A new online initiative wants to make local Irish information and news available on the world wide web.
As the internet grows in size, it is becoming more and more challenging to find local information. A new website which can be found at www.local.ie hopes to address this.
150 million people use the internet, a system now carrying more than 400 million pages and growing daily.
What are the chances of small Irish towns, villages, and parishes being heard on such a vast platform? 'Local Ireland', an initiative by Telecom Éireann, aims to address this challenge through a new software package that allows anyone to provide news or information about their own locality. Cooperatives will manage the content on the website for each county.
It provides every community and county in Ireland the opportunity to come under one umbrella to impart information to the world and that information is supplied by the local people themselves.
Chief Executive of Local Ireland Gerry McGovern outlines the challenges of finding Irish specific information on the world wide web.
Basically, people can't find what they're looking for and if they can't find your information, then your information has very little value.
Finance for the initiative will come through advertising and sales and revenue will be shared between the county cooperative and Local Ireland.
Visitors to the Internet World Exhibition at the RDS can find out more at the Local Ireland stand. The website can be found at www.local.ie.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 15 October 1998. The reporter is Colm Connolly.
