Girl Geek Dinner Dublin
February 25, 2008 at 11:20 pm
** UPDATE: RTE1 News at 6 slotted in between the African elephants and the Father Ted on Craggy Island celebrations was me, Martha Rotter, Anna Nelson and Clare Dillon chatting as only we can chat about how great it is to be a Woman Working in Technology! If you blinked you missed it **
The 1st one is happening on Wed in Odessa Club and once again, our lovely friends at Microsoft should take a bow for organising and providing. Thank you in advance! For the record, while I am attending, I am in fact a sub section of the group: a chic geek!
I’ve been giving it a bit of thought about why these events are taking place all over the world. They were started by Sarah Blow, London Geek Girl Number 1 and their purpose is:
To provide a welcoming atmosphere and a platform for learning in an informal environment, to make technology accessible and to be of interest to all age groups and all people, particularly women. It is an opportunity for like-minded ‘girls’ to talk about technology over food and drinks.
The event is sponsored by Microsoft and is part of an initiative to get the females in technology together and get them communicating and creating their own communities.
Looking at the Geek Girl sites around the world, I’m excited to be involved with something that’s so new and global; keen to catch up with local Twitter buddies and meet some new faces (ie. those who are working for companies that ensure they are Too Busy to engage in any of this Twitter loveliness but who will be able to make it for this after hours dinner); and just a little sceptical as to where it’s all going to go. The other geek dinners around the world tend to have a speaker, but am not sure that’s so appealing to me. I’m a Chic Geek so not so sure I could hack listening to someone talk about an aspect of gaming or the finer points of a programming language…does there need to be a structure?
There is a bit of underlying yuckyness that I’m detecting about the geek dinners being used by recruiters for hiring purposes. One of the highlights of the Toronto round-up of their January dinner is that Savvica is hiring. Wuppy do. I hate it when good networking events get hijacked by recruiters.
But on the plus side, I’ve always thought that while there are a number of female only networking groups, we never truly get to network on the same level as men because they have all those golf, rugby and other sporting dalliances. Please don’t comment below about how women can have them too – no, we don’t. So I’ve never had a problem with female-only networking groups because they just bring our opportunities up to an equal number with the men. Now this girl geek thing is good because I don’t know that many guy geeks who do the golf thing (God the alliteration in this is killing me… I should go work for The Sun). So if it gives us a little peg up, then that’s all well and good.
Celebrating the Semi Colon
February 19, 2008 at 7:47 pm
All grammar police will love this one. Article in New York Times in praise of the semi colon, brought to my attention this Tuesday evening by @frivmo on Twitter. Check out the text at the end!
Smart Marketing by Glengarriff Lodge
February 18, 2008 at 3:38 pm
It seems some parts of the blogging community are up in arms about this. You can read the comments over on Mulley’s blog. I fall in with those who disagree with Mulley’s view. As far as I’m concerned, I was presented with the opportunity to enter a competition for a prize that I personally would value. The competition rules stated that I must link to their site using certain keywords. I’m happy to do that. I’m don’t understand those who are getting up in arms about it. It’s not going to damage the lodge’s search engine ranking because the links are naturally occurring and I seriously doubt they are going to happen in sufficient numbers to alert Google. I do agree with Sabrina Dent’s comments on Twitter however, that the tags on the site are rank. If they are running the competition to improve their search engine ranking, they should start with the basics first and get their tags working for them.
It’s great to see intelligent marketing by businesses who don’t necessarily have a massive budget! Glengarriff Lodge is a luxury self catering villa nestled in the ancient oak woods of Glengarriff, Co Cork. It looks amazing, and hopefully this post will earn me a nice little weekend break there.
You see, Glengarriff Lodge is looking to increase its search engine ranking and knows the importance of links. So it is running a competition to encourage bloggers to link to their site using a given keyword string – luxury self catering villa – and if there are 25 entries, on March 11th 2008 they will announce a winner! In addition, they are looking to spread the idea virally, so I’m supposed to link to a friend who might be interested. So I chose someone who is not only a real foodie, and has a blog, but is also an incredibe networker who will surely spread the word!
Fair play to whoever came up with this idea! Thanks also to Tom Raftery on whose blog this came to my attention. And good luck to Glengarriff Lodge who deserve to power on up the rankings now and enjoy the fruits of being on top for luxury self catering!
Contact Us, CallBack, Live Chat
February 14, 2008 at 12:11 pm
Arriving back on Irish shores in 2001 from the customer-service rich land of Australia, there were a number of things that I’d taken for granted that had to be let go:
- Service with a smile
- Eye contact when purchasing something
- Expecting serving staff in convenience stores to actually bother to say the amount owed and then ‘thank you’
- Thai food without water chestnuts
On the plus side, there were many things that I was pleased to welcome into my life:
- Ability of most people to remember my name and not automatically abbreviate it
- Being able to pronounce the letter R correctly for the first times in ages. As in “or” and not ‘ar’
- Being able to speak in my natural accent and not having to endure the monotony of questions which goes a little something like this:
- You’re from Ireland? Yes.
- My grandmother came from Ireland. [Feigns interest] Oh really?
- I’ve never been to Ireland but I’ve always wanted to go…
- Not being surrounded by insecure people whose cultural focal point is the plastic side of Los Angeles
Perhaps the single biggest thing I had to let go of in the online environment was the response time expected from contact us. My experience was to ensure that all enquiries to a website be replied to within 24 hours. When I started working in Ireland, I’d often be faced with looks of disbelief when I made this suggestion. So I let it go, and concentrated instead on eradicating ‘click here’ from Irish websites.
I’ve noticed recently that not only has this changed and in fact, many commercial sites are replying within 24 hours, but many have also added ‘live chat‘. Real time chat with their people. You click the live chat box, type in your question or query and a person on the other end should reply. Simple. Amazing and it works!
Or for businesses that don’t have too many staff sitting on computers at the other end, call back is a great option. You want a question answered, you don’t want to wait 24 hours for a reply to contact us, so you hit ‘call me back button’, type in your name and number, and magically a member of staff will call you back in a couple of minutes. We’ve added this feature to some recent sites, have a look, but please don’t click unless you’re interested in Fleet Management or Fashion: Merrion Fleet and MacLeod Agencies.
Sadly though there are some cases of where call back / live chat is horribly wrong – like on the hosting company, HostIreland.com website for example. You’d think that a company of their nature (web-based, ‘tech savvy’) would get it right but no. This morning, after spending 15 minutes on hold on their phone line, I clicked the link to LIVE CHAT, filled in my details, and was hoping for a response.. but no. Those idiots have actually put a contact us form on their site posing as live chat. I don’t know why they have done that.
It’s -100% customer service points when you pretend to offer something.
Another case of the basics being done badly is the Bord Gais website. Designed and developed by Strata3, so it can’t have been cheap. It looks lovely. But I’m still waiting on a reply from Bord Gais from 3 weeks ago. I used the contact us button to ask a question – why do I not receive any notice in relation to direct debits? Bills arrive with huge amounts and my bank account is hit the same day, or in some cases, a day earlier. Doesn’t give a girl a chance to prepare…
What’s your view? Are Irish sites finally coming into the customer service era? Does increased competition mean more service? Does a slowing economy make us more hungry for converting enquiries into sales? And why oh why do our public service sites lead the way in terms of how not to do it?
Seth Godin & Debbie Weil Together
February 12, 2008 at 9:36 am
on a phone near you this Wednesday, 13 February. Live phone call with Seth Godin, Debbie Weil, Rich Sloan and Dan Pink at 7pm GMT. It’s free, and if you can’t make it, you can get the podcast if you register.
I’m not usually that into calls that promote books, but Seth Godin’s involved with this one, and he’s my hero! When I first got into internet marketing back in 1999, his book “Permission Marketing” was inspirational. If you haven’t read it yet, you should. He’s got an excellent blog and consistently brilliant ideas. Don’t be put off by the pic on this registration page!! And remember the copy there is written for Americans, so it’s a little more salesy than we Europeans are used to!
Best Business Blog Shortlist
February 11, 2008 at 1:38 pm
is out, and I’m on it! Am in good company too. Good luck to everyone, and sure see yiz all at the shindig on 1st!
Dept of Communications A Shambles
February 11, 2008 at 9:58 am
Damien Mulley casts a light on the latest debacle involving ComReg and the Dept of Communications. ComReg I’ve always thought of as a sorry bunch of losers with no cojones. If you’ve ever had a problem with your broadband provider and in desperation contact ComReg to see what they can do, you’ll find the answer is a big fat NOTHING. I don’t really understand their point – apart from publishing stats on numbers of mobile users in this country – and for any serious stats they get Amarach to do the work for them.
Anyway, the latest shambles is to do with the Dept of Communications hiring a college work experience student to work on the hugely important National Broadband Scheme. Her and one person from ComReg are going to be looking after a multi-million euro project that will determine thousands of people’s access to broadband throughout the country.
The job wasn’t advertised. And this little young one is certainly not the most qualified person in the country to look after this. The reason, it seems, is because the Dept of Communications is totally under-resourced and new hires can only come from Cavan. It would almost be funny, except that it’s so seriously sad.
I had such high hopes for poster-boy Ryan. At the pre-election event Dublin Chamber event, I posed the question to a group of politicians from all parties about broadband and their party’s specific policies for this and Ryan’s answer was the most radical:
Encourage competition between cable, mobile and fixed line providers. Encourage more competition between the three. If that doesn’t work, buy the network back!
Ireland as a hotbed of technology? Ireland as a knowledge based economy? Enough of the stinking hyperbole from politicians please.
Let’s have some action:
- Read Mulley’s post which provides more detail on the specific hiring practices that are so objectionable
- Pause for a moment and reflect on the difficulty you have experienced getting a good broadband service.
- Think of your friends and family based outside the main cities and their experiences.
- Keep an image of oily fat politicians smarming over technology companies and lauding the Government’s commitment to technology in this country.
- Now, get up off your ass and email Minister Ryan and tell him why you object to a recent graduate being appointed to the National Broadband Scheme project.
If you’re in a hurry, you can borrow from this text!:
Dear Minister Ryan,
I would like to find out more about the reason why a new graduate has been appointed to the National Broadband Scheme.
I find it very hard to believe that she is the most qualified person in the country to undertake this very valuable work.
If the job had been advertised on the e-tenders website, you would have had plenty of applicants, many of whom have been working in this area for years and understand the issues and know the people in the industry on both the government and non-government sides.I am deeply disappointed that such a key role has been allocated to an inexperienced external consultant. I would appreciate if you would respond to this email with an explanation for your decision to appoint a junior person to an issue of national importance.
Building A Brand
February 5, 2008 at 10:08 am
I’ve just finished reading “The New Marketing Manifesto: The 12 Rules for Building Successful Brands in the 21st Century”. An inspiring read. I know that because I kept talking about it!
The central thesis is that our society has moved from the traditional (where the rules were laid down by the society) to the external (where it was all about flashy exterior consumption… think 1980′s rest of the world, 2000′s Ireland)… to the Internal which is now. Brands no longer reflect social trends because social trends are all over the place. Anything goes. Instead brands act as the social trends, shining a light on a possible future.
John Grant wrote this book in 1999, almost 10 years ago. And the rules he lays down are the rules we live by today as internet marketers. Encourage participation. Build communities of interest. Get up close and personal with your customers. Continuous Innovation. I’m seeing them all around me.
Another brand-based inspiration, this time from Seth Godin. He wrote an excellent post the other day on Fear, Hope, & Love as the main marketing levers.
If you deliver hope for a long time, you can graduate to love. And brands that are loved usually start by loving their customers in advance.
The easiest way to sell a brand is through fear. The best way may be to deliver on hope while aiming for love.
Once again I have to say, isn’t it great that we can use words like love and hope in business today (and not get laughed at)? “Nirvana” is a word that I use in certain proposals. No I”m not overselling! I’m simply stating that when you get your customers marketing your product on your behalf, it’s akin to Marketing Nirvana! Back in the traditional or external society this simply wouldn’t have been acceptable. So, while the interior society and the constant change accompanying it can be testing at times, it does have its upsides!
Free Wifi in Dublin City Centre
February 4, 2008 at 10:18 am
Last week I found myself having meetings around Dublin City Centre and in need of wifi. I hate paying for things when I can have them for free; I’m sure you do too. So here’s a list of free wifi spots around Dublin City Centre that you can use. I’ll keep this post updated, and if you know of spots that aren’t included, please add them as comments below:
- The Morrison Hotel – otherwise known as The Brightspark Meeting Rooms. I’ve been sipping coffee and working here since I set up the business back in 2003. I love the buzz here and they do the best Mocha’s in town. But lately I’m noticing hen parties on Thursdays and Fridays. And most importantly, the wifi connection is slow and erratic. Wifi ranking: 3/10
- The Market Bar – what better way to catch up on your RSS than in this spacious bar off George’s Street with some tasty tapas on its way? Bar staff can be a bit haughty but floor staff are of the smiling variety. Wifi used to accessed through free 20 minute cards and you could get an unlimited number, but lately they’ve moved to free access without cards. That’s good but on Friday it wasn’t working. Wifi ranking: 5/10 historically
- Brookes Hotel - a new discovery for me on Friday due to the lack of access at The Market Bar. Excellent 4 star hotel service, but not pushy. You could easily sit here for hours online with just the one glass of mineral water. Not once did I feel pressurised to buy more or move – and I was using up an entire couch area for 6 people. Connection speed was good, although it did drop out a couple of times. Wifi ranking: 6/10
- Ron Blacks – my favourite south of the river spot probably because I get in a weekend mood as soon as I enter! Wifi is fast, always working whenever I’ve been, and operates through 20 minute cards. They do a lovely chowder too! Wifi ranking: 9/10 – only giving it 9 because it’s surpassed by….
- The Dylan Hotel - stylishly modern hotel just off Baggot Street. Extremely fast internet connection, never any problems with it. 5 star staff, delicious cappachinos in elegant cups. I don’t mind paying €4.50 for them – compared to the syrupy liquid they serve in the Westbury Hotel – it’s worth it. Interesting neighbours doing all sorts of deals, rather like The Morrison in its hey day. Wifi ranking: was going to be 10/10, but I’m deducting 3 points because of the awful music on their site: 7/10
- KC Peaches - love their food, all of it, from the healthy salads to the home-cade cakes! Coffee is OK, connection reliable. Wifi ranking: 8/10
- McSorleys Ranelagh – I know this isn’t city centre, but I want to include it because it’s a fast hassle-free connection. Friendly service, again not pushing to buy more drinks. Sadly for publicans, no-one really goes to them in the day time anymore, so it was a pleasant place to spend an afternoon. I rank it higher than its neighbour Kielys in Donnybrook which charges for internet connection and employs staff who check up on your liquid levels every 10 minutes. Wifi ranking: 8/10
Places that don’t do Wifi and should:
- Hogans – I’m more of a Hogans girl than The Market Bar and I’d much prefer to watch people passing by on George’s Street.
- Little Italy – somewhere there should do it. I like to eat there, but I won’t do business lunches/meetings because of the lack of access
- The Westin – a nice mid point hotel between current wifi spots. I love the home-made shortbread biscuits they give you when you order a coffee! On second thoughts, maybe it’s a good thing.
A Laugh For The Weekend
February 1, 2008 at 6:52 pm
The shortlist for the most humourous post is out and it confirms that we are in fact a hugely funny nation of dossers! Enjoy.
