Sunday 27 October 2013

It's been brewing for a few weeks. Project Management Blunders.

One of the Project Management lectures given by the formidable David Staunton, used the Titanic as an example of a Project Management gone incredibly wrong. Lessons were not learned and tasks schedules were simply ignored.

The entire student assembly was left quite speechless after watching this video "Titanic - Project Management Blunders".  The video lasted 20 minutes but kept everyone completely riveted until the end. You can click the image below to watch it.




Far from the romanced story line of the cinema blockbuster that we all have heard of, this documentary explains why a tremendous project ended up at the bottom of the sea. "Why did it happen, the ship was deemed unsinkable" says the video. Eight weeks safety trials were reduced down to one single half a day. The sailors in charge of looking out for icebergs were not provided long views and the crew members who had them didn't want to share because of the difference of "ranks" between them. Lessons from the recent projects were never learned etc...

As I was seating there, I couldn't help but think: only men are mentioned in the dealing of this project. The women related to Titanic were only part of the First Class passengers, probably wifes of some of the 53 millionaires on board.  This thought was probably prompted by the Irish Times article (Sunday 27th October) announcing the annually anticipated Dublin Web Summit, 30th & 31st October 2013. This article explained that only one in eight technical speakers are women and that it's worrying:

 "The dearth of women in tech companies is a global issue, but Ireland is ‘at the bottom of the heap’ in tackling it"


My questions will probably never be answered but I will formulate them anyway. Should women had been involved in the Titanic Board meetings... would Titanic still be afloat? Could women have avoided the catastrophe by diluting the excessive pride and wild dreams brewed by the over excited male hormones in charge?

Linking this with the message kindly given to us by the brilliant people from Harmonics: Women, don't be scared to stand out!

Enough for now with the serious worries and questions. I will leave you today with this very funny video from Harry Henfield: Women know your place!





Tuesday 22 October 2013

Week 4... is it?

As it stands, I did jump. As it is, I feel I still have my head under water and the need to breathe is getting more and more unbearable. Learning to swim in the student world, feeling the rocks are not too far under my feet... Stress of a newbie wreck. Can somebody send me a rope?

Today our lovely class delegates Michael and Jean gave us a much needed recap of the "few" assignments we have to hand in before Christmas. Panic attack!!! Was that 8 or 9? Luckily, I have accomplished one of them today and can put it in the back of my mind. One down!




The next assignment is about Ikea and innovation/creativity. At the moment it is cooking like a warm soup in my head, until I find a minute to open the pressure cooker and serve it accompanied with a bit of chervil on top!

I have just tried my hands at creating a QR code for my blog, and guess what: it didn't work!! Sometimes I feel lucky just like that! I know I'll work it out, but for now I might just catch up on the lack of sleep accumulated recently.

Before I go, I have found myself addicted to LinkedIn in the last week. I think my connections went from 37 to a quite impressive 143... no wait it's 144 now!


 Isn't this a lovely positive curve? This looks like a safety rope thrown my direction! I think I'll make it somehow!

I'll be ok!

Monday 14 October 2013

Oreo dunk in the dark

Call me cynic, but I wonder which one of the Oreo marketing team was caught with his hand on the light switch?!



My sarcastic remark could stop here and just state the obvious. Thankfully, Jon Thomas give us a great insight in his piece under this link.
http://www.postadvertising.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/oreo-super-bowl-blackout-tweet.jpg

You just have to be fast and to be the best with a great sense of humor. A great recipe for success from a little cookie to achieve greatness in digital marketing.

And so it all began! An Intro to this blog

Time to jump!

This blog was created as an assignment for the Digital Marketing course I am following this year at the DCU Ryan Academy in City West Dublin, Ireland. 

The Business Innovation Programme was created in conjunction with the Irish Government initiative called Springboard. Springboard courses aim to up-skill unemployed but experienced individuals to meet employers' current need. And in their own words:

"The Springboard initiative in higher education offers free, part-time courses at certificates, degree and masters level. Springboard has identified the following in demand qualifications among employers: Cross-enterprise Skills, Information/Communications Technology, International Financial Services, Manufacturing, Skills for Enterprise to Trade Internationally, and others." For more information you can view their website: https://www.springboardcourses.ie/

Every week, we are asked to write a blog in regards to the lectures we have received in digital marketing. I think I am better at preparing a meal from scratch or growing pumpkins, so this should be fun!

Time to jump and learn how to swim!

GLK