Portraits of Africa 2012 on Google

Time again to monitor and check the performance of our new WP based Semiomantics XO 2012 Script on search engines.

Here’s a screenshot of yesterday’s post “Portraits of Africa 2012″ on Google – have a look! Positions 1, 2, 3 and 6 ahead of 10,800,000 search returns – YEBO GOGO!

Portraits of Africa 2012 on Google

When looking up “Portraits of Africa 2012″ on Google, I also checked how the images in my article were ranked – here’s the detail of the screenshot showing the Image of a “Young African Girl” on position one, followed by the Image of a “Young African Boy” on position 4… and a small ad I created ages ago peeking at us on position 2. All of them ahead of our South African presidents… just too funny! The young generation is on the move!

Portrait of Africa Images

It becomes even more intrigueing when we look up “Portrait of Africa Images” on Google and find these young faces of Africa featuring amongst some really classy photography! And again… the random positioning is just too weird… for those who read this and understand what I mean! Welcome to the future :)

Fact is, that with the increasing importance of images and media on the Internet – and with this for our website development – … and people preferring to look at something for quick grasping of the contents rather than reading long time-consuming – and even worse: thought-provoking -  texts… that the correct tagging and classification of photos and images becomes more important. Here as with any post what counts is to be found on Google – Google Top 10 that is. Noone else looks further…

Congratulations to our young friends who’ve made it to the top ranks and find themselves in interesting and attractive company! There will be more….

Portraits of Africa

Young African Girl from my series “Portraits of Africa 2012″.

Portraits of Africa 2012

Portraits of Africa 2012 – untouched… straight from my simple NIKON Coolpix P90 … just the magic of a Young African Girl.

Although the black & white version adds a specific note, I preferred to show the soft gold tones of the skin.

Portraits of Africa

Within my photo series “Portraits of Africa” here is the image of a young African boy.

Portraits of Africa

I just love Black & White Photography and how it adds depth to a picture, especially portraits and expressive faces.

“Portraits of Africa” are shot on a simple NIKON Coolpix P90 with a minimum of post-editing, ideally nothing at all.

Hakamela Conferencing

We are pleased to announce that the Conference Services website  “Hakamela Conferencing & Event Management” will soon be under construction on Semiomantics XO 2012.

Hakamela Conferencing

Hakamela Conferencing & Event Management will open its doors in Pretoria, South Africa. This high-demand Service Company  will be run by professional Conference Management Expert Lynn Sakuinje.

Web Design South Africa will be designing a simple, practical and user-friendly website that will target top 10 positions on Google under the relevant keywords and focuses on high visibility on the mobile web.

Bianca Gubalke Mobile

Bianca Gubalke Mobile – a first pre-seminar sketch for a mobile version! The little icons stand for Social Network icons like Facebook, Twitter etc, which I would design myself to fit into the overall picture I have in mind.

Bianca Gubalke Mobile

We are living in times of rapid change and the explosion of the mobile market. People use their mobile phones to search the net, to find what they want, to compare it and – to buy it. Sales figures triggered via the mobile net are staggering – and as web designers we have to adapt – which means also to focus on new technologies and learn new languages.

Over the past years, Semiomantics has always evolved along with WordPress Developments. Remarkably, the latest WP update allows for much more creativity. While our Semiomantics based author blogs display perfectly on smartphones through integration of the right plugins and settings, there’s much more scope that we will be looking into at this weekend’s Ycademy Seminar 2012 – which is also a testing ground for the new Semiomantics XO 2012 – to be released soon.

In that sense, I am looking forward to the evolution of Bianca Gubalke Mobile!

Web Design Trends 2012

The upcoming first Ycademy Seminar 2012 will focus on Web Design Trends 2012 in terms of what they mean for our brand-new WordPress based Semiomantics XO 2012.

Web Design Trends 2012

In order to follow and implement Web Design Trends 2012, learning new languages like CSS3 and html5 has become crucial – especially also due to the unfortunate conflicts around Flash which cannot be seen on the exploding mobile market. Accordingly, this weekend’s fully online YCADEMY Seminar will need focused attention and strong nerves! That’s the price to pay to be and remain a qualified Semiomantics expert!

MadMax is ready – are YOU?!

Monkey Valley Resort on Mobile

I just got some screenshots directly from the iPhone in Europe to demonstrate how the new Monkey Valley Resort Website actually looks on the Mobile web – and I’m absolutely thrilled! The quality and resolution are just outstanding and I left the image big so you can appreciate it here even though the picture may take a moment to load. This is soooo sexy!

Above, you see the Frontpage of the Monkey Valley Resort Website, which features a large elegant slider displaying the various chapters and attractions of the hotel resort 30 kms out of Cape Town, South Africa. What is remarkable here is how beautifully the slider displays – all based on new technology as, sadly, Flash does not display on mobile phones and this forced us to adapt in our Semiomantics Website Development, learning new languages like CSS3 and HTML5.

Monkey Valley Resort on Mobile

Much if not most of today’s business on the Internet is piped in one way or another through the mobile web… a reason why Monkey Valley Resort had to be visible on mobile.

Here is a horizontal version (probably 1 : 1) … and of course you can zoom up text or whatever you are interested in… and get to where you want to go in a fast and user-friendly way, eg. Click and BOOK!

The Importance of Functionality

The Importance of Functionality in terms of Website Design has a lot to do with the ease and user-friendly interaction between the website and the website visitor: the website has to communicate to the visitor what it is all about in an attractive way, guiding through what it has to offer and fulfilling almost intuitively what the visitor is looking for and making it easy to follow through with the desired action – say to book a room in a hotel…, to buy, pay and even download say an ebook… or to simply offer various sights of a specific area or place that shows the visitor what he can expect, eg. in a holiday resort or when researching a new home in real estate.

Today, being visible on the mobile web is crucial to the success of any website or Internet business – and therefore one of the most important functionalities of a website or blog.

Nowhere more than on the Internet do we see such rapid and continuous change and do we have to adapt, learn new languages and keep developing our knowledge and skills on an ongoing basis as in the virtual arena. A website or blog is not built to last forever and it needs a regular allocation of funds (budget) – it’s a project in constant development, adapting to the changes, changing with the trends and always trying to offer readers and visitors something new, something modern and going the extra mile to capture the traffic that leads to business and success.

Semiomantics XO 2012 for WordPress

The brand-new Semiomantics XO 2012 for WordPress – soon to be released – will be the central topic of the first Ycademy Seminar 2012, to be held this coming weekend.

As “Publishing for Excellence” at “Web Design with Passion” demands consistent learning, experimenting, an adaptation to trends and almost daily reassurance of the script’s leading SEO performance, the global Semiomantics Team is currently testing the new script and exploring different ways of presenting themselves or their products and services online.

Semiomantics XO 2012 for WordPress

I am very pleased with the more adventurous ways we can explore with the new Semiomantics XO 2012 for WordPress… and I know we haven’t even started! I am looking forward to creating the Wedding Website on this extraordinary WordPress based script.

Sliders are the Trend 2012

With sliders being an important part of the Trend 2012 as Website Design and “the Look” are concerned, I am currently experimenting with a fading slider – although extremely frustrating with often failing Internet connections and extremely slow lines down here… it feels like the sun flare is targeting us specifically and knocking us out completely!

Besides using sliders in the header or sidebar widgets or even blog posts and pages, we can now use them even in the background – which opens a lot more creative options and perspective.

At the Ycademy Seminar, we will work on becoming familiar with the new features of the XO 2012 and improve our knowledge of CSS3, HTML5 and jQuery so we are in a position to ‘play’ with the script, explore new avenues and, last but not least, adapt XO to our customers’ needs.

To be continued. . .

Touched by Gorillas

I was always touched by gorillas and I just love Nature and its wildlife, however, this short video about a close encounter with a family of gorillas in Uganda was sent to me by a friend and mutual wildlife lover… I invite you to see this and admire what a wonderful world we are living in! I just love Africa, where you feel the heart beating deep down from the earth and each single day is filled with surprise, magnificence and thrill.

Touched by Gorillas

Here’s the video that I simply call “Touched by Gorillas” – no need to explain or say anything… and especially those of you who know game reserves and camps can appreciate this wonderful experience to the fullest.

Imagine you sat there with your camera… I had quite a similar experience in the mountains with a wild troop of baboons… but gorillas are something else!

The above picture leads to the original website – thank you for allowing us to share this with the world!

TOP SEO Performance on Semiomantics

Here’s today’s example of TOP SEO Performance on Semiomantics XO 2011 (soon to be updated to XO 2012):

Earlier today, I wrote a small article for Monkey Valley Resort on “Best Tapas in Cape Town” as that’s what Darren Byrne from Thorfynn’s Restaurant at Monkey Valley Resort wanted a photo of on a hot Saturday afternoon yesterday.

While his interest is that a maximum of people see the News and visit his restaurant, my goal as a web designer is to ensure the message I put out on the Monkey Valley Resort Website reaches Google Top 10 – meaning a maximum of traffic and visitors to the website. Here’s the resultrank 7 out of 709,000 search returns and climbing! Ammmazing – Ole!

TOP SEO Performance on Semiomantics

A day earlier, I prepared the brand-new menu en al for “Best Valentine’s Dinner Cape Town” on 14th February 2012 at Thorfynn’s Restaurant HERE and – lo and behold – captured position 5 within a few minutes… and -as I just tested – am holding it to this moment without further intervention or support – see the screenshot here (click on it to enlarge it):

Best Web Design South Africa on Semiomantics

And to end this post, the day before I followed a request by Monkey Valley Resort founder Judy Sole to promote ‘a bit more beach’ – and did a simple article “Visit Noordhoek Beach”. This post just shot up to spots 1 and 2 on Google Top 10 :

…and as I saw just now, after 2 days, it has captured even spot 3!

No doubt: Monkey Valley Resort has chosen simply the Best Web Design South Africa on Semiomantics – high SEO optimization, a captivating design and high functionality! Unbeatable and proven on a daily basis!

And as the Internet becomes increasingly sophisticated… quality counts!

Trendwise with Semiomantics XO2012

In a world of infinite choice, we all have our personal preferences when it comes to creating the Web Design for our personal websites and blogs – and this is exactly what many of our customers will tell us, especially if they have a business with set colors, fonts and logos. Of course, there are also those who haven’t thought about this issue, who may not want to be bothered with it (as this takes ample time and thought) and who expect us to suggest, advise and guide. This is where we should know and focus on current trends, put our personal priorities on the backseat, and design something fresh, modern and appealing where we are absolutely “Trendwise with Semiomantics XO2012″, which is currently going through a testing phase and will soon be released.

Most importantly, we need to think forward to adapt to the incredible developments and momentum on the mobile web: can people see our web design work on their iphones, smart phones and tablets? This is currently the driving power behind many decisions and as we want our customers to get the traffic and results they expect, this is what we need to focus on and ensure that they too see the advantages of certain essentials they might not initially agree with.

It’s all about functionality and thinking customerwise: let them see what your website is all about fast and in an attractive way, make navigation clear, quick and easy like a dynamic show. And let there be balance!

Trendwise with Semiomantics XO2012

With the new trends 2012 having been set, how can we at Web Design South Africa be trendwise with Semiomantics XO2012, the best WordPress based script to be released soon, and give our website or blog a New Look 2012?

How to give your Author Blog a Trend 2012 Look

Here are a few pointers as to how to give your Author Blog a Trend 2012 Look:

1. Color Trend 2012

I already wrote about the Color Trend 2012 HERE.

To repeat it quickly, the color of the year 2012 is a warm orangy red called “Tangerine Tango”.  It’s not too far off the color I am always using in my personal color scheme that marks “Web Design with Passion”. However, there are other trendy colors like ‘solar power’ and the ‘sodalite blue’ I used in my example above, in connection with ‘tangerine tango’.

Here you want to think of backgrounds, fonts, menu, graphics, links, hover effects etc. – however, don’t overdo it when setting it off against another shade or complementary color. What I learned in Typography many years ago with one of Europe’s two leading authorities in the field and a true friend, Professor Tuenn Konerding (Staatliche Kunstakademie Duesseldorf, Germany), still applies today: experiment massively… but then reduce, keep it simple, don’t use more than 2… maximum 3 colors.

I wish I had a better photo – but I am happy I can call at least this one up – for an extraordinary mind and spirit that left our planet far too early…

Interesting also the trend towards one-page websites and a comeback of the magazine theme (full layout Semiomantics XO). Of course, Apple-style layouts are still en vogue as they are a modern classic and simply good.

2.  Typography 2012

The focus is on bold letters and custom fonts that can easily be read on mobile phones. Interesting here the Google Font Library that can be added in form of a plugin and loads fast while making the look of the website more appealing.

Textures, shades and reflections are ‘in’ as well…

 3. Large High Quality Images

Less text but large, high quality images – meaning all forms of sophisticated Media Design – be it photos, graphics, videos… – especially for backgrounds but also for graphics, sliders (we will come to these) and whatever you integrate into your Website Design to attract and captivate.The use of light or shadow boxes – where pictures can be enlarged in an overlay-  is very much in the trend.

Actually, we have been ahead of this trend with Semiomantics XO 2011 already, and particularly with our comprehensive work on Evolution, my personal favorite… yet unfortunately on Flash which is currently not seen on mobile phones due to power plays between the ‘big boyz’ … but this too shall change one day once even they get it that ‘competition’ is out and ‘cooperation’ is in to save our planet – and this is NOT a trend but a Truth! Ask Steve on Cloud!

Meanwhile Evolution will… well, evolve!

4. Sliders are en vogue

And yet another feature where Semiomantics has been well ahead of the trend: sliders are en vogue! Besides that, in my view they are brilliant, practical, interactive, attractive, seen on the mobile web and add to the functionality of a website. At tleast the ones we use – they do come at a cost, but it’s well worth it – quality always had its price!

5. Connect to Social Networks

Finally, websites and blogs need to offer easy ways – meant are rather ‘loud’ icons (… I leave this to your personal taste…) – to interlink and connect to Social Networks like Twitter, Facebook, Google + etc. Today, people look out where they can connect, follow, share and register … and so the cybernet expands continuously and I sometimes wonder what all of this really means at the end of the day and for our environment! But that’s a topic for another day!

For now… let’s be aware of current trends and advise customers accordingly… there’s lots to play with!

uMthwakazi Band at Monkey Valley Resort

Great news: the uMthwakazi Band will be playing at Monkey Valley Resort in Noordhoek, South Africa, on 29th January 2012 as of 2 pm! Besides this date being my birthday, it seems that I will be going for a heavy camera session with this dynamic group of musicians playing a contemporary and yet traditional mix of Xhosa indigenous music, classical and modern with an amazingly versatile young vocalist who handles variations between Jazz, Opera and traditionally African with ease and in a very personal style.

To give you a simple impression, here’s a video from YouTube, just click on the embedded video below.

uMthwakazi Band at Monkey Valley Resort

Monkey Valley Resort has a history of musicians and bands playing at special occasions and especially on Sunday afternoons. Many guests will be pleased to see an African band like uMthwakazi complementing the beauty of the “Out of Africa” setting this unique Nature Resort just 30 kms out of Cape Town has to offer.

About Mthwakazi

Here’s a little bit of background about Mthwakazi:

uMthwakazi grew up singing in choirs. Afr winning Opera competitions, she worked in the theatre from the age of 13 years and later studied Xhosa Bow Music at the University of FortHare.

Ultimately, in 2009, she toured with Isango-Portobello, the Oliveir Award-winning South African Opera Company from Cape Town, to London, Paris and Holland with such productions as “The Mysteries” by Eric Abraham and “The Magic Flute” by W.A. Mozart, both directed by Mark Dornford-May.

On her return she persued her own solo music career where she staged with such icons as Madosini, Thandiswa Mazwai, Jonas Gwangwa, Sibongile Khumalo, Tina Schouw and Neo Muyanga.

She featured as a guest musician in a recently released album and appeared in a DVD performance by Simphiwe Dana.

uMthwakazi is currently recording her debut music record in Muizenberg to be released early this year, 2012.

We are very much looking forward to see this great talent LIVE at Monkey Valley Resort on 29th January 2012 – YEBO GOGO!

Monkey Valley resort will be rocking! Make sure you BOOK HERE.

Premiere Pro or AVID

As I have to get a completely new system with more RAM and punch to handle especially future Video production esp. as we are integrating more and more Media into our online website developments, I asked a close friend who is a Master Editor who trained professional editors for the German film- and movie industry, what he would suggest. He immediately advised to get AVID as “…it’s the industry standard around the world.  That’s what professional editors and post production houses work with today. ”

Hmmm. I must just have missed the beginnings of AVID when I left Europe to build a new future back home, in South Africa, as from mid 1995. Apparently the time when AVID as the first NLE achieved dominance in the market place and established itself as “the” brand. According to Mark Raudonis, “… AVID’s were universally adopted by any editor doing a film finish. Obviously, these were the cream of the crop of the industry’s talent.”

So I have to catch-up and make some serious decisions especially as AVID comes at quite a steep cost. Given the fact that I actually enjoy working on ADOBE Premiere very much, just being immensely handicapped by limited memory until I get my new machine, but that my future vision rotates around Media production, this needs some serious research and thought.

Interestingly, I see and hear from various sources including Cape Town professionals and Filmmakers’ Forums that ADOBE is being prefered and “… better value for money”. In a way, they put it down to personal taste – like “Cola vs Pepsi”. This all sounds quite controversial, although I get the impression that AVID is better, faster, more feature-rich and the professional standard, but definitely much more expensive and a steeper learning curve. There is some eye-opening discussion – also with some reference to pricing – in this FORUM. I do not know whether these answers came mainly from consumers of professionals. But it’s intrigueing… and if there’s anyone out there using either Premiere or AVID for their professional filmwork, I would appreciate some feedback.

Premiere Pro or AVID

So there’s quite some (recent) discussion as to whether one should be choosing  “Premiere Pro or AVID” on the Internet when checking it on Google.  As FCP is no option anymore, at least not now, the question is what we plan to do in terms of video editing: is it just for fun or do we have serious intentions to produce on a professional level. A good editor will certainly get good results on either but may have access to many more additional tools in an Editing Studio than a private person, however, from what I read it is worth looking at the AVID Media Composer and getting the hand on the trial version to see what it offers. There is quite some comprehensive setup – also for sound – and I personally like the look of it. Hopefully, I can find a machine in Cape Town just to get the touch & feel of it too and have a chat with the editior working on it. If it’s not for now, it can be part of the plan and once the right jobs come in the investment will be justified.

However… if I can achieve good results with ADOBE Premiere that would just be perfect! One just never knows until looking at things in depth, comparing them and knowing one’s purpose and – means!

And at the end of the day I like a good glass of fresh, pure water!

Color Trend 2012

So what’s the Color Trend 2012?

Clearly, neutral colors are out; we stay with the reds, the pinks and greens and especially bright colors with “Tangerine Tango” leading the hot palette… with a tan-tan musical note to it! Absolutely perfect for South Africa where a beautiful summer had us dance into the new year!

Seems they made a round in my garden… Web Design with Passion is fully in the trend! Now here’s for a tango!

Trend color two is “solar power” – a yellow that’s again a key color, this time with a maizy hue, totally within the global trend of a ‘green economy’ and definitely part of the above photo… You may even find a soft margarita green.

Color Trend 2012

Besides the Color Trend 2012 the emphasis is on being ‘bold’ and grabbing the viewers attention – which at the end of the day is the sense of every graphic, video, ad or website design! No wonder that the fonts should have depth in one way or another, meaning shadows, 3D effects, transparencies, gradients – just make it special!

Best is to extend this attitude across the background and add graphics, high quality large pictures, animations, videos, media… grab your visitors… and yes: retro and vintage are celebrating their comeback and if that’s what you like: integrate it and add your personal touch!

Vineyard Hotel Weddings

Set within beautiful gardens and a very elegant ambiente, Vineyard Hotel weddings must be amongst the most memorable in Cape Town, South Africa! The below photo shows the garden terrace opening onto immaculate lawns with flowering pink bougainvillea, white dietes and guinea fowl visiting to pick up some delicacies from the award-winning gourmet menu!!!

Vineyard Hotel Weddings

Vineyard Hotel weddings are ideal for couples on the go who seek to get married in Cape Town – meaning within the city and in close proximity to the buzzing Cavendish Shopping Center – while enjoying closeness to Nature and the majestic backdrop of Table Mountain. At this time of the year it’s just too obvious why Cape Town is called “the garden city”: absolutely everything is blooming… jacarandas are oceans of soft mauves splashing their blossoms onto the streets… and even the highways offer alleys of flowering shrubs like white and pink oleander and fiery red hibiscus to name just a few.

It is in this beautifully landscaped and lush garden bordering on the banks of Liesbeek River that we prepared and then celebrated a Cape Town Wedding with an Irish touch. At this stage, I am still busy sorting the wedding photos and wedding video clips, audios, sounds and music! It’s enough material for a feature film… and the photos from the next station of this multiple-place-wedding are already coming in!

Meanwhile, I have to work in a very reduced way while waiting for my new system with the required memory and punch to edit all this material and then create the Wedding Website! It will be yet another exciting learning curve – but it’s work I really love doing… and it’s just the beginning!

To be continued…

Best Cape Town Weddings

Cape Town Weddings are a hot topic on Google right now as the Mother City and South Africa as a whole are exploding with the most glorious summer weather and Nature is in full bloom. However, at the end of the day, the best Cape Town Weddings don’t depend on a specific place but on the intention of the people gathering to celebrate the happy event! It’s always about the people – family and friends – who bring their love, joy and genuine goodwill to bless the new couple and ensure that they will be remembering their wedding day as the happy beginning of their united lives.

Best Cape Town Weddings

Of course, it’s also high season for photographers and videographers who aim at shooting the best moments of these Cape Town Weddings – each one with their specific style – some super-glamorous, others more journalistic or with an artistic touch, some like it colourful, others simply black and white. What is important is to capture the atmosphere and those very unique instants – mostly totally unexpected – that have a profound meaning and really touch our heart. In this respect the wedding preparations leading up to the event may be just as important as the wedding itself – and – as on this photo here – there are many things going through a loving mother’s mind when she ‘releases’ her daughter into a new and promising bond.

Wedding Website

I was asked why I was preparing a Wedding Website when normally people go for a so-called “Wedding Album”?

Well, one doesn’t exclude the other … and a form of a wedding album was delivered already to satisfy all those who wanted to see photos ‘now’, almost as it happened…. – however, and especially in today’s Internet-oriented world and with so many families being spread across the planet, there are many advantages to having a wedding website:

Firstly, you can seal your new bond by buying your new name (as a .com of course!) – it has something solid and lasting to it, don’t you think? That’s a good start…

Second, a wedding website can be fast and easily viewed on many devices by anyone who is given access from all over the world, and this for at least 35 years!

Third, a wedding website can be very interactive; friends and family can leave comments and, of course, the new couple can continue writing and adding pictures, videos and audios of their new life… like an online family-bio…

Fourth… and this I think is simply the best: you can easily turn a Wedding Website into a Family Website … adding the new events like the birth of a child, its first steps, its first drawings, its first so many things… as well as trips to exotic holiday destinations, their favourite recipes, when he meets the Queen or Donald Duck… or anything of importance that the young couple wants to share…

Fifth: a wedding website is a brilliant investment in your future, it is something that’s alive, vibrant and communicative – and it’s growing… extending that first moment when you gave meaning to your words into the future with all its promises, traps and surprises… for sure something your grand-children will enjoy !

Last but certainly not least: this wedding website belongs to YOU – it’s not exposed to the volatilities and risks of any social network where someone else is in control – no, this is entirely YOUR STORY – YOU ARE IN CONTROL!

And that alone is priceless!

Happy Weddings in Cape Town on Google

Monitoring our SEO results on a regular basis is an ongoing process – also in 2012. We are determined to give our customers the very best service and help them achieve high rankings on Google Top 10. This is nothing we can nor should take for granted as algorhythms change and so many relatively volatile factors are involved, however, keeping an eye on the pulse and being flexible allows to firstly observe any major changes and then adapt accordingly and as fast as possible.

In this respect, I watched the results of  “Happy Weddings in Cape Town” on Google – this being a short and sweet article published yesterday on the relatively new website I created for Monkey Valley Resort HERE.

The result – and this within only 42 seconds – was absolutely astonishing: Position One on Google ahead of 2,560,000 search results! See the screenshot I took yesterday, below:

Happy Weddings in Cape Town on Google

This morning – basically a little less than a day later – I wondered how the ranking would look now – and here is the even more spectacular result: Positions 1, 2 and 3 on Google Top 10!

Cape Town Weddings

What does this mean in terms of Cape Town Weddings and Monkey Valley Resort?

It’s quite simple – yet demands highly qualified skills and the right WordPress based Semiomantics Script to be achieved: if you take the above screenshot as an example, you see a typical Google page. There are Google Ads at the top (on a  yellow background), Google Ads to the right (continued to the next page indicating this is a highly sought-after keyword and gets lots of advertising) – and then you see basically 10 websites competing for the top 10 positions on Google (this is page one of Google with a total of 2,560,000 search returns… with always 10 websites per page… do your own maths as to how many Google pages on this keyword combination alone there are…!)

It means that the 10 websites who made it to Google Top 10 are visible for anyone punching in “Happy Weddings in Cape Town” – perhaps because that’s what they want to go for while planning for their own wedding… – and of course these 10 websites are the one’s these people will click on! Logical – who goes any further if what they are looking for is on the first page?

It means that these 10 websites who made it to the top get all the attention… the clicks… the so-called traffic! It means that the potential of making a sale is divided amongst those 10!

Of course, there are all these Google Ads – meaning the owners of those websites pay heavily – 24/7/365 – to be visible on Page one on Google and get attention as well! It means that heavy Google Ads budgets are allocated each and every month – short-term, medium-term and long-term… and forever rising. A budget of $50 a day brings you nowhere given the price a click can cost these days! So do your maths again… and decide what makes more sense: investing in the right website (yes, there are updates and upgrades as the Internet changes all the time, that’s just as it is…) or be dependent on heavy advertising without a guarantee to get it right (keywords move like mercury…)

Google Top 10

The choice is – as always your’s! Nothing stops you from doing both: getting the right website and advertising with AdSense. But if you’re on a tight budget the answer is pretty clear – yes?

What is needed, however, is regular posting, meaning writing good content on a daily basis to keep things moving and alive. The Google spyders like to be stimulated and fed with new original material each day… and you may be in right competition on special keywords – like in this wedding example. In this case you either do it yourself, or you employ someone who takes on this important online marketing and publishing job – or you outsource to a professional who may be the best guarantee for continued success on Google.

Being visible on Google Top 10 – like you see above… meaning 3 positions of 10 on page one, means that you get 30% of the traffic! Meaning a large chance to get visitors to your website… and if your website is attractive and offers the answers and sales pipeline people are looking for, your online business will grow and bring you the desired success.

I hope I could explain this well and simple enough to respond to many questions received on the topic. It ain’t easy… I know! But being number one on a Formula One track ain’t either… and this is not much different, really!

If things aren’t clear yet, let me know…

Cape Town Weddings

It’s that time of the year where many couples celebrate their love and add meaning to their words by getting married!

One of the Best Cape Town Wedding Venues is of course Monkey Valley Resort in the romantic Noordhoek Valley on the slopes of Chapman’s Peak – however, my favourite hotel in Cape Town itself – where we spent a couple of weeks when researching our future home – is the elegant and citywise optimally situated Vineyard Hotel in Claremont, Cape Town. Below is a view from the terrace towards the majestic Table Mountain range…

It’s here, in the lush and beautiful gardens… washed by light rains that very day until just a few minutes before the wedding… where stage one of the beautiful and very private Wedding Ceremony took place that I had the privilege to document.

All Wedding Photography & Videography will be integrated in the brand-new Wedding Website currently under construction.

Cape Town Weddings

What is relevant for Cape Town Weddings is probably desired by all newly wed couples, especially if their families and friends are spread all over the world as is the case here: they want some photos as fast as possible to show!

So this was my first focus… developing something to show fast! Accordingly, within a few days, the couple had an elegant online Wedding Photo Suite to send out and even print… followed by a short and joyful Wedding Video with special Irish harp music!

At this stage, the work is understandably private; I will be able to show more later as the development of the website itself proceeds. This will take a while, partly due to a strong emphasis of the ‘time before’ the wedding and the relating preparations, as well as the fact that I have to switch to a new computer with lots more memory and punch especially for media development (videos). On top of this, I will be using a brand-new Semiomantics Script to be released only in January 2012.

Wedding Photos

Meanwhile, there must be about 2,000 wedding photos and wedding video clips to view and select from… a real joy as here is real happiness to ‘work’ with!

Fingers crossed my PC system holds as I have hardly any space left and due to the devastating floods in Thailand, a main hardware supplier was washed away completely and we have to wait for new parts…

Green Energy and TeleComs in Africa

With the new year having started, and following on my article earlier HERE, one of my focus in 2012 also in terms of Web Design will be on “Green Energy”, picking up on a chapter I’ve always been actively involved in, also in my film work in Europe. I’ve spent some time over the holiday season to finally catch up on the African situation as a whole and South Africa in particular. After a number of discussions following COP 17 in Durban, I dug through heaps of materials collected at the AfricaCom Communications Congress in Cape Town (November 2011) to find out more about the correlation of Green Energy and TeleComs in Africa.

While “going green” has sort of become a marketing cliche that doesn’t rip people from their chairs anymore, the fact is that climate change and greenhouse gases affect and concern each and everyone of us – even down here in the relatively green boonies – and we better become aware of their potentially devastating impact on our environment, us as people and especially future generations.

Looking at the map indicating projected climatic changes for Africa – especially also for South Africa – the future is hot, dry and grim. No use pointing fingers any longer – it’s time to plan and, much more important: to ACT!

Fortunately, South Africa has serious plans in place – they ‘just’ have to be implemented :)

Green Energy and TeleComs in Africa

Seeing that AfricaCom reflected massive future-oriented planning and development on the African continent and being of the opinion that we should learn from the mistakes made predominantly in the industrialized Northern Hemisphere but not repeat them on our forgotten and comparatively poor continent where modern communication via handhold devices is and has been spreading like a wildfire over vast distances with no other form of communication and connection to the rest of the world, my interest was to see if and how TeleComs integrated the Green Energy concept in their massive operations in Africa.

While we take immediate note of the fact that “power” (electricity)  is a huge challenge throughout and this of course has decisive implications on how African countries operate and what their constraints and conflicts in terms of struggling and/or emerging economies in especially this connection are, the fact is that the ‘green’ element – in other words alternative energies – are increasingly part of the general planning, research and development. While this may seem like a drop in the ocean, it’s a beginning… and it creates awareness. It’s about TIME!

I listed a few examples to illustrate what some of the big TeleCom companies actually do:

1.
MTN : the company uses a new tri-generation power plant in Johannesburg (SA) to power data centres, offices and air-con systems. Here one needs to know that this 2-megawatt plant is powered by natural gas that is piped in over 874 km from Mozambique!!! It looks like a normal diesel engine but runs on methane! This tri-generation plant @ cost R32 million (about U$4 mio) allows MTN to register for the UN carbon credits project for corporates – a first in Africa! ROI is expected over 5 years due to large power savings from ESKOM (South Africa’s mega electricity mogul). This is a step forward…

2.
Meanwhile, MTN’s fierce competitior Vodacom say they are hard at work in terms of a low-carbon future. Their Vodafone Innovation Center in Jo’burg (SA) is powered by renewable energy. Expect something really ‘substantial’ over the next few years.

3.
Ericsson’s great “Millenium Villages” project (…connecting rural villages in Africa since 2007) focuses on renewable and sustainable electricity solutions using diesel, solar and wind power to turn their networks.

I add these:

4.
Samsung  launched its “Eco Management 2013 initiative” aiming at leading in sustainability within the industry… and being on track to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2013. They are already huge producers of mobile devices on the continent and their expansion plans in Africa are simply massive for 2012 alone! Good to see a environmentally conscious approach and clear goals set and implemented already.

5.
Apple has launched greener manufacturing initiatives and reduced its packaging of the iPhone leading to a reduction of 6% from the transportation of devices. They claim to be the “… only company in our industry that can claim that every product we sell not only meets but exceeds the strict energy guidelines of the Energy Star specification”.

While some may see all this as typical window-dressing, it all adds up and points in the right direction. However… much more needs to be done!

Thinking ahead for future generations – never mind our feelings for Mother Nature – , today’s highly profitable companies in the TeleCom sector have to be called to the table when it comes to introducing their products also in terms of planning good, emission-free Waste Management or Recycling. Especially in Africa… why? Because that’s where the negative climatic effects of first world industries and lifestyle hit home the hardest: the poor. And YES! We Care!

Time for responsibility and – Ubuntu!

Addiction to Communication Devices

Meanwhile, Africa is the 2nd largest market worldwide in terms of handheld mobile devices and growing as this ‘addiction’ to communication devices won’t stop… and there are huge developments to improve communication, meaning this market will grow massively over the next years. While manufacturers will always find smarter ways to manufacture, package and recycle these mobile devices, what came through very clearly at the AfricaCom Congress is that “… there simply aren’t enough power and other required resources to take the kind of communication that first world residents are used to and replicate them in emerging markets.” (Africa Telecoms)

Fazit:

1. Green Technology for TeleCom leaders in Africa is an absolute must;
1. There is a massive and continuously growing need for sustainable power, meaning clean, ‘green’ and affordable electricity;
2. There is a huge interest in keeping costs down (eg. MTN spends over U$150 million on diesel every year in Nigeria and wants to reduce that with its tri-generation plant…) and… while I am not aware this was really covered at all at the Congress itself but it’s a growing concern everywhere:
3. A clean, ‘green’ and affordable way to get rid of the old devices, batteries, etc – meaning recycling or emission-free waste management are absolutely vital.

The Time is NOW!

There will be more…

Happy New Year 2012

This is definitely going to be my last post in 2011 – wishing YOU a very special, prosperous and fulfilling Happy New Year 2012 on a special and typically funny South African note! Right from Nature – what else?

Happy New Year 2012

Wishing YOU a Happy New Year 2012 gives me the opportunity to thank you – my dear friends, customers and readers – for your continued interest and loyal support over the past twelve months, which I know have been an extremely challenging experience for many! Here’s hope that we will all start with new energies, love and devotion to accomplish what we have come to do and excel with it!

Ta ra ta tata

Ta ra ta tata has become a known signal for our daily workshops and monthly seminars at Ycademy – so we will end 2011 on that note and shout it loud and clear at midnight – dancing to LIVE music that is! YEBO GOGO!

CHEERS!