April 11, 2020 by Jolindy

Physical distancing, Social Togetherness #LockDownSA Day 16

Day 16 LockDown

11 April 2020

1934 cases
Recovered: 410 (not sure if this number is accurate)
Deceased: 24

I found this circle diagram online, and it immediately resonated with me. One of the reasons I studied psychology, eventually NLP and became a lifecoach, is because I firmly believe that our reality is based on choice. The way we perceive the world around us, the “lens” through which we choose to view the world, ultimately determine our experience and our outcomes.

For instance, I read an interesting illustration that might explain this all better. There’s an old story about two boys who had a father who was an alcoholic. They grew into young men. One son became an alcoholic. “What choice do I have?” he said. “My father is an alcoholic.” The other son never touched a drop of alcohol. “How could I?” he said. “Look what it did to my father.”

There is probably a number of lessons that can be learnt from this simple and effective story, but the one that stands out for me is that we all have the power to choose. We may not always be able to control what happens around us, but it is up to us as individuals to choose how it affects us and how we respond. We can’t control the circumstances, but we have total and complete control over our reaction.

I am an adoptive mom of the most amazing twins. I cannot imagine my life without them. Yet, roughly 6-7 years ago I was in the clutches of a very dark depression. I had three miscarriages, and a friend whose support I badly needed at the time, chose to rather leave my employ, take over a number of our clients and open direct opposition to our business, and financially we were in trouble. There was a time when I could not even muster the will to get out of bed in the mornings. There was just no point. The black dog was my constant companion, and it cast a shadow over everything I wanted to do. I eventually accepted a job with a national corporate to help our company survive, just for another friend for whom I organised a position with the same company to aim for my position and cause me to lose this job. Just a year before all this, I was in Egypt, completing my Master NLP qualification. Newly qualified, I felt that I was supposed to “know it all” and set an example. There was this constant nagging little inner voice berating me all the time for just not being able to drag myself up by the bootstraps and snap out of this. I had all the knowledge, just not the ability.

It took time. A lot of time, a lot of healing, and constant persistent daily choices of how I was going to act or respond. Some days were really bad, some were better. I grieved for my miscarried babies, for lost friends, for unexpected betrayals, for our limping marriage, for our crippled company. This journey is different for every person. And it is really important that we always remember this. No matter what your journey is, or where you are in your life, no two people walk the same road. Just because I am able to function and run a business in the middle of my tsunami, doesn’t mean another person with the same circumstances, is able to. Even my “ability to function” is questionable sometimes – there are still some days that I find it hard to motivate myself. In my case, I have a self-motivation centered around the good old carrot and stick. If I achieve my goals that I am supposed to, I can reward myself. If not, I take away a reward. It also helps in a way that I have so many people and their families dependent on me. If I don’t do what I am supposed to, it impacts so many more people than just my little family.

Now, with Covid19, and everything that is happening in the world around us, it is even more important to take ownership for our actions and our reactions. Fear is our enemy, it always is. It causes behaviour like selfishness, hoarding, spreading misinformation, acting like a victim and looking where to place the blame. However, it is also dangerous to create a space of guilt, where one causes other people who are in a different space to feel that they are not good enough, or not coping enough. It is so unnecessary and hurtful to say things like, “But I am in the same situation, and look at all that I can do, why can’t you?” It is imperative that we realise every single person in the world right now is doing their utmost every day just to do what they can. People have different coping mechanisms and different reactions. Let’s leave each other be, support where we can, be understanding and share as much care and love as we are able to, if we are able.

Today, and every day, the best tool that I can offer you is gratitude. Gratitude in the face of adversity is so awfully hard, but it is a tool that really works to get an altered mindset, and more specifically, a more positive mindset. I have a gratitude diary, and every day, I try to write 3 – 5 new things that I am grateful for. This is not a guideline. If you cannot write something every day, don’t.

Affirmations and gratitude goes hand in hand, but I personally find that most affirmations tend to backfire. For instance, try and tell yourself in a mirror how wealthy you are, and hear that sabotaging inner voice laughing at you snarkily. Unless you are wealthy, and then good for you. The only affirmation that I find works for me, and works believably well, is Emile Coue’s “Every day in every way I am getting better and better.” Take that, snarky inner voice! Not much you can say about that! Because after all, it is up to me how I get better, and in what way, every day. My choice, my ownership, my responsibility.

April 10, 2020 by Jolindy

Physical distancing, Social Togetherness #LockDownSA Day 15

Day 15 LockDown

10 April 2020

2003 cases
Recovered: 45
Deceased: 18

It is Good Friday today – a time of hope, of recovery and of rebirth. This is a part of the message conveyed by our President, Cyril Ramaphosa, when he addressed us as a nation last night and announced that the lockdown is going to be extended by another three weeks. This is a message that we desperately need in this time of insecurity and fear. We shall recover, says our President. We shall overcome.

There was a time, as a teenager, when I worked in a town called Sterkspruit at the Cash & Carry on Saturdays for some extra cash. Our country was in turmoil. We had international sanctions against us. The army had to accompany us to protect us against flying bullets, necklacing, protests, molotov cocktails thrown at moving vehicles and more. It was like driving through a war zone. Our country was being reborn, with rights and equality for all. It was a difficult time, and yet we made it.

Now, we are in this crisis together as a global people. The virus is everywhere, affecting everyone. I support our President, and the hard decisions he has to make. I just have to ask – what about when we reach the end of April? What about even later, towards June? The virus will still be around. I read an article that claims intermittent physical distancing will still be around until at least 2020. According to this article:

With much of the world struggling financially and mentally in self-isolation and lockdowns, people around the world are undoubtedly looking forward to the end of such unprecedented measures.

But according to analysis by Harvard researchers, the best strategy for beating COVID-19 probably isn’t one extended period of physical distancing, but several staggered periods, with time in between to allow immunity to take hold in the population.

The research posits that this strategy could “avoid overwhelming hospitals while allowing immunity to build in the population.”

Extending this lockdown for longer and longer will have a devastating and difficult to recover from effect on our economy. Businesses are forced to close. Debts can be paid, rent, credit cards, vehicles, property – the list is endless. The Rupert and Oppenheimer funding initiatives, has in the interim closed down temporarily because applications reached capacity. The government funding applications seems biased towards specific business types, and not all businesses currently in trouble qualify to apply. Here’s a list of some of the assistance available: https://smesouthafrica.co.za/the-small-business-covid-19-survival-guide-where-to-get-help/

I don’t have any answers. What I do know, is that we’ve been through hectic periods before and survived. We cannot just give up. Giving up means we’ve already lost.

The Speech:

President Cyril Ramaphosa: Extension of Coronavirus COVID-19 lockdown to the end of April

9 Apr 2020

My Fellow South Africans,

At midnight tonight, it will be exactly two weeks since our country entered into an unprecedented nation-wide lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

During the course of these last two weeks, your lives have been severely disrupted, you have suffered great hardship and endured much uncertainty.

We have closed our borders to the world, our children are not in school, businesses have closed their operations, many have lost their income, and our economy has ground to a halt.

And yet, faced with such daunting challenges, you, the people of South Africa, have responded with remarkable patience and courage.

You have respected the lockdown and largely observed the regulations.

You have accepted the severe restrictions on your movement and many of the daily freedoms that we all take for granted.

You have done so because you have understood the devastating effect that this disease will have on the health and well-being of all South Africans unless we take drastic measures.

You have also understood that we must do everything in our power to prevent the massive loss of life that would occur if we did not act.

For your cooperation, for your commitment and above all for your patience, I wish to thank you personally.
I wish to thank you for reaffirming to each other and to the world that we South Africans are a people who come together and unite at moments of great crisis.

Earlier today I had a most productive meeting with our Premiers about the work they are doing in provinces and districts to stop the spread of the virus.

I also had a discussion with the leaders of all our political parties represented in Parliament, who collectively pledged their support for the efforts that are being made to combat the pandemic.

Through this we are demonstrating that we are able to work together across party lines to confront a common threat.

Since I announced the lockdown just over two weeks ago, the global coronavirus pandemic has worsened.

Two weeks ago, there were 340,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in the world.

We now have over 1.5 million confirmed cases worldwide.

Over 90,000 people across the world have died from this disease.

The health systems of many countries have been overwhelmed.

Even the most developed economies in the world have not had the means to treat the many thousands who have fallen ill.

They have struggled to find the medical supplies and personnel necessary to deal with the pandemic.

The devastating effect of this is that many people have died.

The global evidence is overwhelming.

It confirms that our decision to declare a national state of disaster and to institute a nation-wide lockdown was correct and it was timely.

While it is too early to make a definitive analysis of the progression of the disease in South Africa, there is sufficient evidence to show that the lockdown is working.

Since the lockdown came into effect, the rate at which new cases have been identified here in South Africa has slowed significantly.

From 1,170 confirmed cases on the 27th of March, the number of confirmed cases today stands at 1,934.

In the two weeks before the lockdown, the average daily increase in new cases was around 42%.

Since the start of the lockdown, the average daily increase has been around 4%.

While we recognise the need to expand testing to gain a better picture of the infection rate, this represents real progress.

The measures we have taken – such as closing our borders and prohibiting gatherings – as well as the changes that we have each had to make in our own behaviour, have definitely slowed the spread of the virus.

But the struggle against the coronavirus is far from over.

We are only at the beginning of a monumental struggle that demands our every resource and our every effort.

We cannot relax. We cannot be complacent.

In the coming weeks and months, we must massively increase the extent of our response and expand the reach of our interventions.

We are learning both from the experiences of other countries and from the evidence we now have about the development of the pandemic in South Africa.

Both make a clear and compelling case to proceed in a manner that is cautious and properly calibrated.

Simply put, if we end the lockdown too soon or too abruptly, we risk a massive and uncontrollable resurgence of the disease.

We risk reversing the gains we have made over the last few weeks, and rendering meaningless the great sacrifices we have all made.

Fellow South Africans,

This evening, I stand before you to ask you to endure even longer.

I have to ask you to make even greater sacrifices so that our country may survive this crisis and so that tens of thousands of lives may be saved.

After careful consideration of the available evidence, the National Coronavirus Command Council has decided to extend the nation-wide lockdown by a further two weeks beyond the initial 21 days.

This means that most of the existing lockdown measures will remain in force until the end of April.

We will use the coming days to evaluate how we will embark on risk-adjusted measures that can enable a phased recovery of the economy, allowing the return to operation of certain sectors under strictly controlled conditions.

We will also use this time to ramp up our public health interventions.

We did not take this decision to extend the lockdown lightly.

As your President, I am mindful of the great and heavy burden this will impose on you.

I am keenly aware of the impact this will have on our economy.

But I know, as you do, that unless we take these difficult measures now, unless we hold to this course for a little longer, the coronavirus pandemic will engulf, and ultimately consume, our country.

We all want the economy to come back to life, we want people to return to work, we want our children to go back to school, and we all want to be able to move freely again.

But our immediate priority must remain to slow down the spread of the virus and to prevent a massive loss of life.

We must do this while preventing our economy from collapsing and saving our people from hunger.

We are determined to pursue a path that both saves lives and protects livelihoods.

Our strategy is made up of three parts:

– Firstly, an intensified public health response to slow down and reduce infections.

– Secondly, a comprehensive package of economic support measures to assist businesses and individuals affected by the pandemic.

– Thirdly, a programme of increased social support to protect poor and vulnerable households.

As government, together with our many partners, we have used this lockdown period to both refine and intensify our public health strategy to manage the coronavirus.

Our approach is to screen in communities and test people in hospitals, clinics and mobile clinics, to isolate those who are infected, and to care for those who are ill in our health facilities.

We need to do this intensively and systematically.

We have used the last week to develop our screening and testing methodology in various parts of the country.

Over the next two weeks, we will roll out the community screening and testing programme across all provinces, focusing in particular on highly vulnerable communities.

Those who test positive and cannot self-isolate at home will be isolated at special facilities that have been identified and are now being equipped.

At all times, we will observe the human rights of all people.

Let us not discriminate against people who test positive.

To ensure that our strategies are effectively coordinated and to ensure they are informed by comprehensive, real-time data, we have established the COVID-19 Information Centre at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.

This world-class centre will keep track of all screening, testing, isolation and hospitalisation throughout the country.

It is already identifying infection hotspots.

It is following the spread and the severity of the disease, and enabling us to move our focus and resources where they are most needed.

We are working with mobile telephony companies and other institutions to locate those people who have tested positive for the virus and those with whom they have been in contact.

As part of the second element of our strategy, we have put in place various measures to provide support to businesses in distress, to workers facing loss of income, to the self-employed and to informal businesses.

Many of these measures are being taken up by both large and small businesses.

The Unemployment Insurance Fund has set aside R40 billion to help employees who will be unable to work, as part of the effort to prevent jobs losses as a result of the lockdown.

To date, it has paid out R356 million.

I would like to applaud all those employers who have continued to pay their workers during this difficult time, as well as those employers who are working with unions and government to assist their employees to access these benefits.

I would like to call on all businesses to continue to pay their suppliers, to the extent that they can, to ensure that those suppliers can also continue to operate and pay their staff and suppliers.

In this respect, I would like to appeal to all large businesses not to resort to force majeure and stop paying their suppliers and rental commitments, as such practice has a domino effect on all other businesses dependent on that chain.

We must do all we can to ensure that the underlying economy continues to function and to focus support on those small businesses that really need them.

The Industrial Development Corporation has set aside R3 billion for the procurement of essential medical supplies.

It has already approved R130 million in funding and expects to approve a further R400 million in the coming week to companies who applied for funding under this special facility.

The Small Enterprise Finance Agency has approved the postponement of loan repayments for a period of 6 months.

The small business debt relief and business growth facilities are currently adjudicating applications for assistance.

There is a total of R500 million available in support.

Government has reprioritised R1.2 billion to provide relief to smallholder farmers and to contribute to the security of food supply.

In addition to these expenditure measures, the Reserve Bank has also lowered interest rates and has taken measures to inject liquidity into the economy.

One of the biggest challenges that all countries in the world are facing is the shortage of medical supplies to fight the coronavirus.

As a country we have had to rely on our own capabilities to supply these goods, but have also had to source supplies from other countries.

In recent weeks, we have seen a massive mobilisation of South African business, labour, academics and government agencies to build the stocks of medical and other equipment needed to fight coronavirus.

We have, for example, established the National Ventilator Project to rapidly mobilise the technical and industrial resources of our country to manufacture non-invasive ventilators, which can be used to support patients afflicted with the disease.

Other projects are focusing on increasing the local manufacture of protective face masks, hand sanitisers and pharmaceutical products which can be used by health care workers and the public at large.

As the third part of our coronavirus response, we have been working to provide basic needs such as water and to maintain the reliability of food supply to the poorest South Africans.

We have also expanded the provision of food parcels and we’ve provided spaza shops with financial support.

To date, government has delivered over 11,000 water storage tanks to communities in need across the country, and many of these have been installed.

In addition, 1,000 water tankers have been provided for the delivery of water.

Several homeless people have been accommodated in 154 shelters.

I am pleased to report that the Solidarity Fund – which was established to mobilise resources from companies, organisations and individuals to combat the coronavirus pandemic – has so far raised around R2.2 billion.

It has already allocated around R1 billion to buy sterile gloves, face shields, surgical masks, test kits and ventilators.

It will also allocate funds for humanitarian relief to vulnerable households, in addition to the R400 million set aside by government for Social Relief of Distress grants.

All of these efforts, while necessary and commendable, will not be sufficient on their own to cushion the poor from the impact of this pandemic.

Nor will they provide the relief that businesses and their employees require.

Additional extraordinary measures will need to be put in place in the coming weeks and months to absorb the sudden loss of income to both businesses and individuals.

We are in a situation that demands swift action and exceptional methods, a situation that demands innovation and the mobilisation of every resource that we have.

Cabinet will be developing a comprehensive package of urgent economic measures to respond both to the immediate crisis and to the severe economic challenges that we must confront in the months ahead.

Further announcements on the next phase of our economic and social support strategy will be made in due course.

An essential part of our response to this emergency is the principle of solidarity.

From across society, companies and individuals have come forward to provide financial and other assistance.

In support of this effort, we have decided that the President, Deputy President, Ministers and Deputy Ministers will each take a one-third cut in their salaries for the next three months.

This portion of their salaries will be donated to the Solidarity Fund.

We are calling on other public office bearers and executives of large companies to make a similar gesture and to further increase the reach of this national effort.

In this regard, we welcome the donation of 20,000 cellphones by Vodacom for health workers that will be involved in screening and tracing in communities.

As we have stressed before and we will stress once again, our struggle against the coronavirus requires fundamental changes in behaviour from all of us.

Until we have contained the coronavirus, the same rules remain.

Shaking hands, hugging, sitting close to each other and other forms of physical contact enable this virus to be transmitted, and must be avoided.

We must continue to wash our hands regularly and thoroughly using water and soap or sanitiser.

To stay safe and to keep others safe we must continue to respect whatever restrictions that are placed on our movement and on our daily lives

Over the past two weeks, I have been speaking to other African leaders about a coordinated continental effort to combat the coronavirus and support our people and our economies.

We have established an AU COVID-19 Response Fund to mobilise the resources necessary to support this effort.

We have reached out to world leaders, even as they struggle with the pandemic in their countries, to assist the continent with essential medical supplies and to support a comprehensive stimulus package for Africa.

As we confront this disease in our country, we are part of a great global effort that is bringing humanity together in ways that many never thought possible.

For billions across the world, and for us here in South Africa, the coronavirus pandemic has changed everything.

We can no longer work in the way we have before.

As government, as NGOs, as political parties, as large corporations and small businesses, as financial institutions, as community organisations and as South Africans we will need to adapt to a new reality.

As we emerge from this crisis, our country will need to undergo a process of fundamental reconstruction.

To do so, we will draw on our strengths: our abundant natural resources, our advanced infrastructure, our deep financial markets, our proven capabilities in information and communication technology, and the depth of talent among our people.

We will draw on our proven capacity for innovation and creativity, our ability to come together in a crisis, and our commitment to each other and our common future.

We will learn from global experience and the best scientific evidence, but we will craft a uniquely South African response that uses our own capabilities as a nation.

This weekend is a sacred time for many South Africans.

For many, it will be difficult to spend this time without their friends and family.

I ask that you keep in your thoughts tonight all in our land who are vulnerable, destitute and alone.

I ask that you give what you can to alleviate their burden.

To contribute to the Solidarity Fund in any way you can.

This is a difficult time for us all.

Yet the message of Easter is one we carry in our hearts tonight.

It is the message of hope, of recovery and of rebirth.

As we walk this road together, as we struggle to defeat this pandemic, we remain strong and united and resolved.

Much is being asked of you, far more than should ever be asked.

But we know that this is a matter of survival, and we dare not fail.

We shall recover.

We shall overcome.

May God bless South Africa and protect her people.

I thank you.

April 5, 2020 by Jolindy

Physical distancing, Social Togetherness #LockDownSA Day 10

Day 10 LockDown

5 April 2020

1585 cases
Recovered: 45
Deceased: 9

Sunday bloody Sunday. Our first double digits official lockdown day, and a new week ahead that we have to face several business challenges, both for us and for our clients.

I take my hat off to journalists, I myself worked as a journalist for years, and I know how tough the job is. But today I can only shake my head at some of the most irresponsible journalism ever. The biggest Afrikaans newspaper, Rapport, screamed in massive block letters on its front page that lockdown could be extended to four months. Really, Rapport, really? In a time where people are terrified as it is. If this was hard news based on an official announcement by our government – you know what, of course, go for it. But most of the article is idle speculation fuelled by theories on what ifs and this might happens.

I have never seen our Rand perform so dismally against the dollar. Today is a bit better than yesterday, with the graph straightening a bit and not just shooting upwards, but at R19.05 to the dollar, this spells a lot of uncertainty for our imports market. South Africa relies heavily on imported manufactured goods. And with Covid-19, we desperately need medical supplies and equipment from China to support our medical teams and support personnel.

There is also some really good news. Our 2019-2020 National Crime Statistics are yet to be officially released, however, during an analysis of crime from the first week of the lockdown, compared to the same period last year, this morning (5 April), Police Minister General Bheki Cele confirmed a very welcome decrease of serious crimes during lockdown:

Murder cases have dropped from 326 to 94
Rape cases have dropped from 699 to 101
Cases of assault with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm dropped from 2 673 to 456 case
Trio crimes (which include carjackings, house robberies and business robberies) dropped from 8 853 to 2 098.
There is also a very welcome decrease in lockdown-related complaints.

Amidst all this uncertainty, we had a pretty relaxed Sunday here in the city of George. Our streets have never been quieter. We started our day with the longest bath ever. Every single bath duck had to be bathed and squeezed and lined up. It is such a privilege that my children enjoy having a bath with their mommy. We pottered around in the kitchen, and I taught the world’s most amazing twins how to make Chicken Biryani and Naan bread. We danced to a track list on Spotify, and when we were done, the kitchen looked as if a flour factory exploded in there. But we had fun, and most of all, the twins are having fun. I do not know how much of all of this they will remember, but what they do remember, I want them to remember with fondness and nostalgia, not fear and uncertainty. I never know when the next last will show up, so I try to make each moment last. I don’t remember the last time I could pick up both of them at the same time, or the last time they asked for a night bottle. Or the last time I changed a nappy (not missing those, but just sayin’) My mommy heart cringes every time I see how much bigger they are getting.

There is a bit of unnecessary whininess on the book of the face about people posting lists of questions and playing games, and how frivolous all of this seems in the midst of all this disaster. I remember reading that when the Titanic sank, the band continued playing. People need distraction when their world collapses. What does it matter really what people do to distract themselves during this time? Some of the questionnaires and tags are fun, and we all get to know each other a bit more. My blog title for during this time and this series: Physical Distancing, Social Togetherness, is exactly about this. Yes, we need to physically maintain distance from each other, but with all the technology we have today, there is no reason to distance ourselves socially. We can chat online, message via several apps, converse on our social media platforms, share, learn, like, comment, debate – it doesn’t matter. Stay involved and be part of the online community. Besides, I’ll rather complete a questionnaire or post a mysterious phrase on my wall than read the absolute hogwash that is coming out of the keyboards of some of the sheeple out there.

This is seriously what Facebook sounds like at the moment. And I am over it. If you read my blog and you support the way out there conspiracies that are floating around the cyber social space at the moment, kindly get yourself out of my world. You become the people you associate with most, and I fear that my own intelligence might take a dive just by association.

Anyway, no more doom and gloom for me today. I have a date planned in my bed, with some hot cross buns and hot tea and a book (don’t judge). I conclude with a fun interview I had with the twins today – even I didn’t expect some of the answers. Perhaps try these questions with your kiddoes. See, the social media questionnaires aren’t all bad *wink, wink

** CHILD INTERVIEW **
Ask your child these questions and write their
EXACT response.

Interview with Alice & James

1. What’s your name? Giggles Alice/Jamesie

2. How old are you? 5 years old (both) and no, they are 4 years old

3. How old is your mom? Both: 8 (aren’t they just too adorable 😂😂)

4. What’s your favourite color? Alice: Pink/James: Red

5. What’s your favourite food? Alice: Sweeties/James: Pizza

6. Who’s your best friend? Alice: Janie/James: Wandle

7. What’s your favourite song? James: The Fire and the Lion (It’s Katy Perry’s Roar)/Alice: Let it go

8. What do you like to watch on TV? Alice: Barbie and the Dreamhouse/James: Power Rangers

9.What’s your favorite animal? James: Lion/Alice: a horse, a horse!!

10. What makes you happy? James: Bicycle/Alice: my dollies

11. Where’s your favorite place to go? Alice: the mall/James: John Dory’s

12. What do you want to be when you grow up? Alice: A mommy/James: A daddy

13. What does mommy do all day? Go to work and take us to school and come and fetch us

14. What are you scared of? James: A monster/ Alice: A bee

15 Where does money come from? Both: from the shop

16. Where did you come from? Both: from my house

April 4, 2020 by Jolindy

Physical distancing, Social Togetherness #LockDownSA Day 9

Day 9 LockDown

4 April 2020

1505 cases
Recovered: 31
Deceased: 7

Family. To me, I am torn between absolutely loving the quality time I spend with my twins, and feeling guilty because I am not working as hard as I usually do. We spent today in definite weekend-mode. After breakfast (I thought I’d spoil them with a different take on egg, but nooooo – the response was: Are you sure this is eggy, Mommy?) I spent some time in my home office in the morning, getting work done, and then I made sure to just spend the rest of the day with Alice and James, asking them what they want and what they want to do.

We ended up painting and doing crafts for a bit. I hurt my ankle, so Dad had to do a grocery run for us. It is still the same injury from earlier in the year, but Alice dropped a full 2 litre bottle of Oros on my foot by accident this morning. I had to ice it most of the day and keep it rested.

The afternoon was dedicated to making homemade pizza with my tried and tested favourite base recipe and a movie marathon: no surprise there. Frozen II and The Emoji Movie. I think I can recite entire excerpts of dialogue flawlessly from either of these (any many more like them).

The sheer routine of the day and the continued laughter from the twins are keeping me from freaking out. The news is so very very negative out there. People are busy going batshit crazy – there is really no other way to describe it. Apparently in the UK people are burning cellphone towers because they think there is a link between 5G and the CoronaVirus. Closer to home, apparently the mass evacuation of SA townships is imminent, in an effort to stop the spread of the virus. I do a lot of community upliftment work, and I remember the battle that was lost when we tried to convince residents living in a flood-risk area near Kleinbrak to relocate to new RDP houses in a safer area. They wanted none of it.

I read this essay online today – it is a very interesting read, and certainly makes me think about what we are doing:

*Protagoras Paradox*
Over 2000 years ago, in Greece, there was a lawyer named Protagoras. A young student, Euathlus, requested to apprentice under him, but was unable to pay the fees. The student struck a deal saying, “I will pay your fee the day I win my first case in the court”. Teacher agreed. When the training was complete and a few years had elapsed without the student paying up, the teacher decided to sue the student in the court of law.
The teacher thought to himself: ‘If I win the case, as per the law, the student will have to pay me, as the case is about non-payment of dues. And if lose the case, the student will still have to pay me, because he would have won his first case. Either way I will get paid’.
The student’s view was, ‘If I win the case, I won’t have to pay the teacher, as the case is about my non-payment of fees. And if I lose the case, I don’t have to pay him since I wouldn’t have won my first case yet. Either way I will not pay the teacher.’
This is known as Protagoras Paradox, whichever way you look both have equally convincing arguments, one can go either way in supporting the teacher or the student and would not be wrong.
Those of us in medical practice often come across such situations, either in making a diagnostic or therapeutic decision. One physician can recommend a course of treatment based on scientific evidence and another can recommend a diametrically opposite course again based on medical evidence. Right or wrong, some merit would exist on both sides. Often the physician himself is having an internal struggle to make a decision about the most appropriate course of action, Protagoras & Euathlus are arguing in his mind, to do this or to do that. The horns of dilemma are tearing him apart.

But what prompted this essay was a tweet by Donald Trump, ‘hope the cure is not worse than the disease’. I hate to say it, but I find some merit in this tweet. In our global attempt to flatten the COVID curve, I hope we do not flatten the global economy curve. The question is what’s the best way forward. One group recommends ‘total lockdown’ to break the transmission chain, based on evidence from China, they managed to control the spread of the virus by ruthless lock down and 3 months later they are showing that disease is controlled in Wuhan. On the other hand, the other school of thought is graded isolation & protection of elderly and very young and those with co-morbidities, let it spread amongst the young and healthy, after all the disease ultimately will be controlled when we achieve ‘herd immunity’. The medical community is divided in these two groups. To enforce complete lockdown or Graded isolation?
To complicate the issue the epidemiologists have joined the bandwagon with cacophony of statistical analysis. From Rosy to Dooms day predictions. If we don’t do a complete lockdown then a million people will die in 1 year. No, say some, more like 90 million will die in 1 year. Whose data analysis is correct? Some suggest doing nothing, nature will take over in a few months and all will be well, they quote historical data to justify their recommendations. On whose inputs should we base our disaster management strategy?
Then come the economists with their doomsday predictions. If this continues till May our medical resources will be overwhelmed, agriculture will suffer, food shortages will occur, production will come to a standstill. There will be an economic crisis of the proportions the world has not seen ever. So, break this lockdown nonsense and let’s get back to work as usual.

What will our political masters do? My guess is they will listen to medical experts, epidemiologists & economists. Then they will decide what course of action will ensure their survival, what will get them people’s votes and they will run with that. At present ‘Lockdown” finds favour with them. Boris in the UK had to abandon the recommendations of the medical community about graded response, because the people’s perception became that our Government is not doing enough to protect us citizens. That means revolt against him. So, screw it, lets go with total lockdown if that’s what the people want. Gradually people will get tired of lockdown and demand- let life go on. Then with equally convincing arguments the governments will say the time has now come to lift the blockade, we have controlled the contagion, we have won. Unfortunately, the costs in either case will be huge, both lives and money!

Incidentally the Protagoras Paradox has not been resolved to date. Students in Law school still hold mock trials and give arguments on both sides. With out any resolution of the dispute.

I give up – I can make no sense of what is happening in the world right now. Perhaps Wonder Woman is right: only love can truly save the world.

January 27, 2020 by Jolindy

Let’s talk digital by Creative Touch: Can the real digital marketers please stand up?

Let’s be frank – nobody wakes up in the morning and enthusiastically jumps out of bed, saying: I cannot wait to spend money on marketing and advertising my business today! In a perfect world, that would be great, because marketing is one of the cornerstones of a successful business. But is has become a grudge expense, something we resent paying and the first thing we want to scratch when the belt has to be pulled tighter.

Why? I’ve always asked myself. I am a passionate marketer, I’ve been in marketing all my life and I simply cannot see myself doing anything else. There is nothing like sitting down with a client, brainstorming ideas, seeing those ideas implemented, being a part of the action and seeing a positive difference of which I am privileged to be a part.

However, over the years I’ve seen a trend, starting when I owned my very first fledgling advertising agency and publishing company in Gaborone, Botswana. My father-in-law thought he could also do what us young, and to him, inexperienced folks, were doing. Our work didn’t look that hard (he didn’t see the long hours), and he decided to open a marketing franchise in a new town that they just moved to. It didn’t work, and he ended up closing it a couple of months later. When we discussed it later, he ruefully admitted that this was not for him.

Years later, in 2001, I opened a marketing and publishing agency in the Garden Route. I’ve had staff members over the years who worked for me, and after a couple of months decided they know it all, opened opposition to us, undercut our pricing and are selling a solution they really know nothing about. You cannot learn decades of knowledge and experience by watching what somebody does for a couple of months, and then also not stay updated by continuing to study. All. The. Time.

We find ourselves in an environment where people are unwilling to invest in real expertise and knowledge. Most businesses want a quick solution, and they want it cheaply. A plaster is not going to fix existing problems overnight. And charlatans and pretenders are unable to keep up the ruse, to discerning business owners who understand what ROI means and how to measure actual results. Unfortunately, there are many, many small businesses who DO NOT understand how the digital space really works and they are taken in.

Then there are the actual businesses owners who were taken in, and who are now disillusioned. They do not believe in marketing at all, least of all this newfangled thing they do not really understand, called digital marketing. They threw good money after bad, and are reluctant to repeat the experience.

There are many credible agencies out there, including ourselves, who take our clients’ investment in their marketing very seriously. There are a couple of red lights that one could keep an eye out for. Is the agency wanting to run with your marketing a legitimate business? Do they have offices, staff, the right background, equipment? Who are their other clients, and how long have those clients been with them? Are they trying to strong-arm you into a contract, or are they willing to work on a month-to-month basis, measuring regular feedback and results?

Speak to us for a free digital audit, where we can give you advise on what you currently have, where you are positioned digitally and how it can be improved. Or attend one of our social media seminars – I am passionate about teaching, and believe in sharing knowledge as knowledge is empowering. Visit our website: http://www.creativetouch.agency or email me direct: jolindy@besociable.co.za

January 24, 2020 by Jolindy

Let’s talk digital by Creative Touch: Are Social Media Accounts the Property of my Business?

I thought long and hard about what the title of this article should be, and it is what it is. As a digital marketing company, we often come across clients who need assistance in marketing a business they just bought. They are all excited about having a social media presence, and getting us, Creative Touch South Africa, on board to sort it all out. More often than not, though, especially when buying over an existing business, there is already a social media presence. Now suddenly there is a dispute as to ownership of these platforms.

Look, it is really quite simple. When you buy a business, you buy it as a complete, operational entity. If you’ve been involved in the selling or buying of a business, you’ll know that when a business is sold there are different business assets that may be transferred as a part of the transaction to the purchaser during the sale.

Traditionally, transferred assets include the existing stock (if any), the equipment, vehicles (sometimes), furniture, supplier information and sometimes, client databases. Nowadays though, most businesses also have web pages and social media accounts that link directly to the business. These web pages and accounts contain information pertaining to the business, including addresses and contact numbers. There will be, on social media specifically, a creation date of the account, which also adds credibility as to how long the business has been online. There will also be existing analytics data, page fans, followers, etc. These are all assets from a marketing point of view. So now many business owners want to know whether these items count as the property of their business. The answer is yes, it is the property of the business. Which means when the business is sold, it stays the property of the business, like all the other assets, and should be transferred to the new owner.

There is sometimes a misunderstanding as to how to transfer ownership of social media accounts. In reality, it is very simple. It depends on what platform it is. Some accounts, such as Instagram, require a user name and password. Some accounts, such as Facebook, require an admin to be added to the page. Facebook can be tricky, because not everybody understands exactly how it works, and the platform used to also allow a business page to be run independently with its own user name and password. This has not been the case though for years, and Facebook business pages can only be accessed if a user is connected to the page via one of the admin roles.

Unfortunately, many people are under the perception because the business page is linked to their own personal profile, handing over the page will impact this. This is not the case at all. On Facebook specifically, you can have multiple “Admins” on a business page. There are other page roles available, such as “editor”, “analyst” and more – all of these roles have a place and a specific function. An owner though, should be “admin” as that gives full control over the page. There is a 7 day period during which a new admin cannot alter the role of any of the other “admins” or even remove them, you can only add. But as soon as the new admin is active, other admins can just remove themselves from the page. Be careful though, Facebook allows an admin to leave a page completely, which is then a headache of note to try and recover from “outside”. Also, if an admin leaves and the only roles left on the page are editors, there can be no new admins added, and an editor role cannot promote itself to the admin role. So be sure to transfer correctly, as the default role under the Page Roles section under Settings is “editor”.

Ideally, in a perfect world, a seller would make provision for the transfer of all the accounts, and keep the necessary user names and passwords secure to be handed over upon completion of the sale. If the seller chooses not to do this, and keep the accounts, there will now be duplicate accounts online, which will make marketing very difficult from a search engine point of view. How does the public know which account/page/channel to visit? If the seller chooses to deactivate all the accounts, this is again problematic, as it would mean that all of the followers and fans would be lost and the buyer would need to start from scratch. This would defeat the purpose of the buyer gaining access to the social media accounts if there is value and goodwill in the original accounts through existing social media pages and followers and subscribers.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances with regards to social media accounts. Speak to the team at Creative Touch South Africa if you require any advice on this or other digital matters: info@creativetouch.agency

September 10, 2014 by Jolindy

Facebook is demolishing like-gating – how does this impact you (if at all?)

Facebook has made some recent changes (what’s new) but the most important change was buried right at the bottom of the announcement:

You must not incentivize people to use social plugins or to like a Page. This includes offering rewards, or gating apps or app content based on whether or not a person has liked a Page. It remains acceptable to incentivize people to login to your app, checkin at a place or enter a promotion on your app’s Page.

An example of a like-gate on a facebook page tab

What does this mean in practice? Well, in the past fan pages used to build apps with a like-gate (or click like to reveal) in order to motivate the public to become page fans before they could get access to more information, such as competition details, promotion details, giveaways and more. This would ensure that only page fans would be able to access this information and of course benefit from it. This was a common fan-building tactic, but has increasingly been losing popularity as page admins sought ways to rather engage with existing fans more effectively than continually attract new fans.

Several years ago, Facebook used to have a feature where an entire page could be like-gated, so page fans could only see page posts once they liked the page. This was also discontinued (thankfully).

How does this impact you? Obviously going forward as from Nov 5, 2014, you will no longer be able to use the like-gate feature on your page tabs. For marketers, this is a fairly important factor to take into consideration. We always found like-gates an effective way to build relevant page fans, because we would encourage our clients to offer relevant (to the brand) incentives to motivate the like-gate clicks. That means the public who became fans ultimately clicked because they were interested in what the brand had to offer, and would by default, also be interested in what the brand had to say via newsfeeds on the page.

Unfortunately, marketers like ourselves are in the minority on facebook. There has been pages who would blatantly use the like-gate to just build “any” fans, offering prizes not relevant to the brand at all, such as iPads, holidays, etc. The page fans that results from these kind of incentives really only clicked on the like-gate to stand a chance to win, not really because they wanted to engage with the page newsfeed posts.

This brings us to why facebook decided to take this step, and we get this straight from facebook:

To ensure quality connections and help businesses reach the people who matter to them, we want people to like Pages because they want to connect and hear from the business, not because of artificial incentives. We believe this update will benefit people and advertisers alike.

Facebook tells us that the average user would see 1,500 stories in a given day. Facebook’s algorithms bring that number down to a much more manageable 300. In order for Facebook to be a desirable place for users, the best and most relevant content needs to be surfaced.

Facebook uses many signals to determine what users see. But like-gating confuses those signals. Does a user really want to see content from that brand? You can see from what I said above why this is not always clear. Users may have clicked on a like-gate because of an attractive incentive, and not because of a need/want to engage with the brand. This might mean in practice that the user is now “forced” to engage with content via personal newsfeed that is not relevant or interesting to the user. This might harm the user experience. A negative user experience results in a user spending less time on facebook, which ultimately negatively impacts paying advertisers on facebook. The implied reason here is fairly obvious – advertisers need users to be online in order to target them.

In the famous words of Douglas Adams: Don’t Panic! Yes, it is still important to increase page likes. There are definitely a lot of ways to effectively build page fans, and more specifically page fans who WANT to engage with your brand. The end of like-gating is actually a very positive move. Marketers and page admins will just have to get more creative with their methods. This should also mean an overall improvement on page post quality on facebook. And you can still use third-party apps to collect data such as email addresses from page fans – which means building a database for emailing promotions and newsletters.

Speak to us at Creative Touch – Be Sociable about your company’s social media requirements, and more specifically how we can assist with your facebook page strategy.

July 28, 2014 by Jolindy

To blog or not to blog

I notice that my blog is a couple of years old already. Wow! I am passionate about words; reading, writing, sharing. In the beginning, as if with a new toy, I’d sit down and write regular thoughts on anything. The novelty tapered off, and I found myself writing less and less. I’d use any excuse not to think up what to write about. Too busy, not inspired, not original, and so on.

Now, looking back, I realise my expectations were a tad steep. I thought I’d line up thousands of followers hanging on to my every word, practically bombarding me with comments waiting for my next words of wisdom. Erm, no. If you even remotely share these expectations, maybe it is time for a reality check.

I think – no, let me rephrase – I KNOW I am fabulous. I am original, witty, open-minded and have a lot of common sense and knowledge. However, if my blog is not interesting to you, you won’t read it. There are millions of blogs out there competing for your time. A blog about how my day was, or my perception of whatever took my fancy today to write about will take a rear bench to whatever interests you.

Unfortunately not many bloggers realise this. Some blogs are nothing more than whiny diary pages, which really shouldn’t be aired in public. There are blogs airing personal dirty laundry (urgh!) and blogs that waffle on about mundane crap. Sorry, but there is really no other way to put this.

Blogs that are read the most share a couple of criteria. They are honest and consistent. Some of them are about hobbies (foodie blogs, crochet blogs, etc) – those build a fairly large and loyal following, because the readers get something out of it. Blogs that are funny, blogs that are inspirational – those are also popular.

Blogs that are just for the sake of blogging (and sadly, mine falls in this category), tend to get sporadic readers and tentative followers. And by the way, thank you, I do appreciate every one of you. And yes, I will make an effort to blog more regularly, and certainly about more interesting material.

September 29, 2013 by Jolindy

Why Social Media Marketing Should Be Taken Seriously For Your Business

We are an advertising agency, with our roots firmly established in the Garden Route. Our motto has always been to deliver the best service to our clients, and offer the best advise with regards to budget-spend that leads to maximum return on investment (ROI). We even used to own our own publications – some of you may remember some of the titles: Vibrant Living, Business Bulletin and Garden Route Property Finder amongst others. Some of these publications we sold, and the last one, Business Bulletin, we closed down ourselves after a successful 12 years. Why you may ask?

Well, let’s start at the beginning. Advertising and marketing is my passion. It has always been, and it will always be. There is nothing as satisfying as a client who becomes a friend and who trusts us to build their brand, while they focus on the nuts and bolts of growing the business. Our core services has always been brand assistance, be it graphic design, copywriting, print solutions – whatever the client required. We would design advertisements for local newspapers (including our own) for clients and assist with annual strategy planning around marketing budgets.

We started realising that people don’t really read as much physically printed matter as they used to. The forward-thinking publications are all moving online, and you often see people, wherever they are, cluthing a smartphone or an iPad or tablet, browsing the internet. Our target audience has moved online – and that is where we firmly believe our clients should be marketing themselves.

We’ve simply moved our advertising agency online, and opened a strong social media leg: Be Sociable. Social media is an excellent marketing platform choice – with the constant change-over to technology, and with iPads, Tablets and smart phones becoming more accessible and more affordable, more and more people are online. It simply makes sense to advertise your product where your target audience already spends a lot of time. Less people pick up newspapers, magazines, booklets, etc, and prefer to spend time online. Also, as with all responsible businesses, we realise that our eco-footprint makes a substantial difference in the world we inhabit, therefore advertising in printed media really makes little sense. Also, if you compare print media costs to online media, there is simply no comparison. You get far more results online for less expenditure.

Here, I cannot put it better than Marsha Friedman, and I agree with every word.

What tends to be happening now, though, is that businesses are realising that they should be on social media, but they are using the wrong approach. I remember when the internet first gained prominence and it became apparent that having a website was essential for any commercial enterprise. Back then, web designers were not plentiful and few people thought to hire a professional to create a site. They felt that any web presence was better than none at all and they found people they knew who were “into the whole internet thing” to help them.

As an advertising professional, when I saw a website that didn’t represent people well or looked amateurish, I’d ask who created it. Invariably, I’d get answers like, “My nephew did it,” or “I bought Web Design for Dummies and did it myself,” or “My son has a friend who just graduated with a degree in computer science.” While those days have passed for websites, I’m afraid I am seeing the same thing happen with regard to social media.

As social media has become an integral element of all mainstream media, some people regard it the same way they used to regard websites—as a good addition to their marketing tactics, but not so essential that they need to approach it with a professional sensibility. As with any marketing outreach, social media done badly will actually set a person back rather than move him forward.

At the end of the day, social media is serious business. Done right, it can create a base of thousands of followers. Done wrong, it wastes time and energy and, most important, gives people the impression that social media marketing isn’t important. In fact, it has become one of the most critical and fundamental components for any marketing strategy, which every company needs to put in place.

Speak to the Be Sociable team and book a free session with one of us – we will happily evaluate your current social media presence and advise you on the best way forward.

10 reasons to hire a social strategist and community manager:
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: if you’re not on social media, then you’re not where your audience is—and you’re missing out. The social media potential for brands is astonishing, and it includes:
•    An endless stream of information and trends that are happening in your industry
•    The chance to check out your competitors to evaluate what you are doing right (and potentially wrong)
•    The ability to engage one-on-one with your audience and form a more personal connection
•    Tracking mentions of your brand online so you can offer customer service through social media and answer inquires (as well as dispel myths)
•    Content creation and curation
•    Community-building
•    Increasing advocates of your brand through word of mouth marketing
•    The opportunity to increase trust and credibility with your community
•    Social media can be used for sales

faikonta

by Jolindy Dreyer

Tag Archives: social media