Archive for the conferences category
Connector Social Media Workshop @ PhotoIreland Festival
by Connector on July 15th, 2010
I was delighted to host as social media workshop and equally pleased with the positive feedback. Some of the slides are below if you want to check them out and contact me if you would like to invite Connector to talk to your business or organisation.
Connector at the Dublin Web Summit 2010
by Mark Galvin on July 5th, 2010
Hundreds of social media and technology fans were at the ambient and stylish chartered accountants institute last Thursday for the Dublin web summit to hear insights, tips and predictions from top technology enthusiasts and business luminaries. Guests were treated to a 7-hour marathon of insightful speeches from not only Irish but also global presenters.
Hoping to become more savvy on social media and technology, I doubt they were disappointed! Looking at the line up for the speeches, I was undoubtedly impressed. Big hitters such as Michael Birch founder of Bebo, Mike Butcher Editor of TechCrunch Europe, Simon Cook CEO of DFJ Espirit, the worlds largest venture capital group, The charismatic Bill Liao an Australian tech entrepreneur and ex RTE political correspondent Mark Little, to name a few, all played their part in ensuring a high calibre and standard of presentations.
The event ran extremely smoothly and was well organised with a networking session taking place half way through the speeches to allow not only the members of the audience to indulge in a the eloquent food and drinks that were provided as a half time refresher but also to talk amongst themselves and offer their insights on not only the speeches but also how they could help and compliment each others services. All in all, the event was a huge success and a credit to everyone involved. The web summit was a great chance to see first hand how huge and paramount social media and online relations are becoming in Ireland and long may it continue.
Crafting outstanding presentations using storytelling techniques
by Connector on June 14th, 2010
Conor saw this presentation being made for the first time at Bizcamp in Dublin recently.
It covers applying storytelling techniques to create outstanding presentations for a better engagement with the audience.
Claudio really is a good presenter!
Please take a look and see what your story would be for your next presentation!
Irish economic nationalism to take on the world!
by Connector on June 11th, 2010
In recent times I have been lucky enough to meet lots of new people in whole new areas for Connector. I have found myself miles from my digital marketing homeland and over in what could be best described as an interesting but alien socio-political-economic landscape. On my travels I have been connecting with an assortment of non-techies, technophobes and luddites which is nice for a change and makes me feel oh-so nerdy!
In 2009, I am sure I was not the only one to be utterly depressed at the sorry turn of global events and the international pounding our once proud celtic tiger economy was taking. This was in the back of my mind as I set out to become a full time connector in the midst of a recession in February. I wanted to travel a new road and see where it took me and here are some of the connections along the way as I have ben a very lazy blogger lately!
As a recent graduate of the 6 month long (part-time) Common Purpose Meridian Programme, for the first time I encountered many senior civil servants and politicians and visited several ministeries and even Mountjoy Prison. Only yesterday at an alumni event we were presented to by the most senior civil servant of them all, Dermot McCarthy, Secretary General to the Government & the Taoiseach.
I was also recently chatting to the Minister for Science, Technology & Innovation, Conor Lenihan TD at the annual showcase for the excellent Computer Clubhouse project in the Liberties (pictured above). Conor had great craic with the kids and remarked that they were better hecklers than the guys in the Dail! I was then very happy to be involved in a small way with helping Padraig McKeown promote the Martin McAleese brainchild ‘Your Country Your Call‘ campaign at a Connector Event in the Science gallery – this competition is now at the exciting judging phase.
And now I see I missed the recent launch of Gateway Ireland and on the same day I assume, I walked by Gabriel Byrne and regretfully not running after him to say hello! This project looks quite exciting too and a welcome offspring of the Farmleigh conference of 2009. I see from their web site & video they are also about connecting the Irish dots … ah now lads, shor I’ve been doing that with Connector for over 2 years now! ;-0 I wish them all the best in their endeavours to promote Irish business, tourism, culture & education and the team of advisors they have assembled is first class.
As another 2009 connection, Colm Long from Facebook, said on the RTE News site, “the company has been working with John McColgan since shortly after the Farmleigh event nine months ago. He says that Facebook got involved because connecting people all around the world is its business. He says that connecting with the country’s diaspora will be key to the success of the site.”
Gateway Ireland – An Introduction from Fountainhead on Vimeo.
So what is it with this sudden burst of economic nationalism? While the dire state of the state’s finances is well known, there is a fight back coming on strong. There is a very exciting turning of the tide underway and I hope it hits the country’s shores in 2010.
With all my talks to small businesses recently including at the Entrepreneur Show, I see a realisation that the time to energize and digitize the nation is now, as Joan Mulvihill iia CEO championed so well recently. People are fighting back and connecting with each other at networking events the length & breadth of the country. However thankfully the country’s heavyweights seem to be up for the fight and are grouping together to collaborate. The international connections with the Irish diaspora hold the key but it is us at home who must do the hard work.
A final new connection this week was a really enjoyable conversation with Andrew McLaughlin who is the Director of the Masters in Organisational Behaviour in the IMI. On Thursday he just published a very timely and fascinating research report for the IDA called ‘Innovation & the Irish Mind.’ As Steve Jobs from Apple said, “creativity is just connecting things” and Andrew has found that the Irish executives and entrepreneurs have a unique mindset that could be just perfect for the ‘conceptual age’.
In a great supporting article in Decision magazine, Andrew writes that the ‘conceptual age’, from Daniel Pink’s book ‘A Whole New Mind‘, will require new skills of which Ireland might be perfectly equipped to prosper once more. The Irish entrepreneurs have a preference for social connections and associating with others who have larger social networks. They also have a tolerance for ambiguity which indicates independent idiosyncratic innovative minds!
I am doing a disservice to this vast subject area and 80 page report by summarising it into a paragraph via a 2 page article, but the full report was co-written by Megan Burgdorf and can be found at ‘Innovation & the Irish Mind.’ However as the government has also produced an several ‘knowledge economy’ style reports, it is the actual implementation of good ideas that will get us back to our rightful place punching above our weight on the global stage.
The fact that this community of Irish economic nationalists has formed is very encouraging and will it have the desired impact? If you have any comments or messages of support for these initiatives, please leave a comment below.
Words by Conor Lynch / Photo by Pavla K Smidova
Bridging the gap between Irish business and advances in digital marketing
by Diarmuid ORiordan on June 10th, 2010
Irish companies feel like they are falling increasingly behind the times in terms of advances in digital marketing. While the digital community prepares itself for advances in areas such as location based marketing, the SME community is still unsure as to whether Internet marketing actually works. We need to further establish both positions and how we can bridge the gap between the two.
Mr. Bill Thompson was part of an open discussion at the IIA conference in Dublin recently. In a conversation with Jim Power on the use of social media in business, he was of of the view that companies not embracing social media would cease to exist in a few years. He also added that this may not be a bad thing, as companies who do embrace it will be offering a superior service to their customers.
Mr. Jim Power, prominent economist with Friends First held a conflicting opinion. Jim also runs an economic consultancy practice and has a lot of contact with SMEs. His view was that SMEs on the ground were largely untouched by the advances in digital marketing. He added that SMEs didn’t understand many of the platforms, were wary of privacy issues and were not convinced “social media actually works, and that its not just something fluffy and useless!”
So having established these hugely different viewpoints, who can we say is correct?
Both are correct in my opinion, and bridging the gap between the two is where the way forward lies. Jim is right in terms of SMEs on the ground, they still have a large customer base which is not using social media. Among SMEs who do use social media, their is a misconception that all a company has to do is set up a Facebook and Twitter page and watch the market come flocking. These users are only moderately succesful in their attempts and a general feeling of social media marketing being ‘fluff’ has been created.
Bill Thompson’s viewpoint can be easily backed up using Internet usage statistics and how people are using social search to find products and services. Business in Ireland must follow consumers onto social media.
There are innovative online marketing solutions being devised here in Ireland. However there is a danger if SMEs are not informed and trained, revenue streams will dry up and this could impair the advancement of these solutions and Irish business in the next number of years.
Mutual dialogue must be initiated between the two groups and the government must also be involved in the roll-out of broadband. Marketing through social media is all about listening to the conversation of customers, the digital community must listen to its customers for the benefit of all Irish business in the coming years.
Connector @ The Entrepreneur Show
by Nicola OReilly on April 27th, 2010
Connector showcased its new training courses and connecting philosophy at this year’s Entrepreneur Event, Friday 23rd to Saturday 24th April.
Connector’s team helped man the stand for the weekend, making loads of new connections and spreading knowledge of the 10 C’s.
A huge part of the show this year were the bright and lively discussions that took place in the “Think Tank” and “Invest Test” auditoriums which Conor helped chair as well as take part in.
One of the highlights of the show was hearing some of the Irish and UK dragons take part in these discussions. The connector team also had the pleasure of meeting Sean Gallagher who had his photo taken with them at the Connector stand.
Connector’s bright and inviting stand design, along with its engaging video content was down to the planning and hard work of new recruit David Dungan who has taken to his role with enthusiasm and gusto, as well as Sarai Fernández hard work managing the connector team and Connector’s Entrepeneur Networking Event at Lillies on Friday night.
Overall it was a busy but rewarding weekend at the stand for the Connector team and it will be a busy week again following the amount of interest shown at the show.
Review of iia Audio Video Culture Event
by Nicola OReilly on April 27th, 2010
On the 22nd April 2010 the IIAs Social Media Working Group held an event entitled Audio Video Culture: Behind the scenes of audio & video content online. Conor the current Chair of Social Media Working Group at the IIA was the chariman for this event.
Speakers from RTE, RaboDirect, Channelship, Mason Hayes and Curran, CEUD NDA, Google Ireland and YouTube all spoke at the event and helped to make it a great success. Pictured is Sebastian Missoffe from YouTube in action from Conor at the top table!
There was very positive feedback with most feeling they learned a great deal about audio and video content online.
Connector @ The Entrepreneur Show
by Connector on April 23rd, 2010
This is the cool background that our friend Alvin from Fresh Design has designed for the stand Connector at The Entrepreneur Show this weekend April 23rd and 24th at the RDS in Dublin.
If you’re going to The Entrepreneur show, come down to visit the Connector stand, which will have a networking area and where the staff will give you all the information you need about the new training courses and other Connector activities.
Connector Weekly – 19th April
by Nicola OReilly on April 19th, 2010
Connector is set for another busy week of connecting! Here is a roundup of the main events for this week:
On 20th Connector will hold its Digital & Social Media Workshop. This strategy workshop will help participants understand how social media is changing our culture, and importantly, the way consumers share information and make buying decisions.
After that, Connector will also be hosting Career Connections a event only for students at the Science Gallery at 6:30 pm. With this event Connector is helping to connect graduates with potential employers. Many graduates this year will find it hard to get a job but those at the Students Event won’t be amongst them. Recruitment experts from Microsoft and Google will give advice about graduate programs, career choices and personal branding. Greg Fry from Careers Coach will be speaking at the event too.
Public Affairs Ireland presents a half-day event in Dublin on the 21st. It will be of interest to people who would like to have a better understanding of how new media, the web and email can enable better access of information and provision of services to the public.
Conor, as the current chair of the IIA, will introduce the Audio Video Culture: Behind the Scenes of audio and video content online on Thursday April 22nd. This will offer an in-depth look at how to maximise the impact of video and audio content for your business.
On 23rd & 24th Connector will hold a stand at The Entrepeneur Show. The Entrepreneur Show is designed to inspire visitors to do new and better business. It will host an array of speakers from all sectors of business, to inspire you in your business development. Connector will be present in several panels and will also have a stand in the show, helping through the recession to learn new skills, connect to those in the know and help broaden their career prospects next weekend. Come down to check out the Connector Stand!
And don’t miss The Entrepreneur Show After-Party that Connector will host in Lillies Bordello, on Friday 23rd from 7pm. Connector will be offering a unique and fun way to network throughout the night!
More updates next week.
Re-connecting with RaboDirect
by Connector on April 18th, 2010
On Tuesday 22nd April I get the chance to re-connect with my ex-RaboDirect colleagues @ the iia Social Media event in the Clarion Hotel. As I was saying last week this is a great opportunity to see the multi-award winning RaboDirect team who rarely have the time to share the secrets to their success. I particularly am looking forward to the presentation from Aoife Mahon who was Offline Marketing Manager while I was Online Marketing Manager for 18 months.
On top of all that emotional interchange, there are also top speakers from RTE & YouTube so if you are into digital video, this is an event you must not miss!
For discounts, contact events [@] iia.ie and then go to the booking page.