learning from Belfast

Belfast: Open for Business -- There's a lot to learn here in this story of Northern Ireland's emergence from The Troubles and decades of dependence on the public sector for jobs. The reasons for their being attractive now include stability, a well-educated English-speaking workforce, and proximity to financial centers in Dublin, from which they get the overflow. Throughout the article the discussion focuses on relative costs and value.

a new face on planet NEO

Rob Hawkins has redone his aggregator Planet NEO, and it's lovely. Note the functionality of the tag soup.

inaugural launch of The Real Deal: Now is the accepted time

The Real Deal--I got an email this morning announcing this new NEO blog by our friend Richard Andrews, whom we know through the Meet.The.Bloggers sessions at I-Open's Mid-Town Brews at WebTego and through Mid-Town Mornings at Nead Brand Partners. Are you beginning to see how the networks work, and what the names are and the brands imply? Attribution is hard because there's so much collaboration and overlap, but I hope everybody's beginning to get the picture.

But, back to The Real Deal. Richard is a writer with a track record that goes back a good while. The Real Deal shows promise of being just that. Go there now. I'll meet you.