snowgoose

I don’t know what is up but over the past few weeks I have struggled to get excited about things like I used to. My life is so amazing; I have what is quickly becoming my dream career, I have the best boyfriend a girl could want, I have a great family & rocking friends and for the first time ever I’m not broke.

So why do I feel so “Bleh”? Maybe it’s happiness overload? Maybe the fact that I have been sick almost constantly this winter has taken it’s toll? I don’t know. Whatever it is – I’d better get back to my exuberant self soon because looking in the mirror at the grey expressionless face I’ve seen there in the last 2 weeks is getting on my nerves.

The Facebook username gold-rush (facebook.com/snowgoose was taken by some chop in Australia – I had to settle for facebook.com/SnowgooseSA) and a few other things that happened this week have gotten me thinking. Is Snowgoose a passing phase? In 5 years will I look back and think “Remember when I walked around calling myself The Snowgoose? How silly.”

If you read my “The Origins of the Snowgoose” post you will know that the name is a part of my heritage so I didn’t randomly choose it on a whim. There’s also the matter of the goose tattoo… But that doesn’t change the fact that I’ve worked at my personal brand for over 5 years, all based on a farm animal.
Is it childish? Or is it a clever marketing tactic so that people do not forget me? (not that Heidi Schneigansz is a forgettable name – just an impossible one)

I should probably say the jury is still out and I’m going to think about this for a while, but while writing this post I’ve realised that I AM THE SNOWGOOSE. I always have been and, hopefully, I’ll be sitting in my corner office in my own company one day and the name on the outside of the building will be….

Snowgoose.

I’m not sure how, but I have become the preferred tweetup organiser for Johannesburg- I’m flattered – shot guys

I haven’t organised one in a while so in the regular democratic spirit of JHB tweetups, before I send the invite – YOU get to choose where & when it will be held.

Vote here (Voting closes on Tuesday 16 June, I’ll send the invite on Wednesday 17 June)

Results so far:

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I’ve been true to my word this week, I’ve blogged here and on GottaQuirk. The post on the latter took quite a bit of research and here it is, tell me what you think:

Two well known South African websites have recently undergone face-lifts, one more successfully than the other.

Nando’s, one of my favourite chicken fast-food outlets, have gone the ‘aesthetics first, award-winning’ route. They have a full flash site with a non-standard experiential navigation.

When the craving for Nando’s awesome peri-peri wings hits, I need to satisfy it immediately so I usually turn to Google to help me find the nearest branch. Considering that about 60% of Internet users begin their browsing with a Google search, Search engine friendliness is a fundamentally important part of any company’s online presence….

Want to read more? See the full post here.

To my great, idiot-gri nning-and-floating-on-a-cloud pleasure I will be going to the Geek Retreat this year to represent Quirk.

Despite the snort-inducing name, the Geek Retreat is an important event on the South African eMarketing industry calendar. To quote the wiki:

“On the weekend of the 19th of June, 2009, 30 South African Internet personalities will gather for a weekend of informal conversation about the South African Internet. We’ll talk about what would make it better, how to stimulate innovation locally and what role there is for a more formal industry-wide body to carry on these conversations and representations in the future.”

It’s also by invite only, so I am even more running-around-cackling-like-someone-who’s-won-the-lottery happy than usual. I’m hoping to be able to contribute in a meaningful way to the future of the local digital landscape. Quirk is big on education and I believe wholeheartedly in that (converting ordinary people into geeks… sound familiar?). Thanks Quirk (especially Rob) for giving me this amazing opportunity – I will make you proud.

And we might get to ride elephants! Radness.