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Gerdté Terblanche has worked at Fireworkx for 5 years. A core member of our design team. Himself a designer and web wizard - a person with dedication not often seen. He tirelessly worked on projects that sometimes were not the most creatively inspiring, but always saw them through.

Last night he died. A tragedy, a loss, a life too short.

Gerdté, rest in peace.

Business people who don't carry biz cards

OK, so I know business cards aren't exactly hi-tech devices for communicating your contact details to a would-be customer or supplier, but... they DO work. They have survived decades of evolution from the simple calling cards of last century to the digitally-printed double-sided glossy and embossed executive cards bandied about today.

Let's face it, it's much more convenient to get someone’s contact info electronically via email or Plaxo (and stay up to date), and coming from an early-adopting gadget-wielding technocrat - the thing I'm about to say is bizarre. BUT, paper-based business cards still work. They're fast, high-bandwidth, user-friendly 'devices'. They transmit your company's brand in a quick bite-sized format. They are backward-compatible. In fact they're kind-of forward compatible too. They tell you everything you need to know about the person you are about to meet. As you receive the card there's the tactile experience of the brand. "Mmm, cheap flimsy paper", or, "Hmmm, smooth silky card". What does that communicate? Then the visual: what do the colours say about your company? Is your brand properly reflected?

A senior executive from a large up-market retailer handed me his business card recently. It was dog-eared from being in his wallet, the edges were cut roughly, the card flimsy, and the printing was slightly skew! The swing tags on the fancy garments in his store (which get yanked off and discarded) were smarter than his business card. Come on, that's a lack of brand integrity if ever I have seen it.

There's one thing worse than that - NOT carrying one. This is the scene: you offer yours and with one flick out it comes from your top pocket. He scrambles, tries his top pocket too (you can tell this isn't the regular place he keeps them), then the wallet (if he has them there they're probably not going to be legible - and besides it'll be curved and warm from his backside - ughh), no luck there either, into the folder, then the brief case, the diary and finally an old one from inside the plastic briefcase tag courtesy of SAA. Pity it’s got last years addresses and phone numbers. Oh well, "Take my card, and rather email me your details", you offer him as consolation. "Thanks yes, I will email you my details first thing tomorrow." And of course, he doesn't. Another business opportunity missed. But then again, probably just as well.

But wait, there's more... business people who DON'T HAVE cards. It's ok if you're the furnace operator in a crematorium or slugging it out in a mine shaft all day - probably not much use for them. But for everyone else, get them. Cost is not an issue - by comparison to the cost of the desk, chair, computer, software, telephone, email service that you are providing to your staff - they're dirt cheap. Everyone should have them. And then be instructed to carry them, always, and to give them away.

This is all assuming you have a half-decent looking card to give out in the first place... but that's another Blog. (By the way if you catch me without business cards, and I'm not in the shower or on the beach, I'll buy you lunch!)

Successfully Installed Fireworkx 2.0

After weeks of preparation and planning, our move to The Pump House has been completed. The weekend saw many a Fireworker up to his or her elbows in boxes and bubble-wrap. In fact, not just the Fireworkers, but their families, too. Although at one point we had the 'cable-guy' installing our network, the electrician, the movers, the carpet-guys, the painters and the burglar alarm fitters all jostling for space, the move was virtually without a hitch. Thanks guys.

Now the fun begins. How to start afresh, pioneering new territories and yet also keeping the 'best of the past'. We are now working on a re-brand (not totally, but certainly refreshing the design elements), and new stationary, website, etc. I can’t wait.

The Pump House Reconstruction

Someone described our new office construction / renovation / painting / etc as "organised chaos". I think they were being too polite. Drop the adjective. Here's the proof (the pic is our future boardroom). We're moving in on Saturday and hopefully open for business on Monday. Hmmm.

Milked any purple cows lately?

Milked any purple cows lately? Have you seen any purple cows in your neighbourhood? Or what about in your company?

If you have read the latest book by Seth Godin you'd know what I was talking about. In his book, aptly called "Purple Cow", Seth describes a country side in France with perfect green hills and perfect black and white cows. Picturesque indeed - for the first hour of sight-seeing. But after a while they're all the same, and nothing really leaps out at you. Unless of course you suddenly spot a purple cow grazing on a hilltop. Your eyes would bulge; you’d stop the car and out would come the digital camera.

So what’s this got to do with business? Actually, a lot. Purple cows are the extraordinary products and services that your company should be producing. What you would actually want your potential customers and clients to do, is to stop their cars, get out, take photos and then because it was so remarkable they would tell their friends. Why? Because that’s how people buy products and services these days. They ask their trusted friends and colleagues what to buy and where to get it.

The people they ask are “early adopters” and they are the influential group of people your company needs to convince about the merits of your “purple cows”. Arguably these early adopters are a smaller target to convert, but the catch is they’re not easily convinced. They have seen it all. They adapt easily, and they adopt new things faster. But once converted – they become sneezers! They ‘sneeze’ their ‘infection’ onto whoever seeks their advice. These advice seekers represent a large chunk of the population (that large chunk that will turn your winning product or service into a real wealth creator).

You're either a Purple Cow or you're not. You're either remarkable or invisible. Make your choice.

Fireworkx 2.0

It's the end of an era. For almost 6 years Fireworkx has been operating from top floor offices at 35 Wale Street in central Cape Town. In a week and a bit we will have moved out and the great unpack will be consuming us.

The famous heritage building called The Pump House at Albion Spring in Newlands will become our new home. Not only is this a physical move, it's a subtle move too, into a new phase of Fireworkx' life. I can feel a new buzz in the air already. It's like the teenager turning 18 - not much physical change to be seen, but a whole new stance and presence is experienced.

Get ready for Fireworkx 2.0

The river behind our new offices

This is a pic taken on my Nokia 6600 of the river (ok, canal) that flows past our new offices at the Pump House at Albion Spring in Newlands / Rondebosch.

I first snapped the pic and uploaded it using PicoStation's software on my phone and then Moblogged it to my experimental Moblog on PicoStation.com - I'm stunned - it all worked first time and was so easy. Did I mention free too? Nokia should licence this software and install it as default on their Series 6 phones.

I can see a time when every mobile phone user becomes a micro-journalist and the news networks will have a massively distributed news and image gathering network of ordinary citizens. From all accounts the BBC was using this with the recent bombings in London. Dozens of mobile phone images and video clips were taken and sent to the BBC for broadcasting.

The First (Real) Post

This is the first real post (as apposed to the ‘last post’). I'm typing this and now you're reading it. I guess that's about as much reason for blogging as I can imagine. I mean, really, what's with this blogging thing? If you don’t have blog it’s like, ‘What? No blog?’ And they look at you as if you don’t have ears or legs or something.

Suddenly everyone on the planet has come out of the closet and fancies themselves as some famous well-read journo / author / writer type. Personally I think it's a craze. It’ll pass. Last century when the whole ‘internet’ thing happened, everybody was rushing around learning H-T-M-L and ‘building a web-page’ with pictures (awful) of their newly-acquired baby / puppy / motorbike. That’s so 90’s now. And besides it was hard work – all those tags you had to learn and Javascript menus you had to maintain. And what’s more you had to think - ‘this content goes here, that content goes there’. Now with blogs – well – you don’t have to - (think, that is). You can just plonk the text on the page, un-structured, un-formatted, un-everything. And people come in droves to read it. And you’re famous (well, sort-of).

It’s so easy now. Type. Copy. Paste. Blog. Read. I can see it coming: “You know, in my day, when the internet started… blah blah … we had to… blah blah… now you kids have it easy…”

Hmmm, blogging. Now there's a thing.

Never thought the Net would come to this. Millions of wanna-be editors and publishers all scrambling to carve their initials on virtual tree-trunks.