Last week we asked our readers what their favourites websites were and here are the responses we got:
A nice mix I think you’ll agree.
We are getting a delivery of new mugs today. Here is the prototype, accompanied by the superior dunking biscuit, a hobnob.
We would like to giveaway a few mugs. All you have to do is tell us what your favourite websites are and why. Enter by leaving a comment on this blog post or on our facebook page.
I’m thinking, beautiful design, great functionality or maybe just quirky or funny.
Also in case you were wondering Sam in Digiprints printed these mugs for us
This giveaway is only open to residents of the Republic of Ireland and entry will close Friday at 5pm. Looking forward to your suggestions!
You maybe interested to learn that t2 have created a facebook fanpage. If you are interested in becoming a fan please click here. There may be t2 mug in it for you.
I posted some images of snow covered Carlow to get the ball rolling.
Snow business equals no business? Or does it?
In the last few days I have witnessed many strange sights such as a man doing the splits on the ice at the driveway entrance to Dunnes in Graiguecullen, thermometers reporting temperatures of -14 degrees, grown women eating snow as though it were ice cream.
Roads are treacherous, bus and rail services are interrupted if not cancelled, cars have been abandoned on the side of the road. By and large people are stuck in their homes. If they are lucky their cupboards are laiden down with non perishable goods. Huzza for beans and tuna!
All conversation is based around frozen water pipes, bad roads and what random products can be used to grit the footpaths. The oddest I have heard to date is cat litter.
So the whole country has come to a stand still. Or has it?
Barrow Valley Cleaning Products, t2’s next door neighbour, Â tell me that they have sold out of all ice related products. My uncle, who owns a furniture shop in Co Cork, informs me he has had a rush on electric heaters. Here at t2 the wonderful world of the world wide web has kept us open for business. I may be the only one physically in the office but through the magic of email, skype and all sorts of fabulous digital technologies our world keeps turning.
On the Ray Darcy show this morning they said we haven’t had weather conditions like this since 1982. In 1982 being snowed in meant being snowed in. It meant being cut off from the outside world. Â Not now though. Nowadays we can work from home, we can get real time information from the likes of AAroadwatch and Irish Rail on twitter and all from the comfort of our fireside. Gone is the uncertainty that comes with having to wait for the 6 o’clock news for updates on road conditions. Â Being snowed in 2010 means no rest for the wicked. It makes me wonder whether these icy conditions will inspire an avalanche of people to work from home? Did you see what I did there…avalanche…snow….never mind.
Having said all this as I am the only one actually in the office today I can’t fight the feeling that all my colleagues are at home alternating teas with hot whiskeys and dashing in and out between emails to build snowmen and indulge in the odd snowball fight.
To see our photos of snow in Carlow visit t2’s facebookpage.
They are at it again. This morning I received a letter from the German based Internet Register Ireland inviting me to update t2’s listing on their site.  The long and the short of it is it will cost you the princely sum of €958 for this pleasure.
See blacknight’s blog for scanned letter
The internet register Ireland will hound you with letters threatening legal action if you fill in this form and return it without payment.
This scam has been around at least 3 years now. Find more info on the IIA blog
I was recently sent a link to this website , www.portablenorthpole.tv All of us here in t2 headquarters thought this was absolutely adorable and wanted to share it with the world. Â Basically you input information about a loved one, adult or child, say whether they have been naughty or nice, what they would like from Santa etc etc and you get sent a link to a personalised video message from Santa Claus himself.
It is awesome
Here is one I created for Andrew my brother / t2’s MD.
This is incredible. Search using pictures from Android enabled phones. This seems so futuristic. I’m blown away.
One thing I have noticed while working for t2 is that often people struggle to supply us with text content for their website’s. A lot of the businesses we work with are SMEs and write the copy for their websites themselves. For that reason I decided to make this video with my top 5 hints and tips on writing content for the web.
At a time when businesses are being starved of finance from Irish banks, here at t2 we are bucking the trend by expanding its business via an alliance with another leading IT consultancy.
We have formed a new partnership with IT provider Business IT Solutions (BITS) also based in the same region. The strategic partnership will produce synergies to see both companies achieve significant growth throughout the southeast.
The new business alliance will result in t2 managing all aspects of website development, internet marketing projects and in-house development of proprietary software for both sets of clients. Meanwhile, BITS’ expertise in the areas of IT sales, support and consultancy will be brought to bear on the management of PC and server networking, data recovery and IT maintenance for t2’s client base.
The agreement enables both Bits and ourselves to play to key strengths and remain focused on their respective areas of service delivery. Andrew, our MD says “This partnership with BITS will effectively combine our talents and allow each of us to concentrate on key skill areasâ€, commented Tobin. Gavin Dixon, managing director, BITS added, “We see this alliance with t2 as enhancing earnings and adding value to the BITS brand as well as bringing opportunities to extend our reach in Leinsterâ€.
Founded by Andrew and Jane Tobin, t2 was named one of Ireland’s top three SMEs at the National Enterprise Awards last year and was the only non-Dublin based business to be shortlisted for Web Development Company of the Year at this year’s ICT Awards. The company services a range of local and national clients and has undertaken research and development projects leading to the creation of a unique proprietary software package now available in both the Irish and UK markets.
Established by Gavin Dixon in 2001, BITS provides IT sales, services, support and consultancy to a broad range of business sectors throughout the southeast. Located in Kilkenny, the company currently employs five and anticipates that the new strategic partnership with t2 will see the company double its workforce over the next three years. T2 anticipates its headcount will increase to 12 over the same period. BITS will take office space at t2’s base in Carlow from this month while maintaining its Kilkenny HQ, thus increasing its presence in the southeast.
Bits -Â www.bits.ie
Tekpak Automation is a Wexford-based company that designs and manufactures robotic loading machines and packaging lines for companies. Tekpak is also the UK and Ireland distributor for Imball, an international manufacturer of carton and case erecting and closing machines. Tekpak’s clients - which include Green Isle, Northern Foods, R&R Ice Cream, the Greencore Group and Heinz - are primarily based in Ireland, although some of its customers are located in places like Poland and Nigeria. Tekpak employs a team of ten, made up of full-time employees and contractors. It also has a support office in Leeds in the UK.
The company is currently pushing its presence online, and to this end the SME - with help from developers at web design agency T2 - has launched a new website. Tekpak has also started a blog and opened up a channel on YouTube. “We are just throwing out as big a net as we can to try and catch potential opportunities. We want to be seen as a progressive company and progressive manufacturer, one that is at the forefront of our industry,” says Marketing Director Imelda Kehoe.
Tekpak’s revamped website, launched in June this year, is the focal point of the company’s online marketing strategy. Through the new site, web surfers can access videos, download catalogues, view case studies, subscribe to a newsletter, read a blog and contact the company.
T2 handles the technical aspects of the website, such as tailoring flash animations, but Tekpak’s own staff update the site using a content management software tool. The website has proven a big success, and Tekpak is about to close a EUR150,000 to EUR200,000 contract with a new client - a deal which Kehoe attributes directly to the online revamp.
“We did have a website before but it was just bits added on here and there and there was no cohesion to it, so we completely revamped the website. The main objective was that it would be a dynamic showcase for the business, so if we do a new project we put video footage, pictures and everything up online,” says Kehoe.
Prior to launching the new site, Tekpak’s web presence did not rank highly in Google’s search results. Now, some 47 percent of visitors access Tekpak’s website via a Google search for terms like “packaging line manufacturer”. This is important for the company as it means potential customers, who have never heard the name Tekpak, can more easily find the SME.
“That is what we didn’t have before - our website wasn’t coming up on many searches because we hadn’t really been updating it in any meaningful way. T2 have an SEO specialist there and we talk to them regularly. They are going to come in and do some training with our staff so that everybody can be up to speed,” says Kehoe.
Tekpak also markets its site - and by extension the company - using Google Adwords (a pay-per-click advertising tool) and it runs search engine ad campaigns in its target markets. The SME also keeps track of which keywords and campaigns are effective and how people are accessing its website with Google Analytics (a web analytics tool).
“We check with Analytics every two or three days to see that our ad campaign is running efficiently. We can see who is looking at our website and where they are coming from. It is giving us real-time data on our website and where it is ranking in terms of search engines,” says Kehoe.
While Tekpak’s website forms the core of its online presence, the SME also uses a number of other e-business tools. The company has a YouTube channel, where it uploads videos of its products for clients to see in action. The firm plans to push this online channel as a way to communicate with clients, and potential clients, around the world.
“The format for YouTube means that anybody can access that from wherever they are in the world. You can send them a link via email and they can see a real working example of what you do,” says Kehoe.
Tekpak also recently started a blog, where its staff offer their opinions about things like industry exhibitions. “The purpose is to give a bit more of a personal aspect to the business. It gives other people - suppliers and end-users - the chance to ask us questions and to send in any observations to us,” says Kehoe.
Tekpak has also started a company newsletter that goes out regularly via email. It includes case studies and tips for those in the industry. After the last edition, Tekpak saw a spike in traffic to its website. “We could see, looking through Google Analytics, that on the day the newsletter went out there was a huge increase in traffic because people were clicking on various links in the newsletter,” says Kehoe.
Tekpak is planning several other e-business strategies. The SME wants to improve the catalogue download section of its website and facilitate a way for clients to log in and access specific documents. It also wants to tie in its CRM software to the website so staff can work more efficiently.
There are some e-business tools Tekpak has chosen not to use, however. For example, Kehoe points out that micro-blogging service Twitter would not be appropriate for the business at present. “You have to do whatever is specific to your industry. You have to pick the tools that you think are going to suit you, rather than jumping on the bandwagon and choosing something that is new just because everybody else is doing it,” she says.”
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