Ive been thinking a lot lately about setting up a website. I read in the newspapers and see on tv all of the talk of recession, job losses, banks in trouble, property market, negative equity and on and on...I also see the effects of all of this around me...friends and family losing jobs or being put on short time.

I wanted to create something that brought people together, that creates bonds in communities. Out of work people are still skilled people. Why not exchange those skills for the skills of others. We need to pull together in these times to help each other out.

And so Skill Swap Ireland was born. I put in a lot of hours to learn how to create this site. I used a CMS (Content Management System) called Drupal to build the site. I can't praise it enough...it was a steep learning curve but we got there.

My aim is to run this site and promote it to the best of my ability. I want to see some community spirit here, not the moaning and depression in the news every day. Take time out...make some friends...help each other out...