M-Commerce... More Than Just Phoning Home

It isn't that long ago since I was in primary school, fascinated by playing sports and games such as bulldog in the schoolyard during lunch-time. Then one day, my life changed forever.... ok, maybe that's an exaggeration but I still remember the first time I had seen someone my age with a mobile phone. Sure this Nokia phone looked like a painted brick and felt just as heavy, everyone was in awe at this creation.

Soon everyone had phones for texting and ringing friends in the yard, playing games like snake as well.. technology seemed incredible at that time. Today, however we look back and snigger at how unsophisticated those early mobile phones are. They simply pale into significance with today's sleek products.

What good is a phone nowadays if it doesn't have 3-D games, a calculator, a map, Wi-Fi,e-mailing capabilites, applications such as facebook and bebo, a massive song selectipon and a digital camera. If only E-T had lived to see it. There would be no need for him to phone home when he could simply send an e-mail, text or post a message on facebook instead!



This phenomenon known as Mobile Commerce has simply exploded around the business world. Any sort of product or service can be bought on a mobile device turning these wireless products into a mini computer. It is a consumer's dream as the now have the internet located in their pockets basically.

Of all the latest phones have internet capabilities such as Wi-Fi or 3G that allow more people than ever to connect to the net. This also makes buying products much easier for people and businesses have been quick to catchon to this. For example, I own an iPhone and it is just so easy for me to make transactions over the internet. I can download a song from iTunes onto my phone in under 30 seconds while thanks to applications such as Amazon and eBay I can now bid for and purchase items without even having to turn on my computer.

I think it is getting to the stage where I can't live without my mobile device. I am absolutely addicted. I spend more time trawling through facebook on my phone than on my laptop, I have bought more songs on my phone than on my laptop and now when I want to find out any information I simply search Wikipedia on my phone rather than on my laptop. Now that I can think of it , I really do spend so much more time on my phone than my laptop. My laptop is becoming so obsolete that I don't really need it and considering I need money, I should really think about selling it.

Any takers???............

NAMA? Who's That?

As the days counted down until my erasmus year began, I was excited but a little bit nervous at the same time. I had a feeling that I would miss out on so much when I was away.. like not going out with friends and having fun or playing football with my team. Something in my head was telling that I was missing out on so much when I'd be away.

And so it proved when I arrived home for Christmas. I couldn't put on the television or the radio without hearing about the Kings of Leon or Twilight. Like when did the Kings of Leon get so BIG and what the f**k is Twilight?? Why is everyone going crazy over some English boy with strange hair? ''It was a book and now it's a movie''... ooh that's that questioned solved!

But the major change in Ireland pre and post-erasmus has been the bursting of the Celtic Tiger's bubble. It was pretty much a case of ''Hear no evil, see no evil'' in Portugal but now that I'm home I can't really ignore the recession or this widely over-used word NAMA any longer.

Being a business student, I really should have an interest in NAMA but I don't, to put it bluntly... so it's a bit of an effort to have to read about it. So what I found out is that NAMA stands for National Asset Management Agency. And like Mr. Ronseal would say ''It does exactly what it says on the tin!''.


It will function as a ''bad bank'' which will handle property loans for the 6 main banks in Ireland in return for government bonds. Banks with property loans looked like a great idea when the economy was doing so well but now that many debtors are suffering so much becaused of the recession, these loans are under-performing to say the least becoming a liability more so than an asset. ''Toxic Assets'' are what they are known as although that kind of sounds like a really bad Sylvester Stallone movie! While I think referring the NAMA as a bad bank rather than a good bank is an ominous sign for the future!


NAMA has come in for a lot of criticism since its announcement. It seems like the taxpayer(that's you and me!!) are having to pay for what are the bank's problems. This seems incredibly unfair on us as surely the banks should have anticipated that life would not be so rosy forever.. like my mother always says ''you have to save for the rainy day''. Well it looks like the banks paid no heed as they are drenched!

Of course, time will only tell if NAMA proves to be worthwhile. For the time-being I think it is right to be very cautious and apprehensive about the validity of NAMA. The government think that they are sending out the right signals when they say that NAMA will completly restructure the Irish economy and make it more stable. Of course, this would be fantastic considering the state we are in, but taking into account what has happened in the past concerning our government and with BIFFO in charge especially, I am quite sceptical that everything will go according to plan.....

Religion in Modern Ireland - An Ecumenical Matter

I think it's clear to everyone of a certain age that Ireland is a completely different country from even 15 years ago. Even people my age, realise that although we may not remember the bad oul days, we do appreciate how much Ireland has developed in the last 15 years into becoming a powerful country, well thought of around the world.

This is a far cry from the Ireland of old.. a poor country run by the Catholic Church. Ever since the days of Celtic paganism to the Christianization of the country in the 5th century, Ireland has had a strong relationship with faith and religion. Signs of our religion are prevalent everywhere in our society, from streets, gaelic clubs and schools being named after saints to our national holiday, catholicism has long provided the structure for Irish society.

Recently however, cracks are beginning to form in what is now a fragile relationship.

Ireland is one of Europe's most religious countries but the future of Catholic Ireland isn't as assured as it once was. Statistics show that half of Irish priests are aged between 55 and 74 while many many parishes struggle to replace many retired or deceased priests with younger men.

I feel there are 2 main reasons for this decline in religion in Modern Ireland. The first of course is the sex-abuse scandal which I don't want to dwell upon. It has shocked Ireland to the core as more and more sordid details begin to emerge. It really has rocked the faith of Irish people in our Church. Many people are turning their back on the Church because of this and can we blame them?

The second reason I feel is due to the Celtic Tiger. 80% of Irish people attended mass in the 1980's but since the growth of the Irish economy in the mid-nineties, I believe many of the younger generation have come to worship money as our saviour rather than God. Greed had taken over our society as many believed that they could solve their problems just by throwing money at them. I think this New Ireland forgot what their faith was all about by getting caught up in materialistic things.

But as the good times begin to fade and the reality of the recession sets in, I believe that religion has a bigger role than ever in guiding Ireland through the unknown. Many people are returning to Church to look for guidance through the pain of lost jobs, money etc. I feel that religion and having faith provides people with the strength that they need to get through the hard times. Even when, people no longer went to mass during the boom years, I think that they kept their faith.

Not only is Ireland a nation of religious people, we are a spiritual people. We see examples of this everywhere.. from our soccer team playing against France and our rugby team winning the Grand Slam, to many people returning to college after losing jobs... we are known throughout the world for our fighting spirit... The Fighting Irish!

I think Ireland is still a religious country as we are now beginning to realise following this recession that our faith and hope are what motivates us.. not power and money.

The Social Networking Phenomenon

It is amazing to witness how the internet has changed peoples' lives. Shopping can be done online, bank accounts can be checked from the comfort of your own home, you can watch the latest movies before they even reach the cinema. It really is mind-boggling to realise how much we rely on the internet. I don't even want to imagine what my life would be like without it, while I think the vast majority of my peers feel the same.

We now spend most of our free time telling friends and family what we are doing through the medium of the internet. Social networking is on a continous upward curve as more and more people give in to pressure and decide to outline every single facet of their life online. Surely the creators of the internet did not have this in mind when they created it so many years ago.

Right now, it is hard to find someone who hasn't joined some sort of online community such as facebook, myspace or bebo. In fact I'd probably be shocked if someone of my age told me that they didn't have some sort of profile online.

I think, the success of social networks are in the fact that they provide people with a platform, a platform to air to views on any topic or opinion that they feel strongly about. It is a place where people can vent their frustrations or simply get something off of their chest. It is no secret that humans love to be heard. We thrive on it. We want people to take notice of us. We want our peers to listen to our views. We want to gain a reaction, touch a nerve with people even. Every action has a reaction and in voicing our opinion we expect to be challenged. It's life and it is all part of our social interaction with each other.

Of course, we could all voice our opinion face-to-face but who would listen?? The internet provides a platform for our freedom of speech. If someone has no interest in responding to a controversial status update on facebook for instance then they won't, but there are others who will want to and that's what instigates a debate.

Social networking lets us pick our debates and that's what makes people interested. Why have an argument with someone in a pub over a topic that you have no knowledge of when you can just go on a football forum and talk about Thierry Henry's blatant cheating, or cunningness depending on what your opinion is!

Like or loathe it, networking has had a huge social impact throughout the world, blurring the lines of privacy in our lives but it seems that people are willing to take this risk of lack of privacy to have their voices heard.

Down with this sort of thing!

There are numerous times in one's life when they are so uncomfortable, that they can't help but squirm.. like when you watch Titanic with your family and halfway through it Kate Winslet is staring through the tv at you with no clothes! Or when you are in primary school and you are learning about sex eduacation for the first time. Well, I can add another such moment to that list. Looking at the video in E-business class of the viral video about the porn industry isn't such a pleasant experience but why I wonder? What do all of these things have in common???

The answer is sex of course!!! S-E-X! Sex remains quite a taboo subject in Ireland, we may not like to admit it in the 21st century but we are still quite a conservative country. With this in mind, it's quite reasonable to believe that Irish people (and myself included) really had no idea how big the porn industry is throughout the world. With an estimated $57 billion revenue world-wide, pornagraphy has in some ways lead the way in how companies market themselves on-line with a revenue of $2.5 billion.

It seems difficult to contemplate how sex has shaped the intenet until you read the facts abnd figures. Stats of significant interest to me were that 25% of all internet searches are related to porn while 12% of websites online are of a pornagraphic nature. To me and I'm sure many others, this is quite surprising as it just seems like a whole other world, a seedy underworld almost that we barely recognise even exists.

But it does exist and in some ways has revolutionised the internet. Leading the way in video streaming,security, sign-ups and payment systems is no mean feat and rather grudgingly I kind of have to give props to the men behind the industry because as stupid as it may seem.. they must actually be very astute businessmen!! People may demand that there is no room in society for pornagraphy. Of course it can be degrading to women and I'm sure men also. But on the flip-side the money generated by it, creates jobs, keeps businesses afloat and pours money back into the economy.

So maybe porn is here to stay, and some would say rightly so, but I think it is something that doesn't belong in the mainstream and I don't even think it will get to the stage in my lifetime where it will become mainstream, well I hope not anyway cause I'm not sure I would want to live in a world that is some sort of Dystopia.

But if it did, I would be the first one to back Father Ted and Dougal up... Down with this sort of thing!!!!!!!!!!!

P-P-P-P-Pressure

Is it just me or is time flying? It's November already and that can only mean one thing... PROJECTS!!! Agggghhhhhh.. even just the thought of it makes me squirm.

It's fourth year now too so that means no more half-hearted reports completed the night before. We really have to put a lot of effort into these projects to take the pressure of the Christmas exams. With 4 projects due in the next few weeks, I really don't have a spare minute for anything else right now.. so it probably doesn't really make sense to be blogging right now!


However, I wouldn't be a normal student if I wasn't struck down with the most dangerous of all ailments... Procrastination!! Half the problem seems to be trying to figure out where to start? Or which project to start on? T.Q.M., Global Purchasing, International Business/Trade and of course the E-Business project on 'The Company Who Must Not Be Named'. Oh.. Decisions, decisions or P-P-P-P-PRESSURE depending on what frame of mind you are in.

Pressure - noun

1.a pressing or being pressed; compression; squeezing
2.a condition of distress; oppression; affliction
3.a sense impression caused by or as by compression of a part of the body
4.a compelling influence; constraining force social pressure
5.demands requiring immediate attention; urgency
6.a.atmospheric pressure
b.blood pressure
7.Obsolete a mark made by pressing; impression
8.Physics force per unit of area: abbrev. P

For me, the first two points seem the most applicable.. I definitely feel pressed or squeezed by the amount of work we have to do and I suppose I am getting a bit distressed at the thought of actually doing a bit of work for once!

Well, that's my idea of pressure but maybe Queen and David Bowie can give a better explanation of it to you..........

Back To The Future

Yesterday should have been a milestone in my life.... the day I figure out what I want to do for the rest of my life, but sadly my journey down the yellow brick road continues with no obvious end in sight!

For those of you that don't know, yesterday (October 21st 2009) was the annual GradIreland Graduate Recruitment Fair which was held in the RDS. Armed with CVs in hand, I really expected to come out of the event in a positive frame of mind, but to my dismay I'd learned nothing of any real importance.

Company representatives were of little help, handouts lacked information and everyone simply seemed to be going through the motions. Perhaps the main thing that I gained from this experience is that the internet is the be-all and end-all for companies in this day and age!

Not one company accepted a CV much to my surprise as they only accept online applications. But it wasn't just this fact... companies were sending representatives with little or no experience to represent them. Why? I'm sure lots of students would have gained so much more from chatting to senior members of a corporation. Or on the other-hand would companies not have benefitted from getting a profile from students rather than read countless identical applications posted online???!!

Although the internet has so many wonderful options to be availed of, I feel that replacing face-to-face coversation with those of the online kind is one of the internet's biggest drawbacks. Soon that well-known phrase ''making a good first impression'' will become a thing of the past.

I know I shouldn't complain about technology taking over, but until someone builds me a time-machine, I will mourn for the good-auld days!!!!!!

Oh, how a flux capacitor could ease my mind if I could see my future and eliminate my need to attend these helpless graduate fairs!