What would happen if your website disappeared?

Jul 8, 2022 |

I started my website in 2009 and, albeit erratically, have shared writing and thoughts on a wide range of topics on it since then. There was my ‘tech journo’ phase when I was plugged into that world and wrote posts on launches, new gadgets, innovations, etc. In fact, one of my first posts was on Nokia, when it was still dominating the market. There’s been my extended music phase where I have written about artists, albums and everything in between, including attempting to create regular features like Digital Crates, where I share musicians and albums I ‘discover’ and Life Soundtrack, where I...

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The Twitter Abyss

Apr 23, 2020 | ,

Keeping one's mind right in a world that feels like it is struggling to get a grip on reality often seems damn near impossible. And that is under supposedly normal conditions. Today, it feels even harder, especially on Twitter. I have a love-hate relationship with the platform that started in 2008. Or rather with how we interact with each other on the platform. In my first couple of years, I was on constantly to the point where it was creating rifts in my home. I was fascinated by how we would find out about events as they took place because people were tweeting from the ground. The night...

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Mind Your Words

Jun 1, 2015 |

Day One. We are curators of our lives, whether consciously or unconsciously. Our digital persona tells our individual stories as they unfold. If you take the time, regardless of how created it is, you can discern the root of a person simply by following them on social media from both what they talk about and what they leave out. When I am to meet or have met someone, I generally go through their online persona, exploring Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+, About Me and any other platform I can find them on. In fact, I use Charlie App, which “combs through 100s of sources and automatically...

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I Just Started Something …

May 30, 2011 | ,

Life is fascinating in its habits. How often have you had a moment, when it felt like everything was coming together perfectly? Or when you meet – and really connect with - someone and you discover you’ve been in the same spaces for years but never met. It is like the universe is saying … now is your time. Yes, as the cliché goes, ‘everything happens for a reason’ and, often, things happen when they are supposed to happen. Being a chronic ideas person, I have spent a lifetime buckling under the weight of “what-ifs” - things that would be great, if I could only get them going, which I don’t...

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Mind Your Language (CP)

Jan 30, 2011 |

Written September 29th, 2009 This is a mini-rant. Social media has become all-consuming. We live our lives in the public space, randomly sharing our private moments with a world we don’t necessarily know. It started with email, moved to MySpace and found a home in Facebook. Friends you hadn’t seen for years and people you would never ever meet otherwise, become your Facebook friends. You share pictures, moments and your state of mind in status updates, giving a running commentary of your life. You discovered blogs and now you share everything from recipes for your favourite dishes through to...

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In Retrospect

May 28, 2010 |

Africa, The Next Throne of ‘Hip-Hop’: I’ve mentioned this story before because it was one of those experiences that always stays with you. In December 2009, I wrote the following in a column at AllHipHop.com: “In 1996, while serving as GM of Wu-Tang Management, I participated in a private meeting with executives from RCA Records. At a certain point they brought out our sales figures from around the world. It only included totals from the Americas, Europe and Asia... [more] The Funniest Lines From Scathing SATC2 Reviews: You could grow out your bangs, or met your future husband, conceive and...

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