Posts Tagged irish internet association

PuddleDucks in the Press

November 13, 2010 at 1:00 am · Filed under Blogging, In the Press ·Tagged , , , , ,

We’ve been mentioned in two press articles in the last few days.

1. The Irish Times

This article was about he An Post back shopping directory iloveshopping.ie. Being featured in the directory has been very good for us and we’re happy to report that our traffic has increased by around 10% due to being listed there.

Read the full article here.

2. Irish Independent and Silicon Republic

Interesting article about Irish e-tailing and the need to improve their online business and to  concentrate on expansion into international markets. Many thanks to Joan Mulvihill, CEO of the Irish Internet Association for mentioning PuddleDucks in the article.

Read the full article here.

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IIA Conference for Online Traders on October 7th

October 1, 2010 at 7:29 am · Filed under Events ·Tagged ,

It’s great to see the Irish Internet Association holding a conference for Online Traders in Dublin on October 7th. It’s the first dedicated conference  for online retailers I can remember being held in Ireland and it’s very welcome. I am really looking forward to attending.

The confernce is entitled “8 Ways to Sell More Stuff” and it featured an interesting line up of speakers including : –

It’s also welcome to see that An Post are the Headline Sponsor of the event.

Get all the details on the event here.

I’d encourage any existing Irish online retailers and anyone thinking of setting up an online shop to attend the event. See you there!

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Digitise the Nation

April 25, 2010 at 11:19 pm · Filed under organisations ·Tagged ,

The Irish Internet Association are organising a collaborative event in May called “Digitise the Nation”. The idea is a “Red Nose Day” for the Internet Industry in Ireland. IIA members can play their part by orgaising events, sharing their knowledge and generally creating a buzz around the net during May. We’re playing our part at PuddleDucks by organising an online quiz called “Research It! – the Online Family Quiz”. More about this soon.

You can read all about Didgitise the Nation here.

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Looking back at 2009

January 30, 2010 at 10:31 am · Filed under Awards, Blogging ·Tagged , , , ,

I’ve been meaning to do a bit of a look back at last year for some time but haven’t found the time until now. So before it’s too late here goes …

2009 was another good year for PuddleDucks. We are surviving the recession, we won an award, added reviews to the site and much more. Rather than write a long wordy post about all the good things that happened in 2009, here’s some photos and images of our high points of last year.

1. Irish Internet Association Best Online Trader Award

Winning the IIA Award was such a big deal for us. It added credibility and trustworthyness to the site which helped in increasing sales. It was especially sweet because the award was voted on by the public

2. Adding LouderVoice Reviews to the site

Adding customer reviews - powered by LouderVoice - to the website was a major step forward for our business. It built on our word of mouth referrals and allowed customers to share their feedback in a user friendly and easily accessable way.

3. Suzanne’s interview on The Business on RTE Radio

Suzanne's interview with John Murray on The Business on RTE Radio 1 on November 14th brought loads of visibility, increased interest in our products and sales. It demonstrated the great value to a small business of a high profile media appearance

4. Our Facebook Fan page

Of all the social media platforms we are involved in, the most impotant to us is now the Facebook Fan Page. During 2009 it went from a small beginning to now having over 500 fans. It is a great platform to engage with our community of customers and "fans".

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PuddleDucks make a Splash at the Net Visionary Awards

May 26, 2009 at 12:45 am · Filed under Awards ·Tagged , , , ,

We’re delighted to say that we at PuddleDucks have been voted as the winner of the Best Online Trader award at the Irish Internet Association/Enterprise Ireland 2009 Net Visionary Awards (quite a handful). The award was announced at a ceremony on Thursday 21st May at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Dublin. Winning the award was very unexpected as we were shortlisted with four other great online businesses – some of them much bigger than us.

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So we’d like to say a big thanks to everyone who voted for us. It will mean a huge amount to PuddleDucks to have the added credibility and recognition that the award provides.

Thanks too to the Irish Internet Association for organising the awards and for a fantastic ceremony and to Realex Payments for sponsoring the Online Trader category.

Below is the text of a Press Release we have sent out today:

Co. Cork, IRELAND, 25th May 2009 – For immediate release.
 
PuddleDucks.ie was voted Best Online Trader at the 2009 Irish Internet Association & Enterprise Ireland Net Visionary Awards at a ceremony at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Dublin on Thursday evening.  A small family run business, PuddleDucks.ie specialises in selling waterproof clothing for children and adults.  
 
The award of Best Online Trader was awarded after a three-stage process of nominations from the public, judging by an industry panel of experts and voting by the public.
 
PuddleDucks.ie (www.puddleducks.ie) was founded in 2005 by husband and wife team, Suzanne Kingston and Aedan Ryan.
 
“We are delighted and honoured to receive this award.” commented Suzanne Kingston, “It gives recognition and credibility to small internet-based companies like us, that trade alongside much larger and better known companies. Our business model of secure online retailing of unique products combined with a high level of customer service seems to be paying off.”
 
The Cork-based business was set up in 2005 as a part-time home based business for mum Suzanne.  Two years later when Aedan was made redundant from a US multinational, the couple decided to invest the redundancy money into expanding PuddleDucks.  The product range was increased and the website redesigned and upgraded.   Aedan said ‘It was a lifestyle choice as much as a financial decision and it’s been a huge learning curve for both of us. Thankfully we now know it was the right decision and look forward to building on this in the future”
 
— ENDS

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Business Blogging Presentation

May 12, 2009 at 11:19 pm · Filed under Blogging ·Tagged , , , ,

Posted today on the IIA blog, my slides about the PuddleDucks blog – with audio that I presented at the IIA Business Blogging – Join the Conversation Briefing on April 22nd. Thanks to Brendan Hughes of FBD.ie and BrendanHughes.ie for meshing the slides and the audio together and posting it up on Slideshare. And to Roseanne Smith for posting them on the IIA blog.

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Get Voting Now in the IIA Net Visionary Awards

April 29, 2009 at 12:36 am · Filed under Awards, Blogging ·Tagged , , ,

There’s only a few days of voting left for the 2009 Irish Internet Association Net Visionary Awards – voting closes on May1st. So there’s no time to waste – get voting now.

We’re delighted to be shortlisted in the following categories along with these brilliant people and businesses.

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Best Online Trader – sponsored by Realex Payments

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Best Business Blogger

Best of luck to all those shortlisted. See you all at the Awards on May 21st.

It would means a huge amount if we were to win one of the categories.

To cast your vote now please click here.

Thanks a lot.

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Business Blogging Breakfast, April 22nd , Dublin

April 18, 2009 at 11:55 pm · Filed under Blogging ·Tagged , , , ,

I’m just putting the finishing touches to my slides for a short presentation I’m giving at an event in Dublin next week. Organised by the Irish Internet Association, the event is a Breakfast Briefing on Business Blogging at the Burlington Hotel on April 22nd. It runs from 7:45 am until 9.30 am. It’s an early start but promises to be an enjoyable and interesting event.

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It’s run under the auspices of the IIA Social Media Working Group and the group’s White Paper on Business Blogging will be launched at the event. The event will be chaired by Brendan Hughes of FBD Insurance and case studies will be presented by myself and Michelle Daly of PaddyPowerTrader.com.

Details of the event can be found here. It would be great to see you there.

Right – back to finish off those slides …….

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