So the internet is abuzz about new financial tech arrival on the scene, 22seven, a subscription-based app / service that employs a ‘gamified’ approach to managing your money. That is, it turns developing good spending habits into something fun. Not a bad thing I don’t think, especially since most of us spend our lives unconsciously swiping away our cash. I was privvy to some of the thinking and development behind 22seven since I worked on the brand before it even had a name, and can say this much about it:
For all the doubting Thomases, a lot of time and energy has gone into the development and strategic partnerships that form the 22seven service. So while a lot of people are freaking out about giving their banking details to 3rd parties, I’m somewhat reassured by the fact that 22seven uses Yodlee, which has a flawless track record when it comes to online banking security. Something I guarantee YOUR bank does not have.
I also know that Christo and Di, the founders of 22seven, spent a year researching consumer and tech trends in the states, attending lectures and conferences and working with Dan Arielly, and I respect the amount of careful thought that has gone into the development of the app. It’s certainly more than my bank has done in developing an app (they have done zero, my bank does not offer an app). I also appreciate having help when it comes to making the most of my money, something of which South African banks do the exact opposite. In fact, it’s in their interests for you to NOT know how much you spend on charges, to be a little ‘out of it’ when it comes to your finances. The more of a mission it is keeping track of your investments vs costs vs expenditure vs monthly fees, the better. This app is designed to show you where you are wasting money, across every aspect of your finances. Not even your private banker knows / cares that much. No wonder they are freaking out about it.
Lastly, I know 22seven is designed to create a consciousness around how you spend your money. Anything that makes us more conscious, in my opinion, can only make the world a better place.
So while there’s a big ol’ hoo-haa now, I’m sure we’ll all be using 22seven within year’s time.
UPDATE: Here is another article on why it’s safe to use 22seven.
As a writer, I’m privvy to the bemoaning of the local publishing industry.
“Unless you’re writing about Nelson Mandela or tough times on a farm or have your cover made out of beads, you won’t get published, and you won’t sell” is the general consensus. It’s quite depressing. Publishers are also pretty upfront about the fact that they won’t put any marketing weight behind original fiction that somehow does not ride the ‘Apartheid is over’ bandwagon. Sure the ‘Spud’ unicorns happen once in a pig flying over a blue moon, but mostly it’s a struggle. Local authors who want to achieve success in fiction are forced to look overseas for support – and very often, they get it (because their work is actually good – fancy that!).
Which is why I’m thrilled that local blog I Wrote This For You, who published with I Read I Write has found success on the iTunes poetry charts, appearing no less than 151 times, more than once at No 1 (outselling Charles Bukowksi, possibly my favourite poet of all time).
On iTunes, I Wrote This For You was the best selling book of poetry over the Christmas period in America, the UK and Canada. No mean feat for an SA writer who began his book with a blog. And also the first South African poet to achieve that. It’s very inspiring, since I’m investigating the best way to go about publishing my own book.
Click here to get the links to Amazon, Barnes & Noble and iTunes pages where you can buy the book. It’s available for kindle, iPad and in paperback. I’ve ordered my copy. If you’re not familiar with I Wrote This For You, it’s a collection of poetry moments and images, all written by Iain Thomas (@pleasefindthis on twitter), with photography by Jon Ellis.
Click here for the chart figures.
Chatted to Ndoni from eTV’s Tech Report on Monday morning about online shopping in South Africa, what companies are doing well, what they could be doing better. I always think after every TV interview that I’ve just babbled on and on and not made any sense. This interview was no different but the crew were super fun, and thanks to them for having me.
An aside: TV is awesome because they do your makeup all stagey and make your hair all pretty and you get so glammed up, but it’s for like fifteen minutes of filming. If you’re like me you think it’s a shame to wipe all this hard work off, so you go to lunch looking like a transvestite that hasn’t been home yet. Good times.
Think the segment will be screened next Thursday. Follow @TechReportSA on twitter for more.
“Durex respects and supports the rights of women and men to have a healthy, safe and fulfilling sex life. The statements that appeared on our South Africa Twitter feed yesterday were posted by our PR agency in South Africa – Euro RSCG. They were offensive and inappropriate and do not reflect the views of the Durex brand. We apologise unreservedly for the fact that this has happened and have already taken steps to ensure that this situation cannot arise again.”
Faisal Hashmi, Marketing Director
And there you have it. You guys are forgiven. Just remember:
I laughed a lot at this article on Jezebel, about how, at recent Grace Hopper Conference on Women in Computing, a female venture capitalist on one of the panels advised women to take their natural talents into account when conceiving their startup, ’such as shopping’. As Jezebel put it, ‘because lady-bizniz should be about lady-skillz’. Click to read their other tongue-in-cheek ideas for female startups, including a chit-chat service for girl friend gossip, and a consultancy for men that helps you ‘understand your wife better’.
Apparently the goodie bags included nail polish and lipstick and manicure sets, and everyone felt very appropriately patronised. Agreed – where are the free branded notebooks??? Where are the samples of cappuccino coffee? And the lanyards???? What a travesty.
Clock ninja LA! And… shrubbery ninja CTG!
Too cool! Get it in the app store. (thanks @4isoft)
kinda purile, but it’s as fun as it sounds rude. link.
“I told my Daddy that if he didn’t get me an iPad and return that silly BlackBerry PlayBook he got my for my birthday, I would embarrass the whole family by making a cardboard one and sticking it on my head at Ascot, taking thirty-one thousand photos of myself pouting and tag myself in them so all the board members would see and the shares in his company would go down. And now he knows he can ‘take me at my word’ and that I have ‘grown the f*ck up’ and can see that I do ‘finish what I started’. Yes you can touch it if you like.”
