Is Big Think the future of online information?

I think it just might be.Big Think is a video site along the lines of a YouTube or Revver. But there is one major difference:

Our task is to move the discussion away from talking heads and talking points, and give it back to you. That is Big Think's mission. In practice, this means that our information is truly interactive. When you log onto our site, you can access hundreds of hours of direct, unfiltered interviews with todays leading thinkers, movers and shakers.

I love the idea and the implementation is brilliant. The site is light and easy to navigate. You can search the brains or the topic that the brains are talking about. The list of people who have opinions on the site is endless and will keep you busy for hours.You can also create ideas to throw in to the mix. I am not exactly sure how your ideas are added and who gets to feature on the site and who doesn't.Nevertheless I think that principal behind the approach is an essential one that will start to become very important very soon. That point is excessive and irrelevant information overload online.I can't get through it all. Big Think seems to be one of the first to boldly state that they have authoritative people speaking about topics that interest readers. This is a smart move. Make a statement and run with it.What I love about the site is the focus no the idea that the author or speaker is talking about. You can agree, disagree or stay neutral in your opinion and vote accordingly. You can join debate around the idea and maybe even chat to the brain behind it. The topics are current, relevant and debated in detail. The substance is substantial and allows for intellectual people to interact on relevant levels with one another.Information is going to have to become more relevant, centred, informative and important. The source of the information is also extremely important. Blogs have almost made the source irrelevant as many people read an opinion and adopt it. This is great to a point and for me that point is fast approaching. I find myself looking for people's blogs who actually have experience, knowledge, qualifications and provide me with a reason to read them other than "I have a pc and internet and I can like to use blogger".Information is king, content is king and we have known this for a while. But it's time that this becomes a focus for websites. I think that Big Think has done just that and at just the right time.

My muscles forgot how to run

How do I know this? Because they are telling me right now, every muscle in a my body is screaming at me asking me to remind them how to run. But I can't because I have also forgotten how to run.You see I went to gym tonight for the first time in approximately 10 months (give or take a month). I usually can spend up to 25 minutes on the track, 25 on the bike and 20 on the rowing machine. Tonight, ten or less on each. Shocker. But it's a start and a positive start.

Two blogs are better than one

I have been thinking about this for a while now. Whether it's better to focus on one blog or two share your attention between two.I run this blog and SA Rocks. I think that the two are mutually beneficial but conflict one another on occasion. It's a difficult balance but one that I think has been extremely beneficial for me.What you need to maintain two (or more) blogsYou need a clear definition of each blogDiscipline is essentialCreativity is a mustFocusGoalsA plan - this is the most important on that I think I missed out on. You need to have a plan for each blog and each post that you write. If you don't have a plan the blogs can begin to cancel one another out and overrun one another.The prosCross populationCross referencingAssociation linksPost ideasCross-blog debatesAssociated traffic (gaining traffic from SA Rocks as the author)Cross-promotionThe consCross population - try to keep your blog posts separate unless there is a clear and present need for them to link.Time constraintsMental drainContradiction - I've struggled with SA Rocks to keep my positive outlook on SA Rocks and maintain it on my personal blog. This could be seen as a pro and a con as blogging on SA Rocks has allowed me to stay away from negative topics on my personal blog.I would love to find out how many other bloggers run more than one blog and if you do, what problems are you finding?

Cooling off period

No, not the time it takes someone to stop hating you or for you to calm down after a fight. I am talking about purchasing cooling off periods.I am young and in many ways still very naive. I recently claimed (read purchased) my gym contract at Planet Fitness through my Discovery medical aid. It's incredibly cheap if you are the principal member, which I am. But I was taken for a bit of sale.On top of the simple contract there is this nifty little gadget that is provided to you at R99 a month. It's a key that your personal trainer plugs your training program in to. Then you can use it to track your progress. Sounded like a great idea at the time. Then buyers remorse hit me. Big time. I came to terms with it but was then told by my wise mother that every purchase in life has a cooling off period.We then checked through the contracts terms and conditions and guess what? There is a cooling off period of 5 days. This basically means that I am able to cancel my contract (the key thing) within five days of signing the contract. So I went back to gym today and applied to get my cash back.A lesson learned. Cooling off periods exist and they are great.

St Francis holiday in review

So instead of writing about my holiday, here are some photos:

Back in buzzing JHB

I am back. I promise that I will be posting pics from my holiday soon and updating everyone about the year ahead and more specifically the weeks ahead.A few things broke down in St Francis, one of which was my Vodacom mobile internet and the other was my Xbox but more updates about both soon. Here's to a great '08

To do list - 2008

I am not making any new years resolutions as such. Instead I am setting myself tasks that I would like to get done in the year.The one resolution that I think I will make and can get done is to go back to gym. I used to gym 6 times a week. Now, nothing, no gym, not for at least 10 months.Onto the list:1. Play more golf - at least once a month, the goal is twice a month.1.2 Get a golf membership at a club - I've chosen JCC.2. Skydive3. Bungee Jump4. Get my deep see diving license (or is it an open water license?).5. Travel to an African country - This I have never done before. Embarrassing, I know.6. Organise a boys weekend away over a long weekend - This can involve golf or not, it's really up to you and circumstance.7. Have more fun in general - Yes work is hard and yes I love my sleep. But this is not an excuse not to have fun. I want to go dancing, go clubbing, have sundowners, cocktails, dinner parties and more. All with Jen, my friends and people who I appreciate.8. Organise a dinner party and cook the meal myself.9. Go for cooking lessons - My preferance is Thai food and Wok cooking.10. Learn how to make sushi.11. Cook dinner at home, myself, for family and friends at least once a week.12. Learn how to relax - In other words, get offline more often.13. Make use of weekends more effectively - This involves going away for weekends, getting out of the house, not sleeping in late for no reason.14. Invest my money - I am on the road to that one already.15. Buy my first property.16. Learn how to code php.17. Go fishing.18. Reconnect with one friend who I've lost touch with.19. Go overseas - Preferably to somewhere I've never been. I hear Thailand is beautiful.20. Start another blog - I have already put this one in motion with a friend of mine. More on this in the new year I think.I think that is enough for now. I think I will try to keep a formal record of how many of these things I actually get done. Let me know if you have done any of them and have any advice or suggestions for me.

Funniest spam comment in my site yet

This is a spam comment I received today:

This website is very nice and colorful too. Its nice to have something to show others where you attend church and to show all the smiling people filled of the goodness of the Lord. You have a wonderful website here. May God rich bless you always.

Those of you who know me and read this blog will clearly understand the humour. If you don't understand it might be worth searching for religion in my archives and you'll get it.

2007 was a year to remember

Wow. What a year. To be honest, the thought of writing this post has haunted me for almost the entire year! I despise writing year-end summations. I despise them because there is so much that matters that cannot be mentioned. There is just too much stuff.But I've decided to give it a good go. I think that this will probably be the most personal post I've written all year. Who knows, here goes.I began 2007 in a bit of a daze and felt a bit overcome by many things. Jen moved back from London at the end of last year so she was back and we were together again. We have been together now quite a while. This has definitely been the greatest accomplishment of my year and the almost three that we have been together, keeping a woman like Jen is always an accomplishment, she is amazing.I currently still living with my Mom. She's a great source of strength for me and I think she is more of a friend than a mother now that I have grown up and can contribute to life a bit more. Thanks.I struggled in the first part of 2007 with work, money, freelancing, career path and life in general. I started a few projects that ended OK. I helped Courts start his blog, Sharepointexpert. I met Christof, Mike, Justin, Stii, Matt, Dave (who I knew before the "web 2.0 bubble") and many more. The 27 dinners became a stable event in my year. I also became reacquainted with Groogle and Shnitz which I am thankful for.My friends and I continued our 8:Thirsty tradition every Wednesday of the year. This is a time that we use to catch up, hang out and discuss our lives, paths, futures and reminisce about our pasts. Wednesdays are more often than not my favourite days of the week thanks to the 8:Thirsty Boys.After struggling with my freelance photography and writing - working for corporate clients and some smaller inserts in the Sunday Times - I decided that this was enough. At this point luckily I was found by Financial Mail and offered a job. I have been working there for close on 8 months now. What a pleasure. At 23 I have almost walked in to the perfect job. The only down side is the fact that I drive to work on the same road that I have driven since I was 12 on my way to school. That needs to change, but otherwise things are grand at the office.I started SA Rocks in 2007. This is an accomplishment that I am extremely proud of I must admit. SA Rocks has given me faith in my country once more. It has proven to me that people are inherently good with tinges of evil and that SA is a truly Rocking country if we allow it to be that. The growth of SA Rocks over the past 10 months has proven to me that I am not the only person in SA who wants to feel good about the country. I have successfully carried a 100% growth (and sometimes more) from month to month on SA Rocks.I have been accused of many things this year too. Waves and linkbaiting have definitely been the name of my blogging game on this blog. I think that this had made me more friends than enemies but I stand to be corrected on that one. First there was Guy who Paul, Vince and Justin helped and advised me with. Then there was Bolton who we are still debating at lunch with Matt, Vin and Justin. I was linked to on TechCrunch, met Jimmy Wales and spoke at the 2nd 27 dinner about the state of SA and why I love it. I also managed to sign a contract with Virgin Money to sponsor SA Rocks!Justin wrote his year-end post that I read today and he said it well; many people hope that next year will be better than the one gone past. This year I hope that next year can match 2007 because if it does I will have ample opportunity to make friends, make money and create my happiness.To everyone who has touched my life this year who I have left out I thank you for your involvement and input in to my life. It's been a long, difficult, challenging and rewarding year and I thank you all for being close to me.

On holiday in St Francis

I am on holiday (not without a few calls from work I might add) and am loving the coast at the moment.I will be blogging very sporadically for the next week or two. I think it is a much needed break for me from blogging and this blog in specific. I am still blogging on SA Rocks so pop through if you want a read.Otherwise enjoy the festive season and keep on blogging!

Police Taser Student During Kerry Forum

This is absolutely unbelievable. I actually had my mouth open while watching this video.And they say that SA has problems:If anyone can explain why this student was arrested and then tasered I will be very surprised. Apparently now freedom of speech in the USA is condemned too. It's a slippery slope.The police said that he was insighting a riot. What absolute rubbish. Democracy involves questioning authority and people in power. This is one of the most amazing videos I have seen.And what the hell was "Senator" Kerry doing up there letting those cops taser the kid? Is he off his rocker? What sort of a spineless "leader" is he? Completely expected from an American authoritative figure.

Top 100 songs of 2007 - Jay-Z wins

This is the number 1 song of 2007 according to Rolling Stone Magazine. I love Rolling Stone. I am not sure where this winner came from but hell, let's be honest, Jay-Z rocks the shit out of anyone, anywhere, any genre. So I think he is a deserved winner.The top 5 were:"Roc Boys"Jay-Z"A Few Words in Defense of Our Country"Randy Newman"Umbrella"Rihanna"D.A.N.C.E."Justice"Four Winds"Bright EyesMy top 5 would not read as above at all. In fact, I've only heard two of the top 5 above.Here's my take on things. I'm listing ten artists, in no order that deserve recognition in my opinion:30 seconds to marsChris DaughtryTimbalandRadioheadAlicia KeysJustin TimberlakeFall Out BoyLinkin ParkNelly FurtadoFoo FightersThis is my top ten for the year. Varied, diverse and all incredible muso's.

Financial Mail blogging at Polokwane

I have just helped Financial Mail put together their Polokwane Blog for the upcoming ANC Conference.We have been extremely diligent with the blog and have already posted photos of what is happening at the University of Limpopo.From the FM @ Polokwane blog:

The FM will be covering the ANC’s National Conference in Polokwane real time on the Internet.A highly experienced team of four FM journalists will be on the ground in Polokwane keeping track of the most important political event since the ANC came to power in 1994. They will be posting regular news, views and conference snippets to the FM@Polokwane blog during the conference, supported by colleagues in the FM Johannesburg and Cape Town newsrooms.It is the closest you can get to being at the conference yourself.

So make sure to add the RSS feed for the blog to your feedreader and keep up to date with the happening at the conference.

I finally made the cover of Time Magazine

I stumbled upon this wicked awesome cool site called MagMyPic.com
. Upload your photo and the site automatically embeds you on to a magazine cover from their database!Brilliant!

When Facebook profiles go bad

This is just too much for me. It took me 3 or 4 minutes just to find the guys wall.All I wanted to do was write on his wall. I gave up. Look at all the applications:

5 tips for making it in a corporate environment

I have worked in a big company for about a few months now. Things have gone well. I haven't "made" it yet but I am trying my hardest.Here are 5 things that I've learned that have helped me stake my claim and not become another number.1. Be outspoken - not loudThis is extremely important when you are trying to make a name for yourself. If you are subordinate at every turn you become a lacky, a number, a worker. Workers work hard, leaders work smart. Leaders also get ahead.2. Dress like you - for successDress code is something that I have struggled with immensely at my "corporate" job. I like to be individual, I like to stand out. Heck, I studies at Rhodes University where everyone is unique, just like everyone else. Doing this in a corporate environment takes effort. Don't think that its irrelevant because it isn't.I shaved my head today and have already received 10 comments from people telling me how neat I look. I got contact lenses and a fair number of people commented. That means they notice me. That's a good thing.3. Do what you doMany people have succeeded in a corporate environment by doing anything and everything. I personally think this works for a small niche of people. For most of us I think it is important to get in to a space where you are able to do what you are great at. Being good at something is wonderful but it wont set you apart. You need to be great and be noticed.4. Challenge the old way of thinkingMake sure that you know what you are doing because this one could get you fired. Challenging your seniors is generally not a great idea, unless you can certifiably guarantee that what you suggest will work. If it works you look like a gunner but if it doesn't you're going down because you pissed off your boss and failed.5. Play the man, not the ballThis one is particularly interesting and certainly the most challenging of all. Make friends, make alliances and make adversaries. They are all necessary in the bureaucratic world of business. Whether you are a tea lady or a journalist or a stock broker, you need people to back you up.Pick someone close to your age (give or take 10 years) who is fairly weighty in the company and make sure that they like you, they buy in to your ideas and they give you credit for those ideas.A friend in a corporate environment is an imperative career booster. Pick wisely and play the game carefully. Not everyone can be used as a bargaining tool, some friends are just friends and they are even more important.image: varshesh

5 Feeds I can't live without

1. Cyanide and Happiness - http://feeds.feedburner.com/Explosm2. The Dilbert Blog - http://dilbert.typepad.com/the_dilbert_blog/atom.xml3. 9 to 5 Mac - http://www.9to5mac.com/feedburner.xml4. Deputy Dog - http://feeds.feedburner.com/Deputydog5. Sarah Britten - http://feeds.feedburner.com/thetimes/brittenAnd a few extra special mentions:David Airey - http://feeds.feedburner.com/CreativeDesignPublicity Generation - feed://http//www.publicitygeneration.co.za/?feed=rss2Freakonomics - http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/rss2.xml

Holiday shopping

I am not fond of Christmas at all. I love holidays but hate the fact that it's Christmas everywhere. Everywhere.I attempted me holiday shopping yesterday. What a mission. The only way I could think to get through it was to do some equal shopping. Let me explain:One for you, one for me, one for you, one for me. I ended up spending more money on myself and presents to make me happy than I did on my loved ones.Managed to get everyone out of the way except for two. So that's not too bad. One more shopping spree should do it!

Mac VS PC the ultimate video

I love these Mac ads. Sheer brilliance. Finally I found a video that mashes a whole bunch of them together, here you go:

Homemark spam scam continued

A few months back I posted about Homemark scamming/spamming me over SMS.Surprisingly months later I am still getting comments on this post from more and more people feeling the same way (OK and one dude who actually wasted R99 on a prize he won, some knives!).So I decided that I needed to use my skills and get some more out this issue. I have emailed Homemark about the issue, my blog post and the over twenty people who agree with me and feel spammed. Let's wait and see what they have to say.If you have been scammed or spammed in a similar way, please comment on this post and lets build up as many complaints as possible.