Read one Irish entrepreneur's blog as she operates a business in Dublin
Silly Season Approaching
June 29, 2005
Silly Season, Volume I, 2005 is about to begin.
Ask anyone who has ever tried to do business in Ireland and they will confirm, there are 2 silly seasons in operation in the Ireland. The first one takes place in summer, not so much for the whole summer, but definitely for the 'hot' months of July and August. The second one starts around the 30th November and lasts until 8th January and that is called Christmas.
No Work Gets Done During Silly Season.
One person in a project being away on holiday is enough to make the entire project grind to a halt. Assumptions regarding how long something is going to take are doubled. As someone said to me today "sure the year's nearly over".
"No it's not," I thought, "it's only half way over?"
But I am wrong.
In Ireland we lose approximately 3 months of the year to unproductive boozy activity. And given that those 3 months take place in the second half of the year, 2005 is in fact nearly over.
The last days of June 2005 sees everyone busily trying to complete deals and projects, get their legs waxed pre-holidays, and generally run around frantic because there's no time left! [Cue disaster movie music and scenes of people running around Tesco Baggot Street stock-piling food].
Look on the bright side! There should be plenty of time for 'mending the nets' activity in the summer months. Time to market one's own business, attend networking events, address the website...
Yes, ahem! Brightspark's website is so badly out of date that it doesn't bear thinking about. You think we did great work based on what's on the site? Wait'll you see the new site. Packed with updated case studies and information, it will be coming soon to a Firefox near you.
Perfect!
June 24, 2005
I've noticed an increase in the use of the word 'perfect' of late. It's replaced 'done and dusted' as the most used business word of choice in the Dublin area. I never liked d&d as it reminded me of someone I didn't like. But I do like perfect...
It's got that nice positive ring to it. It's constructive, and trips off the tongue in a pleasant fashion.
Now you've read this, you'll start noticing it around also. And it's not just in conversation, it's in emails, on voice messages, and through all those myriad other forms of communication we use to get by in the business world.
So that's it from me now at the end of a perfect week. Large swathes of content that I have been working on for an intranet project since February left my domain this week, and now it's over to another team to work their magic.
Off to listen to U2 in Croke Park now. Perfect!
Live8 10 Days To Go
June 22, 2005
And the forecast is 28 degrees!
Estate Agents Confusion
You know how it is - you're viewing a house and you take real care not to seem too enthralled by it. The last thing you want to do is let the estate agent know that you're interested because then, the logic goes, they will push up the price of the house to an inflated beyond hyerinflated level. So the thing to do is pick at carpets, feel walls, and look generally unimpressed.
Then, many months, phone calls and knife-edge drama later, you may be lucky enough to succeed in buying the house. It's at this stage that you can bring some friends around to check out your choice of dwelling for the next 25 years!
You can let down your guard and allow the estate agents to see you gush and enthuse, spin around the rooms, and tell your friends "I fell in love with it when I saw this room for the very first time.."
Estate agents get to see us at our most extreme.
Apples Are Everywhere
June 20, 2005
I'm not saying designers are like sheep (na - or rather - ba!) - but at certain times it's like they all jump off the same cliff in pursuit of a particular theme or style of image. A couple of years ago it was eyes. Or should I say - an eye. You couldn't get away from them, they were used on everything from software packaging to Trinity Ball tickets, and a lot of other places where they didn't work at all.
You heard it here first - Apples Are The New Eyes!
Now I'm not talking about those dried out yellow apples that nobody really likes and that always get left to the end of the fruit bowl. The sad variety that you wouldn't even sprinkle in your porridge bowl. No the apples of choice are all shiny green and rounded. They radiate health, beauty and happiness. They are "desirable apples". Kind of like ourselves - question is, are you feeling like a desirable apple this Monday morning after the official 1st weekend of summer?
DKNY has a new perfume out that has apples all over the packaging. Didn't stop to read if apples are indeed included in the fragrance, but that doesn't matter. Philips are using apples to sell their fruit juicer - hmm, not that surprising, but considering how they used to be all about citrus...they also have apples prominently displayed on their food processing gear as well. Even bars in Dublin are jumping on the apple bandwagon - one bar I entered recently had a tantalising large glass jar on the bar filled with? Yep, you got it - apples (seared) and also vodka. In the interests of research I sat at the bar and I tell you - every second person ordered a glass of the apple magic. The Octagon Bar has an interesting apple addition to its cocktail list.
So why is this? Is it a design thing? Or is it that Apple computers are taking over the world at last? With the success of the iPod they are quickly moving into perfumes & cosmetics, home appliances, and of course the very lucrative Dublin pub scene?
Whatever the causes, I fully expect that you too will now be more aware of the effects. Apples are everywhere. Just keep your eyes peeled! (geddit?)
Live8 Concert London
June 14, 2005
I'm going! Got confirmation today that I have tickets to see this spectacular show.
YES!! I asked all my London buddies to text for tickets and have just got word back that I've got tickets. I'm thrilled. Sure I might even be sick of U2 after all this - I'll be seeing them in Croke Park on 24th June and also in Hyde Park on 2nd July.
AND I've just been reminded that it will be a once in a lifetime opportunity to see Pink Floyd play. They are playing their first live concert in years, and I'll be there! Can't wait. Must dig out all their old cd's from college years and have an other listen...
Dublin City Council Site - A Step Back
June 13, 2005
I'm in the middle of buying a house and had to contact Dublin City Council over an issue. Dublin City Council used to have a fairly functional website that contained all the information I've ever needed on it. At least it was easy enough to find the number for housing and ring them. Now however, the site is awful - difficult to use and with a design that doesn't sit consistently across the pages. Despite using the search tool and the site map, I couldn't find what I wanted (fairly straightforward stuff), nor could I find a telephone number. I was forced to ring 11850 to get a number. That is not good.
The names of the web development company are not on it, not even hidden away in the code, so I wonder if this new look site is an in-house job? Did the Council send someone off on a Dreamweaver course and let them loose on their online asset?
Because that is what a website is - an asset. Unfortunately Dublin City Council have removed any value that had been built up in theirs. View the site.
Brightspark on the Radio
June 12, 2005
Going out live from coast to coast - today Sunday - at 5pm GMT/9am EST, Brightspark will be interviewed on the Business of Success internet radio show.
Catch it live by clicking the link above, or you can always listen to it by selecting from the archive. I'm in the first hour.
Hands in the air like you don't care
June 06, 2005
I was at an event in the Mansion House there the other week. It was a Marketing Institute event and quite a fine one too. The purpose was to introduce potential new members to the Institute and to show them what a good idea it is to join. A great night all round, lots of good networking, good quality people there, and a tasty meal.
There were a number of speakers, Michael Carey from Jacobs Fruitfield stood out due to his candour and delivery style. He was a breath of fresh air. There was also a motivational speaker who acted as MC for the night. He had us all waving our hands in the air. He'd ask a (rhetorical) question and we'd have to put our hands up if we agreed/disagreed. I couldn't help smiling because the last time I spent time in the Mansion House would have been around 1991 and I was putting my hands up in the air then too - but for an altogether different reason! Early rave music and some inspiring DJ's were what motivated me back then. I wonder if anyone else in the room was having the same type of memory...
Dreaming of Site Maps
June 02, 2005
I was. Before I went off on my little break to the sun last week, I was awaking with grids and similar formations in my head! Not a good thing. But nothing that a week in Barcelona can't work out. Back to Ireland to hear the word 'stress' used in regular conversation - twice - in public transport going from the airport to my home. That's not good. Either we're overusing that S word, or the thing that it describes is so prevalent here that it's as common a feature as cups of tea and batch bread used to be.