Inside View

Comparing Trends with @pkellypr

MORE THAN many Public Relations specialists in Ireland, Piaras Kelly knows more than he can possibly share during a client meeting. That's an apparent conclusion most Sunday Business Post readers will draw as he shares five trends with Catherine O'Mahony. What surprised me most in the half-page article was how several of the concepts that he shared in the broadsheet interview had not featured prominently in Piaras' delicious links (sample view at left). I've been following Piaras and his social bookmarks since he started sharing 1000 links ago and also meander around his twitterstream (easy since he tweets an economical five or six main points on many work days). I've highlighted topics that he thinks lie ahead during the next 12 months and added commentary of my own. If you are interested in helpful tips about meaningful on-line engagement, you can subscribe to Piaras Kelly at Delicious.com/pkellypr or on Twitter.com/pkellypr.

Sunday News through my Cameraphone

IT'S WORTH BUYING the 24 January 2010 issue of the Sunday Business Post (SBP) in Ireland if you're involved in starting up a business in Ireland because reading and acting upon three pages inside today's edition would save you €500 in conference or consultancy fees. The advice given by the company founders, authors, and clued-in writers about creating new things is compelling and relevant. [1] [2] [3] The cover shot (at left) on today's MP3 file [15 MB 96 kbps MP3] comes from Andrew Zuckerman's shot of a blue-fronted Amazon. Other front page stories include items about Haiti (in the Sunday Tribune and the SBP) [16] [17], the reduction of the minimum wage in Ireland [21] and an item about union posturing in the SBP. [19] The rest of the items cited in today's Qik clip fall below the break.

Qik Sunday News Review

More exciting five-star photos: Bird by Andrew Zuckerman, ISBN 978-0811870986. The former Taoiseach also has a book (not deserving of an ISBN) and he's getting front page coverage about it. [6]

Not a Gadget

THE 3.5MM SOCKET on the cover of Jaron Lanier's manifesto affects my mood more than anything on screen. That's because the little socket is part of the spaghetti of cables connecting microphones, headsets and mini mixboards to content I use in the creative multimedia programme at Tipperary Institute. The sockets cost two euro at Maplin's in Limerick (part number RK51) and the book costs less than ten euro in hardback. If you grew up on analogue, owned a few 45 records, or like to draw with crayons, you'll sit up and agree with Lanier's convincing thesis that digital computers should not earn a human-like intelligence. Computers are toys, tools, instruments. They work best when they enhance our humanity. But when their use diminishes our individuality, freedom and humanity, they need to be switched off. Reading these words from Lanier, digital guru and pioneer of virtual reality, should cause anyone involved in application development to consider the good and bad developments of information technology.

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Jaron Lanier -- "You are not a gadget" ISBN 9781846143410

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iPod Has Not Found a Sensor

WIRED MAGAZINE PRODDED me into buying a new Nike+ sensor just before Christmas, because they linked to a photo of one I bought in 2006. I figured the sensor's battery had expired so I purchased another one to go with the iPod Nano that I got for my birthday. The new sensor and old receiver wouldn't connect so I bought another sensor. Still no joy. I went into HMV and bought a sensor and receiver together, installed both and hoped. The result: "iPod has not found a sensor." This means I've spent more than €70 trying to get the iPod Nano talking to Nike Plus. I'm just going to start jogging with earbuds and fast tracks. That always worked well for me before. In the meantime, if you found this blog post while searching for a way to get your own Nike+ system working, please let me know by leaving behind a comment. I'd like to get some ideas about making my iPod work as an exercise device.

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My Job on the Front Page and in the Studio

UPDATE 22 JAN 10 after a visit by the Taoiseach.

During formal remarks in the Clonmel Park Hotel, Taoiseach Brian Cowen said, "The IDA Strategy for South Tipperary is focused on Clonmel, where strong property solutions can be developed and clustering can be achieved. The future development of the Ballingarrane Estate - incorporating an IDA Business Park and Tipperary Institute - as well as the delivery of broadband fibre-optic cable to Clonmel under the Metropolitan Area Network will be key assets in the quest for further overseas investment in the county." If the government is held to its word, the IDA strategy embeds an element of Tipperary Institute into future growth for the county.

ORIGINAL BLOG POST FOLLOWS.

JOBS IN TIPPERARY INSTITUTE earn a bold one-inch high headline on the front page of the Tipperary Star today as I go about doing my job as a creative multimedia lecturer in a studio session (at left). On the evening news, UCD economist Colm McCarthy got two minutes to explain how the Irish government still hasn't taken the bold steps required to cut back excess. McCarthy's An Bord Snip Nua Report fingered TippInst for elimination. Since the report was released, the boards of Tipperary Institute and Limerick Institute of Technology have engaged in discussions that could lead to a merger between the two institutions. Deputy Michael Lowry gave an interview to the local media where he outlined how a new CAO booklet in May will incoporate a new arrangement between LIT and TI. If that happens, it would mean that the Department of Education and Science believes Tipperary Institute is on a more secure path.

Something in the Limerick Coffee

SOMETHING IN THE Limerick coffee deserves to be savoured by Ireland's enterprise agencies. I've seen a start-up culture emerge in Limerick during the past three years. At Limerick OpenCoffee, several very talented entrepreneurs meet for a few hours on the first Thursday of every month. I attend 10 of the 12 sessions most years. It has become more difficult for me now that I have eight solid hours in my third level classrooms every Thursday of the spring semester but I think it's worth diverting class attendance from a lecture to a networking session at OpenCoffee. Students get to meet people like Patrick Collison, Ger Hartnett, and Ronan Skehill. Each of those men has a success story worth hearing.

Apple Tablet and Online Meetings

ONE BY-PRODUCT OF APPLE'S new tablet may be the uptake in Online Meetings--if you can get Flash to work on the iPad. You can get reduced rates for Online Meeting Rooms through the end of January. The new tablet comes with two cameras and I'll show that with an authenticated photo before the 27 Jan 10 evening news in Ireland. One camera faces you and another faces outwards so using it inside an online meeting room is like a picture-in-picture experience. You'll be able to tell people using an Apple tablet because of their unique faceprint. [Updated: There is no camera on the iPad. Move along.] However, using the tablet for an online meeting means drawing down a lot of power for the wifi or 3G connection. That should force meeting lengths into an economy setting--no more than 90 minutes--because I haven't heard any of the Alpha testers holding more than a sustained 90 minute wifi connection with the device before they flip it over and recharge it from the solar collectors on the back (available only in the limited edition Calacanis model). When used to read news pages like the New York Times or Wall Street Journal, the tablet lasts for a hard work day. Its OLED screen gives it a longer time period between charges than the iPhone 3G S.

10 Minutes to Drop

SOME OF MY airdrop experience would come in handy over Haiti if I connected to an Air Force Guard unit right now. I used to fly an aluminum overcast, the Lockheed C-141, and matched some of the high altitude contrails (at left) with low altitude shadows across deserts, forests and open plains. In the early 80s, I spent several days every month dropping pallets, people and trucks from those venerable Starlifters. Action could start with an engine-running onload at a depot where hard-working loadmasters would push and winch heavy equipment aboard. Most of the time we watched K-loaders back up to the rear of the aircraft with 20,000 pounds of pallets and our loadmasters would push the stuff aboard. Airdrops were low-altitude affairs. We often stayed at 10,000 feet en route and dropped down to 1250 feet for the actual drops. An average pass across the drop zone would parachute five tonnes at the ground. We would make two passes, one for each pilot. Sometimes we would dump 50-70 troops out of two side doors. Being able to throw parcels at the ground in Haiti gets around the issues of poor infrastructure in the country but it is much less efficient than driving heavy lorries full of food, water and clothing. That doesn't stop me from wanting to lead a four-ship airdrop across a clean dropzone. I'm available immediately, right after I give some spare change to John McWilliams' Haiti fund.

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Sent mail2blog using Nokia E90 O2-Typepad service while Foursquaring at O Tuamas of Clonmel, Ireland.

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Conversation Prism

WE RUN A MODULE in social media at Tipperary Institute and when it's successful, students understand the essence of online conversation as viewed through a prism of electronic space (above from Brian Solis). Viewed through a conversation prism, issues such as privacy and civility take on a clear focus.

LouderVoice on Ovi

LOUDER VOICE, the micro review service I really like, isn't available on Ovi because it's an Android app, not a Symbian S60 application. That's a shame, because I own three S60 devices alongside a half million S60 phones knocking around in Ireland. If Louder Voice was an S60 application, I could easily launch and evaluate places I visit and things I buy. Those consumer reviews are the lifeblood of hoteliers and restaurant owners. Nokia Ireland have a search going for a developer who would like to have their Symbian development funded. The Nokia search finishes at the end of January. If Louder Voice was selected, Paddy's Day visitors could look at Ireland through one of the sweetest short form review systems I've ever used. The Irish company Mobanode secured some development funding from Nokia last year and that has helped push their start-up into places with large footfall traffic. I think people like checking their phones for things to do and for advice they can trust. I've bookmarked Louder Voice on my phone for that exact reason. Having it as a native application would encourage me to use the service more.

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Sent mail2blog using Foursquare simulataneously with O2-Typepad service in The D Hotel, Drogheda, Ireland.

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