As it states in its introduction, African Mirror “…reflects on important issues relevant to the growth of our people and our economic well-being. Its uniqueness is in its portrayal of South Africa within an African context within a global context, employing cutting edge design, layout and exclusive and erudite editorial.”

African Mirror is an exquisite offline business-to-business publication with an indefinite shelf-life and a huge pass-on readership. This attractive publication is the premier marketing tool for major endorser organisations, and the only South African – if not African – magazine of its kind that is distributed to 125 embassies and trade missions around the world.

Look forward to be astonished… and there’s much more in store that we will be revealing at a later stage :)

Wishing you all a wonderful “Good Morning from Noordhoek” – right from my garden… where this stunning emerald sunbird keeps following me from the moment I open my Studio door – just too beautiful.

Don’t forget to go out and smell the roses… refuel and observe the beauty of the world… it may be in something tiny or within a serene view – be grateful for the gift of another day filled with promise and wonder!

While the dream may be so spectacular that you never buy that flight ticket… chances are that all the accumulated information gets you excited and you get on that plane to dreamland!

The fact today is, however, that most people search on Google, get to Travel and Tourism related websites and blogs to read reviews and be inspired by other tourists … and then simply book online. It’s just a few mouse-clicks and you’re on the plane.

Therefore, and especially with the explosion of Social Media Marketing through social networks like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube etc, it seems the Future of Travel Information is obvious… and this has an impact on the future destiny of Travel Guides… cherished by many, but not by the masses.

The fact is, that the most relevant and pretty genuine information about places and trips is easily found in form of ‘user-generated content’ on Social Networks. Who needs to ask a Travel expert if there is a possibility to talk to someone living exactly where one wants to go, and this since generations and with a joyful willingness to share and answer questions?

Add to this the speed of the Mobile Web!

Listen to Richard Trillo, author of several African Guide Books, at the eTourism Africa Summit 2011 in Cape Town, South Africa, how he sees the Future of Travel Information and, of course, the traditional travel guide.

ENJOY!

I just discovered a slideshow of his presentation that you can find by clicking on  the top photo here.

The eternal fight.

And then there’s a normal human being like you and me who spends some fun time on an African safari and manages to teach us all how to get 64 Million views on YouTube at a snap ! He has fun, the viewers have fun and everybody is happy!

How did this happen?

In September 2004, two tourists from America visited Kruger National Park in South Africa. They were lucky enough to be at the right spot at the right time with a small sheap camcorder in hand when a pride of lions stalked and attacked a herd of buffalo who were coming to the dam to drink. I won’t tell you the story as it’s really worth watching – just click on the picture above as it will lead you to the YouTube video. You will be holding your breath for a few moments though, so be prepared… but besides some unbelievable animal interaction, there’s a happy ending to this daily drama in the bush. So have a look at “Battle of Kruger” unless you’ve seen it already – perhaps following my earlier post on the topic.

Of course, putting this video on YouTube got the ball rolling and viral marketing take over as more and more people watched and referred it to their friends, emailed the link or simply posted the video on their Facebook pages. Social Media marketing today is really easy, costs nothing and is simply a way to communicate interesting stuff to those we know and talk to. And we know that everyone knows everyone around just 6 corners. In other words – the entire marketing was done with no dime spent: by users.

It’s User Marketing… though I haven’t heard this word being used yet…

That’s how to get 64 million views on YouTube! Just grab your camera and start :)

The question being asked here is as to how the move to digital broadcast and the invasion of new technologies would be affecting Media and Marketing in Africa in 2011 and beyond?

On the broad topic of Media Marketing Africa in 2011 and the future, Nick Jotischky, Principal Analyst at Informa Media & Telecoms, organisers of the upcoming AfricaCast conference which is co-located with AfricaCom 2011 at the CTICC in Cape Town on 9 and 10 November, stated:

“With the market for television services in Africa growing exponentially year on year, the continent is on stand-by to experience far reaching changes and increased competition”.

In 2010, Sub-Saharan Africa had 34.5 million TV households and this is forecast to expand to at least 42.1 million by 2015. Currently, 3.5 million households are pay TV subscribers which represent a market penetration of 11%. However, new technologies (DTT, online and Mobile TV) and the impending switch to digital, this dominance by satellite based broadcasters will be severely challenged.

“Whilst challenging indeed, this new era is also exciting and stimulating” commented Jotischky. New telecoms, media and ICT services are affecting the lives of millions of ordinary Africans in a way never truly anticipated. “This affects how Governments, brands and all manner of organisations communicate with their audiences who are now becoming more sophisticated in their choices and demands” Jotischky continued.

One of these key changes and surely the most significant is the transition to digital television, including interactive channels which is still provoking much debate and question amongst many audience groups and which is set to happen in April 2012 in South Africa. The “digital migration” will result in the frequency spectrum currently used by analogue TV broadcasts to become available for other applications and is specifically of interest to the mobile network operators looking to expand their reach into rural areas and for installing new high speed technologies such as Long Term Evolution (LTE). AfricaCast 2011 will aim to address these issues that are still provoking consternation and debate, via a variety of panel discussions, case studies and presentations.

Linked to the demand for television services and the explosion of mobile communications on the continent, audiences for the first time are airing their voices and in an audible manner. They are not afraid to share their opinions and they have plenty of mediums in which to do so. But this is a two way street and the media now have unprecedented access to greater audience participation and their influence is vast.

Internet TV is no longer a pipe dream. It is a reality appearing at a mobile phone near you soon. Increase in broadband penetration and speeds promoting a greater array of services such as connected verticals and entire weather systems of cloud based offerings; pull internet advertising strategies via the television or mobile phone that deliver exceptional content, incentives and worthwhile services, and true engagement with multiple audiences, are all actuality. The consumer choice is overwhelming. But the basic choice will be whether to switch on or off.

Governments, brands, agencies and corporates who adapt and embrace this new technology and communication epoch will be the ones to survive and prosper in this new dawn. Those who can remain connected across multiple platforms in a continuous conversation, which listen and hear what their audiences are demanding and needing and who deliver on these requirements, will be the ones ultimately benefiting and enduring.

Some of the burning topics that AfricaCast will cover include:

Shouldn’t we? Get Tagged via Social Media Marketing

…and here we are, back to the future: Get TAGGED … this time via Social Media Marketing!

Food for thought… and weighing the positive with the negative. Definitely, Awareness needs to be created as to what we are actually “allowing”: the total TAGGING of the human race. . . Total Control…

Isn’t it?
With all the information we’re so willingly giving away, the Internet has already deprived us of all form of privacy turning us into translucent amoeba -  so what can be done to at least preserve human dignity in our normal lives – or is this too late as the digital herd is on the go and – totally cool and for sure. . . unstoppable?

I just checked on Google: the names “DigitalSheep” and “DigitalGoats” are already taken – makes you think, doesn’t it?

Best is to find out… I will.

Source of information: AfricaCom

Will AfricaCom 2011 be a turning point for “Digital Africa”? Will it bring the business opportunities to the neglected continent in terms of TeleCommunication, Media Communication and the ICT Ecosystem as a whole… resulting in the much needed improvement in Services to the Consumer? Meaning first and formost fast and affordable Internet lines to all people to start with – Internet connections that compare to what we see and compete with in developed countries, such as Germany and the United States and Canada? A united and connected Africa so to speak?

I believe: this is the time to believe in ourselves and a continent full of promise… and SOAR! We are ready! And we can learn from other peoples’ mistakes and… do it better :)

Over 150 speakers will share their African Vision. Twelve in-depth focus workshops will address the main topics, allowing all participants to learn, understand and “…be part of of Africa’s digital future.”

Watch out for my next in-depth article with information from the official Press Release. Based on the current drive and a realistic potential  AfricaCom 2011 may well be a Turning Point for Digital Africa!

I am looking forward to attend AfricaCom 2011 Media Conference for African Mirror – A Reflection of the Time and report back.

Our star in 72 Hours to Top Tourism Australia was named the “most connected traveller in Europe” and truly is a shining example as to how Social Media Marketing can change one’s life completely!

Note also how brilliant presenter Damian Cook explains the importance of Visual Communication in today’s online market at the eTourism Africa Summit 2011 in Cape Town, South Africa… and I would say not only there! Not many out there who love reading as I do… and then who has the time for it?

Especially not if driving a Ferrari on Empire Avenue – so gotta get back there and see what the Stock Markets say :)

Jokes aside: have a look at my link as this social media platform may well become a hot rocket in your online collection of social media platforms.

Will be back with more …. just too interesting isn’t it ? Sorry, don’t look for technical quality in these snippets; I didn’t want to publish them initially but the content is just too good not to be shared!

Well… I hardly ever look any further than Google Top 10 – why?

That’s exactly where people who are looking for something on the Internet would look… meaning 10 websites on the left side and a number of expensive Google Ads to the right… and sometimes on top.

Click on the picture and see exactly where my article went… or go and check it now, a day later… and it’s still there.

Why? Because I invested in building my knowledge over many years in the monthly fully online Ycademy Seminars and Workshops I host, I became a Semiomantics Expert – which is the best performing WP based Script on the Internet and I don’t use anything else but the best… whatever the best may be – and with this combination I can provide all my customers with astonishing results like this one… Follow through many other examples which will all blow you away.

The fact is: they keep blowing ME away as well as they are just so absolutely unique… and all this for a fraction of Google Ads that make everyone dependant on rising freakin’ budgets short-, medium- and longterm.

The example “Empire Avenue Online” on Google as demonstrated as per above can apply to just anything.

Whatever you sell and promote – be it yourself, a product, a service or other peoples’ ads… your main objective is to be found on Google Top 10 and… Social Media like Facebook, Twitter and… I would add to this Empire Avenue, definitely.

I am still very new to that program and can say it taught me a lot and – while all this is a fun game with virtual investments – we learn about human behavior, including our own LOL…. and what counts most for me personally at the end of the day is to have exposure and find and be found by the right people!

What are the right People to click with?

Well – astonishingly, this works well – or even better online than offline as while one doesn’t see one another or touch each other physically and limiting factors like money, color, age, gender and all the fluff and stuff fall aside… there are other factors that count: how people react, relate to one another, express themselves, present themselves and – once a closer connection has been established – how the words, the minds and the hearts actually connect and find common ground from which something new can grow.

Online Communication.

This is what makes Empire Avenue attractive to me and some great connections have been created this far! Besides, my trip around the world is taking shape LOL and who knows? not only virtually :)

You are welcome to subscribe to the feed here to get regular updates or use what can help your business grow. I have a competitive muscle when it comes to sports – but I believe we can only survive if we join forces in a unified way and grow together. When it comes to your personal or business website, I’d love to create, develop and grow it for you fo course! Just let me know!

Huh, what a word for a misty Thursday… that’s it for today :)

What’s really fun in my view is if a program comes up that goes beyond 14 words and actually not only trains our creative muscles but also keeps the brain cells spinning while being pretty close to the ‘real’ thing in terms of the Stock Market. The program I am referring to is Empire Avenue – CLICK HERE to get the idea. All online of course… and set in a much gentler ‘economic’ environment so to speak :)

Call it the EA Stock Market Online.

In Empire Avenue Online you basically enter a large online trading platform where you present a stock market value and the idea is to grow your stock market value online in a smart and spiffy way. Doing thisincludes activities across many social media platforms like Twitter, facebook, Google+, YouTube, LinkedIn and your blogs – the idea being that every click counts, each activity that adds to the cyberspace communication pool (or cyberwaste plethora…) counts for you, growing the stock market moloch.

One may not be attracted to this ‘cold’ and ‘sterile’ side of things of course. Trading short-term implies that one has to trade hard and without emotional attachments to rise one’s value and from there to build some form of authority – at least in the beginning…

It’s a tough one for anyone with slow lines, especially for us South Africans moving at 384 kpbs or so compared with speeds of 16,000 and 24,000 in the ‘developed’ countries… However, at the end of the day one should not forget that this is a social medial platform where we want to meet, exchange ideas and – eventually – do business together.

I’ll be back with more…

Each speaker of this year’s Eid ul-Fitr Celebrations 2011 in Cape Town expressed the need to come together in peace respecting each others’ differences and celebrating what unites us in their speech. Although much remains to be done and nothing is ever finished as this is a process and part of our evolution, I believe our vibrant Rainbow Nation in all its cultural and ethnical diversity… and yet united by a mutual affinity to music, sports and a love for our comparatively young nation full of promise and possibilities: South Africa – has all it needs to stand as one and move forward as a modern beacon… simply by looking inside, connect and transform – with Love and Compassion

It just occurs to me that what I tried to capture in the three photos I added to my articles were about exactly that: Expressions of Connectedness.