FONT OBSESSION

WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF SOCIAL MEDIA?

We live online. We shop, order, consume and flirt online.

Social media is going to be integrated into all areas of business planning. No longer will a “mobile friendly” version of a company’s website be enough. And social media has caught on.

Our attention spans are growing shorter. We are overloaded with information. The future of social media is going to be dominated by visual content. Instagram, with over 150 million users, as well as newer channels such as Snapchat (the 9th most popular iPhone app) is going to be integrated into mobile and social strategy. Snapchat allows users to make short videos that are deleted within a few seconds. Pinterest and Instagram are growing in number of users and popularity.

According to trend predictions, Google Plus will reach its “tipping point” this year. Its users are up from 190 million to 300 million. Social media will have to make use of this monster, although hopefully Google will do something to make the product more “lovable”. People love Facebook. People love their Pinterest and Instagram accounts. But Google Plus is like that work colleague who is always lurking in the background. He’s there. But just a little uncool.

The social media monster Facebook – with about 1.5 billion users – bought Instagram, which will see an interesting development in its integration in marketing. Other websites such as the ad-free and exclusive Ello are bound to gain traction too. They appeal to users who are unsettled with Facebook’s new privacy laws and information trading. But social media users are becoming harder to please and are not as easily swayed as they once were. Companies will have to produce quality posts (videos or photos/ images) for users who are becoming more and more discerning.

It’s my opinion that social media is adapting to mobile. Social communication over Whatsapp and messenger is shaping the way we interact, communicate and view our world. Apparently, by 2017 every person on this planet will have downloaded 37 apps. In the US, every adult spends about 2 hours a day on his smartphone. That’s amazing. It’s given social marketing a great relevance and capacity to reach millions of people.

Overshadowing it all – social media has to get customers to make a “call to action” in order to be successful. Strategies will have to become more creative in the ways they reach people in a world of ads, where the consumer has gained a lot more power. Social media is part of our world. The names of the websites we use may change, but it’s here to stay, like a rumble in the jungle.

GUEST BLOGGER: 'LONELINESS'

My good friend is a really amazing writer. She wrote a piece and e-mailed it to me (because that's what writer friends do). I loved it so much that I basically forced her to publish it. Because it's so personal, she doesn't want to her name to appear. It's an honest, vulnerable piece that speaks to all of us in those quiet, lonely moments.

Thank you, my friend, for having the guts to write this (even though no one else will know).

I added a photo I took for our shared love of airports.

I love that you know how cathartic writing can be.

Much love to you.

HELLO, JEMIMA KIRKE!

Jemima is best known for her role on the HBO show "Girls" by Lena Dunham. She's a mother, actress and artist. I just love her extraaaa-ordinary sense of style. 

MY LATEST ARTICLE FOR DENIZEN

I wrote a new piece for Denizen on my experience of returning to my home town. Denizen is such a cool website, uniting all global nomads and third culture kids, giving them a platform to speak.

And...

STUCK IN TRAFFIC

Sometimes it's useful having a phone with a camera, no matter how crappy it is, and being stuck in traffic. 

Oh right, yeah, this is just Cape Town showing off pastel blues.

It does that occasionally.

A MONTH ON FILM

My brother sourced the camera that I first started taking photos with in order to re-kindle my love for photography. He found the beautiful Minolta x700, which my dad used to keep in a silver case at the bottom of his bookshelf, on eBay in a good condition. 

The camera is heavy enough to sit comfortably in my hands, and it's light enough to lug around in my handbag. When I spy through the 50mm lens, the colours appear magical. 

I'm still getting used to the camera but here are some of my attempts. It appears that my love for taking pictures is sticking around like a rumble in the jungle. 

WHO ARE THE JESUS FREAKS?

Many of my English friends have asked me what on earth Freakstock and the Jesus Freaks, which I keep talking about, is all about.

Let me explain the:
what,
where
and who.

THANK YOU GOOGLE

I was perusing the internet (as one does on windy, cold nights!) and found this guy and his rad, little illustrations. They are so sweet and honest, exposing inner dialogues with such softness.

Also, he's got budding illustration skills.

DIVE FOR DREAMS

dive for dreams
or a slogan may topple you
(trees are their roots
and wind is wind)