Category: Accidental Pilgrim

Tuesday, May 04, 2004

The stats are pretty modest, but obviously a lot better than they would have been if I didn’t have a site.

Here are the key stats for the Accidental Pilgrim site for April:

Total Hits: 11021
Total Files: 8545
Total Pages: 1592
Total Visits: 539

Pretty modest, but obviously a lot better than they would have been if I didn’t have a site.

The press area has been handy for the journalists, and the traffic to the other areas is pretty equal. People have browsed the photographs, read about Columbanus and sorted through the sample chapters.

There’s more than 80 people out there who read at least one of the sample chapters last month, and with luck a few of them went on to buy the book.

So far in total there have been 1500 visits to the site, with 4400 pages served. Considering I spent maybe half an hour looking after the thing last month (must get the cuttings up soon), it’s been a great way to give people a bit more information about the trip and the book.

Saturday, May 01, 2004

I’m in the Irish Times magazine today – a good interview and slightly bizarre photograph.

Also in The Dubliner magazine, talking about what little I know. I’ll scan all the cuttings in, and stick them up on the Accidental Pilgrim site when I get the chance.

And a happy May Day to everyone, with a warm welcome to all the accession states to the EU – welcome aboard.

Tuesday, April 13, 2004

‘I understand why you want to leave but you know that if you go, you’ll never be rich’

The Irish Independent asked me to write an article about the book, looking at the motivation behind the trip. I did – it’s hard to write and 800 word version of an 80,000 word book – and it was published yesterday. It begins,

‘I understand why you want to leave,’ said my boss, ‘but you know that if you go, you’ll never be rich.’

We were in his corner office in a building in the Silicon Valley. I had told him I wanted to leave my high-paying job and return to Dublin, and he was making sure I understood the ramifications. I did, and couldn’t wait to leave. I wanted my life back. 

And you can read it in full here (free registration required).

Monday, April 05, 2004

sitting next to Johnny Cash’s brother while we were both waiting to go on

I was just on Ireland AM – TV3’s breakfast television show. This meant a cab at 7.30am, make-up, nerves and sitting next to Tommy Cash (Johnny Cash’s brother) while we were both waiting to go on. Bizarre.

The interview on the sofa went well I think, but it’s hard to judge, and it seemed to be over very quickly, after the obligatory lots of sitting around. I’ve learnt my lesson with these interviews – bring a book (not your own), as everything takes longer than you expect.

Still, with the early start, I made it to the day job around the same time I would have done if I’d tumbled out of bed at a more usual hour.

Thursday, April 01, 2004

I feel like I’ve just been in a long-running theatrical production

Well, I was in Newstalk (just next to the peppercanister church, if you’re interested) at five today, but it was to record an interview for broadcast next Monday afternoon on the Dublin Life show (listen online if you’re not beside a radio in Dublin – www.newstalk.ie. Apologies if you were waiting by the radio this evening.

The interview went well – Eoin Sweeney liked the book, and asked some slightly different questions from the regular lot.

Done with all the webby training now. We’ve all talked ourselves hoarse, and have inboxes piled high with stuff we haven’t had a chance to get to. The whole thing was a resounding success, but I feel like I’ve just been in a long-running theatrical production.

Thursday, April 01, 2004

Billy was great, and I was in Manchester over the weekend visiting friends, but since then I’ve been slammed in the day job – training people on all manner of web content stuff.

More to do tomorrow, but at around 5pm, I’m going to be interviewed on Newstalk 106FM, so if you’re in the Dublin area, you can catch me there if you’re interested. And I’ll be talking about Columbanus not intranet strategy or how to create email newsletters.

Monday, March 22, 2004

it was still a wrench to throw away what I knew about tabling and embrace DIVs

So the Ireland on Sunday piece was held over, but I made it into the Turbine yesterday.

Spent part of the weekend teaching myself web layout using CSSs, working on Buedia’s forthcoming site, which will be built in XHTML.

My grasp on the practicalities of web design has always been pretty weak, but it was still a wrench to throw away what I knew about tabling and embrace DIVs and positioning using stylesheets. I swear I was dreaming about floats and z numbers and all that on Saturday night. Interesting though, and clearly the way things are going.

Also, if you’re in the UK, it seems you can just order copies of the book through your local bookshop – the distributor is Bookpoint.

Saturday, March 20, 2004

I enjoyed talking to Marian Finucane on Wednesday, and it was a fitting way to mark St Patrick’s Day. There was a skeleton staff down at RTE, but Marian asked some good questions, and it was great to be talking about Columbanus knowing that people were listening all over the country.

There’s some other media coverage on the way too – a short piece I did for the Sunday Tribune about my favourite place (a Loire valley village I visited on the trip), and an interview for the ‘In My Own Words’ feature in Ireland on Sunday.

So both of those should be in your newsagents tomorrow, and there’s more where that came from too.

Tuesday, March 16, 2004

I’m on the radio tomorrow – St Patrick’s Day – talking about the book and the saint with Marian Finucane

I’m on the radio tomorrow – St Patrick’s Day – talking about the book and the saint with Marian Finucane. She’s got two hours tomorrow because it’s a special day – on from 9am until 11am (RTE Radio 1).

Went around the city centre bookshops this lumchtime, signing some copies and meeting some of the booksellers. It was great to meet up with them and tell them a few stories from the book, so they can put a face to the book and it’s not just another unit that’s arrived to go up on the shelves.

Friday, March 12, 2004

At lunchtime yesterday, Ann, the woman who runs the training room we were using appeared, clutching a copy of my book.

As I happily signed it for her, I realised that she could very well be the first real person to buy the thing. Thanks, Ann.

All sorts of press and media appearances are in the offing for next week and thereafter – more news when things are firmed up.

Back in Dublin now, after a cold and stormy train journey back up last night.