I've moved to the Middle East

It's news to me too, but at least this proves the necessity of googling yourself every now and then.

Thanks to Google, I picked up this link to Twittervision which clearly shows me living... well, maybe you can tell me where, so I can find myself there.

Take a look for yourself:


According to Twittervision, I'm somewhere near a city called Ar Riyad, and from what I can tell, that's somewhere in Saudi Arabia.

Absolutely bizarre.

The other thing this definitely proves is that we can't believe everything we find on the internet. But then again, we all know that already, don't we?

Don't we???

To let the cat out of the bag... or not....

I'm thrilled to say there are some awesome bloggers/writers confirmed to take part in the SA blook, although I'm still looking for suitable bloggers for a couple of topics I would like to include in addition to those already taken.

Not surprisingly, it seems that people are more interested in who is writing than in what the blook is actually about [one of the great characteristics of a social community]. Over the past week I've had a lot of queries via e-mail and twitter asking who the bloggers are... and so far haven't revealed to anyone.

Although I will be posting more details about the theme and how it will work soon, my question is this - Should I reveal who the bloggers are before the blook is published online, or leave it as a surprise?

I would prefer to leave it until it is published, the reason being that the final product will be a true reflection of a blook written with completely different viewpoints and expertise. Although a part of me would like to publish the names because I believe the bloggers/writers deserve a great amount of credit for agreeing to take part in this experiment, not knowing what will come of it, I also think there is more fun for everyone in not knowing... and the reading, links and credit will come soon.

What do you think? Reveal before, or only reveal when published?

A social media book for South Africans

How do you teach those who don't read blogs or take part in social media about social media?

It seems there is a good answer - target offline readers by putting together a book about social media [seems obvious in retrospect - isn't that we always say about good ideas].

Thanks to Eve Dmochowska for the heads-up on Linked by design, one of her newer projects. This is something which might be looked at as long overdue, but in actual fact is probably perfectly timed [considering the recent rise in popularity of social media usage beyond facebook and myspace].

Quite strange actually, with my recently noted desire to make an online book [the SA blook] and now this - seems that the lines between traditional- and tech-publishing are blurring faster than we realise... where to next?

Perspectives: South Africa - where do we actually fit in to a global economy?

This one simply blew my mind...

A little while ago, I had a look at the measure of SA's wealth - GDP [gross domestic product] and how SA has grown in wealth - you can see it here.

The funny thing about numbers is that they don't mean much unless you actually compare it to something else. South Africa generated $255,155 million in 2006. So what!?

As I was saying, this one simply blew my mind. Well, have a look for yourself:

Quick explanation:

• the size of the bubble reflects population size
• the further right the bubble is, the higher the country's total GDP [or wealth generated]; and
• the higher up the bubble is, the higher the average GDP per person [the best indicator - shows average wealth generated per person]
• SA is the green bubble in all the graphs
  

South Africa vs major African countries
[Egypt, Nigeria and Algeria]


You can see here that SA is way ahead of the pack compared to other African countries, both in terms of total GDP and GDP per person.

South Africa vs other emerging market countries
[India, China and Brazil]


Although SA is much smaller than all these other emerging markets, we're still ahead in terms of GDP per person.

South Africa vs some significant global economies
[USA, Japan, Germany, Great Britain, Australia]


Um, well.... what can I say. Blew my mind. Amazing that we can be so far ahead in the graphs above, and here we barely feature at all.

Certainly changed my perspective on where we live. Not in a bad way... there are lots of opportunities and positive aspects related to this. But I'll never think about it the same way again, that's for sure.

You can find my other posts in this theme here -> Perspectives

Source for information: International Monetary Fund

Introducing the SA Blook. An online book written by SA bloggers.

*An experiment in online writing*

Yes, blog + book = blook.

But unlike a traditional blook [not that I've seen many myself, really], where chapters are written by one blogger and published one by one on the blog, how about a blook written by a group of bloggers and published across a spectrum of different blogs?

[Image courtesy of Flickr]

And I'm not referring to fiction either. I mean a blook about a subject that is relevant to all of us, something that a variety of writers could each contribute to - using their own specific skills, knowledge and experience.

This is an experiment in online writing. With the rapid development of blogging and social media , globally and in South Africa, it makes sense to try something new every now and then. This is something like that, trying to bring together great writers/bloggers by allowing a group to write about a variety of themes relating to one topic, just like chapters in a book.

Here is a rough explanation of the process I have in mind:

• Several bloggers have been identified [I'm still looking for a few more - so don't be shy to let me know if you're interested in participating] and will be asked to write one chapter around a specific theme - they will have full freedom to choose the title and content as long as it matches the theme and is positive/constructive.
  
• Posts should be suitable in length and easily readable [ie the book should be easily digestable by readers used to reading blogs, rather than being a several day or week undertaking].
• Everyone will be asked to publish on their own individual blogs [there is no point redirecting content from individual blogs as this will dilute the impact and audience reach], with a link to the contents page at the bottom with a brief explanation of how it works.
• Everyone will be asked to publish on the same day at around the same time.
• The main blook post will be published here on OutThink once all are live. I will post the introduction and contents here, with links to all the relevant "chapters" posted by the participating bloggers.

As I said, its an experiment, and I have no idea whether it will work or not. But hopefully it will be part of the online collaborative learning curve and people will be able to take good parts of this idea and develop it further... who knows what could come of it.

As for the subject of the blook and the themes, for now that's a secret and each blogger will be the only one informed of the theme that they are writing about...

... I'm hoping that this will make the final blook all the more interesting - it's part of the experiment, to see whether this can work. Another approach would be to disclose everything upfront and allow everyone to collaborate and work together, but I've decided on this approach for the first one.

There's still a bit of a way to go, but I will post updates here as it progresses.

If you have any thoughts or suggestions, please leave a comment or contact me here. I would love to hear it.

It's not all doom and gloom in SA

With all the challenges that have come our way recently such as load-shedding, interest rate hikes, petrol and food price increase, soaring inflation data and muted growth expectations, it has admittedly left many of us wondering what will happen next.

Despite all this, I am still fundamentally positive about SA's future, but it's good to hear that certain economic experts share that outlook, particularly when the economic indicators would generally be used as ammunition to state otherwise. Here's a Fin24 article noting some of the less-often mentioned positive aspects, quoting Econometrix chief economist Dr Azar Jammine.

We should not focus on the negative [although we must learn from our current situation and mistakes]. But let's rather focus on the opportunities and positive effects - they do exist!

Also, have a look at this from one of Thought Leader's newer bloggers, Miriam Mannak - a positive view of SA from a foreigner living here [who, may I add, is writing the way that Thought Leader's ought to write]. It's actually rather refreshing.

Five things business leaders can learn from Michael Jordan

One thing that many people in business struggle with is a constant battle to keep your mind open to new and innovative ways of doing things.

The reason this happens is simple - we get caught up in day-to-day reality and worrying about the details that take up all our valuable time. To be successful, we have to rise above this and take our "game" to a new level.

I have great respect for Michael Jordan as an athlete, one who embodies success. Here are five traits he exhibited which can teach us a lot about how we conduct ourselves and our businesses:

1. Keep your eye on the end goal - by focusing on one thing, in his case winning the NBA championship, MJ was able to remove the other distractions and make critical decisions in all types of circumstances. On the way he also garnered many individual accolades, but these were never his goal - they were merely a by-product of the success he generated for the team by pursuing that one goal.
2. Make others around you better - MJ was always able to make his team better. With the exception of Scottie Pippen, his team-mates were not superstars. Not even close. Although he could easily have complained about the quality of people around him, he instead chose to lead them, inspire them and take them all to a new level by understanding each of their strengths and weaknesses, respecting them and winning as a team. You often hear that he carried his team, but you never hear that he was the team. The team always played a role, and he never tried to take all the glory for himself.
   
3. Attempt and practice the impossible - MJ made the impossible happen on a regular basis. Although there were others before him that made spectacular plays, he turned amazing into the ordinary, and he did this by practising the impossible. Just have a look at these top 10 amazing plays by MJ and you'll see what I mean. We all get stuck doing the same regular things each day, and doing the same things over and over and over. Why not set time aside to practice doing amazing things. When you first start, you might only succeed once every 100 times, but over time that will improve to a point where you could make the impossible seem normal.
   



4. What you're doing is a thing of beauty - Basketball is just a game, like business is just business. MJ didn't just play basketball, he was an artist creating a masterpiece everytime he stepped out on the court, and watching him play was absolutely breath-taking. He didn't just go out to play basketball, he went out to create something of beauty that the world could look to and appreciate. He took pride in doing what he did exceedingly well, not just doing it to get by.
   
5. Believe [have no fear] - The only time you really need to believe is when it seems there is no hope. The greatest example was in game five of the 1998 Finals against the Utah Jazz, where MJ was incredibly ill, and not only played, but led his team to a win with a spectacular performance. What made him great wasn't the fact that he believed and played hard when things were going well - its that he gave his all when circumstances seemed totally against him and that there was no way to win.

Yes, Michael Jordan had great abilities and skills, but so do many people. It's what he did with them and the way he conducted himself that makes me respect him.

These are just five things that stood out to me, but I'm sure there are many more. If there are others you think should be here too, please leave a comment and let us all know about it.

Imagination is more important than knowledge

I came across this thought by Einstein that has brought back a modicum of inspiration to me, and it's worth sharing here:

"I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world." - Albert Einstein [from Brainyquote]

If you're feeling a bit drained, uncreative, boxed-in, whatever - just think about this.