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Skybok at The Rotary Convention 2017


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Rotary Convention 2017
My mother Gianna Doubell, District Governor of Rotary District 9370, wearing traditional hand-beaded Xhosa / Eastern Cape African collar

Skybok Films in Atlanta

Skybok produced a video showcase of the International Rotary Convention held in Atlanta, Georgia. We’ll soon be writing about our trip to the last one in Hamburg, Germany (2019).

As far as Atlanta goes, I absolutely loved the city! Especially the Margaret Mitchell House – Margaret Mitchell was the author of “Gone With The Wind”!

Fast Facts About Atlanta

1. Atlanta is one of two cities in the world to have housed two Nobel Peace Prize winners.

2. Atlanta has the second-most shopping center space in the U.S.

3. It’s the home of Coca-Cola (where Coke was first invented!)

4. It’s the home of “Margaret Mitchell House” – where author of “Gone With The Wind” Margaret Mitchell wrote the famous novel!

5. It’s the home of CNN headquarters

4. Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is the busiest in the world.

5. Julia Roberts was born in Georgia – Smyrna in fact.

6. The Continental Divide out west gets all the love, but Atlanta is home to the Eastern Continental Divide, which separates water draining into the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic.

Getting There

I recommend booking with ExploreTrip.com to get your best rate for a flight – especially now for the summer as a surprise for your family or a loved one (not necessarily to Atlanta, hehe!) and Trivago to get the best deals on hotels when you are there – click to check out Trivago Home.

Grab a bargain Summer Fares to top cities nationwide. Get $15 off with promo code DEAL15. Book Now!

Going Abroad

Planning for an international trip? With ExploreTrip deep discounted International Flights you can save big on your travel. Hurry, few seats are left.

The Convention was host to 40,000 Rotarians from around the world.

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In line to the house of friendship + breakout sessions
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Photos at The Rotary Wheel // Georgia World Congress Centre
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I am in traditional African wear with Xhosa hand-beaded head piece
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With friends from India
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The line coming out of the virtual reality session at the Rotary Convention 2017
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House of Friendship
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Collecting badges
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#Rotary17
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The Social Media Lounge
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The International Ballroom
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The welcome area
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A project “Shelter Box”

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Every Ribbon is a $1 donation
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Friends at The house of Friendship
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House of friendship
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Exchanging ideas + developing rich friendships across cultures (South African Badge on the left)
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With friends from Nigeria
All, Daily Blog

A Day at The Margaret Mitchell House in Atlanta!


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Margaret Mitchell Museum Atlanta Gone With The Wind Atlanta
The entrance to Margaret Mitchell’s home where she wrote “Gone With The Wind”
Where to Buy Gone With The Wind Products
“Gone With The Wind” products at the gift shop

I recently visited Atlanta, Georgia, where I was attending the International Rotary Convention. I had little to no knowledge of Atlanta, and was pleasantly surprised with some of the amazing tourist spots! One of them being The Margaret Mitchell House + Museum – the original home of the famous author and birthplace of “Gone With The Wind”! FYI: It took her 9 years to write the book, during which time she would seal chapters of her book in envelopes + hide them in secret spots around the home. I highly recommend this fantastic destination if you’re in the city – an entertaining, educational venue where you can learn some valuable historical info, not only about the author’s life, but also about Georgia history + the era in which the film was made. My favorite part was the guided tour through the apartment + the behind-the-scenes info on the audition process with highlights on the making of the famous film (including archival footage of the film premiere + celebrity interviews). Book your weekend getaway today via EXPLORE TRIP (They are currently running a brilliant S U M M E R  S P E C I A L!).

Grab a bargain Summer Fares to top cities nationwide. Get $15 off with promo code DEAL15. Book Now!

Margaret Mitchell, Peggy Marsh to her friends, dubbed her apartment, “The Dump.” Surprisingly, it is in this shabby little apartment on the bottom floor that this petite, yet mighty woman wrote a big ‘ol book that sold faster than a duck on a June bug!

It is here that the notorious Peggy Marsh wrote Gone With the Wind. A Pulitzer Prize followed. Fame, fortune, and fans, too.

Gone With The Wind

Margaret Mitchell Quotes

Margaret Mitchell Museum Atlanta Gone With The Wind Atlanta

Margaret Mitchell Museum Atlanta Gone With The Wind Atlanta

Typewriters from the 1940s

Margaret Mitchell

Margaret Mitchell House Atlanta

Margaret Mitchell's House in Atlanta

1940 kitchen

1940 kitchen

Singer Sewing Machine

Margaret Mitchell's Gone With The Wind Typewriter

Gone With The Wind Premiere 1940 Loews Grand Theatre

Vivien Leigh Scarlet O'Hara

Margaret Mitchell Oakland Cemetery Grave
Margaret Mitchell’s Grave at Oakland Cemetery
All, People

A Profile for a Health Coach


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Diane Kobrynowicz is an inspired health guru + owner of “Austin Health Coaching” in Texas, USA. She speaks about her practice + helps us understand why a holistic approach to well-being is so important.

Seeing the face behind a business is an important part of being more relatable + growing a successful trust between a brand + its customers.

More on Skybok’s YouTube Channel.

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Like The Sound of Freelance Blogging?


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A lot of people are asking whether it’s possible to make good money offering freelance blogging services.

The answer in one short word is – yes.

But it’s important to remember that most of the successful freelance bloggers who have gone down this path, have only started making money after putting in a lot of effort + tons of hard work!

You can’t start blogging today + make money tomorrow – unless you’re a celebrity or have major connections in the blogging industry that will back you + make sure you get noticed.

A lot of freelance bloggers are sharing their success stories all over the web.

For instance, Tom Ewer of Leaving Work Behind did this post recently at Daily Blog Tips aptly tiled ‘7 Lessons from a Full Time Freelance Blogger’. Not to be outdone, Oni of Young Prepro followed up with his story ‘4 Smart Ways to Get Freelance Clients from Your Blog’.

Another post that caught the eye; the post on Freelance Switch with the title ‘How to Become a Freelance Blogger’ by Leo Babauta. The Leo Babauta. I was still scratching my head until I noticed the words that the post originally appeared in 2007.

The Question is: why do you want to become a freelance blogger?

Ask yourself why you want to become a freelance blogger? Why not other forms of freelance writing?

+ You choose books or blogs over magazines and newspapers

+ You enjoy helping people market their services

+ You enjoy writing with a personal tone

What you need to become a successful freelance blogger

+ Your own blog

+ To have spent some time – months – developing content worth referring your potential clients and readers to.

+ A niche. What sort of topics will you write about? If you intend to write for businesses in the health care sector, you could identify a niche and write about that. If you want to go after companies that sell software, your blog will naturally focus around those sorts of topics.

+ Some sort of a testimonials page. This could initially include a list of influential blogs where you have guest posted on. You could quote what the bloggers have said about you. By doing this, you’re not only providing clips (samples) for your work, you’re also establishing yourself as an expert. You’re saying to companies that you have the industry knowledge and you know what you are talking about.

+ Mentors.

+ An understanding of why businesses need blogs so you could offer consultancy service on top of your regular services.

How to find companies that will hire you

You’ve done all the ground work, you’ve been blogging at a professional level for a while, you have your niche + great content on your site, you have guest posted on a few A-list blogs + you’ve set up a Hire Me/Contact me page with the necessary information. Now is the time to start approaching businesses.

Remember:

+ The only kind of business that can pay you well will have substantial marketing budget. Mom + pop operations, start-ups, one-person shows generally can’t afford to hire serious freelance bloggers.

+ You can demand higher rates if you’re a subject matter expert.  Your niche will help here – tremendously.

+ Understand blogging as a marketing tool for businesses. Be prepared to educate them about thebenefits of blogging for business, if necessary. However, it works better if they already have a blog that needs regular content.

The steps are simple really:

  1. Identify companies that meet the two criteria detailed above.
  2. Get in touch with them + enquire if they hire any freelance bloggers.
  3. Highlight your experience, qualifications + what you bring to the table.
  4. Make the pitch about them, how you can help them attract more traffic, leads + convert them into paying customers. Spell out all the benefits.

Want us to help you out with setting up your blog? Get a quote now.

All, News

Vodacom Mobile App!


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South African Videography

Skybok welcomes talks about an exciting venture in the mobile app realm, linking our videos with a brand new “Connect City” Smartphone app set to launch later this year.

It’s an app exclusively for visitors to Nelson Mandela Bay here in gorgeous South Africa.

We love the idea that starting this Summer, tourists will have the benefit of a quick, easy-to-use navigation tool right at their fingertips. Skybok is on board to bring the city alive in a visually engaging way – and we’re having tons of fun doing it! ;)

Videographers South AfricaVideographers South Africa

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Skybok Honoured at BWA Regional Business Achiever Awards!


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Tamika Doubell Business Women Entrepreneur

I was honoured to receive an award at this year’s Business Women’s Association of South Africa’s Regional Business Achiever Awards. Held at The Crystal Towers in Cape Town, I was thrilled to receive this recognition of distinction in business as an entrepreneur in the film industry! Skybok is all about connecting the world. I look forward to our exciting future doing so. I am very blessed that I was able to turn something I am passionate about into a profitable venture. It’s exciting to have been named in amidst such successful women across the region in all industries. I am proudly South African and marvel each day at our beautiful country and our people. Thank you, BWA! More photos from the event here.

BWA South Africa BWA South Africa