You are the words you tweet

Oct 7, 2020 |

Recently, I downloaded my Twitter archive and have been going through twelve years’ worth of every tweet I have posted, drawing inspiration from the thoughts, ideas, experiences, etc expressed for my upcoming book, to be published in 2021 by Pan Macmillan South Africa. “Study the past if you would define the future.”Confucius It has been a fascinating trip down memory lane. The things that I considered ‘tweet-worthy’, the ideas that I have had, the moments I have lived through. It occurred to me that, in being active on social media, we are essentially documenting our lives. This can be...

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Language is a tool

Nov 11, 2019 |

In the early days of Twitter, a regular refrain was “it’s only Twitter” when one took offence at the contents of another’s tweet. And then people started losing their jobs, or couldn’t get jobs, or couldn’t get into schools, all because of a view expressed on twitter that was considered beyond the bounds of ‘appropriate.’ Nowadays, we don’t hear that phrase much anymore, but too many people still operate as if social media does not have consequences, which it does, even if it isn’t felt instantly. I have had many a conversation with my 12-year old about the implications of what he shares and...

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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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Sony Ericsson Opens New Foursquare Horizons

Mar 31, 2011 | ,

There are so many different platforms, social networks, groups, etc, all designed to bring us closer and make us more social. When foursquare came on the scene, I just didn’t see its purpose … in the same way I didn’t really get twitter. After a chat with a friend and colleague about 6 months ago on what can actually be done with foursquare, I started dabbling. I do not have it linked to twitter – so I do not bombard people with my check-ins – and I only check in when in public places … and only sometimes. I like the idea of it turning into a resource where, when I check into a particular...

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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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