Have you heard of Pinterest, the relatively new and addictive social networking site? It’s been called 2012′s hottest website. There’s a lot of buzz online about it but if you’re not sure what Pinterest is and how to use it, here are some facts worth pinning…

Screen shot of Pinterest

 What is Pinterest?

Pinterest is a ‘virtual pinboard’ which allows users to collate, save and share beautiful, cool and crazy things found on the web.

Pins look a bit like a Polaroid snap shots, grabbing images and links from websites.

Users can add captions to ‘pins’, follow other people on Pinterest, save pins posted by others into their own pinboards by ‘repinning’ them and join discussions by posting comments on pins.

What’s all the fuss?

A Shareaholic study found Pinterest is driving more traffic to sites than Google+, YouTube and LinkedIn combined!

From September 2011 to December 2011 the site had a whopping estimated visitor increase of 429% and with the trend towards peer-to-peer social shopping, US retailers are seeing increased online traffic from Pinterest according to this infographic.

Why should you care?

Central to most social media strategies is the all important Facebook fan page but while Facebook continues to boast growth, early adopters have started to grumble about the social network (myself included).

Thanks to the new unpopular Timeline feature, some people have started debating whether it’s time to opt out of Facebook.

Facebook might be around for a while as older generations, still enjoy the honeymoon phase and novelty of reconnecting with old high school friends, but studies have found that teens don’t want to ‘hang out’ on Facebook with mom, dad and aunty Sue. And as for millenials, Amanda Sevasti uncovered why they’ve been opting out of Facebook in her Memeburn column last year.

Could the writing be on the wall for Facebook?  That’s anyone’s guess but as anyone who loved and left Myspace would know, you should never put all your links in one social network.

So in the spirit of trying new things, Power of 9 has joined Pinterest, click here to follow us. Oh, and of course you’re welcome to pin this : )

Read more of Monique’s blog posts here and follow @MoniqueP9 on Twitter.

Do you think the DA lost more support than they gained with their recent controversial poster?

I believe they may have. The biggest failing is that their campaign incited the wrong debate. Our country is facing so many social, economic and political challenges that they would have been better served to have focused on presenting a solution or approach to these.

Although I believe it was conceptualised and designed with honourable intentions, it has shown that the DA is out of touch with what South Africans want to hear from their politicians. It seems that the strategic and creative brief was more focused on creating controversy to turn heads and stimulate PR than it was on demonstrating a political stand point or strategy that South Africans can relate to and hold on to.

The reality is that thousands of young men and women have little hope of finding employment and gaining financial security and this poster’s message (besides being a call back to the United Colours of Benetton campaign of the 80s) is missing the mark completely.

A young female friend of mine told me of the talk in her taxi to work. Many felt that the poster was too sexually risqué and distracted from the message they were trying to convey. The poster’s implied sexuality is irresponsible in a time when our country is faced with a continuing HIV/Aids epidemic and so many children are having children, babies are being abandoned etc. The DA’s argument to this is that the poster was meant for university students. This is naive considering that it was overtly designed to incite debate that they no doubt expected to filter into the media, the taxis and homes throughout South Africa.

And if it was designed for the tertiary student, then the insult is doubled because these are our future leaders, the intellectual incubator of our future, surely the DA’s message could have challenged these young minds more with a message that would get them talking about solutions rather than controversy over nudity and race.

It is ironic how the same DA supporters who fervently scoff at the ANC Youth League’s perceived preoccupation on race and who continually comment that ‘it has been 17 years, move on already, we have more important issues to be focusing on’, are now defending this concept and its timing.

There is no doubt that race is still a very real issue in our country, but I believe this is being exasperated by the government’s failure to address the hangover of apartheid. Our education system is in a dire state, unemployment is a constant depressant to the positivity and energy of our people and the resultant impact on our social and moral fabric is immense.

A friend of mine reminded me that ‘there is no such thing as bad PR and at least this poster has got people talking’. Perhaps this is true or I would not have written this article and for that the DA deserves credit, however I am disappointed in the wasted opportunity to talk about something that could take our country out of the doldrums of frustration, anger and at best apathy. Let’s hear more about tactics and less ideology.

I am tired of futile political grandstanding and poorly conceptualised, gratuitous PR strategies, I long for political prowess such of Mandela, where acting for change was seeded by the desperation of reality, a sense of fairness and a selfless quest to right wrongs and never at the cost of dignity.

I long for political leadership with balls.

Recently we conceptualised and designed a new corporate identity for Essential Med, a South African health insurance company.

The new look included an updated website and Facebook fan page which includes regularly updated customised page tabs.

To see more, visit Essential Med at www.essentialmed.co.za and find them on Facebook and Twitter.

We designed a vintage-inspired website and online shop for Anomali, a bespoke jewellery design studio based in Cape Town.

“Anomali wanted a website with an vintage, rustic look to echo their jewellery design style,” says Daryl Glass, our creative director, “They also wanted to showcase their jewellery in a functional online store, which was an exciting new challenge.”

Photoshop and Dreamweaver were used to design the site and Daryl built it as a user-friendly Wordpress site which Anomali owners are able to update as required.

“Combining all the elements of the site, from the design to the customised online store, broadened my CSS skillset and made this an interesting project to work on.”

Visit www.anomali.co.za to see more.

Read more of Monique’s blog posts here and follow @MoniqueP9 on Twitter.

We’re looking for junior art director/finished artist with relevant experience and brilliant work ethic.

We look forward to your application if you’re a confident, creative self-starter with 1-2 years’ work experience who can take a job from concept to production without assistance.

Requirements:
• Relevant qualification
• Illustrator
• Photoshop
• Freehand
• Acrobat
• HTML coding experience would be advantageous

Remuneration: Dependant on experience
Location: 145 on Blaauwberg, 7441 Table View
Job type: Contract with view to go permanent

To apply, please submit your CV and portfolio of best work to jobs@powerof9.co.za

Please note: If you haven’t heard from us by the end of November, please accept that your application has been unsuccessful.

We have just launched the BeachWatch website. Check it out and tell us what you think!

BeachWatch is a mobile app that alllows you to watch live videos of Cape Town’s most popular beaches and surf spots on your mobile phone at anytime from anywhere.

Check out the website:

Check out the Facebook fan page:

Location-based marketing or networking isn’t exactly new but it’s been one controversial topic this year. People have been talking and tweeting about it but is it all it’s cracked up to be?

Foursquare, the site that allows users to ‘check-in’ to locations via mobile phones and broadcast their whereabouts, was created in 2009.

People who tweet don’t ‘thumbs-up’ like it when users connect their Foursquare account to Twitter and broadcasted their every move as in: “I’ve just checked in to PLACE X.”

The general sentiment on Twitter is “We don’t frigging care!”

Personally I’m not enthusiastic about location-based marketing, even though I set up a Foursquare account (hey, it’s part of my job). It’s a bit of an overshare that could delight psychopaths with stalkerish tendencies. And it seems I’m not the only sceptic.

‘Please Rob Me’ is a giggle worthy concept that highlights the dangers of broadcasting your location. It use to contain a stream of updates from location-based networks showing when users check-in somewhere other than their home. The idea is that when you tell people you’re not at home; it’s an ideal time for crooks to plunder your loot! It sure is something to think about!

So will location-based networks continue to be all the rage in 2011?

Facebook must think so; they developed Facebook Places after all. This video explains how Facebook Places works:

In theory it seems fine but when a friend of mine in the UK updated her Facebook profile via her mobile from home, I not only saw her address, I could access a street map to her house along with her other 300+ friends. Now that’s creepy! Protect yourself by checking your Facebook privacy settings and disable Facebook Places. Read how to do this here.

It’s safe to say that I won’t be broadcasting my location this festive season but I’m picturing myself here:

And if checking into Foursquare can magically transport me there, I’ll definitely risk the Twitter tirades!

Wish you all a very merry Christmas and happy New Year,

Monique

Read more of Monique‘s blog posts here.

We know social media is not a fad but if you know someone who still needs some convincing, show them this…

Read more of Monique’s blog posts here and follow @MoniqueP9 on Twitter.

When Spring sprang in September, AMERICAN shutters gave Power of 9 the exciting task of shooting the fresh new season campaign.

The mission: to capture the way early Spring sunbeams sneak into a room through stunning shutters and chase Winter’s nip away. The warm rays cause even the embriodered foliage to bloom. The ultimate campaign to harness the budding vigour of the new season…Invite Spring! This seemed to be a somewhat simple task on paper but when it came to shooting, the mission proved a bit more challenging.

Photographer Chaz Williams had his work cut out for him and made magic behind the lens. All minor hiccups dissipated (from shutters burning due to the scorching heat of the blonde spotlights, to the spillage of Daryl’s cough medicine on the client’s designer furniture (you had to be there), to the propping of the bed with stacks of books to catch just the right amount of rays) and the final product turned out to be a marvellous success. I spoke to Chaz to find out how he tackled the brief.

You seem to be a jack of all trades….what exactly do you do, Chaz?

Noooo definitely not a jack of all trades! I am an art director who has a passion for photography. I studied both, thinking that they would feed into each other.

When did you take that first shot and think “WOW, this is what I should be doing”?

Oof I’m not really sure, I think as I got more into advertising it became pretty clear that all my concepts and ideas were inspired by photography and the impact of a powerful shot. It took my first creative director to really say WOW that’s what you should be doing.

What role does Photoshop play in your work? Do you Photoshop every image…could we call it cheating?

Ye Photoshop is essentially my post production, it obviously plays a large role in certain shots and isn’t needed in others. I don’t think you can call it cheating, it’s rather an extra tool available to an agency or a photographer in achieving the end goal. I personally believe in getting what you can out of a shoot and fixing a problem right there and then, rather than using the famous line “don’t worry we will fix it in post”.

So when Power of 9 approached you with an American Shutters brief, how did you interpret the challenge? How easy was it to step out of your usual creative zone and into another completely different/more stationery world (i.e. shooting furniture)? Knowing that the majority of the magic was going to happen in post?

I think it’s important to remember that this is a job just like any other, and in all creative professions one must learn to turn on the inspiration rather than sit and wait for moments of inspiration. All jobs have challenges and that’s what excites me, shooting a beautiful subject with a standard studio setup may appear a lot of fun but can quite easily become tedious and boring.

Tell us about how you tackled/faked/manipulated the lighting (which was essentially the theme/driving force of the ad)?

Well trial and error seem to be the theme of the shoot. In the end I think the best results came from using the extreme ambient light from the dropping sun and the blonds set up around the subject, used as fillers to soften the shadow.

Do you prepare or already have a vision in mind before you step onto set, or is it more of what works best at the time and improvisation?

Ye I’m quite pedantic about making sure there are no variables before going into a shoot, I like all problems to be solved before hand, having said that things cant always be first prize. Sometimes you’ve got to be prepared to adapt.

Who are your photographic idols?

I must say I don’t really have idols in the photographic world, I love the look and type of work that David la Chapelle does, I love the African styles of Nick Brandt and obviously Harry de Zitter because he was a PE boy who is now such a massive name in international photography.

I can agree with that…no females? Are women not as inspiring?

Hahaa my life is inspired by females.

What would be your favourite destination to shoot?

Definitely New York. I loooooove Manhattan! More energy and vibe in one street than most cities.

What advice would you impart on photographers just starting out…in other words, if you met yourself in the past, what would you say?

Study law!

Good advice that I got and I think all young photographers should do is go right back to the beginning and start from there, learn the history of photography, the mechanism of a camera, get into a dark room and get your base solid. It gave me a better understanding and appreciation of photography.

Follow Chaz on Twitter

Take a look at how Power of 9 welcomed Spring…

Final shot

Final Spring advert

This post was originally written by Sanja Stanojevic who has since left Power of 9. 

To all writers; words are weapons of mass construction (the opposite is also true).

If you’re reading this, I assume you understand English (or a reasonable facsimile thereof). I also assume you can read.

Amazed by my powers of assumption? Allow me to impress you further.

Because you’re perusing this blog I assume that when the Beatles parted ways, your parents, although perhaps coming together, had not yet fertilised the fact; and that it was probably your parents or, God forbid, your grandparents who were tripping in the Woodstock-induced free mud and sludge of 60s and 70s love.

I also assume that to you, telephones, typewriters and telex machines are as Jurassic as T-Rex (apologies to Marc Bolin, may he rest in peace), while you associate bytes and Blackberries with usernames and passwords rather than culinary delights.

In a word, I assume that you are young.

And although you were not yet born when Jimmy Hendrix kissed the sky, or people used Tippex, or when Armstrong (not Louis) took a giant step for mankind, you can see it all; because somewhere, sometime, you read about it. In an nth of a second, faster than a mongoose cobra-strike, my words have burst open doors in your mind and a thousand pictures have appeared.

That, dear comrades in penmanship (or in 21st century parlance; keyboardship), is the crux of this ramble.

The quality of the light you shine into the minds of your readers depends on one thing and one thing only; how you arrange the 26 letters of the alphabet into words and sentences that make your reader SEE what you’re writing about. Your words are a glow that warms, a laser that harms, a fire that enlightens or a flame that ignites.

You have the power to make grown men cry and small children laugh. You can make your readers see with clarity they never believed possible, or you can cloud their vision with your confusion.

I’ve been writing in one form or another (with equal amounts of frustration and satisfaction) for 30 –plus years. A few things I’ve discovered:

• The paragraph you feel most precious about; cut.
• What you say in 300 words, you’ll say better in 150.
• Discover a new word; every day.
• Challenge yourself. For example, write a full page using words with only two syllables.
• Be honest.

As a writer, your words are weapons of mass construction, or the exact opposite. It all depends on what you want your readers to see.

The choice, and the responsibility, is yours.

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To all writers; words are weapons of mass construction (the opposite is also true).

If you’re reading this, I assume you understand English (or a reasonable facsimile thereof). I also assume you can read.

Amazed by my powers of assumption? Allow me to impress you further.

Because you’re perusing this blog I assume that when the Beatles parted ways, your parents, although perhaps coming together, had not yet fertilised the fact; and that it was probably your parents or, God forbid, your grandparents who were tripping in the Woodstock-induced free mud and sludge of 60s and 70s love.

I also assume that to you, telephones, typewriters and telex machines are as Jurassic as T-Rex (apologies to Marc Bolin, may he rest in peace), while you associate bytes and Blackberries with usernames and passwords rather than culinary delights.

In a word, I assume that you are young.

And although you were not yet born when Jimmy Hendrix kissed the sky, or people used Tippex, or when Armstrong (not Louis) took a giant step for mankind, you can see it all; because somewhere, sometime, you read about it. In an nth of a second, faster than a mongoose cobra-strike, my words have burst open doors in your mind and a thousand pictures have appeared.

That, dear comrades in penmanship (or in 21st century parlance; keyboardship), is the crux of this ramble.

The quality of the light you shine into the minds of your readers depends on one thing and one thing only; how you arrange the 26 letters of the alphabet into words and sentences that make your reader SEE what you’re writing about. Your words are a glow that warms, a laser that harms, a fire that enlightens or a flame that ignites.

You have the power to make grown men cry and small children laugh. You can make your readers see with clarity they never believed possible, or you can cloud their vision with your confusion.

I’ve been writing in one form or another (with equal amounts of frustration and satisfaction) for 30 –plus years. A few things I’ve discovered:

• The paragraph you feel most precious about; cut.
• What you say in 300 words, you’ll say better in 150.
• Discover a new word; every day.
• Challenge yourself. For example, write a full page using words with only two syllables.
• Be honest.

As a writer, your words are weapons of mass construction, or the exact opposite. It all depends on what you want your readers to see.

The choice, and the responsibility, is yours.

To all writers; words are weapons of mass construction (the opposite is also true).

If you’re reading this, I assume you understand English (or a reasonable facsimile thereof). I also assume you can read.

Amazed by my powers of assumption? Allow me to impress you further.

Because you’re perusing this blog I assume that when the Beatles parted ways, your parents, although perhaps coming together, had not yet fertilised the fact; and that it was probably your parents or, God forbid, your grandparents who were tripping in the Woodstock-induced free mud and sludge of 60s and 70s love.

I also assume that to you, telephones, typewriters and telex machines are as Jurassic as T-Rex (apologies to Marc Bolin, may he rest in peace), while you associate bytes and Blackberries with usernames and passwords rather than culinary delights.

In a word, I assume that you are young.

And although you were not yet born when Jimmy Hendrix kissed the sky, or people used Tippex, or when Armstrong (not Louis) took a giant step for mankind, you can see it all; because somewhere, sometime, you read about it. In an nth of a second, faster than a mongoose cobra-strike, my words have burst open doors in your mind and a thousand pictures have appeared.

That, dear comrades in penmanship (or in 21st century parlance; keyboardship), is the crux of this ramble.

The quality of the light you shine into the minds of your readers depends on one thing and one thing only; how you arrange the 26 letters of the alphabet into words and sentences that make your reader SEE what you’re writing about. Your words are a glow that warms, a laser that harms, a fire that enlightens or a flame that ignites.

You have the power to make grown men cry and small children laugh. You can make your readers see with clarity they never believed possible, or you can cloud their vision with your confusion.

I’ve been writing in one form or another (with equal amounts of frustration and satisfaction) for 30 –plus years. A few things I’ve discovered:

• The paragraph you feel most precious about; cut.
• What you say in 300 words, you’ll say better in 150.
• Discover a new word; every day.
• Challenge yourself. For example, write a full page using words with only two syllables.
• Be honest.

As a writer, your words are weapons of mass construction, or the exact opposite. It all depends on what you want your readers to see.

The choice, and the responsibility, is yours.

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