Editorial
The Hub came across this interesting piece of viral humour:
In many ways, it has something legitimate to say about the archetypal nature of storytelling. Although some believe that there is only one story and just many different versions, Christopher Booker in his brilliant book, “The Seven Basic Plots” whittles down the archetypal motifs to a more substantial seven basic story outlines that have been present with us since cavemen began scrawling pictures on their cave walls.
These are: Overcoming the Monster, Rags to Riches, The Quest, Voyage and Return, Comedy, Tragedy and Rebirth. Each of these stories in their most powerful forms, he argues, has an integral purpose of trying to convey to the subconscious mind of the audience the importance of integrating the ego with the self. Booker, as you can see, is an unapologetic Jungian but his argument still is very strong. If we look at the fables and fairytales that we tell our children when they are young, it easy to spot the archetypal messages and symbols that subconsciously equips them for the trials of adult life. |
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Take a simple tale like “Jack and the Beanstalk”: the impoverished Jack is sent by his mother to the market to sell their last cow. On his way, he is tricked by a travelling salesman into swapping his cow for a handful of “magic” beans. On his return, his irate mother throws the beans out the window. The next day, much to Jack’s amazement, he awakes to find a large beanstalk which towers up into the sky. Climbing the beanstalk, he endures three trials before confronting the ominous Giant. Fleeing from the Giant with a new found treasure – a Goose that lays golden eggs – Jack chops down the beanstalk and the Giant falls to his death. Jack and his Mother live happily ever after.
Booker points out in his book a number of interpretations of this story. Firstly, there is the Freudian reading which leans heavily on the “Oedipal complex” theory: A mother-fixation, a barren cow, a phallic-beanstalk and the murder of a large over-bearing father figure. Enough said. Another interpretation is the Marxist interpretation which sees Jack as representative of the down-trodden proletariat being exploited by the free market, rising up and bringing down the capitalist apparatus and stealing back “the means of production”. Whatever the interpretation, it is clear that these stories run deep and resonate in our culture and that is why they have lasted the test of time. |
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So what does this have to do with Digital Media? Well, Booker raises an interesting point about what he perceives as a paradigm shift that has taken place during the last 200 years in terms of popular storytelling. In keeping with his Jungian standpoint, he argues that the majority of popular stories over the last two centuries have become fixated with the ego and increasingly have moved away from the standard archetype which inevitably seeks the happy communion of the masculine and feminine. Hollywood comes in for the most scathing criticism in this regard where Booker critically assesses the “sentimentalization” of the archetype by the dream machine in Los Angeles. When compared to Shakespearian plays – probably the most powerful canon of archetypal stories – Hollywood has manufactured stories that pander to the ego and often fail to provide the necessary tools of self-fulfilment for the protagonist so that they might rightfully earn their reward. Thus we have the constant push for a “happy ending” which often draws yawns from an audience but seems to be a staple of the modern blockbuster from Top Gun to Armageddon. A tragedy like Romeo and Juliet, where both hero and heroine die for love, just simply would never be made in Hollywood – unless, of course, it was a re-make of the original story.
Now as we enter an age of profound technological advancement, highly realistic interactive storytelling has become ever more possible. This, of course, puts the storytelling firmly in the hands of the ego (the user) and potentially erodes further the real power of storytelling – i.e. to convey to the audience the underlying “truisms” of life. The great storytellers – and the great stories – have stayed with us because they powerfully communicate a fundamental “truth” that is common to all human existence. So does interactive storytelling – whether through games or virtual worlds – remove the authorial voice? Will it simply allow the ego to run riot in an orgy of wish-fulfilment? Yes and no is the answer. All narratives – whether linear or interactive – are constructed and thus all have some sort of authoring to them. Even the word “author” is a term uncomfortably shared between literature and computer-programming. Kingsley Amis, I am sure, would think that one of his novels had little in common with the source code of a game, but both can be described as being “authored” none the less.
The challenge for the new medium is how to construct interactive environments that emotionally engage with users on a deeper level – just as linear stories have done for generations.
The more common first person shoot ‘em up or racing games on Games Consoles hardly engage with the user emotionally. Instead they become test grounds for skill, agility and hand-eye co-ordination – in much the same way as aircraft simulators help to train pilots. It is perhaps the Role Playing Games – especially the Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games - which will truly bring about a revolution in narrative as they become more mainstream. Games like World of Warcraft, Lineage and Star Wars Galaxies carefully craft over-all storylines that engage and draw their users into a larger tapestry of event through an interactive narrative where each users action and re-action has a “butterfly” effect on the overall story. It is the collective users that become the overall “authors” in tandem with the creators. |
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In many ways it is a much more pluralistic and democratic approach to storytelling which neither negates user input nor the creator’s input. In a way, the creator makes the rules and the user gets to operate “free will” within the constraints of those overall rules. Much like life really, if you believe in God! So whether these kinds of narratives can re-engage with the archetypes will be interesting to see. In some ways they are like a giant cave painting with each painting being an individual expression while also being an intricate part of an overall story. Technology merely becomes the cave wall against which we project our own fears and anxieties in an attempt to engage with a deeper truth. Perhaps then everything has changed and nothing has changed.
Animation, Games & Visual FX
“Animation inspires games. Effects merge with film. Science conspires with art. Imagination and reality converge...” This is the headline for the FMX 07 (www.fmx.de ), the 12th International Conference on Animation, FX, Realtime and Content taking place in Stuttgart, Germany between the 1st and 4th May.
Prey Alone – Saint and Mather
The conference offers a range of audio-visual professionals from the commercial and the academic sector a chance to exchange ideas, experiences and insights on the creation, production and distribution of digital cinema, believable characters and interactive entertainment. The conference aims to explore new trends, new markets and new opportunities through a symposium of lectures on film, TV and games. Delegates will also get a chance to experience new tools, new standards and new workflows, meet new people, talk with peers, learn new tricks, pitch new projects and recruit new talent.
If you can’t make the Conference, the Darklight Symposium (http://www.darklight-filmfestival.com/) will be running a similar workshop event around the same theme during its overall symposium from June 21st – 23rd 2007. This essential event is specifically aimed at people who are interested in film, art, programming, the Internet, networked communities, digital arts, gaming, animation, music and the entertainment industries. |
The convergence of animation and games technologies (including Visual FX) offers a huge opportunity for Ireland which has developed individual expertise in these areas already. The animation industry, as we’ve seen in previous editions of The Hub, is booming. In the past five years, we’ve seen two short Irish animations nominated for Oscars – Brown Bag Films with Give up Your Aul Sins and Ruairi Robinson’s Fifty Percent Grey. Likewise, Ireland has had a number of successes in the area of gaming technologies with the likes of Havok and Demonware (recently sold to Activision) and also success in the mobile space with the rapidly expanding mobile games company, Nephin Games.
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Although, this country isn’t know for its post-production and visual FX, we do have a number of recent accolades that sometimes go under the radar. For example, the TCD Lecturer with the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, Dr Anil Kokaram, recently won an Oscar Award for his work as consultant with UK-based software developer, the Foundry, on the development of visual effects software for the film industry. |
Also, since January 2002, two time Oscar Award Winner Tom Johnson (Titanic & Terminator 2) has relocated to Ireland and is based at Ardmore Sound in Bray.
What has not happened in Ireland, unfortunately, is a meaningful convergence of minds around these areas. Ireland still has quite a traditional approach to content creation which hasn’t as yet grasped the developing synergies between the sectors and the opportunities that digital convergence offers. In terms of special FX, audio-visual Post-production companies rarely work on Hollywood films (with the exception of Ardmore sound) and have concentrated their bread and butter on the advertising sector, television and the odd low-budget Irish movie. However, there are a number of highly skilled professionals who have worked on high-budget movies now residing in Ireland. In terms of games, there are no independent games publishers of any note in Ireland and Ireland has not really created a break-through console game, although there are strong localization skills in the country. Achievements to date in the games sector have been largely around middleware and in-game technologies. The animation sector is still dominated by the traditional thinking seeded by the Sullivan Bluth studio and Ballyfermot College, with the majority of companies concentrating on building up small independent studios dedicated to servicing linear broadcast animation television series. Collaboration between these sectors is rare – and if it does happen, it is usually within a traditional service model.
However, with events like the Darklight Symposium and through initiatives like The Digital Hub and the Digital Media Forum, this convergence is beginning to happen at another level. Graduates from the plethora of multimedia courses in the Institutes and Universities are now looking at the media in a different way. The concept of cross-platform integration is no longer a novelty, it is merely accepted. More and more, content creators are using the new technologies to create and distribute their stories – be it short films, machinima or web animations – and mainly for free.
Small animation companies like langerland.com, D.A.D.D.Y. and Del.9 have emerged from the colleges and set up as collectives, working both for hire and for fun, turning out eclectic content online for a growing fanbase. |
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What needs to happen now is that this burgeoning skill base needs to move up the food chain and make in-roads into the traditional territories such as film, TV, animation and even games – as well as define new convergent sectors.
Dun Laoghaire College of Art, Design and Technology
Likewise, we need to see the same convergence being mirrored in academia. Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology is a fine example of this process where a National Film School sits beside an animation school and a technology faculty. Although they have a bit to go in terms of promoting the convergence through their internal structure, they are already making headway with a new incubation facility, the recently launched MediaCube and a soon to be launched Masters programme in Digital Media.
The impact of digital technologies has meant that a remarkable opportunity has opened up for Ireland if we can grab it quickly enough. At the recent Content Forum hosted by Enterprise Ireland, James Morris, the Chairman of the Irish Film Board and owner of Windmill Lane Pictures, outlined two distinct opportunities for Irish film-making: One was the low-budget model, represented by the success of John Carney’s “Once” at the recent Sundance Film Festival where it took the prestigious Audience Award. The film was made on a shoestring of about €150,000 and shot entirely on small HD Digital Video cameras. The other opportunity - and at the other end of the scale - is Digital Backlot films such as the recent movie, 300. This movie was made for the modest budget (by Hollywood standards) of $70 million in a converted aircraft hangar in Montreal and has gone on to garner nearly $200 million worldwide in its first month of release, giving its backers Warner Brothers serious return on their investment. Such movies were thought of as niche and risky since the relative failure of the Sci-Fi flick “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow”. But since Robert Rodriguez helmed Sin City, the idea of a digital movie made in a garage becoming box office gold has become a reality.
George Lucas, something of a visionary himself, has made the prediction that by 2025 the average movie within the cineplexs will cost only $15 million. What that means is that anyone can compete with the hegemony of the Hollywood studios if they have a good enough story because the technology required to make it will be so accessible. This is because of the convergence of animation, visual FX, real time rendering and gaming technology that we are witnessing at the moment. It is this which is leading us to the real possibility of an in-the-box solution for blockbuster film-making. |
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Ireland has all the requisite skills to be on top of this wave of innovation: software and middleware experience, skilled workforce, animation design skills, a strong story-telling and audio-visual culture, a desire to invest in R&D etc. All that is required now is that the various stakeholders get together to make it happen. Because if they don’t’, someone else, somewhere else, will.
News
March 26th: Independent evaluation finds that digital hub learning programme is a remarkable success story of creativity and innovation in action
An independent evaluation of digital media learning programmes, which have been rolled out in schools and the community since 2002 by The Digital Hub, has found a marked increase in levels of digital literacy among participants. The evaluation was launched by Noel Dempsey TD, Minister for Communications, Marine & Natural Resources at an event in The Digital Hub on March 26th.
The Digital Hub’s learning programmes – delivered through the Diageo Liberties Learning Initiative (DLLI) – operates in 15 schools and 17 community groups in Dublin’s Liberties and beyond. The objective of the initiative is to bridge the ‘digital divide’ and ensure that the people of the Liberties can benefit from The Digital Hub being located in their neighbourhood.
Among the findings of the evaluation is that The Digital Hub’s learning initiative has raised the level of achievements among students who are academically weaker. The evaluation has found that The Digital Hub’s approach - which comprises a high level of targeted, professional education and development for teachers - has resulted in increased confidence among teachers who are using technology in the classroom.
As well as operating in local schools, the initiative is delivered in the local community of the Liberties. The evaluation found that much of the success of the programme is the involvement of local people in designing the courses themselves.
According to Philip Flynn, Chief Executive Officer, Digital Hub Development Agency, “the success of the community projects has raised the level of confidence and ambition among participants, and according to this evaluation, 46% expect to seek employment in the digital media sector, while 44% intend to go on to further education.
“The evaluation points out that the initiative is a model of best practice for schools and communities in tackling the “digital divide” using a creative programmatic approach. It has achieved positive outcomes for pupils, teachers, residents and community organisations.
“We have been aware since the beginning of the learning programmes that they are making a significant impact on local schools and the local community. Now we have evidence to back this up, and this will help us to continue and grow the programme.
To date, the programme has been mainly funded by Diageo Ireland, with significant support from the National Centre for Technology in Education (NCTE) among others.” A number of public and private sector organisations have partnered with us to deliver the programme. Without the support of Diageo Ireland and the NCTE in particular, we would not achieved this success. This evaluation provides them with proof of the value of their investment, while giving us the information needed to attract new partners.
“One of the findings of the report was that the public-private sector funding method used meant that the funding levels and resources that were able to put in place within the timeframe were far in excess of anything that an education or community initiative alone could have hoped to attract”, said Mr Flynn.
According to Michael Patten, Corporate Relations Director, Diageo Ireland, “the resources that we were able to provide through our funding meant that outcomes of the Diageo Liberties Learning Initiative even exceeded our very high expectations for the programme. We worked very well with the Digital Hub Development Agency and the findings within this evaluation report is a testament to this great work and partnership.”
A bursary to support talented and highly motivated students to pursue studies in digital media was also launched at the event. The William Burgess bursary has €100k committed over a three year period, and will provide support to talented and highly motivated students in digital media. The Bursary which has been set up in memory of William Burgess, former Chairperson of Digital Hub Development Agency, is funded by the family of William Burgess; Digital Hub Development Agency; FINEOS Corporation Limited; IONA Technologies; Irish Business and Employers Confederation (IBEC); IBM and The Ulster Bank Group.
February 23rd: The Digital Hub and Belfast City Council call for entries for Dare to be Digital 2007
The Digital Hub and Belfast City Council, with support from the Department of Enterprise Trade and Investment’s Building Sustainable Prosperity Programme, called for entries for Dare to be Digital, the premier computer games design competition for third level students.
The contest, which is sponsored in Ireland by Digital Hub Development Agency and Belfast City Council, is a competition for third level students on the island of Ireland, to design their own video game. Ten students will be selected to represent Ireland in the international Dare to be Digital finals, which is hosted by Abertay University in Dundee, Scotland.
The winning teams, which will be selected in early June, will spend nine weeks developing their game in Queen’s University, Belfast. During this time they will receive mentoring and support from the very best in the Irish gaming sector. At the end of the nine weeks, the team will travel to Dundee where their game will be showcased at the International Dare to be Digital Awards Ceremony, which is a highlight of the computer games industry calendar.
Michael Hallissy, Director of Learning, Digital Hub Development Agency said, “There are now more reasons than ever for teams to get together and enter Dare. The track record of previous participants shows how very highly regarded it is within the computer games industry. This is the fourth year that The Digital Hub has supported the competition, and the enthusiasm and standard of entries is increasing every year.”
“The Digital Hub houses five gaming companies – Havok, Pop Cap Games, Eirplay Games, Groove Games and Gala Networks Europe. As the preferred location for the gaming sector in Ireland, we are very keen to support the Dare to be Digital competition. These companies are having a significant impact on the international market, and it is essential that we work with these companies and the third-level sector to ensure that Ireland is best placed to take advantage of the growing gaming sector,” said Michael.
Brendan McGoran, Creative Industries Officer at Belfast City Council comments: “Dare to be Digital is an exciting opportunity to showcase local talent in the creative sector at an international level. Belfast City Council recognises that the creative industries is a major growth sector and contributor to wealth in the economy and initiatives such as this will provide a unique platform to harness individual talent, develop business ideas and further enhance the development of this exciting sector.”
Dare to be Digital has established an enviable reputation for producing high-grade talent. Teams from previous years have gone on to set up their own game development companies selling products to the world’s major publishers. Individuals who have taken part in Dare have also been snapped up by major international games companies such as Lionhead, Electronic Arts and Microsoft, as well as Dundee-based developers such as Realtime Worlds and Denki.
Contestants from last year’s competition are now working for Codemasters, BBC Scotland, Rockstar North, Electronic Arts UK and Electronic Arts Shanghai.
Applications for Dare to be Digital 2007 can be made via www.daretobedigital.com
t: 01 4806200
February 20th: Digital Hub will rely on community views as the project’s development accelerates
The Digital Hub Development Agency has said that the delivery of a new city quarter in the Liberties and Coombe area will be shaped by the views and input of the local community, as well as enterprise and public sector representatives.
Unveiling the Project’s Development Plan (today 20/02/07) – which is the blueprint for the delivery of the Digital Hub project over the next five years – the Agency’s Chief Executive, Philip Flynn said, “community, enterprise and public sector representatives have painstakingly agreed twenty-eight principles that will inform the shape of the Digital Hub Project as it rolls out. These principles range from providing education and enterprise opportunities for local people in the digital media sector to preserving the unique heritage of the buildings within the South West Inner City.
The plan sets out the aims of the project, as well as comprehensive targets, across three key headings: Enterprise & Research; Community, Education & Training and Property & Heritage.
“Over the coming months and years, as the delivery of the Digital Hub Project accelerates, we will be constantly referring back to the representatives from the community, enterprise and public sector for their views and opinions. This way, we can achieve a unique international centre for digital media research, innovation and enterprise development, while making the South West Inner City a vibrant place to live for the existing community and those who may choose to settle here in the future.
The Digital Hub Development Agency was established in 2003. The First Phase of the Project’s development - incorporating the completion of commercial arrangements for the major construction work, as well as implementing enterprise developments and learning initiatives – was delivered by the end of 2005. The Second Phase of the project commenced in 2006 and will be completed by 2012. This Phase will oversee the delivery of a complete city quarter based on digital media enterprise. The Development Plan will underpin this Phase of delivery.
“During the first year of Phase Two we oversaw a 44% increase in the number of companies locating at the project. There are now 76 digital media enterprises based at the project, ranging from new start-ups to international companies, including Zamano and Amazon.
“The growth of The Digital Hub in 2006 has consolidated our reputation, in Ireland and abroad, as one of Europe’s most desired locations for companies in the digital media sector. Approximately 25% of companies currently located in The Digital Hub are foreign direct investment. We expect this to rise significantly as the benefits of locating in The Digital Hub continue to attract international digital media companies.
“All the while, as we have been getting the project off the ground and implementing our enterprise aims, some of The Digital Hub’s greatest success has been at community level. In particular, a number of learning programmes are operating in 17 local schools and a number of local community groups in the Liberties. Digital Media education for the local community is a key delivery of the project, and we continue to deliver on this remit everyday,” said Mr Flynn.
Tune into Digital Hub FM
Digital Hub FM will be broadcasting on 94.3FM across inner city Dublin from its studio in The Digital Hub. Tune in every Friday from 10th November to 15th December 2006 and 26th January to 22nd June 2007.
Digital Hub FM will also broadcast live on the Internet. For more information on the wide range of programmes in Digital Hub FMs schedule and to listen live online visit: www.digitalhubfm.com
Events
April 30th: Creating Accessible PDF Documents
Location: Engineers Ireland, 22 Clyde Rd, Dublin 4.
Price: 2pm
Price: EUR95 Members (EUR145 Non-Members)
Although using the PDF format is one of the easiest ways to deliver documents on your website, it can create significant difficulties for people with disabilities - undermining your efforts to create an inclusive web presence and to achieve full conformance. How can you continue benefiting from the convenience of PDF while ensuring that the documents you create are accessible? And how do you go about fixing the documents that are currently on your site?
More info: events@iia.ie Tel: 087 292 3333
http://www.iia.ie/events.asp?eventid=122
May 1st: Is Your Website Paying for Itself?
Location: Abbey Court Hotel, Nenagh, Co. Tipperary
Time: 1:45pm
Price: EUR20 Members & Non-Members
The IIA and Tipperary North County Enterprise Board bring you a half day seminar dedicated making your website pay for itself and are delighted to introduce eBay as the keynote speaker.
More info: events@iia.ie Tel: 087 292 3333
http://www.iia.ie/events.asp?eventid=137
May 10th: Irish Internet Association - Internet Marketing Best Practices
Location: Engineers Ireland, 22 Clyde Rd,Dublin 4
Time:9:30am
Price: EUR255 Members (EUR365 Non Members)
The IIA and Online-Marketing.ie present a full one-day course that reviews all the key techniques needed in order to execute a successful and effective Internet Marketing strategy. The course will include 4 distinct modules: Search Engine Optimisation; Pay Per Click (PPC) Advertising; Metrics for Marketing Success & Increasing Conversion Rates; E-Mail Marketing. The course is relevant to those with little previous experience of Internet or Online Marketing but with the desire to make it work for their business. Lunch is included in the course price.
More info: events@iia.ie Tel: 087 292 3333
http://www.iia.ie/events.asp?eventid=132
May 8th: Explaining AJAX presented by Jeremy Keith
Location: The Clarence Hotel, 6-8 Wellington Quay, Dublin 2.
Time: 7pm
Price: Free
Renowned Technology Author, Web Developer and Conference Speaker, Jeremy Keith presents a seminar focusing on AJAX. The presentation promises to be of immense interest to all people involved in web development. Jeremy's presentation will explain the ins and outs of AJAX, its power and its shortcomings. There'll be some code but, more importantly, there'll be a look at some of the design challenges that AJAX presents. AJAX is a powerful tool. In the wrong hands, it can wreak havoc on a site's interaction design. In the right hands, it can be a great aid to usability. This event is being hosted by Eden Recruitment.
More info: cormac@edenrecruitment.ie Tel: (01) 4744533 Fax: (01) 474 4501 http://www.edenrecruitment.ie
May 9th: it@cork Blog Training Series
Location: National Software Centre Boardroom, Cork
Time :9:30am - 10.30am
Price: Members EUR50 non-members EUr100
The it@cork Blog Training Series is back. Facilitated by one of Ireland's best known bloggers, Tom Raftery will teach you all there is to know about Blogging. This course runs for five 1 hour sessions from May 9th at 9.30am in the National Software Centre in Mahon Cork. Topics to be covered include how to set up and optimise a Blog?, RSS searches, hosting and how to podcast. According to Paul Whiting, ACS who completed the course last year, 'Tom was really knowledgeable and presented the topic in a relaxed format.'
More info: catherine.wall@itcork.ie
Tel: 021 2307011 http://www.itcork.ie/index.cfm?page=events&eventId=93
May 10th: The Business Implications of IT Security
Location: The Guinness Storehouse, Dublin
Time: 8am
Price: Free
Intertech Ireland in partnership with Forrester; Microsoft and Citrix are hosting an executive breakfast briefing on The Business Implications of IT Security. This event is an opportunity for you to network with other senior IT people who share your IT Security issues. The objective of the information exchange is to provide you with an executive summary on industry direction, best practice and advice on how to meet the challenges to your business posed in today's IT Security ecosystem.
More info: oodea@interirl.com Tel: +44 2871 269991 Fax: +44 2871 308885 http://www.intertechireland.com/index/seminar_reg
May 10th: Irish Internet Association -- Internet Marketing Best Practices
Location: Engineers Ireland, 22 Clyde Rd,. Dublin 4.
Time: 9:30am
Price: EUR255 Members (EUr365 Non Members)
The IIA and Online-Marketing.ie present a full one-day course that reviews all the key techniques needed in order to execute a successful and effective Internet Marketing strategy. The course will include 4 distinct modules: Search Engine Optimisation; Pay Per Click (PPC) Advertising; Metrics for Marketing Success & Increasing Conversion Rates; E-Mail Marketing. The course is relevant to those with little previous experience of Internet or Online Marketing but with the desire to make it work for their business. Lunch is included in the course price.
More info: events@iia.ie 087 292 3333 http://www.iia.ie/events.asp?eventid=132
May 10th: Trigger-Based Selling for CEOs, Sales Directors, and Entrepreneurs
Location: Red Cow Hotel, Naas Rd, Dublin 22.
Time: 7.30am - 9am
Price: Free
Every day buyers in your target market experience a trigger event that puts them into a more favourable buying mode. Research shows you are five times more likely to make a sale when you get to these motivated buyers before your competition. Trigger-Based Selling identifies, finds, and creates the triggers that put buyers in this more favourable buying mode and repeatedly gets you in front of these motivated buyers before your competition. The creator of Trigger-Based Selling is coming from North America to put on this special event. Come learn how Trigger Based Selling can help you: Identify what these trigger events are; Find out when these trigger events happen, and; Close more sales when the trigger events do happen.
More info: aspirecoaching@eircom.net Tel: 087 435 3847
http://triggerbasedselling-michael.eventbrite.com
May 17th: IIA National Congress 2007: Buy, Sell and Do Business Online
Location: Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel, Killiney, Co. Dublin.
Time: 9am
Price: EUR195 Members (EUR245 Non Members)
This year's IIA Congress will analyse the upward trend in eCommerce and online transactions in order to facilitate Irish companies really do business online. International and local speakers from leading Internet ventures such as Google, Microsoft, eBay, Hostelworld, Bank of Ireland and Realex Payments will explore the issues and benefits of doing business online and help you get ready to do likewise. The congress will feature case studies and delve behind the online trends tracked by the IIA. Early Bird rates available until 30 March.
More info: events@iia.ie Tel: 087 292 3333 http://www.iia.ie/events.asp?eventid=129
May 24th: Internet Marketing for 21st Century Businesses
Location: The Citywest Hotel, Saggart, Co. Dublin.
Time: 9:00am
Price: EUR90 (SME), EUR295 (Large)
This seminar overflows with ideas, tips, insider secrets and strategies for turning your website into a highly trained 24/7 global sales executive. Presented as a programme of the 2007 National Centre of Excellence, the seminar will teach you how to design and build effective internet marketing campaigns for sales lead generation. The seminar is non-technical and is aimed at owner managers in the SME sector and senior marketing management in larger companies.
More info: seminars@praxisnow.ie Tel: 01-2360076
http://www.praxisnow.ie/NCE.htm
May 24th: 'Take the Cost Out' Building cost effective IT infrastructures
Location: Shelbourne Hotel, Dublin.
Time: 9am
Price: Free
Oracle and Dell host a seminar on building cost effective IT infrastructures It will address how organisations can improve business efficiencies whilst removing cost from their IT infrastructure. The event will be based on an interactive discussion with Dell and Oracle experts and will incorporate presentations on advances addressing the operational, management and security challenges encountered by IT managers. You will hear from joint Oracle/Dell customers who will share their experiences built around this solution set.
More info: register@dell-oracle.com Tel: +44(0)118 979 2800 http://www.dell-oracle.com