About three years ago I came across a lost batch of Polar Ice. As I emptied the shelf, I was part skeptic and part excited. The sell by date was still months away, yet no promotions or availability indicated that my favourite fizzy drink is back on the market. I am bias, as this was truly an amazing drink ( think along the lines of Super Juice ), I also wrote and recorded a radio ad for this product back in 99. (more...)

This is amazing, she is amazing! When I met Nicky Abdinor the first time a few years ago at Ernst & Young Toastmasters, I somehow avoided her, I wasn’t sure what to say, how to address the situation; "Hey, what happened to your arms?"  Nicky's arms were not broken and they were not in plaster of Paris casts either. She was born without arms, shorter legs and she faces challenges everyday, whereas we take our mobility for granted every moment.

Although she has all the reason to sit back and expect the world to take pity on her,  she did the contrary. Today, Nicky is an able disable person. As we drive through the streets of Cape Town in her adapted Honda Civic, I am amazed by her driving skills, her mobility, and most of all her ongoing happiness.

Nicky is the founder and chairperson of Nicky's Drive, a non-profit organisation aiming to raise funds, not only to replace her own outdated car, but also to give other people in her position the joy of freedom - the right to be mobile. In her own words: “There is nothing quite as exhilarating as the freedom of driving!”

This Side Up Media is proud to be associated with Nicky’s Drive. As a pro bono project, This Side Up Media sponsors the design of her new website, hosting and various web related services, all aimed at raising funds for Nicky’s Drive. For me it has been an eye-openeing experience, working...

Its been months since the CrowdTech team of the then skeleton Evly.com website teased the public, or rather the crowd asking us what who where and why we think Evly is? And many more months since they started with the concept. The word is out; Evly is the first crowdsourcing social network and will be launching their Beta on Monday 22 November 2010… which was yesterday, which is exactly why it’s called a Beta… This Side Up Media was put on the VIP list and sometime this afternoon I’ll receive my pass as a beta tester and get a glimpse and experience of the works of Evly. With a number of successful startups in the wake of holding company CrowdTech such as Springleap and Ekomi, my expectations are high - in anticipation!

The value of deadlines are measured by the ease of extending it. Instead of the old boring "under construction" page, I added a nifty little count down timer to the root of my own site, giving myself a deadline to go live with ThisSideUpMedia.co.za. Having full access to my own design,  I often  challenged the mathematical equation to extend the deadline. Earlier today I did it yet again and  whether I'll stay true to my intentions this time I highly doubt. One can only imaging how old my first post will be by the time the first person get to comment? In the meantime, I'll focus on the deadlines of paying jobs. May the weekend finish this one. That is exactly what weekends are for. AAA school of advertising taught me that, many moons ago amongst a few other things. And when I entered the industry a few less moons ago, I was not-so-pleasantly surprised to find the truth in my studies. Goodnight.