Will Knott

It all started shortly before the Irish Blog Awards. That was the reason that Jason Roe was on the site, which caused the first insults.

The widely reported insult against bloggers which is being heard across the globe. I have been warned not to play in to Michael O’Leary’s hands and promote his apparent need for publicity (despite the ire its caused) over the company’s levels of customer service.

So much so that the search for their opposite is now on. LeCraic has the details behind the search.

Well according to O’Leary’s PR spokesperson, Stephen McNamara, we are “idiot bloggers” or “lunatic bloggers”.

Not to worry, as the company starts to limit their presence to online only, and as a lot of people type the URL in to Google (rather than the address bar) the negative rail against bloggers may bite them yet. Its is all very well being the name hat most people think of when they search for cheap flights. But they search, frequently when they don’t intend to (after all, Yahoo is a top search for term in Google, and vice versa).

However they didn’t say they won’t correspond with all bloggers – nor that all bloggers are idiots. But it sure is implied.

After the Blog awards I’ve come to take the Jack Kerouac approach. If we are the insane ones… we are a lot of fun to be with.

The only people for me are the mad ones,
the ones who are mad to live,
mad to talk,
mad to be saved,
desirous of everything at the same time,
the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing,
but burn, burn, burn,
like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars…

Burn brightly,

Will Knott

Rick O’Shea came up with a lovely idea; who would you like to meet at the 2009 Irish Blog Awards.

“Name 5 bloggers you haven’t met in the flesh before that you’d like to say hi to at the Blog Awards, say why if you want, link to them. They then, in turn, link to 5 bloggers they’d like to meet and so on.”

Now I have a problem with this. I keep meeting people.

I’ve have to re-do my list a few times as I bump in to bloggers and with the upcoming Twestival there is a chance that I might bump in to a few more.

So…

1) Robert Sweetnam.  He used to live near me and I never met him all that time. It tuns out our interests and situations were also similar (even started back in (different) college on the same date).

2) K8 the GR8. Wonderful fiction writer, and all round good person (with an evil streak, naturally). Her posts swerve from laugh out loud funny, to heart break to cruel twists of fate. And she also writes fiction. Having said that, I’m regularly freaked by her dad, Granddad, who I may want to avoid.

3 and 4) Le Craic and Maxi Cane. LC, because he comes up with brilliant ideas that I would like to see succeed, and Maxi as he got me writing fiction again (got to love a deadline).

And finally, 5) Sweary, or rather the Sweary Lady. Cause she makes me laugh, then makes me think. She is the Darwin Awards of blogs.

I should end here, but there are a few special mentions…

Omani – Partly to apologise (until he commented I thought his name was Grace O’Mani).

Darren Byrne and The National Lottie – who were on the list, until I met them at the PR Collision event. (And Darren, go ahead and tell her).

Phil Iced Coffee who I have met a few times, but he is the only other person I’ve seen do this.

Nick McGivney because I think I have already met him and Christian Hughes because after seeing him at the PR Collision even I’m convinced I’ve met before (if not, nice watch).

Graham Linehan simply because I like the IT Crown and Fr. Ted. And also because I don’t expect to see him.

And lastly but not leastly (if that is a word) Debbie Metrustry, one of the organisers of the Dublin Twestival who I am definitely going to meet, because I owe her money and I can’t get in to the Twestival until I pay her.

Some of you may notice that I’ve linked to blog posts an not to their blog front page. Well, if they have automated trackbacks, they’ll notice that I want to meet them. Its a touch more subtle than asking directly. Or is that my devious streak showing itself again.

take care,
and see some of you tonight,
Will Knott

Well folks (both of you), the shorter long list for the Irish Blog Awards is out…

… and I didn’t make it.

The full(er) list for the personal blog category are…

Best Personal Blog – Sponsored by Microsoft Ireland’s Developer and Platform Group

• Verba – McAWilliams
• Grandad
• Red Leeroy
• Cackaloo
• Sinéad Keogh
• Annie Rhiannon
• casacaseycourtney
• I am Paddy
• The National Lottie
• Conortje
• Trust Tommy
• Well Done Fillet
• Fat Mammy Cat
• Infantasia
• The Unemployed Blog
• sinfulorigamipaper
• Coffee helps
• Darren Byrne
• Tinman18
• Grannymar
• Terence McDanger
• Red Mum
• English Mum
• Sinéad Cochrane

This list may get shorter as the nominees can only be in one category, and there are a names on this list which also appear on other lists. Oh well. Congratulations to on and all who made it there.

I’m not going to be upset and throw myself in the ocean. Except actually I am.

Google Earth has been updated and this time the worlds oceans are included. Yes, they have been there before, but as flat two dimensional data. Now you can explore them in 3d. So go and download and install Google Earth 5.0

And find a few strange things.

For example; go to, or rather enter into the Fly To box:  41°43?55?N 49°56?45?W

Then turn on the ‘Ocean’ Layer and the ‘3D Buildings’ layer  (mainly the 3D Buildings layer)

And what do you see?

And why do I hear Céline Dion?

take care,
It’s still icy in places out there,
Will Knott

With a certain amount of shock I discover that I’m one of the many nominees longlisted for the Personal blog catagory of the 2009 Irish Blog Awards. I know I have to thank someone for nominating me. Probably in the area of coffee.

The list is 80 nominees long (it is a LONG list), and I honestly don’t expect to make the short list. I’m up against last years overall winner; the unsinkable Grannymar and  the irrepressible K8,  the curious case of Darragh Doyle and many, many others.

Best Personal Blog – Sponsored by Microsoft Ireland’s Developer and Platform Group

1. A Propositional Structure: http://victoriamacarthur.com
2. Alan In Belfast: http://alaninbelfast.blogspot.com
3. Annie Rhiannon: http://annierhiannon.blogspot.com
4. Brian Kenny: http://bkenny.com
5. Casa Casey Courtney: http://casacaseycourtney.wordpress.com
6. Chancing My Arm: http://chancingmyarm.blogspot.com
7. Clom: http://kneelbeforeclom.blogspot.com
8. Conortje: http://conortje.wordpress.com
9. Coffee Helps: http://coffee-helps.com
10. Conor&’s Bandon Blog: http://conoroneill.com
11. Daddy Or Chips?: http://eguinan.wordpress.com
12. Dante And The Lobster: http://dante-andthelobster.blogspot.com
13. Darrenbyrne.com: http://darrenbyrne.com
14. Declan’s Blog: http://declanmeenagh.com
15. Down With My Life By Vic Barry: http://victorbarry.blogspot.com
16. Eamonn Fitzgerald’s Rainy Day: http://eamonn.com
17. English Mum: http://englishmum.com
18. Fake Empire: http://fakeempire.blogspot.com
19. Fatmammycat.com: http://fatmammycat.blogspot.com
20. Grannymar: http://grannymar.com/blog
21. Hangar Queen: http://hangarqueen.blogspot.com
22. Head Rambles: http://headrambles.com
23. Imantodotcom: http://imanto.com
24. Infantasia: http://infantasia.blogspot.com
25. Iarfhlaith Kelly – Code Agus Craic: http://iarfhlaith.com
26. Insideview: http://insideview.ie
27. K8 The Gr8: http://cackaloo.com
28. Ken Armstrong Writing Stuff: http://kenarmstrong.blogspot.com
29. Ken Mcguire: http://kenmc.com
30. Knowth’s Blog – Stumbleupon: http://knowth.stumbleupon.com
31. Le Craic: http://lecraic.com
32. Liz Biz: http://lizbiz.wordpress.com
33. Mcawilliams.com: http://verba.mcawilliams.com
34. Mad Dogs And Englishmen: http://self-preservationsociety.blogspot.com
35. Malcolm Redfellow’s World Service: http://redfellow.blogspot.com
36. Mark Walsh: http://walsho.net
37. Marramgrass : http://marramgrass.org.uk
38. Manicmammy’s Blog: http://manicmammy.com
39. Maxi Cane: http://maxicane.com
40. Me Blog!: http://blog.sweetnam.eu
41. More News From Nowhere -: http://blog.beara.ie
42. Mum Lives On: http://MumLivesOn.com
43. National Disgrace: http://itsanationaldisgrace.blogspot.com
44. Nelly’s Garden: http://nellysgarden.blogspot.com
45. Niallh.com: http://niallh.com
46. Not Today: http://wineandcider.blogspot.com
47. O’conall Street: http://oconallstreet.com
48. Panda’s Blog: http://pandaalan.wordpress.com
49. Prototype Of A Person: http://sineadcochrane.com
50. Radgery…: http://radgery.com
51. Raptureponies: http://raptureponies.wordpress.com
52. Red Leeroy: http://redleeroy.com
53. Red Mum: http://redmum.blogspot.com
54. Reverting To Type: http://sineadkeogh.wordpress.com
55. Rockin Socks: http://toniireton.blogspot.com
56. Rosemary Mac Cabe: http://rosemarymaccabe.wordpress.com
57. Sickbiscuit: http://sickbiscuit.com/blog
58. Sinful Origami Paper: http://sinfulorigamipaper.wordpress.com
59. Smemon: http://smemon.com
60. Sniffle and cry’s Weblog: http://snifflecry.wordpress.com
61. Stranded On Gaia: http://strandedongaia.blogspot.com
62. Stony River Farm: http://stonyriverfarm.blogspot.com
63. Supersimbo: http://supersimbo.net
64. Terencemcdanger.com: http://terencemcdanger.com
65. The Lindsays: http://sueandstevelindsay.blogspot.com
66. The National Lottie: http://thenationallottie.com
67. The Postman: http://drumlingo.blogspot.com
68. The Red Scrapbook: http://theredscrapbook.blogspot.com
69. The Reverend Garibaldi Mcflurry: http://garymcmurray.blogspot.com
70. The Spanish Exposition: http://spanishexposition.blogspot.com
71. The Unemployed Blog: http://theunemployedblog.wordpress.com
72. This Is What I Do.: http://darraghdoyle.blogspot.com
73. Trust Tommy: http://trusttommy.com
74. Two Wheels On My Wagon:http://backpedalbrakes.wordpress.com/about
75. Unlaoised: http://unlaoised.gerryos.net
76. Wallpaper: http://wallpaper.blogs.ie
77. Well Done Fillet: http://welldonefillet.blogspot.com
78. Willknott.ie: http://willknott.ie
79. Worth Doing Badly: http://tinman18.wordpress.com
80. Writing In A Twist: http://moderntwist2.blogspot.com

But what the heck. Here are the logos for the nominated…

And thanks to David McDonald and Stewart Curry for the logos.

take care,

Will Knott

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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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’m skipping the OCC BBQ Dragons’ Den posts for a quick push for this guy (on the right)

This slightly worried looking gentleman is Marcus MacInnes of pix.ie. Marcus is getting a bit of a push by the Irish tech blogger scene, and well, I’m pushing too. Why, because its a service and site I actually use.

All (well, almost all) of my photographs that I’ve posted here this year have been hosted on Pix.ie. I love the site. Yes, I’ve abandoned Flickr over Pix.ie, so I must be committing some kind of photoblogging sin. (As soon as their API links to Moo I’ll have no reason to use the other site.)

So what do you get on Pix.ie? A beautiful looking site (yes I love the album unfurls when you hover over them. Just look for yourself). They also have a custom album for the “Pink for October” which I can assure you I’ll be using for the online bits of my Pink paper push (its the skin setting in the “profile settings” section).

The servers are optimised constantly and performance is paramount (and yes Marcus can and will talk about the database tips and schemes needed to perform his miracle of bit shuffling if you ask nicely. you may want to sit down first) and I think the pictures are nicer too. The site also caters for using those embedding and resizing their images off the site (like me) and ease of uploading.

In short, pix.ie is being too nice to me.

Its also going to get me out of the house and visit places, well Guinness actually. Of course I really need to start using its social bits more. I’d better start now.

take care,
Will Knott

Oh, and for the record, I’m the large blue thing next to him. Spoiling the photo as usual.

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It’s all my fault, and I’ve seen the carnage its created. She’s pinned them!

Grannymar has found a way to mark her toyboys. I don’t know if she’s done her own pinning ceremony or not. And I’m the cause.

I know she got Darragh, Darren, Anthony and recently Rowan has admitted his pining. She’s got a badge.

And she know how to use it to good effect.

I got them for her.

But lets step back. Back to May and the ToeJam photographs of May. I grabbed this shot…

and it got me thinking.

You can see “King” Damien’s “Fluffy” badge and Lexia’s pink “geek” badge (all that’s missing is Midge’s “Filthy” one). In Ireland at least, these badges are medals of honour. Social objects, not something to be sold, but something to be shared or given away to help make and bind social relationships. Awards for serving the social network of the Irish blog-sphere. Membership cards that the wearer has entry in to this world. That makes the blog awards the equivalent of a dame or knighthood, and the monthly awards something like an knavehood. (Oh to be a knave and a scoundrel)

So I wanted to help people in Ireland start blogging, or at least get interested in the Irish blogging world.

The other part of this was guilt. Since I started my course my blog writing has, well, collapsed. Time is more pressing (just as well I suppose) and ideas are being applied elsewhere (and not on to Twitter like everyone else). Pictures have filled up the breech, but I feel that I’m missing something.

So the badge… when the idea formed, I thought; “What should my badge be?”

Well that fizzled out.

So the question formed; “Who would get a lot of fun with a badge?” and my thoughts turned North.

A few chats and emails later, and an order to 50pbadges winged its way (after a redirect) to her awaiting floor (well, she was out at the time).

I’m interested to see how this will play out. How many (other) gentlemen of dubious qualities will try to attract the attention of the one and only Grannymar. And how much fun is she having making these ‘boys’ happy?

Oh, as for why? It seemed like a good idea at the time.

take care,
Will Knott

Haydn Shaughnessy response to Kathy Foley’s posts on the low standards of Irish blogging has me wondering. Wondering if I am indeed “inward looking, technical or incestuous”. Given that in a single sentence I’ve just linked to two Irish bloggers I have to declare guilty on the third count. But then again, surely bloggers of every country are indeed focusing on their countrymen and women.

The inward looking, well I don’t think I do much of that. Do I?

The too technical claim, well I might be able to do something about that. Fústar is looking for writers. Namely, “being the creation of a horror short story (interpreting “horror” however you wish) of no more than 500 words”. So I might call on my “evil” twin brother Ken to put in 500 words of twisting possibilities. 500 words is… not much. I’ve tried, and it’s hard to limit myself to 500. But it’s a challenge.

So, gentle reader, do you think things should get a little twisted and horror-struck around here?

take care,

Will

The first week of March is, well busy.

It all starts on March When the The Irish Blog Awards ceremony take place. Seats are somewhat limited so remember to register for the Irish Blog Awards It costs only ten Euros a head and all cash taken at the door goes to three deserving charities – Brainwave, St. Francis Hospice and the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Ireland. Preceding this are quite a few meetings and groupings. Make them if you can.

March 2nd. Very early on March 2nd we have WebCamp – Social Network Portability this time in Cork. I’m trying to figure out logistics and if a bus should be hired, but I suspect that its all aboard the first train from Dublin to Cork for an awful lot of tired bloggers and blog awards party people.

also on March 2nd (this time at a mercifully later hour) Alexia is organising a bloggers dinner in Cork. Should be fun, even if Dear Waters isn’t there.

Then on March 3rd and 4th the international BlogTalk 2008 Conference takes the floor again in Cork

Then after a small breather, on March 8th Creative Camp starts in Kilkenny.

Its going to be busy…

See you there?
Will Knott

tags : Irish Blog Week, March 2008, Irish Blog Awards, Dublin, WebCamp, Cork, Social Network Portability, bloggers dinner, BlogTalk 2008, Creative Camp, Kilkenny