Every now and again we’ll get letters in the door, phone calls from clients, and its usually in the runup to a .com domain renewal. These letters arrive from Domain Renewal Group, are priced in Euro and to some folk might appear as an invoice requesting you to renew your domain. Please note, that this is certainly not the case.

Domain Renewal Group are not asking you to renew your domain, but to transfer your domain to their company. We’re advising anyone who gets these letters in the door to discard them, bin them, ignore them. But above all else, DO NOT act on that letter.

How do I know Event Media didn’t send that letter?

• It’s in the name – we’re Event Media, not Domain Renewal Group
• It arrived by post – we moved to electronic invoicing many moons ago
• The cost of your .com domain renewal on that letter would be €28 which is 2-3 times the cost of our standard .com renewal
• If you return the letter, you’ll realise that you’re sending it to England, and not Kilkenny.

Note that invoices from Event Media will always arrive on Event Media headed paper, they’ll always come from (and be accessible in) your online customer account. So please, don’t fall for their over-inflated and rather expensive offers on domain renewal.

This was one of the many videos shown at Media 2020 : A Vision Of The Future today in Croke Park. I’d been along to the event as a guest, chipping on some of the live tweeting of the conference under the #med2020 tag.

I’ll update later with a list of all other videos once I’ve compiled notes on the day. For my own tweets from the day check @kenmcguire on Twitter.

Here’s to fresh content and engagement over the coming months!

Yesterday saw the delivery of the first audio and video podcasting course for ArtLinks, presented by myself (Ken), along with Alan Slattery and John Morton of Mycrofilms. While Event Media have delivered courses for ArtLinks over the past two years or so, this was the first time (and hopefully not the last) that we’ve combined with Mycrofilms to deliver course content for the arts.

The day itself saw a gathering of techie, non-techie, practicing and non-practicing artists gather to find out about all aspects of podcast, from preparing content, to file formats, examples of software, basic audio and video editing, camera theory, online distribution and lots more. Over the course of six hours it can be hard to cram *everything* you need to know about podcasting in, particularly given the varied audience, but we had a great day out of it, produced a very short podcast by the end of the day and left people with plenty of food for thought on how they could be using podcasts to promote or enhance their activity online.

The slides above are some notes that were used during the day but the real benefit is reaped by those who joined us at No 76 (Kilkenny County Council Arts Office) for demos of various microphones, cameras, online resources and of course the conversations that were sparked as a result throughout the day.

Our thanks to Mary & co. at the Arts Office, Cathy at ArtLinks for organising the day and giving us another opportunity to link up with artists in the South East and to all those who attended the course.

As a result, we’ve decided to press ahead and publish a new blog resource for podcasting which will contain tips and tricks from ourselves, additional notes from our course material and plenty of information to get to you started in the world of podcasting. LovePodcasting.com will be going live by Friday of this week and we’ll be notifying everyone who was on the course when the resources become available.

Based on the feedback returned on from the first running of the course, we hope to shape the podcasting day into a regular feature. Keep an eye on the Event Media blog for more when that happens.

January arrived, then it completely flew by and now we find ourselves almost wrapping up the first week in February. Of course, we’ve been busy in the time since and one of the developments to come out of the last month is a new podcasting course tackling both audio and video delivery for the internet.

Under the Artlinks banner, Event Media and Mycrofilms combine forces once again, this time to deliver a full-day course and workshop on audio and video podcasting for the arts on Monday March 1st. Here’s the full details from Artlinks…

ArtLinks has designed a brand new course as an introduction to the ideas and techniques for capturing and presenting more aspects of your creative work online. With cheaper video and audio recording options and the audio-visual possibilitie…s now provided by broadband, creative people and arts institutions are beginning to investigate these new media as more effective means of engaging their audiences. Increasingly the web is being examined by creative people and organisations as a new place not only to present artistic work but to share their creative skills and processes, their artists talks and interviews.

You may be a poet thinking about your work being read on-line, a crafts person wishing to share a new technique to build your online audience, or thinking about a novel way to document and present your artistic process. Arts organisations may also be interested in how to retain some of the value of artist s talk to capture and present them online.

Event Media and Mycrofilms combine for ArtLinks on the delivery of a new audio and video podcasting course. In this day long course, attendees will be introduced to audio and video podcasting and working with audio and video both online and offline. The tutors – Ken McGuire, John Morton and Alan Slattery – look at the background to podcasting, planning your podcast, hardware and software, recording audio, filming, basic lighting, editing audio and video for the web and finally uploading, promoting and distributing your podcast online.

Ken McGuire s Playlist Mix won Best Podcaster at the 2008 Irish Web Awards. He continues to produce regular music and spoken word podcasts and developed the 2009 Kilkenny Arts Festival podcast series. John Morton and Alan Slattery have been producing video podcasts with Mycrofilms for their highly acclaimed web comedy Vultures, since 2007.

Event Media have been tutoring ArtLinks courses since 2008 and we’re delighted to work with Cathy and the members again on this course. Places are limited and if they’re not already snapped up they will be soon. 15 places are available on the course at a heavily subsidised price of €30 for members and €45 for non-members with a light lunch also included on the day.

Registration is available online via ArtLinks.ie.

One of the objectives for 2010 in the office here, for the blog, is to show a little bit more about what goes on behind the scenes, walls, doors of Event Media.

In November last year we set about recording vocals for eight tracks from US-based band Pain and Progress. Some of the tracks, Low and New Obsession, can be heard on their MySpace.

The band’s lead singer, Jimmy Trigger (James Doran) is based here in Kilkenny and when not travelling to the US to record with the band, he’s here in the office to record the vocals on our own setup, some of which you’ll see in the video shot this morning (above). The vocals are mixed with audio delivered by Mark Hunt in North Carolina and returned back to the band for demoing. No CDs, no couriers, no post, strict online delivery of the tracks within minutes of them being finished. Some 5921km away.

This morning we’re linking back up with the band to run some more mixes, record a few additional vocals and send two more tracks off to the US for inclusion on their new demo CD.

Pain and Progress join the list of acts including Itchy Trigger Finger, Von Bizmark, South, The Lions Mane, Empire Social, Clive Barnes, Saving J, The River Valley Band and more that we’ve been working with since the expansion to Event Media last March.

The above video was shot on an iPhone 3G using the Qik app.

So 2010 gets has been ushered in. The cars were frozen, there’s snow on the roads but the office has reopened with new projects on the table for the month of January. That said, there’s a lot of spring cleaning being done today, desks being cleaned out, the ‘09 calendars and planners being replaced with the new ones but ultimately it signals the beginning of a new year.

We’ve got some new in-house projects to start sharing, some nice new additions planned for our own site and new services rolling out over the first quarter of the year for old and new clients alike.

So while we get on with the tidying here and get up to speed, happy new year to all and here’s to hoping that 2010 (particularly if you’re working in Ireland) will be a prosperous one.

It’s been a long year – a year of change, a year of new products and developments, a year spent with old clients, new clients and exploring business nationally and internationally. However, the year must come to a close at some point and this year the Event Media office in Kilkenny will be closed from 1pm on Friday December 18th likely reopening 10am Tuesday January 5th. Support via email will be available until 4pm Monday December 21st. Demo applications and client test servers will remain active throughout the festive season.

January brings with it new beginnings and we’ll be expecting some new beginnings around here as well.

In advance of the 18th, to everyone we’ve worked with over the past few years, this year in particular and through to next year, we wish you the very best this Christmas and New Year and we thank you for your business in 2009.

Since the move from Event Ireland to Event Media earlier in the year, the office has been busy with a lot more media and music-related work, for print and online use. One such act availing of the services are Saving J, the band having released their latest single Everybody this past weekend.

The perk of having a few extra seats in the office is being able to get the bands in to contribute to the look and feel of the artwork they want to represent their music. The Everybody single artwork, seen above, is based on that of This City Street, the debut album released by the band this past September. We’ve had the pleasure of working with the band on their artwork for Valentine, Kick Off, Indication Street (all singles), the album (with a nice 12-page booklet in a super-jewel case) and now Everybody.

Once the artwork is settled, per single, the band receive print-ready PDFs and all original artwork to bring to their preferred duplication house.

In the new year Event Media will officially launch a new range of digital services for artists under a new in-house brand. In the meantime, we’ll be adding some more of our recent handiwork to the portfolio over the course of the week. It’s been a good month for music!

The Event Media offices are closed (as per our advance notice) from today, Friday October 9th, to Friday October 23rd, reopening at 10am on Tuesday October 27th following the October Bank Holiday.

Support and general queries can still be emailed to the usual address though a response during this period cannot be guaranteed.

We’ll see you in a few weeks!

Photo of Dublin Airport by Ken McGuire / Event Media (All Rights Reserved)

We believe in The Pinkertons. Or, at least we know that they’re real, as is highlighted by the lastest and final installments of the Vultures web com series, produced here in Kilkenny by friends of Event Media, Mycrofilms. Ourselves and Mycrofilms will be linking up in November this year to deliver a full day workshop on audio and video podcasting with Artlinks, but more on that later.

We’re highlighting the Vultures series here on one hand as it’s an excellent product from a production company we’ve got close ties with, and on the other hand, those familiar with our offices might recognise some of the settings. Throughout the series (in which there are seven episodes), the Vultures gang have used our board room as a police holding cell and our older, larger office space as the Pinkertons lair.

It was great to have the group around and, from my own part, take an active involvement in certain episodes. The series closed out on September 19th with a cast and crew screening in Kilkenny. Episode six, Attack Of The Pinkertons, can be viewed above or via Blip.tv and episode seven (already show to cast and crew) will be published online on Sunday October 4th.

Hopefully there’s more of the same to come from Mycrofilms and Vultures.

The closure is to facilitate annual holiday and as such, Event Media will not be available for new work during this period.

• Monday to Thursday: 10am to 5pm
• Friday: 10am to 4pm

Any changes to opening hours, notices of closure and holidays will be published here on the blog and through Twitter. The office in Kilkenny will be closed from Friday October 9th to Tuesday October 27th to accommodate annual holidays.

On another note, this month looks to be an interesting one for us on the music front with two albums hitting the shelves on September 11th from Clive Barnes and Saving J respectively. Both acts had their album artwork and promotional imagery produced here at Event Media. Once the albums hit the shops we’ll give you the lowdown on the artwork here on the blog.

Earlier in the month I had a chat with Brian Collins of Enterprise Ireland for an article in their most recent newsletter, the August 18th edition of eBusiness Live.

For the article I was asked for my thoughts on what a company should have on their homepage. While the homepage content will vary from project to project here at Event Media, there are some key and common elements that business owners should consider for their own company’s homepage.

To find out what I’ve said, along with Eoin Redmond and Richard Hearne, click here to read the newsletter.

The use of social media tools for complementing this year’s festival coverage has been greatly received thus far and we’re hoping it will continue through next year’s festival and also act as a source of inspiration for other festival organisers around the country. We’ll have a post after the weekend showing you how and what was needed in order to provide coverage for this year’s events.

You can download the MP3 directly here. (16mb, 128kbps) or listen below.

Around two months ago off the back of one of the blogging courses delivered for Artlinks, I was approached by the Kilkenny Arts Festival to consider getting involved in the social media promotion of the festival. Two years on, we’ve worked out a good plan for the festival, we’re currently four days in and there’s all sorts of activity taking place across the festival blog, Twitter, YouTube and beyond.

As part of the coverage of the festival we’re packaging short videos for their YouTube channel, shot handheld in HD on a Sony HR10, covering a wide variety of gigs and events. Currently available online are clips from Julie Feeney, Le Concert Spirituel, Jim & Dr. Nick and Aka Moon, with footage from Amiina, Xi and Si, Katie Kim and RSAG transferring in the office this morning.

The festival started on Friday night and runs through to Sunday August 16th. Many of the childrens, literature and theatre events are already sold out but if you’re looking for tickets and more information on the festival, check out KilkennyArts.ie or visit the festival blog here where you’ll find me contributing over the course of the week.

The next outing of Kilkenny Open Coffee takes place tomorrow morning (Wednesday) at 11:30am in the Kilkenny Cafe at Market Cross Shopping Centre.

Barring one outing, the cafe has played hosted to the OCC meetups since the beginning of the year. Parking is available in the adjacent Market Cross car park while free wifi is available in the rear of the cafe.

I (Ken) have been attending since we started off with Kilkenny Open Coffee and thoroughly enjoy the conversation each month. The morning gives a chance for those in business, those working for themselves, those involved in startups or those looking to do some light networking the chance to get out of the office, meet new people, enjoy a tea or coffee, introduce what it is you’re doing and sit around a table with likeminded individuals.

If you’re in the Kilkenny area, or interested in traveling, please do come along. You can find a map here. If you can’t make this week’s one, we meet on the first Wednesday of every month, at 11:30am in the same venue (rear of Kilkenny Cafe).

You may continue to contact us up to Friday afternoon, following that, content may be intermittent until Monday 27th. Emails and voice mails will be collected in the office and will be returned as soon as is possible though an instant response may not be available.

We’ve all got to take a break, right?

Since the changeover earlier this year, we’ve been tackling more audio work and more video work. This is the latest piece to come out of the office, produced for The Devious Theatre Company. The group are currently promoting a new theatre production that opens in just over two weeks and are looking for a series of video blogs to help spread the word about the production.

The video and audio were captured on a Sony HDR-SR10 with 5.1 audio, all shots captured last Thursday night (July 2nd) and woven together in Final Cut Express on the Mac. Title screens and name overlays added as PNGs to the process. Music underscoring the piece is a recorded instrumental version of Superstition by Stevie Wonder.

You can find out more about Devious Theatre by visiting DeviousTheatre.com. We’ve got a few more of these diaries to release over the next two weeks and when we’ve got more, you’ll have more.

Meet The River Valley Band. They’re just off the stage at Whelan’s in Dublin supporting Nell Bryden on her current Irish tour. They’re also a fantastic live act, hailing from Ireland with a train of musical though planted firmly in the USA.

We’ve just launched the first phase of The River Valley Band’s new website. You can all find them on MySpace.

Did I mention that we love working with bands? If you’re in a band and interested in taking your presence online with your own dedicated site, helping you to further build the brand of your band, then drop us a line today.

They’ve come from Scotland. They’ve cycled through Ireland. Now, they’re heading for Palestine and direct to Gaza.

Over the past few months we’ve been working with the Pathways To Palestine group, helping them get up and running with a blog, online donations, team email and more. The group are cycling from Ireland to Gaza and have already completed the Irish leg, with the continental leg set to start on Monday coming.

We’re sponsoring the web activities of the group and online they’ve already been able to over £1,200 with more coming through fundraisers, local donations, offline sponsorships and more. You can find out all about the project by visiting PathwaysToPalestine.com where you’ll be able to track their progress right across Europe with updates from through iPadio. If you would like to make a donation yourself, you can buy a mile (or 1.6km) for £20 or €25. When your leg of the trip has been completed, thanks to the wonders of modern GPS technology, you’ll get an email from the group letting you know your mile has been completed by their cyclists.

By cycling to Gaza they are hoping to raise significant funds for MAP (Medical Aid for Palestinians) and raise further awareness of the situation at present in and around Gaza.

The group are also encouraging cycle groups in France, Germany, Slovakia and beyond to get involved and join them for a leg of the trip.

We wish Eoghan, Ger and all the others involved the very best of luck on the continental leg of their journey and hope they’ll arrive safely in Gaza in a month or so.