The Long Debate is at hand:

Check out now the next three scholars, that will bring their expertise to the exciting debate on 11. Nov. We strongly recommend to register now, click here

Did you know: The “Long Debate” is an evening full of lively discussion and networking. Inventorium has devised a special debate format, 18 of Ireland’s key contributors and commentators have been invited to give their views and opinions. Each speaker will present his or her viewpoint for five minutes, the emerging conversations will be documented and presented on the Inventorium website.

Ron Immink

Ron is a serial entrepreneur and author of a number of best selling business books. He has started several, grown a few and sold one company. Ron has worked in entrepreneurship, training, consultancy, publishing, education, innovation and tech transfer.

In 2007, following his passion for books, new learning and entrepreneurship he started Bookbuzz™, a company that has developed an innovative, proven and highly effective learning and consultancy methodology that harnesses the collective wisdom of the organisation, using inspiring business books to stimulate ideas, design innovative strategies, improve decision making and boost fresh thinking. Clients of Bookbuzz include some leading multinationals in Europe and the USA.

At the same time he co-founded www.smallbusinesscan.com in partnership with Ulster Bank. A free and open platform where owner managers can create and share the business knowledge, the insights, the experience and the contact networks needed to generate new growth for their own business and create a new beginning for the economy. Smallbusinesscan is now the fastes growing business support website in the UK and Ireland.

His expertise is around entrepreneurship, story telling, narrative, dialogue learning, social learning, social media and collective wisdom.

Ron Immink

John Collins

John Collins is assistant business editor with The Irish Times. A journalist for 16 years he specialises in technology, business and internet issues. He has been contributing to the paper’s popular technology pages since 2005 and has been on staff since early 2007.
He was the Irish Internet Association’s Net Visionary Technology Journalist of the Year in 2006. Prior to joining The Irish Times he was a freelance journalist contributing to publications including The Sunday Business Post, Computerscope, Business Plus, Ireland.com and Smart Company.

John was editor of PC Live! Ireland’s best selling computer and Internet magazine for five years. He has been online since 1995, and has written for a range of Irish and international publications including The Irish Independent, Silicon Republic, Business & Finance, TVB Europe, The Web Magazine, i-D, Hot Press and Apple Report.
John has commented on technology and business issues for a range of radio and TV programmes for both RTÉ and independent stations, as well as co-presenting the RTÉ2 series, TechTV.

John Collins

Theo Lynn

Theo Lynn is a lecturer in Management in the Dublin City University Business School where he teaches at postgraduate level on Strategic Management. Theo holds a Ph.D. in Law from University College Dublin and the title of his thesis was “The Irish Corporate Governance System and the Role of Irish Occupational Pension Funds as Institutional Monitors”. He is the Programme Chairperson for the MSc in Business Management, is Deputy Director (Technology) of the Learning, Innovation and Knowledge Research Centre (www.link.dcu.ie) and is Principal Investigator on the Global Grid for Learning project (www.globalgridforlearning.org).

Theo Lynn

A unique format and networking opportunity: We invite you to this very special discussion The Long Debate which will take place as part of the Inventorium project, during Dublin Innovation Festival. Make The Long Debate your key event in Dublin Innovation Festival

When?

The Long Debate, Inventorium,

part of Dublin Innovation Festival

11 Nov

Doors open 18.00

Debate: 19.00-22.00

NDRC, Crane St, Digital Hub, Dublin 8

Registration for this event is essential

The Long Debate: Speakers (13-15) out now – expertise at hand! – Ron Immink, Theo Lynn & John Collins is a post from: Connector

By Laura Dunne

Hello all! I hope your Christmas was filled with over-indulgence and friends and family galore as mine was. As the year (and decade for that matter) draws to a close, our focus inevitably shifts to the future and what next year will hold both personally in our careers and private lives to the emerging trends that will define the next decade.

Over the holidays, I’ve had the great pleasure of catching up with all of my favourite blogs and have even discovered a few more gems. One of the most interesting things I’ve read all year was by Yuli Ziv “On Fast Fashion Content and The Importance of Being Earnest”

Following a piece written by Michael Arrington of TechCrunch, Yuli felt compelled to address an issue facing all bloggers- the originality of content. Particularly in the fashion blogging realm, writers often succumb to simply re-hashing content from numerous sources in place of actually contributing to the global discourse.

While sharing content is arguably one of the most essential roles blogs play today, I can’t help but agree with Yuli that we are merely pandering to a culture which favours quantity above quality- where our sole motivation is slotting ourselves into a pop-culture driven machine where fashion bloggers the world-over are “creating” trends seemingly free of influence from the corporate retailers who have controlled what our perception of “fashionable” is for decades.

I would argue that these corporations have more control than ever before through “sponsoring” certain blogger events and “donating” products to fashion bloggers to review on their blogs- how is it that the majority of popular bloggers just so happen to be wearing basically the same clothes no matter how off-kilter they are with mainstream trends?

Yuli argues that bloggers don’t write as such but rather create content as fast as we can to capture the publics interest before others do. While I’m not from any type of creative writing background myself nor have I ever claimed to be, I myself am guilty of posting blogs just because.

What Matters Now

My hope for 2010 is that bloggers will consider more carefully what they choose to write about and find their own voice amongst the masses. The internet should help to create social tribes and friendships which are not dependant on location but rather on mutual passions and interests- this can never occur in any real sense if we are blogging to fit in with a clique of successful bloggers who have honed their craft after years of practicing and hard work. I send you forward to consider the eBook “What Matters Now” as a template for how to face the coming year and to help remind us the power the internet can play in spreading positive messages- each of the 60 featured authors shares a thought on what should matter moving into 2010.

Here’s hoping that the next decade will be a good deal better than the last!

Fashion blogger's new year resolutions is a post from: Connector

Spotted these cool little badges / pins from FourSquare and was wondering why do adults want badges / pins ?  Why have they become popular again outside the music scene or did I just not notice them for the last 10 years ?  Is it fashion, marketing or something completely different ??

Pictured below are some Connector badges from this summer which now look pretty boring compared to 4sq !

What is it with Pins & Badges in 2009 ? is a post from: Connector

Connector guest post by Laura Dunne –

Re-Dress is “a not for profit organisation set up to move Irish consumers and industry towards more sustainable practices”

Based in Pembroke Road in Dublin, Re-Dress provides information on sustainable practices in the clothing industry for both consumers and those in the industry. As part of their work, they have developed their own social network on Ning where members are free to meet those of similar mindsets and network with fellow professionals to develop new projects and realtionships. More recently, Re-Dress have begun to host events to spread the word that sustainable fashion is the way forward. Ranging from industry networking events such as Re-Connect Live! which took place last week in the Stags Head to the ever popular Crafternoon Tea (with multiple dates in both November and December), Re-Dress is proof of the power of maintaining an active presence online.

If you are interested in taking part in the Re-Dress movement, spread the word to friends and colleagues! Join up on the re-connect network and get invovled.

For those who want to meet the (lovely) people behind Re-Dress, the “French Knickers and Cocktails” night on November 24th promises to be both informative and, more importantly, great fun so pop along!

Re-Dress Yourself! is a post from: Connector

Thanks to Annmarie O’Connor from I Blog Fashion for the invite to join the collection of fashion bloggers at their monthly meetup.  This month it was a coffee morning in BT2 in Dundrum and I met a nice new bunch of people and enjoyed some tasty breakfast courtesy of BT2 whose marketing team also popped in to say hello.  Well done to BT2 for supporting these bloggers & thanks for the generous €50 gift voucher for BT2.  Nice ! ;-0

Connecting with Fashion Bloggers is a post from: Connector

Michelle Connor is the lovely wife of EightyTwenty’s David Connor and is making a big name for herself as a professional photographer.  Michelle is very well suited to being the other side of the lense as you can see and as it happens her sister Suzanne McCabe is a well known Irish model.

Michelle is busy organising a night out in Krystle for a small launch party to kick off McDonnell Connor photography next week with her new business partner, the highly accomplished photographer, Tim McDonnell.  The event is on the 15th October in Krystle Night Club and starts at 8pm.

Guests on the night can enjoy having their portrait taken in our portable studio – all images will be professionally edited and available for our guest to see the next day on our fanpage.  We have a top makeup artist there on the night to provide the ladies with last minute touch ups before they hit their shoot!!

Friends of Connector are all invited, especially those with an interest in digital photography & I look forward to checking it out.  If you want to come along, pls RSVP to michelle [@] mcdonnellconnor.com

Their fields of expertise range from Corporate Assignments to family portraits and fashion photography. Special studio opening offer is a full photo session, all images professionally edited and your favorite image supplied in contemporary 12×18 inch bloc – all this for only E100.00 for a limited time only.

With hi-spec studios in Howth and Ranelagh, they cater for all photography requirements.  Check out their large work showcase at www.mcdonnellconnor.com or become a fan of their Facebook Fanpage.

Connect @ McDonnell Connor's launch party is a post from: Connector

Last night we had a wonderful opportunity to see some “handbag (or manbag) therapy” in action!

Kildare Village has launched a fun new digital campaign that allows people to upload pictures of the contents of their bags for a chance to win a €1,000 shopping spree. That’s a pretty great prize for revealing the insides of your handbag!

The “What’s in Your Handbag or Manbag”campaign looks like it will be an enjoyable way to interact with others and reveal what the contents of your bag says about you! When you upload your picture others can comment and vote on the contents. The bag with the most votes wins the prize!

Check out this new site >here>>

Debbie Percy is the Handbag Therapy specialist, at the Kildare Village stand, at the forthcoming Ultimate Girl’s Day Out in the RDS on 28-30 August 2009. We got a chance to hear all about this campaign from her via a Skype conference call at the WHPR offices at Ely Place.

A great night of connections and some revealing discoveries about the contents of some very interesting bags! I recommend that you check out this campaign and reveal the contents of your own bag!

A special thanks to the lovely Heidi O’Sullivan and the people at WHPR and Kildare Village!

"What's In Your Handbag?" Connections is a post from: Connector

On the way in to Croke Park, we came across one of the contestants for Total Xposure, a competition to become the next presenter of TV3‘s flagship entertainment show Xposé.

The show is down to 3 finalists, Ruth, Sean, and Simon. Simon Atkins was at Croke Park telling people to vote for him for tomorrow’s final voting as he is from Mayo. He was joined by two former contestants, Michael Coghlan and Daniella Moyles.

To vote for Simon for the Total Xposure competition, text SIMON to the 53307 or ring 1513 712 303.

Check out the the site for more information >here>>

Best of luck guys!

Connecting with TV3's Total Xposure is a post from: Connector

Finally I made it down to the Galway Races after years of hearing about the Fianna Fail tent in Ballybrit !  And bejaysus when I got down there was no Builders & Developers Tent anywhere to be seen … very mysterious – might have been trimmed back by An Bord Snip Nua … hmmm ?   Well at least the Owners & Trainers still could have their own private VIP area so with a bit of luck I’ll have connections in there next year ! ;-0

I just had a couple of hours looking around on the Sunday afternoon as it would normally not be my scene but I am always open to trying something new.  My last horse racing day out was in sunny Sydney & a Galway downpour was what we got on Sunday.  Plus I think most of the fillies from Ladies Day on the Thursday had long since departed with their hats & feathers and left the equine variety commanding the attention.

While there I chanced upon the Mad Hatter winner (annual crazy hat contest) & some runners up plus the highly talented young Mulkerrin Brothers who played trad music for a group of rain soaked young fans.  Well done to the lads !

Overall it looked like a very well organised event and I willtry and get to see more of it next year.  And here is my first photo of a horse connection whose name I do not know in case you’re wondering.  And the rest of the weekend was spent with lot of old & new friends in Salthill & Shop Street sampling the wonderful atmosphere that is Galway in the summer.

Connector @ Galway Races is a post from: Connector

I met sunglasses.ie recently and they were generous enough to let Connector borrow novelty sunglasses for photos at a Connector events.   Watch out next week for the photos from Connector BBQ (No.12.)

The owner of the company, Niall McCrudden, along with Jon Hanlon are pictured above with a company t-shirt.  This company sells all different types of sunglasses over the Internet.  Sunglasses.ie is  known for great deals as well as reasonable prices.

Coincidently enough, Niall is really involved in social media and connecting with other bloggers as well.  He played a part in connecting Jonathan from Canon with actor Liam Cunningham for the Digital Film Awards.  It’s all about the connections !!!

Check them out @ Sunglasses.ie

Connect with sunglasses.ie is a post from: Connector