Ireland is a country of many wonders; it gave us Leprechauns and St. Patrick's Day. It's home to the greenest hills in the world and some of the world's oldest whiskey. The Blarney Stone, Guinness Beer and U2 call it home. James Joyce and Oscar Wilde were part of its great literary class. It is a country of relatively few that has spread throughout the world due to its great misfortunes, such as the potato famine.
Ireland has always been a little behind the times. It could be due to the fact that they have been living in Great Britain's shadow for the majority of their existence; it could be due to the reputation of "drink first, ask questions later." Whatever the reason is, Ireland is a step slow when it comes to change. Technology was and is no different. Even now Internet speeds are considerably slower than the rest of Europe and even below average as it pertains to the rest of the globe. Netindex.com shows internet speed over the past 30 days, and while the world average is 8.71 Mbps, Ireland comes in at only 6.12 Mbps. This is a microcosm of all things technology related in Ireland. There are still large parts of the countryside that rely on dial-up internet.
I have learned a lot about this country, home to my ancestors, and the most enjoyable and pleasing thing that I learned was that the Irish attitude towards life is to not take it too seriously. They work, they play, they drink, they laugh...and at the end of the day they enjoy what they have. I think a lot can be learned from this country and their overall attitude towards life.
"May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields,
And until we meet again,
May God hold you
In the palm of his hand."
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Top Irish Internet Sites
The internet in Ireland is ruled by Google according to the latest Alexa.com rankings. Not only is Google.ie the top site in Ireland, but Google.com is number two. Here is a list of the top ten sites being used on Irish internet services.
1. Google.ie
2. Google.com
3. Facebook.com
4. Youtube.com
5. Yahoo.com
6. Wikipedia.org
7. Windows Live (live.com)
8. Blogger.com
9. Twitter.com
10. LinkedIn.com
The first non-Google sites that actually have a European origin to them are #11 and #12 on the list as BBC.co and RTE.ie both being broadcasting networks; one in Britain and one in Ireland. This shows the power the internet has throughout the world as the top internet companies in Ireland are ubiquitous throughout the online world. 7 of the top 10 in Ireland are in the top 10 in world internet traffic. It looks like Earth has gotten a whole lot smaller.
1. Google.ie
2. Google.com
3. Facebook.com
6. Wikipedia.org
7. Windows Live (live.com)
8. Blogger.com
9. Twitter.com
10. LinkedIn.com
The first non-Google sites that actually have a European origin to them are #11 and #12 on the list as BBC.co and RTE.ie both being broadcasting networks; one in Britain and one in Ireland. This shows the power the internet has throughout the world as the top internet companies in Ireland are ubiquitous throughout the online world. 7 of the top 10 in Ireland are in the top 10 in world internet traffic. It looks like Earth has gotten a whole lot smaller.
Debted to Death
In a sinister twist, the banking collapse that has left many people in Ireland unable to pay their bills (mortgages, loans, etc) has now caused many people to take their own lives as they are being hounded constantly for payment from those same banks.
While many of these debts have been written off by the banks, they still chase after and harass those responsible for paying on them. This has led to suicide on numerous occasions and now the Master of the High Court is speaking out about it.
Edmund Honohan has called for a changing of many laws that are currently is place, so as to protect the many people who feel socially and legally ostracized due to their ever increasing debt. Saying "a new level of debt forgiveness needs to be introduced," Honohan also thinks that legislation needs to be passed so that the effort of the banks isn't in chasing down people that can't pay, but instead in reforming a broken system that has caused this catastrophe in the first place.
While many of these debts have been written off by the banks, they still chase after and harass those responsible for paying on them. This has led to suicide on numerous occasions and now the Master of the High Court is speaking out about it.
Edmund Honohan has called for a changing of many laws that are currently is place, so as to protect the many people who feel socially and legally ostracized due to their ever increasing debt. Saying "a new level of debt forgiveness needs to be introduced," Honohan also thinks that legislation needs to be passed so that the effort of the banks isn't in chasing down people that can't pay, but instead in reforming a broken system that has caused this catastrophe in the first place.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Impact of Technology
With the mainstreaming of many new technologies over the past 20 plus years the question has become whether this technology is an overall positive or negative. In many small towns across Ireland the question still doesn't have a decisive answer. While the positives are many (improved medical service time, transportation, information on the go) that now seem impossible to be without, there are also drawbacks (loss of tradition being the main one, more people leaving the countryside).
While these technologies are now commonplace to the larger cities of Ireland, rural communities are still living in a 1990s state of being. Internet in Irish rural communities is less than satisfactory and dial-up is still used in a near majority of the residencies there. This would be completely unacceptable here in America, and it goes to show the differences that rural communities still face in smaller European countries.
Cell phone use has mainly positives in the rural setting. With the ability to call out at anywhere at anytime it has made the agricultural world a much easier thing to manage. Product can be redistributed and redirected with a certain ease now that everyone is reachable and that eliminates miscommunication problems that have plagued the rural set for many decades.
Many people see technology as something that is either inherently good or inherently bad, and what most situations prove to us over and over is that technology is only as good or bad as the people who are using it. Rural Ireland has made great strides in everything from medical services to better work efficiency because of the inclusion of cell phones and the internet and that can only be seen as a very good thing.
While these technologies are now commonplace to the larger cities of Ireland, rural communities are still living in a 1990s state of being. Internet in Irish rural communities is less than satisfactory and dial-up is still used in a near majority of the residencies there. This would be completely unacceptable here in America, and it goes to show the differences that rural communities still face in smaller European countries.
Cell phone use has mainly positives in the rural setting. With the ability to call out at anywhere at anytime it has made the agricultural world a much easier thing to manage. Product can be redistributed and redirected with a certain ease now that everyone is reachable and that eliminates miscommunication problems that have plagued the rural set for many decades.
Many people see technology as something that is either inherently good or inherently bad, and what most situations prove to us over and over is that technology is only as good or bad as the people who are using it. Rural Ireland has made great strides in everything from medical services to better work efficiency because of the inclusion of cell phones and the internet and that can only be seen as a very good thing.
Global Branding
There are more than 26 McDonald's in the Greater Dublin region of Ireland. The country of Ireland is home to 77 total McDonald's restaurants. The first McDonald's was opened in Dublin in 1977.
McDonald's is a perfect example of the use of extensive advertising. Over the years they have went from big named stars, to new ideas, songs and slogans, always staying relatively fresh in their approach.
This first commercial is from the mid 1970s and includes one of the first instances of McDonald's slogan about the big mac: Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun.
In the early 1990s McDonald's got a huge boost with the release of the Michael Jordan-Larry Bird shootout commercials. McDonald's was already dominating the market at this point, but this was a feather in their cap as they had the biggest superstar in the sports world now marketing their product.
Ireland has recently got in on the "suppose to be funny" part of the McDonald's marketing campaign with commercials such as this one.
This first commercial is from the mid 1970s and includes one of the first instances of McDonald's slogan about the big mac: Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun.
In the early 1990s McDonald's got a huge boost with the release of the Michael Jordan-Larry Bird shootout commercials. McDonald's was already dominating the market at this point, but this was a feather in their cap as they had the biggest superstar in the sports world now marketing their product.
Ireland has recently got in on the "suppose to be funny" part of the McDonald's marketing campaign with commercials such as this one.
The Royal Wedding
A surprising statistic came out after the Royal Wedding on April 29th of this year: Ireland ranked number 1 in internet searches (excluding England) of the term "Royal Wedding." Will the chilly, often cold relationship of these two countries this comes as a great surprise. Prince William and his wife, Kate Middleton are famous far outside the United Kingdom...especially next door.
Google Trends is a site that tracks the web searches done by country, thus allowing us to see what many Irish wouldn't freely admit: they are very curious and interested in the English Royal Wedding. The future King and Queen of the United Kingdom outpaced searches for "Osama Bin Laden killed" more than one whole week after the wedding had happened.
A lovely day that was watched the whole world over...even by those who have long held a less than pleasurable view of the royal family.
A lovely day that was watched the whole world over...even by those who have long held a less than pleasurable view of the royal family.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Response to Bin Laden's Death
In Ireland there was a general consensus that this was an event to celebrate. The Taoiseach (or prime minister) of Ireland, Enda Kenny, remarked "The removal of Osama Bin Laden’s ability to plot heinous acts is a major achievement in the effort to rid the world of the threat of terrorism." Kenny pointed out the many "countless deaths" that Bin Laden had been responsible for were not without justice.
Not surprisingly, the most interesting response was that of the Arab world. Ireland's RTE News reports that many in the Arab world are skeptical of the story that has been currently reported. "'Are we sure that he has been killed?' said Tehran shopkeeper Ali Asghar Sedaghat. 'Or is it another game of the Americans?'" Also, many from the Middle Eastern countries believe that this doesn't end Al-Qaeda, but instead brings it more power.
Omar Bakri, a Lebanese Sunni cleric, mourned Bin Laden as a martyr: 'His martyrdom will give momentum to a large generation of believers and jihadists. Al-Qaeda is not a political party, it is a jihadist movement. Al-Qaeda does not end with the death of a leader. Bin Laden was first the generation of the Qaeda and now there is a second, third, fourth and fifth generation.'
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