If you have ever wondered who uses Social Media and for what, then check out the latest report from Internet Ratings Agency Nielsen.
Social Media Report: Spending Time, Money and Going Mobile
Oct 062010
There at it again. I got two letters in the door from Internet Register Ireland looking for €953 for three years. See this previous post in Dec 2009.
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.
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