Nic’s blog
I write about building businesses, failing and building a life, not a legacy.
Whipped on the golf course
Playing golf for me is a fantastic hobbiehobby that gets me out of the house/office and away from the computer. I don't take it to heart too much. If I play a bad round, then I do, if I play well, then that's cool too but for the most part I really just enjoy getting out and walking a course with some good company.Over the weekend I did precisely this with Christof Appel, Mike Stopforth and Craig Rodney. We decided on (Craig booked) playing at Randpark course. What a stunning course but one that seems to enjoy eating golf balls. I lost 5 balls in two holes. I'm honestly not that bad.In my defense I haven't picked up a club in about 5 weeks. This is a long time when you are a struggling golfer trying to keep the scores and handicap down!The round didn't begin particularly well, as I mentioned, but at the end of the day golf is about the walk for me, it's about the conversation, the networking, the kak-praat and whatever else occurs. Mr Mike Stopforth unfortunately hammered the nail in to the coffin in style; with an eagle on the 18th hole.In case you don't believe that Mike has that sort of talent here's a pic of the score card (it's not photoshopped):
In a nutshell Mr Rodney and Mr Stopforth gave Christof and I a good lesson in keeping your head down, your mouth shut and your balls in the fairway. This was the first geek round of golf I've actually played and the stakes were high. In case you haven't guessed the losers had to blog about the winners beating them. So this is that post.Geeks, golf, sun and a good whipping from the elder gentlemen. Thanks gents, twas a pleasure and as Christof has already said, revenge is sweet but best eaten cold. The rematch is coming.
Are podcasts useful?
Yes, I think podcasts are useful in fact, I think podcasting can be an extremely useful mechanism for relaying a message, point, story or event.I found a post on podcasting being dead or alive through one of Eve's blogs. I must say I immediately sprang to blog about it because I recently made use of podcasting as a citizen journalism media.Admittedly I focus much of my thought around social media and web 2.0 on how it affects the mass media on the whole and how the "little person" or Citizen Journalist can benefit from the trends emerging at the moment.
Early Adoption failed me
Podcasting really caught my attention and I tried my hand at it on SA Rocks and the RocksCast. Must like Dave and Mike with their Amplitude, SA RocksCast died.I think that I tried to jump on the bandwagon and appear to be an "early adopter" with my attempt at podcasting. I didn't really grasp the media platform itself nor fully understand how to market or create these podcasts effectively. So it died a quick death.Vincent Maher and I also tried our hand at a podcasting targeting the local sphere. Flamebait was short lived because we were a bit zealous in our approach to the content and it was shot down by editorial staff. Oh well. Needless to say the actual media itself still intrigues me.So are podcasts dead? No, I don't think so. Taly Weiss brings up a good point regarding the technology behind podcasting. If it is there then podcasting itself is not dead. In other words, if we have iPods and media players that are capable of storing and playing back podcasts then the media is not dead. But that isn't really always true. I still have a VHS player, that doesn't mean that VHS isn't dead, it is. And if you think it isn't, trust me it's on the way to the grave.
Podcasting and Citizen Journalism
While on a mission at the Million Man March this year I discovered that one doesn't need to consistently make use of a specific type of media for it to be effective.While making use of various platforms to update people about the event I was asked to do a podcast interview over the phone for The Times. What a great idea. One of their journalists called me and did a short (one or two minute) interview with me about the event.This proved to be a very effective means to get my message across. Yes it was for a big media organisation so that helped ofcourse. But the essence of that instance made sense to me. Why do we have to produce a podcast every week, month, day etc etc. When all that is really needed is an event or story to make a great podcast.Grassroots media or citizen journalists can really produce viable content for their websites over the phone with simple technology. Use a digital dictaphone, if fact, use the recorder on your cell phone, make sure you are succinct in your 3 minutes and publish it as is.Rally your media around events, don't make an event out of your media.
What's up with all the MyGenius buzz - are these paid reviews?
I am really, really surprised that Mike and Paul have blogged (and positively) about MyGenius. I joined this site a while back, signed up, put some stuff there to fill it up and dissappeared. That was that. I have not returned other than to delete my account.I am not fond of the site, don't tell me to give it another go, don't tell me what I'm missing because I know these things. Yet I still think the site is not for me.Why did Mike and subsequently Paul write about the website? Were these paid reviews? They felt as much but were not stated as such.My question is this: Why would I switch to a site that still has so much to do when I can visit many more that are already doing it?No, wait, that's not the end of this mini-rant. I know that MyGenius could open up another level of interaction, I know that there are different people on there, I know, I know. But read this sentence as I type it, I am not interested. Point. Blank. It is not appealing.
8 F%$&ING things
Wow it's been a while since these tagging posts have gone round so I guess it was only a matter of time.Mike tagged Justin who tagged me. Joy. So here goes:1. I am an athiest... not a GO (Greek Orthodox).2. I went to a Catholic school where I was the first non-catholic Head Prefect in the schools history.3. Believe it or not, I played two years of first team rugby. I may be small but I be fast!!4. I am a pseudo-geek. The type of geek who hangs around geeks and tries to be a geek but has few geek qualities.5. Tattoos are addictive and I am an addict. I have three and am moving on to my entire left shoulder this year. Pictures will follow when the tattoo does.6. Both sets of grandparents had arranged marriages, I have been fortunate enough to avoid that tragedy so far!7. I have sadly never traveled to ANY African country outside of South Africa. yet I have visited almost every continent in the world.8. I am a capitalist through and through. Yet I often wonder if communism is the way forward.And one for good measure. I hate guns, with a passion. But I want to know how to use any and all types just in case.I'm not tagging anyone for this. If you want to do it, feel free. This is an open invitation.
27 Dinner Time
It is almost that time again. The 27 Dinner!With about an hour to go, my 'speech' is still semi-complete and in a bit of a shambles, but I am hoping things will come together. After the Cape Town reviews one needs to be somewhat careful about talking at a 27 dinner. It's also not like the crowd is small. With over 100 people registered for the event there is much to be concerned about.I am simply going to try to keep things short, sweet and effective. I am also hoping to capture the crowds with my dazzling wit and incredible looks (uhu).If you are one of the lucky people attending I will see you there. As Mike mentioned in his post today, I am the dude with lots of facial hair and mostly likely to be sitting by the bar if there is one! Lets hope SA Rocks goes down well.
Blip.tv offers podcast hosting
Blip.tv has come out with an mp3 hosting service (that includes podcasts) for its users. You can now not only upload your favourite videos to the site but your own and favourite mp3's and podcasts. I think that this sort of service is coming out at a great time for many South African bloggers as there are many podcasts popping up and many new ones in the wings that I know of.Competitions like the one Mike mentioned on his blog, the getpodcasting initiative are awesome events for SA and online developments. Hosting services are incredible for many bloggers as it is firstly costly to own/run a website/blog/podcast and secondly it takes some know-how. With a hosting service this does become somewhat cheaper and simpler.My suggestion is to try the services that are available out and see if the bridge that gap that you are trying to cross.
27 Dinner - round two
Chatting to good ol' Mr. Stopforth today he slyly slipped in a request for me to speak at the upcoming 27 Dinner this month. I delayed, and "ummed" and "ahhed" and then hastily accepted the offer before Mike took it away!I am exceptionally excited to be speaking and a little bit overwhelmed (there are some serious online persona's that attend the dinner). I will be talking about my website SA Rocks. This is a great opportunity for me to give the site some exposure and get some much needed feedback about the site. In 7 minutes I have to try my absolute hardest not to make a tit out of myself in front of the genii attending.Vincent expressly asked me not to make myself look like a hero. I am not quite sure what this means but rest assured I will not be attending the dinner in a superman suite (I think).I hope to see you all there, places are limited and filling up fast.
The Citizen, Mike Stopforth and SA Rocks
Mike Stopforth writes a column for the citizen. I think Mikes a great guy and knows what he's talking about, so with that in mind, go and read his column. This week Mike went out of his way to make mention of SA Rocks. Thanks Mike, lets get those offline people online this week!
27 Dinner around the corner
Mike told us all today that there are all of three spots left at the 27 dinner table on Saturday. Personally I am stunned and impressed that we have almost reached 75. I am honoured to be attending and very keen to meet all the bloggers and industry people attending.It will also be somewhat of a mini Rhodes reunion as there are many Rhodents from my year attending. Should be a great nice and an incredible experience that I hope continues every month!
nicharalambous.com goes live - kind of
So after much thought and many confused looks on my face I sought help. And help I found in the form of Mike and Rafiq. I asked Mike for some assistance and while he thought he was of little help he asked Rafiq to drop me a line who not only helped me but did it without even looking at a PC!I am happy to be the happy moron in this case as I am guessing that there are others like myself who overlook the little things in life and create much trouble. Rafiq, you were right, an 0mmitted "www" sorted me out without a second attempt necessary.And with that shutterview is no more (in a manner of speaking) and 3jobblog is born, again.
TechAttack #9 - Wiki's
What the hell is a wiki you might ask. Now I am not writing this TechAttack for the geeks out there (apparently that is not a derogatory term these days) cause you all know and use wiki's all day long!I have recently discovered the joy of wiki's thanks to Shnitz and Mike Stopforth. I am officially attending the 27 geek dinner for the first time (who knew I was a geek).So now on to wiki's. PBWiki says the following:
A wiki is a kind of free-form website that is easy to edit.
So basically a wiki is a collaborative website that is easy to edit and easy to view. You can start one at PBWiki by simply placing square bracket [] around a word. They offer easy to follow videos and FAQ's for users to glide through their first wiki creation.Now get in to the wiki side of life and collaborate with a friend today.
Google's top news searches
Mike Stopforth has reported on Google's top news searches. The list reads as follows:
The top searches on Google News:
1. paris hilton2. orlando bloom3. cancer4. podcasting5. hurricane katrina6. bankruptcy7. martina hingis8. autism9. 2006 nfl draft10. celebrity big brother 2006
What the fuck is this shit? Paris, Orlando, Martina, 2006 nfl shit, celebrity Big Brother. Need I go on? I am impressed with the cancer, autism and maybe even the podcast and bankruptcy searches but so many celeb and sports searches baffles me. Is it actually possible that there are hardly any news searches on the Google news site. What about congress, politics, history, public figures in Government, International law, journalism, Television programs and channels such as CNN, news sites and all the other topics that might possibly have featured in actual newspapers or news sites around the globe?On the other hand one needs to ask if these searches are representative of the proportion of news coverage that each topic/search receives in the media's portfolios. Maybe Paris Hilton has received more coverage than Iraq this year and maybe Orlando has been on television more often than Tony Blair, Thabo Mbeki and Kofi Annan (if you don't know any of those names then maybe you are one of the Paris Hilton search culprits) put together. Then again, maybe Americans are searching Google for these things more than any other group in the world and that is why Ms Hilton is at the top of the list. I don't know, you tell me.