Ken McGuire

Tag: tuesdaypush

  • Pushing DineToRead.ie

    Library
    Creative Commons License photo credit: lgbsneak

    The internet is a great device. Growing up, it was a place to get online, spend hours talking to randomers via ICQ (I still remember my number vividly), the old IRC chat on IOL and knocking together pages on Geocities or Fortune City. That’s what it was for me anyway. Books went out the window, sport went out the window and I immersed myself in the world of the web.

    Flash forward the guts of fifteen years and people are moving away from the web. When I say people, I’m moving away from the web. Sure enough, the chats still take place online, but more often than not, they’re carried on into the real world. Those initial conversations are bringing people together, getting them in large fun-filled rooms for the likes of the Blog Awards and the Irish Web Awards. I’m all for sites that create something in the offline world. We do it ourselves at Kilkenny Music when it comes to running the One Take Sessions in Kilkenny.

    I’ve heard of these dining nights, the couply ones. Pay 70 or 80 Euro, get a call in a few weeks about an invite to get a group of four guys and four girls around a table to “see what happens”. For some people it’s friendship, for others it’s more. It’s not for me. Speed dating is not for me either. No offence to their sister company either, apologies.

    However, Dine to Read is something I would consider as, by the sound of things, your ensured of great conversation and the chance of a good night out. Plus, it’s not going to completely break the bank at 45 Euro when you’re getting dinner thrown into the mix as well. And – you’ve got something to come back to as well.

    DineToRead.ie blends the online and the offline. They’ve got an active online community who love to discuss books, but they’re working at taking the conversation online and putting real people together in a room, over a meal (the supper club), to continue the conversation. For those who prefer to immerse themselves in a book at night (sometimes not by choice), maybe they’ve got difficulty meeting people or finding out where people with similar interests hang out, now they’ve got the chance to get out and about.

    Each month, ten people are invited to get together in a particular restaurant, to chat about the books they’ve been reading or the current book of the month. The next offline event takes place at Viña Mara in Galway where the discussion will be about Aravind Adiga’s ‘The White Tiger’. You can register for free online to enjoy the forums and get chatting straight away. Registering online also gives you access to the online booking and payment should you choose to attend a night out.

    Nights are held Monday to Wednesday in Galway, Dublin, Cork and Waterford.

    If you’re an avid reader, looking to broaden your circle of friends and maybe even get fed in the process, visit DineToRead.ie

  • Tuesday Push: MyMunster.com

    Stringer doing what he does best!
    Creative Commons License photo credit: danid330

    The latest Tuesday Push is for rugby social networking site, MyMunster.com which allows you to chat and share views with other Munster rugby supporters, view club photos and videos, get the latest news and get your hands on some Munster goodies and match tickets through competitions. They’ve also got their own blog where this evening I learned that Peter Stringer has finally been elevated to the pitch for the Six Nations clash against Scotland in Edinburgh this weekend.

    When people think hurling, they should think Kilkenny. When people think rugby, they’re likely to think Munster, such is the success of the club in recent times (also spotting here that 12 of 22 of the panel for the Irish game ply their trade at Thomand Park).

    When there’s such a vibrant offline community and “family” for Munster supporters, it’s good to see an online source getting developed for fans of the club at home and abroad, considering it’s also being developed in association with Munster Rugby. Word has you can also hit the site during game time for updates and notes on games as and after they happen and if you’re a Twitter user you can follow MyMunster here.

  • Tuesday Push: Tuesday Push

    Pushing
    Creative Commons License photo credit: Valerie Everett

    Some say you should crawl before you can walk, walk before you can run, look before you leap. On a Tuesday, it’s nice to push before you’re pushed. The Tuesday Push is a chance to shed the light on a company or service in Ireland, introducing those getting the push to the Irish blogosphere, tech readers, blog readers, tech journalists and the public at large. As the site itself says, it is “a way for the small but growing tech community in Ireland to make some noise about ourselves by picking a good example of an Irish Tech Company and highlighting their product(s) every second Tuesday”.

    While it’s nice to see companies getting “the push”, it’s nicer still when they push back. It’s all about the community involvement. You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours. Or in this case, it’s technology startups in Ireland helping each other out. Since it’s launch last year I’ve managed to push a few of the names including Twitter Mosaic (Sxoop), DownloadMusic.ie, IGOpeople to name a few.

    One of the great things about the growing tech community in Ireland is just that, the community. The spirit is seen in blogs, comments, through Twitter, LinkedIn, referrals, BarCamps, PodCamps, BizCamps, CreativeCamps and the likes. We’re great at helping each other out, which is why Tuesday Push is a great initiative for having the community highlight the rising stars within.

    Of course, not everybody can get featured. The service in question has to be unique, has to be new, has to be different. Not sure what I mean? Check here for details.

    I’ll keep on pushing where and when I can. Maybe some day I’ll need a push with something. But I’ll keep pushing because it puts another mark on the map for Irish tech companies. And it’s not only me that’s doing it. Dozens of great posts have been written about the ten companies featured since last July, across dozens of blogs, who have hundreds of readers each… do the maths.

    Request a Tuesday Push here.

  • Tuesday Push: Twitter Mosaic

    Twitter. It’s a mug’s game. Or it’s just become one thanks to Twitter Mosaic.

    Walter Higgins at Sxoop Technologies is making great great use of Twitter’s open API and is now combining it with Zazzle to create Twitter Mosaic to offer personalised goods based on avatars of your Twitter friends or followers.

    For the end user, the process is a simple one.

    1. Go to sxoop.com/twitter and enter your username.
    2. Select the avatars you want to display on your product (clicking them will remove them)
    3. Select the type of product you want (bag, mug, tshirt, cards)
    4. Customise your final product and make a payment at the Zazzle store.

    In my case, I’ve gone ahead and bought a Twitter Mosaic Mug, picking the slightly larger sized mug to help fuel my tea fix in the office during the day. In doing so I’ll have a hundred or so faces looking back at me as I enjoy every drop, with my @kenmcguire handle printed across the middle. The perk for me in the order is that I also won a £10 voucher Walter was giving away on Twitter yesterday. On the payment front you can use your credit / debit card or go down the PayPal route.

    From what was seemingly just an idea in recent weeks, Walter and Sxoop have made another great step forward in generating revenue via Twitter.

    While you’re at it, don’t forget to check out Pixenate, also from Sxoop.

    You can also follow me on Twitter.