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Table Mountain is in the running to become one of the New7Wonders of Nature, and needs your vote to make the cut! Flow created a website for the Vote for Table Mountain campaign, and is proud to help promote and show its continued support for such an exciting endeavour. The website includes a virtual tour of Table Mountain, as well as instructions on how to vote. Why should you vote? Well, for a start, Table Mountain deserves to become one of the New7Wonders of Nature. It’s majestic, beautiful and has brought joy to millions of visitors over the years. South Africa will benefit hugely from being home to one of the New7Wonders of Nature. Not only would it be great for national pride, but a study by Grant Thornton revealed that this would create over 11,000 jobs and boost the economy by around R1.4-billion. Table Mountain deserves New7Wonders status and South Africa needs the jobs that would be created as a result. Time is running out though, so please start voting straight away. Visit www.votefortablemountain.com and vote now to ensure your mountain is chosen to be one of the New7Wonders of Nature! Back to Top
Since Elvis Presley’s Aloha from Hawaii in 1973, the first music concert broadcast globally via satellite, and the Gulf War, the first truly “live” war, live broadcast has been the Holy Grail of immediate and direct contact with audiences. Modern web technology has made streaming live video easier than ever. On Monday, 17 October, 2011, as an intrepid first for Flow Communications, we embarked on a campaign to broadcast the Cape Town Tourism AGM 2011 event live to the world. Here’s how: The video camera ... For the best video and audio quality you will need more than just an average consumer webcam. The key here is to find a video camera with a FireWire port (also called IEEE 1394 or i.Link). Sounds easy, right? Well, ironically, the newest consumer-grade digital video cameras no longer have a FireWire port and your best bet, without serious capital outlay, is to find a DV camera from the age of digital video tape. These are no longer in production but searching the classifieds and asking around eventually led us to our state-of-the-art-in-2003 JVC GR-D50. The FireWire cables ... Not all FireWire cables are the same. The latest model MacBook Pro has a FireWire 800 9-pin port. Many older iMacs and PC cards have the older FireWire 400 6-pin port. Now you will likely need a cable that goes from the camera (likely a FireWire 400 4-pin port to your corresponding 6/9-pin computer port). Also sound easy? Well, none of our local consumer electronics stores stocked them. HDCabling will deliver you one and Apple iStores have been known to stock them. The tripod ... With tripods, like most things, you get what you pay for. A cheap R250 ($30) tripod will work for a stationary camera but panning or reframing shots will be shaky. The heavier the better. What you choose is up to your needs and discretion. The broadband ... “All you need is upstream,” is what John Lennon would have said if he were live streaming. Do a speed test to find out if you need to start thinking of upgrading your internet. Any connection with an upstream of more than 500kb should be good enough for a modest quality feed. Find out ahead of time what internet connection you can rustle together at your venue and, with HSDPA and 4G speeds often exceeding 1mb, there are even some mobile-broadband options. The software ... You only need to search to find there are many options to choose from.
And that’s it! It seems simple but all the pieces don’t come together easily. If all this seems too much, well, you can always hire us. Happy streaming. Back to Top
Flow was recently given the opportunity to design and build the new official website for current Masters champion Charl Schwartzel, one of South Africa’s most recognised and celebrated sportsmen. Says designer Ryan Levenson, who oversaw the project for the golfer, “Working on Charl’s site was really fun – to work with a sporting legend hardly seems like work! “Charl gave us a lot of freedom when designing the site, and it came out looking great. I’m sure it will only get better as it develops.” The website’s slick design allows for easy navigation, and creates an exciting, visually appealing platform for visitors to learn more about the champion golfer. Says programmer Dimitri Kouvdis: “It was a huge privilege to develop a site for one of three South Africans to have won the US Masters. It was a good experience developing this project, and keeping up with the difficult but well-designed mock-ups.” Back to Top
Flow launched its own group buying site, www.collectivecow.com, in September 2010. Called Collective Cow, it is celebrating its first birthday, having gone from strength to strength in its formative months, with bases now in Johannesburg and Pretoria. Happy birthday to moo! Says founder and shareholder, Tara Turkington, “A year on, our group online buying site, Collective Cow, continues to grow and do better and better, with dozens of new subscribers signing up every day.” Group buying has quickly become a global phenomenon. Inspired by international group buying names such as Groupon and LivingSocial, Collective Cow offers its subscribers (affectionately known as “the herd”) regular deals and discounts that are redeemed by using vouchers ("Cowpons") purchased online. Once a certain number of people have signed up for a deal, it’s on! Back to Top
The Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory, previously the Nelson Mandela Foundation, was one of Flow’s very first clients. We’re extremely proud of the strong relationship we have built up over the past five years in helping it to develop and maintain its website and communicate key messages when required. Our most recent piece of printed work for the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory is the 2010/11 annual report, which we designed, edited and printed. “When annual report season came knocking, Flowstars were excited to work with the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory on their 2010/11 annual report,” says Flow MD Tiffany Turkington-Palmer. “This is a signature piece for Flow Communications and we are very honoured to work with such a prestigious partner.” The Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory has done exceptionally well to evolve into an active organisation that focuses on exploring and preserving the legacy of Nelson Mandela – and it has done so with a very small staff complement, all of whom are exceptionally dedicated. Back to Top
Flow recently implemented its first electronic annual report for the Center for Social Concerns at the University of Notre Dame. According to programming studio manager at Flow Communications and project manager Richard Frank, this new online format is far more economical, and allows for easier user navigation and interactivity. It’s also more environmentally friendly than printing an annual report. “We were approached by the Center for Social Concerns within the university to work on a distinctive site for the centre that involved complicated data integration,” Richard explains. “We loved working on the project, and its success resulted in the university asking us to do another project with them – the centre’s electronic annual report.” The site was built in such a way that Flow can quickly produce new reports every year using the same model. Work for the 2012 annual report has already been confirmed, and it will use the same framework but incorporate new features. Richard explains that total build time for this project took about six weeks. Flow programmer Dimitri Kouvdis feels the final result is sleek and visually appealing. “Paul Horn, the chief designer and project manager acting on behalf of the university, is one of the best designers I have worked with,” says Dimitri. “The team in America knew exactly what it wanted and what the final product should look like.” The Center for Social Concerns is the service and community-based learning centre of the University of Notre Dame in the United States. It provides educational experiences in social concerns, inspired by gospel values and Catholic social tradition, and encourages people to think critically about today’s complex social realities and their responsibilities within them. The University of Notre Dame is among a growing contingent of Flow’s international client base, which includes Fodor’s Guides, published by Random House, and Peopletree Analytics, both of which are also based in the US. Back to Top
Writing studio manager Colin Ford reflects on Flow's media training sessions ... Standing in front of a group of CEOs, CFOs, executive directors and the like to “teach them a thing or two” about the media is a daunting experience ... for about 30 seconds. “You’ll be fine,” said Flow CEO Tara Turkington after asking me to join her, Kate Turkington, Jeremy Maggs and a small video production team at a media training session the next day – as a trainer! “There’s a lot of stuff you know that you don’t know you know, if you know what I mean.” Um ... ja? But the next morning I realised she was right. Twenty-something years of “doing” builds up a great reservoir for “teaching”, no matter what they say about “those who can” and “those who can’t” (apologies George Bernard Shaw). Six months on and I’m loving it. Back to Top
Do mentions of Facebook and Twitter send chills down your spine? If you haven’t yet found your way around these social media platforms, take comfort in the fact that you’re not alone. And if you’re already a fabulous Facebook member or a seasoned Tweeter, there may still be a few things that you have yet to discover … Social media platforms frequently update and reinvent themselves to be more efficient, user-friendly and in touch with technological advancements. For those of us just starting out, this can prove rather confusing and difficult to keep up with. If you’re wondering why you should even bother in the first place, there are several benefits to being social media savvy. Keen to find out what Facebook and Twitter can really do for you? Ready to take the leap? Flow hosts regular Twitter workshops, which include a basic introduction to social networking, that are sure to get you Tweeting away and tackling the world of social media in no time. Book your place at the next workshop, set to take place on Tuesday November 15. Flow is also able to help you maximise and manage your Facebook presence. For more information, send us an email or call +27 (0)11 440 4841. Back to Top
Flow PR, a reputation management and public relations agency, is pleased to announce that it has attained a Level Three BEE rating, according to BEE Empowered. BEE Empowered is an accredited empowerment agency. “Flow PR attained this rating mainly due to the fact that is it more than 50 percent black-owned, while management, which happens to be black and female, holds a significant share of the business,” says Shoni Makhari, CEO and founding shareholder of Flow PR. Back to Top
Flow Exhibitions is busy developing new content for the Maropeng exhibition – a project that is challenging, engaging and, above all, exciting. Maropeng is situated in the Cradle of Humankind, a World Heritage Site. It is the gateway to all the Cradle sites, such as the Sterkfontein Caves and Swartkrans among many others, which has led to great interest in the exhibition. The team from Flow Exhibitions has met many people with unique points of view when it comes to this important South African attraction. There are the scientists, who want to share the stories of the Cradle with the world and explain our human origins through evolution. There are government representatives who want to promote the Cradle as a unique site of great significance. Then there are the numerous local and international members of the public interested in the story Maropeng tells. Back to Top
Four members of the Flow development team attended ZaCon III at the University of Johannesburg on 8 October. ZaCon is a community-driven infosec (information security) conference, which aims “to build a better community of hackers in South Africa”. The information security scene is schizophrenic – on the one hand you have a number of people who will try anything to break into your sites in the interests of “research”. On the other hand you have the “defenders” who try to prevent hackers breaking into their systems. Both were present at the conference. Flow developers would be considered “defenders” – we have to maintain secure systems to protect our client’s data. But we have a soft spot for security researchers (ethical hackers), as they keep the programming languages we use battle-hardened by reporting vulnerabilities. We have a common enemy: the really bad guys who hack machines to steal data and sell Viagra, amongst other things. Back to Top
A decade of experience judging the South African entries for membership to the International Society of Typographic Designers has done nothing to reduce the pressure for Flow’s managing director, Tiffany Turkington, and Janet Berger, CEO of Flow Exhibitions, both experienced designers and teachers of design. Top typographic designer Fred Swart has also been on the panel for years and is “a real typo aficionado”, according to Janet; they have been joined by Margie Backhouse, lecturer in graphic design at AAA School of Advertising, and well-known South African designer. “This year we were so impressed by the general high standard of work across the country,” says Tiffany. “We thank the tutors and the students for all their hard work, and I would like to thank the assessors, in particular, who take the time out to review each and every portfolio in the greatest of detail.” Back to Top
On Saturday, 1 October, a Flow team comprising Roshni Nana, Linda Piegl and Julia Lloyd headed off to the TEACH South Africa year-end function at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in Henley-on-Klip, south of Johannesburg. Flow Communications not only covered the event – three articles about it were uploaded to the TEACH South Africa website not long after the function was over – but was also responsible for the design of the electronic invite, the design and supply of certificates, notepads, pens and thank you cards, as well as a booklet to showcase the 2010 TEACH Ambassadors. “The booklet was especially challenging as we were working on tight deadlines and had to interview 32 TEACH Ambassadors,” says Roshni. “The printed materials were designed by George Xafis, with assistance from Tina Brown and Neo Male. These incorporated the new TEACH South Africa branding and were by far some of the best work we have produced for them. A special thank you to Ros Caboz for ensuring that all items were delivered on time.” On the day, Roshni bustled about in typical top-notch style, setting up a workstation for the Flow team in the hall, and in no time they were ensconced behind their laptops. At the function, TEACH South Africa honoured its outgoing Ambassadors who dedicated the past two years to teaching at some of the country’s most under-resourced schools. In reply, a selection of the top Ambassadors reflected on their experience with the organisation. Back to Top
In March 2011 Flow designed, developed and launched the KwaZulu-Natal United Music Industry Association (Kumisa) website to provide a provincial platform for music industry stakeholders. Following the launch, Flow continued to play a supportive role in terms of hosting kumisa.com. When the contract ended in July 2011, a new Kumisa tender called for proposals for hosting and maintenance of the site. Flow was invited to pitch for the work, which we secured. The new two-year contract will see the potential of the site extended with the addition of a number of digital elements, such as streaming video, YouTube and MP3 uploads. Existing social network elements such as Twitter and Facebook will be supplemented with regular news feeds, while blogs also form part of future plans for the site. Back to Top
"I wear red socks on Fridays" is the name of the brand new Red Sock Friday (RSF) Facebook page – an exciting new platform created to showcase the RSF story, and allow red sockers around the world to share their RSF moments with one another. Flow helped RSF founder John McInroy to customise the new Facebook page, making it visually appealing and easy for red sockers to navigate. For those of you who don’t know what Red Sock Friday is all about, the movement was started by McInroy and a friend after they were told a very interesting story by a war veteran at a remembrance ceremony. The war veteran has decided to wear socks to commemorate his friends, lost in battle, and it was this powerful sentiment that struck a chord with McInroy and his friend. They decided to wear red socks as a symbol of friendship, passion, energy, inspiration and making a difference in the lives of others. And so, Red Sock Friday was born. Flow designer George Xafis gave the RSF logo a makeover, while programming studio manager Richard Frank, along with writer and media developer Laura Maggs, pulled everything together. The result was an interesting and sleek-looking Facebook home, including a YouTube video gallery, blog feed and various design elements to maintain the RSF identity throughout. “It was great working with John,” says Richard. “He truly cares about the RSF movement and what it stands for.” Says Laura, “The page is designed to really stand apart from other Facebook pages, as well as provide red sockers with an opportunity to interact with one another and engage with the RSF brand a bit more.” Click here to visit the ‘I wear red socks on Fridays’ Facebook page, and learn more about this incredible movement. Back to Top
This past Saturday was a day for rugby fans in Gauteng to remember as the Golden Lions beat Western Province 29-20 in their Currie Cup semifinal at Coca-Cola Park. And Flowstars were there to watch the victory, invited by our client, Etana Insurance, team sponsors of the Lions. Etana ran a competition on Facebook and Twitter to choose a child to run on to the field with the Lions players. Nicholas Thiel, son of Flow CEO Tara Turkington, was chosen to run on to the pitch with Mufasa, the Lions’ mascot. It was a memorable moment for Nicholas, who says, “I felt just like a Lions rugby player, putting the ball down on the field. The best part was running out of the tunnel and onto the field.” The atmosphere at the game was incredible as thousands of fans roared in support of the Lions, urging them on to victory. A big thank you to our fantastic client, Etana, for the invitation. Back to Top |
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