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State of the Net Issue 3 Published
Irish consumers will be the top spenders in Europe this Christmas. We’re set to spend twice what an average European spends on gifts for friends and family, according to a study by Deloitte. But we’ve yet to become as frenzied online as we are in our crowded shops and department stores.There are signs, though, that online shopping is becoming a new religion in Ireland. Devotees praise the convenience, the choice and the price competitiveness. A quarter of online users say they are shopping online and one in two say they plan to spend more online this Christmas. The latest publication of State of the Net explores online shopping in Ireland and examine top trends. Click here to view.
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IIA team up with Brightspark Consulting to urge Irish Firms to Enter Global Web Awards
The world’s most prestigious web site awards are seeking nominations from Irish companies. The Irish Internet Association (IIA) and Brightspark Consulting have joined forces to encourage Irish companies to enter these awards.
Hailed as “the Oscars of the web world” by the New York Times and one of “the most prestigious awards in the world” by the BBC, the Webbys are an annual event recognising achievements in the worldwide web. Deadline for this year’s awards which have over 100 categories is 15 December 2006 at www.webbys4ireland.com
“Even to be nominated boosts web traffic and search engine listings so I would urge Irish companies to enter,” commented Maryrose Lyons of Brightspark Consulting, who has been named as the Irish Webby Ambassador.
IIA Chief Executive, Fergal O’Byrne, added “we recently ran our national Net Visionary Awards and they are a huge success in Ireland. We are now encouraging companies to go a step further and enter these global awards”
Lyons added that Ireland has a high reputation for the quality of its technology. “But we also have the talent to excel in the fastest growing sector of global IT which is web based technology. This is an opportunity for Ireland to showcase its skills on an international stage.”
The Webby Awards is presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences, a global organisation with over 550 members including musician David Bowie, Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, Internet inventor and Google Chief Internet evangelist Vinton Cerf, “Simpsons” creator Matt Groening, Real Networks CEO Rob Glaser, and fashion designer Max Azria.
Nominees will be announced in April, and winners will be unveiled in June 2007 in New York. Further details from Brightspark Consulting and Webbys 4 Ireland
About The Webby Awards:
Called the “Oscars of the Internet” by the New York Times, the Webby is the leading international award honouring excellence in Web design, creativity, usability and functionality. Established in 1996, the 10th Annual Webby Awards received over 5,500 entries from all 50 states and over 40 countries worldwide. The Webby Awards is presented by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. Sponsors and Partners of The Webby Awards include: AOL, The Creative Group; Verizon; Adweek; Fortune; Variety; Wired; IDG; iStockphoto; American Marketing Association; PricewaterhouseCoopers; 2advanced.Net; KobeMail and Museum of the Moving Image. For more information visit Webby Awards.
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IIA and CheetahMail Net Visionary 2006 Winners Announced
The Irish Internet Association has announced the winners of its Annual Net Visionary Awards at a gala function held in the Fitzpatrick Hotel, Killiney, Dublin.
Speaking at the awards IIA Chairman, Colm Lyon, said that the Irish Internet Industry was capable of transforming the Irish economy and that many Irish businesses were now engaged in the internet in a global fashion. These awards are an excellent barometer of the level of activity in the internet industry. This year it was great to see more regionalisation of award winners, more newcomers and more enterprises thinking beyond the norm in terms of their internet ambitions.
The awards received 188 nominations and over 20,000 votes. The awards are unique in that they are nominated and voted upon by members of the public.
Awards sponsor, Stephen Doyle, Business Development Manager, CheetahMail said: “There is a new breed of Irish company that is harnessing the ongoing potential of the Internet as a medium without boundaries. The nominees and winners of the IIA Net Visionary Awards are testament to the creativity and calibre of those involved in the industry today. On behalf of sponsors CheetahMail, I would like to congratulate all on their achievements and vision and wish them every success in their future”.
The full list of winners are listed below:
Social Contribution – Sean O Dowd, Realboyle.com
Technology Journalist – John Collins, John Collins (Freelance)
Innovation – Niall Kelly, Salesjobs.ie
eGovernment – Peter Dee, Dublin City Council
Internet Marketer – Fintan Lonergan, Aer Lingus
Web Designer – Declan O Donnell, IrishJobs.ie
Web Developer – Eimear Fogarty, IrishJobs.ie
Online Trader – John Breslin, adverts.ie / Boards.ie Ltd
Educational Contribution – (Joint Winners) – Matt Glowatz, University College Dublin; and Gerry McGovern, gerrymcgovern.com
Internet Entreprenuer – Richard Moyles, Furntech Ltd
Mobile Internet Application – Aisling McCabe, RTÉ Publishing
Best Online Banking Service – Gavin Ross, Bank of Scotland (Ireland)
Best Blogger – Brian Greene, doopdesign
Best Podcaster – Twenty Major, Twenty Major
Overall Net Visionary – Ray Nolan, Hostelworld.com
Colm Lyon added that the Board of Directors had selected Ray Nolan of Hostel World as the overall Net Visionary for 2006 as he has constantly raised the bar in terms of competing in the global internet market, remained highly innovative in their approach and moved quickly to capture the opportunities.
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Second Issue of State of the Net Released
Young, fickle and online-savvy. Irish teens’ and tweenies’ online behaviour has far-reaching parental and social implications – but it is also fundamentally reshaping the world of marketing and communications. Find out more in the second issue of State of the Net.
State of the Net is compiled by AMAS in association with the Irish Internet Association.
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We Are Hiring – Membership and Accounts Administrator
The IIA wishes to hire a Membership and Accounts Administrator to deal with the growing number of members in the association. The role will be based in the IIA’s Dublin office and the successful candidate will report to the CEO. The Administrator will:
– Deal with day to day accounts for the association
– Service member queries and membership management
A full job specification is available on request. Interested candidates should send their CVs to fergal@iia.ie stating Membership and Accounts Administrator in the subject line.
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New Events Manager joins the IIA Team
The IIA is delighted to announce that Irene Dehaene joined the association team as an Events Manager on the 1st September. Irene is an experienced marketing professional in the international ICT sector. She works independently with Irish companies as a marketing consultant to increase demand and revenues both on the domestic and international markets. Irene has extensive experience of event management from seminars to training rallies and conferences. Previously she was head of marketing with Cybertrust and Jinny Software and ran public relations for Baltimore Technologies. You can contact her at irene.dehaene@iia.ie
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IIA Board Eelections
The IIA 2006 Board Nominations have closed. In summary there were 9 Candidates seeking election. Four existing Board members are seeking re-election – Sean Foley (Microsoft), Colm Lyon (Realex Payments), Morgan McKeagney (iQ Content) and Maurice Mortell (Data Electronics). Five new Candidates were seeking election – Yvonne Cunnane (Matheson Ormsby Prentice), Gareth Dunlop (Tibus), Maeve Kneafsey (Elucidate), Shenda Loughnane (ICAN) and Denis Sheehan (Cheetahmail Irl).
As there are 9 Candidates for the 9 vacant positions no eBALLOT was necessary and the 9 Candidates proposed are deemed elected. The other three members of the IIA Board, who did not require to seek election, are Eoin Kennedy (Slattery Communications), Dermot Nolan (Bank of Ireland) and Patrick Tully.
The 9 elected candidates are subject to ratification by the AGM.
Immediately after the AGM there will be the first meeting of the new Board which will elect the Officers (i.e. Chairman, Vice Chairman & Treasurer). The AGM is due to take place in the offices of Matheson Ormsby Prentice Conference Room 1 at 18:00 in 30 Herbert Street, Dublin 2. Click here for more details.
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Irish Language Funding for your website
Foras na Gaeilge is currently providing match-funding to assist small enterprises in producing corporate bilingual (Irish-English) language materials on a once-off basis. The aim of this scheme is to make the Irish language more visible online. More information is available from the bilingual Foras na Gaeilge website.
Please see the PDF document here for more information.
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CEO of the IIA was interviewed by Silicon Republic.com
Parents will have to give permission for their children to use the internet in schools under draft guidelines for internet safety in the classroom drawn up by the Department of Education and Science. This proposal has been greeted with concern by internet groups.
“I would regard this as a retrograde step,” said Fergal O’Byrne, CEO of the Irish Internet Association. “The internet is an invaluable educational tool if managed properly. Forcing parents to give permission is unwieldy, impractical and not a measured response to what is an educational issue.”
Click here to read more.
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Congress Testimonials
“One of the best events of 2006, the IIA Congress was one of the few occasions where all the leading Internet players got together to share their views and debate current ‘hot topics’. The IIA is to be commended on organising this thought provoking and practical event”.
John Herlihy, Google
“The IIA did a great job on the Congress event. I don’t think I’ve seen so many great internet companies on a single panel like that. Bebo enjoyed being part of this conference and it was great to meet so many of the avid Beboers from Ireland.”
Jim Scheinman, Bebo
“I was extremely impressed by this years’ annual IIA conference. The panel of speakers and group sessions were of a very high calibre and attendees were very engaged. As a guest and speaker I was made to feel very welcome and I was particularly taken by the dynamism and raw energy amongst whose working in the online sphere in the Irish marketplace today. There are definitely a lot of individuals and companies who are destined to go far in this space”
Mark Charkin, MSN
“The IIA Annual congress is a ‘must go’ event for any company or person involved in the internet industry. The IIA made it into an excellent and enjoyable platform for knowledge sharing. It is only natural for Twinfield to be involved in this day.”
Martin Langedijk, Twinfield
“Well done on the congress. Really enjoyed it and the line up of speakers was excellent.”
Tom Banville, Wexford County Enterprise Board
“Just a short note to congratulate you and your team on an excellent IIA Congress last week. This event was one of the best such industry and networking event that I have attended for years!
Anthony Quigley, Xanthal
“I just wanted to say what an excellent event yesterday’s conference was. This one was really worthwhile and I have a very invigorated team at ICAN as a result!”
Shenda Loughnane, ICAN