In another lifetime, I was a tech writer. I obsessively followed what was happening, attended countless launches in South Africa and around the world, and wrote about technology and innovation on my blog (for example, this very old review of the Samsung i8910) and in magazines. When I joined Destiny Man magazine as the editor in 2010, I had to start cutting back on writing specifically on tech because of the demands on my time. Plus, I was writing more across the board. After a few issues, the magazine hired someone else to write the technology pages. And, gradually, I stopped receiving invitations to launches and the like.
It felt like the ‘heady’ days of technological innovation and everything was new. Every mobile phone that came out took a step forward. The iPad, which began the ‘tablet wars,’ launched in 2010. Music and video streaming platforms, ride-hailing apps, social media like Instagram were birthed. Twitter came into its own. Everywhere one looked, something shiny and new was coming out.
In 2012, I attended CES and spent hours wandering the Las Vegas Convention Centre, awe-inspired by everything around me. That year, I came home with a waterproof speaker I could use in the shower and the following year, excitedly got a 1TB flashdrive.
A couple of friends who stayed in the space have encouraged me to consider returning to tech writing, and I have no idea where to begin. Plus, I don’t know if I have the energy to reconnect with those behind the scenes and attend a bunch of launches.
When writing for publication, one partially covers the time spent out and about with what one is paid. When you explore on your own and look to build enough of a profile to warrant some form of monetisation, you have to put in the hours.
I oscillate between wanting to give it a shot again and accepting that the world has moved on without me (and I cannot go backwards).
I used to be the in the tech business. I had an IT company in Lesotho and, later, in Johannesburg. I was fascinated by all the innovation. I remember my first cellphone. I remember my first PC. I remember the Internet being launched and I remember dial-up. It was all very exciting and I couldn’t get enough. I even judged the MTN Business App of the Year competition for a couple of years.
I need to find that excitement again.