Christmas

It happens earlier and earlier every year, what am i talking about the Christmas fuss. We celebrate it at the same time every year but the excitement and joy it brings to people is becoming a much sooner occurance year on year. We all recognise it to be Christmas when we witness the first christmas advertisement, hear the first christmas song on our radio or in some cases lay our eyes on a snow flake. But is it me or is that Christmas fuss coming earlier and earlier every year. Just beginning the last week in November 2009 and the Christmas lights are switched on in the town of Dundalk. And during this week our much loved radio stations begin to select the tunes, the much loved Fairytale of New York or Santa and Jingle Bells are mentioned. It is a wonder that come upon my mind every year, will we get to the stage where it is going to be Christmas every day???? Going on the current trends of Christmas coming earlier and earlier each year, that famous song by Wizzard will some day be true.

Mobile Commerce

Years ago, the Internet enabled transactions anywhere, anytime. Nowadays people expect more—they want transactions anywhere, anytime, over any device. And they want it to work reliably and quickly. Mobile commerce is basically people being able to access and use the internet to purchase goods and services and also for transmitting messages using wireless mobile devices. Mobile commerce allows those people on the go, to send and receive emails and conduct various transactions. Mobile commerce first took off in the 20th century but it has developed increasingly since then and is fast becoming the way in which the world operates today. Wifi and bluetooth allow people to connect to networks while on the go and without the need for plugging in and wiring a computer. Mobile commerce is growing fast in the world today helped by the increased use of mobile phone, PDA's and laptop computer. Today, mobile commerce is dominated by small value transactions such as ringtone, game and movie purchases. But we all know that in the worlds economies this technological brainwave is just taking off and will soon become the worlds greatest asset.

The Generation Game

This topic is based on another of David McWilliams books the Generation Game. The book looks at Ireland and our Society and how it has been turned on its head by a Generation War. Every individual is profiled breaking segments down into the middle aged Jagger generation, the Cash Strapped Jugglers and the Bono Boomers. The middle aged Jagger generation are those people who became enormously rich because of the property boom. The younger generation of Cash Strapped Jugglers are those who are feeling the effect of the credit crunch. Finally the Bono Boomers are Ireland’s first ‘permalescents’ – a permanently adolescent generation, too young to be old and too old to be hip. The book although somewhat similar to his other (the Popes Children) is an enjoyable read and it is generally emphasizing that the prosperity of Ireland’s future generations is based on harnessing that of the previous generations.

Is there a place for Religion in the Modern World?

Firstly I'd just like to point out the fact that this is an observation not an argument or an assault on religion or religious beliefs. Religious influence is mainly comprised at an individual level and society is very much made up of individuals. Because of many individuals who have lost hope and behave negatively, there are increased amount of madness and negative behaviour. If this increases, society will continue to suffer. If religious traditions are understood and utilised properly, individuals can benefit and so can society as a whole. Unfortunately, religions today place too much emphasis on ceremony and rituals. Today alot of countries face moral crisis and crime is increasing. The disciplinary powers of society have conventional methods to control crime. Religion can provide a self discipline, giving people a sense of individual responsibility. Therefore various religious traditions have an important and effective role to play in the modern world today.

NAMA

NAMA this, NAMA that!!
So what is it I hear you say? Well essentially what NAMA is, is an asset management agency charged with cleaning up the dirty deeds of our banks during the so called ‘Celtic Tiger’ years in Ireland. This was the only real option available to the Government, the Financial Regulator and the Central Bank after they all pretended the Banks weren’t being bold boys and that we should all hope the good times would continue and no one thought of the consequences of today’s actions tomorrow! So basically NAMA or the National Asset Management Agency to give it it’s full title will be responsible for taking over these ‘rogue’ banks risky loan portfolio’s and in turn ensuring the stability of the financial system, the protection of depositors and ensuring that banks were freed up to lend to the real economy or at least that’s the line they are spinning! And we’re not talking about a couple of hundred million here or there no the total value of NAMA when all risky loans are required is ninety billion, the biggest property portfolio in the world! Our only get back at these bold bankers is that we have capped their CEO’s wages at a mere 500,000 a year (sure God love them how will they survive) and that we the tax payer will pay a price substantially below their amount in order to make a profit for ourselves. But the problem lies here that the amount we are paying now as set out by the Minister for Finance is actually above their current market value. These loans which will be the weight on our tax payer shoulders for the foreseeable future were obtained by developers during the boom years to build them awful looking housing estates and apartment blocks in the fields where you once played as a child and that are worth nowhere near the amount they were back then and most are like barren deserts! The Minister tells us that because NAMA is planning on holding onto these ‘assets’ for a while and their value should increase with time over what we paid for them now! Can it all work, lets just wait and see….

The Online Adult Industry

Recently much attention has been brought on the Adult industry due to the increasing amounts of activity on the internet. Pornography is a major search engine topic, with 25% of total search engine requests being porn related. The sex industry generates revenue world wide of up to $57 billion making it one of the leading industries in the world. There are a number of categories which people visiting the sex industry fall into, the first is Recreational, these are people who would at most spend a couple of hours a week browsing the net looking for porn, but it does not threaten their relationships. Then there is the sexually compulsive, these are people with sexual problems and they can lose control and worsen their problems. Finally there is the At risk segment. Basically these are totally addicted to online pornography, they use it to deal with feelings of high stress, depression and anxiety. They are people who experience feelings of emptiness and stress when they cannot pursue their online activities. It is clear that the online adult industry has been a great beneficiary to the growth of the internet. It has allowed both males and females to access any quantity of adult porn they require, however it has brought up the topic, should the sex industry be banned? This is an argument that has raged for quite some time. My opinion is that it is certain peoples choice whether they wish to view sites within the industry, and that if people wish to censor the content that can be viewed online they may do so. This can then raise an argument that the internet needs to regulated more efficiently.

Social Media

Social media is basically how people interact through various forms of media. Social media incorporates virtual communities, brand communities, weblog communities and other web communities. Virtual communities are a gathering place for people and businesses , they exist on the Internet in various forms, such as chat rooms and web sites.Brand communities is a network of customer relationships with a brand. Brand community is formed generally as a basis of attachment of a brand. There is many arguments being made at the moment that brands are starting to form interpersonal relationships with customers, and in turn this has given rise to brand communities. Blog communities allow individuals to have their own personal voice, they offer unique unfiltered information. There are three different categories of blogs, personal, employee and corporate. Each of these have different limitations which allow people to express their feelings on various topics.
A Social Network is a social structure made of individuals which are tied by one or more specific types of interdependency such as friendship. Facebook is one of the largest social networking sites where people can interact with others in various forms. More and more people are signing onto the social networking and media craze, and the Internet is fastly becoming one of the worlds most profitable services.