TWO LARGE POSTERS from the formerly dominant political party in Ireland hang on lamp posts within 40 yards of my home. That party has suffered its biggest defeat in Irish history. Two larger signs sit prominently along the national road leading to my home. They portray two Fine Gael politicians (but not the ones in the opening key frames of my video). One of them was elected with the support of prominent social media advertisements, leaving behind a question in my mind about the origin of the donations that Fine Gael commanded in this election. In past years, you could follow property developers and the horsey crowd into party tents where handshakes accompanied brown envelopes. Today, although many believe a new dawn has crested over Ireland, some very big questions loom over the incoming coalition government. Many of the questions arise from the back of the bank bailout that has saddled every working citizen of Ireland with nearly a half million euro of obligation. Other questions arise because both the defeated party and the victorious one are right-wing. As a casual observer of Irish politics, I cannot imagine how much will change. However, I can imagine some big shake-ups in the way the civil service does business.
#create
The key frame for my weekly video comes from a selection of winning entries from the World Press Photo Awards 2011.
#ge11
The general election hashtag featured on many news networks in Ireland and during the 2011 election count, it was trending on Twitter in Australia, reflecting the large number of Irish emigrants there.
@ictedu
There are concerns among higher education professionals that resources for e-books, speech synthesizers and other assistive technology are drying up in current austere budgets.
#innovation
If you expect to create innovative things, you need to pay innovators. Jonny Ive, the Briton who designs Apple gear for the me generation, is going to get EUR 21m in Apple stock this week. The payout will help him manage his four homes in California, Hawaii and the United Kingdom.
Last Week: "Sunday news with an election outside", February 21, 2011.
Last Month: "Irish Sunday papers through an American's eyes", January 23, 2011.
Last Year: "Long-awaited coffee Fixx", February 24, 2010.
Five years ago I wrote an open note to Catherine O'Mahony about business blogging. It's on my blog (February 27, 2006) and I've never follow up by actually chatting with Catherine.
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