Our first Blogging For Business course took place on Saturday, October 16th. We had a very diverse group, which made for an interesting session. The wonderful thing about blogging, and WordPress in particular, is that everybody tends to use it in a slightly different way. We covered many different “What if” and “How would I”

Social networking has really come of age. Facebook has 500 million members, and counting. To get a feeling for the state of the social networking world, this social networking map from xkcd is a great way to visualise it. Now that advertising budgets are contracting, and small businesses are desperate for new clients, social media has become a big hit amongst entrepreneurs. The new medium has proven so attractive because it doesn’t cost money, but there certainly is a substantial time cost associated with a successful social media campaign.

News Release  Sept 6th 2010

FREE NETWORKING EVENT FOR LOCAL BUSINESS OWNER/MANAGERS IN MALLOW THIS THURSDAY

Creating local networks and contacts as well as word of mouth are the keys to success for many businesses in these tough times. With that in mind, Mallow’s Spiralli Business Centre is inviting local small business owner/managers to take advantage of their free Local Networking Event and Anti-Recession Party on the 9th of September from 5.30pm to 7.30pm.

We’re not an IT company, but we’re often asked for IT advice by SMEs. It turns out that many IT supplier’s solution to most problems is to throw more expensive hardware at it. So how do you know when your machine has had it? There’s no definitive answer, but here are some guidelines.

I was a reluctant convert to twitter, until I realised that I didn’t have to take it so seriously. Now I follow some folks for sheer entertainment, and much of my twitter activity is not strictly business.

I’ve already whined about the trials of being a web generalist. Too many technologies, not enough time, the dog ate my homework, woe is me. It’s true I have to know a ridiculous number of platforms, frameworks and languages to some extent. It’s also true that I’m an expert in only a small handful of them, knowing enough of the others to get by.  I can generally use related frames of reference to pick up a new technology quickly. I’ve also learned that it is often sufficient to know the capabilities of some technologies, so I can contract a specialist to implement solutions for me,  if required.

These days a Content Management System (CMS) is a no-brainer for most businesses. Fresh, well written content keeps your web presence current and exciting, and because you’re doing the updating it costs you nothing but your time For most of our clients, we believe that a CMS is the right solution, but there are some potential pitfalls to be aware of:

I’ve been reading cyberpunk novels lately. For those unfamiliar with the genre, the action revolves around a virtual world which is a representation of the entire internet. Usually the world is navigated with an elaborate interface which provides the user with an immersive real-world experience. One of the more imaginative devices featured in one of the books was a procto-pod which you insert you-know-where, thereby interfacing your central nervous system with the internet.

A great many years ago, I created my first web page. It was an oasis of luminous green dedicated to an obscure band. It lacked animated gifs, MIDI music and blinking text only because I lacked the ability to implement such features. It was, gentle reader, ghastly.

A truism often cited in web development and other professional circles states that if the client’s expression doesn’t alter when they see the bottom line of the quote, then you haven’t charged them enough. It’s trite, and meant to be taken with a pinch of salt, but it does illustrate the yawning chasm that often exists between the developer perception and the clients perception of the value of a website.