1) TEDxSydney
I was stoked to be accepted as part of the live audience for TEDxSydney 2013. The whole day was incredible – the speakers, the setup, the attendees, the food! I loved every part.

Some of the best bits included:

• The opening talk, by Ron McCallum, on ‘The Blind Reading Revolution.’ A must-watch.
• Danny Kennedy on solar power.
• A video about how crowdfarming was used to feed the attendees.
• Lawyer Jennifer Robinson on ‘Courage is Contagious.’ She made everyone in the room want to become a human rights activist.
• Tasty Video Bit by Saatchi & Saatchi: “The First Taste” – a slow-motion video of kids trying new foods.
• The performance by beatbox extraordinaire Tom Thum was AMAZING! Here’s a video of him jamming backstage with John Butler and Jeff Lang.
• Joost Bakker’s talk on sustainable and zero waste buildings was rad. He’s doing some awesome things. Check out his website.
• This Tasty Video Bit by The Projects and Paper House Productions was adorable. Hank and the Pink Balloon.
• Meeting a woman called Alison Covington at afternoon tea. Alison is bringing Good360 to Australia. It’s all about matching corporate “waste” with charitable need and I’ll be heading along to this event on the 5th of June to learn more.
• Spending the day with some of the awesome crew that organises TEDxAuckland. Aucklanders, keep an eye out – the 2013 event is happening in a few months and I might just see you there!

2) Make another person’s day in unexpected ways
This post on LinkedIn by Jeff Haden made me smile. He highlights 6 great ways to make another person’s day. In summary:

• Use your free time to do something nice for someone else, not because you’re expected to, but because you can
• Compliment someone for something they did a long time ago
• Point out when you’ve been referred, and who referred you
• Compliment people for something they don’t expect
• Notice when someone does something out of their norm
• Let someone know that you see something in them that they don’t see yet – even if you can’t quite yet see it, either. Give them hope and show them you believe in them

Oh, and there’s this really cute picture of a dog. ‘Nuff said. (Source)

3) VW: The new Golf advert

There are so many crap ads, so it’s nice when you come across one that can hold your attention. Anyone with a sibling can relate to the kid at 0:13, and I like the divorce proceedings at 0:27. The only thing that’s a bit silly here is how close to a cricket game the guy in the last scene has parked his beloved Golf, but I’ll let that slide. All in all, this is a solid advert.

4) Le Creuset store
Now in Sydney: Un petit bout de France! The beautiful cookware of Le Creuset is now in its own stand-alone store at 106 King St, near Pitt St Mall. I believe I’ll be spending a fair bit of time (and money) in there….

5) Perspective: Here is Today 
This clever site is a nice reminder of the fact that we’re ultimately here for a fleeting moment. Click through to see how small one day in the grand scheme of things. Damn well, make it count.

This week’s Top 5 are:

1) The Great Gif

After Titanic came out I had Leo posters covering my walls for several years. He is divine, and I’m looking forward to seeing him in action again in The Great Gatsby. Put Leo in a gif, and a Great Gatsby gif at that, and I’m yours. Thank you to @kingnivin for spotting and sharing this – check out Nivin’s post here. He writes about how gifs could be the next big thing in movie promotion. I agree.
Gif from The Great Gatsby promo Tumblr.

2) Hungry Mondays deliciousness
Hungry Mondays is delicious, slow cooked food that I buy pretty much every week. A group of chefs slow cook two different dishes every week and sell them for $9 a portion (if you pick up from a few handy locations). One of last week’s dishes was my favourite so far: 16 hour pork and beef chili con carne with a house baked corn bread. It doesn’t hurt that whoever runs the Facebook page has an impeccable way with words, e.g.: “House baked corn bread comes fresh out of the oven, gets cooled and sliced. It comes as a side with El Capo’s chilli con carne, the sweetness of the bread compliments the chilli of the chilli, which is mild to medium, depending on how soulful you are.” They’ve captured my heart with both food and words.

A Hungry Mondays dish – image from the HMs Facebook page

3) What are the best ways to think of ideas for a startup? 

I enjoyed this answer by @startuprob on Quora. He lists some absolute gold ways in which you can generate ideas, such as:

• Look through your bank statement to see where your money is going. (Could you be doing any of those tasks better? Cheaper?)
• Ask yourself, “What type of business would you want to run if there was absolutely no chance of failure?”
• Look through the customer service sections of websites and find out what people are complaining about.

Thank you, Rob! Read his full answer on on Quora.

4) 20th Century Fox intro on the recorder

It’s a couple of years old and completely ridiculous but brings back memories of failing miserably on the recorder (didn’t we all have a crack at primary school?) and it certainly scored LOLs. Thanks Jayde and Nick for the heads up!

5) Daft Punk’s new track, Get Lucky

The French boys are back and I’m loving this funky 70s vibe track. Get on it!

Mixing things up contributes to creativity, mastery, action, innovation and discovery. Routine gives us the means to practice something enough to become really good at it. Add unforced passion to the mix, and we can pretty much master that thing. That’s when we’re unstoppable.

Relationships flourish when we can surprise each other. When our partner whisks us away somewhere new for the weekend. When a night out with friends turns into story to tell for years.

We do better at our work when we’re given the opportunity to grow by doing something that’s outside our comfort zone. New sights and environments give us perspectives that ignite different parts of our minds. Being disciplined allows us to form habits, but having the flexibility to try new things fills our lives with excitement and adventure.

The right balance is different for all of us. Familiar is comforting, new is thrilling. Wake up and go to sleep around the same time each day but turn left instead of right until you find your ideal version.

Fast Company’s ‘The World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies 2013′ – in rhyme

With Nike, apparel and tech are a match here to stay
E-retailer Amazon has long paved the way
Mobile payments are made easier with Square
Splunk and big data are a heavenly pair

Designware desires? Head straight to Fab
Uber - could it mean the end of the cab?
Fraudulent sellers – from Sproxil you’ll hide
Pinterest is popular with many a bride

Safaricom gets callers and doctors connected
Target’s smaller stores are far less rejected
Life before Google - do you remember?
With Airbnb it pays to be a member

Apple has mastered retina display
Shareable content is Coke’s social way
Pig Newton sells comedy to fans direct
Tencent‘s ‘WeChat’ helps China connect

With Samsung, Apple may have met its match
Buzzfeed informs but also helps you detach
Online fashion companies – making over fashion and beauty
SeeChange Health is ‘making people healthy’ its duty

Oxitec engineer bugs to help save human lives
Electric cars - what my great-granddaughter drives
Drink carbonation – stuff the team at SodaStream do
OpenGamma‘s analysing financial risk for you

D-Rev wants better third world healthcare
Rovio made Angry Birds – are you aware?
Cars with smart software is how Ford design
Western Governers is changing education online

Creative advertising is a speciality of Droga5
Yelp‘s user reviews are well and truly alive
BitTorrent‘s taking charge of delivering the world’s content
While software development middlemen are on the ascent

Nest‘s making energy savings real, not just in your dreams
These biotech companies want to study our bloodstreams
Oktogo‘s changing Russia’s online travel booking scene
Your smartphone probably has a Corning‘s Gorilla Glass screen

NBA‘s producing sports content – they’re on a roll
Making the toilet of the future is Landwasher‘s goal
Evernote helps users be more productive, no sweat
Coursera gets University courses on the net

Elevating digital/physical play is up to Activision
Roku‘s revolutionising how we consume television
Enalta‘s making Brazil’s farm crops abundant
These robotics companies might make humans redundant!

Mobile ads that people want? Kiip‘ll make them be seen
While fashion conglomerate, PPR‘s going green
AngelList is where startups and investors meet
Microsoft‘s ‘digital living room’ is the word on the street

QCue‘s filling empty seats with dynamic pricing
Tumblr makes social media and content enticing
With that we’ve reached fifty – that’s much innovation
Now go forth and relish in the inspiration!

#Australia
#Sydney
#nsw
#SurryHills, #Darlinghurst, #Glebe, etc
#SydneyOperaHouse, #SydneyHarbourBridge, etc
#aussiegram
#travel
#sydneysider
#seeAustralia
#beautiful
#amazing
#summer (or appropriate season)
#sun, #moon, #sunrise, #sunset #sky, #night, etc
#nature, #wildlife, #animal, #mountain, #waterfall, etc

Tags that are super popular and can still be applied to Sydney/Australia scenery photos include:

#love
#instagood
#instamood
#iphoneonly
#photooftheday, #picoftheday and #bestoftheday (if it’s a super good photo!)
#instagramhub
#instahub
#igers
#awesome
#smile

You can also follow these Sydney accounts and use their hashtags:

@CityofSydney – #CityofSydney
@SeeAustralia – #SeeAustralia
@Australiagram – #Australiagram
@BestofAustralia – #BestofAustralia
@Instralia – #Instralia
@iPhoneographyOz – #iOz

I prefer text. I’ve already made this confession on a previous post, ‘Why written content is not dead (but video is awesome)’. In it I stated that video is indeed awesome – there are fantastic films, ads and other breeds of moving pictures that educate, entertain, enlighten, inform and move us in ways that a page of words cannot, but I love a good page of cleverly compiled words. Sometimes, it’s patience that gets the best of me. Even a short (say, 3 minute) introductory video about a product or idea takes time to watch, whereas I can choose how long I scan a page of text for. There’s also the aspect of convenience and usability with video taking longer to load than a static page of copy.

So why do I really like Vine? Five main reasons:
1) It’s simple to use
2) It creates video, but at 6 seconds, an easily digestible amount of video
3) It’s shareable
4) It demands creativity
5) It has a huge amount of marketing potential

For those who haven’t seen what Vine does yet, here’s my first Vine creation:

How to make Abraham Lincoln smile and frown vine.co/v/bJFnDxIqhUO—
Solange Francois (@solangefrancois) January 30, 2013

Why Vine is so good

• There is no editing or filter option – it’s raw and demands the talents of a storyteller, not just someone who can make things look pretty.
• The interface is intuitive and simple to use.
• The ‘Explore’ function is solid. Users can quickly search for other Vines under ‘Editor’s Picks’, ‘Popular Now’ and a selection of twelve hashtag categories including #cute, #pets, #travel, #remake, #food, #howto and #sports
• Vine videos are immediately shareable on Vine, Twitter and Facebook as well as being easy to embed into blog posts. They can also be shared solely on Vine, Twitter or Facebook, or all at once.
• Six seconds is ideal for short attention spans.
• The potential for marketing and advertising is huge. Industries like travel, food & beverage, bars & restaurants, real estate, dating, beauty, film and theatre are naturally suited. Freelancers such as artists, photographers, musicians, music teachers, make-up artists, hairdressers and chefs will be able to get amazing messages across, too. With the constantly and increasingly rapidly changing landscape of advertising media, here is a tool that brands can use to share short, snappy messages with their consumers, for free. (For now).

But, will it last? What are the challenges?

Yes, Vine will last, but I don’t believe that it’ll be mainstream. It’ll be used effectively by certain industries and by creative minds, but there will be challenges.

• It’s still very buggy. This needs to be sorted quickly to better secure an engaged set of users.
• Lack of quality and creativity are threats to its usage – Vine will need to weed out all the crap and highlight the awesome videos.
• The censoring of inappropriate content is a challenge. Porn has already posed as a problem to Vine, as it has with sexually explicit images on Instagram and text on Twitter.
• Are hashtags enough? The ‘Explore’ categories are useful, but are they tailored enough to create a unique, relevant experience for the user? Not in my opinion.

Despite its challenges, I’m looking forward to seeing what’s produced with Vine…..the highlights of a destination, the before and after shots of a make-up artist in action, the freshly baked bread from a bakery, the ambience of a Surry Hills bar at 10pm on a Friday night….I want to see it all.

What are your thoughts on Vine’s potential? 

This year, productivity is key on my list. If something is taking up a lot of time and isn’t creating value in some way, it should be reassessed. If something important is taking too long and isn’t being done optimally, it should be improved on. The question is:

How can I get more done in a shorter amount of time and without compromising on quality?

And the answers:

Analyse. Question what you do. Research and discover better ways. Look at things that take time and either get better skills, get better tools, or outsource. Some things, you might even realise that you shouldn’t be doing at all!

The idea is applicable to everything – from mundane daily tasks to more complex challenges, but let’s take ironing as a basic example:

Problem: “Ironing takes ages / I hate it / I’m not very good at it.”

Your options?
1) Get better skills. There are techniques for ironing shirts to do it right and save time. There are YouTube videos by professionals!
2) Get better tools. Does your iron suck? Get a new, better quality one. Does your ironing board suck? Sort it out. Maybe your shirts aren’t great quality. Maybe you should buy shirts that don’t require ironing.
3) Outsource. It comes down to economics and the circumstantial value that you get in exchange for the price you pay for something to be done. Can someone do a job for you well, fast and at a price you’re willing to pay? Great. Will it save you time and possible injury? Even better. The challenge is that not every outsourcing opportunity will be as easy as finding a laundromat, but out there may be a person who could provide invaluable input to your projects or needs.

Take a conscious note of how you spend your time and identify areas for improvement. In the last while I’ve discovered:

• Figuring out what I need for the next day is far quicker when I do it the night before rather than in the morning (better skills)
• Just from having moved the icon from the front page on my phone to the back page, I am less likely to check Facebook (better skills)
• Intense weight training sessions produce more of the results I’m after than longer cardio sessions do (better skills)
• Ordering clothes online saves having to stress and spend time in a mall (better skills, outsourcing)
• Replacing one meal every second day with a protein shake saves a load of time and gives me good results (better tools)
• There are ways to mass edit photos (better tools and skills)

We all have the same amount of time in a day as each other but mastering how to spend it is a skill. In doing so, we can spend more time on what really matters, adds value and gets us closer to our personal and professional goals.

What are some of the ways in which you’ll save time and be more productive this year?

Here are my top lessons from 2012. Some of them are serious, some are light. Take from them what you will:

• There are no rules. Nothing is black and white, except mathematics.
• Be wary of anyone who professes to be bored. Either they have limited vocabulary or they are actually boring. Bored is a terrible word. Instead, people should say, “I am feeling lazy and want to be entertained.” That’s fine – it happens!
• Rarotonga is an actual haven and if you ever need to take time out, go there, snorkel and indulge in sunshine.
• Floss every day. Dentists just know.
• There’s always someone out there who’s been through something you may be going through. Lean on them when you need words of wisdom, and be generous in passing the favour on to others when they need you.
• Don’t continue with anything that you’re not enjoying. Often people try to finish books that they’re not getting into. Just drop it and pick up something that you love. There are way too many great books out there to waste your time struggling through one that isn’t inviting you to turn the page.
• People are inherently really willing to help out, but they’re also inherently laid-back in doing so. You have to push them, give them something back, and they’ll give you something too.
• If you have your health, you really do have it all.
• Keep your passions next to you. Ensure there’s always something that you absolutely love doing/seeing/hearing/eating/spending time with close by, such as art, flowers or puppies.
• Cutting out sugar does wonders for the body.
• Immerse yourself in knowledge and networking. You’ll gain so many opportunities, meet interesting people and obtain insights you’d never have thought of.
• Some choices you’ll make because you will have a gut feeling. You’ll often only work out the logic behind why you made them at a later date.
• Coconut oil is great for cooking.
• ‘This too shall pass’ is fact. During tough times, hold onto it.
• Read a lot.
• Some of your closest friends come from the most unexpected scenarios. Don’t be afraid to start conversations.
• Cardio work is great but for true fat loss and muscle tone, weight training is where it’s at.
• It can be a challenge to live in the present – often we’re preoccupied with the past or we’re contemplating an imagined future. Like anything, it takes practice but focusing on the moment is rewarding.
• It’s a small world after all. Degrees of separation? Not what it used to be.
• It’s so, so, so OK to ask for help when you need it, and we need to look out for people who don’t yet know this.
• Like every relationship, it takes work to keep your relationship with technology and social media healthy.
• Mistakes and failure are a part of both personal life and career. Fail fast, learn quick, get better and kick ass the second round.
• Be bold – your desired career path won’t take care of itself. You need to take complete responsibility for it.
• Look after your biggest organ – your skin: take fish oil, use rose hip oil and wear SPF30 on your face every day.
• In winter, a good Shiraz. In summer, Rosé and Chardonnay.
• Things don’t end – they evolve.

It’s cliché to end a post like this with a quote, but this post is really one big cliché, so here goes:

“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.”  - Maria Robinson, author

Happy New Year! On the 31st I’ll be toasting to amazing experiences for us all in 2013 – look forward to seeing you in it!

The peaks of the mountains are reminiscent of the mountains in Jurassic Park. Their jagged, primitive edges seem misplaced in 2012. They appear imposing, prehistoric and untouched.

Travelling from Sydney, Australia to Rarotonga in the Cook Islands is like travelling through time in more ways than just crossing over the International Date Line. Here, the birds look and sound wilder, the elongated leaves of the plants appear primal and the sultry climate behaves like an adolescent – unrestrained, heated and tempestuous. The climate in Rarotonga is how one would imagine the climate was at the beginning of time, when nature was only concerned with feeding and watering the earth instead of rebelling against the geological fluctuations introduced by humans.

The concept of time in Rarotonga is not what time is in Sydney or other busy cities. The people here are not governed by a ticking hands or clocks on mobile phones. The compendium in my room explains: ‘Rarotonga is renowned for being stress-free and relaxed. Please be aware that timing and some services may be slower and more approximate than you are probably used to in the faster pace of your daily life.’ The locals walk slower, looking at the world instead of their smartphones and the speed limit on the main road that circles the island is a leisurely 50 kilometres per hour. There are two bus routes: Clockwise and Anticlockwise.

Papa Nga, the local handyman who comes over to help me operate the safe, asks me how I slept the night before. “Not bad,” I say, “but I woke up a few times.” I full well know that it’s not because of the soothing, calm air being circulated by the fan, and it’s not because of the gentle sound of the ocean outside. It’s because I’m still connected to the concrete jungle and all its concerns. “I must have a couple of things on the mind.” Papa Nga smiles and says, “Well, no time for that now, you’re on holiday and you’re on island time.”

In fact, I don’t even know what time it is. I tried to adjust the clock on my iPhone but ‘Rarotonga’ doesn’t exist.  I’m pretty certain that I’m three hours ahead, but the day before. I look outside at the sudden, torrential rain which will give way to blue skies before long, and I know that time doesn’t matter, anyway. There’s nowhere I need to be in a hurry.

Sitting on a deck chair on the veranda, three-quarters of the way through my first book I feel something soft and warm at my feet. Squeaky, the local ginger tabby starts mouthing, eyes pleading. “I have no food for cats here, sorry little one.” Squeaky insists, and makes his way through the doors, into the kitchen and stops at the fridge. “I don’t think you’ll like limes or lettuce.” I fail to mention the chicken breast that I plan to cook that night. Squeaky accepts the situation and goes back outside with me, content for now with a neck rub instead of a feast.

Reading is easy here. Back home it can be a challenge to find the opportunity to read because there’s always so much going on. At home one can often glance at a few pages in a zombie-like state and in the morning already forgotten what was read. Not here.

When the rain clears and the sky explodes with blueness, I pass by reception and borrow a snorkel and fins. Coco the dog meets me at the driveway and decides to come along. The beach is pristine and the water inexplicably clear. It is easy to just float, breathing through the tube and looking down at the multitudes of colours and life that thrive in this other realm.  Approaching a large cluster of coral, a sound travels through the water and the ‘chomp, chomp’ sound of fish teeth gnawing at it can be heard. I wonder if they can hear my muffled sounds of admiration and wonder.

In the evening, instead of switching on a television, I cook to the sound of music. There are no TVs in the rooms. The compendium says, ‘There is a TV in the Breakfast Café for guest use. There is only one TV channel in the Cook Islands. New Zealand’s TV One News screens every night at approximately 8.30pm. Cook Islands local news screens at 7pm Monday to Friday.’ I love this. I love that instead of having their consciousness interrupted by ridiculous plotlines and shouty ads encouraging them to buy things they don’t need, guests can daydream, make up their own stories and remind themselves of what matters most.

Sunsets are not merely a reminder of the world’s beauty. They tell us much more than that. Sunsets show us that a day has passed and that the world is huge. When our sun disappears for us, it rises for many others. A Rarotongan sunset is an unhurried, spectacular blaze of colour and when the orange sphere finally falls past the horizon, one knows that it is now time to rest and prepare for another beautiful day.

When all is quiet, the pool beckons at night. It is like an ancient, welcoming family, where The Cool Water introduces its wife, Clear Night Sky and their children, Warm Air and Sound of Stillness. They all embrace me at once, my mind clears and I melt into a blanket of tranquillity.

See you again soon, Rarotonga.