We need more campaign groups out there. Amazing how little we have. Not Government funded hamstrung groups that spend all their time kissing ass so they can ensure their future funding. Far too many of them about. We need more groups like Digital Rights Ireland for example. Here’s a few I’d love to see:
ComRegWatch
From my side I’d like to see a group that is dedicated just to ComReg and all the nefarious stuff they do. I don’t think IrelandOffline alone has the resources to tackle this brainless monster. A lean group which just monitors this regulator is needed.
EnergyRegWatch
Staying with the theme of regulatory capture, think ComReg are bad? Try the energy regulator. Captain fricking Caveman and co. This is the guy who let Bord Gais raise prices through the roof and then Bord Gais turned around and said “nah, not really” or something like that and made the guy look like a complete wally after he justifying why the full increase was needed.
Cut the Bullshit in IT – CBIT
I’d really like to see a tech representative group to counter the complete bullshit that comes out via press releases from security companies warning about high levels of spam, or viruses, or the fact that right this very second paedophiles are on Bebo waiting for your child to come online. Oh and these groups just happen to be pimping some product that promises to nuke this kind of activity but like any good “product” it isn’t 100% effective so sister products will have to be bought.
Be great to see people brought on to the Last Word who tell these marketing cluetards to shut up. We all know some managers are really stupid and will sign the company up to some new service without first checking with the IT guys, perhaps if CBIT was about, the salesman would get less unchecked airtime. Adrian Weckler can’t be cloned, so we need more people with tech credentials but with a cynical streak. We don’t want the cynicism turned up to 11 though, cos there can only be one John McCormac. And we love ye JMCC!
ConsumerWatch.
National Consumer Agency? Celia Larkin looking after your consumer rights? Really? You’d be happy with da? The Consumers Association are a business who sit on far too many Government funded quangos to be independent or to give too much of a fuck. Well-intentioned they may be but I have no respect for a group that is given 1500 quid to attend ComReg “consumer” meetings and then when asked by the EU how everything is in Ireland, spouts the LIES that ComReg fed to them at those meetings. This is what I experienced a few months back when the EU came over to check out the telecoms situation in Ireland. Shame on the Consumers Association.
Teleworking Group
Telework.ie hasn’t been updated in years and appears to be offline now. With broadband availability finally becoming a reality, it might be good once and for all to have a group that will guide and represent the needs of Teleworkers. A recent survey said the number of teleworkers doubled but a massive proportion of people who want to work from home and who are allowed to by their empolyees still can’t because of the broadband situation. These people deserve a voice.
DataCommWatch
The Data Protection/Privacy Commissioner. 6-12 months to investigate a spam complaint. Will they prosecute? Will they feck? Will they follow up on SMS spam? Seems no. Data proection is a good idea, as is data privacy, but is the Data Protection Commissioner doing a good job? Or would this group step on the toes of Digital Rights Ireland?
So, any other groups that are needed? Won’t someone create some flatpack type software/product so groups like this can be created?
What about Planning Watch? Are government and local authorities conducting planning according to things like the national spatial strategy. What about some more serious investment in Cork and Galway so they can compete with the capital?
“Won’t someone create some flatpack type software/product so groups like this can be created?”
The tech part is easy enough basic word press install, forum and a mail list.
Plenty of hosting companies about that would be glad to offer free hosting for something like that. And I don’t mean with a “Sponsored by XYZ.com” label or logo attached. Really free.
Stick with something.org and the domain names are cheap.
Hell if no-one else offers I’ll do it 🙂
John
While we’re at it can we have one to watch telecommunication-device-watch house alarm ads. They are driving me nuts and frightening old folk. “It’s 3 o’clock Tuesday. Do you know who else knows that it’s 3 o’clock Tuesday? Buuurrrrglaaaarrrrsss!” I’m really sick of them. — end rant
What about BCOP-WATCH*
Keep an eye on those pesky bloggers who claim to have a “code of practice” sherriff’s badge but still use the word f*ck on their posts?
Now that Lar nearly said ‘fuck’ I’m going to chime in with my idea.
Deceptively simple – publish the sound-bites from the last election quoting all the politicians promising the world. Then publish all the same politicians this time round promising all the same stuff that they promised to bring us the last time.
I swear there is an echo in this country that takes somewhere in the region of 4-5 years to return.
How about BenchmarkWatch. An organisation to over watch those civil servants that announce how much more money the civil service should be paid.
Jonathan, at least one of those adverts has already been banned for causing undue distress (scaring children at Christmas) but why let a little thing like that stop the company throwing out new ones. I’m waiting for the one that just says “We know who doesn’t have one of our alarms, the lads will be around later…”