Fun and Frolics at the #dotConf
A huge congratulations must go to Emma Henderson and the team at dotConf, who put on a fantastic day on Thursday in the National College of Ireland. It was a great turnout and the feedback so far has been overwhelmingly positive.
We’d love to grab your attention for just another couple of minutes and ask you to give your thoughts on the day. Please fill in this quick survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PPWZGMR
Of course, there was a great many people who helped make the dotConf a success, from the superb speakers and presenters to the people who helped shape the day and, of course, everyone who came along, watched the live stream and blogged, tweeted or generally talked about the event.
We will update you when the videos of the day are available on the dotConf blog. Please, feel free to share them and tell the world about the dotConf.
Once again, be kind, take a moment to be surveyed: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PPWZGMR
Researching Content Management Experiences
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
The IIA and Enterprise Ireland Net Visionary 2010 – Dylan Collins
Last night, Dylan Collins was announced as the IIA and Enterprise Ireland Net Visionary 2010.
Congratulations to Dylan Collins, Net Visionary winner 2010. This award recognises his commitment to innovation and excellence within the Irish Internet industry.
Yesterday evening, in the Crowne Plaza Northwood, 15 category Awards were presented recognising the achievements across the gamut of the Irish Internet Industry. Closing the Awards, Maeve Kneafsey, Chairperson of the IIA, and Jennifer Condon of Enterprise Ireland, announced Dylan Collins as the 2010 Overall IIA and Enterprise Ireland Net Visionary.
Dylan Collins, serial entrepreneur of DemonWare and Jolt Games success is a true internet visionary. His meteoric success is unprecedented within the Irish Internet industry. In his early 30s, Dylan’s ability to innovate is unrivalled in the online gaming sector on an Irish and international stage. He is the embodiment of all that is great about this industry – ingenuity, pace and determination. Yet of all these qualities, it is his unstinting generosity in mentoring other internet start-ups and his commitment to the industry as a whole that truly sets him apart as a most worthy winner of this industry accolade.
Is your business model under threat?
(Guest Post: Paul Browne is a Development Advisor at Enterprise Ireland, working with Irish Software companies to increase exports, and export led jobs. A key area is Cloud and Software as a Service)
While the IIA is busy digitizing the nation this week, let’s roll back 25 years when a previous digital revolution was lapping our shores. Readers of a certain age will instantly recognize the picture of WordStar, doing roughly what Microsoft Word does today. I say ‘roughly’ as WordStar belonged to an era without touchscreen or Mice, and where users had to had to use ‘ctrl-s’ and ‘ctrl-d’ to move right and left. While WordStar users understood copy and paste to mean actual glue and scissors, it was so dominant that even as a business studies student in the ‘90s, we were expected to pass an exam in its use.
So why do you now (most likely) use Microsoft Word instead ? The answer is Windows 3.1. It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t even the first computer to use a mouse – but Windows was a revolution for mainstream computers. While there was (and still is) a version of Wordstar for Windows, when the dust had settled MS Word had came out on top.
Right now another revolution is happening as computing moves from your desktop to Cloud Services delivered over the internet. This time the revolution is bigger; Computers are more widespread, other devices (such as Mobile, iPads and Netbooks) are hooked up to internet, and the revolution will transform more sectors of the economy. It would be a pity if we digitized the nation, only to leave traditional software companies behind on the desktop.
The IIA Cloud paper shows as many opportunities as threats in this Software as a Service (SaaS) revolution. As a key driver of Exports, and export led jobs, Enterprise Ireland wants to help software companies to seize the opportunities. In the next part of the it’s ongoing SaaS activities (including the well regarded SaaS transition programme) Enterprise Ireland has two upcoming events to help Irish Software Companies;
- On May 19th, Companies can learn about how their business model needs to react to implement software as a service (Event: The Commercial Realities of Sofware as a Service). Speakers include John Appleby of SaasPoint, Gerry O’Connor of Zarion , Philip O’Doherty of eSpatial and Charles Cameron of Encore Ventures.
- On June 16th, it’s the turn of the Mananged Services (Event: Managed Services and the Cloud). Alongside speakers from Finance and PA Consulting, with be Gerry Power, Chair of the IIA’s cloud working group.
For more details of these, and future events to avoid your company losing out on the transition, sign up for Enterprise Ireland’s www.BestConnected.ie blog.
Welcome to Digitise the Nation with Lucey Technology Business Breakfast
Lucey and Microsoft will officially launch the IIA Digitise the Nation Week on Monday morning with the first DTN Event, Ditch Your Servers!!
Date: Monday May 17th
Time: 8am-10am (Breakfast included)
Venue: National College of Ireland, IFSC
Ditch your Servers!!!
How to run your business with no servers. Host your email, files and applications in the cloud.
Are you a start-up looking to set-up in business?
Are you an established business looking to reduce your IT costs?
Join Microsoft, Lucey & CInfinity at this joint event between the National College of Ireland’s Innovation in Business Series and the IIAs Digitize the Nation.
We will explain the benefits of renting software and were to start!!!
The benefits of cloud computing to businesses of all shapes and sizes is becoming more evident however many businesses don’t know where to start or what is possible. From start-ups to established companies more and more technology offerings are coming online to allow businesses to leave behind the traditional office-based server. Now they can move to a cloud-based infrastructure where a business rents the technology it needs rather than investing from the outset.
The conference will show practical examples of how to move your email, file and application servers online.
Our guest speakers include;
Phillip Matthews, President of National College of Ireland
Dave Northey Microsoft
Ian Lucey co founder and Ceo of Lucey.ie
Adrian Finn, C infinity
Digitise the Nation Events #DTN
This week is the big push before the first ever Digitise the Nation Week. The IIA, is calling on companies and individuals across Ireland to help ‘Digitise the Nation’ from May 16th to 21st 2010. The week long campaign is designed to showcase the power and capabilities of the Internet to the broadest set of groups from businesses, consumers, students, children to grandparents.
The week encapsulates five themes covering:
- Monday 17th – Business Productivity
- Tuesday 18th – Connectivity
- Wednesday 19th – Entrepreneurship
- Thursday 20th – IIA 2020Vision Conference and Net Visionary Awards
- Friday 21st – The Consumer and Social Media
Some of the events coming up include:
- Drimnagh will be taking part in the Digitise the Nation event on Tuesday’s Connectivity Day, the 18th of May. They will be holding 3 open, informal Social Media Surgeries from 10-12pm, 2-4pm and 7-9pm. The venue for this event is in the St John Bosco youth centre on Davitt Road, Drimnagh, Dublin 12. It will be free of charge and open to anyone who wants to learn more about any of the social media tools.
- Kavaleer (award winning digital animation business based in Digital Hub) will be showing primary school students how digital art is created; sharing with the children how cartoons are made and inspiring the next generation of Brown Bag Productions and Oscar winning “Avatar” creators.
- Cipherion Translations are experts in bringing businesses global – and helping them to market locally in over 40 languages. They support organisations in ICT, E-learning, Tourism, Technology and Life Sciences sectors as they translate their materials for overseas audiences. As part of Monday’s Business Productivity Day, they want to share the steps you should take to translate and localize your website for these markets.
- In Dublin, local computer training business A&A Computer Training have successfully approached their local “Golden Oldies” community group and are showing them how to make Skype calls and send emails.
- In Cork, Puddleducks.ie is running an interactive competition for children. Children and families are invited to take part in an online treasure hunt which is a wonderful opportunity for parents to introduce their children to the internet in a safe, supervised and fun way.
- There will be webinars conducted by Krishna De, Ann Donnelly and Peter Fry.
- Tim Willoughby from Local Government Computer Services Board (LGCSB) is supporting us by allowing our members to use the local libraries to host suitable events.
This week is a superb opportunity to help demystify the Internet for everyone in society. The internet now forms a daily part of many peoples life but much of the capability from video calling relatives in other parts of the world to using social media for business are still largely untapped. We are inviting companies and individuals to organise their own events during the week, based around the themes and to reach out to people who would not ordinarily have the opportunity to take advantage of the digital world.
This is an opportunity for every one of our members to bring their skills and capabilities to the very widest audience, showing everyone how the internet can be used to communicate with friends and family, transact business to business and business to consumer. We are also hoping that this initiative will help show the diversity of internet usage throughout the country.
A specially designed site promoting all the activities taking place throughout the country is available on www.iia.ie/DTN.
Net Visionary Shortlist Announcement
It’s an exciting morning in the IIA. We have just announced the Shortlist for this year’s IIA Net Visionary Awards. It’s now over to you to start voting. Please take the time to choose your favourites among those shortlisted. I really think it’s a representative shortlist and that is down to all of you who took the time to nominate last month. You can vote once in every category and please do vote in every category if you feel like it.
Congratulations to all the nominees and here is the full list:
Best Business Blogger
* Amy Dillon: Makeup and Beauty.ie
* Fiona Hilliard: ArgusCarHire
* Karl Deeter: Irish Mortgage Brokers
* Krishna De: Biz Growth News
* Peter Donegan: Peter Donegan Landscaping Ltd.
Best Business Video & Podcasting
* Amy Dillon: Makeup and Beauty.ie
* Andrew Jenkinson & Niall O’Driscoll: vStream for Digital Marketing School
* Colm Hanratty: Hostelworld.com Videos and Podcasts
* Marcus Doherty: RTE Player
* Ruth Kearney: DIT Hothouse
Best Online Financial Service
* Debbie Kiernan: Ge Capital
* Elaine Murphy: insure.ie
* Tony Doyle: Bestquote.ie
Best Online Trader
* Ciaran Crean: MicksGarage.ie
* Daragh Murphy: HairyBaby Clothing Company
* Darren Grant: The Oragnic Supermarket
* Grainne Barry & Kevin Greene: AnotherFriend.com (WebDev Ltd.)
* Stephen O’Sullivan: Printing.ie
Best Use of Social Media
* Aedan Ryan: PuddleDucks
* Amy Dillon: Makeup and Beauty.ie
* Brid O’Connell: Truvo Ireland
* Israel Finnerty: Firesale Limited
* Michele Neylon: Blacknight Solutions
e-Government Award
sponsored by AIB Merchant Services
* Joanne Grehan: Western Development Commission for LookWest.ie
* Larry McEvoy: South Dublin County Council for Mapping South Dublin County in Time
* Professor Eamonn Murphy: University of Limerick for BlueBrick.ie
* Rick Love: Mayo County Council
* Ruth Kearney: DIT Hothouse
Innovation Award
* Conor O’Neill: LouderVoice
* Ed Hendrick: Sonru Ltd
* Eoghain Ryan: Mocks.ie
* Ian Lucey: Lucey Technology
* Tony Corrigan: TenderScout
Internet Entrepreneur
* Amy Dillon: Makeup and Beauty.ie
* Chris Watson: Chain Reaction Cycles
* Darren Grant: The Organic Supermarket
* Dr Des O’Mahony: Bookassist
* Ronan O’Brien: Zatori Results Ltd
Internet Marketer
* Eoin Ó Súilleabháin: Bord Gais Energy for The Big Switch
* Mark Leech: MicksGarage.ie
* Mick Dillon: CarsIreland.ie
* Steven Courtney: Lovely Productions
* Vanessa Johnston: Pigsback.com
Journalist Award
* Adrian Weckler: Thomas Crosby Media / Sunday Business Post
* Barry Alistair: IrishDev.com
* John Collins: Irish Times
* Mark Little: Mark Little
* Sheila Averbuch: ElectricNews.Net
Mobile Internet Innovation
* Bob Nixon: Georgina Campbell’s ireland-guide.com
* Donald Douglas: Return2Sender
* Gavin Burke: Future Audio Workshop
* Greg Cawley: Snap2Interact
* John Clarke: WorldNet TPS
Online Tourism Award
sponsored by Failte Ireland
* Bob Nixon: Georgina Campbell’s ireland-guide.com
* Christy Tighe: Cromleach Lodge 4* Country House Hotel
* Eoghan O’Mara Walsh: BookAnAttraction.com
* Fergal Walsh: DayOut.ie
* William Cotter: Net Affinity
Social Contribution
* Jimmy Cahill: DSPCA
* John Handelaar: KildareStreet.com
* Kevin De Barra: Comhdhail Naisiunta na Gaeilge
* Michelle Farrell: Gaelick
* Ruth Kearney: DIT Hothouse
Web Designer Excellence
* David Behan: Web Together for Fetch.ie, Medguard.ie, ManagementBriefs.com
* John Mooney: Xwerx for Ecocem.ie, PrimaryScience.ie, Skip.ie
* Laura Hodson: Dara Creative for Campus.ie, ITForce.ie, InsureMyVan.ie
* Lisa Westermann: Fusio for Unicef.ie, ButlersChocolates.com, BarrysTea.ie
* Niall Reck: Graphedia for Medentech.com, SenatorWindows.ie, WestgateCC.com
Web Developer Excellence
* Ciaran McDonnell: Newmedia for Toyota.ie
* David Henry: Modus for Phantom.ie
* Kevin Gill: CastingZone.ie
* Michael Crean: MicksGarage.ie
* Morgan Lynch: Strata3 for RDS.ie, BusinessAndFinance.ie
BOI Business advice show, Cork
I’m just packing my toothbrush before getting the 6pm train to Cork for tomorrow’s Bank of Ireland Business Advice Show. The IIA took part in this show as part of the Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown Enterprise Week earlier this year. Unfortunately, we were unable to make it to the Galway show as our annual Congress was taking place around the same time.
As usual I would like to extend a welcome to any members of the IIA to come and join me at our stand to meet potential members and help me advise them. Obviously I could tell them in my sleep what the benefits of IIA membership are but sometimes living proof is good too. That’s where you come in!
Also representing the IIA I get asked all sorts of question about anything from Wifi to email to ecommerce to SEO to blogging. The latter two I can usually handle to varying degrees of success but I often wish there was an expert in web dev or design here to respond to these questions about developing a site, finding a good designer or eCommerce. So come along, you never know, you might drum up some business! So if you’re near the Maryborough House Hotel tomorrow from 2pm to 5pm pop in and say hello! This is your Association!
Special offer for IIA Members
Enterprise Ireland are offering IIA Members 50% off the registration fee for their New Software Economy event on Thursday Sept 10th from 10.30am – 1pm in The Radisson, Golden Lane. It costs €50.00 at full price so it’s a steal at €25.00 to hear the following speakers:
- Chris Hoffman, Mozilla Foundation
- Fergus Gloster, ex-VP of SalesForce.com
- Joe Drumgole, CEO of Putplace.com
Please email me at members at iia dot ie for details and discount code if you are interested.
Fergal O’Byrne, IIA CEO, moving on …
I just wanted to update you all that I will be leaving the IIA and taking up the role of CEO of Sonru.com after the IIA’s AGM in early September. It has been a fantastic four years and I would like to thank you all for the excellent support you have shown whether as IIA members, speakers, presenters, sponsors, advocates and even the odd detractor or two (sometimes it’s good to be told when something needs imrpving!). The IIA is a much stronger entity thanks to the inputs of people like yourselves.
I am continuing fully in the role until my departure but wanted to provide enough notice so the Board could source a replacement CEO. More information on the vacancy is provided here.
Thanks again.
Regards
Fergal
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