have come together to share their expertise for a common goal.

The whitepaper addresses three core issues

1. Cloud computing and its ‘fit’ for Irish SMEs.
2. Challenges to adoption. Namely, security, broadband reliability, performance and general commercial concerns.
3. Interrogation of the benefits of the major selling points of cloud computing – Cost efficiency, Globalisation, Environmental benefits.

“Cloud computing is a greatly but not unduly hyped innovation”, explains Gerry Power of www.ReadyDynamics.com and chairperson of the working group, “This Whitepaper has been prepared to assist businesses in the critical evaluation of Cloud Computing for their operations. We have taken a pragmatic approach to get beyond the hype – by questioning the perceived benefits in the context of Ireland and also addressing all the major obstacles.”

The whitepaper’s conclusion is that cloud computing is a compelling IT innovation for the business community although it lacks maturity in a number of areas. The working group is confident these issues will be resolved as more and more companies trial and execute cloud applications and as new standards, particularly security standards, are introduced. It is hoped that this document delivers an element of clarity and comfort to any companies seriously considering doing business in the cloud and will act as a useful guide to reference when decisions are required.

“Doing business in the cloud” is a free publication for IIA members or can be purchased online at www.iia.ie for €295 for non-members.

The IIA Working Group on Cloud Computing consists of the following individuals:

• Neil Delaney, Enterprise Sales & Operations Manager, Google
• Wayne Leone, Cloud Lab Manager, IBM
• Cormac Keogh, Architect Advisor, Microsoft
• Joe McNally, Sales Engineer Manager, Salesforce
• Brian Grant, Architect Advisor, Oracle
• Declan Kearney, MD, Supplierforce
• Michael Higgins, CTO, Advanced Innovations, Inc.
• Paul Norton, IT Manager, Jones Engineering
• Suzie Walsh, IT Manager, McCormick Macnaughton
• Brona Kernan, CIO, Irish Times
• Trevor Dagg, elan
• Mark Greville, Merrill Lynch
• Don Ryan, Premier Recruitment
• Ruari Roddy, CTO, Thomas Crosbie Holdings
• Sean Hickey, Head of IT, Kepak
• Paul Tully, IT Infrastructure Manager, O2
• Lavinia Morris, IT Infrastructure Manager, Friend’s First
• Gerry Power, Consultant, Sysco (Chair)

For more information, please contact Joan Mulvihill, CEO, Irish Internet Association. joan@iia.ie 086 389 7552

In a few short days, many of Ireland’s best bloggers will descend upon Galway to celebrate all that is great about the Irish Blogosphere. Congratulations to all those who were shortlisted, including a number of IIA members. High fives all ’round and have a great weekend.

For a full list of nominees go here and if you want to attend the event in the Radisson in Galway this Saturday, you can pick up a ticket here for just €15.00.

Twestival 2010 is happening on Thursday 25th March from 6.30 pm – 12.30 at the ODEON on Harcourt Street. This year Concern is the benefactor of the WORLDWIDE event.

This Thursday, people in hundreds of cities around the world will come together offline to rally around the important cause of Education by hosting local events to have fun and create awareness. Twestival™ (or Twitter Festival) uses social media for social good. All of the local events are organized 100% by volunteers and 100% of all ticket sales and donations go direct to projects.

Buy your Dublin Twestival Ticket here.

There are some great bands lined up and some extra surprises on the night, including (rumour has it) some unusual auction items.

Hello to all the IIA members and those who follow the blog. I just wanted to introduce myself. I’m Darren Byrne and I am the newest member of the IIA team. I’ll be helping out  for a few months, while Roseanne is on maternity leave. You’ll most likely see me blogging, tweeting, Facebookering (hmmm!!!) for the IIA when I’m not pushing papers.

You may know me from such interwebby places as Twitter, Culch.ie and my own humble blog at DarrenByrne.com. If you have any queries, thoughts or ideas regarding the IIA, please feel free to get in touch darren {at} iia {dot} ie

Wish me luck!!!

A while ago now myself and Damien Mulley participated in a podcast for Enterprise Ireland about blogging for business. The interview was conducted by Ralph Averbuch who was shortlisted in the Best Business Podcaster category in the Net Visionary Awards earlier this year.

However podcasts aren’t to everyone’s taste and the good people in Enterprise Ireland have transcribed the whole interview for those who prefer to read. You can access a PDF via their site here.

I hope you find it useful.

Thanks to IIA Member Oracle‘s Frank Bradley for bringing my attention to the following short video.

I’ve been blogging since 2003 (not here on my personal blog) and much of that blogging was, I presumed, never read by anyone. But every once in a while someone would mention my blog to me in conversation or I would receive a comment and it would all click into place and inspire me to keep going. As more people use social media tools and more of those tools help us broadcast our content (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, Friendfeed) and help us collect, sort, digest and engage with others’ content there will be less blogging in the dark. Some fear that there will be just less blogging and I understand this fear. However I think that a blog should be the backbone of your social media presence, allowing you to expand on the ideas that attract people to you (and your brand if you’re representing a business) in other social media. It also allows you to develop ideas and conversations in your own space.

However reading about Disqus, “a real time comment system”, makes me realise that services like this will give commenters just as much control and ownership of their content as the bloggers who inspired the comment. This acknowledges the importance of commenting and rightly so. It’s been a while since I used a comment management system. I tried one maybe two years ago and it was very clunky but I must give this a go again.

Anyway over to Seth and Tom!

The IIA’s Social Media Working Group is pleased to be able to present a short selection of business bloggers in Ireland. This list was gathered together as part of our recent research into business blogging in Ireland. We asked each of the participants in that research if they would like to be featured as a case study and the following are the bloggers that graciously agreed.

As you will see the blogs stretch across many sectors of business in Ireland, including financial services, marketing, member associations, professional services, recruitment, retail, technology and a number of individual consultants. While this list is not exhaustive it will hopefully give a flavour of the types of business blogs that exist in Ireland.

We will happily add other blogs to the the complete list which will be maintained on our dedicated wiki. Simply email members@iia.ie if you would like your business blog to be included.

If you are interested in finding out more about the potential benefits of blogging to your business, then join us on April 22nd at our “Join the Conversation – Business Blogging” breakfast briefing in Dublin city centre.

Financial Services:

Irish Mortgage Brokers – http://www.mortgagebrokers.ie/blog

The MortgageBrokers.ie blog mainly deals with economics and business related issues with a strong focus on mortgages and market trends. As an Internet-drive sales company, Irish Mortgage Brokers see their blog and website as central to the growth of their business.

No Nonsense Car Insurance – http://blog.nononsense.ie

The No Nonsense Car Insurance blog offers tips on buying insurance, saving money and talks about a range of other topics that No Nonsense feel their customers would be interested in. The blog has so far delivered increased visibility on search engines and has seen an increased profile for the new brand.

PaddyPower Trader – http://www.paddypowertrader.com

The Paddy Power Trader blog supports financial markets traders (many of whom trade from home, some of whom are novices) with education, views on the market and examples of ‘how the professionals do it’. Paddy Power see blogs and community as a unique selling point of their service, engendering loyalty, attracting new customers, improving stickiness and increasing average spend per client.

RaboDirect – http://www.rabodirect.ie/blog/default.aspx

The RaboDirect blog was established to give customers and potential customers the chance to comment on the kind of things being talked about everyday at RaboDirect; the changing financial climate, existing products, new products or what customers think of them in general. RaboDirect sees their blog as an important part of their strategy in helping to build trust in their brand.

FBD Insurance (Twitter) – http://www.twitter.com/fbd_ie

FBD Insurance launched its Twitter activity to support their mission to be a customer-focused insurance company, seeking to replicate online the familiar approach developed through their nationwide local office network. The Twitter activity has helped to manage customer feedback and generate leads to the FBD website for the car and home insurance products. Twitter has helped the company to build a positive perception of the brand as progressive, innovative and customer-focused.

Marketing Services:

Applied Signs and Display – http://applied-signs-and-display.blogspot.com/

The Applied Signs and Display blog presents news, opinion and information on all manner of topics relevant to their business and their varied customer base. The blog features an ongoing ‘Product Glossary’ series and they host guest bloggers from the fields of Design, Event Planning, Exhibiting and Sales, as well as General Business and Marketing within an Irish context.

Biz Growth News – http://www.bizgrowthnews.com

The Biz Growth News blog covers resources and tips to build buzz about your brand and your business both offline and through digital marketing communications and social media. It does so through multimedia using articles, podcasts, photographs and online video’s. The blog has enabled the company to extend it’s reach internationally and has enabled the organisation to attract clients and establish strategic joint ventures from across the globe. The blog is authored by the company founder and they also syndicate their blog posts across Twitter, Facebook, Linked in and other social networks where their customers are congregating therefore attracting more visitors and readers to the site.

CadaMedia – http://blog.cadamedia.ie

The CadaMedia blog is a news and events page for clients and a general discussion area for internet users in the Southeast. CadaMedia were the 1st in Ireland to mention the new VAT Rates and it brought them in thousands of hits. The blog has provided their customers with a less formal way of getting in touch and asking questions.

Channelship – http://www.channelship.ie/blog/

The goal of the Channelship business blog is to share useful information and opinions gathered from business networking events, seminars and people in Ireland and abroad. The team also enjoys commenting on the highlights of their daily activities. Channelship have found it to be fantastic way to interact, learn, meet new people and promote their company, enhancing their PR and Google rankings.

Interactive Return – http://www.interactivereturn.com/blog

The Interactive Return Online Marketing blog is used to provide insights and news to the Online Marketing industry, paying close attention to trends in Ireland. Blogs includes company news, industry news, advice and best practices for their areas of expertise, and opinions on current industry topics. Their website has seen an incredible increase in traffic due to blogging activities. They have added credibility to their client case studies and are being received positively in social media.

iQ Content – http://www.iqcontent.com/blog

The IQ Content blog is updated by a group of staff within the business, posting thoughts, observations and opinions on the world of usability. The blog has delivered inbound leads and sales calls, has helped to attract new staff and has supported building a positive brand perception.

Made In Hollywood – http://www.madeinhollywood.ie

The Made in Hollywood blog is supports the core business of creating objects from polystyrene foam(EPS). The aim of the blog is to show readers how versatile and manifold are the uses of EPS, as well as featuring particular projects. The business hope that the blog, which has just launched, will be able to add interest and improve SEO with added content, as well as engaging with customers to make sure they are delivering the correct product/service to them.

Red Cardinal Limited – http://www.redcardinal.ie

The Red Cardinal team blog about Internet marketing and search engine optimisation.

Newsweaver - http://www.newsweaver.co.uk/emailnewsletters

The “…Email Matters!” blog has been running for two years. It is written by denise cox, Newsletter Specialist for Newsweaver. Newsweaver is Europe’s leading email newsletter software provider. In 2007 Newsweaver won the IIA’s Best Business Blogger Net Visionary award. The aim of …Email Matters! is to help any marketer interested in best practice for best results in their email marketing. Posts always pertain to email, and generally cover examples, benchmarks and statistics, best practice, legal updates and tips. The blog has proven to be an excellent retention tool – with clients providing feedback that they find it very useful. It has also helped to attract new customers. The blog has helped with the Google ranking for the company website. Also, having embedded a discreet link at the end of each blog post to a free trial offer of Newsweaver software, they have seen many new leads come through this link. The blog has given the author, denise cox, a visibility in the international email marketing/ESP field, and has resulted in requests to speak at conferences, contribute to publications and appear on panels around the world.

Member Associations:

Irish Internet Association – http://blog.iia.ie

The Irish Internet Associations blog An association blog that seeks to promote the products and services of member companies and promote IIA events. The blog has helped to increase credibility among members of the association.

Junior Chamber International Dublin – http://jcidublinpresident2009.blogspot.com/

This is the blog of the president of the President of the Junior Chamber of Commerce Dublin and is intended to keep members up-to-date on activities and events throughout the year. This blog has just been launched an it is anticipated that it will help to raise the profile of the organization, building credibility online with their members, partners and sponsors.

Professional Services:

Moore Group – http://mooregroup.wordpress.com/

A specialist business blog, the Moore Group blog deals with archaeological, environmental, energy and heritage issues. One of the principle goals of the blog is to disseminate the results of their work (a legal obligation) and to inform our stakeholders on archaeological and environmental issues and new knowledge, as well as to sometimes entertain.

FranchiseYourBusiness.ie – http://www.irishfranchiseblog.com

The Franchise Your Business blog provides information on franchising in Ireland. Within a short space of time the blog has helped the business achieve higher search engine rankings for their preferred search terms.

Sensei Learning and Performance – http://www.sensei-winbeforehand.co.uk

The Sensei Learning and Performance blog talks about all things business-related. Favourite topics include social media; customer services; education/brain/learning; personal and professional development; emotional intelligence; assertiveness and confidence. The blog has helped to bring in bookings, raise the company’s profile, inform people of services and provide a human face to the business. Feedback from customers is that they love it.

Recruitment:

CV Café – http://cvcafe.com/blog

CV Café decided after reading up on blogging that there was no other way to go for their business. They started blogging recently and are planning to use it to get their name out.

Flexitimers – http://www.flexitimers.com/flexible-future

Flexitimers use their business blog to engage companies on the benefits of flexible staffing. The have a separate blog, FlexiTimes, which is to engage professionals looking for flexible work. The key benefits that the business has seen to date include improved search engine rankings and greater engagement with the online community.

RecruitIreland (Twitter) – http://www.twitter.com/recruitireland.

RecruitIreland began to microblog on Twitter to give the website a personality and to answer questions from candidates and companies who are recruiting with a view to differentiating themselves from the competition. The activity on Twitter has generated sales leads in addition to feedback and suggestions from candidates about how to do things differently or feedback about usability which they see as invaluable. Overall the Twitter activities make them more accessible and interactive and gives them another invaluable way to communicate with their users.

Working Nine to Five – http://officejobsireland.wordpress.com/

The Working Nine to Five blog features career tips, issues that may arise in the working environment, recommended events, books or work practices and sometimes just light observations on working in the office. The blog has provided the core business AdminJobs.ie an additional medium to create a personality to their business. It has also allowed the business to communicate on a personal level with their site visitors.

Retail:

Curious Wines – http://www.curiouswines.ie/blog

The Curious Wines blog talks about anything related to wine but is presented in a light-hearted, accessible manner. Topics include everything from sector comment, to educational pieces, to recipes and food-matching, to book reviews, to their promotions. The blog has helped build a small community interested in their business and brand. For a new brand it was essential to provide a public face and personality in a cost effective manner – blogging is allowing them to achieve this.

Ice Cream Ireland – http://www.icecreamireland.com

The Ice Cream Ireland blog is the business blog of Murphy’s Ice Cream. In addition to dozens of recipes the blog provides news and updates to customers on the business’s activities and new products. The blog has brought customers to their retail shops, helped facilitate comments, complaints, and suggestions and sense of community among customers. The business has received much publicity as a result of the blog and a book deal for an ice cream cookbook “The Book of Sweet Things” came directly as a result of the blog.

Nice Day Designs – http://www.nicedaydesigns-ruth.blogspot.com/

The Nice Day Designs blog provides insights into the processes of the author’s design business. Ruth Crean is a young designer and artist based in Limerick. Because she is selling hand craft she feels it is important to give people a narrative and a face to the product they are buying. As a direct result of her blog Ruth was approached by RTE1′s Nationwide, and therefore received national advertising for free, this in turn has led to other media attention. The blogs has also helped to build up a very positive and accessible identity to her business.

PuddleDucks – http://blog.puddleducks.ie/

The purpose of the blog is to post information about the PuddleDucks business and website, along with information on running the business that might be useful to others. It is a mixture of product information, how PuddleDucks utilise online marketing tools and snippets of news about running a home business. The PuddleDucks blog has provided the business with better visibility and brand recognition. Building awareness among the blogging community has shown positive benefits through networking opportunities.

Rangoli Jewellery – http://rangolijewellery.blogspot.com/

Rangoli Jewellery is run by Aisling Nelson; a bridal jewellery and hair accessories designer. The blog is designed to share ideas and inspiration with existing and potential clients and to elaborate on special commissions that the designer has undertaken. The blog helps to provide a more of a human face to the business. The main website is a catalogue, whereas
this forum allows the owner to engage more with existing and potential clients while sharing information about current or future projects.

Rules of Golf – http://www.barryrhodes.com

This blog provides miscellaneous content for anyone who wishes to improve their knowledge and understanding of the Rules of Golf. The objective is to widen the market for the author’s CD and book products. Barry Rhodes is developing a worldwide following in his narrow niche market at practically no cost.

Tast.ie – http://www.tast.ie

Initially a personal food blog featuring a large catalogue of delicious recipes juxtaposed with a small amount of personal content about the author’s family. With the assistance of the Offaly County Enterprise Board, Tast.ie grew into Spicendipity.com, an artisan food business which sells homemade, 100% natural spice mixes, baking mixes and a range of sauces over the Internet.

Worldwide Cycles – http://www.worldwidecyclesblog.com

The Worldwide Cycles blog presents the view from behind the counter of a bike shop and from the saddle whilst on the road. The blog has helped the business raise its national profile, enlarge its catchments area and increased sales of high end products.

Technology:

BH Consulting – http://www.bhconsulting.ie/securitywatch

BH Consulting’s blog provides expert commentary and insight into information security issues that would be of interest to the Irish Business community. The blog has delivered business leads, media coverage and helped secure a book-writing deal.

Blacknight – http://blog.blacknight.com + 17 others

The Blacknight blogs cover a variety of topics, from promotional / marketing through general news and technical topics. The blog has won numerous awards as well as generating PR and press coverage for the business.

EchoLibre – http://blog.echolibre.com

These technologists blog about things they are passionate about; PHP, MySQL, CouchDB, Linux, Apache – web development standards. They also write about building web apps and working with web technology. EchoLibre see their blog as one of the easiest ways they have of establishing a reputation and credibility. As a young company they see this as very important.

Saastek – http://saastek.com/company-blog/

The Saastek blog deals with software and technology for small to medium businesses and offers reviews of Enterprise 2.0 software. The blog has helped to increase Google ranking. It also helps the business crystallise their thinking about particular products and trends and has been useful in attracting customer to their website.

Toca Sports – http://www.tocasports.com/blog

Toca Sports, a sports technology company, blog about everything from upcoming events to posting training videos to general interest pieces in the area of video analysis. Toca Sports see their business blog as a great way to kep people up-to-date with company news and events. They see it as a way of being less ‘corporate’ and allowing them to create a more human interaction with their potential customers.

Individual Consultants:

Darragh Doyle – http://thisiswhatido.org

Darragh’s blog presents its audience with a mixture of articles, interviews, photos, reviews and stories. Business specific he highlights charity campaigns, publicises, works with and reviews art and cultural events and talks to and about people. Virtually all his opportunities come via his blog as he has no need for a corporate website.

Keith Bohanna – http://keith.bohanna.com

Keith Bohanna is an internet consultant and trainer and in his blog talks about himself and his business. The positive outcomes he has seen include engagement with his peer community and his personal brand development.

Keith Shirley – http://www.keithshirley.ie

Keith Shirley’s blog is mainly about the practical uses of IT and technology for small businesses. The blog has helped Keith pass on information to customers that is helpful but does not fit directly into daily business. The blog has opened up new business opportunities and helped with networking and raising Keith’s profile.

Krishna De (Twitter) – http://www.twitter.com/krishnade

Through sharing links to articles, resources and events, this micro blogger has developed a network of followers in Ireland and overseas. She has also found that it has helped her connect and engage directly with some of the most influential marketers in the world, something that would have been much harder to make happen before social media communications were available. She recommends and has created a specific Twitter landing page on her blog to provide information and resources for her Twitter followers.

Mr. Yap’s Blog – http://mryap.com/blog/

This blogger uses his blog to share experiences and offer advice and opinion on usability. He uses it to find new business, network and seek employment. Blogging offer his new prospects supplementary information to his resume and interview.

Reverb Studios – http://www.reverbstudios.ie/blog

The Reverb Studios blog covers mostly IT, Technology and Internet-related topics as well as some Current Affairs. The blog has been up and running since about autumn 2007 and since then it has attracted a massive increase in traffic from only a handful to around 4,000 unique hits a month. This has lead to a much higher profile and brand for Reverb Studios and has created networking opportunities and sales leads.

At the start of 2009 we undertook a survey among Irish businesses that already have blogs. We asked them a number of questions to try and understand the objectives of their blogging activities, what results they were seeing and how much time and effort they put into managing their blogs.

We will be discussing the results in detail at the Business Blogging breakfast briefing on April 22nd, but in the meantime here are the high-level survey results: