Innovative use of YouTube to market an event. (the dot conf looks like it’s worth going to also)
May 052010
I know, ALL businesses need the Internet, but it was really brought home to me in the last two days just how reliant we are on the Internet when two of my customers got caught up in the BT toVodafone migration and lost connectivity to most major Irish business sites. (I’ll talk about Vodafones Fixed Line Broadband in another post).
The first business is a Car Dealer and when their Internet connection was down they could not;
- Register new cars through Revenue Online
- Use Banking Online
- Order spare parts
- Download Car Diagnostic Software
- Register Used Cars with Carzone.ie
These were just the issues that were pointed out to me. I’m sure they access otuer systems on the Internet.
The second business markets, maintains, rents and handles bookings in the Holiday and Leisure sector. When their Internet connection was down, they could not;
- Use Baking Online
- Manage Bookings via Online Booking System
- Upload/Register/Manage Property listings
- Manage their website via their content management system
In the case of both busiesses they were unable to operate without their Internet connections and in both cases they did not have a backup Internet connection.
If your business relies on the Internet to function, then you should have an alternative means of connecting to the Internet. Due to the nature of our business we have three seperate Internet connections;
- Fixed Line (ADSL) Broadband
- Fixed Wireless
- Mobile Broadband (Pay as you go broadband)
We can also access the Internet on our Android mobile phones.
So if you want to make sure that your business can continue to function, then contact your local Computer Services Provider for a simple, cost effective solution.
GoreyLinks have launched an updated version of their Local Online Business Directory for Gorey, Co. Wexford, Ireland. The new site looks great and has a very effective and easy to use Search Facility. A quick check on Google will show that a search for anything related to Gorey will have GoreyLinks as the first or second entry.
Also check out Do Local Online Business Directories Deliver Value for Money
Mar 042010
Came across this article at DIGITAL21, Irish businesses need to realise the digital economy is the ‘real’ economy.
It’s time for businesses to get technological
It’s time for businesses to get technological
Grant Masterson gave a very informative presentation about how he developed an Online Presence and eventually an Online Shop for his Skateboard retail outlet Wreckless Skate Shop. Grant gave a very good practical and pragmatic overview of how he got his business online and what are the most important steps in this process.
For anybody in the North Wexford area I would strongly recommend attending these After Hours events run by Gorey Chamber. They are well run and are a great opportunity to network with other people from the business community.
Feb 102010
As some of you may be aware yesterday was Safer Internet Day 2010. If you need some practical information on how to keep yourself and your children safe on the Internet why not check out Insafe the European network of Awareness Centres promoting safe, responsible use of the Internet and mobile devices to young people.
The basic answer is yes, but it comes with the usual health warning, BUYER BEWARE!
I was recently contacted by a sales person for a local business directory here in Gorey, GoreyBiz, who wanted me to pay €300 exVAT to be listed. The first point he made to me was, that the cost of the annual listing in the online business directory was comparable to the cost of one ad in the local newspapers. While this is very true, it only represents value for money if your business can be found on the Internet. So the first thing I did was get on to Google and type in “computers gorey” to see how effective the directory was. Now I had expected GoreyBiz to show on at least the first page, but to my surprise GoreyBiz still had not appeared after 10 pages, at which point I gave up. I then typed in “accounts gorey” and GoreyBiz only showed up on page 4.
So I would not regard paying €300 ex VAT for a directory entry that cannot be found on the first 4 pages of Google, at best, as good value for money.
While I was doing these searches on Google I noticed that in all cases another online business directory, GoreyLinks, always came up in either 1st or 2nd place. When I checked the price, I discovered that a listing on GoreyLinks cost €40 ex VAT annually.
Now €40 exVAT for a listing on GoreyLinks, that always shows up in 1st or 2nd place on Google, IS great value for money.
The most important point is that, if you are going to spend money getting listed on an Online Business Directory, then check out their claims before you part with any money. If you are unsure, then contact your local Independent Computer Services provider.
In 1982 for the last “Big Snow” everybody, particularly school children spent most of their time outside enjoying the fantastic snowy conditions that are so rare Ireland. Mind you, at that time there were no XBox’s, PS3′s, WII’s or for that matter the Internet.
Today things are very different. While walking the dog twice a day over this last cold spell, I very rarely saw children playing in the snow. It was only when I was talking to a collegue in Alpha Broadband (a fixed wireless broadband provider in North Wexford), that I realised what they were all up to.
He proceded to show me the traffic graphs and the traffic rose by over 60% for the period of the cold snap. There was also a corresponding drop in traffic today when the kids went back to school. He did also note that based on his graphs most school children don’t get up until at least 12:00.
With the snow and ice causing havoc all over the country, the conditions are putting pressure on businesses that are already hard pressed during the current recession. People cannot get to work and are sitting at home doing nothing. Somebody said that there was no point in trying to get in to work as none of the customers or businesses they deal with would be in either. But there are always many admin and management tasks to do, that you don’t normally have time for, If you could get to the office or If you could get access to your computer systems.
Well you can very easily get remote access to your computer systems and indeed communicate with your work colleagues.
The only thing you require is a Broadband Internet Connection. To access your computer systems you can either;
- Access your existing computer systems using a secure remote connection such as GoToMyPC. This is a hosted implementation of Citrix, which is a well established system used by many larger businesses to access their systems remotely and can cost as little as €12 per month.
- The second option is to consider using Software As A Service (SAAS) for your main systems. SAAS means that your Integrated Accounts System / CRM systems are not installed on a computer in your office but are installed on a secure server in a Data Centre, which you access remotely using a secure connection. Examples in Ireland are Mamut and Eircom SAAS.
To keep in contact with your work colleagues all you require is Skype and you can talk, and if you have a webcam, have video calls for free.
So if you want to make sure that the next period of bad weather doesn’t bring you business to a halt why not contact me in Glasgorman Computer Services HERE.
P.S. There is also a very strong argument that a small business can dramatically reduce it’s recurring infrastructure costs, regardless of weather etc. , by using technology to implement Remote Working for employees.
While Glasgorman Computer Services primarily deal with business users, I often get asked questions about how safe the Internet is and as the father of three teenagers I am always very conscious of the risks that the Internet can pose to our children.
One of the biggest risks children face is the approach to and lack of knowledge of parents to the real dangers of the internet. Now don’t get me wrong, I am one of the biggest fans of the internet and all my children go online daily. When used correctly the Internet is a fantastic resource and represents tremendous opportunities for our children into the future, but there are risks and by taking a few simple, common sense steps, we can eliminate a lot of the risks.
For a lot of parents they think their children are safe and secure when they are in the house as opposed to when they are out on the streets, but they fail to realise that via the broadband connection in the house they can potentially be exposed to many more dangers.
Here are some simple precautions that you can take to protect your children;
- Don’t let your children use the Internet in their bedrooms. If the computer is located in a public space then your children are much less likely to try and access questionable sites.
- If you have young children, then I would recommended using some parental control software such as Net Nanny. It’s not that ten year olds are going to look up porn on Google, but sometimes an innocent search can produce questionable results.
- Educate yourself about the Internet. If you feel that all this computer stuff is too complicated then do a course. There are evening computer courses in every town and ECDL courses are widely available.
- Talk to your children, ask them about BEBO, Facebook, MSN etc.. and get them to show you how it works. Better still get an account for yourself and see first hand how it works.
There are also some good guides and programs in secondary schools that give some Good practical advice like Teen Safe Computing and childwatch.ie
I also came across an article in the Irish Examiner which said that primary way kids are being bullied is not face to face but is through social networks such as BEBO and Facebook, so it’s in your interest to find out more.
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