The Interest Graph

A great piece here from Gary Vaynerchuk discussing the explosion of Pinterest, something Gary predicted at the start of the year. While Facebook may be king of the Social Graph, Gary sets out his belief on how Pinterest, and indeed Tumblr, are both offering users interest driven experiences. Well worth a watch...

Have You Claimed Your Place?

The following is a blog post that I wrote for the Betapond Blog. I wouldn't usually cross-share posts but in this case I think it's worth it. Hope you enjoy.

Have You Claimed Your Place?

Every now and again one of the ‘big players’ does something, well, big. Remember when Apple launched the iPhone? Or when Twitter redesigned its layout. Unless you’ve been living under a rock I can’t imagine the latest ‘big’ thing has passed you by – Facebook launched Facebook Places. The world’s biggest social media platform gave us their take on location-based social media, but unfortunately it’s not available to everyone just yet. Or is it?

A quick search of the interweb will reveal that beyond the US and UK, where Facebook Places is up and running fully, the rest of us don’t have to wait for our countries to get placed. By signing up to one of the many free, or paid, VPN (virtual private network) services out there, you can make Facebook think you are in the US or UK and use Facebook Places from any location.

In fact, as it turned out our team here at Betapond, while being based in Ireland (not a location currently placed), were able to develop two of the first Facebook Places Applications with our ‘I Spy Places’ and ‘LoyaltyBuilder’ Apps. So clearly those of us that want to explore this new location-based service from Facebook can.

What we quickly noticed though was that there weren’t any places on Places. Although Facebook has signed agreements with existing geo-location services like Gowalla and Foursquare, there are probably no places showing up in your location if it hasn’t been officially placed. Of course that’s no obstacle, it just means you needed to add places yourself.

Something happened in the last week, however, and I suddenly found that the number of places showing up increased massively. Even while up in Drogheda at the weekend I found that there are now hundreds upon hundreds of Irish entries on Facebook Places. So what you ask? Well for one this is interesting as it may point to an Irish launch of Facebook Places far ahead of the New Year timeline that Facebook previously, candidly outlined. More importantly though it puts the ball suddenly into every Irish business’s court to claim their Facebook Place.


Whether you have one premises or many, each physical location can be claimed as a Facebook Place. Using Betapond as an example, we have two office locations and both have been claimed. We can now use them in the same way as a Fanpage, including the addition of customised tabs (see above). The advantage, before you ask, is that as soon as Facebook Places does go live in Ireland we will be in full control of our properties and could have promotions, competitions or other location-based activities up and running.

So, as I initially said, have you claimed your place?

The World Is Full Of Interesting Things...

I spotted this over on Neil Perkin's blog Only Dead Fish. It got a lot of Twitter love last Friday but just in case you missed it, and because I think it's pretty special, here it is for you.

This is the updated 119 slide version of the Google Creative Labs presentation all about recent creative ideas and web campaigns covering everything from advertising to art, and politics to literature. This was put together by Tom Uglow and while it is viewable right here, just as Neil suggested, you should have a look at it on Google Docs for the full effect. This is simply brilliant.

Where Good Ideas Come From

Watch first, then I'll do some rambling...

I absolutely love this video. Not only is the whole style compelling and engaging, but it's simple. There's no difficulty understanding the concept that Steven Johnson is discussing. And it's a concept that I firmly believe in. I've always considered myself an ideas person - I'm good at thinking on my feet and I don't have difficulty with creative solutions. The thing is, I'm also a firm believer in team work and the power of the group, and it's this part of Steven Johnson's video that grabbed me. I suddenly realised just how many times I've had an idea that has sat simmering in the back of my mind until I've shared it with someone and they've added to it to take it that next step. I also then realised that this has almost always been in private discussions with friends over a drink or some food.

What if there was a place such as the 'Age of Enlightenment's Coffee Houses' or the 'Parisian Salons of Modernism' that people could go to specifically to share ideas with a group and get some input and feedback and possible collaboration? Not just a physical place as such but an actual regular 'event'. As far as I am aware nothing like this exists in Dublin, certainly not within the fields I am interested. I'm not even sure how to describe what this would be similar to, perhaps a think tank of sorts?? All I know is that I think I've found myself a new project. Stay tuned :)

The State Of The Internet

Just watch...

Social Media Roles

It seems that almost every week a new Social Media Expert or Guru springs up to offer us their superior knowledge and ability. They selflessly put themselves forward to fix all our Social Media woes, and ask for nothing in return except a giant fee. Thankfully these charlatans and would be hucksters are invariably easy to spot and quickly outed as what they truly are. The most annoying thing about these "Twitter Kings" and "Dr.s of Social Media" is that they tear down the good work being done by people across the digital landscape.

So what of the folk out there that aren't pushing themselves as an Expert or Guru? What of the people who offer their advice or genuine expertise to those who want it. These people do exist, and they can help your business, but the difficulty is realising who they are and what they can do for you. I started considering some of the people that I know personally and what they are great at, what they can offer businesses. I realised quickly that there are several different distinct roles that exist within the Social Media Sphere, and while a person may cross over several of these roles, there is ultimately no such thing as a single Social Media Expert who can single handedly tick all boxes and requirements. So here's an initial list of Social Media Roles:

Social Media Instructor
This is the person who has the ability to sit down with anyone; explain what Social Media is, why they should be using it, how to best use it and what the benefits are. This person knows how to use the various different Social Media tools on the market and keeps abreast of all the latest developments in the Social Media Sphere. As with any teacher or lecturer, however, this is the role that is the hardest to learn - teaching comes naturally and the best instructors have an ability that can't be learned or faked.

Conference Speaker
In my opinion the Conference Speaker is essentially the same as the Instructor but where the Instructor may not have the ability to stand up and speak in front of large crowds, the Conference Speaker does. Similarly, the Conference Speaker may find themselves unable to sit down and create meaningful one-to-one communications. Beyond this though, both roles are almost identical with the Conference Speaker being just as versed in the cutting edge of Social Media as their counterpart. They know what Social Media can do and how to use it best. Most importantly they can also put this into captivating and engaging presentations.

Content Manager
At the heart of all Social Media is content. Fresh, engaging and unique content. The Content Manager both creates and curates, and ultimately drives Social Media. They may have the most important social media role of all, and with an ever escalating amount of new data and content being created everyday, their role will become ever more important. They will be the people who streamline online content into manageable categories for user consumption. They will be essential to the prevention of data overload.

Event Organiser
Summits, Seminars, Streetups, Tweetups and Conferences; the Event Organiser provides the key role of facilitating the offline interactions that create the content for our various Social Media channels.

Community Manager
In the last 12 months every major Social Media Platform has created Community Manager roles. These are the people who drive conversation and interaction between brands/businesses and the public. They provide the voice of these organisations and will most likely be a natural networker and "people person". They understand how to communicate personally with their users and facilitate the organic development of brand ambassadors - users who will promote the brand/business on their own.

Marketing Consultant
Finally there's the Marketing Consultant. This is the person who understands what Social Media can do for an integrated marketing programme, and how to use it effectively to achieve strategic marketing objectives. A Marketing Consultant will understand how to use Social Media in coordination with the full modern digital marketing mix; driving heighten interaction and engagement rates with online display advertising, Social Media advertising, Search Engine Optimisation, Digital PR and Pay Per Click Advertising.

These are the 6 Social Media roles that I see in the Social Media Sphere, but it is very much an initial list and I would envision it changing and possibly growing as Social Media matures and develops. If there are any glaring absences here please feel free to let me know. I'd be very interested to know what roles other people see.

A Tribute to Merton

Last Thursday I wrote about the internet's latest fad, Chat Roulette. I posted the awesome video of self taught piano player Merton with his improv piano sessions with random chatters. Just two days later in front of a live audience at Fillmore in Charlotte, North Carolina, Ben Folds Five performed a tribute to Merton...

Whose View 6 Months On

Back in September I wrote about WhoseView.ie. 6 months on I thought it would be nice to take another look at the site and see exactly what has happened in the last 180 or so days.

WhoseView.ie are now averaging 60k unique visitors a month and have reached 2,600 site members. The site has also surpassed 6,300 reviews with an average of 60 to 100 reviews posted every day. The guys have also been working tirelessly to optimise the site and have fixed over 300 different bugs and implement a host of new functionality driven directly by user experience feedback. Finally, WhoseView.ie has also been striving to increase its all Ireland offering with Galway and Cork now representing almost 25% of all reviews being posted.

An overview of site traffic

Recent Site Landmarks

• On Sept 25th we were shortlisted in 3 categories at the 2009 Irish Web Awards.
• On Oct 27th, we were shortlisted in 3 categories at the 2009 Golden Spider Awards.
• On Nov 1st, we rolled out our service to Galway, adding 4,000 businesses to the the existing 38,000 Dublin businesses listed on whoseview.ie
• On Nov 10th, we surpassed the 100,000 visitor since opening the site to the public on July 17th 2009.
• On Nov 19th, we won the Best Indigenous Website at the 2009 Golden Spider Awards.
• On Nov 20th, we signed a content partnership with Google to launch in Jan 2010.
• On Dec 18th, we signed up our 1000th member.
• On Dec 21st, our members have posted close to 2,500 category reviews and comments.
• On Dec 23rd, we launched our iPhone V1 app, allowing our members search and browse local businesses in Dublin and Galway while on the move.

To quickly recap, for those who aren't familiar with the site, WhoseView.ie is a review site based entirely on user generated review. You review whatever you want to review and you review it exactly as you want to. The most important thing is that WhoseView assures unedited reviews just as the member intended. This, coupled with the functionality of the site itself, makes it a real winner. The site is driven by a principle of user facilitation and user functionality. Members can use the site more like a social network. Add friends, comment on reviews and engage with people who have similar tastes/likes. In my mind this makes perfect sense. You actually get to communicate with other members and get can share your opinion - essential for a review service, and yet this is the first time someone has really done it.

Online PR With Damien Mulley

First I'd like to apologise for the lateness of this post - I don't really have any excuse. Back at the end of January I was lucky enough to be offered the chance to join a small group of individuals to participate in Damien Mulley's first Online PR Training Course. As would be expected with anything that Damien does, the initial session had over 80 requests to attend for the 30 places that he had to offer, so I was extremely delighted to be able to attend. The event would act as a sounding board and "staging environment" for Damien to put together a full publicly accessible version for Digital and Public Relation professionals.

For the session that I participated in there were 6 fundamental areas that Damien covered:

• 0. Basics of Online Comms
• 1. Developing a Communications Bible
• 2. Developing a Comms Philosophy
• 3. Working with: Blogs, Forums, Twitter etc.
• 4. Finding Tools – Who is talking about you online?
• 5. Crisis Communications

While this may seem like the lazy way out, and I hope you'll be convinced that it isn't, I decided that the best recap I could possibly write up on the event wouldn't surpass the excellent write up and video that Leo Fogarty wrote. So with that in mind, please have a look at Leo's recap and stay tuned to Mulley.ie for news of an upcoming course that you could take - I highly recommend it!

Chat Roulette

When it comes to fads, memes, virals and trends, the internet has given us some real crazy stuff over the last decade. In my humble opinion though, this may just be the craziest so far. Chat Roulette is a new internet fad that put you in touch with a random stranger for videochat. You can click "next" any time, or stay with the person that was randomly selected. Be warned, however, this is a realm of completely unfiltered, unmonitored human nature. Anything goes!

This could be as inoffensive as people in masks dancing around, Chinese users giving virtual high fives or a puppet psychotherapist who will sit with you for hours and help you solve all your problems.

Unfortunately you may also find yourself looking at a man holding up a sign that reads "Assroll?". To immediately become a naked man rolling over backwards. In many ways this is YouTube with a whole heap more nudity and exhibitionism.

There are people out there, however, who are doing some cool things with the service. The most famous is self thought piano player Merton with his
awesome improv piano sessions with random chatters...

---- Update ----

Unfortunately Merton's video was removed by YouTube “due to terms of use violation.” Thankfully he did an edit and got it back up...

Absolut Drinkspiration 2.0

You may remember last July I wrote about the iPhone App launched by Absolut: Absolut Drinkspiration. The post got a huge amount of traffic and I thought you might be interested in an update of the campaign. Drinkspiration version 2.0 is now available for download and it features a host of updates including even more drinks based on mood, time of day, bar vibe, drink colour, etc. However, this time around Absolut has also launched an Android version of Drinkspiration for non-iPhone folk.

Drinkspiration by Absolut
A sophisticated drink application combining the latest mobile technology with GPS, Twitter and Facebook. Drinkspiration by Absolut is an interactive encyclopaedia of recipes, that helps you find and share personalized drink recommendations based on taste, weather, time of day, bar vibe, sound volume, real-time drink trends and much more. The application gives you a glimpse of the international nightlife scene, allowing you to see what drinks are ordered in real time across the globe and highlights in global drink trends and top lists – all made possible by GPS technology.

“We wanted to create the first interactive spirits application of its kind, combining top-of-the line mobile technology with social media interaction and user generated content,” said Fredrick Tallroth, “Drinkspiration by Absolut solves any drink dilemma quickly and in an inspiring way.”

- Drinkspiration by Absolut for Google Android is available for download in the Android Market
- Download the update of Drinkspiration by Absolut for iPhone here
- Please visit www.absolutdrinks.com/drinkspiration for more information

New Challenges & Opportunities

A short time ago I made the decision that it was time to make a subtle but important career change. While the previous two and a half years with Cybercom have been absolutely brilliant, teaching me more then I could have imagined and giving me incredible experience working with some of Ireland's top brands, I realised that I would be better suited to focusing all my attention on Social Media and Digital PR.

These are the areas of the modern marketing mix that I have the most fun with and, to be honest, the areas that I am best at, and ultimately this is where I want my career to go. So I started looking at the UK and Irish markets to see what was happening.

So [cue drum roll], having spoken to a number of different agencies and companies, I have accepted an offer from Simply Zesty and will start in two weeks as their Director of Strategy.

The Pedal Project

DCTV’s new series, The Pedal Project, looks at the current thinking behind our city's transport system and is an absolute must for everyone who commutes to work. The series looks at the opinion and position of local authorities, universities and the residents of Dublin. The aim being to create a conversation both within and about the cycling movement.

The Pedal project is not a simple documentary or one sided analysis. This is an ongoing debate within the public view and an insight into the complexity and variety of opinion that currently exists. Foremost though, this is a collaborative endeavour and your opinion is wanted. Your contribution is wanted.

One Less Car

"When you go out onto the streets of Dublin looking for bikes, bring the footage you find back into the edit suite and re-mix it with some important words of advice from the past and good tunes this is what you get. Part snapshot of the zeitgeist part cycling agit-prop this is one of the best developed examples of Irish alternative television production."


Two Wheeled City

"As Dublin has grown wealthier we have become carcooned, basing our personal and city transport system on the car. We know this isn’t working – but what is the alternative and how do we get there. Speaking to academics and elected officials, council planners and staff, campaigners and cyclists – Two Wheeled City constructs a convincing case and viable plan to recast Dublin as a cyclable city."

Biorhythm: Music And The Body

Experimental musicians, musical neuroscientists, sound artists or acoustic engineers; it doesn't matter what you call yourself, the Science Gallery wants you! Dublin's Science Gallery is developing a new exhibition called 'Biorhythm: Music And The Body' and they are looking for submissions for gallery installations, creative experiments, events, workshops or performances. Their goal is to look into the relationship between art and science in allowing us to understand and enjoy the sounds and music of the world around us. Ideally all the installations and experiments will be interactive and participative engagements as well as stand-alone performances. For three months from 2 July to the 1 October, Biorhythm will also put on a series of high-profile talks, discussions and debates, and other musical and biological events, web-focused interactions and games.

Submissions must be received no later than Tuesday March 30 2010 to be considered for inclusion:

• Open Call Details
• Open Call Submission

adidas micoach

Two weeks ago I had the pleasure of popping over to London for the day for the launch of adidas micoach. The micoach is a virtual running partner that delivers real-time audible coaching. Forget standard heart rate monitors or exercise program utilities, this is a system that monitors your performance and tells you what you need to do to reach your programme objectives. The miCoach interactive training system tells you whether to speed up or slow down by tracking your heart rate, pace, distance and stride rate. The system does this by constantly monitoring data delivered by a small sensor worn on your shoe and a heart monitor worn around the chest. The particular device that I have been using is the adidas micoach pacer.


So what's the difference between the adidas offering and the various other systems on the market?

Aside from the basic way the service works - audible telling you what to do - the most important difference is that this is exactly that, a service. The device that adidas have developed is essentially a very simple data recorder and performance indicator. The real customer value comes from the website and added functionality that adidas provide outside the device itself. adidas's goal is to become the most personalised sports brand in the world by providing an intelligent web platform through which users can interact and educate themselves about how to perform better, train better and, ultimately, run better. In the end, adidas want us to be better athletes.

To achieve this, adidas have created a web platform that acts as an interactive training service that motivates, inspires and enables runners to become better and reach their training goals, whatever they may be. This is the key. For every runner the goals you set and those recommended by the system are completely unique based on your goals, your current level of fitness and what suits you to train. At micoach.com you can create personalised training plans, set goals and pro-actively monitor and manage your progress over time. The platform includes six training plans, ranging from those who want to run faster and improve a personal time, to those who want to lose weight, and you can also create your own personalised training plan. These tailored training programmes are designed around your heart rate zones and will help you achieve your fitness goals more efficiently than traditional exercise regimens. miCoach listens to your heart to determine your personal training zone ranges, each represented by a distinct colour for easy-to-understand and effective training - blue, green, yellow and red. miCoach helps runners set goals and then reach them by monitoring their heart rate and telling them when to slow down or speed up to meet their personal goal.

There are then two options when it comes tot he devices themselves:

• The miCoach Pacer - a small, lightweight device that delivers real-time audible coaching as you exercise via headphones or combined with your own MP3 player. During your run, the miCoach Pacer verbally coaches you (i.e. speed up to green zone, slow down to blue zone, etc.) to ensure that you are staying within your targeted heart rate zone and keep you running at the right personal level.
• The miCoach Zone – an easy to read colour-code LED display on a wristband device provides accurate, real-time coaching making it easy for you to train at the right intensity with the help of a heart rate monitor.

“miCoach makes it easy for anyone at any level to get personal coaching. The instant progress reports help you get the most out of your run and achieve your personal goal,” says Bernd Wahler, Chief Marketing Officer of adidas Sport Performance. “The audible coaching feature of the miCoach Pacer provides a new dimension to any workout experience allowing users of any level to discover their true potential. This product is really about offering our consumers a personal way to train.”


So what's the verdict?

About a year ago I started running. Not long enough, not far enough and not often enough. Then a couple of months before Christmas an old rugby injury cropped up again and I just had to stop. Although my knee got better I simply wasn't motivated to get back into a training schedule. Since I've started using the micoach that has seriously changed. The nature of the service means that I have been easily able to set up a training programme that suits me and when I do go running I have constant motivation and direction as to what I need to be doing. I would definitely recommend the micoach to anyone from dedicated runners who want to improve their style to beginners who want to get fit.


So is that that?

Not by a long shot. Not only does the service have two major updates on the horizon already but the nature of how it's been built leaves it open to almost limitless expansion on a number of different fronts. In June the micoach mobile application will launch. This will be a free of charge download for any smart phone that will allow you to use the micoach service with your phone's GPS. A second June update will also see the introduction of speed training so that the micoach service can be used for short to middle distance sprint training. Of course these are just two of the many possibilities that adidas have revealed. Considering that the web platform already has several options for Facebook integration and data sharing, there's no reason to think that the ability to actually share your results and training programmes isn't on the way. Overall the approach adidas has taken leaves them in a position to change and enhance the micoach service by simply updating the web platform. This means that the device you buy now will remain an active product for the foreseeable future. I for one think this is brilliant. adidas are demonstrating a very real understanding that the modern consumer wants more and demands it.

Basically I'm really excited to see what happens with Social Media integration in the next year. I think adidas are leading the way in sports technology, and showing a level of understanding that the competition just don't have.

Ballygowan Pink - B Part Of It - Update

Just eight days ago, Ballygowan launched their 'B Part of it' campaign to help raise funds for breast cancer awareness across Ireland. In the Republic of Ireland the campaign supports the Marie Keating Foundation, and in Northern Ireland it supports Action Cancer. The first phase of the campaign has seen the launch of a range of new pink bottles of Ballygowen, a campaign microsite and Facebook page and a number of offline activations. Ultimately each bottle of of the new Ballygowan Pink that is sold makes a contribution directly to the foundations.

So eight days later and what's happening witht he campaign?

In my honest opinion, the campaign is doing absolutely brilliantly. The Facebook page now has over 6,000 Fans, 30 Fan Photos and over 120 Fan Comments (and that doesn't include any conversation under those comments!). This is a massive amount of interaction and engagement for a Brand that has otherwise not had a strong Facebook presence. Bare in mind this Facebook page was only set up eight days ago when the campaign started - it has actually driven all this engagement in eight days! Beyond the great charity element to the new Ballygowan campaign, what has really captured my attention here has been the public support. The comments and interaction from Fans of the campaign on the Facebook page has just been brilliant. If there was ever a case study for the use of Facebook by a charity, this is it. Serious hat tips to the team behind the Facebook page!

Check out the latest video showing some of the campaigns high profile supporters...

Touchless Interfaces

With all the recent hype around the iPad and the emergence of touchscreen tablet computing I decided to look into what else was on the horizon. I may well be showing my age here but the truth is that it hasn't been very long that touchscreen interfaces have become practically the norm and almost everyone carries at least one touchscreen device in their pocket. So perhaps it's too early to be considering what will come next? Oddly enough, no.

While Sci-fi writers may have long ago dreamt off touchless interfaces, the reality has been a lot less forthcoming. However, it may be close at hand. The latest step toward touchless interfaces comes from John Underkoffler. John was working at the MIT Media Lab when the producers of Minority Report called looking for ideas for their movie. Unsurprisingly, they hired John and his idea. Now, following a long hard slog of development and testing, John and his company, Oblong, brought their new interface to the TED conference. What may surprise you is that this was a year ago, and in the following year the system is said to be close to implementation.

This is an actual spatial operating system.

Something else that this got me thinking about was the massive explosion of the adaptation and use of Augmented Reality. In my mind the two systems are inherently linked - while AR uses coded image identifiers to render interactives and otherwise unseen media within an artificial 3D environment, the spatial operating system recognises your hands as manipulators of objects with an artificial 3D environment. If you also consider the various laser light artificial keyboards that are on the market, I expect the next 24 months of interface development to see some huge changes.

Give A Day, Get A Disney Day

Disney's latest campaign, 'Give A Day, Get A Disney Day', is the latest example of a growing trend of major businesses driving community support through a volunteer programme. The campaign is aiming to inspire one million people to volunteer a day of service to one of the campaign partner businesses in their communities. By volunteering for a day, participants will each receive a 1-day, 1-theme park ticket to Disneyland or Walt Disney World for free.

The nicest element to the campaign is an absolutely brilliant personalised video creative presented as the redesigned campaign microsite. Just pop in your name and date of birth year and hit play for a hilarious muppet escapade. I won't ruin it by telling you any more, just go and do it!

The campaign also has the following personalised video for sharing through blogs or Social Networks...

The Trans-Siberian Railway Desktop Journey

Have you ever dreamt of taking a trip on the Trans-Siberian Railway? This majestic train route travels the breadth of Russia, spans two continents and visits 87 cities. The following video is part of a joint project between Google and the Russian Railways to let people enjoy the journey, taking in Baikal, the Khekhtsirsky range, the Barguzin mountains, the Yenisei river and countless other beautiful Russian towns and landmarks, without leaving the comfort of your own armchair.

To also enjoy a customised Google Map of the trip, just visit here.

Your Country, Your Call

I was invited along to Guinness Storehouse on Monday evening to give input into a new Social Media focused project that is being launched. I had only been told bits and pieces about the campaign and, to be honest, I really didn't know what to expect. However, there were a few key things that I knew and they were enough for me: Dr. Martin McAleese was the main person behind the campaign's idea and it was all being patroned by his wife, President Mary McAleese. Aside from this, I had been told that all work on the campaign, by all parties, was being done on a pro bona basis. Considering the global economic situation we all find ourselves in, this was a pretty stand out point.

The evening began with an an overview and background from Dr. McAleese and then a general open floor discussion / Q&A about everything to do with the project from the overall strategy through to the site design.

The campaign microsite, which will be the main focus of all activity is www.yourcountryyourcall.com/.

So what is it all about? This is a international competition (anyone in the world can enter) that is being driven by a hope to ignite imaginations and inspire thinking. The overall goal is to find two ideas that have the ability to fuel prosperity and jobs for Ireland. The ideas could be anything – absolutely anything, the only caveats are that they must focus on Ireland and should be so robust and expansive that they will be looked on in a decades time and seen as true turning points in Irish history.

The two winning ideas will secure their ‘thinkers’ a prize of €100k each and the ideas will then have a €500k implementation fund (as well as the expertise of a host of world class people from all walks of industry) to get them off the ground.

The competition also has a second side to it – Your Ireland Moment, which is a call for people to submit their personal moment that they most felt proud to be Irish. This can be found through the main site.

The whole project will have an extremely strong focus on Social Media and will be driven heavily through both Twitter and Facebook. however, there will also be event, radio, print and television used across the campaign duration to help boost awareness and participation.

This is Dr. McAleese’s brainchild and something he is truly passionate about. Personally I think it is really exciting, and well worth a look. In fact, I already have 4 ideas scribbled down on paper that I need to flesh out a bit. Check out the following video from President McAleese about the campaign...