Sending Back With PayPal
In my previous job, I used to travel internationally a bit. To the point where my kids, especially my son, the Prince, were accustomed to my going off halfway across the world for a couple of days every month or two. And, when I travelled, I tended to come back with multiple gifts, generally things I couldn’t get at home or were slightly cheaper in those countries. I have spent many a day walking between aisles in the Disney shop in whatever country I’m in and frequenting sneaker shops. About two years ago, I went to Paris for a launch and the Prince was very specific about what he wanted –...
Grooming: Find Your Signature With Playboy
The silhouette of a rabbit wearing a bowtie is probably one of the most recognisable logos globally. In South Africa, Playboy Deodorant which has, since 2010, been owned by AMKA Products, is one of the fastest growing Male Deodorant brands. It was also “Coolest Male Deodorant” at the 2015 Sunday Times Generation Next Brand awards “Fragrance speaks the loudest on a subliminal level.” - Marian Bendeth To be honest, as a 40-something year old, the deodorant has always seemed for a consumer much younger than I. I did use it years ago in my 20s but have since moved onto other body sprays. Playboy...
How To Be A Magazine Writer
In the last chapter of my life story, I was editor of a South African men’s business and lifestyle magazine. I also had a stint with a lifestyle magazine before that. An occupational hazard related to being an editor is that you receive countless requests to either write for the publication or for mentorship advice. Having left my previous job, I still continue to receive emails, tweets, Facebook and LinkedIn messages, etc. asking me for assistance in getting into the magazine writing world. I must say, as a quick side note, that my biggest gripe in this regard is that very few messages are...
Play: Bang & Olufsen’s BeoPlay H7
The headphone space is highly competitive with the proliferation of celebrity-endorsed and, in some instances, celebrity-launched headphones. For many manufacturers, it has been a proper battle to ensure continued market share while, for us consumers, the abundance of choice makes it that much harder to decide. Bang & Olufsen’s BeoPlay H7 is beautifully designed by respected Danish designer Jakob Wagner. According to Danish Design Award, “Jakob Wagner’s design is known for its characteristic landscape of form, driven by a quest to strile the balance between two opposing elements, such as...
Cashless Parking With KaChing
You have been shopping. You walk up to the pay station. There’s a line. You put your bags down and fish into your pocket for cash to pay for your parking. You realise you might not have enough. You pick up your bags, find the closest ATM (which is usually on the other side of the mall), withdraw cash, get back, stand in line. You put in a note. It pops back out. You flip it, turn it, twist and eventually you pay. (If you had enough money, in coins, you probably had to scratch at least one coin against the pay station because it keeps sliding through and popping out.) Head to your car, drive...
Playing With The Sony Xperia Z5
Have you ever thought about what truly influences your smartphone spending habits? With the exponential improvements to smartphones that have happened over the last couple of years, I was often mesmerised by the specs and features. For example, the higher the megapixels the phone’s camera had, the more excited I was, as an amateur mobile photographer. Until I saw my pictures. And then I wasn’t so excited anymore. As a side note, in a discussion about smartphone cameras, someone (can’t remember who so can’t give credit) made the comment that, as important as the camera specs is the actual...
Need Extra Money?
The first cellphone I owned was a Nokia 2110 in 1996/97. A hand-me-down from my father, who got it while doing work at CSIR in Pretoria. Vodacom had just setup a deal to provide cellular services in Lesotho, creating Vodacom Lesotho. I was literally given a list of numbers to choose from. Since then, I have had countless phones and have written on them relatively extensively for a variety of spaces, also having the opportunity to go to launches both locally and internationally. I’m actually reviewing the Sony Xperia Z5 right now. I have also had two phone contracts for ten years which means...
Intel Powers Convergence
Convergence. A word that has, over the last decade or so, taken on added meaning as technology has evolved and we have made the transition from single-purpose devices to multiple purpose devices. The PC, followed by the laptop, and the birth of the mobile device, whether smartphone or tablet, have created proper confusion when it comes to how we divide up our time because everything purports to do everything, just not always well. Not too long ago, I struggled with the idea of watching video on a laptop or reading books on a tablet. The screen felt too small for video and I still preferred...
Life: Put In The Work
There are so many great examples across the continent. Examples, in my view, are people whose lives, whose actions serve as a guide for how to live as part of a broader society, in whatever sphere. People who through the sheer force of their will and personality have forever altered the trajectory of their lives and those around them. When we see them reaching dream-level in their lives, we often do not see what it took to get there and assume that it was an easy journey. We package their stories neatly into ‘overnight success’ when, perhaps, it took fifteen years for them to get where they...
WeChat’s Digital Wallet Service
It has been interesting watching WeChat’s push to entrench itself not just in South Africa but across the African continent. Because it is perceived as direct competition to Whatsapp, which has had a significant head start in establishing itself as the leading IM service globally, the WeChat Africa team, based in SA, have made strategic moves to find other ways of penetrating the respective markets. In SA, this has involved initiatives like the partnership with the Cape Town based “on-demand goods collection and delivery service” Picup, which I wrote about after attending an event earlier...
Family time in the movie
Parenting is no child’s play. Trying to provide your children with a balanced life that serves as a foundation for the lives they want to live is an ongoing task as well as a major responsibility. When I was growing up, factors like ‘screen time’ just weren’t an issue and the risk of our children being exposed to video programming that contained sex, violence and other inappropriate content wasn’t that high. I still remember how even seeing two people kissing and the suggestion of more was often as far as it went on telly. While studios like Warner Bros and Walt Disney delved into...
Pay Your Future Self With Small Investment
Entrepreneurship. A word cloaked in so much hope, passion and idealism but, having been brought up by an entrepreneur and having been one for most of my professional life, I have also learned that it comes with hard work, erratic income and setbacks. The stories of entrepreneurs who failed multiple times before succeeding beyond their wildest imagination are many, and that is what drives most of us who enter the entrepreneurship space. In South Africa, many have spoken of entrepreneurship as the solution to issues of unemployment, particularly amongst the youth. When submerged in your...
Grooming: Manscaping
The other day, I received a tweet asking me whether it was ‘manly’ to interact with men’s fashion and grooming media. Having spent four years at the helm of a men’s business and lifestyle magazine, I was a little puzzled by the question. I had hoped we had moved beyond the narrow view of what is to be a man but I was probably being very naïve. I was glad when the whole ‘metrosexual’ label faded because I could never understand why, when you take a little time to consider your style and grooming - especially manscaping -, it automatically meant you are ‘a metrosexual’ which never seemed...
Fashion: The JD Collection
In a previous lifetime (one of many) circa 2001/2, I used to be a booker at an actor’s agency Contractors. It’s been interesting watching the growth of the artists I used to spend my days sending to auditions. Many have gone to build solid careers in the entertainment industry while others have found their professional homes in other industries. I recently met a young man, Jodi Deerling, who was with the agency many years ago and, while he continues to dabble in the entertainment industry, has gone and expanded into the fashion realm with a men’s accessories label called the JD Collection. I...
Huawei Launches The Mate S
Why do you choose one smartphone over the other? What influences your purchasing decision? Is it the specs? The design? As these little devices have taken over all aspects of our lives, I believe that simply specs become less important. The reality is most, if not all, smartphones do the same things, have the same apps, etc. Apple showed the world how design in the tech space drives many of our purchasing decisions because it is about how you connect with something emotionally. When you buy a pair of jeans, you may take note of the stitching but the decision to purchase is influenced more by...
Wesbank Drives Uber
When Uber first launched in South Africa, I enjoyed chatting to the drivers, in particular about what they did before driving an Uber Black, which was the only one available, initially. I met former taxi drivers, a factory supervisor, a truck driver, the unemployed, and even a tour guide. While Uber was something new for all of us, the potential was evident from the get-go, as an avenue for decent earnings for the drivers. And, despite the well-documented challenges Uber has faced, not only in SA, but globally, it is available in 344 cities across 63 countries and 6 continents (according to...