Piaras Kelly PR - Public Relations in Ireland

Technology presumes there’s just one right way to do things and there never is - Robert M. Pirsi
2005 was the year of hype for tools like blogs and podcasts. 2006 will be the year to see if either of them live up to their billing. Of the pair, I’m not so sure that […]

Journalism largely consists in saying “Lord Jones is dead” to people who never knew Lord Jones was alive - G.K. Chesterton
There used to be a layer between traditional media and citizen journalism, in that people would ring into radio shows with their stories or contact newsrooms about an event and journalists would ultimately decide whether […]

He who trims himself to suit everyone will soon whittle himself away - Raymond Hull
I say it time and time again, but the Internet is holding organisations and individuals to a higher degree of accountability and transparency. Here’s another couple of great examples.
Tuppenceworth.ie shows how Irish MEPs voted for the Data Retention Directive. […]

John Collins has a really interesting review of Irish tech media marketplace in 2005 on his site. If there’s any one sector that is feeling the impact of the war between paper media and electronic media, it has to be Irish technology journalism.
2005 was quite interesting for me because it was my first […]

You can never plan the future by the past - Edmund Burke
One of the most important resources any PR practitioner can have is a list of events for the coming months. At the end of the day, you’re constantly competing with other organisations for coverage and there’s no way you can forecast what they […]

Journalism is organized gossip - Edward Eggleston

This picture of Roy Keane signing for Celtic says a lot (image via the Irish Times). Just look at everyone around him. There’s one press photographer in the background, but he is outnumbered by a dozen fans all snapping shots with their camera phones.
The day of the […]

The absolute fundamental aim is to make money out of satisfying customers - John Egan
Google is one of the companies being linked with the vacant Manchester United sponsorship at the moment. Some people think that it makes sense, but I think it would be a tremendous waste of money. Google is actually one […]

When it comes to getting things done, we need fewer architects and more bricklayers - Colleen C. Barrett
I think task management is the most important skill anyone that works in a PR consultancy needs. You have to balance the demands of multiple clients with journalists’ deadlines and service providers’ requirements.
One of the ways I […]

Press Release Irelandoffers free online press release services to Irish companies, organisations and Govt. bodies.”
I haven’t used it yet, but will try it out shortly. The website claims that it is easy to add press releases via their content management system.
Obviously it is aimed at delivering content to journalists who can subscribe to email […]

The Golden Pages is Ireland’s leading business directory. For years it has stagnated somewhat. I occasionally use their website, but the majority of copies of the directory are used to prop things up in the office or bundled into the corner.
However they’ve redesigned the website and are hiring a whole array of staff. […]

Treat every customer as if they sign your paycheck…because they do
The Dell Hell saga as reported by Jeff Jarvis is often held up as an example of the impact of Social Media on companies. Advocates of blogging say that companies should listen to what key influencers like Jeff Jarvis or Steve Rubel are saying […]

Whenever an individual or a business decides that success has been attained, progress stops - Thomas J. Watson Jr
When you try explaining the benefits of blogging to most people, they don’t quite seem to get it. In fairness, if you don’t use the Internet to research shopping decisions or get advice, then you may […]

Customer service is awareness of needs, problems, fears and aspirations
In my opinion Flickr, an online photography site, is one of the most undervalued market research tools there is around. It offers companies a chance to see how consumers are using their products, as well as offering them the chance to show of their goods […]

Every day is an opportunity to make a new happy ending
Les Blogs was a bit of an eye-opener when it came to networking. Thankfully Fergus Burns, CEO of Nooked, was at hand because he is a master of networking. I don’t know how he does it, but Fergus knows everyone and is only […]

The object of education is to prepare the young to educate themselves throughout their lives - Robert Maynard Hutchins
I have written an Introduction to Blogs for Irish PR practitioners (PDF). The document is going to be made available to all PR students in Ireland thanks to Carmel Doyle, my lecturer when I was in […]

Won’t somebody think of the children? - Reverend Lovejoy’s wife
If you listen to what is being said about the youth of today, a lot of the talk is about child obesity and falling moral standards. Some of the explanations for these phenomenons include the lack of parents in the home during the day and […]

Advertising is the art of making whole lies out of half truths - Edgar A. Shoaff
I heard that Eddie Hobbs had launched a blog, but a quick trip over to his site shows that he has duly been misinformed. For those unfamiliar with Hobbs, he is immensely popular in Ireland for his Rip-off Republic […]

The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t being said
Before Social Media really came onto the scene, virals spread across the Internet thanks to email. The only problem with email is that you have to know the sender or somehow be connected via six degrees of separation with the originator of the […]

The downside of being at Les Blogs earlier in the week was that I missed the launch of Digital Rights Ireland. All went well with their launch and they are now going from success to success.
I was waiting in the reception area of NewsTalk 106 earlier today with a client, when who walked in […]

War grows out of the desire of the individual to gain advantage at the expense of his fellow man - Napoleon Hill
The figures are out and Herald AM has drawn first blood. Independent Newspapers’ freesheet distributed 66,047 copies, while Metro Ireland only gave out 55,196 copies. While Herald AM may be claiming a […]

A customer is the most important visitor on our premises. He is not dependant on us – we are dependent on him
Some of you may remember my post about my troubles with DVDSoon. They have now gone bust so anyone that was waiting on a refund has lost their cash. That’s €50 that […]

I love using quotes. I don’t know about you, but using a line or two to encapsulate a bigger idea always resonates with me. It’s also a good way of connecting with your audience.
The budget speeches at Dail Eireann, Ireland’s parliment, offered a perfect example of this in action. Richard Bruton, the […]

Authority without wisdom is like a heavy axe without an edge, fitter to bruise than polish - Anna Bradstreet
I attended Les Blogs in Paris this week and it was an eye opener to say the least. It’s great to see so many people involved in some pretty exciting projects. I was there to […]

Location, location, location
One of the bad things about being in France for Les Blogs earlier this week is that I ran out of battery power for my mobile phone and my laptop. One of the stories that I had hoped to break was a fantastic new feature Ireland’s most popular property website, Daft.ie, has […]

It’s not what you know, it’s who you know
I’m in the process of updating my contacts in light of some of the people I met at Les Blogs. After playing around with the service, I’ve come across some other people I know that I didn’t think were on the network.
If you happen to be […]