Amazon have added DynamoDB which is a fully managed “NoSQL” database service. This is another great move, I have not tried this out yet , but I expect this will go down a treat. It is designed to provide fast [...]]]>

Amazon have added DynamoDB which is a fully managed “NoSQL” database service. This is another great move, I have not tried this out yet , but I expect this will go down a treat. It is designed to provide fast and predictable performance with seamless scalability and neatly fits in with the rest of the Amazon web services. They are using Solid State Drives (SSD’s) and it is very easy to scale up and scale down the number of requests. This (in my mind) is such as useful service as most web applications require a database, in fact this is where most of the work happens. If you are already using other Amazon Web service this becomes a useful addition. Amazon also have a SimpleDB which is out around 3 years now.

Have a look at the video below to get an overview of DynamoDB :

Well what do you think?

Will you be giving it a go?

I’m looking to hire some software engineers of 2 types:

Type 1 – Front End Web development

Type 2 – Back End Web development

I meet Ja-Nae Duane at SXSW 2011 in Austin, Texas,  and she is a amazing person, with a amazing background.

Here are some of her achievements:

I recently gave a talk about my experience at SXSW to Limerick Open Coffee. Please see below. If you have any questions or aree planning to attend SXSW 2012 give me a shout !

For more articles [...]]]>

I recently gave a talk about my experience at SXSW to Limerick Open Coffee. Please see below. If you have any questions or aree planning to attend SXSW 2012 give me a shout !

For more articles on SXSW -> http://www.consultmark.ie/blog/tag/sxsw/

Averian Energy have just raised 1 million Euro in VC Funding. In the process the are creating 15 highly skilled jobs. Averian Energy are now commercialising the innovative RPM (Renewable Portfolio Management) product and will be expanding into new markets in 2012. [...]]]>

Averian Energy have just raised 1 million Euro in VC Funding. In the process the are creating 15 highly skilled jobs. Averian Energy are now commercialising the innovative RPM (Renewable Portfolio Management) product and will be expanding into new markets in 2012. Well done to Alan Carey (Business Architect at Averian Energy Solutions), Bernard Carroll (CTO at Averian Energy) and Colin Rogan (CEO at Averian Energy). Bernard and I were part of the same MBA  class at the University of Limerick, Alan Carey is also a graduate of the Kemmy business school MBA program. I have worked with Alan and Bernard in the past and they are hard working and focused and I would like to congratulate them.

The first CoderDojo Limerick commences on Saturday September the 3rd as featured on RTE’s “Nationwide” on Thursday August 31st.

CoderDojo is a not for profit organisation which aims to teach Software programming and Design to school kids and older (Aged 8-25).

The CoderDojo [...]]]>

The first CoderDojo Limerick commences on Saturday September the 3rd as featured on RTE’s “Nationwide” on Thursday August 31st.

CoderDojo is a not for profit organisation which aims to teach Software programming and Design to school kids and older (Aged 8-25).

The CoderDojo is Free of charge, and is run by a group of Limerick based software Entrepreneurs.

When: Saturday September 3rd
Where: The Hartnett Enterprise Accelleration Centre, at the LIT campus in Moylish, Limerick.
What do I bring: Small Packed Lunch and a Laptop (if you have one, or borrow one for the day).
What time: 11am – 4:30pm

More background information about CoderDojo can be found here: http://coderdojo.com/

In order to ensure that we have a good idea on the numbers attending can you please send an email to Mark Cahill: email : markcahill@consultmark.ie -  OR click I’m attending on this Facebook event.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=214463681941032

Source: The Growth of Social Media: An Infographic

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What is Coder Dojo?

Coder Dojo is free coding club that is not for profit! It was founded by James Whelton  and Bill Liao. They started it in Cork, it is now up and running in Dublin next is Limerick. We have secured a [...]]]>

What is Coder Dojo?

Coder Dojo is free coding club that is not for profit! It was founded by James Whelton  and Bill Liao. They started it in Cork, it is now up and running in Dublin next is Limerick. We have secured a space in Limerick and we have some mentors. The fist chapter in Cork was run  on the Saturday the 23rd of July in the Nation Software Centre in Mahon, Cork,  and is still running. The space in Dublin is provided by Google and the first will run on 27th of August in Google’s Montevetro Building, Grand Canal Dock. Kids can learn to build web sites, iPhone and Android apps, and  to write software for windows and linux.

Why am I involved?

Well my story is that I taught myself to write software at the age of 9. I still write software both professionally and for  fun . There was (and there still is nowhere) for secondary (or primary) level kids to learn how to write software and this is the problem that Coder Dojo is aiming to solve. I wish there was somewhere like this when I was young, therefore I am giving it my support. I am currently teaching my son (aged 16) to write software.

How much will it cost to attend?

Just your time. It is free to attend, which make it accessible to all who are really interested in computers and software.

What we need

We are currently recruiting mentors from the Limerick area. If you are a software developer, designer, media person, photographer, entrepreneur or business person. If you are interested in helping out then contact any of the following:

Mark Cahill: email : markcahill@consultmark.ie - (087) 9497083 – [text me please]

Adrian Fleming : email : adrian@manageco2.com

Tommy Collison : email : tommy@collison.ie

James Whelton : email : me@jameswhelton.com

If you want to find out more information on the progress of this project then  see this link : http://codrcamp.com/about/

Here is a video of James Whelton been interviewed by Silicon Republic - http://www.siliconrepublic.com/video/?vsk=James+Whelton&x=0&y=0

Staring today, Twitter has introduced a new way to deliver advertising, it is a smarter way of delivering advertising within their platform. How does it work?, well if you’re a Brand on Twitter, your promoted Tweets will appear near the top of [...]]]>

Staring today, Twitter has introduced a new way to deliver advertising, it is a smarter way of delivering advertising within their platform. How does it work?, well if you’re a Brand on Twitter, your promoted Tweets will appear near the top of the timeline of your followers.  This is very subtle and in theory should not interfere with the experience of those using Twitter. The user also have the option of dismissing the promoted tweet with a single click. I assume that this will be measured by Twitter and the data will be presented to the Brand.

Twitter are currently rolling this out with the following brands: Best Western, Dell, Gatorade, Groupon, HBO, JetBlue, LivingSocial, Microsoft Xbox, Red Bull, Sephora, Starbucks, Summit Entertainment’s “50/50”, TNT and Virgin America.

I really think that this will work, as it is a solution that is pleasing to both the brand and the user, what do you think?

Green open coffee is back and the date is set for Saturday the 2nd of July from 10:30 to 15:30 and it is free to attend. To register for it go here: Green open coffee register.

To give some [...]]]>

I am running a Social Media for B2B (Business to Business) workshop in conjunction with the MBA association of Ireland.

Social media is more known for B2C (Business to Consumer), however social media is very relevant to B2B [...]]]>

I am running a Social Media for B2B (Business to Business) workshop in conjunction with the MBA association of Ireland.

Social media is more known for B2C (Business to Consumer), however social media is very relevant to B2B (Business to Business). This ½ day workshop will be punchy and to the point. It is will be presented with the problem first, then the solution and the process by which you would use Social media tools to acquire B2B customers.

Here is what shall be covered:

•         The impact of social media on the Sales funnel.

•         Understanding the profile of your buyer.

•         How to target customers.

•         What social media tools and platforms should you use?

•         Building community around your product/service.

•         How to measure return on investment (ROI).

Two case studies, one from the biotechnology industry and another from the computing/IT sector will be presented to show real world application.

Limerick:

• Date: Wednesday the 2nd of November.
• Time: 9:30pm – 13:00 pm
• Location: Kemmy Business School, University of Limerick
• Cost: €50

About Mark Cahill

Mark Cahill has over 13 years experience with blue-chip corporations such as such as Dell, Airtricity, Trinity Biotech and Johnson & Johnson in a variety of Technical/IT and Project Management roles. In recent years he has also worked with SMEs and entrepreneurs. He completed his masters degree in business administration (MBA) in 2008, and his thesis “To what extent have Online Social Networks changed Business to Consumer Marketing”. His thesis looks at how online social networks and Web 2.0 have changed the marketing landscape and it proposes a model for an integrated offline and online marketing strategy. He holds a Bachelors degree in Computer Engineering and has a passion for technology and how it can benefit business. Mark is one of the founding organisers and speakers at Bizcamp Limerick.  Mark is also a guest lecturer in University of Limerick, Ireland, in Entrepreneurship, and Marketing, with a focus on Social Networks and Social Media.

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There is some interest numbers in this Video and here are some of the topics covered

I came across this presentation on SlideShare - Most Memorable Quotes from SXSW 2011 – by @princess_misia. I was at SXSW 2011 so this was a nice blast from the past. I have a few favorites, such as slide 5 by Tim [...]]]>

I came across this presentation on SlideShare - Most Memorable Quotes from SXSW 2011 – by @princess_misia. I was at SXSW 2011 so this was a nice blast from the past. I have a few favorites, such as slide 5 by Tim O’Reilly, Slide 13 by Guy Kawasaki, Slide 17 by Gary Vaynerchuk and Slide by 19 Marissa Meyer. What are you favorites?

I have just booked to attend the DotConf on the 2nd of June 2011. This was a awesome event last year.

Here are some of the photos from last year - http://pix.ie/markcahill/album/382574

To attend you should book here, http://www.ncirl.ie/site/event_form.asp?id=253 it is free to attend.

John Collision is the [...]]]>

I have just booked to attend the DotConf on the 2nd of June 2011. This was a awesome event last year.

Here are some of the photos from last year - http://pix.ie/markcahill/album/382574

To attend you should book here, http://www.ncirl.ie/site/event_form.asp?id=253 it is free to attend.

John Collision is the keynote speaker.

Have a look at the Video:

According to this press release from Comsore, Facebook serves 31.2% (346,455 out of 1.1 trillion) of all online ads in the US. Facebook is up from

According to this press release from Comsore, Facebook serves 31.2% (346,455 out of 1.1 trillion) of all online ads in the US. Facebook is up from 23.1% from the third quarter of last year. Facebook’s market share has increased 15 percentage points from 16.2 percent in Q1 2010. Yahoo! Sites are in 2nd place (10.1%), with  Microsoft Sites (4.8%), AOL, Inc. (3%) and then Google Sites (2.7%) taking 3rd, 4th and 5th place respectively.

I have come across this site which I find quite useful so I am going to share with you. It has an interactive map of the world which allows you to click on countries and see the associated Facebook Statistics. It is called http://www.checkfacebook.com/ . This is such a [...]]]>

I have come across this site which I find quite useful so I am going to share with you. It has an interactive map of the world which allows you to click on countries and see the associated Facebook Statistics. It is called http://www.checkfacebook.com/ . This is such a handy tool especially if you are marketing internationally on Facebook.

Have a look, in the below example I clicked on Canada. This gives the country audience, in this case 18,053,920. It also gives a breakdown of Male versus Female and a breakdown of the age distribution on (Yummy) pie charts. If you click on the segment of the pie charts it will give you the numbers.

Give it a go ->http://www.checkfacebook.com/

If you know of any other tools for gather Facebook (or any other social media platforms) please share via comments.

If you are a college, university or third level educational institute you should leverage social media and especially Facebook as a way to increase admissions. I found this infographic on http://www.schools.com/

Courtesy of: Schools.com

Tweet This [...]]]>

If you are a college, university or third level educational institute you should leverage social media and especially Facebook as a way to increase admissions. I found this infographic on http://www.schools.com/

Courtesy of: Schools.com

I recently delivered a talk about “Greening your business and social media” for the Green Works in Nenagh, Tipperary. See below for the slides. Just to note that social media is not the primary solution to a greener business world, but [...]]]>

I recently delivered a talk about “Greening your business and social media” for the Green Works in Nenagh, Tipperary. See below for the slides. Just to note that social media is not the primary solution to a greener business world, but it is a great way to get a message out to your target audience if done correctly.

Facebook has announced a Send button, this is to complement the Like button. The Send button is designed to share a link via Facebook Messages, post it to a Group, or email it to an individual. Facebook have designed the Send button to be used alongside the Like button so as [...]]]>

Facebook has announced a Send button, this is to complement the Like button. The Send button is designed to share a link via Facebook Messages, post it to a Group, or email it to an individual. Facebook have designed the Send button to be used alongside the Like button so as not to clutter your web page/posts. The Send button can be easily added to existing Like buttons or as a standalone feature (very flexible). They are also going to all real-time metrics for the Send button in the Insights Dashboard.

From what I can see there are 3 interesting parts to this:

1. It reduces noise by only sending to those you think it is relevant to.
2. It also lets you share with exiting groups and let you share with existing friends on Facebook, thus increasing your dependency on Facebook.
3. This is another step by Facebook to turn the internet inside out, from a Google Centric Web to a Facebook Centric Web.

My concern with Facebook is that they are adding features at an incredible rate, this is a delicate balance as if you change constantly you users may become restless, confused and annoyed and suffer from change fatigue. However on the other hand if they don’t lead and progress with adapting the technology to their community/customers then they will fall behind.

Test it out:

this article to your friends.

Here is the original post from Facebook announcing the Send Button- http://developers.facebook.com/docs/reference/plugins/send/

Here is the link to the documentation for developers http://developers.facebook.com/blog/post/494