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THERE’S NO DENYING this year’s Dublin Web Summit was a big one.
We had the Taoiseach there to ring the Nasdaq bell, Bono to ring Apple’s and Eva Longoria there for no readily-apparent reason, but she’s beautiful and famous so who cares, right?
And even though there were a few glitches at the event dubbed “Davos for geeks” (itself a deeply geeky reference to the World Economic Forum’s annual conference in Davos), few could begrudge the success of a conference estimated to have pulled some €100 million into the local economy.
So here’s everything we learned from this year’s Web Summit… and a few other bits of news that washed up during week:
Need to know
The Web Summit is really big… but still really Irish
Paddy Cosgrave has undeniably pulled off an impressive coup with the Web Summit. In only five years it has swelled from a small get-together for 500-odd attendees to Europe’s premier tech love-in.
This year over 20,000 people descended on the RDS for the three-day conference where, for an eye-watering €1525 per ticket (or €649 for an early bird), you could hear luminaries from mega firms like Google, Apple and Amazon share their wisdom.
Meanwhile startups from around the world got the chance to rub shoulders with industry heavyweights and make their pitch at the big time, even if some complained the event was heavy on the geekery and light on actual investors.
But quickly the main talking point become the event’s WiFi glitches rather than the pearls of wisdom being spun at the summit, leading one Twitter wag to remark that it was the “most Irish thing ever” for the internet to go down at such a major event.
Who would have thought 20,000-or-so techies would be interested in using the interwebs?
Cosgrave pointed the finger at the RDS for failing to deliver proper broadband, adding a threat that the event “won’t be in this country very much longer” if the problems weren’t sorted out.
But he appeared to have cooled off a bit later as he thanked the RDS for helping pull together a Web Summit that was “the best yet”.
In turn, RDS boss Michael Duffy pitched in to say the venue would fix the problems by “whatever means required” ahead of next year’s event.
So enough about the WiFi, here are a few other notables from the Web Summit:
Nice to know
Now you know
One for the road
We’ve already given it a nod, but it was impossible to resist a repeat of the cringeworthy exchange between the IDA’s Shanahan and Kernan on US television.
It starts off well enough, but just watch and wait as the car crash starts unfolding in slow motion… “You have euros in Ireland? Why do you have euros in Ireland?”
No, dig up stupid!
Originally published 2.08pm
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I worked in Google Dublin (and have visited and lunched in many of the offices including in MTV). although the meals are great it’s a great way of having teams go to lunch and ‘break bread’ with each other on a regular basis. in my opinion it’s that team ethic that makes it worthwhile for these firms. the team ethic is amazing
@tallaght two – ‘team’ in this context is a euphemism for a ‘collective’.
from personal experience I have to say I completely disagree. people flock to work there and it’s consistently named best place to work.
A team is a collective, that’s the point.
Google it.
My point is that all corporations now purposely structure their organisations in a similar manner to the communist collective – where the individual loses his significance and importance by being absorbed into a ‘collective’ (team). – where credit for achievement is re-distributed.
Credit isnt redistributed, employees in Google and other multinationala have their performance measured very closely. Two bad performing quarters and you could be out the door.
You’ve just affirmed my point. Their performance is monitored by the commissar (ie team leader) on a weekly basis. Statistics are then passed around to the team showing how everyone is doing, compared to everyone else in the team. The purpose here being to create an internal rivalry within the team to impress the commissar – who is also part if a collective, one level higher with the other commissar team leaders , where the cycle repeats itself.
And what is wrong with that plantation? If you don’t perform you need to be put out.
It’s a pity the public sector in ireland isn’t run like that. Mediocrity is almost rewarded
great ploy by the company to get them to work crazy hours. well done google
I wonder if all these companies will follow suit
http://xcdn.revolution-news.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/CGSWBztWwAMGchv.jpg?iv=3
For the most part they’re willing too… Those who want to do and achieve the minimum are encouraged to not waste their time applying.
A normal price for a lunch is around 7e.
1.25e would be heavily subsidised!
Sure nothing could bate me packed ham and cheese sandwiches!
Next the employees will live on site permanently and raise families there. Soon after that the entire complex will be moved underground and the employees will have no knowledge of the world outside and live to serve the company. George lucas made a movie about that kind of thing happening before he realised making those kind of movies doesnt pay the bills.
How often do Google pay taxes ? Actually less then 1.25% of the time.
Sure multi billionaires and their companies need all the help they can get, unlike orphans, the disabled and the ill; I mean fook them right, this is Ireland!
Take those multi billion companies out of Ireland. Many thousands would be jobless and on the dole and the country would be in much better shape.
I worked in Dublin and ate breakfast and lunch in work every day for free, occasionally dinner as well in the evening.
The google stone is real, but it’s also pretty easy to lose weight if you just put in a bit of effort. In my last 6 months there I was able to lost over a stone by picking the healthy stuff from the canteens, that guy who brings his own food in should just learn to eat chicken and veg instead of steak and potatoes every day.
You clearly don’t know much about nutrition if you think it’s steak and potatoes that make you fat :-) Anyway I agree with your general thought it’s all about choices.
Do the pay BIK on their free lunch in Dublin ?
They don’t need to… An employer can feed their staff with no tax complications…
Also who cares
Well they tax health insurance as a BIK , and that would be cheaper than lunch and breakfast for the year . So I guess anyone who pays BIK on other perks care.
Denis only pays 1.25%
Heard of a lady who worked for Google and had time off for maternity leave and they sent lunch to her house every day she was off
I heard they deliver your baby for you and have the baby working by the age they are 2 and they give free milk to the baby.
Do they do a good breakfast roll?
We order off Deliveroo all the time now to our office in Dublin. Pretty good range of stuff and you’re not often stuck for a healthy option. Saves me queuing for a sandwich somewhere anyway.
I just Googled it,says never
My breakfast, lunch and dinner is free in work; I pay €5 a week for my food and my other half makes my granola breakfast cereal for my supper; I love it!!
Facebook also does free food throughout day for its employees. I suppose it’s all about making you work longer and happier spend more time in the office.
have your say