4pm.ie

4PM.ie – Authorised Reseller of Google Apps Premier Edition

2010-02-04T09:35:00.000-08:00

4PM can help any company reduce IT costs and increase productivity, through enhanced collaboration, by implementing a painless switchover to Google Apps.

For a low once-off fee, we can switch your domain to the free Google Apps service, which means you keep your existing email addresses, while gaining access to the remarkable suite of Google Applications, all easily shared among your co-workers.

For a low annual fee per user, you can use Google Apps Premier Edition. Switching to Premier brings many additional benefits, including:

24/7 phone support direct from Google;
Guaranteed uptime of 99.9%;
3 X more Gmail storage than Standard Edition;
Increased security;
More admin controls to easily connect to existing IT infrastructure;
More business features such as Blackberry and MS Outlook interoperability.

Contact 4pm.ie today on 01 497 7705 or email info@4pm.ie and we’ll start planning a smooth and painless switchover to Google Apps. Once you’ve switched, you’ll wonder how you ever got by without Google Apps!

The potential savings are enormous. If your organisation currently uses, or is considering, a Microsoft Exchange 2007 deployment, use this calculator to estimate how much a Google Apps Premier deployment could save: http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/business/messaging_value.html

For more on the benefits of Google Apps, click here: http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/business/details.html

CASE STUDY: The City of Los Angeles.

L.A.'s 34,000 employees - including her police force - now use Gmail, Google Docs and other Google Apps for their messaging and collaboration needs. Why L.A. chose Google Apps is simple. Randi Levin, Chief Technical Officer for the city of Los Angeles, wanted to replace GroupWise and chose Google's cloud approach from 15 different proposals believing it will save the city millions of dollars on IT, allowing her staff to shift resources dedicated to e-mail to other purposes. L.A.'s decision process was rigorous. The top four proposals gave oral presentations, with the proposal for Google Apps receiving the highest marks. On Oct. 27, the Los Angeles City Council voted 12-0 in favor of using Gmail over Microsoft Outlook and the city began to use Google Apps in December 2009. Some 38,000 employees in government agencies in Washington, D.C., also use Gmail and other Google Apps. Google is also building a so-called Government Cloud, a dedicated cloud computing system for the U.S. government, in 2010.

Acquaint CRM for Lettings and Sales Management and Marketing

2010-01-04T07:47:00.001-08:00

Acquaint is targeted at offices and companies that need to reduce costs and generate more leads in this tough property market.

It is an advanced marketing and financial software CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software system for Irish estate agents that will do both sales and lettings more efficiently and more effectively.

With the property market so competitive, right now is the perfect opportunity to upgrade your office IT, website and business processes for 2010. 4pm can look after everything, from design through to integration with our market-leading online marketing database, Property Drive, which is seamlessly-integrated with Acquaint.

Acquaint is a system that will transform the way your company does business by automating a lot of manual tasks such as producing statements, invoices, brochures, tracking appointments and broadcasting emails and text messages to prospective buyers as well as updating your website and the major portals such as MyHome, Propertytoday.ie, Propertynews.com and Globrix. It is a complete solution that will organise your negotiators with effective work flow processes and a reminder system for appointments and tasks, plus an integrated marketing engine.

Acquaint will dramatically reduce your company’s operating costs while at the same time increasing efficiencies and professionalism, which will ultimately generate additional leads by putting to work all of the contacts that you have built up over the years. Sitting around waiting for buyers doesn’t work anymore. Acquaint will generate buyers by effortlessly keeping in better touch with all the types of prospects that you have (or can collate), such as tenants, buyers, vendors and developers. Just use the professional, seamlessly-integrated SMS, email and postal mail-shot engines provided by Acquaint CRM.

In this market your office/company are probably doing more lettings than before and this area of the business can be a litigious, bureaucratic and administrative nightmare if not managed and resourced properly. In this environment it is just not feasible to finance employing more people. Leveraging technology is not only the more cost-effective solution but, clearly, the only feasible method to address this market.

With NO UP-FRONT FEES charged for the capital purchase of the Acquaint software solution, we believe that we are delivering the best product and best price to estate agents in the market at this time. We do charge for training and data migration which is only necessary if you have an office system already in place and wish to upload/migrate all of this data into Acquaint. This requires onsite labour on our part which would not be feasible to absorb.

We believe that Acquaint offers a lot of functionality and automation that distinguishes it from the rest of the competition in the market and will contribute significantly to your operations. Consider, for example, its ability to allow negotiators access the system remotely, while out on a viewing, or at home, to catch up on admin, planning or prospecting.

In summary here are the advantages of Acquaint CRM:

• Reduces your admin and media costs.

• Provides services across selling houses, letting all types of properties.

• Provides professional services like valuations in a seamless and connected manner.

• Tightly integrated with additional services such as web design and portal uploading.

• It’s a comprehensive, intuitive, user friendly and configurable software application.

Call John or Cormac Kennedy on (01) 497 7705 today, or email info@4pm.ie, and we will arrange an Acquaint and Property Drive demonstration and/or a free trial. Find out more at www.acquaint.ie and check out our property marketing database solution at www.4pm.ie/propertydrive.aspx.

First Phase Consultancy goes live!

2009-07-17T08:01:00.000-07:00

4PM is delighted to announce that the new website for First Phase Consultancy has gone live. The website uses complex search algorithims to allow for multiple, independent search experiences, as the client has property offerings in markets from Ireland to Spain to Australia.

Visit the site at www.firstphaseconsultancy.com and enjoy the Flash animation, the depth of content and the seamless search. Email info@4pm.ie if you need a site that's as classy, rich and functional.

DublinProperty.com goes live!

2009-07-17T07:56:00.000-07:00

An exciting new property portal for Dublin has just gone live! DublinProperty features a highly-detailed search interface, slick graphics and a whole new data layer to make property search as quick, easy and painless as possible.

Take a look at the site at www.DublinProperty.com, try a few searches and let us know what you think!

If you need a property website as good as this, call us on 01 497 7705 or email info@4pm.ie.

Tom Pollard goes live!

2009-07-17T07:42:00.000-07:00

An exciting new website for Tom Pollard Properties in Clonmel has just gone live! 4PM has done extensive work on the site, creating a design that is modern, detailed and very fresh. We have also built a Daft data feed from scratch. This means that the staff at Tom Pollard can input their property details to Daft, then import the data to 4PM Property Drive, then syndicate the data to their own site and the dozen other property portals that we feed.

Time is money, so the 4PM property Drive solution can save literally hundreds of hours of repetitive work in a single year.

Check out the website at www.tompollard.com.

Find out more about 4PM Property Drive at http://www.4pm.ie/propertydrive.aspx

Stage Marketing à Dublin - 4PM Web Design & Developement

2009-07-17T07:41:00.000-07:00

C'est à 4PM,leader dans la création de site internet immobilier en Irlande et spécialiste en Web to print, que j'ai eu l'occasion de réaliser mon stage de fin d'études.

Cette période de 6 mois fut très enrichissante tant d'un point de vue linguistique que professionnel.

Au sein de l'entreprise, j'ai pu travailler sur différentes thématiques en communication interne et externe ainsi que sur des actions marketing et plus particulièrement web marketing.

Dans les bureaux,l'ambiance est internationale et très sympathique. C'est vraiment agréable de travailler dans de telles conditions.

Quant à Dublin, c'est une ville conviviale et cosmopolite où l'on ne s'ennuie pas!

Toutes les conditions étaient donc réunies pour faire de ce stage, une très belle expérience.

Quentin Viault

Signspire Photo Signboards - Because every enquiry counts when trying to sell or let a property

2009-05-08T04:44:00.000-07:00

The property business has never been more competitive or challenging. Anything that gives properties an edge can make a real difference to selling or letting prospects. Signspire is a new and innovative Irish solution for estate agents that allows them to design attractive signage over the web - quickly, efficiently and at very low cost. Signspire will be officially launched at the IPAV conference in Killarney, 08.05.09.

Signspire helps to sell and let property more quickly, by attracting consumer interest with high impact picture signs that cost just €10 to design. Print-ready PDFs can then be supplied to any chosen printer - no messing, no mistakes, no delays. Complete control at every stage.

Cormac Kennedy, Director of Signspire says: “With Signspire, estate agents can move their marketing to a new level with real estate signs that include high quality pictures of the property they are selling or renting. Turn a static sign into a high quality, eye catching street brochure and make properties stand out. Signspire signs will help them to generate enquiries and differentiate themselves from the competition.

“Research from the Australian property market has shown that signs with colour photos to promote the property have an enquiry rate up to 30% higher than those without photos.”

John Kennedy, Director, says: “Signspire makes it so easy to create higher quality and cheaper signboards with stunning photos to really show off properties. Before Signspire, the cost of engaging a designer and going back and forth with proofs slowed down the process and added to costs. Now, Signspire enables anyone to create and send a design to their sign printer and for them to give a better price on printing as there is no management or designing involved.

“In today’s market, you might have only seconds to convert a passer-by into a genuine prospect. With Signspire signage, you have a real edge over your competitors.”

Find out more at www.signspire.com or call 01 497 7705 for more details.

4PM, Ireland’s leading creator of web-to-print applications, looks forward to helping our clients make inspiring property signs and taking their property marketing to the next level. We also plan to capture the market for online property sign design in the UK and other export markets. Signspire is truly an Irish solution to a global problem.

Contact Cormac Kennedy on 087 934 4852 or John Kennedy on 086 246 2716. www.4pm.ie.

4PM Launches National Website for Coldwell Banker Ireland

2009-04-28T03:51:00.000-07:00

NEWS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

28 April 2009

The new national website for Coldwell Banker Ireland (part of the world’s largest real estate network) is live, at www.coldwellbanker.ie. The site is fresh and inviting, while incorporating technical advances such as a highly-detailed Advanced Search function and Email Alerts for customers when suitable properties are listed.

The 4PM creative team had to work within the Coldwell Banker corporate identity specification, but create a website that was innovative and appealing. 4PM managed all aspects of the project, from concept development through to design, database, functionality and hosting.

John Kennedy, Managing Director of 4PM said:

“4PM is delighted to have been chosen by Coldwell Banker Ireland – part of the world’s biggest real estate network – and given the responsibility to complete this critical project. We delivered the new website on schedule and on budget, creating database functionality from scratch and offering users a pleasant, easy-to-use interface.

“While the estate agent sector is suffering from the effects of the property market, more of our clients are accepting that the future of their sector is online. 4PM is happy to help them embrace change and thrive, whatever the market conditions.”

Nick Hughes, Managing Director of Coldwell Banker Ireland said:

“I hope that you will agree that the design and functionality is best in class. We have designed the site so it is one click to find the property market type and only one more click to refine the search. Later this week, we will add an advanced setting to really drill down to very specific criteria.

“The retriever function will be unique to Irish property websites offering the ability for property hunters to register their requirements and receive automatic text and/or email alerts on properties that match.

“You will see that the site is crisp, clear, modern and corporate. Everything you have come to expect from an innovative and quality brand.

“I would like to thank John Kennedy and his diligent and talented team for the hundreds of hours input. It is one thing to build a property website but it is a horse of a different colour to build a portal and balance the various interests. I also thank John for the very competitive price he levied for the development of the site and the ongoing support.”

Ends.

For more information, contact John Kennedy, MD, 4PM on 01 497 7705 or

086 246 2716 or email john@4pm.ie. www.4pm.ie

ABOUT 4PM: 4PM is one of Ireland's leading web solution providers in design and database development and consultancy. Our service offerings include web design, consulting, hosting and online application development. Our primary strategic focus is in designing, developing and supporting web-to-print solutions with specialised products for real estate, motoring, jobs and other advertising-dependent business sectors.

Our growing client list includes the Irish Department of Defence, Coldwell Banker Ireland and some of the major regional and national newspaper titles in Ireland, the UK and the USA.

Find out more by visiting www.4pm.ie and www.coldwellbanker.ie

Patrick Howard Antiques Website Ireland

2009-04-06T08:23:00.000-07:00

This new website from 4PM specialises in the sale of fine quality early furniture and related items. Patrick Howard Antiques also offers a varied selection of decorative items to include travelling writing slopes, tea caddies and exceptional fitted jewellery caskets. Exquisite collection of French & English porcelain as well as a variety of ormolu & bronze decorative items including a selection of electric table lamps offered with handmade silk shades.

Enjoy browsing through the various categories including the new "AFFORDABLE" category and do not hesitate to contact Patrick at any time, something new is added every time you return.

The Customer Service is the finest available, offering free home approval (within Ireland) with no obligation to purchase.

Their trading policy is to deal in antiques of showroom quality & condition, selling through their shop in Dublin. They also have a substantial online business mainly in USA & Canada. They never take part in expensive Antique Fairs, in this way they can offer their clients continued exceptional service and value.
Shipping to U.S.A., Canada, Australia and Europe only.

We are sure you will find your visit to their new site interesting: they now have an inventory of over five hundred entries.

Patrick Howard Antiques are open six days a week until 5.30pm and the website may be found at www.patrick-howard-antiques.com

Save Property Upload Time with 4PM's Multiple Listing Service

2009-04-02T06:17:00.000-07:00

4PM is the fastest, most efficient way to get your property listings online.

It combines new, specialised form-filling technology with the latest image uploading tools to cut the time it takes to advertise a property online by up to 90%.

4PM’s Multiple Listing Service allows Irish property professionals to advertise with multiple property marketing sites in one go. Integrated with 12 of Ireland's best known advertising channels, 4PM creates and distributes your listings in seconds.

Are you wasting valuable hours typing the same property information over and over again?

Do you want to have your property listings on more than one property website?

Let 4PM upload your listings to multiple sites in one go. Log in to 4PM today and shift those properties!

If you are having any kind of technical difficulties, please email us today.

Don’t forget that 4PM is Ireland’s leading website design company for property professionals so get in touch on (01) 497 7705 or info@4pm.ie if your website needs a fresh design. We also offer an integration only service, plugging all of 4PM’s functionality into any existing website.

We look forward to seeing your property listings soon!

4AdMan – 4PM’s Revolutionary Irish Software to Benefit Newspapers Worldwide

2009-02-13T05:31:00.000-08:00

With revenues falling, many newspapers around the world are desperate to cut costs and boost advertising income. 4PM, a young Irish web technologies firm may have found the answer in 4AdMan, a web-to-print application that allows customers to design their own ads for publication online.

Utilising advanced web interfaces and powerful backend software (including Adobe InDesign, Microsoft SQL and AdLizard), 4PM has integrated the requirements of newspapers with a range of practical solutions that will allow them to embrace the technological revolution.

John Kennedy, Managing Director of 4PM said:

“The web revolution is accelerating, a new generation comfortable with reading news and editorial on computer screens or mobile phones. But newspapers in the broadsheet or tabloid paper form will survive for a very long time yet. The tactile pleasure of sitting down with your favourite newspaper is more than the sum of its parts.

“Newspaper publishers must adopt new technology if they are to cut costs and reach out to the web-enabled planet. 4AdMan is a customisable web interface that allows any newspaper’s advertising customers to design and pay for their ad online, in minutes. Some of the projects we are now developing for different customers include classified and display ads such as personals, jobs, motors, property, planning and legal notices, In Memoriam cards and real estate signage: all web-to-print applications. Recently we operated a highly successful campaign for Valentine’s greetings that went into an American newspaper as display adverts and we have also secured a contract with South African publishers Media 24.

“The beauty of our solution is that it is tailored to the specific business and market requirements of each customer. Our software can handle anything from a small classified to a full page property advertisement, delivered to the newspaper as a print-ready file that has been designed and approved by the client and pre-paid by credit card.

“It would not be uncommon for the sales person to be going back and forth between the customer and the designer approving the advert. The magic that 4AdMan provides is the automation where it is possible for no designers to be involved with the customer and the sales person has the tools to be able to build the advert with the customer, proof and pay all in the one visit. I am not saying that we would get rid of designers, in fact I am saying quite the opposite, in that they would be able to focus on creating templates that the sales teams would use.”

Our highly-skilled team is dedicated to market research and product innovation, so 4PM now has the ability to partner with newspapers around the world with an exciting range of solutions to the strategic problems of falling advertising revenues and rising costs.

Ends.

For more information, contact John Kennedy, MD, 4PM on 01 497 7705 or 086 246 2716 or john@4pm.ie. www.4pm.ie

ABOUT 4PM: 4PM is one of Ireland's leading web solution providers in design and database development and consultancy. Our service offerings include web design, consulting and online application development. Our primary strategic focus is in designing, developing and supporting web-to-print solutions with specialised products for real estate, motoring, jobs and other advertising-dependent business sectors. Our growing client list includes some of the major regional and national newspaper titles in Ireland, the UK and the USA. More details at www.4pm.ie

Irish Property Lettings Web Market Showing Major Growth

2009-02-11T04:07:00.000-08:00

4PM reports a major increase in lettings Website activity, with 20 separate sites recently completed or in development for clients. As the sales market awaits recovery, we have found that Irish estate agents are increasingly focusing on the lettings sector as a means of maintaining and increasing their turnover.

John Kennedy, Managing Director of 4PM says:

"It is astonishing to see the dramatic shift in emphasis that many of our key clients have made. Whereas the key element of a functional property Website was sales until mid-2008, now letting is often the most important function.

"The 4PM Property Management system is equally applicable to the lettings market, with the same functionality in terms of advanced search, Google maps, email alerts and multi-photo display, but it also allows our clients to feed their properties automatically to many of the leading lettings sites, such as Let.ie.

"As the lettings market gets more competitive, many of our estate agent clients are now spinning off standalone sites that only handle lettings, using our Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) services to ensure that the properties show up in the major search engines. This is a clear acknowledgment that lettings will remain a key element of the Irish property market for a considerable period."

For more information, contact John Kennedy, MD, 4PM on 01 497 7705 or 086 246 2716 or john@4pm.ie. www.4pm.ie

ABOUT 4PM: 4PM is one of Ireland's leading Web solution providers in design and database development and consultancy. Our service offerings include Web design, consulting and online application development. Our primary strategic focus is in designing, developing and supporting Web-to-print solutions with specialised products for real estate, motoring, jobs and other advertising-dependent business sectors. Our growing client list includes some of the major regional and national newspaper titles in Ireland, the UK and the USA. More details at www.4pm.ie

Happy New Year from the Team at 4PM!

2008-12-23T03:33:00.000-08:00

At the start of a new year, it's good to reflect on what's been learned and what's the best way to move forward.

Whilst many 4PM clients have been feeling the economic squeeze, it's very encouraging for us to note that more and more companies are increasing their focus on the Web and how it can improve their business's prospects.

4PM has made some changes to how it does business too, with an improved Website - www.4pm.ie - and a new range of services, all designed to help our customers maximise their Web potential.

We have many new ideas in the pipeline and some exciting projects to launch in the coming months.

The 4PM team continues to expand, with experts in all areas of Web design and development. We look forward with confidence to 2009 and to being of assistance to our clients.

4PM would like to like to wish all our clients and friends best wishes for an exciting and dynamic 2009.

Gary Byrnes

Why now is the perfect time to put your business on the Web

2008-12-04T05:52:00.000-08:00

When we're contacting potential customers about 4PM's Web design and development services, it's amazing to hear that because the economy is uncertain right now, it's best to put off building a Website until things improve. WRONG! There are many reasons for taking the plunge and embracing all that the Web has to offer. Here's a few...

People are shopping around before making any purchase and Google is the main tool they use. If you don’t show up on Google search results, you are out of the loop.
The Web is the cheapest and easiest way for potential customers to find you and for you to advertise yourself.
The Web is not only useful for reaching your local market, it opens up the entire global market for your business.
When your Website goes live, it’s a great reason to put out a press release and get some free publicity.
Your Website will quickly pay for itself through increased sales.
Businesses that embrace the Web’s potential can stay in touch with customers more easily and survive any future downturn.

To find out more about how 4PM can help you turn adversity into competitive advantage, call us today on (01) 497 7705 or email info@4pm.ie.

Gary Byrnes, 4PM

4PM Breathes New Life into Antiques

2008-11-21T03:42:00.000-08:00

4PM's Antiques Manager content management system is the easy way for antique dealers to unlock the Web's incredible potential.

4PM has an extensive client base and strong track record in Websites for estate agents and other property specialists. We took this experience and developed our CMS to suit antiques, resulting in a powerful tool that allows dealers to quickly and easily upload their latest items to their Website. Any information that goes with the images is fully-searchable, resulting in a user experience that is immediate, relevant and useful.

For not much more than the cost of attending a single trade show, antiques dealers can get a custom-designed 4PM Website, complete with classy design, CMS and training, so ongoing maintenance costs are virtually zero.

To celebrate this new service, 4PM is offering HALF-PRICE HOSTING for 3 years, plus substantial discounts on design fees.

To take your antiques business to the next level, save on marketing costs and, most of all, reach a truly global market for your items, get in touch with 4PM today.

To see an example of a Website for Patrick Howard Antiques, one of Ireland's leading antique dealers, check out the link on our homepage, at www.4pm.ie

Gary Byrnes

Whiskey in the Jar at IFRA Expo 08

2008-11-19T05:02:00.000-08:00

4PM, European distributors of AdLizard, the revolutionary software that bridges print and Web media, enjoyed a highly successful presence at IFRA Expo 08.

In true Irish spirit, the 4PM team brought some classic Irish whiskeys to share with the thousands of top newspaper buyers from around the world. Great interest was shown in AdLizard by dozens of news titles, all focused on making the transition from print into digital as smooth as possible.

Luckily, AdLizard solves so many problems in dealing with advertising copy efficiently and quickly, 4PM is confident that a number of IFRA Expo contacts will soon be partners.

Enjoy a piece of IFRA Expo legend by watching John Kennedy, 4PM Managing Director, extolling the virtues of Irish whiskey to the IFRA video reporters.

4 Billion Trees Can’t Be Right!

2008-11-17T06:11:00.000-08:00

Apparently we cut down 4 billion O2-making, CO2-trapping trees each year to meet our insatiable demands for paper. With something like 464 million newspapers printed and sold each day (Source: Guardian.co.uk, June 5, 2006), it’s easy to see how the carnage in the forests soon adds up.

The growing range of E Ink devices on the market, such as Amazon’s Kindle and Sony’s eBook will be joined in early 2009 by the eReader (pictured), from German-based company Plastic Logic. All these devices share the ability to display content traditionally confined to paper media. The potential benefits are enormous, including better use of resources, zero waste and instant access to content.

The eReader has a touchscreen a full 8.5 X 11 inches in size and is thinner than a notepad. The reader supports a full range of business document formats, such as Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Adobe PDFs, as well as newspapers, periodicals and books. It has an easy, gesture-based user interface and powerful software tools that will help business users to organize and manage their information. Users can connect to their information either wired or wirelessly and store thousands of documents on the device.

So, will the eReader help humankind to make the leap from traditional ink and paper to E Ink? How will this transition affect newspaper publishers? It can only be a revolution. 4PM has one solution: AdLizard allows newspapers to gather advertising online, then distribute it via paper or online titles. Contact 4PM today to find out more about preparing for the E Ink revolution.

See a movie at www.cnn.com/ecosolutions

Visit the eReader maker’s Website at www.plasticlogic.com

IN THE CURRENT ECONOMIC CLIMATE, WEBSITES AND SEO ARE THE MOST COST EFFECTIVE MEANS OF REACHING ANY CUSTOMER

2008-11-06T06:22:00.000-08:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

6 November 2008

RE: New 4PM.ie Website

4PM grows and so does our website! 4PM is an Internet solution and management company that helps businesses to structure, manage and deliver information and services online. In recent years, 4PM has diversified its activity from a strong property base, innovating in new markets and creating new Internet solutions for companies in different sectors.

The content on 4pm.ie has expanded and lets viewers easily discover all of our products and activities online. For example, Website design, hosting solutions, SEO* (Search Engine Optimisation) and hardware. 4PM has also launched new applications, such as CMS** (content management systems) adapted for specific activity sectors (Property, Antiques, Fashion) and which can be personalized for each company adding new features and adapting the corporate identity.

4Pm Managing Director John Kennedy says: “4PM is confident of strong growth through 2009, thanks to our range of innovative Web technologies and the changing demands of the market, specifically:

Using SEO technology and original content, Website owners can be confident of being towards the top of Google search results;

CMS means that Website owners can update Websites themselves without having to pay their Web designer or any other third party;

Websites will be increasingly relied upon by State bodies as the most efficient and cost effective means of disseminating information to the population;

4PM's skills in design and programming ensure that we can complete all of a company's design requirements, from Website to logo to brochure, all in-house, keeping costs to a minimum and guaranteeing consistency;

4PM’s AdLizard technology offers newspapers the ability to combine print and Web for the easy creation of advertising, both off- and online.

We invite you to get started by visiting www.4pm.ie or by contacting us on 01 497 7705 so that we can discuss your requirements further.”

Ends.

*Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of editing and organizing the content on a Webpage or across a Website to increase its potential relevance to specific keywords on search engines and, as importantly, ensuring that external links to the site are correctly titled and plentiful.

**A CMS (Content Management System) is a computer application used to create, edit, manage, and publish content in a consistently organized fashion. The content managed may include computer files, image media, audio files, video files, electronic documents and Web content. CMS is the next big thing in Websites.

Obama's Victory and the Web

2008-11-06T04:19:00.000-08:00

Barack Obama's victory in the US presidential election has broken the mould in many obvious ways, but it has also thrust the Web to the fore as a political tool.

Obama embraced the Web, while rival McCain remained mired in the prehistorical and annoying technology of automated phonecalls. Obama was thus able to connect with the young voters who have grown up with the Web and who use it more than, for example, TV.

Obama also maximised his ability to raise funds, by allowing credit card donations through his Website. All those $50 donations added up to substantially more than McCain's donations from business and old money.

In another example of the Web's rise to power, all the news sites maximised their use of interactive Web technologies to cover the vote counting and made it clear that Web-delivered news can beat the pants off TV and newspapers. The US election has taken the Web media to the next level and media consumers have said "Yes, this is better."

Then we had the bloggers. Political bloggers in America seem to have overtaken newspaper pundits in terms of audience and it was heartening to see more bloggers being interviewed on TV than old-school journalists.

Finally, during the long lead up to the election, the Web - through a link-up between CNN TV and YouTube - enhanced democratic participation by allowing voters to pose video questions to the candidates on the live TV debates.

From almost every perspective, Obama's victory has meant as much for the Web as it has for democracy in America. God bless the Web!

Gary Byrnes, 4pm.ie