I spent a couple of days designing a charity newsletter last week. The newsletter will go out a handful of times a year, updating donors on how their money is being spent, and telling the local community what services are on offer. I wasn’t paid. I volunteered. It’s for a good cause, I get to… Continue reading »
Aug
30
Aug
29
Stop the presses
Irish schools should abandon textbooks in favour of online educational content, says Fergus O’Dowd, FG education spokesman. “Texas and California are investigating the use of ‘open source textbooks’, providing approved digital texts online, written by educational experts such as retired teachers but made available for free or at a discounted price for printed versions,” he… Continue reading »
Aug
28
Changing Times
“There’s no revenue model for journalism on the web.” Or at least, so Geraldine Kennedy told Charlie Bird this morning. Twitterfolk listening in to the show were quick to react.”Old school thinking,” said Adrian Weckler, Sunday Business Post technology editor. “Is perhaps a little too used to economics of an ageing generation.” Mark Little pointed… Continue reading »
Aug
26
Down the tubes
A couple of weeks ago, I uploaded my first video to Youtube – a montage of photographs taken at the Glencolmcille Agricultural Show, set to a music soundtrack by Eunan McIntyre, a local musician. Being a journalist, and living with copyright issues, I first checked with everyone that it was okay to use their work.… Continue reading »
Aug
23
Hairetikos
So I’ve got some unleavened bread here. To some people, it’s just a piece of flour, mixed with water and heated. And to some people, it’s the body of a god, sacred beyond imagining. Plain unraised bread, made without yeast or other raising agent, is ‘unleavened’. A few years ago, a Florida student called Webster… Continue reading »
Aug
12
How to turn your blog into a Press Agent
So you want to get the word out? Maybe you’re a political party, or an advocacy group, and you’ve got an opinion you want others to hear. But it’s a crowded market, so how do you get your voice heard over the others? Well, you could start with a blog. No, this isn’t an argument… Continue reading »
Aug
06
Natural Causes
Christopher O’Driscoll was seventeen. The HSE knew about him since he was ten. Since then, he had been in and out of care facilities, an when they were full, bed and breakfasts, or hotels. On May Day weekend last year, he had nowhere to go. The administrators had shut down their computers, closed their offices,… Continue reading »
Jul
22
Future Imperfect
A few weeks ago I went wandering around a few recruitment websites. I ended up at Suite101, “an interactive online magazine home to expert and reader commentary.” Suite101 were looking for writers. From what I can gather, Suite101 are always looking for writers. I filled out the form, sent it off into the cloud, and… Continue reading »
Jul
13
26 months later
In May 2008, retired High Court president Freddie Morris recommended that a Committee be set up to “formulate and recommend the policy to be implemented in respect of investigative interviewing by the Commissioner of An Garda Síochána on an ongoing basis in all its respects, and make such recommendations from time to time in relation… Continue reading »
Jul
10
Creating a national interest
There’s a better way to choose the Seanad. In 1925, the Seanad was directly elected by all the people. There was a single nationwide constituency, covering the 26 counties. And since emigration is starting up again, many emigrants should have a vote too. The count would take a while, but that’s hardly a logistical problem… Continue reading »