Paul Walsh, the Irish Opportunist

Dragon’s recruitment company fined for price fixing

Paul Walsh — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 09:09:53 +0000

Eden Brown, one of James Caan’s companies, was hit with a fine by the Office of Fair Trading today. Five other agencies were fined for acting as a cartel so they could price fix. The companies were also accused of a collective boycott of another agency in the supply of candidates to the construction industry. Hays Recruitment was hit with the biggest fine of £30m.

This is just one of many reasons why I NEVER use recruitment agencies. I really don’t like them (I’m being very diplomatic with my wording here!!)

More on the Sky News Web site.

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To protect or not to protect twitter updates?

Paul Walsh — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 18:02:48 +0000

I’m sitting in Le Pain Quotidien cafe wondering what I can work on until my cinema date at 8pm arrives and a wonderful tweet comes in from my good friend Jackie Danicki, inspiring this wee blog post. It’s obviously in response to someone complaining about how some people protect their twitter updates. Below is what Jackie said (because they’re protected, I asked if it was ok to quote her).

Astonished at how entitled some people feel to see others’ Twitter updates. I use Twitter for my uses; you use it for yours.

Protected updates mean I can converse with a small, intimate, trustworthy group. Would you crash a private conversation in a pub or home?

Just very puzzled as to why some people are so concerned with how others use Twitter. It’s none of your business. Move on.

This reminds me when I tweeted back in the early days that twitter was turning into a conversational tool. To which some replied ‘I think that’s stupid’. Why? Probably because they used it as one-way communication messages at the time (i.e different to how I used it).

I can understand why Jackie protects her updates, she’s a private person and only wants to communicate with people she knows and trusts. What’s wrong with that?

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Entrepreneurs are not entitled to anything

Paul Walsh — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 09:29:41 +0000

After leaving a comment on my buddy’s blog (the fantastic Pat Phelan), I thought it was worth posting it here as I feel quite strongly about this subject. In short, the debate is about the lack of support from the Irish Government when it comes to supporting startups’ attendance to industry conferences.

Read Pat’s blog post here

My thoughts

I agree governments (not just the Irish one, but others too as they’re all the same wherever you go) should do more to help small businesses - especially during the troubled times.

However, I think too many entrepreneurs feel ‘entitled’ to hand-outs in the form of grants and conference subsidies. It would be nice to be on the receiving end but there are so many conferences around the world it’s impossible to send everyone to every conference that ‘they’ feel is appropriate. I also think too many of them feel entitled to investment. Out of interest, I’d like to know how many entrepreneurs closed deals on the basis of partnerships and clients that will generate revenue, or investment. Setting aside the usual helpful networking and rubbing shoulders…

My advice, for what it’s worth, is to focus on generating revenue and use that to pay for events such as TC50 if they are that important. Personally I think most conferences are of limited benefit to startups. I’ve been to TC50 on a freebie thanks to the organizers and I really enjoyed hanging out with the usual suspects – but I didn’t close anything that generated more revenue for any of my businesses. That’s not to say it’s the same for everyone – but I bet the percentage of those who really benefited is/will be tiny.

Have you really got value for money from industry conferences?

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The Top Cats are back in town

Paul Walsh — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 13:10:30 +0000

I’m delighted to see the return of my favourite event of all time; Top Cats on 6 October, hosted by moi and sponsored by private healthcare company Galen Health.

As you might remember from previous posts, this strictly invitation-only event for CEOs, Founding Partners, Managing Directors, Senior Technology Providers, Brand Decision Makers, Investors and Media, is one of the most exclusive networking opportunities in London.

There are no formalities at Top Cats events and strictly a no-tie dress code will be implemented on the evening. It’s an informal gathering of like-minded people, many of whom end up collaborating on very interesting projects.

The venue for October’s outing is the Club Room at 1 Parliament Street, Westminster.

As part of their membership, each Top Cat is entitled to nominate two other like-minded individuals to join this lauded network each month. Each nomination is be considered based on strict criteria so that we can ensure the right people attend these events.

What is a Top Cat?

Established Agencies = Founder/CEO/Chair
Technology Providers & Brands (corporations such as Microsoft and the BBC) = Director/Head or other senior decision maker
Startups = Founder/CEO/Chair + secured VC funding or have a seriously good track record
Other = Publishers, Editors, Authors, TV Personalities, Establish Journalists, you get the picture…

To become a Top Cat, you must be referred by someone who is already a member. Unfortunately it’s not possible to apply directly with me or a member of Net.works, my new networking events company, under which, Top Cats now resides.

Please get in touch with kellybaker2@mac.com if you would like to sponsor and upcoming gathering.

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UK Young Interactive Entrepreneur award 2009 (UKYXE 09)

Paul Walsh — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:18:53 +0000

Applications for the UK Young Interactive Entrepreneur award 2009 (UKYXE 09) close on 7 September!

This is a good opportunity to take part in a tour of the interactive industry in India and to join the British Council’s growing network of creative entrepreneurs.

Their definition of ‘interactive’ includes digital and interactive multimedia, leisure software publishers, developers and marketing specialists; entertainment developers for the internet, digital television, radio and mobile phones, internet and web design and experimental media.

To be eligible you must be aged 25-35, resident in the UK and with at least three years professional experience. For further information please visit their Web site.

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Microsoft’s photoshop blunder: racist or stupidity?

Paul Walsh — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 00:25:34 +0000

Microsoft photoshopped a stock image to appeal to its Polish customers by replacing the face of a black man with that of a white. Visitors to the site in the US were presented 3 diverse business people. Polish visitors saw the black man replaced with a white man. The image wasn’t even professionally doctored. Perhaps they should have employed someone fom Adobe?!

To use different types of people for different terrortaries is one thing, but to actually photoshop an image like they did is another. I think.

Were they being racist or just stupid?

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EasyJet phone number is +44 871 244 2377

Paul Walsh — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 10:08:04 +0000

My online experience of EasyJet when trying to change my flight was pretty horrific. OK. That’s half true. The site wouldn’t allow me to change it and I was unable to find a phone number to call their helpline. So, true to my style, I turned to my twitter community for help. And as usual, they came up trumps - a user called flyawwway replied with the phone number +44 871 244 2377 within minutes. After less than 5 minutes on the call, I was put straight through to a human and my flight was changed. Problem sorted.

But that’s not all and this is why my online experience with EasyJet wasn’t entirely negative - minutes later on Twitter I received a response from easyJetCare - according to their profile, ‘ If you need any assistance, Paul and his team are able to offer support which can improve your experience when traveling with easyJet’. Paul from EasyJet continued the conversation online to ensure I was a happy customer.

I’m extremely impressed by EasyJet’s adoption to Twitter, as I was and still am, with Lastminute.com who responded in the same way when we had issues changing flights with them.

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Sam Sethi wins case against Michael Arrington

Paul Walsh — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 11:05:11 +0000

Not everyone will know this, but in December 2006, I broke news of Sam Sethi being fired from TechCrunch - I was on a skype call with Sam as the emails came in from Arrington. You could say that I’ve been closer to this entire debacle than anyone else over the past few years.

The pair have been battling it out publically since 2006. Actually, that’s not entirely true as Sam doesn’t blog. Mike has been taking shots at Sam with numerous character assassinations - he even published Sam’s legal proceedings against him on TechCrunch.

After all this time, Sam has finally brought his argument to a close by proving his side of the story via his lawyers. I’ve been sitting on this news as my buddy Dennis from ZDNet was given the exclusive. Arrington’s response was to do nothing, assuming he wasn’t affected by non-US legislation. Naive at best. Even Arrington’s latest post title says it all “Update On Sam Sethi Litigation: We Decline To Participate” - “participate” is an interesting word to use when talking about a legal proceeding against you. Arrington will be unable to visit the UK without the fear of being arrested - that’s a shame as I actually like him and looked forward to seeing him at FOWA later in the year.

I’d like to add a few points that you won’t read elsewhere on the Web however;

Contrary to what Rob Scoble told everyone at the time, he did meet with the Blognation legal team to discuss joining the blog network.
Blognation did secure a deal for funding (which would have paid all its estranged bloggers). The publication of Sam’s term sheet on TechCrunch was directly responsible for the Chair of said VC instructing his team to pull out of the deal. So, if it wasn’t for the TechCrunch post, all of Blognation’s staff would have been paid and the network might still be in existence today - competing with TechCrunch. Personally I thought Blognation was a fantastic brand with brilliant potential. I’d love to see it return and give TechCrunch Europe a run for its money. I’d subscribe!

There’s more to come, but again, I’m not allowed to share it with you at this time.

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Need a desk in London?

Paul Walsh — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 10:18:43 +0000

We have a desk available from July 14th at our office on Greek Street, Soho; heart of the creative district - you couldn’t ask for a more accessible location! Check it out on Google maps.

Cost = £390 per month
Value = desk, access to a colour printer, tea/coffee and the opportunity to collaborate with some fantastic people.

Open to people who work in the digital sector. Desks in our office normally go within days, but that said, I’d very much appreciate a retweet using the button to the left of the post title. Many thanks!

email sharlene@wubud.com for more information

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Social media rockstars visit London

Paul Walsh — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 11:28:36 +0000

I know July 5th falls on a Sunday but if you can, you must make your way to JuJu, 316 - 318 King’s Road, Chelsea, London, SW3 5UH to meet some of the best known social media experts from the US (and the UK). I highly recommend this event and have been asked to help promote it. You have just under 2 days to get a ticket for just £10 20 - which will get you food and drinks!

Who’s coming to town

To find out more and to register for the event, visit http://www.eventbrite.com/event/366118069

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