10 FREE tickets to ESB Customer Supply's Des Bishop Unplugged Gig!

by Sarai Fernandez on January 18th, 2010

DEADLINE EXTENDED !! NEW CLOSING DATE FRI 29TH JAN @ 6PM

We’re giving away 5 pairs of tickets to ESB Customer Supply’s exclusive Des Bishop gig at the Button Factory. Want to be one of our winners? Just add a comment to this post or the Connector Facebook Group with a funny link to a joke or a video and be in with a chance to win 2 tickets to enjoy a unique show, on Wednesday February 3rd.

Just find something funny on the the Internet and you could get one of the 5 pairs of tickets Connector has to give away!

After the gig, there will be a DJ on stage and you will have a good chance to connect with the other Connector guests … So what are you waiting for? Send us your links before 18.00 on January 29th.

Indeed this is the finale to the ESB Customer Supply’s Des Bishop Unplugged energy saving campaign. Since last August Des Bishop has been writing a blog when he shares energy saving tips he’s been learning during this time. Additional tickets can also be won on www.desbishopunplugged.ie.

Good luck!

Connector Christmas Awards 2009 @ Lillies Bordello

by Conor on December 13th, 2009

Last night Connector presented the Connector of the Year Awards at Lillie’s Bordello at our second annual Christmas Party. We wanted to applaud the great work of Dublin tribes / online communities plus a guy and a girl who have done really well in the last year.

The prizes were presented by TV Presenter Michael Hayes & each winner received a framed certificate and a brand new mobile phone kindly sponsored by Nokia, Sony Ericsson & 3 Mobile.

The winners for ‘Tribe of the Year’ was Culch.ie, a community formed by Darren Byrne (pictured below).  He has rounded up team of talented volunteer bloggers who write about all things pop culture & attend many arts & cultural events around Ireland.

In the Connector Male category David Mooney was the winner for his amazing work with Funky Seomra while the Connector Female award went to Natalia Kostrzewa, who couldn’t attend as she was out of the country.

 Besides that, we have made some predictions for the Top 10 to watch in 2010. Have a look to their names (in slideshare below) and keep an eye on them, they’re doing interesting work and we wish them all the best in 2010!

Approximately 170 people came to the event & we raised approx. €850 TBC for Temple Street Children’s Hospital so thanks for all donations.  The event was kindly sponsored by Peroni & RealexPayments and thanks also to Applied Signs & Display.

We were entertained & enjoyed a fantastic night where we had Apollina tribal belly dancer and also comedy performances from Will Lynch, Ronan Grace, Paudy Byrne & Mark Hanratty.

Last but not least, I would like to thank the Connector team who helped organise this and all the events during 2009.

Connect online by phone

by Sarai Fernandez on December 10th, 2009

It’s only hours for the Connector Christmas Party, one of the greatest events in the whole year and a must-be if you want to be connected.
As all you know Connector runs monthly meetings where people can make professional and personal connections offline. But we want people to keep their connections online as well and to encourage that, we will raffle two wonderful social mobile phones, and all the benefits will go to the Temple Street Children’s Hospital.

The winners will get an INQ Mini 3G, courtesy of the mobile network 3. This little treat that we are offering has an authentic Twitter application, which will let you be always on’ and send tweets and retweets via the internet rather than using SMS.
It weights only 90 gr., has a 2 megapixels camera, usb and bluetooth and it also includes a ‘plug and play’ HSDPA modem enabling high-speed wireless broadband on PCs and Macs. And all this things in a tiny candy bar shaped phone with the coolest design!

Connecting For a Good Cause

by Sarai Fernandez on December 9th, 2009

A long time ago, in 1872 some good people from Dublin founded a tiny hospital for poor children. It had only 8 beds. But the idea was so successful that only 4 years after that, there was such an increase in activity that they had to ask The Irish Sisters of Charity to run the busy hospital.

Over time, this hospital grew and grew, andis now known today as The Temple Street Children’s Hospital, one of the most important hospitals in the country, which leads investigation and treatment in several areas such as neurological, eye, craniofacial, kidney, airways and metabolic disorders. The great success of this centre is that they’re always involved in new projects to improve the experience of staying in a hospital for both the children and parents.

Now this hospital is raising funds to develop a new dedicated Cystic Fibrosis and Respiratory Out-Patient Unit, that will cost €2.7 million. They are also looking to buy new equipment, some machines which can help in the diagnosis or in the treatment of ill children.

The fundraising office for Temple Street Hospital has thought of 12 ways that everybody can help the Hospital, and therefore the children and their families. At Connector we would like to join this good cause and that’s why we are going to fundraise at our Christmas Party. So if you also think that healthy children is something worth to fight for, join us on thursday’s evening at Lillie’s Bordello: make connections, have fun and connect for a good cause.

Temple Street Children's Hospital

Bye Bye Movember 2009

by Conor on December 9th, 2009

Well Movember is over and I must say it was a weird experience spending just over a month with a hairy face for the first time !  It takes time to connect with your facial hair (boom boom) and I felt a lot more comfortable with a beard as opposed to a mo.

The Movember Gala Finale Party in Tripod on the 3rd Dec was great fun and well done to Matt & Chewy and the guys from Thinkhouse PR for such a fine party.  A few Paulaners were used to lubricate the tache for the first time as it had been a dry month !

I am pictured with the Lynx Minx and enjoying my blue steel moments.  Having a party to reward the moustahioed community was a great idea and Lynx helped to add a bit of badly needed glamour to an otherwise male dominated night out.

It is a fantastic fundraising idea and the Mo’nnector team raised many hairy lip children and approx €350 for Prostrate Cancer.

Your Christmas Connector Party Invitation

by Conor on December 1st, 2009

Connect with Colm Lyons from Realex Payments

by Conor on December 1st, 2009

BIG thanks to Colm Lyons from Realex Payments for supporting the Christmas Connector Party this year – his company have generously helped us put on this event & we hope you make his team feel very welcome on the night !

Colm was the guy (pictured above left) who presented me with my Internet Marketer of the Year award in 2005 & his company is one of the shining lights of the Irish web scene & he is a great supporter of those trying to follow in his footsteps.

In 2005 Colm was acclaimed and rewarded for his leadership when he was a finalist of the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. As an industry figure he was Director and Chairman of the Irish Internet Association for over four years – during which time the association significantly enhanced its position. In 2009 he founded the Internet Growth Alliance in early 2009 to help Irish Internet businesses. Most recently he was awarded the ‘Internet Hero Award’ at the Golden Spiders in Dublin.

The company now employs 70 people in Ireland, Great Britain and France. In addition the company currently has 15 vacancies advertised on its website, as it continues to expand its operations in Ireland and abroad.  They recently announced profits of €720,000 as turnover increase to €6.5 million. The company has experienced year on year growth since its foundation in 2000 & now process payments for over 3500 clients, including Virgin Atlantic, Vodafone, Aer Lingus, Quinn Insurance, Motortax.ie.Wow!

Christmas Connector 2009

by Conor on November 16th, 2009

Connecting @ TED X Dublin

by Rob Cumiskey on November 13th, 2009

Connector were in attendance at the second sold out TED X Dublin event in The Science Gallery last night, and a great night it was. We were privileged to see some of the most innovative and inspiring speakers in Dublin at the moment.

Speaking at the night were:

Kate Coleman, Founder of Right to Sight

Kate gave a very important speech on needless blindness and how we can make a difference in the 21st century.

Mark Leslie, Managing Director of Martello Media

Mark spoke brilliantly about IsIsm, and being open to all ideas.
Tom Hadfield, Creator of Soccer.net and heading up the Le Whif Project

Tom gave a speak on the new way to ingest food – inhalation. We were privileged to be able to try some ‘Whiffable’ chocolate.

Simon Dennehy from Perch.ie,  Ergonomic Furniture for Primary Schools

Simon Dennehy’s spoke about his work on ergonomic furniture for primary schools and its aim to rectify the fundamental problems associated with the current selection of school furniture being used in primary schools in both Ireland, and globally.

There were also some really great video presentations from TED Global throughout the night, the stand out one being from William McDonough on Cradle to Cradle Design:

Connector Launches Event

by Conor on November 11th, 2009

Connector is looking for 10 new businesses to step forward and tell us their story at a great new Connector Event on the 26th November 2009.  We are also accepting newish businesses who have a new web site, web or mobile app or video to show off.  Maybe you have a new fashion design ?  Maybe a new killer home made chocolate bar ?  You tell us what you been up to and we will help you spread the word !

Does this sound like you or a friend of yours ?  If so please register your interest with Event Elephant – The final list of presenters will be unveiled on the 19th November.  Good luck !