Hotels and Lodges Websites

When designing Hotels and Lodges Websites… I focus on offering visitors a personal taste of the real atmosphere of the place – mostly in form of photos, images or videos and perhaps some great testimonials of guests who shared their impressions of that ‘place’. People and Place… Place and People – that’s what creates a touch of the humanitity that unites us and that’s what I try to capture as part of my personal style as you can investigate in my SHOWCASE HERE.

Hotels and Lodges Websites

Of course, like in any website development, Hotels and Lodges Websites need to offer relevant functionalities and be user-friendly in terms of navigation. Visitors want to see what they like and then surf quickly to a Booking Form where they get a quick overview in terms of availability and prices and where they have access to simple and reliable payment gateways.

How to achieve top positions with a Hotel Website

Having said that, what remains as the most challenging part for the web designer is how to achieve top positions with a Hotel Website, meaning the website’s performance on Google against stiff competition in the Travel and Tourism Industry.

But this is exactly where we at Semiomantics excel: once properly setup and indexed on Google, your path to top rankings is assured – provided you keep the website dynamic and active. Our regular tests in terms of website optimization and performance proove it daily!

Save by performing better – have a look at http://showcase.biancagubalke.com  !

Fine Homes at the top of Google

When it comes to Media Marketing Online regarding Fine Homes, Real Estate and Property there’s one place you need to be seen when visitors are looking for you: on Google Top 10. I refer to my article on “Fine Homes Websites” 22 hours ago HERE and wish to give you the evolution in terms of search engine optimization further down… you will find Fine Homes at the top of Google!

Fine Homes at the top of Google

After less than a day, “Fine Homes Websites” are at the top of Google regarding this specific keyword as you see on the screenshot below. I can’t tell you how fast the article got there as I just checked it now, after 22 hours. Enough to say: mission fullfilled – and this at no extra cost!

What price do you pay?

This is totally remarkable given the fact that I am neither a real estate agent nor do I have anything to do with property marketing – I focus on elegant and highly optimized custom Web Design for any field of interest. Neither do I have the help of a domain name nor can I look back on a history of targeted blogging in this field. So in a way I’m the new kid on the blog (!) with this article – yet we look again at the number one position on Google.

Ask yourself: what price do you pay to get there… that is IF you are there in the first place… and are you seen where customers are looking for your products and services?

If this is not the case and if your online advertising doesn’t get you the desired results despite the money you are spending on an ongoing basis, it may be time to reevaluate and contact me for a search engine efficient web design setup that will get you there… the proof is in the screenshot!

Facebook at Ycademy Seminar

To keep ahead of the rapid website developments on the net – especially also pertaining to Social Networks and their impact on Businesses and Marketers – Facebook will be a main focus at this month’s Ycademy Seminar. One of the reasons for this is also the fact that Facebook will – once again – change the rules of the game at the end of the month (March 2012) with a new Facebook format similar to the timeline format to be released and of course, new regulations.

So the Facebook Page the way we set it up about 6 months ago – see above mine – will change again.

Facebook at Ycademy Seminar

When looking into Facebook at the Ycademy Seminar, we will also check and evaluate how Facebook forces favorites upon us that have never been our choice, that don’t correspond to our identity and that are simply invasive – in mild terms – as to our privacy. When I go to my Facebook website from outside I don’t recognize myself at all: none of the favorites there is known to me, never mind has been quoted or inserted by me!

Another point that will be discussed and rectified at the Seminar!

The fact is that the constant changes on Face­book have lead pro­fes­sion­als a long time ago to struc­ture and man­age their assets out­side of Face­book on a CMS or other appro­pri­ate website. Accordingly, we will focus on con­sol­i­dat­ing our own assets on a WP CMS, typ­i­cally XO or EVO by Semiomantics.

We know that it’s essential that people talk about our products – ideally favourably! In other words: refer them through word-of-mouth propaganda in a so-called ‘trusted’ way. Social Networks have become crucial today in serving that purpose and are thus taken serious by businesses, namely those who wish to stay in control of their reputation, accumulate positive testimonials and maintain positive discussion.

Word of Mouth Marketing and Facebook

The Ycademy Seminar asks the question:

How can we profit eth­i­cally from the herd instinct and from word of mouth mar­ket­ing in con­nec­tion with Facebook?

Word­Press to Mobile to Face­book

Also, the Seminar will look once again into the issue “Word­Press to Mobile… to Face­book… to Local…” – one of our favourites and definitely to be taken just as seriously. We know that to get a maximum of Traffic – meaning cus­tomers, read­ers and inter­ested vis­i­tors – it is of para­mount impor­tance to build a strong pres­ence on Search Engines, genre Google, and Social Net­works, genre Facebook. However, we also have to take into account the increas­ing impor­tance of the mobile web with its vast and future-oriented possibilities.

The Ycademy Sem­i­nar March 2012 will show us how to build an effec­tive pub­lish­ing net­work across plat­forms while pre­serv­ing productivity.

Monkey Valley Resort Website

The new Monkey Valley Resort website development nears its completion!

Monkey Valley Resort Website

The integration of the Booking System at Monkey Valley Resort seems to be more complex than expected; accordingly, I still wait for the integration link to finish off the website and take off the front slider that points out that this is a website built on a WP based Semiomantics XO – the best script out there when it comes to visibility on Google!

Obviously, it’s then a matter of doing regular editing and publishing of good original content to keep the positions in the keyword areas targeted; however, from the results seen so far – be it for the Best Cape Town Conferencing Venue, the Best Cape Town Weddings, Thorfynn’s Restaurant Christmas Lunch or the New Year’s Eve Spectacular or Monkey Valley Resort – well, as the results clearly have shown, the initial investment in the right website has paid off manyfold! And this before its completion!

Semiomantics Website or Google Ads

Either you ensure your presence on Google top rankings by regular, daily Google ads – which is quite costly given the fact that you can’t go far even with $50 a day given the constantly rising cost – that’s dependancy short-term and long-term – or you invest once in the right Script and capture top entries on Google Top 10 on your desired keywords.

Monkey Valley Resort has made a smart choice with their new Semiomantics Website… it has paid off right from the start… and noone stops anyone from adding Google Ads… but now it’s a choice depending on one’s budget, it’s no longer a must. Be on the smart side of Internet Marketing; invest in an attractive and search engine efficient Semiomantics Website!

Social Commerce

In my research into Infographics and Social Media I was directed towards a great piece of Infographics by “Useful Social Media” on Empire Avenue who have created a Social Commerce timeline infographic with important statistics and decisive moments  within the short chronology of the merger between Social Media and eCommerce.

From what I read, Social Commerce is  “…one of the hottest social trends in 2011, and [...] many brands, such as beverage company Big Train, along with major players like Coca Cola, Starbucks and Disney, have embraced this opportunity to make it easy for social media fans to purchase products directly from social networks.”

Social Commerce

Building contacts in Social Networks genre Facebook or Empire Avenue and others may not be everybody’s cup of tea; many may see it as a waste of time and cyberwaste  given the fact that it remains mostly on the surface, meaning there’s no real depth of conversation, no real content, a start without a future.

It must not be so! And besides, it’s a numbers game: with some you will ‘click’, with others you won’t – next! It’s just as in real life!

Getting over the initial efforts and adding some consistency to our activities and – perhaps most importantly – reaching out ourselves, we may well find great people and professionals hiding behind the ‘shareholder’ and ‘like’ facade! As I just did!

As always: if it’s to be it’s up to me!

Have a great week!

Christmas Gift Fair 2011

Great News: the Christmas Gift Fair 2011 will be held at Monkey Valley Resort in Noordhoek, South Africa, from 9 to 11 November 2011!

Christmas Gift Fair 2011

What a great idea to escape from the city buzz of Cape Town and do your Xmas Shopping in a fun and relaxed natural environment at Monkey Valley Resort!

This year’s Christmas Gift Fair 2011 will offer fresh and funky gifts from the ‘Fab Ideas’ range of innovative products ranging from home and garden accessories to fabulous clothing, kids range and deli items.

Bring your kids and make it a family outing for the whole day, enjoy great food at Thorfynn’s Restaurant where Darren and his smiling Team will take care of you… and why not have some fun on Noordhoek Beach!

Entrance Fee

Adults pay an Entrance Fee of R 20 – all proceeds go to the Bobs for Good Foundation.

The tent is sponsored by Tenthire – what a great cooperation!

Table Mountain a Winner on Google

Following yesterday’s article on “Table Mountain a Winner” – we have a double whammy when we look at what Table Mountain a Winner is doing on Google in terms of search results!

Table Mountain a Winner on Google

Within an hour, my article on Table Mountain a Winner made it to position 3 on Google – ahead of 2,2 million search returns!

There’s no secret – either you abandon yourself to constantly increasing advertising budgets on Google Ads or you invest in a solid WP based Semiomantics Script, have it setup and tuned by a Semiomantics expert, learn how to edit and publish in a smart way – and do this regularly… and if you got your keywords right there’s no way stopping your success! We at Semiomantics ensure you get there… we’ll work on this together with you until! In fact, you don’t even get the website before it happened!

Simple, fun and magical – just see these daily results… the proof is in the screenshots!

Brave Green Kids on Google

Quick results from our post about the book launch “Brave Green Kids” on Google!

Brave Green Kids on Google

Beating hard competition, the new website Monkey Valley Resort captured positions 2 and 3 for “Brave Green Kids” on Google Top 10!

Brilliant performance for a brand-new website that’s still under website development!

Semiomantics Web Design

Semiomantics Web Design paired with continuous posting via smart Online Publishing are the key to not only gaining top positions on search engines like Google – but also keeping them!

Table Mountain a Winner

After campaigning furiously to Vote for Table Mountain in the garden city Cape Town, South Africa, as becoming one of the spectacular “New7Wonders of Nature”… and a really close run with some of the many uniquely beautiful places on our cherished planet Earth, I was enthralled to hear that the famous backdrop and landmark at the Southern tip of Africa, Table Mountain, became a Winner! YEBO YOOHOOO… and this from a list of initially 440 candidates starting in December 2008… almost 3 years ago!

While I grew up directly on the slopes of Table Mountain, I now live in Noordhoek – basically the backside of the Table Mountain range. Above is a photo I took from Silvermine Nature Reserve towards Table Mountain, showing the flowering leucadendron and protea that all form part of this rare and so-called “…smallest and richest floral kingdom of the world”.

Table Mountain a Winner

WOW! Just after becoming World Design City 2014 a week or so ago… now we have Table Mountain a Winner! I am definitely feeling “Proudly South African”! Have a look at the video leading up to this wonderful result:

Tremendous Opportunities for Cape Town

If you think… “Well, vote for Table Mountain – what’s the big deal here?”… better think twice as there are truly tremendous opportunities for Cape Town!

As Patricia de Lille said: “”If Table Mountain is officially recognised as a natural wonder, it will cement that unique offering to the world. Tremendous benefits await us if we all do our part and come together.”

Well – as it seems we all did our part and came together in stiff competition from other magic places like:

• the Dead Sea,
• the Grand Canyon in the USA,
• Australia’s Great Barrier Reef,
• Vietnam’s Halong Bay,
• Jeita Grotto in Lebanon,
• Jeju Island in South Korea,
•  the Indonesian island of Komodo,
• Puerto Princesa underground river in the Philippines,
• Sundarbans delta at the mouth of the Ganges river,
•  and Italy’s Mount Vesuvius

Here’s wishing everyone can make “the list” as all are places of magic we wish to see once in our lives and want to leave as ‘intact’ as possible to future generations.

Personally, I am glad the underground river in the Philippines came out as a winner as well… a truly memorable place!

Now what are those tremendous opportunities for Cape Town?

First of all, there will be a serious economic impact – meaning money and employment.

According to an independent report done by Grant Thornton, a leading tourism hospitality and leisure research company, it was estimated that a R1.4 billion annual tourism return can be expected for South Africa. Basing their projections on the New7Man Made Wonders, in which 100 million votes were cast worldwide, Grant Thornton estimate that “…Tourism to Table Mountain, and thus Cape Town could increase by approximately 20%, resulting in the generation of employment opportunities.”

Also, CEO of Cape Town Tourism, Mariëtte du Toit-Helmbold, noted: “We are very, very excited about this win! From being awarded the World Design Capital 2014 designation just a few weeks ago to Table Mountain being named one of the New7Wonders of Nature today, Cape Town and South Africa are standing proud! There are many benefits, but our biggest opportunity is job creation potential. In line with Cape Town Tourism’s new brand strategy for the city, we are working with individuals and companies on developing new, interesting and genuine tourism offerings to satisfy our changing travellers’ needs. With the anticipated increase in inbound travel to South Africa, and particularly to Cape Town, there are going to be increased entrepreneurial opportunities opening up.”

Besides, Cape Town Tourism launched a bold new brand and marketing campaign for the city at World Travel Market in London on 7 November7, 2011 , communicating every aspect of “… what the city has to offer, from tourism and design, business and studies, to the rich diversity of people and its natural assets. It forms part of a comprehensive marketing strategy for Cape Town aimed at growing the demand for the Mother City by speaking to a wider audience in new and established international and domestic markets whilst aligning with other sectors beyond tourism, complementing the city and region’s broader economic strategy and aligning with the mandate of the soon-to-be-established Economic Development Partnership (EDP). In addition, Cape Town Tourism has partnered with Johannesburg Tourism and Durban Tourism on a joint domestic marketing agreement that will offer affordable product and destination packages to and within these South African cities, as well as more robust event calendars across the board.”

As such the campaign itself also allowed South Africans to get much more informed about Table Mountain.

The oldest Mountain on the Planet

Did you know that Table Mountain is one of the oldest mountains on the planet, estimated to be around 360 million years old?

Table Mountain World Heritage Site

Table Mountain was named a World Heritage Site in 2004 as part of the Cape Floristic Region, the smallest and richest of the only six floral kingdoms on the planet – see my photo above. It supports natural forest and indigenous fynbos along with a variety of animals and birds, including 8,200 rare and endangered plant species.

Mons Mensae

Table Mountain is the only terrestrial feature on our planet to have a constellation named after it. The Southern constellation Mensa (originally Mons Mensae – Latin for “the table mountain”), was named in 1754 after the increasingly world-famous landmark in the then “Cape of Good Hope”. It was a symbol of hope for freedom fighters jailed on Robben Island.

Table Mountain is a recognised as a global icon, visited by millions of people each year and attracting the attention of royalty – with Prince Charles and his wife Camilla currently visiting – , sports stars – like Michael Schumacher -, business tycoons like Richard Branson and Hollywood celebrities.

Table Mountain is one of the most photographed sites in Africa.

Congratulations -  together we did it!

Brave Green Kids Book Launch

Parenting today… and how to bring up children to face the challenges of a rapidly changing world – this is the topic of  “Brave Green Kids”, the first book written by Judy Sole and presented at yesterday’s Book Launch at the “Crowned Eagle” of Monkey Valley Resort. A golden sunset marked the event and the leader of the Green Party of South Africa asked for moments of silence to mentally embrace the world with one’s wish for peace and compassion while the sun dipped into the Atlantic Ocean and… disappeared.

Brave Green Kids Book Launch

While the “Brave Green Kids” Book Launch was directed at environmentally conscious people and especially parents… the only kid around was the young girl you see on my photo here.

She sat all by herself looking at the distant horizon, her gaze swimming above the adult buzz around her. The pure and yet knowing expression on her face that I have seen in so many children today, and her sweet smile when our eyes briefly met, seemed to represent each child today that’s facing an undefined future. And yet – besides this being the challenge of the young generation… couldn’t it just be the promise as well…? A future to which only the younger generations hold the key – and this with the help of the Universe?

Time to trust that any change can happen if we are ready to embrace it.

Website Development

The website development for Monkey Valley Resort is constantly advancing. I added a category “Photos” where we can add photos following specific events, where guests and visitors can see what’s up at Monkey Valley Resort; I invite you to go there and have a look at some photo impressions I took at the event yesterday. Unfortunately there was almost no light during the talk itself, so no ways to capture it with my digital camera.

I designed all photos to fit into a 800×600 px format, but have a little coding problem to solve – therefore the pictures are currently visible in a smaller size (6o%). Yet – here they are, straight after the event and inviting you to visit Monkey Valley Resort. By the way: kids are most welcome and you can watch over them while they have ample room to play, swim and run!

Visit Thorfynn’s Restaurant

Why not visit Thorfynn’s Restaurant for a delicious Sunday roast with Life music?

Map to Monkey Valley Resort

There are many ways to Monkey Valley Resort in Noordhoek, South Africa… and there’s a map showing you how to get there and what the environments look like – so you can recognize them immediately. Visit via the Virtual Journey we created a while ago as a Map to Monkey Valley Resort HERE.

Map to Monkey Valley Resort

Noordhoek is just about 30 kms South of the Mother City, Cape Town… in the wild and exciting Cape Peninsula.

On our Map to Monkey Valley Resort you will see how you can either take the so-called “… most beautiful coastal road” from Hout Bay and come down into the romantic Noordhoek Valley from Chapman’s Peak.

Or you take the M3 and drive over Ou Kaapse Weg through the spectacular Silvermine Nature Reserve… or you come from the Fish Hoek side and its beautiful sea views… with whales and dolphins in the bay over long periods each year! It’s always an experience and you should plan some time to be able to stop and watch, walk and feel the closeness of Nature.

On the brand-new website development for Monkey Valley Resort – soon to be completed and released – you find all the directions you need. And of course, you can always “google it”!

AfricaCom Accommodation

Attending the AfricaCom Communication Conference 2011 that’s opening its doors tomorrow in Cape Town, South Africa – and still looking for the Best Accommodation???

Well… Cape Town has lots of excellent hotels to offer, however, if you’re here for the first time and looking for an “Out of Africa” experience just 30 km outside the Mother City, with sweeping sea- and mountain views, delicious cuisine and a beautiful vibe, try Monkey Valley Resort! The website is still under development and awaits the integration of the booking system – but all the details are there, especially the pictures! And you get what you see here!

AfricaCom Accommodation

Book your AfricaCom Accommodation at Monkey Valley Resort – or extend your business trip for just a few days to relax, gather your thoughts and bring it all together for optimum results and productivity!

And don’t forget to have a look at Cape Town’s best Conferencing Venue… you’ll just love it!

Africa and the Mobile Web

As the 14th AfricaCom – Africa’s largest Communications Conference – is about to open its doors tomorrow, 9th November 2011, in Cape Town, South Africa… and this with some 150+ speakers who will share their vision of Africa’s future communications landscape, it’s worth getting a fact-based idea of Africa and the Mobile Web.

Please take note of my earlier posts on Media Marketing Africa HERE and Will AfricaCom be the Turning Point for Digital Africa HERE.

Africa and the Mobile Web

As part of Symbiotic Media (African Mirror), I was invited to have a look at the inside story. This allows me to give some profound feedback on Africa and the Mobile Web based on the latest press release.

So let me share some staggering data in terms of the really trail-blazing way Africans communicate over vast distances without any of the modern infra-structure first-world countries are accustomed to.

World-leading by Mobile Subscriptions

The first fact is already mind-blowing: Africa is the world’s second-most connected region … in other words: almost world-leading by mobile subscriptions! Who would have thought that? I didn’t!

The number of mobile subscriptions in Africa are set to reach one billion in 2016!

In fact, Africa has become the second most connected region in the world in terms of mobile subscription count, up from a 4th place at the end of 2010, according to new research by Informa Telecoms & Media. There were over 616 million mobile subscriptions in Africa at the end of September. This means that the mobile market on the continent is second only to Asia-Pacific in terms of mobile subscription numbers.

Africa’s mobile-subscription count overtook that of Western Europe during 2Q11 and then overtook the Americas in 3Q11. At end-2010, less than a year ago, Africa was only the fourth largest regional mobile market by subscriptions, coming after Asia-Pacific, Western Europe and the Americas.

Incredible!

“The combination in Africa of a still relatively immature telecoms market with factors including population growth, strong competition among providers and the increasing affordability of mobile devices, explains Africa’s move up the regional mobile-market rankings as well as its strong growth forecast,” said Matthew Reed, head of mobile research for the Middle East and Africa at Informa Telecoms & Media. “Africa’s mobile market is heading towards a major landmark: the number of mobile subscriptions on the continent will cross the one billion mark in 2016 according to our latest forecast.”

Africa will retain its position as the second biggest regional mobile market by subscriptions, according to Informa’s forecasts for the coming five years. However, there is a strong trend for Africa mobile subscribers to have multiple SIM cards and consequently the number of unique users of mobile services on the continent is smaller than the number of subscriptions. The number of unique users in Africa at end-2016 is forecasted to be 572.35 million.

Nigeria biggest mobile market

Nigeria will continue to be Africa’s biggest mobile market by subscriptions, with a forecasted 152.09 million subscriptions at end-2016.

Egypt will hold onto its position as Africa’s second-biggest mobile market, with a forecasted 118.03 million subscriptions at end-2016.

South Africa, the continent’s third largest mobile market, will have 80.56 million mobile subscriptions at end-2016.

Mobile Penetration Rate

Africa is forecasted to have a mobile penetration rate of 86.92% at end-2016, still lower than in other regions.

3G (WCDMA) subscriptions and market share in Africa will grow strongly over the coming years. The mobile-market-share held by WCDMA is forecasted to rise from 6.6% at end-2011 to 46% at end-2016, almost equalling GSM’s market-share of 47.5% at end-2016.

About Customer Retention

As the African market matures, the retention of existing customers is becoming increasingly important.

A recent survey by Informa Telecoms & Media into the views of African operators on customer loyalty found that 21.8% of respondents ranked customer retention as their main priority while 18.2% said it was customer acquisition, and 60% said that customer retention and customer acquisition were equally important.

Informa’s Analysts will be discussing this and other hot topics at the Africa Com event in Cape Town next week. For more information please visit: AfricaCom HERE.

I will be back with more…

African Mirror

African Mirror – A Reflection of the Times – will soon be out with its latest and absolutely smashing offline edition! The pink cactus photo taken outside their offices in Cape Town, South Africa, yesterday… signals something spectacular to look forward to and definitely: there is a sense of excitement and promise in the air down here in the forgotten corner of the Southern Hemisphere! Perhaps the reason why the royals are all visiting …?

African Mirror

As it states in its introduction, African Mirror “…reflects on important issues relevant to the growth of our people and our economic well-being. Its uniqueness is in its portrayal of South Africa within an African context within a global context, employing cutting edge design, layout and exclusive and erudite editorial.”

African Mirror is an exquisite offline business-to-business publication with an indefinite shelf-life and a huge pass-on readership. This attractive publication is the premier marketing tool for major endorser organisations, and the only South African – if not African – magazine of its kind that is distributed to 125 embassies and trade missions around the world.

Look forward to be astonished… and there’s much more in store that we will be revealing at a later stage :)

Monkey Valley News Trailer

Actually, I completely forgot to add the Monkey Valley News Trailer I have created in Premiere Pro a while ago to the About Information – so here it is… better late than never and finally it has found its perfect place:

Monkey Valley News Trailer

Within only a few seconds, the Monkey Valley News Trailer gives us a brief glimpse into what Monkey Valley Resort is all about… and a few pictures tell more than a whole long story!

World Design Capital 2014

Truthful to our mission to regularly monitor the results of our articles on our WP based Semiomantics Scripts in terms of their Google performance, let’s have a look at the latest buzzword especially down here in Cape Town, South Africa: “World Design Capital 2014″! WOOHOO! That’s the award the Mother City received today… and the town is shaking!

World Design Capital 2014 on Google

Despite the fierce competition following the exciting announcement this morning, you see on the above screenshot to which rank exactly my article earlier today – READ HERE -  has made it: Position 3 on Google Top 10! That’s worth a celebration too!

The Importance of being part of a Network

As you may notice, the article is carried up to this high rank through the YORGOO Publishing Network, of which I am a Co-Founder. So far, the article on my Author Blog has made it to page 4… and it will probably continue to climb.

We see very clearly the importance of being part of a Network: whether your article reaches maximum exposure on Google Top 10 with your own blog or whether it’s been carried there through your network – all links and credits staying intact of course – does not really matter here… as long as you get there. From experience we know that – ultimately – the original article makes it there and… it sticks.

This exactly is the interest of everyone who has a product or service to sell online: to be visible on Google Top 10 to attract people looking for them – provided they target correctly in terms of keywords. Being part of the YORGOO Publishing Network has its merits – all our Web Design customers know that and benefit from extra exposure… meaning more traffic… meaning more visitors… meaning more conversion… meaning everybody is happy!

UCT Dinner 2011 at Monkey Valley Resort

Sunset over Noordhoek Beach as Darren Byrne and his Team take care of last preparations for the UCT Dinner 2011 at Monkey Valley Resort in Noordhoek, South Africa, are being done.

UCT Dinner 2011 at Monkey Valley Resort

Monkey Valley Resort being also a hot tip for the best Cape Town wedding venue, this year’s UCT Dinner 2011 took place, for the first time, at the spectacular “Crowned Eagle” overlooking Monkey Valley Resort and Noordhoek Beach. Truly a way for all the guests to feel on top of the world.

The candles were not even put on yet and darkness was envelopping everything fast…

Spectacular views wherever the protective and decorative tent left space to view the landscape…

The first candle is lit …

We hear the first guests arriving… “Crowned Eagle” is ready for them!

More material will be published here later – check in this evening and maybe you will see yourself on video :)

The Future of Travel Information

I don’t know about you, but before I book a trip I talk to people I know who may have been there, I try to find out a maximum about my targeted holiday spot on the Internet and yes! I would also check what’s on the shelves at Exclusive Books here in Cape Town, South Africa. There’s nothing like sitting in the garden or on the beach and paging through a real book… then lifting one’s view to the distant horizon and do what I call “… just dream it”.

While the dream may be so spectacular that you never buy that flight ticket… chances are that all the accumulated information gets you excited and you get on that plane to dreamland!

The fact today is, however, that most people search on Google, get to Travel and Tourism related websites and blogs to read reviews and be inspired by other tourists … and then simply book online. It’s just a few mouse-clicks and you’re on the plane.

Therefore, and especially with the explosion of Social Media Marketing through social networks like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube etc, it seems the Future of Travel Information is obvious… and this has an impact on the future destiny of Travel Guides… cherished by many, but not by the masses.

The Future of Travel Information

The fact is, that the most relevant and pretty genuine information about places and trips is easily found in form of ‘user-generated content’ on Social Networks. Who needs to ask a Travel expert if there is a possibility to talk to someone living exactly where one wants to go, and this since generations and with a joyful willingness to share and answer questions?

Add to this the speed of the Mobile Web!

Listen to Richard Trillo, author of several African Guide Books, at the eTourism Africa Summit 2011 in Cape Town, South Africa, how he sees the Future of Travel Information and, of course, the traditional travel guide.

ENJOY!

I just discovered a slideshow of his presentation that you can find by clicking on  the top photo here.

Steve Jobs Quote

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.

Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking.

Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.

And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.

They somehow already know what you truly want to become.

Everything else is secondary.

Steve Jobs Quote

PS: The above photo was tagged as a Ryan J. Zeigler Photo – it’s a magnificent  – if not iconic – design that says it all!

Good bye Steve Jobs

Opening my Safari browser a few minutes ago just made my heart stop for a few moments: there he was, one of the true visionaries and movers of our digital era, a man who has transformed the way we communicate on the mobile web and this with incredible style, efficiency, functionality…and financial success: Steve Jobs, looking straight at me through his fine-rimmed glasses in clean, elegant black and white Apple-style. Even before I saw the dates: 1955 to 2011… I knew the Apple legend had passed to the next level:
Good bye Steve Jobs.

Good bye Steve Jobs

Once again, Steve Jobs grabbed our attention and all the world is watching!

In my case here in Noordhoek at the tip of South Africa – full-screen on the highest valued real estate in the world! Again he demonstrated that with being on the Internet and having joined the virtual reality there is no escape; here we are all one. At least here it becomes blatantly visible… which all has both sides, good and bad and it certainly accelerates our evolution at an incredible pace. It often made me ponder as to how all this connected to our spiralling and accelerating path towards a higher consciousness… as I have no doubt that we too are on a transformational journey. Comparing the terminology both environments are using – the spiritual and the digital – is revelatory alone…

Is this too a look into the future?

Strangely enough – this picture has no finality to me…

There’s much more to come – but for the moment and leaving the real laudatio to the big boyz, I just say “Thank you” as I too have learned a lot…and : Good bye Steve Jobs!