The Irish Tech News Podcast

Great interview with climate change campaigner, artist and activist Donna Cooney, green Councellor, by Melanie Boylan. Follow Donna on Twitter here https://twitter.com/donna_cooney1 More about Donna I have been a community activist for 25 years, working to protect Dublin Bay, the Promenade, St. Anne’s Park, and Fairview Trees & Park. I have campaigned against bad developments; improving our area with cycle-ways, playgrounds and sporting facilities. A founder of Dublin Bay North Repeal the Eighth, I am committed to equality and climate action. More about Melanie https://twitter.com/STOMPSMTraining Over the years I have worked with SME, FMCG and State Bodies I'm delighted to say I now support and train all sizes of business and my business has grown with my clients. I provide Adult Education and support for people in Business. With my many years of experience in promoting services and charities in Ireland and the UK; I have been very fortunate to establish a strong network of contacts and over the years have learnt how best to promote a business online and improve their social media scoring. Creating a professional image and maintaining it is the crux of a great marketing plan and is instrumental in today’s climate in making your business stand out, I can tailor my services to your requirements. Over the last few years I have started working in other areas I have a genuine passion in. I have been avid writer for a number years and started working as a Freelance Writer with Irish Tech News since 2016 and StartUp Mindset since October 2019.

We have lived through a massive opportunity for learning and growth. We can change our habits, climate change didn’t go away and we must use 2020’s lessons to engage with it. Going forwards tech must include social, ethics and purpose. We need to use this time as a launch pad for a positive, engaged and conscious 2021 and beyond. https://congregation.ie/ Key Takeaways: 2020 is a massive opportunity for us to change our habits climate change didn’t go away and we must use 2020’s lessons to engage with it tech must include social, ethics and purpose use this time as a launch pad About Congregation Congregation 2020 #cong20 will be a one day online 'mindmesh' designed to foster links between attendees from very diverse backgrounds and create deep discussion and dialogue. Central to the event is earned entry via a submission posted on the site in advance, the use of social venues and huddles and the serendipitous connections that form. All attendees present during the day creating a common bond that is enhanced with plenty of networking time. The theme for 2020 is 'Society 3.0'. Our Mission Congregation is a knowledge exchange platform. Our mission to encourage the sharing of ideas, methodologies, techniques and industry insights that you might find useful and that you could apply be it in your personal journey or in business. We live and breath technology and ideas.

With the pandemic forcing a lot of us to work from home, we are relying more and more on technology. However, there are times when we may have problems with the technology that we are relying on. Ronan talks to Louise McKeown the Marketing Director at Magnet Networks. Louise talks about Magnet Networks new gigabyte broadband service, aimed at remote workers and its talk to a human technical support guarantee. Louise also talks about how 2020 is the right time for remote working as we have the technology to support this, and why working in the office won’t be like it used to be.

We catch up with Eoin Kennedy ahead of the upcoming 8th CongRegation. This year's theme is Society 3.0 See more on their website here https://congregation.ie/ What is Congregation? One day virtual mind mesh festival of thinking, sharing and connecting. Celebrating its 8th year, CongRegation™ #cong20 (Nov 21st), will be a virtual event due to Covid-19 restrictions. With the theme of ‘Society 3.0’ we are looking for curious minds from a range of diverse backgrounds/sectors who will share their unique perspective of our society – where we have come from, what we have become and what we want in our future. We are treating the theme in its broadest form from psychology, technology, personal experiences to methodologies and ideas. We want to hear how people see, experience or what they think of “Society”, be it a personal one, business or career transition. One of the key components of CongRegation™ is the diverse background and thinking of attendees and this includes technologists, psychologists, business people, start up community, academics, visionaries, disruptors and sector specific from farming to manufacturing. Tickets are earned via a submission on the theme which will be debated in virtual huddles on November 21st 2020.

Fascinating and important insights about bees, both in the US and globally with Sam Droege from the US Geological Survey Bee Inventory Monitoring Lab BIML- We are an online museum for bees/insects/life. All Public Domain. Contact:sdroege@usgs.gov Comment Policy:http://tinyurl.com/hr9aebb www.flickr.com/photos/usgsbiml The link to the images for their amazing Instagram pictures https://www.instagram.com/usgsbiml/ More information about the image used -> This is Euglossa imperialis it, like the rest of its clade of shiny orchid bees, has a long tongue, actually ... this species has a particularly long tongue even compared to other orchid bees. Pretty simple. It sucks nectar with that long tongue from deep throated flowers that other bees often can't reach (because they usually have dinky lapping tongues). As a male it does not gather pollen, but it does have a trick that other bees don't have in that tucked into its expanded hind tibia is a little sachet (note: this is not a technical term) that it stashes various smelly oils and other chemicals to woo orchid bee women. In the American humid tropics they are big time common (as a group). Tim McMahon (whose gets his bank as a government engineer, but in his heart is a complete bee head) collected this in Costa Rica on his annual pilgrimage. Photo by Jade Louis #usgs #orchidbees #orchidbee #euglossa #tongue #longtongue

Fascinating conversation with Jennifer McConnell, general manager of Irish Seed Savers. We cover Irish seeds, apple trees, Stalingrad, biodiversity, Khazakstan, Syrian courgettes, and much more. Listen and learn more about how Irish Seed Savers are helping people all over Ireland and beyond to preserve genetic diversity, bio diversity and to also reduce 'seed miles'. Learn more about their work here http://www.irishseedsavers.ie/ and follow them on Twitter here https://twitter.com/IrishSeedSavers Become a supporter here -> As a supporter you will receive these yearly benefits: 7 FREE packs of organic seed 10% off apple trees 10% off workshops 2 big newsletters, summer and winter Free admission all year round We grow, conserve, & distribute Irish organic vegetable seeds, grains and fruit trees. Irish Seed Savers Association is a registered charity. See here to join. http://store.irishseedsavers.ie/Supportership_s/59.htm

Interesting conversation with Tony Robinson, known as the Happipreneur Twitter https://twitter.com/TonyRobinsonOBE See more on his website here https://tonyrobinsonobe.com/ More about his book ‘The Happipreneur – Why #MicroBizMatters?’ is the sequel to ‘Small is Beautiful’ Two years ago while I was touring with my ‘Micro is Magic’ Show, Taryn Lee Johnston and I began writing this memoir and guide. Schumacher’s influential work has been an inspiration for me and many of my heroes, such as Dr Ernesto Sirroli, also featured in the book. Schumacher wrote about ‘economics as if people mattered’ but our book is about ‘enterprise as if people cared’. How can we live happy, enterprising lives and be useful to others? Everyone who wants to be more enterprising, no matter what size or type of organisation they work in, will find it practical and useful. This book and my ‘Happipreneurship #Rocks’ keynote talk are for everyone, everywhere. Leaders, parents, teachers, academics, students and all who wish to help people be more enterprising will love it too.

Earlier in the year, Ronan spoke to Lisa Murphy Head Of People In Scurri about remote working in the new COVID-19 world, and a lot has changed since then. We have come out of lockdown and recently gone back into lockdown. Ronan catches up with Lisa to see what has changed since they last spoke. Lisa mentions how they coped in our first lockdown, moving back to working in the office when that lockdown ended and how Scurri and their clients are coping with the new lockdown just as the busiest 2 months of the year for them is starting.

Great interview with Garry Connolly, one of the originators of the Irish DCs for Bees initiative. More about DC's for Bees An industry initiative led by Host in Ireland to help save Ireland's declining bee population. The people of this industry are looking to make a difference. This initiative gives them the opportunity to not only make an individual difference but the tools to educate, advocate, create awareness and take action. https://www.hostinireland.com/dc-s-for-bees Garry is the President and Founder of Host in Ireland, a strategic global initiative created to increase awareness of the benefits of hosting digital assets in Ireland and Irish companies delivering international data centre projects. A self-proclaimed “stubborn digital optimist,” Garry is a much sought-after keynote speaker, panellist and moderator at global industry events.

Interesting interview by Melanie Boylan with Joel Hansen who is a Marketing Advisor. 2-Time TEDx Speaker, Linkedin advisor and Creator with 10m+ views. Also at BoardofTrade, CYP Comms Chair. Canadian Entrepreneur and Coffee enthusiast. More about Joel I'm an entrepreneur, recognized marketer advisor and social media speaker focused on helping CEOs/Executives grow their personal brand to drive real life impact in their community. I currently work as a Marketing Advisor, Communications Chair for the GVBOT, Linkedin as a Youth Editor and regularly advise leaders of recognized brands on how they can start and grow a successful personal brand📱 By having the opportunity to speak on the TEDx stage in Vancouver and Romania (virtually) and partner with brands like Uber, Amazon, Slack, Microsoft, Adobe, Hootsuite and Airbnb on unique initiatives, I've learned how brands can articulate their message to attract and empower their community 🚀 In the last couple years, I've directed events and large scale conferences, like CIMC, which brought together 600+ marketing execs and 45+ speakers. With my background, I've worked with over 300 vendors/speakers across North America. On Linkedin, I've produced content on an individual and corporate level that's earned 10m+ views with some stories gaining 1m+ impressions alone (featured below). On the project front, I've collaborated with brands such as the LA Clippers, Translink, Best Buy, Vancouver Canucks, Prezi and Adobe to develop initiatives that drive brand awareness and earn media attention 💻 More about Melanie Over the years I have worked with SME, FMCG and State Bodies I'm delighted to say I now support and train all sizes of business and my business has grown with my clients. I provide Adult Education and support for people in Business. With my many years of experience in promoting services and charities in Ireland and the UK; I have been very fortunate to establish a strong network of contacts and over the years have learnt how best to promote a business online and improve their social media scoring. Creating a professional image and maintaining it is the crux of a great marketing plan and is instrumental in today’s climate in making your business stand out, I can tailor my services to your requirements. Over the last few years I have started working in other areas I have a genuine passion in. I have been avid writer for a number years and started working as a Freelance Writer with Irish Tech News since 2016 and StartUp Mindset since October 2019.