The Late Late Toy Show’s John Joe connects online & offline

by Diarmuid ORiordan on January 24th, 2010

Oh to be young again. John Joe is at that great age, he is 8. He is discovering the magic of Roald Dahl, the delight in laughing hysterically at nothing in particular and the general rough and tumble of being a happy and carefree young lad. And all of us can remember wondering what we wanted to be when we grew up: a soccer player, a farmer, a fireman, an horologist, or maybe we wanted to line out for our county on All Ireland Final day.

Now I know what your thinking, no child in their right mind would want to be a farmer with the price of milk the way it is.. Your right, it is a dead-end job. A horologist on the other hand; that’s a profession for an 8-year-old to aspire to! And thats just what our friend John Joe wants to be.

John Joe is a one of a kind. He got a style and vocabulary of an old English gent, the logic defying sense of humour only an 8-year-old can have and he wants to be an horologist when he grows up. There are 47,077 members on the “I want John Joe from the Late Late Toy Show to fix my Clock” group on Facebook, and the RTE video on YouTube has had 220,739 views. John Joe’s “Clockside mix” dance tune has had 78,784 views!

There is something more to his new found fame than just the obvious. Its very similar to the Breffmania group which has 26,816 members on Facebook. I think people in these groups are getting most of their information from the web, but they still have their quota of TV, maybe 2 or 3 shows a week. Shows like the Toy Show, The Apprentice and the X Factor are filling a lot of these people’s quotas.

The less TV people watch, the more interested they are in what shows they do actually view. Perhaps people are viewing these shows with the attitude that it is more of an event, more of a novelty; like they feel about going to the cinema. So when they do watch, They want to get online to see what everyone else thinks and to get their views across also.

Traditional media still has a huge ability to connect people, and the evidence of this is the fast growing online communities growing as a result of offline content. Perhaps the future of offline media lies largely in their ability to connect with their audience online.

Intro to Connector Video

by Conor on November 29th, 2009

Ever wondered what Connector is all about?  Well thanks to Martin from Progressive Productions for helping me put this new video together a few weeks ago to helpanswer that question.  The other 2 presenters are the very impressive & professional Gary Brennan & Ciara Ni Bhroin.

Content is King @ The Guinness Storehouse

by Conor on November 17th, 2009

Today’s ‘Content is King’ conference in the Guinness Storehouse was a great event and thanks to Jack for inviting Connector along.

My question going into today’s talk was whether ‘Content is King’? Content is normally the likes of digital video, virals, games, podcasts, apps and what is consumed online.

I don’t believe that ‘Content is King’ unless there are more members of this Digital & Social Media royal family!  What about Conversation and Connections for starters ?  Content is what people talk about in their conversations.  However without killer creative or a media budget, the content will more than likely be lacking in views, as no one will know about it.  Having a large amount of existing social media connections also helps to spread the word.

So if Content is King, then is Conversation the Queen and Connections the Princes & Princesses ?

Is this the Digital & Social Media Royal Flush?  As it happens, I am working on a new Digital & Social Media eBook & presentation which will give my views on how to play the winning hand in this new marketing casino ;-0  Watch this space.

At the conference today, as well as showcasing some of the best international content examples, we were treated to an interview with local practitioners that included the excellent Sophie Merry, a new friend who has been down to a bunch of Connector events.  She has had over 5 million views of her funky dancing on youtube.

As Will MacInnes said it is ‘the best time in the world to be the underdog’.  You can follow the rest of the Twitter chat on the hashtag #cik which summarises some of the key learnings via @niamhsmith, @darraghdoyle & @krishnade.

Here is a video interview I made with Kodak’s Philip Scott who is … wait for it … Kodak’s Marketing Director Digital Capture & Devices and Vice President of Consumer Digital Group.  Phew !  He must have to work pretty hard to justify all that ink printed on his business cards !

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 !

Did you Facebooth @ Connector Halloween?

by Rob Cumiskey on November 7th, 2009

We recently connected with a new Irish start up named Facebooth at a Connector Lunch (Cafe en Seine lunch to be exact) They offer a really cool video booth for events and parties, which you can use to film you and your guests having a great time throughout the evening.

We were lucky enough to have them at Connector Halloween last week for their Irish debut where they caused quite a stir. Our guests had some great fun filming themselves and their shenanigans. See if you can spot yourself in the footage below!

Content is King

by Conor on November 2nd, 2009

This is a conference for anybody who wants to learn exciting new things about how to create winning websites, viral movies, compelling blogs, and outstanding podcasts.  Conor Lynch from Connector will be going along to learn from the panel of experts and this does look like a great collection of speakers lined up !  More Info >>

It is sponsored by the Guinness Storehouse, where the conference will be held, and chaired by leading Irish journalist John Murray, presenter of ‘The Business’ show on RTE Radio One.  There is an inspiring mix of international and domestic speakers who will be giving excellent presentations and engaging in lively panel discussions.

Attendees will see several successful viral videos, and exploring what it is that gives them that viral ‘je ne sais quoi’. They will be getting an insight into the story of the T-Mobile Liverpool Street Dance, from Ben Robinson of Freud Communications, who led the creative team which made it.

Panelists will be attempting to answer the million dollar question ‘What makes a video go viral?’ and attendees will hear from Irish Youtube phenomenon Sophie Merry talk about how a dance in her friend’s back garden made her famous.

Date: 17th November 2009 Time: 8.30am – 3.20pm Venue: Guinness Storehouse, Dublin 8

If you quote Connector when booking a ticket you will get a €50 discount, bringing the price down to €245

* Go to www.mediacontact.ie
* Click on Buy Now
* Public relations and media training
* Select Content is King from the drop down menu
* Use the discount code ‘connector’
* Click redeem in order to avail of the special rate

#Media140 Connections

by Conor on October 24th, 2009

I did not realise that Monday the 26th is a bank holiday in Ireland and I booked into a Twitter type ‘real time media conference in London, called Media 140 (with reference to Twitter’s 140 character limit). It aims to cover everything a brand needs to know about twitter & ‘real-time social media’.

I will use the time to catch up with some old friends and colleagues and report back some learnings from the conference.  The one day conference will explore the impacts of real-time social media on agencies, marketers and brands.  The hashtag for the conference is #Media140 & I hope some of Ireland’s social media heads follow the day online.

As they say – “If brands are your business, Media140 is a conference you can’t afford to miss.  Are your brands social? Are they staying ahead of competitors in the social media space? If you answered ‘no’ or ‘um, not sure…’ to either of those questions, you need to come to Media140 in London, on the 26th October 2009.”

Connecting 48 hour filmmakers

by Conor on October 2nd, 2009

Do you have a burning desire to create a film? How about a burning desire to create one in 48hours?  This weekend Studio Rua  and Crewger.ie are running a 48hour film competition in conjunction with the Darklight Film festival, and we want you to join us!

The rules are simple, make a film within 48 hours, but I think that might have been obvious… Its a great opportunity for groups of film makers to really push themselves as teams and individuals, go through the whole film making process and learn some amazing things along the way. There are some great prizes, and the judges will be a line up of Irish film celebrities featuring Kirsten Sheridan, Lenny Abrahamson , and Vanessa Gildea

Time is running out though, so if your interested send an email to info_at_studiorua_dot_ie. The closing date for registration has already passed, but there’s a few spot left, first come first serve!

The Competition takes place this weekend, from 10:00 on saturday morning until 10:00 on monday morning and there is a registration fee of €50.

Connector @ Arthurs Day !!

by Conor on September 25th, 2009

What a cracking night out !!  I will post more photos & videos asap but for now please check out my Facebook profile, Qik mobile videos & my Twitter account for more details.

Kicking off at the Wilson Hartnell PR offices at 5pm and lasting till midnight, this was one great night out !  From WHPR we were brought by cab to a mystery location which turned out to be The Bank on Dame Street.

Jamie Callum performed a good set and I got a meet a few other Guinness guests for some complimentary pints of

Guinness & platters of food. The 17.59 toast was cool & televised live around the world from the Guinness Storehouse.  Thanks to Kate from WHPR & Dan from the  Diageo team for looking after us so well & Caroline for keeping me so entertained with her banter between the music acts !

Then it was down to TheChurch.ie to meet up with the rest of the gang for Kasabian live.  Great atmosphere and a great show with me filming with my mobile and camera almost on top of the bar.  Cheers also to Rob Cumiskey for live reporting from The Church all evening.  Finally, thanks to all who expressed interest in the ticket giveaway and sorry we could not get more people in !

A night to remember for all concerned & this was one seriously great global marketing initiative  so congrats to all concerned …  and of course … Happy Arthur’s Day !

These mobile videos were made with the new Nokia N86 & pictured kindly taken by John Lowes.

Irish Internet Association Social Media connections

by Conor on September 23rd, 2009

Last week I was pleased delighted honoured to take  over as Chair of the Irish Internet Association’s (iia) Social Media Group.  Standing down was Brendan Hughes who is eCommerce Manager for FBD.  Brendan is a really likeable character and did a great job for the last year but is stepping down due to pressures of looking after his ever increasing family !  Best of luck to Brendan (pictured on the extreme right of Aodhan & Michelle) who is staying involved as a group member which is great.

I will keep you posted on progress throughout the year where our objectives are to ‘Connect, Inform & Promote’ using white papers, events and hopefully some new initiaitves currently being explored.  We will have a series of social media events and details will be posted here and on the iia web site.