Are Search Engines Ruining Our Lives?

This is a guest post by Maurilio Amorim that I found quite interesting food for thought…

Google and search engines are ruining our lives. I’m convinced of it. Sure, we can now find everything we want to know about any given subject by typing a word and hitting search. Now wait. We don’t even have to finish typing the word. Magical internet search engine elves anticipate our search criteria and fill in the rest of word or phrase for us, most of the time with eerily accuracy.

What’s so wrong about that? Well, the instant retrieval of exactly the information we search for is convenient for sure, but it is doing away with a part of my past I wish I could still have: serendipitous discovery.

I remember looking through the card catalog and pouring through stacks of books in my college library in search of a book and finding authors and titles that were not even on my radar, but due to the “analog” nature of my search, our paths crossed and the title I was not looking for ended up changing my life. Those opportunities are rare in the efficient world of the search engine.

The digital assumption is that we know exactly what we want and all we need is help finding it. But do we really?

How will we ever discover a better alternative to our limited assumption if we take away the wonder of the unexpected? How will we ever meet the more interesting, exotic and surprisingly fun girl if the only dates we are matched with are based on our Barbie-like profile preference? Darn search engine meta-tags. You are the nemesis of serendipity.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the fact that knowledge is no longer a differentiator. These days a head full of facts is a waste of brain power. Who needs to memorize trivia when you can access the world’s knowledge in your cell phone in 30 seconds or less? But I miss the random encounters with facts, writing, music, and people that my old analog world forced  me to experience.  It was in those moments that I ran across an obscure Shakespearean sonnet, that I discovered the music of Basha, that I met the woman who would become my wife.

Now I can find exactly what I want. But is that what I really need?

Are You Addicted to the Internet?

Source: Coupons.org

Back to the Future: 7 Ways to Use Your Past to Guide the Present

Last week I posted about advice we get from our “future selves” – our elders. Today I want to look at the reverse: advice we get from our past selves…

Have you ever found an old journal and been amazed at what you were thinking and feeling? Or have you ever wished that you could go back to that day when you were feeling super passionate and excited about life and bottle that enthusiasm? Well, now you can!

I have just finished reading Jon Acuff’s awesome book Quitter (side note: If you are trying to balance the tension between your day job and your dream job, this is the book for you!) Anyway, in the book, Jon refers to a website called FutureMe.org which really captured my imagination.

The idea behind the website is so elegantly simple that it is easy to miss its brilliance…

FutureMe.org lets you send emails (to yourself) at a specified date up to thirty years in the future. You simply put in your email address, type an email, and then decide what date in the future you want it delivered to your in-box. It even lets you edit the address of future FutureMe.org emails, should you ever change accounts.

Why is this such a powerful tool?

Well, because we all have passions and dreams and hopes for the future. Unfortunately, life has a funny way of knocking those hopes right out of you, and every now and then it’s good to remind ourselves of those dreams.

Receiving a letter from your past self can be a powerful exercise in refocusing your attention on the things that matter most, reminding yourself of the passion and intensity you once felt for those things, and giving you that much-needed encouragement to carry on.

Here are just a few ways you can use FutureMe.org to live a more intentional life:

1. After you attend a conference or seminar, write an email to yourself six months down the road to remind yourself how you felt, and of the key takeaways and action points.

2. Think about the seasons ahead during the year that you typically experience lulls in enthusiasm or periods of high stress. On a day when you are feeling great, send yourself a series of emails to encourage yourself in those times.

3. Write the classic “Where I see myself in five years” email, and have it delivered to you in five years time. I’ve heard it said that we generally overestimate what we can do in a year, and underestimate what we can accomplish in five.

4. Write an email to yourself about enjoying the true meaning of Christmas and set it to be delivered at a time when things tend to become most crazy during the holidays.

5. Send an email to yourself on those “anniversary” days in your life to remind yourself how lucky and fortunate you are.

6. Send yourself emails about more practical matters (birthdays, anniversaries, car services, doctor check-ups etc.).

7. Use it as a general memory pool (the contrast of what you now think about your current situation and what you will remember about it in a few years can be stark)

Real generosity toward the future consists of giving all to what is present. FutureMe.org may just help you use your past to live more fully in the present.

QUESTION: What other uses can you brainstorm for FutureMe.org?

 

Thanks to Jason Fountain for his inspiration.

8 Reasons Why I Love My Vibram FiveFingers

A few months ago I purchased a pair of Vibram FiveFingers barefoot running shoes. And I am absolutely loving them! Here’s why:

1. Running barefoot is natural.

Barefoot running has garnered lots of attention lately due to the mega-bestseller Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. Barefoot running shoes have tripled in sales in recent years, and top athletic companies like Nike and Adidas are declaring barefoot running the next big thing.Why?

Well, simply put, your feet are a marvel of biological engineering. They are designed to adjust your stride, distribute your weight, and minimize the impact on your joints – on the fly. Unfortunately, when you encase them in modern running shoes, your feet lose contact with the ground, they don’t adjust, and they aren’t free to do what they were made to do.

For me, running in my FiveFingers just feels right.

2. Barefoot running reduces injuries

Conventional thinking says, running shoes are designed to provide cushioning and prevent injuries, right? Well, according to McDougall, despite supposedly huge improvement in shoe technology, 70% of all runners get injured every year, and this number has not decreased in decades. Interestingly, running injuries were very rare until the invention of the modern running shoe in 1972. McDougall claims there is a direct correlation between running shoes and running injuries.

So then why do all the running magazines advocate the super expensive, super advanced shoes?

Follow the money. As Michael Hyatt writes, “Running shoes are a $15 billion industry. The companies that make these shoes are not going to admit that their product is the problem rather than the solution. These same companies advertise in the running magazines. The magazines can rate the various shoes and write reviews, but they can’t challenge the whole premise behind the shoes without flushing the bulk of their revenue stream.”

I am not trying to knock regular running shoes. All I know is that when I was training for Comrades in 2010, I was plagued with ITB problems (a common running injury), despite paying big bucks for orthotics, in-soles, and the best shoes money could buy. Since I’ve been running in my FiveFingers I haven’t had a single twinge, and I can actually feel my  gluteus medius muscles getting stronger (proven to help ITB syndrome).

3. It’s the best of both worlds

Of course, because I run predominantly on paved roads, I still need some protection from stubbing my toe, or getting cut on sharp rocks or glass. Running in the Vibram FiveFingers is as close as you can get to running barefoot and still have some protection. It’s the best of both worlds. They provide the physiological benefits of going barefoot with the advantage of having some level of armor against the elements.

4. They are cheaper than regular running shoes

I bought mine brand new online and had them shipped to South Africa for a total of R400. That’s less than half the price I paid for my traditional running shoes! You can buy them straight from the Vibram Store, as well as variety of other online stores, including Amazon.

5. They look weird

I cannot deny it – they are absolutely hideous. My wife calls them “gorilla shoes”. But, while this may be a negative for some, I actually don’t mind. I’m not one to get embarrassed easily, and I actually find them to be a great conversation piece.

6. They last (I hope)

So far the longest I have run in them is 10k, but they seem to be holding up really well. In my old shoes I used to wear the heel out really fast, but because FiveFingers force you to run with less of a heel-strike and more of a forefoot-strike (which has been proven to reduce impact-related injuries), I have not noticed any uneven wear and tear.

Will I stick with them? Only time will tell. I am contemplating running Comrades again in 2013, so we’ll just have to wait and see how they stack up against the increased weekly mileage and longer ultra-distances. But so far so good.

7. They strengthen the right muscle groups

All the literature I’ve read, including Vibrams own website, cautions you to start out slow with the FiveFingers. Even if you are a seasoned runner, your feet have essentially been encased in casts for years. This means that many of your muscles which normally help to stabilise and make micro adjustments have atrophied. But it also means that it forces you to strengthen those critical muscle groups.

Initially the arches of my feet and my achilles tendon had to work a lot harder on runs, but after a few weeks of training, my muscles seem to have adjusted and strengthened, and my gait has definitely improved.

8. There are so many different models

I bought the Bikala LS as they seemed to me the best choice for those who predominantly run on roads, however, there are many different models aimed at a variety of different sports, needs, mileage etc.

The only negative of FiveFingers I can see is that they are terrible for people with webbed feet.

Seriously though, if you are a runner, I think the FiveFingers merit serious consideration, particularly if you, like me, have been prone to injuries and tried everything else. If you are still not convinced, I would urge you to read Born to Run or Barefoot Running Step by Step.

Do you have the Vibrams? Are you running in them? What has been your experience?

Vote For This Blog!

Following my blog being Freshly Pressed and getting a bunch of attention, someone nominated me for the 2011 South African Blog Awards. I’m not sure what that means exactly, but apparently if you make into the top 3, you get to go to an “event” in Joburg. And my wife really wants to go to an “event”.

So, if you are a regular subscriber, have read a few posts, or maybe have just stumbled upon my blog and like what you see, please take a minute to vote for my blog. Voting closes this Wed 9th Nov! You can just click on the badge to the right –>

To those of you who have been faithfully reading and commenting, just want to say thanks for your support and encouragement. My goal is to create insightful, relevant content that you can put to work in your personal and professional life, and I will continue to do my best to keep the fresh content coming!

If you’re new and looking to get a feel for what this blog is all about, take a stroll through some of my most popular posts below:

• 16 Tips to Simply Your Life (And Increase Your Productivity)
• Mastering the Art of Self Discipline
• All The SIngle Ladies Put Your Hands Up!
• 6 Things To Stop Caring About Today
• 4 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Do Kettlebells
• Real Men Tell Great Love Stories
• Do PowerBalance Bracelets Really Work?
• Life’s Too Short For TV
• 3 reasons Why I Love My iPad 2

Thanks again!

3 Ways to Get On Top of Social Media Before it Gets on Top of You

700 billion minutes.

That’s how much time Facebook’s 500 million active users spend on the site every month! 700 000 000 000 minutes. That’s the equivalent of 1,3 million years – nearly 18 000 lifetimes!

And 7 years ago Facebook didn’t even exist! What did we use to do with all that time??

A recent study of media habits found that 33% of people surveyed admitted to checking Facebook before they even went to the bathroom in the morning; 21% admitted to checking it in the middle of the night; and half of them considered themselves Facebook addicts. Clearly something about Facebook has captivated us and drawn us in.

Me personally? I love social media – Facebook, Twitter, blogs etc. (just not LinkedIn – please stop sending me invites!) They have all helped me build a platform, learn from influential leaders, and stay in touch with friends around the world in remarkable ways.

But even as I type this on my iPad I have a sinking feeling of being overwhelmed.

And I’m beginning to feel like maybe, just maybe, all of my devices, my gadgets, my apps, my social media, own me as much as I own them. As they constantly beep, buzz and vibrate around me, screaming for my attention, I’m starting to wonder whether all this was a good idea in first place.

Now please don’t get me wrong – social media and technology are good things. But, like most good things, they can become bad things.

Social media is both a blessing and a curse.

How we use it will determine which one it will be in our lives. Here are a few tips that can guide us along the way:

1) Own Up

No one likes to admit they’re addicted to something, but if you want to get on top of your habits, you’ve got to own up.

Ask your friends/spouse/children/parents, “Am I using my iPhone/Blackberry too much? Am I on Facebook too much?” Even if their answer is subjective, it is still helpful. Chances are if your wife says you are using your iPad too much, you probably are. (Thanks darling!)

Of course there is no right answer to “How much is too much?”, but a really good exercise is to record how much time you spend on Facebook in a given week. We generally tend to underestimate, and a good look at the raw data may be shocking and revealing.

2) Set Boundaries

I am convinced that in our information overloaded culture, discipline is becoming more and more key. Establishing clear boundaries, while tough to do at first, creates freedom and space in our lives. If we are always just reacting to our devices, compulsively checking email or scrolling through News Feeds, then it’s too easy for technology to get a grip on us and suffocate us.

Some ideas may be to have designated times in your family for going online, or perhaps a “tech-free hour” where you gather for a meal and everyone has to put their phones in a basket or switch them off.

The point is find ways of putting boundaries on your social media that work for you/your family – and force yourself to live within those boundaries.

3) Enjoy It

Having owned up, and established clear boundaries, you are then free to just enjoy the wonders of the Interweb! As I said, social media can be a wonderful thing. But we enjoy it most, when we enjoy it best.

Thanks to Tim Challies for the helpful info and statistics.

Must Have iPhone Apps

Free Apps

Evernote turns your iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad into an extension of your brain, helping you remember anything and everything that happens in your life. From notes to ideas to snapshots to recordings, put it all into Evernote and watch as it instantly synchronizes from your iPhone to your iPad to your desktop. The key to using Evernote is learning how to get your notes in (there are so many ways!)

 

Kindle app is optimized for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch, giving users the ability to read Kindle books on a beautiful, easy-to-use interface. You’ll have access to over 900,000 books in the Kindle Store, including best sellers and new releases. Find I am reading so much more these days!

 

 

IMDB is the world’s largest collection of movie, TV and celebrity information. IMDb is the leading app on the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad to find watch trailers, get movie ratings, browse photo galleries, find latest DVD releases, explore popular charts and share movie info. Great app for deciding what to rent from the DVD store!

 

News24 is South Africa’s leading digital news brand. Stay informed wherever you are and get breaking news, sport and business news from South Africa and around the world.

 

 

WordPress for iOS is a must for any WordPress blogger and makes it super easy to moderate comments, create or edit post or pages, add images or video, and check your stats.

 

 

Facebook for iPad and iPhone. Simple, straightforward, easy to use.

 

 

 

 

 

Hootsuite is my preferred Twitter client for a number of reasons. Firstly I love the way you can schedule tweets/Facebook status updates/Wordpress blogs all from one place. Secondly, the stats are great. And thirdly, the iPhone version is great.

 

Bible is a fantastic free app from Lifechurch.tv. Join over 30 million people who read, listen and share God’s Word using the Bible App. Huge selection of 150+ Bible versions and 200+ plans to help you track your progress. Now also with free audio Bibles!

 

SimpleNote is a very clean and simple note-taking app that I use every single day. It syncs via a cloud across all devices, much like Apple’s built-in notes, but the reason I prefer it is because it has a great online desktop version, and you are able to “scroll back in time” on each note.

 

Skype allows you to call, video call and instant message anyone else on Skype for free on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.

 

 

 

SuperSport may be one of the best iPhone sports apps around! Get all the latest news, live scores and information on your favourite sports including football, rugby, cricket, golf and more. All in a well-designed and easy to use app.

 

 

 

Instagram is the iPhone’s best love photo app. With amazing photo filters that transform regular ol’ photos into works of art. Fun & simple to use, snap photos wherever you go to show the world what’s going on in your life, and follow your friends’ photo updates as they move through the world.

 

Windguru is a paddler’s/kiter’s/surfer’s best friend. Probably the best weather site is now available on your iPhone. Accurate wind, wave and weather data can be accessed for almost 3000 spots around the world, from wherever you are in the world

 

 

 

Shazam. Hear a song you don’t know? Shazam identifies it instantly – the 4th most downloaded App of all time.

 

 

 

 

Audible Audible.com, the Internet’s premier provider of digital audiobooks and more, is now available on your iPhone and iPod Touch! This free app features the most comprehensive audiobook experience ever, including Wi-Fi delivery of your Audible.com library, an optimized audiobook player, detailed listening stats, and much more

 

Discovery app is great for anyone on Discovery Health Insurance. It’s simple to use and provides a convenient way to access your information on Discovery Health, Vitality, Discovery Life, Discovery Insure, Discovery Invest and DiscoveryCard – anywhere, anytime. Was really surprised by how good this is

 

RunKeeper uses the GPS technology found in the iPhone to track your fitness activity, giving you comparable results to an expensive GPS watch. The intuitive and easy-to-use interface of the app makes it easy to track how far you went, how long it took, what your pace/speed was, how many calories you burned, and the path you traveled on a map. One of my personal favourites – without it I wouldn’t have made the Comrades Marathon!

Daily Tracker is a very basic but easy-to-use app, which lets you take notes, organize lists or track other important things in your life, such as time, workouts, expenses, calories, food, weight, sleep and actually… pretty much anything else you can think of.

 

MyFitnessPal is without a doubt the best calorie and exercise tracker around (and I’ve tried a bunch!) With the largest food database of any calorie counter (over 1,000,000 foods including many South African brands), and amazingly fast food and exercise entry.

 

Paid Apps:

 

Photosync ($1.99) will transform your photo handling forever. It‘s the first app that makes wireless transfer of your photos/videos from/to your Computer, other devices, Dropbox, and Flickr a breeze. You will never want to use a cable again! Although iCloud now provides this in some form, I still prefer PhoytoSync just in terms of syncing between multiple devices.

GoodReader ($4.99). With GoodReader on your iPad, you can read virtually anything, anywhere: books, movies, maps, pictures. It is hands down the best PDF reader and lets you annotate notes, highlights, freehand right onto the PDFs.

 

 

 iBank ($4.99) Mobile lets you track your day-to-day spending and monitor account balances on the go. It’s easy to enter and categorize transactions, track expenses, or view running balances — all from your iPhone or iPod touch. This comes with a great Desktop app ($59.99). If you are serious about getting your finances and budget in order, this is well worth the price.

 

GoodPlayer ($2.99) Do you enjoy watching videos on your iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch? Do you hate not being able to because your device cannot support the video format? Or do you hate the inconvenient and time-consuming hassle of trying to convert video formats to fit into one that your iPhone/iPad can support? This is why GoodPlayer was created.

 

 

Jamie Oliver’s Recipes (Free, but with in-app purchases) is honestly phenomenal! I have been using it for a while now and it has truly opened up a whole new world of cooking! My wife is a useless cook (by her own admission), but even she makes the most delicious meals using the app. It is elegantly and beautifully designed with all the details well thought out! Try it – you won’t regret it!

 

TomTom South Africa ($59.99) offers world-class TomTom navigation on your iPhone or iPad. COmplete with South African accent and constantly updated SA maps. Has got me out of some sticky situations..

 

 

MyPhone+ ($0.99) is a nifty little app that keeps your contacts up-to-date with their latest pictures and information from Facebook. MyPhone+ automatically finds the matching Facebook friends for your contacts and download their data (picture, birthday, status, address, website, company & job title)

 

 

 

AppBox Pro ($1.99) is like the Swiss Army Knife of the iPhone! It is a multipurpose app that combines 21 single purpose applications into one, including unit converter, currency exchange, clineometer (level), date calc, loan calc, ruler, tip calc, translator etc etc.

 

 

WhatsApp ($0.99) Messenger is a cross-platform smartphone messenger currently available for iPhone, Android, BlackBerry and Nokia phones. The application utilizes push notifications to instantly get messages from friends, colleagues and family. Switch from SMS to exchange messages, pictures, audio notes and video messages with WhatsApp users at no cost.

Of course there are so many other great apps out there. That is the beauty of Apple devices – they are all personal depending on what apps you use.

So what are your favourite apps? I’d love to hear from you.

Must Have iPad Apps

Free Apps

Zite is a personalized magazine for your iPad that automatically learns what you like and gets smarter as you use it. It gives you personalized news, articles, blogs, videos and other content from a variety of both mainstream and niche publications and sites, and have found it to be my number one news reader app.

 

Flipboard is a fast, beautiful way to flip through the news, photos and updates your friends are sharing on Facebook, Twitter, Google Reader, Flickr and Instagram.

 

 

 

Evernote turns your iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad into an extension of your brain, helping you remember anything and everything that happens in your life. From notes to ideas to snapshots to recordings, put it all into Evernote and watch as it instantly synchronizes from your iPhone to your iPad to your desktop. The key to using Evernote is learning how to get your notes in (there are so many ways!)

 

Kindle app is optimized for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch, giving users the ability to read Kindle books on a beautiful, easy-to-use interface. You’ll have access to over 900,000 books in the Kindle Store, including best sellers and new releases. Find I am reading so much more these days!

 

IMDB is the world’s largest collection of movie, TV and celebrity information. IMDb is the leading app on the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad to find watch trailers, get movie ratings, browse photo galleries, find latest DVD releases, explore popular charts and share movie info. Great app for deciding what to rent from the DVD store!

 

News24 is South Africa’s leading digital news brand. Stay informed wherever you are and get breaking news, sport and business news from South Africa and around the world.

 

 

WordPress for iOS is a must for any WordPress blogger and makes it super easy to moderate comments, create or edit post or pages, add images or video, and check your stats.

 

 

Facebook for iPad and iPhone. Simple, straightforward, easy to use.

 

 

 

 

Hootsuite is my preferred Twitter client for a number of reasons. Firstly I love the way you can schedule tweets/Facebook status updates/Wordpress blogs all from one place. Secondly, the stats are great. And thirdly, the iPhone version is great.

 

 

eBay is now open for business anytime, anywhere on the Apple iPad! If you’re not an eBay user, I encourage you to give it a try. I have ordered many things now from all over the world at a fraction of the cost in South Africa. This app makes it really easy to track your orders, browse and shop, leave feedback, check shipping etc.

 

Bible is a fantastic free app from Lifechurch.tv. Join over 30 million people who read, listen and share God’s Word using the Bible App. Huge selection of 150+ Bible versions and 200+ plans to help you track your progress. Now also with free audio Bibles!

 

SimpleNote is a very clean and simple note-taking app that I use every single day. It syncs via a cloud across all devices, much like Apple’s built-in notes, but the reason I prefer it is because it has a great online desktop version, and you are able to “scroll back in time” on each note.

 

Skype allows you to call, video call and instant message anyone else on Skype for free on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.

 

 

 

SuperSport may be one of the best iPad sports apps around! Get all the latest news, scores and information on your favourite sports including football, rugby, cricket, golf and more. All in a well-designed and easy to use app.

 

 

 

Paid Apps:

Photosync ($1.99)will transform your photo handling forever. It‘s the first app that makes wireless transfer of your photos/videos from/to your Computer, other devices, Dropbox, and Flickr a breeze. You will never want to use a cable again! Although iCloud now provides this in some form, I still prefer PhoytoSync just in terms of syncing between multiple devices.

 

GoodReader ($4.99). With GoodReader on your iPad, you can read virtually anything, anywhere: books, movies, maps, pictures. It is hands down the best PDF reader and lets you annotate notes, highlights, freehand right onto the PDFs.

 

 

iDesk ($6.99) is a lesser known app that I think is wonderful. A diagram is worth a thousand words. iDesk allows you to make flow charts, org charts, mind maps, take notes, sketches and do other diagrams with no constraints. If you are a student, or need to draw diagrams for presentations or lectures, this is a must app!

 

Pages ($9.99) is Apple’s default word processor. This powerful app has been exclusively designed for the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. Create, edit, and view documents wherever you are. Pages works with iCloud, so your documents stay up to date across all your iOS devices — automatically.

 

AirDisplay ($9.99). Ever wish you had an extra display for your Mac or Windows computer? There’s an app for that! With Air Display, you can use your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch as a wireless display, to extend your computer desktop.

 

 

GoodPlayer ($2.99) Do you enjoy watching videos on your iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch? Do you hate not being able to because your device cannot support the video format? Or do you hate the inconvenient and time-consuming hassle of trying to convert video formats to fit into one that your iPhone/iPad can support? This is why GoodPlayer was created.

 

Jamie Oliver’s Recipes (Free, but with in-app purchases) is honestly phenomenal! I have been using it for a while now and it has truly opened up a whole new world of cooking! My wife is a useless cook (by her own admission), but even she makes the most delicious meals using the app. It is elegantly and beautifully designed with all the details well thought out! Try it – you won’t regret it!

 

Of course there are so many other great apps out there. That is the beauty of Apple devices – they are all personal depending on what apps you use.

So what are your favourite apps? I’d love to hear from you.

Platforms & Influence

This is a guest post by one of my favourite bloggers Jon Acuff that really articulates well the tension of self-promotion on the one hand, and Christ-like humility on the other, in our modern Christian culture.

How do you grow a personal platform while at the same time honoring John 3:30 that says, “He (Jesus) must increase, but I must decrease?”

I don’t have a solution, just a question, and it’s one I’ve been struggling with.

I love that right now it’s possible for ordinary people like me to build platforms and maybe have influence. Without social media, I wouldn’t have been able to ever publish the Stuff Christians Like book. I love platforms!

But, as a Christian, I also wrestle with the ego aspects that often go along with them.

For me, the great temptation is to say, “If I get a bigger platform, then more people will know about me, and I’ll then be able to tell those people about God.” And I think that starts in a good place, but eventually in my own life and countless other leaders I’ve seen, that idea gets corrupted into: “If I get a bigger platform, then more people will know about me. The end.”

So with the thousands of tools we have to build our “personal brands,” and the very real good that can come from platforms (we built two kindergartens!) where does John 3:30 fit in? What’s the balance?

And if you know Hebrew and can say, “The heart of that verse has nothing to do with personal branding, proceed getting drunk on your own ego,” that would really help me out.

Question:
In what ways can a Christian go about building a platform while keeping God front and center?

How to Buy Music From the US iTunes Store in South Africa

If you have an iPhone or an iPad you need a US iTunes account!

It allows you to download all of the latest apps (compared to the limited apps on the South African store), as well as music, TV shows, movies etc. Thanks to Jason Bagley and Marc Forrest, here is a simple guide to setting up a US iTunes account and getting credit on your account via vouchers.

Step 1: Open iTunes and go to the US iTunes store.

Step 2: Try and download a free app from the US iTunes store.

Click on the App store link, find the free apps in the right sidebar and click on Free.

Step 3: Create a new iTunes account

Step 4: Accept the terms & conditions and fill in all the details.

The most important step here is to select “None” as the payment method when asked to provide billing details. When filling in your billing address, you will need a valid US address. The easiest way to find a valid address is to search for a McDonalds or any US business using Google maps and then use the address, zip code and state to enter as your address. Alternatively ask a relative or friend in the states if you can use their address.

Step 5: Wait for confirmation email and click the link to finish the setup of your US iTunes account!

Step 6: Buy apps, music and movies by purchasing iTunes gift cards.

Use any of the following websites to buy US iTunes gift cards to load into your new account. Once purchased, the codes are emailed through immediately, so no waiting!

• iEverything (South African based. Most popular)
• Wildtwig (South African based, payment via Paypal allowed)

To redeeem a gift card code, click on Redeem from the Quick Links block on the right sidebar in the iTunes store.

Voila!! That’s it!

The Complete iPhone 5 Rumour Roundup

Thanks to Nowhere Else for putting together this helpful roundup of everything we know, or don’t know, about the much anticipated iPhone 5. Take note of the “probability” scales under each icon…

I was due an upgrade a few months ago, but I’m crossing fingers this won’t take too long to make it’s way to SA shores…

Which iPad Should You Buy?

So you’re in the market for an iPad? Good on you. You deserve it.

Well, I’ve had a few of people asking me recently which model they should buy… iPad 1 or 2? What size? 3G of Wifi? So here’s the deal…

When choosing an iPad there are basically three variables you want to consider: Storage capacity (16GB or 32GB), model no (iPad 1 or 2), and connectivity (3G & Wifi or Wifi only).

Lets address these one at a time.

1) Storage capacity (16GB or 32GB?)

Personally for me the size of the hard drive is not a critical factor. The things that take up the most space are videos, photos and music. I like to store a lot of video and photos on my iPad, but find that I rarely if ever use it for music (I use my iPhone for that).  And so, even with loads of photos and movies, I find 16GB is more than enough space if your’e trying to save some bucks.

2) Model (iPad 1 or 2?)

To be honest there is not a massive difference between the original iPad and the iPad 2. Mainly processor speed (only really critical if you play games), two cameras (again, I prefer to use my iPhone as my camera), and the iPad 2 is significantly slimmer.

Having said that, I would still suggest forking out a bit more for the Pad 2.

For me, it is always worth getting the latest model if it is available because at the rate things are moving these days very soon the iPad 3 will be out, making the iPad 1 look like an Ark, and I’ve noticed more and more apps in the App Store are only compatible with the iPad 2+ (It’s also Apple’s sneaky way of making you buy new hardware every few years!)

If you do decide to go for the iPad 2, I would highly recommend getting a Smart Cover (see picture). It is an ingenious little accessory to the iPad 2 that is well worth it.

3) Connectivity (3G & Wifi or Wifi only?)

This is the most important and determining factor in choosing an iPad model. In my mind, if you live in South Africa, you must get a Wifi and 3G model!

The iPad is at it’s best when you are connected to the internet, and in South Africa, Wifi is still not that common everywhere, and if it is, it’s expensive. 3G will allow you to connect anywhere and everywhere and the 3G data packages are reasonably priced and getting cheaper. Sure Wifi is getting more and more common, but the last thing you want is to rock up at a coffee shop ready to do some work on your iPad and you can’t check your email!

Spend the extra and go 3G!

Well, I hope that helps you make the right decision. I’m sure you’re gonna love your new toy!