tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23152686534858941572024-03-19T08:48:36.505+00:00This is what I did.Personal stories, Interviews, photos, reviews.
2007 to 2010Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07043841842862846070noreply@blogger.comBlogger505125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2315268653485894157.post-40430720941780633602012-08-16T21:12:00.000+01:002012-09-05T13:34:44.258+01:00An update - 898 days later<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It's been a while. To be honest I'm back to try out the blogger interface. I'm also interested in seeing if the act of blogging will rekindle an interest in this form of sharing.<br />
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The best way to keep up to date with me is via <a href="http://twitter.com/darraghdoyle" target="_blank">@darraghdoyle</a> on twitter, <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/107286430499422872437/posts" target="_blank">here on Google+</a>, <a href="http://darraghdoyle.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">here on Tumblr</a> and over on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/darraghdoyle" target="_blank">my Facebook</a>.<br />
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My <a href="http://www.worldirish.com/darragh" target="_blank">WorldIrish profile is here</a> and I'm on <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/darraghdoyle" target="_blank">LinkedIn here</a>.<br />
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Here's my <a href="http://about.me/darraghdoyle" target="_blank">about.me profile</a> and I'm a fan of <a href="http://www.rebelmouse.com/darraghdoyle/" target="_blank">RebelMouse</a>. Every week I choose a <a href="http://www.thisismyjam.com/darraghdoyle" target="_blank">new Jam here</a>.<br />
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I've started adding content on <a href="http://darraghdoyle.wordpress.com/">http://darraghdoyle.wordpress.com</a> while I continue to blog events, interviews and competitions on <a href="http://www.yay.ie/">www.yay.ie</a>.<br />
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I occasionally upload to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/darraghdoyle" target="_blank">YouTube</a>. I contribute to <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/ireland" target="_blank">Reddit Ireland</a> and upload to <a href="http://path.com/" target="_blank">Path</a>, <a href="http://instagram.com/p/OZrYPDLHK0/" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="http://pinterest.com/darraghdoyle/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a>, <a href="http://cowbird.com/author/darragh-doyle/" target="_blank">Cowbird</a> and the committed stalkers can find me on <a href="http://getglue.com/darraghdoyle" target="_blank">GetGlue</a>.<br />
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Since last I posted here I have, in no particular order:<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Become an uncle</li>
<li>Become a <a href="http://www.fundit.ie/user/darraghdoyle" target="_blank">FundIt.ie advocate</a> and project funder</li>
<li>Been a <a href="http://pix.ie/trigger76/2962375/in/explore/tag/darraghdoyle" target="_blank">zombie </a></li>
<li>Joined WorldIrish.com as <a href="http://worldirish.com/user/darragh" target="_blank">Community Manager</a></li>
<li>Seen an incredible amount of amazing Irish theatre</li>
<li>Started a couple of websites including <a href="http://yay.ie/2012" target="_blank">Yay.ie</a></li>
<li>Worked on an Irish Presidential Campaign</li>
<li>Moved to Dublin City Centre</li>
<li>Become addicted to Reddit, Tumblr and 9Gag</li>
<li>Presented at <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkeKi43TbkY" target="_blank">TEDx Tallaght</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.metoo.sk/unicamp2011?relacia=darragh-doyle" target="_blank">Spoken</a> at <a href="http://www.unicamp.sk/" target="_blank">Unicamp</a> in Slovakia</li>
<li>Presented at <a href="http://ignitedublin.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">Ignite Dublin</a> </li>
<li>MC'd a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/TEDxTalks/videos?query=tallaght" target="_blank">TEDx event</a></li>
<li>Started a <a href="http://www.ncirl.ie/Programmes_Courses/Part-time-Courses/Certificate-in-Digital-Marketing-DIGIMARK_NCI" target="_blank">college course</a></li>
<li>Trained a lot of people about online </li>
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and so on. Mostly I breathed in and out, ate good food and laughed.</div>
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Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07043841842862846070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2315268653485894157.post-59111874349745764722010-03-02T12:19:00.002+00:002012-08-17T12:23:32.364+01:00This is a very lovely thing<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Anyone who's read some of my writing (back when I used to share things) will know that I'm a sucker for a good family story. The <a href="http://xbox4nappyrash.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">XBox4NappyRash story</a> is one of those that I've long been a fan of.<br />
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So, two things happened recently. One, <b>Sanne</b> <a href="http://xbox4nappyrash.blogspot.com/2010/02/me-katy-perry-both.html" target="_blank">was born</a> on Saturday 20 February 2010.<br />
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<a href="http://twitpic.com/166ttn" target="_blank"><img alt="Share photos on twitter with Twitpic" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_5V7vNjVKdVI/S4z8F4CqIoI/AAAAAAAByIw/ooBVMXYqmT0/s400/70862459.jpg" /></a><br />
<a href="http://twitpic.com/photos/MartinFitz" target="_blank">Martin has more photos over here</a><br />
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and the second was Martin <a href="http://twitter.com/MartinFitz/status/9870717121" target="_blank">sent me this video</a> with no warning of what it was about - except that it's Dan singing "Yes" by McAlmont & Butler:<br />
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and so I probably shouldn't tell you - except to say fair play to Dan over on <a href="http://allthatcomeswithit.com/archives/2219" target="_blank">All That Comes With It</a> for getting it put together.<br />
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So so lovely. So so happy for Martin and ET. Hello Sanne :)</div>
Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07043841842862846070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2315268653485894157.post-46283716571652073592010-01-26T13:51:00.002+00:002010-02-01T14:47:21.158+00:00An interview with Eleanor McEvoyIt was a distinct pleasure to sit with <b><a href="http://www.eleanormcevoy.net" target="_blank">Eleanor McEvoy</a></b> recently to discuss her career, her adoption to the internet, the start of her career and her change from classical music to becoming one of the most popular singer-songwriters in the country. <br />
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We also discussed the Irish music industry, the labels and media and her involvement in <a href="http://www.imro.ie/" target="_blank">IMRO</a>. We talked about the upcoming <a href="http://templebartrad.com/" target="_blank">Tradfest</a> in Temple Bar (on this coming weekend) and her upcoming Australian tour.<br />
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We also discussed her charity work - the background of her <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUmCXMX7XaA" target="_blank">"Oh Uganda" video</a> with <a href="http://www.oxfamirelandunwrapped.com/" target="_blank">Oxfam Unwrapped</a>, her massively popular online, but commercially poor single "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=sophie+eleanor+mcevoy&search_type=&aq=f" target="_blank">Sophie</a>" and her anger at society and where she finds her inspiration.<br />
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The video is 35 mins long - you can minimise and listen if that's easier. It was, genuinely one of the most interesting and candid interviews I've had the pleasure to do, and it's Eleanor's only media engagement before her trip to Australia.<br />
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It was a genuine pleasure and I'd like to thank Eleanor for her time and honesty and <a href="http://www.goodseedpr.com/" target="_blank">Good Seed PR</a> for helping arrange it.<br />
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Eleanor is doing one more gig in Ireland before Australia, according to her website - the <a href="http://www.myspace.com/newmusicclub" target="_blank">New Music Club</a> in Brazil’s Cafe Clonmel, Co. Tipperary on Wednesday 17 February and then her Australia dates kick off on Feb 26 with the <a href="http://www.nannupmusicfestival.org/welcome.asp" target="_blank">Nannup Folk Festival</a>.<br />
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You can follow <a href="http://twitter.com/eleanormcevoy" target="_blank">Eleanor on twitter here</a>, find her <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/EleanorMcEvoyTV">new YouTube channel her</a> and visit <a href="http://eleanormcevoy.com/" target="_blank">her website here</a>.<br />
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She'll be appearing at the <a href="http://templebartrad.com/" target="_blank">Temple Bar Tradfest 2010</a> this coming Saturday giving <a href="http://templebartrad.com/whats-on/tradfest-events/imro-showcases-master-classes/" target="_blank">an IMRO masterclass</a>. Tickets are selling quickly so I'd suggest you be quick!Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07043841842862846070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2315268653485894157.post-83283934613206974672010-01-22T11:35:00.002+00:002010-01-22T11:35:57.259+00:00News just in: We love Sharon Ní Bheoláin - a RTÉ ballad of injustice.<object width="400" height="300"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7SDXIXi8DPA&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7SDXIXi8DPA&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="300"></embed></object>Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07043841842862846070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2315268653485894157.post-30390442346249047462010-01-21T18:19:00.000+00:002010-01-21T18:19:46.519+00:00The press release re Boards.ie being hacked todayNot a post I'm happy about posting (major deal internally, obviously) but here's the press release we sent out today regarding the incident we've had:<br />
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<blockquote>Today, Thursday 21 Jan 2010 at 11:20 GMT the Boards.ie database was attacked by source from outside the country. This breach was discovered during routine security monitoring. We discovered this intrusion and took the site offline.</blockquote><blockquote>In the attack, part of the database which includes our members usernames, email addresses and obfuscated passwords was accessed. We are currently working with independent security consultants to ensure our systems are secure.</blockquote><blockquote>We are advising all members to check the passwords they use with any online services and to change it if it's the same one they used on Boards.ie </blockquote><blockquote>Our initial belief is that this attack was intended as a disruption to our service rather than to get member data. It may be possible for the attackers to read passwords and other data. At this early stage of the incident, members security is our primary concern.</blockquote><blockquote>Our basic message to members is:</blockquote><blockquote><b>If you have used the same password you used on Boards.ie on any other service, we urgently advise you to change it on these services. This includes any social networking account you may have.</b></blockquote><blockquote>Data stored by Boards.ie on members included only their email addresses, passwords, usernames and profile data. We did not store or have any record of home addresses, credit card details, online payment details or other personal financial data.</blockquote><blockquote>Boards.ie passwords are NOT stored in plain text, they are obscured with the standard vBulletin "Hash". While this provides strong protection, we have altered all passwords on Boards as a precaution and suggest you take this time to allter other similar passwords.</blockquote><blockquote>Like all large websites, we are regularly the target for disruption and take continual actions to proactively protect our member data. This particular attack was completely unprecedented despite our rigorous security measures.</blockquote><blockquote>We will keep you updated with any information you have about this, primarily for now via our twitter account at <a href="http://www.twitter.com/boards_ie">http://www.twitter.com/boards_ie</a>. You do not need to be a member of twitter to read this.</blockquote><blockquote>We are extremely sorry for any inconvenience this has caused.</blockquote><blockquote>Members can contact us at hello@boards.ie </blockquote>Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07043841842862846070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2315268653485894157.post-52104485140776288892010-01-21T01:30:00.000+00:002010-01-21T01:30:11.305+00:00Review: Little Gem at the Peacock Theatre, Dublin<blockquote><i>"Love, sex, birth, death and salsa classes. Three generations of women. One extraordinary year" </i><br />
</blockquote>I'm delighted I took the opportunity to go to tonight's opening performance of <a href="http://www.abbeytheatre.ie/whats_on/event/825" target="_blank"><b><i>Little Gem</i></b></a>, the award winning play by <b>Elaine Murphy</b>, running at the Peacock Theatre until February 27.<br />
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Starring <b>Anita Reeves</b>, <b>Hilda Fay</b> and <b>Sarah Greene</b>, <i><b>Little Gem</b></i> is a wonderfully touching, sentimental and - though I dislike the word for its maudlin overtones - <i>heartwarming</i> story of a year in the life of three women, three generations in the one family, told by each of them in turn.<br />
<blockquote><a href="http://www.abbeytheatre.ie/whats_on/comments/825" target="_blank">"I loved this play, i went from laughing out loud to wiping a tear from my eye! The characters are so real, you end up wanting to be part of their family!"</a><br />
<div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://www.abbeytheatre.ie/whats_on/comments/825" target="_blank">(Review by Norma Quinsey from the Abbey website) </a><br />
</div></blockquote>The Peacock Theatre really is an ideal venue for a play like this. Its intimate size means that you're close to the actors, close to the stage and quite part of the story, and indeed, the audience play a part in this by just listening. What do I mean?<br />
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Well, each character, first <b>Amber</b>, the 19 year old on her way to the debs, then<b> Lorraine</b>, her mother who works in retail on Mary St and then <b>Kay</b>, Lorraine's mother and Amber's grandmother all tell us their stories directly, stories of their days and their memories, which weaves itself into a very ordinary story told in what seems an extraordinary way - there's no interaction or dialogue shared between the actors.<br />
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The set is simple. Three chairs on a stage, one lamp, one tartan effect plastic shopping bag, the backdrop of a sitting room. It struck me while waiting for the play to begin that the three chairs were all very different, but put it down to a simple mismatch, rather than design. That assumption I made followed me throughout the play and surprised me in so many pleasant ways that at the end of the play I was giving a solo standing ovation.<br />
<blockquote><i>"She drags me out. Haul Dean and his mate Lee onto the middle of the dance floor and gyrate like a pair of lezzers in between them. The lads are all over us like a cheap pair of jocks from Japan - Henry Street, not the country"</i><br />
</blockquote>When Amber starts her monologue of debs preparation, we're immediately transported to the front room of a Dublin home - it's probably northside, definitely not D4. I loved listening to Sarah Greene, despite her accent slipping ever so slightly the odd time, because her mannerisms and her presence conveyed that certain energy that girls the age of her character tend to have. <br />
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The audience, all probably invited guests, chuckled along to some of the funnier lines but when Hilda Fay started her story of her day working in the shop is when the script really kicked into gear and the laughter resounded around the theatre.<br />
<blockquote><i>"Is there anything you want to share with us, Lorraine?" He says. Afraid to say anything, don't want to stretch my mouth open wider to fit my other foot in. "Are you sacking me, Mr Grant?" Looks at HR bird and then back at me. Wonder if he's riding her?"</i><br />
</blockquote>Stories written in a Dublin accent tend to be a bit hit and miss. While there's no denying the success of stories like Brendan O' Carrolls<i> 'The Mammy'</i> and Paul Howards Ross O'Carroll Kelly saga, there's also what I'd term the <i>Sunday World</i> version of Dooblin, where situations, personalities and especially use of language are exaggerated and you're left with a sense of knowing what the author is trying to convey, but being unconvinced because you've only heard of people like the characters, never actually experienced them.<br />
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Not so with Murphy's creations. While Amber and Lorraine are both wonderful characters, it was Kay, the granny, played by Anita Reeves that I adored. Reeves' performance is excellent, but the script shines through bringing this lovely, aging woman to life and delivering us laughter and loneliness time and time again. Telling us about her recuperating husband, she says<br />
<blockquote><i>"He's not the easiest of patients. In fact, to put it mildly, he's a cantankerous oul' fuck. I don't mean to go down this road but sire I've started so I'll finish. I'm dyin' for me bit. We've always been very compatible in that department, which is a miracle by itself, because by the time you get to our age you'd normally be lacing the cocoa with arsenic not Viagra."</i><br />
</blockquote>and by the time she described her journey on the 42B to Ann Summers to buy a certain object recommended to her by Marjorie Burke, not only was everyone in the audience laughing, but I could see the smiles of the actresses on stage, all who had no doubt heard the script hundreds of times, smiling at the audience reaction and knowing there was more to come.<br />
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Scribbling notes throughout, I scribbled one to Niamh beside me <i>"This is </i>VERY<i> good"</i> while a woman behind me whispered to her companion <i>"She's great"</i> as Hilda Fay took her seat after another brilliant delivery. Tonight's audience were a delight to experience - they laughed in the right places, were silent in the poignant moments and I'm sure more than me had a tear in their eyes at the particularly emotional and personal points. <br />
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There-in lies the charm of Little Gem - there's no high dramatic ideals here, no allegories or inaccessible language, no moral or intellectual lessons being delivered - it's a story of an ordinary family and what happens there, and that's why it has the power to affect people the way it did.<br />
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The applause at the end of tonight's performance was loud, sustained, well deserved and full of appreciation. While I'm sure the cast must be tired after their recent return from the run in New York, they put in a marvellous performance, one which, by the end, we wanted to continue, and to find out more about. "That was brilliant" I heard one person say on the way out, "Really surprised by how funny it was." Another woman was wiping her eyes, tears streaming down as she assured her male companion <i>"I'm fine, love, it's just with dad passing, well, it's all so real".</i><br />
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In her author's note, Elaine Murphy, herself an actress (Prosperity, The Clinic, Pure Mule), whose playwriting debut was <i><b>Little Gem</b></i>, says<br />
<blockquote>"When you start out writing, people always say: 'Write about what you know.' being an actress for the last couple of years, I always had a yearning to write something myself. Decent parts are thin on the ground and I rarely recognised any of the women portrayed on the stage in front of me.<br />
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I work part-time in a women's health organisation. Little Gem grew from there. It's a mishmash of all the women I've met over the years: hardworking, not particularly rich or poor, ignored by the Celtic Tiger, and the recession probably won't make much of a difference to them either, you know women like us, getting on with it."<br />
</blockquote>Her play, staged in conjunction with the <a href="http://www.civictheatre.ie/" target="_blank">Civic Theatre Tallaght</a> (21 years old this year!) by the multi award winning independent<a href="http://www.gunanua.com/" target="_blank"> Gúna Nua Theatre Company</a>, founded in 1998 by <b>Paul Meade</b> (who directs this production) and <b>David Parnell</b> has won the Fishamble award for best New Irish Writing and the Best Female Performance at the Dublin Fringe Festival, 2008. It also featured in last year's Edinburgh Fringe Festival where it won the Carol Tamber Best of Edinburgh Award and has just completed (on Jan 16) an 11 day run in the Flea Theatre in Tribeca, New York.<br />
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If I could offer you five reasons to see the play, they are, in no particular order:<br />
<ol><li>It will make you laugh long and hard because it's a great script.</li>
<li>It will make you want to hug someone after, because it's a story you'll recognise</li>
<li>Anita Reeves as Kay</li>
<li>Sarah Greene as Amber</li>
<li>Hilda Fay as Lorraine</li></ol>I'll be back to see it. Genuinely. I'll be bringing my parents. I'll be going with my friends. <br />
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It plays at the Peacock, as above, until February 27. Tickets are from €20 and can be <a href="http://www.abbeytheatre.ie/whats_on/performances/825" target="_blank">booked online</a> or from the Abbey Box office at <span style="color: blue; font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: black;"> +353 (0)1 87 87 222.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">Following its run in the Peacock <b><i>Little Gem</i></b> will tour to 5 venues around Ireland: </span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.draiocht.ie/" target="_blank">Draíocht</a> in Blanchardstown;</span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;"> <a href="http://www.gbshawtheatre.ie/theatre.php" target="_blank">The George Bernard Shaw Theatre</a> in Carlow; <a href="http://www.belltable.ie/" target="_blank">The Belltable</a> in Limerick; <a href="http://www.axis-ballymun.ie/" target="_blank">The Axis</a>, Ballymun and back to the <a href="http://www.civictheatre.ie/" target="_blank">Civic Theatre</a>, Tallaght. </span></span><span style="color: blue; font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span><br />
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</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;">Thanks as always to David in the Abbey Press Office for the tickets. I owe you a pint.<br />
</span></span>Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07043841842862846070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2315268653485894157.post-35754733211245721192010-01-07T13:01:00.008+00:002010-01-07T18:57:51.220+00:00Nominees for 2010 Meteor Irish Music Awards announced todayI've been invited along to the launch of the 2010 Meteor Music Awards (<a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/meteor-music-awards-2010#/pages/Meteor-Music-Awards-2010/228795379318?" target="_blank">Facebook link here</a>) and here, as I've just posted on Boards.ie, is the <a href="http://meteormusicawards.meteor.ie/nominees/" target="_blank">list of the nominees</a> as I have in front of me:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">(EDIT: To vote in each category, just click on the category headline below)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://meteormusicawards.meteor.ie/nominees/category/best-national-dj/" target="_blank">Best Radio DJ - National (vote here)</a></span><br /><ul><li>Ian Dempsey - Today FM</li><li>Damien Farrelly - 2FM</li><li>Tony Fenton - Today FM</li><li>Ray Foley - Today FM</li><li>Larry Gogan - 2FM</li><li>Dan Hegarty - 2FM</li></ul><a href="http://meteormusicawards.meteor.ie/nominees/category/best-regional-dj/" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Radio DJ - Regional (vote here)</span></a><br /><ul><li>Leigh Doyle - BEAT</li><li>Jim & Niamh - FM 104</li><li>KC & Lenny - Red FM</li><li>Michelle McMahon - Spin SW</li><li>Jon Richards - Galway Bay FM</li><li>Shona Ryan - Spin 1038</li></ul><a href="http://meteormusicawards.meteor.ie/nominees/category/best-irish-band/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best Irish Band (vote here)</span></a><br /><ul><li>Bell X1</li><li>The Coronas</li><li>Delorentos</li><li>Snow Patrol</li><li>U2</li></ul><a href="http://meteormusicawards.meteor.ie/nominees/category/best-irish-male/" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best Irish Male (vote here)</span></a><br /><ul><li>Colin Devlin</li><li>Jerry Fish</li><li>Jack L</li><li>Christy Moore</li><li>Mundy</li></ul><a href="http://meteormusicawards.meteor.ie/nominees/category/best-irish-female/" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best Irish Female (vote here)</span></a><br /><ul><li>Wallis Bird</li><li>Julie Feeney</li><li>Valerie Francis</li><li>Laura Izibor</li><li>Dolores O' Riordan</li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://meteormusicawards.meteor.ie/nominees/category/best-irish-pop-act/" target="_blank">Best Irish Pop Act (vote here)</a></span><br /><ul><li>Delorentos</li><li>Laura Izibor</li><li>The Blizzards</li><li>The Script</li><li>Westlife</li></ul><a href="http://meteormusicawards.meteor.ie/nominees/category/best-irish-album/" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best Irish Album (vote here)</span></a><br /><ul><li>Blue Lights on the Runway - Bell X1</li><li>Tony was an Ex-Con - The Coronas</li><li>The Duckworth-Lewis Method - The Duckworth-Lewis Method</li><li>Up to Now - Snow Patrol</li><li>No Line On The Horizon - U2</li></ul><a href="http://meteormusicawards.meteor.ie/nominees/category/best-irish-live-performance/" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best Irish Live Performance (vote here)</span></a><br /><ul><li>Bell X1</li><li>Christy Moore</li><li>The Script</li><li>Snow Patrol</li><li>U2</li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />NON VOTING CATEGORIES</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best Folk/Traditional</span><br /><ul><li>Kathleen Loughnane</li><li>Kila with Bruno Coulais</li><li>Christy Moore</li><li>Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh</li><li>Sharon Shannon</li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best International Band</span><br /><ul><li>Black Eyed Peas</li><li>Florence & The Machine</li><li>Green Day</li><li>Kasabian</li><li>Muse</li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best International Male</span><br /><ul><li>Michael Buble</li><li>Jay-Z</li><li>Morrissey</li><li>Paolo Nutini</li><li>Bruce Springsteen</li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best International Female</span><br /><ul><li>Lily Allen</li><li>Lady Ga Ga</li><li>Little Boots</li><li>Pixie Lotts</li><li>Taylor Swift</li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best International Album</span><br /><ul><li>Lunatic Asylum - Kasabian</li><li>Lungs - Florence & The Machine</li><li>Sigh No More - Mumford & Sons</li><li>Sunny Side Up - Paolo Nutini</li><li>The Fame Monster - Lady Ga Ga</li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best International Live</span><br /><ul><li>Leonard Cohen</li><li>Coldplay</li><li>Florence & The Machine</li><li>Bruce Springsteen</li><li>Take That</li></ul><blockquote><br />Awards will be held at the RDS Friday February 19 2010, presented by Amanda Byram. Performing on the night will be Westlife, Snow Patrol, the Script, Florence and the Machine, Paolo Nutini, The Coronas, Pixie Lott and "many more to be announced".</blockquote><br />Voting goes live from today apparently with <span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://meteormusicawards.meteor.ie/competitions/" target="_blank">Most Promising New Artist</a></span> for 2010 going live from January 15. All details over on the <a href="http://meteormusicawards.meteor.ie/" target="_blank">Meteor Music Awards website</a>.Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07043841842862846070noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2315268653485894157.post-9097498173238168012009-12-31T14:00:00.002+00:002009-12-31T14:01:49.439+00:00This year, 2010 and MELast year I <a href="http://darraghdoyle.blogspot.com/2008/12/this-year-2009-and-me.html" target="_blank">wrote</a> about how I'd been living with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or Myalgia Encepthalomyelitis, which I think is a lovely sounding name to describe a right bastid of an illness. While it had affected me badly in 2008, I thought it worthwhile to think about what I'd done in 2009 and how I am now.<br /><br />Since I arrived home last Thursday I've slept approximately 17 hours a day. I had always said coming up to Christmas that I'd be taking time off and that the holidays were going to be about eating, reading and sleeping. These I have done, sleep being the priority. I'm revelling in its reparative powers, allowing thoughts to process and ideas for the new year to form.<br /><br />The ME has been quite bad in the last year. The brain fog continues to affect simple memory and linguistic functions - at worse I lose the thread of a sentence mid flow and have little idea of what I was talking about (perhaps a good thing) while at other times simple words or phrases will just not appear in my mind to be said (ironically, I'm not sure of the proper way to say that).<br /><br />The pain - fibromyalgia - has continued unabated, a constant presence with some days much worse than others, nightime being less about sleep and more about finding a position where my joints don't hurt. The fatigue hasn't been too bad - Sundays tend to be a literal day of rest - and hasn't prevented me from doing too much but my moods have been quite often manky and I'm surprised that certain people have been able to put up with me. <br /><br />Despite all that, 2009 has been an exciting and productive one, and one I'm proud of and not ashamed to celebrate - many many festivals and events attended and volunteered on, a new job, new friends, lots of opportunities, lots of memories and experiences. <br /><br />It's presented many challenges - no better or worse than those faced by others - friends lost, opportunities missed, promises not kept, lessons learned the hard way - but overall I feel I took it head on - simply because that's the only thing I could do. Whatever the downsides, the brilliant people I met in 2009 were by far the bes thing about it.<br /><br />It was a year I became a real media whore - contributing to 4FM, i105107, Newstalk, Morning Ireland with Radio One and being caught on TV cameras on a couple of occasions. I've been in a lot of newspapers and some magazines. I've spoken at conferences and masterclasses. <br /><br />The position with Boards.ie has widened many of the doors I had opened and moving from Community Manager to Communications Manager was a sensible and mutually beneficial move for all concerned. It teaches me a lot but I bring as much to the table. 2010 will be, in may ways, the make or break year for Boards.ie and it will be interesting to see how the input of management, of employees, of volunteers and of members will shape it and bring it closer to failure or success.<br /><br />2009 also saw me work and volunteer with the Irish Blog Awards, with the Abbey Theatre, with Barnardos, with the National Campaign for the Arts, with the National Gallery, with Cinemagic, with Darklight, with the St Patrick's Festival, with the Street Performance World Championships, with the Carlsberg Cat Laughs and Comedy Carnival festivals, with Eircom, with Bórd Gáis, with the Dublin Gay Theatre Festival, with the Dublin Writers Festival, the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival and the Dublin Theatre Festival, with the Science Gallery, with Culch.ie, with the Labour Party, with the National College of Ireland and Metro, with Arthur's Day and the Guinness 250 Celebrations, with ABSOLUT Fringe for the first time, with the Cork Jazz Festival, With Sony Ireland, with Toys 4 Big Boys, with ReachOut.com and more.<br /><br />I got to interview and chat with many different people who do really interesting things. This in itself has inspired me in at least one project for the new year that I'll definitely be asking for help with.<br /><br />I've had lots of cups of coffee with lots of people talking and advising on social media. I've had lots of invitations to events and previews. I've worked hard and benefitted from it. Laziness was never an option. Enough of that done in the past.<br /><br />2010 then will be an interesting one - a busy one. I'll be launching at least two websites and podcasts and involved in the launch and implementation of more - including at least one very high profile site. I'll be event blogging and tweeting.<br /><br />Most of all though I'll be working. There are a number of tourism and charity initiatives I want to assist on, as well as continuing to support the arts. As smarmy as it sounds <span style="font-style:italic;">(and belive me, I know how smarmy it sounds)</span> I continue to appreciate the opportunities and rise to the challenges. I continue to look forward to getting to know people.<br /><br />No new year resolutions for 2010. I don't need them - the to do list is long enough without them.<br /><br />Happy New Year to you and yours. Hope you enjoy it. Coffee soon? :)Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07043841842862846070noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2315268653485894157.post-79059829561415854552009-12-10T17:23:00.006+00:002009-12-10T18:26:13.565+00:00Interview with Donal Skehan, author, musician and bloggerIt's not that I forget. Honestly, it's not. It's that I promise myself I'll do things tomorrow and then, of course, there's something else to do. I need to be more organised! <br /><br />Anyhow, I'm slowly but surely catching up with things here and so I finally get around to publishing this interview with <span style="font-weight:bold;">Donal Skehan</span>, <a href="http://www.thegoodmoodfoodblog.com/" target="_blank">the Good Mood Food blog</a> blogger and recently published author.<br /><br />It's actually quite scary to think I filmed this on Wednesday, October 21, the day of his <a href="http://www.thegoodmoodfoodblog.com/2009/10/good-mood-food-big-book-launch.html" target="_blank">book launch</a> in <a href="http://www.dubraybooks.ie/" target="_blank">Dubray Books</a> on Grafton St but am only publishing it now. <br /><br />It was great though to sit down with Donal, whose blog I read and who I <a href="http://twitter.com/donalskehan" target="_blank">follow on twitter</a> and find out more about the new book - <span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://www.mercierpress.ie/cartage.html?main_page=product_book_info&products_id=475" target="_blank">Good Mood Food</a></span> - where the inspiration came from and how he manages to fit in <span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://www.industryofficial.com/" target="_blank">Industry</a></span>, due to release their new single "My Mistake" on Ruth Scott's 2FM show tonight.<br /><br /><object width="400" height="300"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=7926914&server=vimeo.com&show_title=0&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=7926914&server=vimeo.com&show_title=0&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="300"></embed></object><br /><br />I've been reading Donal's book since I bought it and have promised myself to set aside time in the new year to learn how to cook properly!<br /><br />In case you're interested in the <a href="http://www.thegoodmoodfoodblog.com/2009/10/good-mood-food-big-book-launch.html" target="_blank">launch</a>, Donal's speech and brilliant introduction by <a href="http://www.eoinpurcellsblog.com/" target="_blank">Eoin Purcell</a> and by Niamh Hatton of <a href="http://www.mercierpress.ie/" target="_blank">Mercier Press</a>, are below:<br /><br /><object width="400" height="300"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=7979756&server=vimeo.com&show_title=0&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=7979756&server=vimeo.com&show_title=0&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="300"></embed></object><br /><br />Thanks Donal for your time - hope it's all going well and good luck with the new single!!Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07043841842862846070noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2315268653485894157.post-5384369565303907572009-12-01T09:43:00.003+00:002009-12-01T12:33:46.605+00:00Carrying a fan for AIDA at the O2 and Odyssey this weekendI'm fulfilling yet another <span style="font-style: italic;">"would love to do that"</span> this weekend - <span style="font-weight: bold;">stepping out on stage</span> at the <a href="http://theo2.ie/event/aida/" target="_blank">O2 in Dublin</a> and <a href="http://www.odysseyarena.com/aida.html" target="_blank">Odyssey Arena in Belfast</a> as part of the ensemble of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Verdi's AIDA</span>.<br /><blockquote>This production will be one of the most spectacular versions of Aida ever to be staged and will appeal to both opera connoisseurs and novices curious to experience the delights of the opera for the first time.</blockquote><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_5V7vNjVKdVI/SxTq8uF4cXI/AAAAAAABrco/vgC7lgbzahg/s800/News_AIDA_226.jpg" /><br /></div><br />When I say <span style="font-style: italic;">"part of the ensemble"</span>, I mean part of the triumphal march in Act II, when the Pharaoh takes to the stage to meet his princess. I'll be one of the two fan bearers following him out and standing behind the throne. Oh, the <span style="font-style: italic;">glamour</span>. <a href="http://www.iamsteph.com/" target="_blank">Steph</a> and <a href="http://whoopsadaisy.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Niamho</a> are also taking part, thanks in part to taking <a href="http://www.movieextras.ie/X%20Audience/aida.html/@@index.html" target="_blank">the audition</a>. Okay, okay, we just showed up.<br /><br />Still though, great way to spend a Friday and Saturday night - on stage at two of the country's biggest venues, listening to live performances from the stage in a spectacular production - <span style="font-style: italic;">"very much a first for Ireland as this production of Aida is larger than any ever done before."</span><br /><blockquote><a href="http://theo2.ie/event/aida/" target="_blank">The production brings new meaning to ‘grand opera’ as The O2 will be transformed with spectacular sets and scenery and a cast of over 200, including 20 ballet dancers, will take to the stage in lavish costumes to perform one of the greatest operas ever written accompanied by a full orchestra and a choir of 75 singers.<br /><br /><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_5V7vNjVKdVI/SxTq9h0OJgI/AAAAAAABrcw/VyLbsljbqKo/s400/Aida_cast_-_cropped.jpg" /><br /><br />The O2 will be unrecognisable when the stunning sets are built for the show. A 12 metre high pyramid will dominate the stage, along with the throne of Pharaoh, and statues of Egyptian figures as well as eight palm trees.</a></blockquote><br />With principals including <span style="font-weight: bold;">Rosella Redoglia</span> as AIDA (previously <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKSuyK-Jjho" target="_blank">Abigaille in Nabucco</a>), <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.agenzialopera.it/artistaScheda.asp?Artist=Scolastici" target="_blank">Stefania Scolastici</a> as Amneris, <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.mennicken-pr.com/eng/grisales.html" target="_blank">Ernesto Grisales</a>, the Colombian tenor as Radames, <a href="http://www.myspace.com/camillacorsi" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Camilla Corsi</span></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>as the Priestess and the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Coro Lirico Italiano</span> and the <a href="http://www.novaamadeus.it/" target="_blank">Sinfonica Nova Amadeus</a> Orchestra conducted by<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.seghedoni.us/" target="_blank">Stefano Seghedoni</a><span style="font-weight: bold;">,</span> this is sure to be one of those experiences none of us will forget.<br /><br />I just need to work out how to stick the phone in the costume for a sneaky twitpic.<br /><br />I doubt it will be as grand as this, but here's a version of what we'll be doing:<br /><br /><object height="300" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Yq_if8R5xZE&hl=en_GB&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Yq_if8R5xZE&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="300" width="400"></embed></object><br /><br /><blockquote>Aida is set in ancient Egypt and tells the tale of Aida, an Ethiopian princess who is captured and taken into slavery in Egypt. <br /><br />While there she meets with Radames, the Captain of the Egyptian Guards, who falls in love with her.<br /><br />Radames becomes torn between his love for Aida and his loyalty to his leader the Pharaoh whose own daughter, Amneris, is in love with him. <br /><br />The story reaches a climax when Radames is asked to lead the Egyptian army into battle against the Ethiopian army headed by his beloved Aida’s own father, the King of Ethiopia.</blockquote>Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07043841842862846070noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2315268653485894157.post-1155186685023562542009-11-27T16:10:00.005+00:002009-11-27T16:56:27.700+00:00It's THE EMERGENCY of the year - Brain Cowen is kidnapped!<object width="400" height="300"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7hu97U0zEdg&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7hu97U0zEdg&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="400" height="300"></embed></object><br /><br />Funny the stuff that ends up in your inbox from <a href="http://www.theemergency.ie/" target="_blank">some people</a>, especially if it's a marketing ploy just to promote their very funny and topical new CD "<span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://www.theemergency.ie/media-clips/advance-warning-use-democracy-sensibly-on-201109/" target="_blank">Use Democracy Sensibly</a></span>" available as a perfect christmas stocking filler now.<br /><br />I'm giving some away that I, er, found, <a href="http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=63224366" target="_blank">on Boards.ie here</a>. <br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Use Democracy Sensibly</span> is written and performed by <span style="font-weight:bold;">The Emergency</span> - Morgan C Jones, Eoin Byrne, Joe Taylor, Dermot Carmody, Karen Ardiff and Nick McGiveny.<br /><br />I know someone who LOVES this clip from them:<br /><br /><object width="400" height="300"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/esHwu_2LVCw&hl=en_GB&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/esHwu_2LVCw&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="300"></embed></object>Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07043841842862846070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2315268653485894157.post-50083998871688722212009-11-25T18:36:00.007+00:002009-11-26T19:52:05.897+00:00Training Eircom's new online customer support team<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://twitter.com/LeoTraynor/status/6019499635" target="_blank"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_5V7vNjVKdVI/Sw5eN0KYkMI/AAAAAAABq-8/DOy6VLuC6n4/s400/eircom_cs1.jpg" /></a><br /></div><br />I spent some time with <span style="font-weight: bold;">Eircom</span>'s new online customer support team yesterday and Monday. Yes, that's right, Eircom are heading out into the big bad world of online and <span style="font-style: italic;">"engaging"</span> in <span style="font-style: italic;">"conversations"</span> with their customers on a new site to be launched, on twitter, on Boards.ie and wherever else is appropriate. Eventually.<br /><br />It's a brave move for the company because let's face it, they're going to open themselves up even more to criticism and venting than they ever have before. It's very "easy" not to answer the phone but this is different. The whole organisation needs to be aware of that and I'm not sure that they are.<br /><br />Now, when I say I'm "training", I don't mean I'm giving them the top 10 tips to be a customer service ninja or giving handouts drawn on posts by Godin, et al. Nor do I mean I'm advocating high fives when a query is solved, or recruiting advocates to ensure that only good stuff is said about you online. Because that sort of stuff is ultimately bullshit and there's far too much of that going on already.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://twitter.com/darraghdoyle/status/6045914999" target="_blank"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_5V7vNjVKdVI/Sw5eOCfHDWI/AAAAAAABq_E/UhktY3fPB3k/s400/eircom_cs2.jpg" /></a><br /></div><br />This is about customer service, pure and simple. In real world terms it's someone coming into your shop with a problem and you solving it with a minimum of fuss and bother. Exciting the customer. One of the best books on customer service I've read was by Feargal Quinn about Superquinn - <a href="http://www.obrien.ie/book125.cfm" target="_blank">Crowning the Customer</a> - and even then he just talks about how a good shop is well laid out with staff who are helpful, who anticipate the customer need and ensure it happens. Sounds simple, but a bitch to implement. Every part of the organisation needs to be bought into it.<br /><br />I'm not saying either though that it's difficult to find the problems. A quick <a href="http://twitter.com/#search?q=eircom" target="_blank">search on twitter</a> yesterday morning brought us to Leo's tweets - and a quick reply and some fortuitous circumstances completely independent of us had the problem for Leo solved - but a valuable lesson taught. This isn't rocket science - it's just saying <span style="font-style: italic;">"Hello, I'm here to help, can I?"</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://twitter.com/LeoTraynor/status/6046193415" target="_blank"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_5V7vNjVKdVI/Sw5eO0oXdqI/AAAAAAABq_U/n2bnYRJ01-E/s400/eircom_cs4.jpg" /></a><br /></div><br />I've really enjoyed watching the evolution of the <a href="http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=241" target="_blank">Boards.ie talk to... forums</a>, especially since <a href="http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=1270" target="_blank">Vodafone</a> got involved (0ver 1,500 posts since September 20). Because I get emailed with every post as well as them, I get to see what's coming through. Some of it is quite harsh. Some of it fixable, some not. It is, however, valuable customer advice.<br /><br />I watch how the <a href="http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=82" target="_blank">feedback we receive on Boards.ie</a> is - or isn't - implemented and I guess I'm lucky to be on at what I consider to be still the start-up stage of this company. Unlike massive companies like Eircom or Vodafone, I don't have a press office, a marketing team or a legal department to get things signed off by - that's me and Tom and Dav doing that between us. If something's wrong, we'll try fix it, if we can and it's fixable. If it's wrong but can't be fixed now, and isn't urgent (which is not the same as isn't "important") it gets added to the (long) list of stuff to be actioned. That's a really good position to be in. Enviable.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://twitter.com/LeoTraynor/status/6046219590" target="_blank"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_5V7vNjVKdVI/Sw5eOeYlfkI/AAAAAAABq_M/lwEmRRK-y90/s400/eircom_cs3.jpg" /></a><br /></div><br />Will it be the same in Eircom? I don't really know how it operates at a management level. Do they know what people are complaining about? Do they look at the call centre logs, the emailed queries and say "Okay, we have a problem in this area, this needs to be fixed" and then go and actually use their authority in the company to fix it? My hope is that it's so, my gut feeling is it's not. I think people get tied up in call volumes reached, in tickets closed, in cutting call centre resources, in just answering the call and letting that be. This won't work for Eircom.<br /><br />The moment someone in there starts looking at this exercise in terms of number of posts answered rather than how long it took to resolve an issue and why; the moment they're talking about standardised, templated answers, quick wins and not telling the whole truth, the whole project might as well be scrapped.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://twitter.com/LeoTraynor/status/6046380437" target="_blank"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_5V7vNjVKdVI/Sw5ePcIQzgI/AAAAAAABq_k/cmyhgbtgcLs/s400/eircom_cs6.jpg" /></a><br /></div><br />Certainly, if I were part of the management team over this effort, I'd be looking closely at the processes. How is a query received? How is it answered? What steps does someone have to take to get there? Are there unnecessary steps that can be removed? Where are the problems talking longest to resolve? Does my team have the necessary authority and buy in from the organisation to make sure that what they do, they do well, first time and every time?<br /><br />I'd nearly have the people answering the queries and dealing with them and then one person looking at the issues that caused the query in the first case and how that could be resolved and feeding that back into the system. Would that work? Yes, I believe so. Would a company pay someone to do it? No. Why? Because you'd only get results after a year. That's a pity.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://twitter.com/LeoTraynor/status/6046255056" target="_blank"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_5V7vNjVKdVI/Sw5ePMuLa6I/AAAAAAABq_c/1pXvAuBnHVU/s400/eircom_cs5.jpg" /></a><br /></div><br />There's no easy win for Eircom. It's going to take a lot of hard work, determination, apologising and trial and error. It's going to cause a lot of disruption internally - if it's done right.<br /><br />Rather than end on this sort of downer on a blog post, I wanted to just share some thoughts for anyone in Eircom who ends up reading this far:<br /><br /><ol><li>Once you start, there's no going back. No half measures, no shortcuts, no easy answers. DO it right from the beginning. If you can't do it alone, get help. Ask for advice. Get support. This is important and you have a great chance here to do something pretty damn good.<br /><br /></li><li>While you're not in "control" of the conversation, you have no influence over what people say and you don't know what someone could come at you with, act like you do. Be calm, be friendly, be honest but above all find out what their problem/issue is and fix that as quickly and as best as possible. Easier than it sounds.<br /><br />It's the usual yaddah yaddah of how to talk online - don't jump in, listen first, be helpful with the advice, don't pimp your own stuff. Be the experts you are supposed to be - the experts you're paid to be.<br /><br /></li><li>Trust the guys you've hired, Eircom. From what I know of them, they seem like decent chaps. They'll need support but ultimately they're the guys you've put on your online frontline. You've hired them to do a job, let them do it.<br /><br /></li><li>Be honest. Be transparent. That will stand much better to you than just the brand guidelines. As lovely as your marketing and press people are, their message isn't what I want to hear - it's the truth about my problem and what you're going to do about it.<br /><br /></li><li>Realise you're going to learn a lot that you don't know about. Realise you're going to have to change things. Realise that this will be a measure of you as a company.<br /><br /></li><li>Don't take negative feedback personally. This is probably the biggest mistake people make online - assuming that what's written about them, their online work or the company they work for reflects on them personally. It doesn't. Not really. Not ultimately. Ignore the trouble-makers. If you can't ignore them, pity them. Their other problems are not yours. Solve what you can, when you can and be happy with the work you've done.<br /><br /></li><li>Remember - a little goes a long way. One tweet yesterday, though it didn't solve any problems, didn't fix anything or wasn't really that helpful did cause one person, previously having an awful experience with that company to react favourably to an offer of help. Don't discount that. Build on it.</li></ol>It's a long road ahead. It's going to be really interesting to watch the journey.Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07043841842862846070noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2315268653485894157.post-67250158692142287122009-11-24T15:32:00.003+00:002009-11-24T15:59:33.286+00:00Interview for the Visually Impaired Computer Society of IrelandI was delighted to be asked by <a href="http://www.digitaldarragh.com/blog/" target="_blank">Digital Darragh</a> to contribute to a podcast for the <span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://vicsireland.org/" target="_blank">Visually Impaired Computer Society of Ireland</a></span> recently. We sat down in the Westbury and had a good chat. It's just gone live and can be heard below.<br /><br />We discussed what exactly social networking is, what I get from the whole thing (that was a long segment), what people should be scared of, if anything, about blogging and about Boards.ie. <br /><br />I quite like that you can hear the buzz of people, the chatter of the place, the clatter of the cups and so on around us. I wish I'd been a better speaker but it had been a long day.<br /><br />The interview starts at around <span style="font-weight:bold;">30:52</span>.<br /><br /><embed src="http://www.odeo.com/flash/audio_player_standard_black.swf" quality="high" allowscriptaccess="always" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashvars="valid_sample_rate=true&external_url=http://www.vicsireland.org/december-2009-InfoVics.mp3" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" height="52" width="300"></embed><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">(You'll need to let it (down)load)</span></span><br /><br />I'm particularly impressed to see organisations like VICs Ireland using tools like podcasts to communicate with their members. I hope those listening learned something small at least!Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07043841842862846070noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2315268653485894157.post-68552396674678371192009-11-24T11:11:00.004+00:002009-11-24T11:47:20.918+00:00Good morning to you #2<span style="font-weight: bold;">Hey Jude</span>:<br /><br /><a href="http://loveallthis.tumblr.com/" target="_blank"><img style="width: 420px; height: 558px;" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_5V7vNjVKdVI/SwvBkf5PGQI/AAAAAAABq0U/WI9dt48-EAc/s800/todaysbigthing.7befba326ca59d4e6b80cd426b0b90a8.jpg" /></a><br /><br />How to make a baby:<br /><br /><object height="265" width="400"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=7496785&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1"><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=7496785&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="265" width="400"></embed></object><br /><br />It could only be the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra:<br /><br /><object height="300" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/pUru7nSyKxQ&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/pUru7nSyKxQ&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="300" width="400"></embed></object><br /><br />This is a panda, born in Chiamg Mai zoo in Thailand last June, at eight days old.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthpicturegalleries/5477439/A-new-born-panda-cub-at-Chiang-Mai-zoo-in-northern-Thailand.html?image=10" target="_blank"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_5V7vNjVKdVI/SwvGlV963yI/AAAAAAABq00/Zczk9JYYGl0/s400/090604-standing_1419392i.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><blockquote>4 June 2009: The cub, now eight days old, tries to stand on its feet, though it won't be able to crawl until it is about 75 days old. The panda's distinctive colouring is starting to form on the eyes, ears and paws</blockquote><br />and then another eight days later.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthpicturegalleries/5477439/A-new-born-panda-cub-at-Chiang-Mai-zoo-in-northern-Thailand.html?image=15" target="_blank"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_5V7vNjVKdVI/SwvGlWy9-CI/AAAAAAABq0w/l2VL1HEYiG8/s400/090612-profile_1424454i.jpg" /></a><br /><br />I'm listening to Spamalot this morning. Love this track:<br /><br /><object height="300" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/16WmKSZmYXc&hl=en_GB&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/16WmKSZmYXc&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="300" width="400"></embed></object><br /><br />Sometimes not even English means anything<br /><br /><object height="300" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/FcUi6UEQh00&hl=en_GB&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/FcUi6UEQh00&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="300" width="400"></embed></object><br /><br />Stop motion sand sculptures:<br /><br /><object height="300" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/6MDc24K_guI&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/6MDc24K_guI&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="300" width="400"></embed></object><br /><br />From Japan - there's a right place for everyone:<br /><br /><object height="300" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/IjkNlmsYwFo&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/IjkNlmsYwFo&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="300" width="400"></embed></object><br /><br />2 fingers from a Shaolin monk - one of only two people in the world who can do this<br /><br /><object height="300" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7LkhVeW7VV0&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7LkhVeW7VV0&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="300" width="400"></embed></object>Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07043841842862846070noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2315268653485894157.post-41746896597100028642009-11-23T20:03:00.006+00:002009-11-24T10:37:58.806+00:00It costs €20m to build 1 km of road in modern IrelandI interviewed <span style="font-weight: bold;">Fergus Finlay</span>, the CEO of <span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.barnardos.ie/yesno" target="_blank">Barnardos Ireland</a></span> on Friday about their current <span style="font-weight: bold;">YES/NO campaign</span> and how cuts in the upcoming budget would affect their work and the people that they work with.<br /><br />Some shocking (to me) statistics emerged in our chat, including how <span style="font-weight: bold;">Thornton Hall</span>, the new prison currently being built will cost <span style="font-weight: bold;">€1,000 million</span> in the first 10 years of operation and how it costs <span style="font-weight: bold;">€20 million</span> to build <span style="font-weight: bold;">1km</span> of road in "modern" Ireland.<br /><br /><a href="http://blog.boards.ie/2009/11/23/protecting-children-in-budget-2010-a-talk-with-fergus-finlay-from-barnardos/" target="_blank">Via the Boards.ie blog</a>:<br /><br /><object height="300" width="400"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=7760822&server=vimeo.com&show_title=0&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1"><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=7760822&server=vimeo.com&show_title=0&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="300" width="400"></embed></object><br /><br />You can read more about the campaign in <a href="http://www.barnardos.ie/pdf.php?path=assets/files/poverty/Barnardos_Yes_No_Child_Poverty_Report_%202009.pdf" target="_blank">this PDF download</a> and <a href="http://www.barnardos.ie/yesno" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: bold;">sign the petition here</span></a>.<br /><br />You might also like to see what exactly Barnardos are recommending to the Government - that presentation is below:<br /><a style="margin: 12px 0pt 3px; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; display: block; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.slideshare.net/darraghdoyle/barnardos-key-recommendations-for-budget-2010" title="Barnardos Key Recommendations for Budget 2010">Barnardos Key Recommendations for Budget 2010</a><object style="margin: 0px;" height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=barnardoskeyrecommendationsforbudget2010-091123131628-phpapp01&stripped_title=barnardos-key-recommendations-for-budget-2010"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=barnardoskeyrecommendationsforbudget2010-091123131628-phpapp01&stripped_title=barnardos-key-recommendations-for-budget-2010" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="355" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.barnardos.ie/yesno" target="_blank"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_5V7vNjVKdVI/SwrolZbnFUI/AAAAAAABqy4/fjrJXAgTy5k/s800/barnardos_300x250_v2.gif" /></a><br /></div><br />I've arranged advertising for Barnardos on Boards.ie to help them reach their target of signatures. I hope it has an impact. Given that interview, if it doesn't, we're all in a lot of trouble. Preventing that is worth at least a signature.Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07043841842862846070noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2315268653485894157.post-56079102702215592622009-11-19T20:19:00.005+00:002009-11-19T21:47:01.218+00:00The day I interviewed Dustin the TurkeyFrom <a href="http://blog.boards.ie/2009/11/19/boards-ie-members-put-their-questions-to-dustin-the-turkey-vulture/" target="_blank">the Boards.ie blog</a>:<br /><br /><object width="400" height="300"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=7705105&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=7705105&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="300"></embed></object><br /><br />Given the fact I talk to people a lot professionally, it's rare that I'm completely speechless in someone's presence. In fact, it's happened only twice recently - one when Terry Pratchett joined us for soup in Clare and the other was yesterday when Dustin started talking to me.<br /><br />One of the cool things about my job with Boards.ie is what it allows me to do interviews like this. I find other people's questions are always much better than what I could come up with - especially if they have an emotional connection to the subject - it's how the soccer forum members came up with such great questions for <a href="http://blog.boards.ie/2009/10/05/boards-ie-soccer-forum-members-put-their-questions-to-john-oshea/" target="_blank">John O' Shea</a> and <a href="http://blog.boards.ie/2009/08/31/interview-with-damien-duff/" target="_blank">Damien Duff</a>.<br /><br />Setting up an interview with someone as busy as Dustin is a difficult one. Not content with everything he's done on TV, on the Eurovision, musically or politically, he's also just completed a trip to South Africa with UNICEF to entertain children affected by HIV/AIDS, unemployment and poverty and been in the recent RTÉ show "<span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.rte.ie/player/#v=1059607" target="_blank">Dustin: Twenty Years A-Pluckin'</a></span>" celebrating his own 20 years on Television. So, yes, it was a bit of an ordeal.<br /><br />However I got to meet Dustin in <a href="http://www.kiteentertainment.com/" target="_blank">Kite Entertainment</a>'s offices yesterday. I was nervous - I knew he'd go for me but it wasn't until he popped up from under the desk and started talking that I was completely awestruck.<br /><br />There's me, as part of my job, getting to sit in an office, to look at Dustin, to see his beak, his eyes, to hear the click of his lower beak on his upper beak, the Louis Copeland suit, to just be in the presence of someone who has been on my screen on in my ears so much - magical.<br /><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/DustinOfficial/status/5828547111" target="_blank"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_5V7vNjVKdVI/SwW7JRjOHzI/AAAAAAABqw0/0M4bva3Faqc/s400/dustin_twitter.jpg" /></a><br /><br />The interview itself went as well as any of mine do - I'm trying hard not to laugh, I'm reading the next question to make sure I neither stammer nor stutter and I'm trying to act professional, rather than just laughing along. Poor Niamh had to hold the camera and put up with his amorous advances. It was a brilliant experience.<br /><br /><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_5V7vNjVKdVI/SwWmtceFxbI/AAAAAAABqvQ/Sy0r4hW4XrQ/s400/0FEEF768FDEF4E1789167F50ECC9547B.jpg" alt="Dustin the Turkey and another turkey (me) sitting beside him. Both with beaks :-P"/><br /><br />You know, there's times that I feel very very lucky. As does the lovely Niamho.<br /><br /><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_5V7vNjVKdVI/SwW226XlU1I/AAAAAAABqwY/dhC9hVLnum0/s400/58F41EFF4F604945A0CB935367AD1A83-800.jpg" /><br /><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/DustinOfficial" target="_blank">You can follow Dustin on Twitter here</a>.<br /><br />You can see <a href="http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=63093035" target="_blank">what Boards.ie members are saying about the interview here</a>.<br /><br />You can hear <a href="http://www.we7.com/#/artist/Dustin!artistId=38938">Dustin's entire back catalogue of albums (and buy them) here</a>.<br /><br />A huge thanks to all the Boards.ie members, to Darren in Kite Entertainment and of course to Dustin. You legend :)Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07043841842862846070noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2315268653485894157.post-91155033128957549062009-11-16T11:34:00.002+00:002009-11-16T11:41:29.610+00:00The Cork Flashmob from Saturday for the National Campaign for the Arts<object width="400" height="300"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/utdKjUZz-o0&hl=en_GB&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/utdKjUZz-o0&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="300"></embed></object><br /><br />In support of what the <a href="http://ncfa.ie/" target="_blank">National Campaign for the Arts</a> is campaigning for. Have you <a href="http://www.petitiononline.com/ncfa/petition.html" target="_blank">signed the petition</a> yet?<br /><br />(Yep, so good I <a href="http://www.culch.ie/2009/11/16/let-mr-blue-sky-in-the-flashmob-in-cork-on-saturday-14-november/" target="_blank">blogged it twice</a>).Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07043841842862846070noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2315268653485894157.post-16647763322516003842009-11-13T17:43:00.003+00:002009-11-15T15:26:09.146+00:00Shooting Beauty - take a few minutes and just watch this trailer.<object width="400" height="302"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=2754536&server=vimeo.com&show_title=0&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=7a9ca3&fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=2754536&server=vimeo.com&show_title=0&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=7a9ca3&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="302"></embed></object><br /><br />Awesome. Literally awesome. <a href="http://www.everyonedeservesashot.com/">The website is here</a>.Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07043841842862846070noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2315268653485894157.post-60926514532001009692009-11-12T18:44:00.003+00:002009-11-12T19:07:23.066+00:00The Charter for Compassion - http://charterforcompassion.org<a href="http://charterforcompassion.org/act/affirmers" target="_blank"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_5V7vNjVKdVI/SvxZ4Va7vbI/AAAAAAABqUQ/oVI-ODZJ05g/s400/cfc_leaderboard_eng_og_728x90.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><object height="300" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/wktlwCPDd94&hl=en_GB&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/wktlwCPDd94&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="300" width="400"></embed></object><br /><br />This site - <a href="http://charterforcompassion.org/" target="_blank">http://charterforcompassion.org</a> - landed in my inbox today. It's a TED initiative from <a href="http://www.ted.com/speakers/karen_armstrong.html" target="_blank">TED prize winner Karen Armstrong</a>.<br /><blockquote>This is a document created by thousands of people around the world. It is capable of enabling a new dialog between the major religions and between religious and nonreligious people. <br /><br />Please take out two minutes to read it. It's just one page. If it speaks to you, please <a href="http://charterforcompassion.org/" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: bold;">add your name</span></a>. </blockquote> Here's the <a href="http://charterforcompassion.org/share/about" target="_blank">text of the charter</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://charterforcompassion.org/act" target="_blank">Have a look at the acts of compassion here</a>.<br /><br />It's quite a worthwhile idea. I hope it succeeds.Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07043841842862846070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2315268653485894157.post-13408745783210236812009-11-12T15:21:00.002+00:002009-11-12T15:25:52.911+00:00"The next word is Mother Flippa" - rap and dance classes for the elderlyMeet Marian, aka <span style="font-weight:bold;">DJ Hip Op</span>.<br /><br /><object width="400" height="300"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/laCLBVmk1EU&hl=en_GB&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/laCLBVmk1EU&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="300"></embed></object><br /><br />I LOVE this video for <span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://www.ageaction.ie/" target="_blank">Age Action Ireland</a></span>, created by Richard Doyle over at <a href="http://www.creativeproductions.ie/" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight:bold;">Creative Productions</span></a>. One of the funniest I've seen in ages - fo' shizzle!Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07043841842862846070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2315268653485894157.post-23300185960316765452009-11-11T18:46:00.002+00:002009-11-11T19:09:21.945+00:00A podcast about Irish blogging, bloggers and events<a href="http://twitter.com/darraghdoyle/status/5093982964" target="_blank"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_5V7vNjVKdVI/SvsJUiMhq0I/AAAAAAABpcs/O89Qouv2FQw/s400/podcast.jpg" /></a><br /><br />I've been thinking and talking about the idea of doing a podcast around blogging, blogs and the people involved in Ireland. It will be a lot more of the latter than the former but it's certainly something I'd be interested in trying at least.<br /><br />There's a lot that could be done there - interviews, readings, highlights, regular slots from contributors, advice on starting up, comedy sketches and talking about upcoming events that those listening might want to know about.<br /><br />My idea would be a fortnightly "show", with presenters, contributors and segments. There's such a wealth of talent from the various people interacting on blogs, on twitter and generally online that I'm sure that something interesting can be found there.<br /><br />I wouldn't even say it's purely "business" or "entertainment" or anything as focussed - perhaps a mixture or perhaps themed shows. I've liked how the <a href="http://podcasts.boards.ie/" target="_blank">Boards.ie podcasts</a> went (I need to get to doing those as well) and it would be hugely open to collaboration, input and suggestions - just structured and regular.<br /><br />I've had a few people express interest to me via twitter already but if you have any suggestions, ideas, requests or indeed think it's an awful idea, please do let me know.Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07043841842862846070noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2315268653485894157.post-9087520173535864652009-11-11T10:04:00.003+00:002009-11-11T10:12:15.459+00:00People have their say about the Get Up Stand Up National Day of ProtestI was sent this by <span style="font-weight:bold;">Paula Geraghty</span>, the filmmaker who made this short film (5:18) about the <a href="http://www.ictu.ie/" target="_blank">ICTU</a> National Day of Protest and the <a href="http://www.getupstandup.ie/" target="_blank">Get Up Stand Up campaign</a> on November 6.<br /><br />Lots of people on the streets being asked for their views on the matter. The next question apparently is <span style="font-style:italic;">"What do we do next?"</span><br /><br /><object width="400" height="300"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/9sn-u0eCFrA&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9sn-u0eCFrA&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="300"></embed></object>Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07043841842862846070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2315268653485894157.post-65596021223552392322009-11-10T19:53:00.006+00:002009-11-10T20:02:57.891+00:00The new Beta Twitter Retweet featureThis just popped up on my screen:<br /><br /><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_5V7vNjVKdVI/SvnEd1pZYMI/AAAAAAABpbY/N1vgDJoKIps/s800/beta_retweets.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_5V7vNjVKdVI/SvnEd1pZYMI/AAAAAAABpbY/N1vgDJoKIps/s400/beta_retweets.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_5V7vNjVKdVI/SvnEd1pZYMI/AAAAAAABpbY/N1vgDJoKIps/s800/beta_retweets.jpg" target="_blank">Click for bigger</a><br /><br />So it's a symbol instead of an RT and a handy way of seeing how popular a link is - kind of like the Facebook "Like" feature...<br /><br />There's also a new button beside the "Reply" one:<br /><br /><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_5V7vNjVKdVI/SvnGv90VnRI/AAAAAAABpb0/-XkXLyivWFs/s400/rts.jpg" />Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07043841842862846070noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2315268653485894157.post-53355697084751464342009-11-02T12:21:00.010+00:002009-11-02T12:36:04.376+00:00Vote for your favourite Irish social networking siteThat's what the Golden Spiders want you to do. They've just announced their shortlist for the Best Social Networking site and now it's up to the public to vote.<br /><br />They are:<br /><ul><li><a href="http://www.igopeople.com/" target="_blank">http://www.IGOpeople.com</a> </li><li><a href="http://www.irishabroad.com/" target="_blank">http://www.irishabroad.com</a> </li><li><a href="http://www.kotalk.com/" target="_blank">http://www.kotalk.com</a> </li><li><a href="http://www.lonely.ie/" target="_blank">http://www.lonely.ie </a></li><li><a href="http://www.nimble.ie/" target="_blank">http://www.nimble.ie</a></li><li><a href="http://www.politics.ie/" target="_blank">http://www.politics.ie</a></li><li><a href="http://www.thumped.com/" target="_blank">http://www.thumped.com</a><br /></li> <li>and the www. free <a href="http://www.pix.ie/" target="_blank">http://pix.ie</a> <span style="font-style:italic;"></span>.<br /><br /></li></ul>From the press release:<br /><blockquote style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Members of the public are invited to cast their vote for one of the shortlisted websites by <span style="font-weight: bold;">6pm on Wednesday, 18th November 2009</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Votes can be made by sending details of your chosen website to info@goldenspiders.ie. </span><br /><br />The winner of the “Best Social Networking Website” will be announced at the eircom Golden Spider Awards Ceremony in the Burlington on Thursday, 19th November 2009.<br /><br />What should you think about before voting for your favourite social networking site?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">INFORMATION/CONTENT</span> – Does the site provide users with entertaining, informative and gripping content? In addition to the user-generated content does the site make the most of externally developed add-on applications which further encourage communication between members?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">USABILITY</span> – Does the site make efforts to accommodate non-standard visitors, for example: mobile visitors, visitors with text-only browsers, touchscreen visitors, users with screen readers and other alternative devices and a variety of screen resolutions.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">DESIGN</span> – Does the site make the best use of graphics, animations and interactive elements? Is the site designed to enable users to interact with the content and information in an easy and enjoyable manner?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">RELEVANCE</span> – Does the site clearly understand the needs and aspirations of the communities it supports? Does the site provide specific tools and services to meet those ends?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">INNOVATION</span> – Does the site provide new and interesting ways for users to collaborate and communicate?</blockquote><br />I'm particularly delighted to see Thumped.com and Politics.ie in the list, as well as Pix.ie. Well done :)Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07043841842862846070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2315268653485894157.post-25790509248519370452009-10-27T14:15:00.003+00:002009-10-27T14:45:36.220+00:00Golden Spiders 2009 shortlist announced today...The shortlist for the 2000 Golden Spiders Awards was announced today.<br /><br />All available on a <a href="http://short.ie/goldenspiders" target="_blank">Google Spreadsheet right here</a>.<br /><br />Congratulations to everyone nominated. <a href="http://www.goldenspiders.ie/" target="_blank">The awards are on November 19</a>.<br /><br /><a href="https://secure4.inet7.com/businessandfinance-ie/GS/table_bookings.cfm" target="_blank">Seats are €300 and table of 10 costs €2,900</a>. Ex VAT.<br /><br /><a href="http://awards.ie/webawards/" target="_blank">For the win</a>.Darraghhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07043841842862846070noreply@blogger.com2