I enter all online competitions that seem useful and won't earn me too much spam! Every week I trawl the  WinStuff.co.za page and the playnow page. Also Googling win a trip to disneyland, or win a home makeover... I dream. I only enter the lotto when its over R50 million, unless I am feeling particularly keen on some extra cash, but I haven't won more than R21. I even tried the online auction, but that wasn't for me. Sometimes I sms codes off products I buy, and my loyalty programs sometimes pay off too. Look, the return on the time spent is minimal, but I feel very lucky to have won a CD player, A day at the spa, a pedicure/massage and the odd raffle. 4 in a million is better than none! The latest thing is apple products: Winstuff.co.za is giving away an Apple iPhone 4 to one lucky reader! And I have collected all my apples on Afrihost for the ipad! Wish me Good luck!

Social media is a fascinating and very interestingly strategic medium for communication. For the individual not affiliating themselves with a business, the tweet and wall posts are more casual, weekend planning and fun sharing. For the business people its sell, collect, keep, and grow base. But there is a fine line that is often crossed where business social media (oxymoron) is too hard sell and the potential follower is put off by the blatant talking at them rather than to them. I have learnt and experimented with approached to a 146 character tweet. I have been followed by randoms and friends with business interests as well and social catch-up at heart. I follow people I admire, topics I am interested in and of course breaking news. That is the single most useful thing is to know what happened immediately after, without having to wait hours or even days for the newspaper. Inspirational quotes and a feeling of we are all together, the same but still very special to be chosen by you. It brings celebrities to your inbox and elevates you to roving journalist.

So twitter turned 5 yesterday, and It took me 4 years of observation before I saw the benefits and joined up.
I have been facebooking for centuries, linked in is a solid and excellent professional platform and all these can be monitored on the tweet deck or tweet fall or Gmail is pretty inclusive as well. I never got into Mxit, But I am so excited that BBM is coming to all models of phone in the near future. I like to know the news as it happens, I also like to know when sales are happening and if anyone needs some help. Plug in and stay tuned, keep learning and embrace it.

Social media, ATL Advertising, google e-books and fingerprinted computers 12/02/2010 0 Comment(s)   The huge surge in Social media and digital advertising has really changed the way people work and think. Google announced its soon to be mainstream e-book enterprise and all the traditional book sellers are adopting, adapting or risking the real threat of becoming obsolete. The Advertising of today and tomorrow is more focused and tries to be tailored to an individual, by accessing their social networking habits and collecting data about their likes and interests. Twitter has a huge benefit for advertisers as well as they can really make their message bespoke and topical.
All advertising these days simply has to be cross-media and the print side of magazine and publication adverts is very obviously diminishing, especially with the UK companies that are still battling with the effects of the recession.

A new innovation of "fingerprinting" computers and devices accross the planet is set to replace cookies and provide even more individually focussed advertising based on the data that this fingerprinting technique gathers. According to the innovators, each computer no matter how similar and plain it may seem, has a users browser history, fonts, and a plethora of settings and preferences made to make it a trackable and unique persona. Originally the software was develloped to counter act fraud and software piracy by being able to assess the user making multiple accounts and commiting credit card fraud. Computers also continuoulsy broadcast their browser settings and IP to sites without us realising it. Its both brilliant as a way to deliver advertising that is completely relevant, but also scary as implications of misuse and corruption more often than not accompany any new invention. speling

 SEO features MarshallBenzie Graphic design Cape Town on Ananzi 11/22/2010 0 Comment(s)   If you Googled Graphic design Cape Town, Design Southern Suburbs or any combination of Benzie, Sian or similar words, the likelihood is this website is ranking better and better each time. I need to thanks the directory listings like Ananzi and Hotfrog as well as facebook and Linked in for the profiles and links to my site. so don't forget, spread the word marshallbenzie graphic design Cape Town is your best solution for all graphic design and digita

Recommended for ability and ethics 11/17/2010 0 Comment(s)   I have recently received a new testimonial complimenting my business ethic and indisputable abilities. My design skills and trustworthy and positively autonomous way of working has been lauded. Please see the testimonials page for this and my current Curriculum Vitae, which can be downloaded by prospective employers.

Networking & Tablet books 11/11/2010 0 Comment(s)   Well as the inevitability of Change happens it seems that no matter what, January 2011 will hold great new prospects for Sian Marshall-Benzie. I have been told in the past, that I am over quallified, but that just means I can do a lot of different things very well. So technically it's really a huge plus.Anyway I am always ready and keen to learn more and one area is on the web design coding side as that needs more focus in the market we are moving into these days. Never stop learning and bettering yourself no matter what people say! And may print never die, I mean who wants to read a Tablet computer on the loo, or to your toddler. He will destroy it in one crunch on the floor! 

SEO, Link Building and Google analytics/webmaster tools 11/09/2010 1 Comment(s)   Heuristic learning has produced a new skill set of SEO ( Search Engine Optimisation) and Link building That has boosted my rankings and placed this website in a well earned position. Thanks to all who sincerely recommend me and link to my site because they believe in what I can do. No I just need to grow those HTML and CSS skill more.

Featured on Biz Community plus Web and HTML Emailer design 11/03/2010 0 Comment(s)   Very impressed to be featured as a person on the move on Biz Community's website. A true leader in the industry and a wonderful endorsement. Word of Mouth is also gaining incredible ground. I am currently doing a n enews web design for a company to code into an HTML emailer. Just another addition to the variety of skills on offer.