Guest Blogger
Innovation and the small business
I have been managing the innovate programme now for almost 2 years. One of the key objectives is to help small businesses be more innovative but how does this actually happen ‘on the ground’.
Firstly, most businesses know where they can improve if ‘only I had time’. Frankly, I think they do have time. If a small business would be as careful spending time as they are spending money then anything is possible. Whoever said “innovate or die” (in the business sense of course) is right.
To me innovation is about improving through change, remove the “ah, sure it’s good enough” attitude.
So “improving through change”. Start small and build confidence. Change that website that is so out of date it could be about a different company.
Yes, do consider setting up a blog. ‘If you build it they will come‘.
Take time out to consider where your business is going.
Ask real questions such as
- Do I still have the passion I had when I set up this business?
- Am I happy?
- Who is in control, me or my business?
- Have customers gone elsewhere or do I even know or care?
I have seen real profitable ideas come from people by just taking time out to discuss things. I ask companies all the time, where do you feel you are loosing money? What are the biggest hurdles you face? If you had three wishes, what would they be, and you are not allowed wish for more money or wishes.
Guest Blogger
I’m honoured
I am genuinely honoured to feature as a guest blogger. My name is Johnny Beirne and as Innovation Officer for Leitrim County Enterprise Board, I am responsible for managing the Innovate Programme.
I have had the pleasure of working with Fergal on an event we ran in Carrick-on-Shannon last year.
Since then, I have also had the pleasure of working with/getting to know Brian Greene and Damien Mulley. Through these guys, I have made contact with and sometimes even met other great people who I’m sure will get a mention as I add to this blog.
My contribution will cover some of my experiences from working in this very interesting and exciting project, e.g. innovation, we are all talking about it, but what is it?
podcast
Podcasting, RSS and Blogging: how to make new media work for your business – PODCAST
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The IIA in association with the Marketing Institute of Ireland are delighted to bring this timely and topical half day seminar on New Media and its implications for business in Ireland. The event will focus on three aspects of new media – Podcasting, RSS (Really Simple Syndication) and Blogging. It will examine each of these media in turn and how they can be used as part of an organisation’s business model and marketing mix. You will be taken through a step by step guide on how to get started. Case studies by Vhi Healthcare, RTE, the Labour Party and other leading organisations will illustrate the benefits they are experiencing by using new media and also the lessons learned.
The seminar will be highly relevant to senior management, marketing and communications managers, webmasters and all those who are interesting in discovering what new media means for your business.
SPEAKERS
- Podcasting and new media – Where is the market today and opportunities for business growth – Joe Conway, MD, Digicast
- Vhi.ie – Podcasting and Brand Engagement – Brendan Hughes, eBusiness Strategy Manager, Vhi Healthcare
- How to implement new media – getting started with Podcasting and Blogging and outsourcing the solution – Brian Greene, Podcasting, Blogging and Social Media Consultant, Talking Voices
- RSS and Podcasting: Meeting Changing Audience Needs – Marcus O’Doherty, Technology Manager, RTE Publishing
- New Media, New Communications: Blogging Case Study – Shauneen Armstrong, Labour Party Press Office & New Media and Award Winning Blogger at the 2007 Irish Blog Awards as Red Mum
listen here.
podcast recorded & produced by Brian Greene TalkingVoices.com
Uncategorized
ENN Review: Podcasting, Blogging and RSS Event
Over 80 industry people attended the IIA and Marketing Institute’s event – “Podcasting, RSS and Blogging: How to make new media work for your business” – which took place on April 18th in the Digital Exchange.
Read ENN’s report on the event.
To access the event podcast click here.
irishblogs, domains, icann
RegisterFly Fallout – Buyer Beware!
I was at the most recent ICANN meeting in Lisbon a couple of weeks ago.
ICANN, if you aren’t familiar with it, is the organisation that is charged with looking after domain names among other things. It mainly deals with what are called global Top Level Domains, such as .com,.net etc., but also has some influence over country code domains, such as .ie (Ireland).
One of the hot topics at the last meeting was the fallout from the RegisterFly fiasco.
Registerfly was a domain name registrar ie. a company that sells domain names to individuals and companies. Unfortunately the company ran into issues and has all but ceased trading, which has led to issues for its clients – the domain holders.
While both ICANN and a number of the registrars are working to help former clients of RegisterFly hold onto their domain names a number of issues have arisen. How do people prove they own their domain name?
A simple answer would be via whois, however a large proportion of people do not keep their details up to date. The most important bit of information people forget to update is their email address. An inaccurate email address can lead to the complete loss of a domain name.
Another issue is with whois privacy services.
A lot of people use 3rd party services to obfuscate the domain owner data. In some cases this is for genuine privacy concerns, whereas in others the motives may not be so honourable. Be that as it may this means that the domain(s) appear to be registered to a 3rd party. If, as in the case of RegisterFly, the 3rd party gets into financial issues, then there is a high risk that the domain data maybe lost.
The fallout of the RegisterFly implosion maybe the introduction of greater levels of service as standard by a lot of the ICANN registrars.
In the meantime, however, you should take the time to ensure that you know the following:
- Which domains you own
- Where they are registered ie. which registrar or company
- Check that the domain details are accurate and up to date
- Check the expiry dates
- Ensure that the email addresses are up to date
It only takes a few minutes to check up on your domain names and it can save you a lot of hassle in the long run.
irishblogs
Intro – Domains, Monetisation and more
I’ve been asked by Fergal to guestblog on here for the next couple of weeks, so before I actually start I feel a quick word of introduction is necessary.
As some of you know I am the MD of Blacknight, which is one of Ireland’s larger hosting and domain registration companies. I’m also actively involved in blogging (I think I run about a dozen or so blogs, but I’ve actually lost count) and also run a couple of other sites that people may or may not be familiar with.
I’ll be posting about subjects such as:
- hosting and domains – things to watch out for from an enduser perspective
- monetisation – how to make money online
I’ll try to remain as neutral as possible and I look forward to your feedback!