Damien Mulley

I’m sure they might get taken down soon, so enjoy. More on Bjork’s set.

Earth Intruders:

Wanderlust:

Army of Me:

Declare Independence:

Joga:

The credit unions are having their annual conference this year and it seems from the preview in the Indo yesterday that they are looking at new ways of diverifying before they become obsolete.

CREDIT unions risk becoming irrelevant, fragmented and strait-jacketed by increasingly onerous regulation unless they undergo major changes, its strategy plan warns. The movement also risks losing members in their thousands as banks continue to target products such as loans which were traditionally the preserve of credit unions.

One area they are thinking of going into is “Wealth Management”:

CREDIT unions are considering expanding their services to tap into the fast-expanding wealth management sector of the market.The credit union movement, which is largely perceived to be rural-based and offering services to the less well-off, is also considering offering loans to businesses.
Any move into wealth management would see unions competing with a raft of banks and investments houses that target high net worth individuals. All the major domestic banks have private banking or wealth management divisions, while international heavyweights such as Coutts and HSBC have expressed interest in entering the Irish wealth management market.

Should credit unions get pitched and encouraged to get into the sub-million VC game? They could fill the niche where angels (and the main VC companies) fear to tread. Credit Unions are more forgiving and less greedy than banks and they seem to have more local knowledge or knowledge at least of their members. Though would they be allowed to gamble with their members’ money more so than they do now?

Also, I was wondering should startups create a lobby group or association to make sure that the Government thinks small about their big pile of cash? Does ISME and the SFA do this already? Small investments and hundreds of em are better than worrying about getting money back. Investing tax payer money into small companies and taking a slight gamble is better than taking large chunks of taxpayer money and investing in a handful of sure things. This should be public policy. You know, that’s the reason social welfare and the health system is not a money making machine. And linking to another post from Joe, this has got to piss ya off.

And a bonus link of rule-bending by Enterprise Ireland. Always happy to bend the rules for their sure things are ye lads?

Away in Dublin at meetings with a rake of people. Meanwhile, please read this appeal.

Via Jim Carroll is news that Beirut are back in Dublin on June 22nd. 4 tickets now purchased. Cheers Jim. Ledgebag, as Miz Rocks would and does say.

And just to whet your appetite:

Boards.ie Lifehacking Forum.

London to get their own top level domain? .london domains.

Another Health System blog, this one from a patient perspective.

Mick from RatherSnazzy has a rant about bluetooth headsets and L signs.

Via the source for half my fluffy links of late Looks like Robert Scoble’s old job is up for grabs.

600 readers? 200 readers? Try 600,000 readers. List of most subscribed to blogs/sites.

I want some of these nerdy belt buckles.

Via Siopa Eile: Cat Power – The Greatest (Live on Jools Holland)