Will Knott

I’m not going to write a lot on picturegate.

Partially because Dr Eoin O’Dell a Fellow and Senior Lecturer at the School of Law, Trinity College Dublin has a much better (but a snap shot of a moving target) list of all the Picturegate coverage from which you can find out about the reactions online as well as a legal analysis of the likely court actions.

And partially because around the time that the caricaturist, artist and t-shirt maker Allan Cavanagh was being interviewed by George Hook on Newstalk about the reaction to the Cowen/Casby scandal, I was being interviewed by Fianna Fáil (*waves at the appointment panel monitoring this blog*). I actually brought up the painting/apology and the reaction (seconds later) on Twitter and in the Irish blogging political sphere in the interview.

They were aware of it. This was 20 hours in to the anger.

Since then there has been front page coverage in the Irish newspapers, and coverage across the UK, European and American news. Anger at the apparent change in Garda resources to investigate the hanging of the paintings. Cried of state censorship and stifling of free speech. Questions attempted to in the Dáil.

It’s gone from being a (admittedly distasteful if you are in the Cowen family but) mildly amusing “And Finally…” style story to a major news story which its unlikely that RTÉ will want to touch with a bargepole.

The reaction, well I did a bit of Twitter trending and here are the results from Stream Graphs

If I could access this graph for an earlier time the graph would be scary around 21:30h on March 25th when the apology was read out. Twitter exploded for a little while then. It hasn’t stopped yet.  It looks like its easing down a bit, not going to completely die down.

The internet changes things.

Once, if this happened you would have a number of very upset people. Maybe they would ring each other. One to one. And agree in their anger. Now, they can communicate many to many. Pass the latest news to each other behind the mainstream media. React, repeat, retweet the latest information until everyone knows. Dig a story left along by the mainstream media back in to the harsh light of international news coverage.

So if you are going to react, you had better monitor and react quickly.

Things have changed. Its good to talk/type/tweet. Communication behind the scenes will ensure information gets out there, in the same way that the internet treats attempts at censorship (be it a blocked site or bad news) as damage that it routes around. This isn’t always an automatic thing. Often people keep that which they deem important alive.

And kicking.

Repeatedly.

take care,
Will Knott

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• Shouldda left well enough alone… (sluggerotoole.com)

but blogging will be very light for a while.

I was at the Irish Blog Awards last night (and congratulations to all the winners and everyone I met, you’re all gorgeous). I’ll write up more about it, but I still have to edit (red eye) and upload a lot more pictures.

Also tomorrow I’ll be at the XCake developers group meeting  in Dublin, that’s iPhone applications (and games) development. Will you call over?

take care,
Will Knott

So the PR / Bloggers conference took place in Edelman PR. And I’ve seen Alastair McDermott blog post on how a PR pitch should be a social exchange, Rick O’Shea blog on the difference between his media head and his blogger head when approached, Peter Donegan on how blogging is about passion and why you need to be careful with passion. Eoin Kennedy gives a nice concise summary of the event, Christian Hughes’ is even shorter and different, while future PR star Thomas Brunkard gives a different account of the night.

Much thanks need to be given to Damien Mulley and Edelman PR Dublin for orginasing the night, and to Donnchadh O’Leary, Piaras Kelly and Alexia Golez who blogged on how its better to learn about bloggers by trying it out for yourself. In fact most of this post began life as a comment on her blog (so sorry if you’ve read it before).

The unasked advice I would give to PR people is:

Think of bloggers in the same way a journalist thinks of contacts. This contact is the go-to girl for tech related matters. This contact is the go-to guy for music.
That type of thing.

While forming a media list may be “monkey work”, a targeted media / house list is worth its PR weight in gold.

Remember : For us its a hobby, not a job. Few bloggers want to become journalists, those that do already are journalists in their day job.

The professional media expect to be contacted with something thy are not interested in. Some spent their careers writing about stuff they aren’t interested in.

Bloggers have the freedom to write about what interests us. Its “our view”.

Things that may help both sides.
1) Introduce yourself and ASK.

If we bloggers were looking for a contact in X then chances are we would tweet it first and see what happens.

Of course we are following a lot of conversations.
Join in.
Babble.
I’d suggest you mention Collision Course in your first tweet before you “follow” anyone. Most (all) of us look to see “who is this person following me”. Of the 15 there on the night, I think most of us will follow back.
Just let us know who you are first.

Then ask…

E.g.
Would anyone like to go to the launch of the new Orange Tea Box on Tuesday at 8pm.
Or
Could you suggest any bloggers interested in Orange Tea
(I hope that there isn’t an Orange Tea at this point)

You’ll get a few time wasters, but not too many. And you might get a good contact for that one.

But joining Twitter and just tweeting without following anyone will not get noticed. Look up “Network Effect” to see why twitter seems to work.

Get to know twitter clients (software applications) and search.twitter.com.

By the way, Bloggers aren’t looking for freebies. Most are looking for information. If blogger X writes about Tea, they will want to know all about Orange Tea. No freebies needed (unless you count images they can used and information as a freebie).

On that note, if you find that a blogger has blogged about Red tea, see if (s)he has contact details on their blog ans ask, if the blogger would be interested in the forthcoming Orange Tea. No press release, no clips.
Just your details, and why you’re mailing them.

It doesn’t smell like spam, because it isn’t. They may e-mail back abuse, they might accept.

Time consuming. Yes. Cost high.
Potential rewards, higher.

2) Don’t spam…
If you got someone for Orange Tea, they may be interested in Yellow Coffee.
ASK.
But that does not mean they want to be contacted for Blue Cars.
The Blue Cars mail would look like spam. A mail with “I see you were interested in Tea, could I interest you in coffee” wouldn’t. (It does sound automated, but you get my point).
Besides, you’re asking.
You’ve formed a relationship with the blogger, don’t destroy it really quickly.

However…
If you have formed a relationship, asking if they know someone interested in Blue Cars isn’t that spammy. Bloggers tend not to hoard information, if we did, we wouldn’t blog.
I’ve passed on info to people I know who blog about stuff (or are just friends interested in things).

But ask.

3) Read Blogs.
If you invite bloggers to do something, you should have read their blogs first.

Read other blogs. I know, long and boring work but look at what you are interested in only (at first). There are blogs about everything under the sun (and a few things that aren’t). Blogs on Make up. Blogs on Man U. Blogs on cars. Blogs on caravans. Blogs on rashers.

Blogs on PR.

Look at things. Get to know a feed reader.
This is a slow step. If you need a hand to hold, see step 1 to find one.

4) Audio blogs / podcasts
Listen to how others have done it.
F.I.R (For immediate Release, the Hobson and Holtz Report) is the big daddy in this arena. It’s also 90 mins long and twice a week.

For lighter listening, I’d suggest
“Media driving” or “Marketing Over Coffee”
Yes their focus is different, but they are short. Media Driving is 10 mins, Marketing over Coffee is rarely 30 mins. And only once a week. Think commute times.

They suggest others to listen to as well.

5) Join in.

You might be happy with twitter/facebook/linkedin/justsomerandomsite but by blogging (maybe blogging on PR/Shoes/Cars/Tea) you’ll see why.
For us its a hobby, not a job.
It’s called passion.

Do it yourself. If you can, say what you are working on. If not, blog on what you care about.

And finally…

The Irish blogging community is, surprisingly, a community.
I don’t know anyone who would visit me in hospital via blogs; but its happened (remembering tweets and people dropping food parcels off to people stuck on Casualty trolleys). Wandering up to a random person in a community centre and pitching to them is, well, silly.
Remember that when you want to talk to us.

Its better to ask for permission as a backlash is too late to ask for forgiveness (examples were given in the meeting).

Once we get to know you, we’ll let you screw up.

take care,

Will Knott

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I’ve only ever made it to one of the Irish Blog Awards. And I want to go to this years (its in the CIA Hotel, great venue in Cork), but Ken was asking for tips for new attendees, yes this post started out as a comment. Most of the tips equally apply to the forthcoming TeenCamp Ireland event.

Here goes.

Don’t be shy. Go and talk to people. The name tags are there for a reason.

Speaking of name tags; Don’t dress up in anything that might be ruined by sticky labels (I’ve heard stories).

Don’t be afraid to admit that you haven’t read their blog (but don’t be surprised if they have a hard time explaining what they blog about). Rick, who won best pop culture blog, didn’t know he was a pop culture blogger until he was nominated.

Do chat.

Don’t be afraid to admit you don’t know something. Ask.
This is a new area for a lot of people. Some of use are experts that don’t know it yet. Don’t be surprised if none of the explanations match.

Be prepared to present (this is for TeenCamp and not the Blog Awards). If you think you know a topic really well, be prepared to put your name on the board to get up and talk about something.

Do listen. Telling everyone that you’re wonderful is all well and good, but listening to the responses may teach you where you can be better. Besides, talking and listening is called a conversation.

Don’t be intimidated if it appears that everyone knows everyone else. Some do, after all, they have spent the last year reading about each others lives. Some of these “old friends” may be having their first face to face meeting.

Don’t pretend you are “Twenty”.

Do have fun. (Terms and conditions apply. Fun levels can go up as well as down.)

Go dance. Someone has to.

Do take pictures if you are that way inclined. Don’t take pictures very late in the evening. Or at least, don’t upload. Hair will let down, even by those of us without any.

Start something. “The party ain’t over ’till the fat lady sings”, is wrong. Its over when she stops. Join in, keep the song going. Sometimes the song outlasts the singer in the same way that a chat becomes a tweet, becomes a blog post, becomes a news article, becomes a major incident, becomes an official resignation and arrest becomes slew of blog posts, news items, tweets and international best selling book.  It all starts when two minds meet and actually do things. Get the ball rolling.

Bloggers are people. Some are extroverts who want the world to know about them. Some are business people who are revealing life behind the curtain. Some are shy and reveal parts of their lives to help themselves and others. Some are story tellers, who have to write. Some are investigators who have to help and reveal truths. All are different, but share one thing;

They blog.
They write.
They talk.
Go chat.

Will Knott

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Pat Phelan of MaxRoam is still playing Santa. Or is it a New Year’s blowout? He is offering a Nokia N79 and a 37 inch LCD HDTV. All you have to do is drop over and leave a comment and wait for the courier.

Maybe not wait. There are no rules or regulations or any thing like that, but they will be given away on the evening of the first of January.

Just remember if you got a phone for Christmas send your old one to The Jack & Jill Foundation

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And thus spake the Mulley

“The 2009 Irish Blog Awards shall take place on February 21 2009.

They shall be in Cork

And are open for nominations until January 14 2009

And they shall be good

except for the dancing”

moar funny pictures

This year there are 2219 categories

1. Best Popculture blog
2. Best Blog from a Journalist
3. Best Food/Drink Blog
4. Best Crafts Blog Best Fashion Blog
   
5. Best Arts and Culture Blog
6. Best Political Blog
7. Best Group Blog
8. Best Use of the Irish Language in a Blog
9. Best Technology Blog/Blogger
10. Best Sport & Recreation Blog
11. Best Designed Blog
12. Best News/Current Affairs Blog
13. Best Specialist Blog
14. Best Newcomer
15. Best Business Blog Best Blog of a Business
16. Best Music Blog
17. Special Recognition Award
18. Best Personal Blog
19. Best Humor Post Blog
    
20. Best Photo Blog
21. Best Blog Post
22. Best Blog (There is a best blog award, but its not a nominated one)

May the best bloggers win,
Will Knott

Update: somehow got the list very mixed up

I want to tell you a story, about Catherine Brodigan.

She put together the “Homepages” book. Homepages is a unique collection of stories and photographs, the first of its kind in Ireland. The nation’s best bloggers hold forth on the theme of “home”, covering everything from pets and expat life to parenting and the Kellogg’s Variety Pack. By turns hilarious, heartbreaking and thought-provoking, it promises a captivating read and showcases some of Ireland’s best undiscovered writing talent. All proceeds from the sale of each book, compiled on an entirely voluntary basis, go directly to Focus Ireland, who provide services and support for people who are homeless across Ireland.

The book can’t be bought in any shops, but is available on a “print-on-demand” basis for €14 from Lulu.

Also on the charity theme, the Elfish Damien Mulley is asking that people donate their mobile phones (and their chargers) to the Jack and Jill Foundation who recycle said mobile phones. He is asking that people pass a note in the jiffybag leave a comment on his offer post making sure you add some referer details (as in “WillKnott.ie sent me”)  and put their phone with the recharger bits in a jiffybag and send them to their freepost address: The Jack and Jill Mobile Appeal, Freepost, Ratoath Road , Finglas, Dublin 11.  You see, he’s offering a prizes for your kindness  (Damien is blaming Pat Phelan for this).

For everyone that donates one or more mobile phones to the charity, they’ll be entered into a draw for three prizes (First, second and third out of hat) – a Nokia 5220, a Voyager 815 bluetooth headset and an Elextex rubberised portable keyboard for phones. The blogger who gets these people to donate phones will also be entered into a draw for a Nokia 810 Internet Tablet.

Now, I’ll admit, that as much as I want to play with one, I don’t need the Nokia tablet. So I’ll ask that if you donate, you add your details and a note saying that you found out about this through who ever the first commenter on this blog post is.

So go out there and help someone. It’s the Christmas spirit thing to do.

take care,

Will Knott

Update: This post was updated as I included the wrong information to win your prize.

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This post has changed direction several times in the last three days.

At first I was going to write about green issues. What happened was that I bumped in to a pair of representatives for Change.ie, a government run site for creating a plan of action for environmental change and reducing Ireland’s (and maybe the world’s) carbon footprint. I told the reps that I was surprised that there hadn’t been blogger outreach to other blogs concerning green issues, and pointed out a few that I knew of.

One rep asked me to e-mail in the details of the sites, the idea was to get something of an aggregator going.

The first person who came to mind was Ms. Phoebe Bright…

who seems slightly miffed in this photo about what happened next.

Phoebe presented at the recent Open Coffee BBQ about energy, energy demand and a technological solutions to change the thinking currently driving our consumption habits. Well worth a read if you weren’t at teh presentation.

Also, how can I forget Greennav. Actually I did, which is why I e-mailed in the links. Greennav is an odd mix of a group blog in that anyone can add to it. So its one better than an aggregator, is something of a community. And yes its full of green hints and tips.

Even the landscape gardener Peter Donegan has added a collection of green hints and tips to his site.

And now a change in direction.

Ladies and gentlemen. Get them together, as the response from the government sources was “that’s nice, anyone can blog, go ahead”. Or a “we’ll do nothing thank you”.

This is one of those areas where we should collaborate, and double, nay triple the voices to get the messages, and actions out there. A green meme. Not just an internet meme but a get off our backsides and do something about it meme.

I’m just not sure what.

But its this tendency for collaboration which brings me to to the next change of directions, sponsored by Twenty Major and Adrian Weckler.

They have complained about the fact that …

1. We’re not angry and fighting enough. (But Mr Weckler things me are too angry).
2. We aim for consensus
3. We don’t do enough investigative journalism
4. Bloggers seem to be people who are fake

Well lets see.

I know that I don’t intend to ever get close to Granddad without a stab-proof vest, but the Irish blog-sphere is a small place. If you don’t count Bebo blogs, you could fit most of the Irish bloggers in a medium hotel for an awards ceremony. Because we are a small group, the chances of prolonged bickering are few. Grudges can be held, but so can tongues. And the word “community” tends to hold sway. (Besides, Twitter is the place for small short-lived Irish fire fights). And besides, Barcamps, Tweet-ups, Open Coffee clubs, photo-walks and general get-togethers happen enough to prevent full blown flame wars that lead to bits going missing.

As for a consensus. Well, the early Irish bloggers were either techies, or non-technical people in the technology industry (sometimes in the one person). In this world, standards mean a lot. Consensus gets the job done. And could a barcamp exist without consensus?

As for people who aren’t and don’t aspire to be investigative journalists not doing enough investigative journalism for Mr Wreckler’s liking. Well, circular logic only gets you so far. Maybe you would be willing to teach us the way, and teach us, using your blog or course, on how to do these investigations. I think a few hundred well trained (even if we are bored, lonely or angry) bloggers might do you some justice. (Besides you forgot about Maman Poulet teaching journalists how to do their jobs when it came to Michael Lynn).

And finally, “bloggers are fake”. Now he’s not talking about fiction blogs, nor blogs maintained by a fictional (or pseudonymous) character. He’s talking about people who create great blogs, to get employment, and once employed, stop blogging. I can only assume that he means people who want to write for a living, and are using their blog as a portfolio in the same way that an artist creates work for themselves, to get their own style (or voice) and use that portfolio as a way to become a writer.

Well, if they exist, and I actually expect that they do, then more luck to them. If the only reason they wrote was to get someone to pay for the writing, then isn’t it better that they stop blogging?

Can we all agree to that?

take care,
Will Knott

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I’m currently looking for work (and keeping my own fingers in my own projects) so I’m interested in companies and people that do things differently.

Image via Wikipedia

First off there is the CV. Yes I have a few that get e-mailed out (and even, gulp, posted), and I have a LinkedIn.com profile (and feel free to recommended me) however I’ve noticed that some people go further. I know I could put a résumé on the blog here, but that isn’t my style.

It is now possible to create a multimedia CV (something no longer limited to portfolios) by using Visual CV. The idea is to update the CV from it’s (mostly) unchanged roots of 1902. There is some sense to it. You can embed examples of your work in the CV. You can show off your showcases. However, being selfish, I’m not involved in the media (pix.ie account aside that is) and given that all the programming work I did has “Confidential, Proprietary” slapped all over it, embedding anything is more of less impossible (and certainly not a good idea. I mean would you hire someone who won’t keep company secrets? I really hope you answered “no”).

Are there other ways to get jobs. As in headhunted. This is where a profile comes in. Be it Monster, IrishJobs or Recruitireland (and others), putting your details in a site like these mean that companies and recruiters can scan through your details and put you firmly in the “maybe” category. Simply put, it is a keyword search. The problem with such a keyword search is that a lot can be missed. Like the little thing called you.

I’ll stick to LinkedIn for now. But despite being recommended I don’t really pump my connections for prospects. But if someone in a company knows me I will be sure to mention it.

So in the meantime I’ll apply for jobs, and hope that they haven’t been filled, like this one.

take care,
Will

… because I can.

As much as I would like to blame Grandad for giving me the idea I suppose I can’t.

I entered the “Best Blogging Website” contest at The Golden Spiders, partially because I’d love to live blog the show, but mostly because I can.

I think every Irish blogger, and blogger from Ireland, and every blogger not from Ireland but living in Ireland should enter this. Why… because you can. And I’d love to see what happens next. (Besides, Mulley should win it, but since when does the “should-have” actually become the “did-it”)

So I filled out the form and off went the entry.
I seem to be asked for a cheque for €0. I wonder if I should send one in?

take care,
Will

tags : headrambles, Best Blogging Website, Golden Spiders, blogger, Irish blogs, Ireland