Fury over £250,000 price tag for Gaelic 'Facebook'

[Gràisg]

Own goal agus gibht do na nàimhdean nam bheachdsa!

Daily Mail
January 7, 2009

Fury over £250,000 price tag for Gaelic 'Facebook'

MORE than £250,000 of taxpayers' cash is being spent on setting up a
Gaelic version of the Facebook social networking site.

Scottish Executive quango Bòrd na Gàidhlig - the national Gaelic
language board - claims mygaelic.com will help to promote the
historic tongue.

But with the recession leaving thousands of Scots facing a bleak
financial future, the decision to splash public cash on a site that
will be fully understood by only 2 per cent of the population was
last night under fire.

Advocates of mygaelic.com say it will appeal even to those who are
not fluent in the language as it will instantly provide English
translations at the click of a mouse.

However, existing sites - such as Facebook and MySpace - already have
Gaelic users, prompting claims that taxpayers' cash is being wasted
on entertainment for the tiny minority who speak the dying language.

Mark Wallace, of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: 'This is yet another
example of politicians and public servants becoming desperate to jump
on a trendy bandwagon..

This money is urgently needed for serious purposes, like people
paying their household bills, and should never have been squandered
on such a bizarre project.' The website is just the latest in a line
of expensive schemes that sees millions of pounds spent every year
promoting Gaelic, which is spoken by around 60,000 people.

Last September saw the launch of the £11million-a-year Gaelic TV
channel BBC Alba. And ministers agreed to spend £125,000 on Gaelic
signs, leaflets and a version of Holyrood's website in the tongue.

The creator of mygaelic.com, Glasgowbased IT specialist Gillian
Thompson, has spent almost two years on its development.

The 31-year-old, who does not speak a word of the language, said
yesterday: 'Gaelic is an essential part of Scotland and it needs to
be preserved and celebrated.' But North-East Tory MSP Nanette Milne
said the £250,000 price tag 'will leave many people stunned', and
added:

'Not many people will be convinced at all by this, and rightly so.
Questions must be answered.' The site should be online by the end of
the month and there are plans for a lavish launch party in Glasgow's
George Square..

[faoileag]

'Lavish launch'?

Obh obh. Nas fheàrr gun sin.

Own gaol gu dearbh.

Thoir a h-uile airgead do Ghun Chleoc agus Abair Thusa.

[neoni]

so god damn ridiculous

bu mhath a rinn sibh a bhng.

[GunChleoc]

Tha an làrach seo gam chosg.... uill, € 10 aon thuras airson an domain a chur air dòigh mas math mo chuimhne is sìan barrachd air sin o chionn 's gu bheil làrach-lìn agam mu thràth

Uill, tha e a' cosg beagan ùine cuideachd.

[Angus Òg]

Posted this in the wrong place - sorry!

I think we need to be careful about referring to mygaelic.com as 'Facebook' all the time. I think, as someone said in a previous post, we should wait until all is revealed before making a judgement.

My friend (who worked for an Edinburgh-based advertising agency and was involved in tendering for the job, but didn't get it) said that it was to be much, much more than that and a significant part of the budget was to be spent on general advertising for the promotion of Gaelic, on a scale not seen before.

Surely a good thing, no?

[GunChleoc]

This just goes to show that you can't form an accurate opinion if you don't have accurate information

[Gràisg]

It would clear things up a lot if what was in Bord na Gàidhlig's tender document was in the public domain ( or perhaps it already is somewhere?) any more clues for us Angus?

[Seonaidh]

A Ràisg, Tha thu air togail às an Daily Nazi (Mail)! Am bi dùil agad gum bi na beartan anns an sgrait seo ceart idir, gun spin anaghàidhlig? Am faic thu dè tha iad a' spin sgeulachdan mu dheidhinn "inimrichean"? 'S e scum of the earth a th' anns a' phàipear sin.

[Gràisg]

Hi Seonaid,

Thog mi sin as iomairtean Gàidhlig sa chiad dol a-mach ach ceart 's ann as an Daily Mail a tha e. Chan eil mise ag aontachadh leis an Daily Mail san fharsaigneachd ach chan e naisich a th' annta nam bheachdsa. Dhomhsa tha agad a bhith beagan nas miosa na sin gus a leithid cliù a chosnadh. Thuirt cuideigin '£250,000' agus 'Facebook'. 'Se giobht a th' ann dhaibh.

'S e Bòrd na Gàidhlig a tha air a bhith bruidhinn leis na paipearan Sheonaid. An cunnart as motha leotha? Cuiridh iad an cruth fhèin air a' ghnothaich. Thug cuideigin sanas naidhdheachd dhan Stornoway Gazette cuideachd. Chuir mi ceangail ris, tha iad fhathast a-mach air facebook gaelic ach cha d'thuirt iad dad mu dheidinn airgid - beagan gliocas tighinn a-steach?
Ma tha barrachd fiosrachaidh ann chan eil ach Bòrd na Gàidhlig a h-uile càil a chur an àirde ann an seo no air an lion seosailta tha fhathast ann no air a' bhuidheann Gàidhlig na h-Alba air facebook no grunn àiteachan eile far a bheil daoine a' dèanamh beagan conaltraidh sa Ghàidhlig.

[Seonaidh]

A Ràisg-i-pu, Chan eil mi a' creidsinn gu bheil an t-airgead seo deagh chaithte idir! Chan eil fios agam air cò aig san t-saoghal a tha Bòred na Gàidhlig a' cluiche. Ceart, 's e tabhartas rhonc (duilich - chan eil fios agam air "rhonc" sa Bheurla agus chan eil agam faclair Cuimris-Gàidhlig) a th' ann an seo a dh'ionnsaigh an "carfan" (Cuimris air ais - duilich) ana-Ghàidhlig. Ach dè dhuileas tu às an Daily Mail ach dèanamh sgeulachd dhona nas miosa bith air ar son?

[akerbeltz]

An-dà, bidh iad 'ga chur air bhog air an 6mh latha dhen ath mhìos... nach fhuiricheamaid gus an uairsin? Mas airidh e càineadh, càinidh sinn an uairsin e, mas airidh e moladh, molaidh sinn e

[Seonaidh]

Under development - Ga Dheisealachadh an-dràsta

Cianail!

[GunChleoc]

Foighidinn, a charaid, foighidinn

[akerbeltz]

Qarrtsiluni mar a chanas iad ann an Nunavut