Congratulations to Climote which has made it to the final of the Appy Awards held in San Francisco.

Congratulations to Climote on making it to the final of the Appy Awards held in San Francisco.
Other finalists include BMW’s Evolve App and the JiWire Wi-Fi Finder App in the Utilities category at the Appys.

The Climote product will be officially launching at the end of March at the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) Energy Show at the RDS. Enterprise Ireland has already given Climote some funding for the R&D aspect of the product.

Climote hub replaces your existing time clock and allows you complete control of your home heating via an APP, SMS or Online portal.

MOR Solutions developed the climote JSON API and web application ('Climote ONLINE') that allow users to also control their heating from the web. We are delighted to be working such an innovative company that is gaining recognition on an international level.

See www.climote.com for more details.

Read more media coverage about this:

• Silicon Republic http://www.siliconrepublic.com/new-media/item/26123-climote-app-shortlisted-for
• Business & Leadership http://www.businessandleadership.com/insights/item/34200-irish-app-shortlisted-for/
• One Page News UK http://www.onenewspage.co.uk/n/Technology/74r5h51wa/Irish-app-shortlisted-for-global-awards-final.htm

Louisa Maher, Network Ireland President 2012

Louisa Maher, Director and Social Media Consultant with MOR Solutions has been elected president of Network Ireland (the Organisation for Women in Business in Ireland) 2012. During her term as president Louisa plans to bring the annual national conference and awards to Drogheda. She also plans to help promote Network Ireland and the role of women in business in Ireland.

When MOR Solutions was founded in 2000 much of our business initially came through strong business contacts and networking. 12 years on, this is still the case. We know the importance of networking to business.

Louisa Maher became involved in Network Ireland a number of years ago in an effort to connect with other business woman in the local area and around the country and exchange ideas with other professionals.

Everyone at MOR Solutions would like to wish Louisa the best of luck with her term as national president. 

 
For more information on Network Ireland please go to www.networkireland.ie

Can Pinterest work for your business?

We have already given you the lowdown on what Pinterest is and how to get in on the action. But if you are not interested in having Pinterest as your new hobby here is how to make it work for your business?

1. Make sure your product suits the Pinterest platform. 

Fashion, interiors, art, cookery and design feature strongly on Pinterest. If you don’t have a visually appealing product you will find it difficult to get Pinterest working for your business. Bad photos of good products will not gain any traction on Pinterest so ensure that your product shots are of high quality. Make sure your customers are on Pinterest -

http://www.modea.com/blog/pinterest-infographic

http://www.modea.com/blog/pinterest-infographic

2.Connect Pinterest with social media platforms you already use. 

While Pinterest has a growing following it still does not have the critical mass of more established platforms like Facebook. unfortunately your Pinterest account cannot be liked to your Facebook Page so that pins show up automatically in your Facebook Page news feed. At the moment you have to do it manually, creating a facebook album “called best of Pinterest” and updating it consistently is the best way I have found of doing this.
If you want to take this a step further companies have benefited from adding a Pinterest tab to their Facebook page. This allows followers full access to their Pinterest boards without ever leaving Facebook. Lowes, a chain of hardware stores in the states have done this to great effect.

3. Soft Sell - Real life rules apply on Pinterest too. 

Don’t bore your friends or followers with a steady stream of self promotion. As it real life this only causes people to avoid you like the plague. As with other social media platforms aim to engage or inspire your followers and they will be more receptive to the odd self promotion pin.

4. Add a “pin-it” button to your site.

By adding a “pin It” button on your pages on your site, every single one of your pins will include a link back to the source. However, these are no-follow links and cannot be used to directly impact your Seo strategy. yet, they still provide marketing value because they allow pinners to encounter your content and visit your pages in just one click. 

5. Don't half ass it! 

We have said it before and we will say it again. Don't put yourself under pressure to add another social media platform to the your "to do" list if your time are already stretched to the limit. Each social media accounts represents your business and a half used social media platform does not represent your business well. It is better to do use one social media platform well than do many badly. 

For assistance integrating Pinterest to your Facebook or website please don't hesitate to contact us - mail ava@morsolutions.com

Pinterest- Make room for one more social media platform in your life.

I know we are all getting slightly overwhelmed with the sheer amount of social media platforms available to us but Pinterest is one you should at least try, it is fast becoming my favorite social media platform. A few months ago I blogged about Tumblr, declaring my love for its fabulous clean design and simplicity. Pinterest shares the same clean design and simplicity and it is sooo easy and useful.

The three simple steps to getting in on the Pinterest action.

If you have not been following the rise of Pinterest here is a quick run down on what they have been up to. Not only has the company received $27 million in venture funds, but the site’s popularity has exploded from 1.2 million users in August 2011 to over 16 million today. If this information does not boggle your mind enough Pinterest has just 21 employees!

So what is Pinterest? 

Pinterest is a place to organise and share images or videos you find inspiring. Once a user has up loaded an image to Pinterest the image becomes known as a “pin”. The “pins” are organised on themed boards. Basically it is a virtual version of mood board, design board or vision boards. Pinterest can be really useful if you are working on a specific project. For example if you are redecorating your home you can create a home-decor board in Pinterest. Any time you see something that inspires you, add it to your board. Boards can have multiple contributers so if you are designing new stationary or website for your business, everyone in the office can pin inspiring ideas to a “New Office Stationary/Site” board. 

Boards page on Pinterest

How does it work?

The ease of use is what makes Pinterest great and is no doubt fueling its growth. Pinning is easy with the official "Pin It" button, a simple drag-and-drop browser extension. When you come across an image you like, just click the button and select the corresponding picture. Assign the pin to a Board and add accompanying text. If the Pin is something you want to buy, include the price in the description and it will attach to the Pin for easy reference. If you find inspiration on the go, take a picture with your iPhone and add it to your Boards with the mobile app. (Sorry, no Android support at this time.) You can also Repin posts from other people. 

The box that appears when you select an image to pin.

One of my boards.

Does it work for business? While spamming for self promotion is frowned on, if your business is particularly visual Pinterest, can benefit your business. Get up to speed with Pinterest and in our next post we will show you how to make Pinterest work for your business.

Pinterest is invite only at the moment, if you would like an invite to join Pinterest please do not hesitate to mail me on ava@morsolutions.com

Discover the hidden historical gems of Co. Louth with a new iPhone app!

The Louth Hidden History app is the latest app designed by MOR Solutions to hit the App Store. The free app allows visitors to browse the Land of Legends complete with information and video footage from each of Louths' historical attractions.

Eanna Ni Lamhna celebrates the new Louth Hidden History App at Millmount Museum with Cathaoirleach of Dundalk Town Council, Marianne Butler, and Brian Walsh, Curator, County Museum

Visitors to Louth can browse by town or use their current location to access directions to the closest historical sites. An added advantage is that visitors to the sites who want to delve deeper into history can then make their way to the County Museum and view associated exhibits.

Brian Walsh, Curator, County Museum, said

" We wanted to create an app which allows people make the most of their time in Louth. By loading the Louth Hidden History app, people will have constant access to information on the various sites Louth has to offer."

To down load the app click the icon below.

For more information on the App and Louth Hidden History visit http://www.dundalkmuseum.ie/en/main/news-and-events/141/

The app was launched by Louth environmentalist and President of the Tree Council of Ireland Eanna Ni Lamhna with a treasure hunt to explore Louth's hidden history. Brian Walsh of County Museum, Dundalk, Louisa Maher of MOR Solutions and Ciaran McGuinness of Archer Heritage were also in attendance at the launch.

The Mobile Payments Race.

Mobile searches are out-pacing desktop searches and it makes sense that mobile payments will grow exponentially over the coming years. Combined market for all types of mobile payments is expected to reach more than $600B globally by 2013.[1] 

It is numbers like these that are causing competition amongst mobile payment providers to heat up. Mobile payments affects major players in technology, banking and mobile phone industries. Huge investments in mobile payment companies are happening constantly. Yesterday Boku secured $35 million in funding from numerous investors including Telefonica. This latest cash injection now means that the San Francisco-based startup has secured a total of $75m across a series of funding rounds since 2009

A few months ago I wrote about Google Wallet and NFC (near field communication payments). While Google wallet seems to be getting the most airtime, all major credit card companies (Visa, Mastercard, American Express) are getting ready to roll out NFC capabilities. 

 

Mobile payment developments do not just benefit consumers. There have been a rash of devices which when attached to your phone can be used to accept credit card payment (for example Square). For anyone who has dealt with the hassle, form filling and rental fees that is currently required to operate a hand held credit card payment devise this will come as a welcome progression. 

Mobile apps have been hugely popular over the past number of years in more recent times there has been an undeniable shift towards using mobile site instead of mobile apps. Despite the huge financial investments in the area of mobile payments, establishing a smooth way of accepting mobile payments is far from being a done deal. Inputting credit card details leads to a fall off in conversion rates and putting regular or high cost sales through a mobile phone bill is not ideal for most consumers. There are other methods available however there is no one system that seems to be head and shoulder above the rest.

The one concrete fact we can be assured of is that every business will need to be able to accept mobile payment sooner rather than later to compete in an ever changing marketplace. 

If you want to maintain and grow you place in an online market place, MOR Solutions can help you find a mobile payments solution that best suits your business.


^ Juniper Research Forecasts Total Mobile Payments to Grow Nearly Ten Fold by 2013 [1] 

Meet the MOR Solutions team: Conor

We’ve a team of talented designers and programmers who deliver high-end, user-friendly websites to our clients. We’ve been awarded nationally for our work but we want you to know who is working on your site.

First up is Conor a web designer at MOR Solutions.

What exactly do you do?

Basically I work directly with clients to design the visual aspects of the sites then create HTML & CSS templates. I then take those templates & add them to a Content Management System to allow the customer to manage the website themselves. I also communicate any advanced requirements to our developers when needed.

Favorite project worked on and why: Currently working on 2 mobile websites which allow you to use more modern techniques & technologies which is exciting.

What are the “next big thing” in your area of expertise, what ramifications will it have?The way websites are built change all the time. Currently the big thing is mobile optimised websites. The next 'next big thing' is going to be websites that work over both mobile & desktop platforms. These are called responsive designs as they 'respond' to the size of the device on which they are viewed. Our customers are starting to ask for mobile websites as an add on to their current desktop site. In time they will demand responsive sites over multiple platforms.

Mobile Internet and Apps - what is the opportunity for you?

Mobile Internet and Apps - Learn about the fastest growing marketplace on the planet!

As part of Enterprise week MOR Solutions are speaking at a free seminar at the d hotel, Drogheda tomorrow, Thursday at 6pm on Mobile Internet and Mobile apps.

This free business seminar run in conjunction with Louth County Enterprise Board and Drogheda & District Chamber of Commerse.  It will look at the facts, opportunities and possible strategies to for mobile apps, mobile internet, m-commerce, mobile e-mail and how this fits with your 'traditional desktop' users.

We are joined by award winning author and marketing guru Denise Fay of Achieve Marketing (see below) so it promises to be an event not to be missed if you want to improve your online business.

Thursday 8th March, 6pm @ the d hotel - FREE ENTRY

6.00 pm: Mobile Apps and Mobile Internet

Learn about the fastest growing marketplace on the planet!

Graham O’Rourke – MOR Solutions


6.45 pm: Write to Wow your Audience

In today's crowded marketplace, you need to engage with your readers more than your competition. Writing a strong and clear message is key to your success in marketing

Denise Fay – Achieve Marketing

Booking is required but admission is free. For further information or to book your free place on the seminar please contact enquiries@droghedachamber.com or call 041 9833544.

Local Enterprise Week events are run by Louth County Enterprise Board which is a one stop shop for budding entrepreneurs or someone who is already established in business.   For more details on Enterprise week please see http://www.lceb.ie/html/enterpriseweek.asp

The Collison brothers and Stripe.com

Patrick and John Collison are Limerick born and raised brothers who despite being only in their early twenties are in the midst of building their second software company.

John and Patrick Collison

In 2008 the Collisons, one of whom had yet to even do his Leaving Certificate, became millionaires after selling their fledging software company. Auctomatic which provides software for heavy users of eBay, was sold to Canadian firm Live Current Media for more than €3 million.

The brothers have since taken some time to attend college (MIT and Harvard) and subsequently drop out of college again to start another software company, Stripe.com. 

Stripe is set to compete with some of the big players in the online payments industry such as Paypal and Realex by building payments soluitons that appeal to the developers who are building sites and implementing the payment system.

“Stripe is a simple, developer-friendly way to accept payments online. We believe that enabling transactions on the web is a problem rooted in code, not finance, and we want to help put more websites in business" - Stripe.com

Stripe not only appeals to developers but also to online sellers. There is no need for a merchant account. This saves time, money and hassle for any online seller.

The company has taken approximately $2 million in a venture round from PayPal founders Peter Thiel and Elon Musk, as well as Sequoia Capital, Andreesen Horowitz and SV Angel.

Stripe was valued at around $20 million in the round, however this figure has not been confirmed. The company has not commented on whether or not the financing occurred at all.

Here at MOR we are very excited about trying Stripe.com ourselves and will report back on how it works out.

The success that the Collisons have had only serves to confirm the importance of supporting coding and programmes like Coder Dojo and the importance of introducing programming (which Patrick calls maths for the 21st century) as a subject in schools.