Congratulations to the team of talented writers at Goos3D.ie for being shortlisted in the Littlewoods Ireland Blog Awards 2016, the ceremony will take place at Duffy’s Circus in Dun Laoghaire, September 15.

Goos3D.ie were also shortlisted in the Realex Web Awards 2016, the ceremony will take place in Liberty Hall Theatre, Dublin, September 28.

Goos3D.ie (pronounced goosed), should be the first stop for anyone who might be a technophobe, or for anyone who is curious about the latest gadgets on the market. Started in 2014, it was founded on the concept of making technology useful and fun.

The team of four talented and technology minded writers are Jon Harrison (my nephew) and Dean Ahern from Limerick, Gary Cronin from Dublin, and Martin Meany from Kilkenny, who were all educated in the University of Limerick and are past phone shop employees.

“Everyone has this amazing device in their pocket that connects them to the rest of the world in a second, and we found that, in terms of general consumer needs, the market was threadbare.

“Most sites and companies focus on the statistics and specifications of the latest technology, which is not of interest to the general public. The vast majority of sites just wouldn’t appeal to the Irish market as they covered devices or services that were not available here. The Goos3d team attempts to answer the questions people care about,” said Jon.

Goos3D.ie covers anything from the latest technology gadgets to entertainment services. The team have attended many launches such as the Samsung Note7 and have been to two Web Summits.

“Netflix is probably one of our favourite things to cover. It provides this unique bridge for users to overcome barriers to technology adoption. If people want to binge watch House of Cards, they will learn how to install the Netflix app on their phone. Then people start to question their broadband provider’s speeds.

“We have some villages in Ireland getting Gigabit broadband. It’s crazy what a little bit of interest in technology can lead to. And that’s what Goos3D.ie is all about, getting people interested and excited about technology that’s relevant to them and to get them trying out new technology,” Jon added.

Adoption of technology is one of the reasons Goos3D.ie has been shortlisted in the Littlewoods Ireland Blog Awards 2016. Their article on “Why does Windows come with Solitaire”, is up for the “Best blog post” award.

“The article looks at the games the early versions of Microsoft Windows came with. While the games were entertaining, they also eased users into using new technology without even knowing about it. For example, Solitaire showed users how to practice clicking and dragging with the mouse,” said Jon.

Goos3D.ie has also been shortlisted for “Best digital and tech blog” in the Littlewoods Ireland Blog Awards 2016, while also being nominated for “Best science and technology” website and “Best online only publication” in the Realex Web Awards 2016.

“It’s a really exciting time for everyone involved in running Goos3D.ie, so here’s hoping we can bring home the gold. Regardless, we’ll stick to our mantra of making technology fun and useful for everyone,” added Jon.

Best of luck to all involved. I’m especially proud to have a fellow writer in the family, well done Jon.

www.goos3d.ie