To celebrate Ireland’s Internet Day on Thursday 25 October, and Blacknight’s sponsorship of Blog Awards Ireland, we’re giving away a €500 gift voucher for Ireland’s Blue Book of Hotels & Country Houses!
Why? Because we’re nice like that. And because we have an important message for Ireland’s bloggers, businesses and anyone who finds opportunity online.
Many people have discovered the power of an online audience to network and develop their business. Those who do it best work very hard to build their reputations and grow their audiences. But is their work benefiting themselves, or the platforms they publish on?
Platforms like WordPress.com and Medium are great: you should use them! Social media is all about community: go and find your tribe! The internet is a marketplace of ideas and influence: but don’t forget to fly your own flag.
Credibility, Security, Brand Awareness
A domain name costs just a few cents a day in most cases – sometimes a lot less. But it gives you real credibility, security and brand awareness.
A new range of descriptive domain extensions opens up new possibilities – all the good names aren’t gone!
As the leading Irish provider of web hosting, we think that self-hosting offers flexibility and control for bloggers and businesses. It’s where you need to get to, ultimately, but it’s not necessarily the first step.
If you’ve already begun to build an audience on Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube or any popular platform, the first step you need is to take control. That means registering a domain name of your own.
Sure, you should continue to use social media platforms – look at all the big brands who are doing that too. But it’s not all they do.
Your Piece of The Internet
A domain name, registered in your own name, is a haven in the changing fortunes of the Internet. Fads will come and go; some will thrive, and some will not. But a domain name is your piece of the Internet – and comes with the same rights and status as any other registrant, corporation or individual, big brand or Joe Soap.
Once you’ve registered your name, it can be live within minutes, simply by pointing it to your current social media page. And this is when you realise the power of the Domain Name System: hosting and domains are not the same thing!
Once you have a domain name, you are free to host wherever and however you like! Your followers will know your domain name, but where that leads them to is up to you.
You can start with a Twitter account, and point your domain name to that. Change to Instagram – the domain name will point there also. Or set up a home page that pulls everything together, or a blog, or a business site.
Take The First Step
At Blacknight, we’ve made it a mission to help individuals and SMEs claim their place online, and our experts can advise you on our range of services from email to ecommerce, cloud and dedicated servers. But every single journey begins with a first step, and that step is a domain name.
We offer hundreds of domain extensions, including popular .IE, .COM and .CO.UK, as well as newer favourites like .ME, .CLUB and .BLOG. Want to take the first step? Talk to us and find out more. Follow us on Twitter; message us on Facebook (see, we use those platforms too – it’s where people live!) – or check out our website (get the idea?)
This article is the first step in an information campaign which Blacknight is running, to coincide with Ireland’s Internet Day on 25 October, and Blog Awards Ireland which will take place that night in Dublin. Want to find out more about The First Step? Stay tuned!
We’re launching a competition to give one of Ireland’s hard-working bloggers a break! Following extensive consultation, we’ve decided to offer a €500 Gift Voucher for Ireland’s Blue Book, a romantic collection of Irish Country House Hotels, Manor Houses, Castles and Restaurants. Located throughout the island of Ireland, these charming and stylish hideaways are the perfect choice for your holiday vacation in Ireland. Ireland’s Blue Book Hotels are also ideal for midweek or weekend breaks and for those seeking a romantic getaway or relaxing escape.
To enter, simply follow the instructions below. Complete different tasks such as tweeting or commenting, and visiting our Facebook page. You can enter once per day up until 8pm on 25 October, and the winner will be announced on stage at Blog Awards Ireland 2018, at Tramline in Dublin on 25 October! Go n-éirí libh!