• fully fitted unit to rent. 900sq. ft. approximately
• the unit has 6 self contained workstations and is ready for immediate occupation
• ideal as an office or small call centre
• rent circa €200 per week

For further information, please click here

For Microsoft, the acquisition of Skype give the software giant another powerful tool to safeguard its position as a business communications provider.

Acquisitions  have always played a role in Microsoft’s company development  going right back to the launch of MS DOS in 1982 which was a modified version of Seattle Computer Product’s QDOS.

Microsoft Corp. chief executive Steve Ballmer said in a news conference yesterday that Microsoft plans to integrate Skype’s Internet calling service into a number of its products, ranging from consumer devices like the Xbox video-game console to the company’s business-focused Office software.

The Skype acquisition follows on from recent partnerships with Nokia and BlackBerry which are aimed at positioning the company in the post-PC marketplace.

However some analysts feel that the price may have been too high as Google and Facebook forced Microsoft into a bidding war over the purchase - and Microsoft shares fell 0.62 per cent following the announcement.

While the deal seems to make sense, it will all depend on how Microsoft integrate this new tool into their own product offerings.

During my own time with America On-Line, the merger with Time Warner seemed on the face of it to make sense as one party had a global online distribution infrastructure along with a massive customer base while the other had quality content that could be delivered to that customer base.

However, that merger which was billed as the biggest deal in history, is now discussed in business schools as the worst in history.

So only time will tell how successful Microsoft will be with their shiny new toy!

Mark Sheehan
MD clickstream

To quote their own summary, ‘Fund it is an Ireland-wide initiative that provides a platform for people with great ideas to attract funding from friends, fans and followers across the world.’

So for those with project ideas but who need funding, why not submit your project to the site and see if people out there are willing to offer the support and backing you need!

For everyone else, maybe visit the site and see if you can help any of the projects there that are currently looking for funding contributions.

Visit Fundit.ie

Good luck to all involved!

Mark Sheehan
MD clickstream

This cycle takes place next weekend and goes from Dublin to Galway. The Cycle4haiti charity is a very worthy cause and Charlie would very much appreciate your support in helping him to raise funds for this charity. Visit http://www.cycle4haiti.com for more details of the event.

And please visit http://www.mycharity.ie/event/charlie_healys_event/ to help Charlie raise funds for this worthy cause!

Best of luck Charlie from us all!

The recent update, named Farmer, was designed to ensure that its SERPs were no longer dominated by low-quality yet search-engine friendly pages.

The thinking behind the Farmer update is clear: Google has been faced with increasing public criticism over the quality of its SERPs, so Google had to address the issue.

The Farmer designation comes from Google’s aim which is to downgrade the rankings given to sites that simply ’farm’ content from other sites on the web.

Consequently, there has been a significant change for many sites in terms of their visibility pre- and post- Farmer.

News sites in particular have benefitted from the algorithm change as the content on those sites is generally unique and of a higher quality than sites that generate pages purely to try and impress search algorithms.

And how does this impact our clients?

As ever, we would encourage clients to write good quality content and to use this content to regularly update their site.

For more advice on search engine optimisation, please contact our team today to discuss!

“A Walk of Solidarity” will start at the Bandstand, Red Island, Skerries, Wednesday 6th at 7pm, to walk a 5km lap of Skerries. Funds are badly needed at this time. Bring €10 or whatever you can afford. Tell your friends!

Donations can also be made to the following account:

‘FUND FOR FUEL’
BANK OF IRELAND, SKERRIES
SORT CODE 90 08 93
ACCOUNT NO. 818 38 744

Or if you take the opposite viewpoint, it’s in order to counter propaganda as General David Petraeus has said US efforts to spy on social media are aimed at ‘countering extremist ideology and propaganda’.

According to the article, ‘once developed the software could allow US service personnel, working around the clock in one location, to respond to emerging online conversations with a host of co-ordinated blogposts, tweets, retweets, chatroom posts and other interventions’

As with other past developments, it will surely only be a matter of time before software like this crosses over from the military world to the commerical world and we’ll see marketing agencies leverage similar software to promote products and services via social media.

Currently the use of Facebook and Twitter in a commerical fashion is at least quite transparent but fake online identities ‘bulk’ tweeting and retweeting and blogging followed by competitors trying to counter with their own message? Doesn’t bear thinking about!

Full Guardian story at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/mar/17/us-spy-operation-social-networks

Navan School of Languages provides classes in French, German and Spanish for adults, secondary school students and children. For foreign students wishing to learn English, we also provide classes leading to a recognised qualification, if required.

No doubt this clinic will be as successful as Leanne’s first veterinary clinic in Barna, Co. Galway which she opened in 2008 - best wishes to everyone involved!

For full details of this position, please see our careers page.