2010 – What a year !!

Wow, I really can’t believe how 2010 has literally whizzed past. I feel like I’m in some sort of a time warp, and it’s never going to stop. Luckily I’m going to be taking a couple of days off from later this week, and return next year refreshed, and some new cool ideas to boot. I have a feeling 2011 is going to be a C.R.A.C.K.E.R

From my blogs perspective, 2010 was by far the most rewarding, and possibly one of the most rewarding things I have done in my life. I have seen it grow in huge leaps and bounds, and built up a decent following, whom I really want to carry on and entertain & inform.

Not too many people know, but earlier this year I was approached by an angel investor to take my blog to the next level & do it full-time. It was possibly one of the toughest decisions I had to make when I had to turn down the offer, for a variety of reasons. Way too many factors to list here, and a couple of personal reasons as well. But that didn’t stop me and motivated me to grow the site, and I honestly believe I have done that. That’s what I say, next year watch out …. :)

I got a very very exciting project I am working on for 2011. It’s actually more of a personal project, and will see a small shift away from tech, tech, tech…and bring a bit of lifestyle & tech to the site. Exciting stuff…

I thought I would do a quick recap of some of the highlights of both mine & the blogs for the last year. While I was putting the list together I quickly realised how lucky I was to be given the various opportunities I was given this year. A big thanks to everyone who was a part of these opportunities.

The site has seen over 200,000 page views this year, and just over 150,000 unique visitors. Unbelievable. My Afrigator ranking peaked at about 16/17 this year, and has stayed pretty much in the top 25 blogs in South Africa throughout the year. My Twitter followers nudged over the 2,000 mark with almost 12,000 tweets already been sent.

In January we say Steve announced the Apple iPad, which has gone and changed the way we work & live. People are now fully portable, and if the stats are anything to go by, sales of 3 million in 3 months is something not to be sneezed at.

Round the beginning of February I was a passenger in the car going to Joburg to watch the Top Gear live show. I had a sudden brain wave, and did a quick post on the lyrics of the highly entertaining song, “Enter the Ninja” by Die Antwoord. The post has gone on to be the most viewed post on my site this year with over 30,000 hits. Bizzare. Thanks Google :)
I also got interviewed on ClassicFM about a project called Izimvo I started working on last year(But am no longer part of). We also saw the much-anticipated Visual Voicemail icon come alive on the iPhone, thanks to Vodacom

During March the South African internet landscape was changed thanks to 2 very important announcements. Firstly Mweb dropped their broadband prices, which drove home competition, and saw a huge shift in the market. Secondly THE best South African bank, FNB, collaborated with PayPal, and launched PayPal in South Africa. This was a huge move, and opened so many new doors. I also got to see one of the biggest ocean liners in the world, the Queen Mary 2, when it docked in Durban

April saw the actual launch of the iPad in the US, and I got hands on with one 2 days after it was launched, thanks to the guys at immedia. I also got to write a weekly column for a local newspaper in Ballito, and published my first article on Memeburn (Note to self…need to do more of those)

With the World Cup a couple of weeks away we say the King Shaka Airport in Durban open in May, as well as Google (finally) launching Google street view in South Africa. Youtube also launched their South African version. During the month, myself and good friend Brad launched Themergency.com, a WordPress focused site, which has done really well (Much thanks to Brad)

June saw the biggest sporting event kick off in South Africa, but before they kicked off, the Super 14 rugby final was captured in a Hi-Res Pano thanks to the guys at Fancam. I also launched a little add-on to this site called iPhone Help, where people can help and share iPhone questions & answers. One of THE highlights of my year was that I was given an iPad by a great friend & mentor. Best gift ever :) Apple also launched the game-changing iPhone4 in the US and a couple of other countries around the world.

During July, working alongside Juliaan Evenwel in Cape Town, we launched our very own iPhone app called SA Lotto iPhone app. The app went to number 2 on the SA iTunes chart, which was awesome. We have some really cool ideas lined up for the app in early 2011 :)
The family also got some time out at the beautiful Honeywood lodge down the KZN south coast. Bliss. I also got to give the Vodafone MiFi a go, thanks to the chaps over at Vodacom, and is now one of my “must-carry-with-me” gadgets.

During August I attended the fantastic Tech4Africa conference held up in Joburg. I managed to get a sponsored ticket by writing a couple of blog posts for the organisers. By far one of the best and most informative conferences I have been to. When I arrived home in Ballito after the conference, there was a rather large stinky whale which had washed up on the beach. Yum !

September for me was probably the most memorable month for me. I was invited up to Jozi for the MTN iPhone4 launch event, and received an iPhone4 & sim from MTN. To say I was unbelievably stoked was an understatement. This was by far my highlight of my year, both personally & for my site. We also released the 2Oceansvibe iPhone app, which has seen almost 2,000 downloads already.

During October, I got to race the swanky new Opel Astra around the track at Kyalami, great day out ! Another landmark broadband announcement was made by CellC when they launched their Whoosh speedstick and I got to try it out. Needless to say I am very happy with the speeds. Another one of those must carry round gadgets.
October also saw the launch of our local Ballito based news site called BallitoNews. The site has so far proven it’s worth, and is gorwing in leaps and bounds. Another project to keep your eye on in 2011 :)

November & December have whizzed past and I can’t belive there are only 10 days left in the year. What !!
I got to play around with a Nokia N8 for 2 weeks, and was left feeling suitably impressed. One of our Themergency plugins cracked the nod and got mentioned on both Mashable & Techcrunch.I also cracked the nod on a TV programme called Media Matters where the covered the iPhone 4 launch.

Geez, what a year !!! I now understand why I am so moeg. But it’s all good, and I can honestly say I am stoked with what I have achieved this year :) Thanks for being part of my site, and taking the time out with your comments & ideas. Every single one is highly appreciated.
Hope you have a fantastic Christmas, and see you in 2-0-1-1 :)