Twitter and real life

Think about your Twitter stream and the people you follow. How many have you really met, if you take out your friends and colleagues? In my case it's around 40% that I've been lucky to recognise, meet, or bump into at industry events or around the town.

I sometimes think it's amazing at how one can knock down all walls on Twitter and have conversations with strangers yet when it comes to real life, those walls are built as high as the Empire State Building. The honesty, openness and directness to Twitter conversations is mind-boggling. People aren't afraid to open their mouths whether it's to congratulate or hate - loudly - online... yet I'm sure if they met face-to-face, would they really have the guts to be that direct.

Real life 2.0

I know I wonder what some of the people I follow and converse with are like, especially those who I have a lot of respect for. So when the opportunity came up on Monday night to come meet some of them, I grabbed it by the horns... or balls, considering it was one ridiculous 'sausage fest' as the tweetup organiser, Paul Cartmel called it in reply to me.

Long story cut short, Paul from New Media Labs and Mike Sharman decided they were going to attempt the R60 000 challenge at Caprice after the d-list celebrities; Lee-ann Liebenberg and Nicky Van Der Walt got into a huge PR mess with Caprice the week before.

Mike: "@PaulCartmel are we bevving this week - you around?"


Paul "@mikesharman fo shuua, should we klap R60k at Caprice ;) - perhaps @raouldejongh @lifeissavage @mrtuckbox will join us?"

Lots of back and forth between people and Paul's realisation: "Oh god how sad, I think I've organised a tweetup" *&%$

After following Paul, Ben Wagner from Native (Stonewall) and Life is Savage for a while, I got to meet them, along with some other pretty cool people like Mike Sharman, Liesl De Bruin, Secret City Project, Gaby Rosario and Murray Legg. It turned out to be a great night, full of laughter, lots of talking, ridiculous dance moves and being the people we are, snapping away and tweeting the hilarity that ensued.

A little later, I noticed a tweet from the awesome, Life is Savage, where he said this...

"My faith in meeting twitter folks in real life has been restored. What a group of stellar people. #goodtimes"


I couldn't agree with him more.

Let me know what you think?

The Putt in the Putt

I love a spontaneous evening. Ja.

After a chilly after-work walk with my friend Root on the beachfront, another one of our crazy friends, Batsy hollered on the cellphone with an idea. A game of Putt Putt. We were initially hesitant as all we could hear was our stomachs talking but it was right where our cars were parked, so why say no?

We've been frequenting this very popular place since we were kinder joys and it's still the same fun and definitely a fun way to start the week (except with the South-Easter starting to sneak over the table top). 

The price is still super reasonable with a game being coined at R14. Add the ridiculous shots, laughter and time with friends or family, it's worth every cent especially when you get 2 hole-in-ones after another. 

Anyone want to go Pro?

The music IS the best of me

In the space of a week the entire music section of my life got thrown into complete happiness. There were a few rumours in the weeks leading up to Big Concert's 'big' annoucement that U2 were coming to our shores in February next year but on Monday 18 October is was officially announced, they were coming.

Scurrying on U2.com to register to mad back and forth emails between friends as to how many tickets and who is booking, we are this close to booking our places on that field in Cape Town stadium. My boss went one step further and upgraded her account to buy the tickets during the presales for the club members and then continued to chirp

Boss: "I'm the one who's been around long enough to enjoy their whole career. Not you"

Me: True

But still, I'm most excited. Tickets start from around R161 - R2600. Choose your poison at a Computicket.

It's Not Over

Chris Daughtry is here next week and is playing at Grand West Arena to what I suspect will be a packed out crowd. My friends and I have rocked out to his music in the car, on the phone, on BBM and most likely on email.

There will most likely be dressing up and acting like 16 year olds which is pretty close to our mental age but it's simply going to rock and be an awesome gig


Come Here Boy

Imogen Heap is coming to SA! I was happily living on a music high until I opened my Tweetdeck application on my iPhone and low and behold Talya Goldberg breaks even more bank breaking news

@TalyaGoldberg: "Imogen Heap here in February. Zomg." 

Some screaming. Some WTFs later. I replied back needing to know the details

@TalyaGoldberg:  "Its true! Imogen Heap concert at Paul Cluver Forest Amphitheatre in CT on 5 Feb! She better sing Frou Frou.."

Shit. Whatever she sings. Frou Frou - my favorite of her work - to I Megaphone or Speak for Yourself, I simply do not care. Imogen Heap is going to be playing at Paul Cluver Forest Amphitheatre on 4 & 5 Feb 2011

Why Go?

Then there is Faithless. A dance act that has been around since I was a lighty growing up providing some of the most popular dance tunes that are still pumped to these awesome days. Faithless are at Grand West Arena on Friday 4 Feb 2011 and tickets also range from R395 upwards from Computicket - again.

Now all Robyn needs is Sarah McLachlan and Florence and the Machine and I'll be the happiest chick in the planet.

Anyone going to any shows?

MWEB's edutainment videos

Had a link land in my inbox earlier on MWEB's very cool edutainment videos on 'how the internet works' and 'how ADSL works in South Africa'. If you have a friend or family member (aka my mom) who doesn't understand how the interwebs work then this is a great video for them to watch.

Have a look for yourself

How the internet works

How ADSL works in South Africa

Choose your Centrum Guardian Hero

It's the Centrum Guardian Hero time again and the NSRI has another great story of what we do and the lengths our unpaid volunteers will go to, risking their lives to save others.

Sean and his family on Durban beachfront.
Credit: NSRI / Rogan Ward

"Our rescuers are just ordinary people. They are someone’s brother/husband/father/neighbour. When they get a call they leave their families to go out and help a stranger. Centrum Guardian has selected some of the more adventurous stories and highlighted them, to remind the public of the work that the emergency services do.

Sean Serfontein’s (Station 5 - Durban) story is a little different, because this is not his day job. Sean is an unpaid volunteer... Read the incredible story and cast your vote."

Cast your vote

Your vote could win you one of 250 instant R200 cash prizes and earn NSRI R30 000.

Running around painting this old town

Absolutely loving 'Lovesick' by The Arrows.

If you've never heard it (where have you been?) then watch the video

Talk about town

♫Everybody wanna be the talk about town...♫I was there. In that stadium. In the pouring rain and chilly cold snap that took over Cape Town yesterday, I was sitting in beautiful category 1 seats, 5 rows from the middle of the pitch and at 1pm, I still never had tickets nor thought I would be going.


Thanks to work giving AMA-zing seats to 5 of us, which there was a little task to do aka biggest fan vibe... I scored - out of the luck of  a hat - a ticket to the Italy vs. Paraguay game. I'm easy with bullet points so I'll put everything down in a nice little list

• the atmosphere is AMA-zing
• the traffic not so much
• the fan walk is AMA-zing
• the rain not so much
• the seats and view of the game was AMA-zing
• the food and pricing not so much
• the fans were loud, blowing their vuvuzelas, speaking in different languages, accents and it was an AMA-zing cultural experience from a South African Italian telling a Paraguayan fan to eff off politely to Italian fans/tourists blowing their vuvuzelas in Long street
• the grid-locked traffic was a nightmare but not only because of the World Cup. 
• the police presense was pretty awesome and the volunteers were super helpful.
• the whole organisation was on par with other international sporting events I've attended.
• did I mention the atmosphere?
• did I mention I got to watch ITALY play and see Fabio 'I'm HAWT' Cannavaro 20m away from me
• did I mention I watched a World Cup football match in my backyard; Cape Town

Yes please!

Waka Waka eh eh.

Lyrics: Freshlyground - Big Man (Radio Africa album)

Doing it all wrong

Like most people, I don't like to admit when I've done something incorrect, wrong, not cool or made a boo boo. I can go on forever the types of no-no's that are applicable but lets cut to the chase.

Made da circle beega
I used to blog constantly on the Letterdash platform under the women24 community and decided to move my blog onto blogger to start afresh with a new adventure and 'new' Robyn. My style and tone is definitely my own - or so I've been told by people who know me and read my blog - I say it's my twin I decided to chow down on when I was still in the womb. Anyway, it's my wonky style, getting across the idea.

Dear Robyn here decided I would focus this blog for more of my thoughts on the industry and trying to write more technical blog. Big fail number one. Now I ain't the most technical person on the planet and people tend to lose me when they bring up all these magic words. I understand it in my own language and considering I work online it's a blimmen' miracle I still love this industry. I'll leave the techinical pieces to the Mashable's and Techcrunch's of the world thanks.

In future, I'm going to blog, what I did at the beginning; keeping my followers - whoever you may be - up to date with the random musings I write about. This is normally about what's potting in my life from friends, family, Sea Rescue (NSRI), the online industry, television aka Bones, gadgets and maybe have my own styled technical posts.

Rollin'
I need to get back to basics, speak in my style, keep the conversation happening - which is what happened on my old blog - and enjoy my blogging, otherwise... what's the point?

So, I'm going back to simply... my way.

Hope to carry on the conversation again