Ticks causing fever were documented as far back as ancient Egyptian times; they’re also famous for spreading Lyme disease. Australia even has something called a Paralysis Tick, which you don’t often hear mentioned in their tourism brochures. But there’s a new tick in town that’s a lot more useful to us… the blue ticks on a WhatsApp message, indicating that we’ve officially communicated with someone.

You can send images, video clips, audio files and make calls, and the company prides itself on being securely encrypted, for free. All with an interface that makes it easy for your technophobe aunt to use, partly why it’s achieved so much success over the last decade.

Other messaging options like Viber, Telegram and WeChat are all solid, but can’t beat the current messaging heavyweight champion. With 30 billion WhatsApps sent daily, it’s the most popular messaging application on the planet.

What is the protocol with WhatsApp and instant messaging? Does it have a place in business, or is it just for sexting couples or teen gossip? Is it too intrusive to be used on a professional level?

Using Direct Messages on Twitter, Facebook mails or even asking someone to get hold of you via your Instagram comments could once be seen as an encroachment on privacy, but are now all fair game to aid communication. Like it or not, shouldn’t we be able to use all the new communication tools at our disposal?

When cellphones first came out, they were nice to have, and then became an invasion of privacy. Getting hold of someone immediately suddenly became the most important thing. Was instant connection just as important when you could only get hold of people on a landline? Back then you had to plan ahead for proper correspondence.

Even further back, Pheidippides is said to have run from Marathon to Athens (250km) to deliver news of a military victory against the Persians. If only he’d had WiFi.

http://coolfidence.com/instant-messaging-whatsapp-with-that-solution-20068

A successful company continues to live its purpose by a set of values that are rock solid. These values make up the “how” part in the three questions. How defines the behaviour and attitude of a company’s people. There is no universal accepted set of correct core values. You discover “how” by looking within. You cannot fake values. You either have them or you don’t. Values are not open to change – they must stand the test of time.

A company typically will try to articulate about five things that it holds sacred. At Internet Solutions (IS), for example, we believe in professionalism, customer service, integrity, empowerment and fun as our core values. We strive always to be professional, both internally and externally. We endeavour to be customer focused, always acting with integrity. We attempt to empower our staff by listening and by sharing. And we try to work hard and play hard. And we always stand firm in our beliefs, never compromising what we represent, and never violating our integrity. We are very passionate about our company and what it stands for. Our intense belief in our value system and our purpose is what drives this passion.

Like many companies today, the organization I am describing here is largely a people business. It is about people sharing ideas with people, it is about people proposing solutions to people, and it is about people working together. It is about relationships. We practice professional behaviour at all times, both internally with staff, and externally with customers. And we always strive for win-win relationships.

I have learnt who works for whom in our organization. Whenever someone joins the company we have to work harder and listen more. I want all of the people who come on board to win. If they win, I win. It is that simple. And for them to win they need to be empowered. Their ideas need to be heard. And they need to make a difference. My job is to make sure that they can make a huge difference.

http://coolfidence.com/please-read-the-house-rules-before-entering-solution-20067

It’s not easy for advertisers nowadays. Gone is the Golden Age of advertising, when there was a monopoly on consumer attention. There’s only so much prime time space available on TV, billboards and in major newspapers. This is also incredibly expensive to iterate enough times to get noticed. Traditional advertising platforms are more likely to be seen as (expensive) wallpaper. A new style of marketing is required to create engagement, and in the digital realm, there’s plenty of room for this.

http://coolfidence.com/stop-shouting-reasons-to-add-storytelling-to-your-marketing-solution-20066

It used to be all about the advertising agency. The father figure and purveyor of cool, telling people what to think and buy. We’ve now moved to a consumer-empowered market, where the customer is the centre of the universe.

Business should focus on making a difference and not only on making money. And leaders need to listen more than anyone else. Furthermore, money and motivation have nothing to do with each other. Now, if you think these ideas are crazy, then how about this: It does not take a great idea to start a great company. In fact, starting a company based on an idea might actually be a bad idea.

Yes, please do not read this from the angle of whether or not you agree or disagree. Don’t read to agree or disagree. This stifles learning and this is a big challenge in these modern times of constant distraction. Give your full attention to understanding. If you fully understand and you disagree then that is your right. Having understood a different viewpoint, you are entitled to disagree. One has to learn to understand viewpoints with which you don’t agree with. You don’t have to hear what you agree with – what you agree with you know already. What one has to study and learn are viewpoints with which you don’t agree.

http://coolfidence.com/dont-listen-to-agree-or-disagree-just-agree-to-listen-solution-20065

E-mail is so easy, anyone can do it, right? Maybe not. Ultimately, sending mail is about communicating, and we can all aim to be better communicators.

http://coolfidence.com/dont-be-an-e-mail-pest-here-are-7-ways-to-be-better-at-it-solution-20064

According to Maslow’s hierarchy, we need food and shelter to survive. Love and self-actualisation are nice to have, but not essential. A new laptop or a motorbike for going on weekend brunches are not on the essentials list. So why do we need to buy so much unnecessary stuff? Is it a conspiracy dreamed up by world powers, in collusion with the capitalism machine? Whatever the reason, you probably don’t need as much as you do. You’ve already got three pairs of jeans that you never wear, why are you checking out another pair? Because they’re on sale? Because your favourite celeb wore the brand on Instagram? And do you need another novelty appliance that never gets used? When last did you juice something? There’s a chance that retail therapy may lead to actual therapy.

http://coolfidence.com/8-ways-to-combat-the-spend-trend-solution-20062

An entrepreneur is someone who makes a contribution to the world as we know it. And for this they get rewarded. Sometimes in kind, sometimes in love, and of course, sometimes in money. I know that many people in the world think that it is all about money, but I would like to challenge this view. Making a contribution to the world does not always have a number or prize attached to it. Sometimes the rewards are not things we can see.

Entrepreneurs always display the following 3 qualities: they are positive, they are curious and they are decisive. Entrepreneurs always see the glass as being half full. They want to learn, continuously. About the industry they are in. About the law. About technology. About life, people, relationships, spirituality and religion. And entrepreneurs always move ahead; even if they take 3 steps forwards and 2 steps backwards, they make decisions and they grow from them.

True entrepreneurs continually dream of doing something different. Of giving something back to society in some way. Many people miss the point in business though. The real challenge is to make a difference in the world. And if you make money doing so it simply means that your contribution was valued. Think of that old saying that the best way to receive is to give. Entrepreneurs are very giving. Of their time, their ideas, their energy, and their enthusiasm.

http://coolfidence.com/so-you-want-to-make-a-contribution-solution-20061

TV shows are a great way to connect over the water-cooler at work, or to unify communities of passionate fans. TV shows are the new independent movies, and have been for a while. Networks and platforms like HBO, Showtime, Netflix, FX and Amazon have created a new range of cultural and artistically satisfying shows. Some might say this golden age of television is currently outshining movies. Here are a few reasons why that may be.

High-octane TV shows are major talking points. I have kick-started many conversations by talking about The Americans, for example – people are hooked on shows like these, and love to discuss them. And why not – TV has never been this good.

Equipment to create moving images has gotten exponentially better and more cost effective. From camera quality and mobility due to smaller sizes, to drones replacing expensive helicopter shots, to slicker digital editing software.

Now you don’t need $237 million (3.5 billion rand) to make Avatar. Okay you probably do, but you now get better quality for lower production costs.

That said, the budget for each episode of Game of Thrones is currently $10 million per episode – so not too shabby.

One episode of Thrones costs roughly the same as 10 Leon Schuster movies, or you could make around 700 local SA films for the whole season of Thrones.

TV is getting better crews to create cinematic looks and sourcing better casts who are attracted to more challenging material. Coupled together with incredible pools of writers given freedom to experiment and surprise.

An example of all of these elements is Season 1 of True Detective.

Season 2, not so much, even though they tried hard.

We have better home viewing equipment, meaning less time required to travel to the cinema and sit in a sticky seat while someone alongside you Whatsapps and talks throughout the entire movie.

Distribution tools are better: faster bandwidth, Apple TV, Roku players and cheaper storage means viewers watch what they want, when they want.

Instead of going to a local cinema with ten movies on offer, they have the whole Internet, on demand and streaming services to choose from.

http://coolfidence.com/6-reasons-why-tv-is-kicking-films-butt-and-what-you-should-consider-watching-and-also-tv-is-a-great-conversation-starter-solution-20057

We all have anxiety due to digital overload. E-mails left, right and center, social media activity, keeping up with all the different messages. Not so long ago it was more about e-mail, but these days it is WhatsApp texts, messages on Facebook, Twitter updates. and more. And when you land and get online after a long flight it can hit hard and sometimes it is overwhelming.

It is amazing what can accumulate during a night. I know I am not alone in this modern day struggle. I have travelled with many friends and colleagues before, and when we land, there is always a rush to get online and see what’s cooking. Things to take care of, problems to sort out, people needing answers, decisions to make. And when you are groggy and tired from a long flight it can really stress you out.

I remember using the “out of office” feature on my Microsoft mail client in the late 90s and into the new millennium. But for the past 10 years I don’t use it anymore. The office is wherever you go. Good or bad, this is the modern world. Globalization is about never switching off. E-mail overload, and all the rest, is not a problem we are going to solve anytime soon.

http://coolfidence.com/5-tips-for-dealing-with-e-mail-bombardment-after-a-long-distance-flight-solution-20056