This Blog Is to Serious

Time to spice it up a little bit with a new range of posts and renewed inspiration. Watch this space for more stuff.

Why I Didn't Switch To RaboDirect

Today I switched from Westpac to BNZ so I could get a 1.25% higher interest rate on call but why would I want that if RaboDirect offer a much higher on call rate?


In case you don't know RaboDirect is a bank which is operated fully online worldwide. 


Here are my reasons:

• BNZ and Westpac are actual banks with physical outlets that you can touch. While most of the time I will be doing internet banking, its nice to know that I can't meet a real person if I want to.
• I can see what BNZ internet banking looks like. They have videos and pictures and I can see how I would manage my money but with RaboDirect it's just a grey login screen with no tutorials.
• RaboDirect is no longer a AAA bank. Neither is BNZ but it's a reason.
• RaboDirect has bad customer reviews, if you go to the raitings page people are very unhappy about them dropping the interest rate, sure not a big deal but all those 2 star ratings are worrying.
• I can find out much more info with BNZ. I can go online and see exactly what they do and everything about them but with RaboDirect it's just a mystery. It's like going through a black hole. You don't know whats on the other side. Some people like not knowing what is on the other side, but when it comes to banking, I prefer not to have any surprises - unless they're good.

You could also say that BNZ has been in NZ for longer and has a good brand image. This is true, but so does Westpac, I simply like the higher rate of interest for my everyday accounts.

Street Lights - Urban Youth Bible

Street lights bring the idea of getting the bible out to the modern day youth via rapping and hip hop music. They go under the label Humble Beast which believes in giving all their music away for free. This idea has come about because "50 million Americans can not read past the 4th grade level" and "Only 26% of junior highschool students meet the benchmark for reading on the ACT".

I also think its good that the youth (like myself) have the option to know some biblical knowledge and if you can't read then how can you get the message across to the urban youth. Streetlights give the urban youth who can't read the ability to hear the words of god. They are the worlds first audio bible specifically for youth and say it word for word.

Blogger Aiming To Be "Cool Platform"

When Blogger updated there interface it was a pleasant surprise, and now I believe that Blogger is trying to be the cool blogging platform. If you've been on Youtube recently on the Google channel, then you might have seen some modern Blogger videos. They are introducing the new Blogger interface and the new features you can achieve with the new Blogger. They are cool videos and the music is custom made and very catchy and many of the comments are just asking for the name of the song only to be disappointed (because it's custom).

The interface of the new Blogger is very fresh, good and fast and Blogger has a string of new features that enable you to update your blogs looks and performance such as dynamic views. This is a new way to view Blogger blogs that is very fun and interactive and over 200,000 people have decided the same thing by deciding to use it as their default template.

Here is one of the new Blogger video which appeals to younger viewers and showcases the new dynamic views.

Why Google Plus Will Fail

Google Plus was made to fail and will put people off their Google products now that they are integrating it with everything. I don't even have a Google plus account - I'm under 18. What I do know is that as good as the design and interface is, and it does look very good, Google will fail again when it come to social networks.

1. It's to much like Facebook. Social media is a fast paced industry and its not slowing down. People move on from social networking sites very quickly unless it has a purpose like Linkedin. People are waiting for something new and fresh. Google plus relates very easily to Facebook and Twitter so why switch. Facebook is already copying Google plus in many aspects anyway like the circles feature, the main reason to switch to Google plus.
2. It was in a private BETA for too long. Google kept G+ in a private Beta for far to long and by the time it got out, the hype had almost completely gone. People simply went on to see what it was all about then got off as none of their friends had stayed either. 
3. You have to be over 18 to use it. Teenagers can lead a revolution, after all they are the ones who will be spending the money in the future. Teenagers often spend the most time on social networking sites so why prevent them from doing so. They will just go somewhere else and grow up with that social network for the next 10 years. I'm not saying people under 13 should go on it. But limiting the usage of teenager will force them to look elsewhere. 
4. You have to organize. It's not something where you go on for the first time and post some status updates. You have to organize your friends into circles and when you have over 530 friends (not me ;) ) you may not bother to do so and that is the only reason G+ is different, circles. 
5. Nobody uses it. I have heard countless stories about how nobody has posted on G+ for weeks on some users account and social media is all about real time. 
6. Why switch from Facebook. There is nothing insanely wrong with Facebook at the moment despite all the privacy concerns and the new design. people need a real reason to switch. Google Plus does not have enough good reasons.

In conclusion G+ was born to fail and will do as you will see in the near future.

Why more NZ SAS soldiers are being killed in Afghanistan

And yet another NZ SAS soldier has been killed in Afghanistan with a shot to the chest. But why are more New Zealand troops dying than ever before? It's because of the army taking new steps to get people into the SAS. Previously you would have to do some years in the army before you could have been selected but now the NZ army is recruiting more SAS soldiers and you can say you want to go join the SAS as soon as you sign up. It is not however the NZ Army a fault, the SAS are the troops that really fight the Taliban. 


The public of New Zealand are calling out to the government to pull the troops out of Afghanistan. They some how get in their heads that the NZ SAS don't want to be in Afghanistan. If they didn't want to go, they wouldn't join the army. Many of the troops are in fact almost asking to go and help. The unwritten purpose of an army, is to kill people. Although that may sound harsh, it's true. 
That said the NZ Army to a lot of good Afghanistan, such as helping out the local communities. But their total aim is to free the world of terror threats and that means you have to kill people. 


Besides some of the New Zealand deaths in Afghanistan don't even count as war casualties. Other New Zealand soldiers have died when their trucks rolled when they were not under attack.


And finally having NZ in Afghanistan is important for country relations and trade. Since declaring ourselves nuclear free, the USA has disliked us because they can not bring their war ships into our waters. Being part of the Afghanistan effort puts us back up there with Australia. 

Why Blogger Is The Best Blogging Platform

Not all users want to have a self hosted wordpress blog and just want to be able to share their posts with the world, friends and family. Some migh has the wordpress has better plug-ins and so on. But you need wordpress self hosted to do so. The advantages of blogger are:

• Stability - Blogger is always online and up and running.
• Simplicity - All you need to do is create a Google Accound and you can host a blog on the blogspot sub domain or on your own domain from company.
•  User Interface - With Google being the company behind blogger it is no wonder that blogger has an easy to use interface with clear navigation. 
• Creativity - Blogger now allows you to easy edit your blog template with no coding skills required using the Blogger Template Designer. You can change almost anything about your blog easily and quickly. If you still want the full level of customization you can edit the html directly as well as installing thousands of templates that are on the web.
• Free - Blogger never costs money.

The video below shows what great things blogger is doing.

      Conclusion: Blogger is the best platform for personal use and if far better for that purpose but if you want an advanced CMS than Word Press is your solution.

Speech Tips For N00b's.

Before I start I would like to say that I'm no expert when it comes to public speaking but I do know what looks good. These tips are for everyone of all ages but these tips are based off what my classmates do wrong and can improve on.

• Look confident from start to finish and look genuinely happy to that you are speaking. You don't actually have to be confident but when you look confident the audience can relate to you more and feel more relaxed and ready to listen.
• Use Cue Cards even if you don't know your topic or speech very well. Eye contact is one of the most important things you can do to make sure you audience is involved in your speech. If you don't know your speech very well just put down key points and make it up as you go along.
• Move around if you have space to and choose 3 points at the back of the room for you to look at throughout your speech.
• Don't speak in monotone. Variety of voice, and speech techniques are very underrated as they keep your audience interested in your speech.
• If you get to choose your speech topic or you have options. Choose the one that is most interesting to you. Choosing a topic you want to do is good because you can speak passionately about it and you can make it interesting to the audience as well.

I find public speaking fun, but it still gets me nervous even in front of small crowds. The key is to just  take a leap of faith and just go for it. As hard as it sounds, it is the best option when you are really nervous.

Snapper VS Smart Card

In Wellington there are various ways you can pay for public transport electronically. Snapper and Smart Card. But which is better?

Snapper is used on the NZ Bus network of buses which is owned by infratel. Snapper is also used as a form of payment mainly in dairy's and can be topped at any store with a snapper machine. The idea is that you tag on, and tag off the bus every time you use it.

Smart Cards are used on the fleet of Mana Coach Services and Newlands Buses. The main difference is that you can top up at drivers but not at shops and can not be used as a form of payment.

Although the Snapper cards are more advanced and can be used in more places than Smart Cards you have to tag of the business when you leave otherwise you will continue to be charged money. With Smart Cards you simply tell the bus driver your destination for that trip. He will type in a few numbers and once you have placed your card or wallet on the scanner you will be printed and receipt, and then you board the bus. This is great because you don't need to tag off and many people do forget to tag off.

The advantage of Snapper is that its fast. Tag on, Tag Off. You don't need to say anything to the bus driver and they don't need to know where you are going. You just get on it. The biggest problem with snapper is topping up your balance. You have to find a diary to top it up at and it can not be done from the bus drivers. There is also a small fee for topping it up. With smart card you hand them drivers the money and they top it up instantly.

Conclusion:
Although snapper has some cool features, Smart Cards are more convenient for me anyway and it is easier to manage your balance and bus fares.

Google Transit Wellington

You have to give props to Google in this one. They have got a good amount of public transport information from Metlink and have made a decent system for Wellington. It is not as advanced as in America but it is still useful. Although Metlink is the most advanced and informative. Google Transit is simple and easy to understand. It also has a good mobile site. Trip planning is also faster but it could be more advanced.

The times are fairly accurate and up to date but I can't help but feel that Metlink has done a better job. Although the data is from Metlink it self the things you can do are not as advanced as I use them.

Positives +

• Fast
• Easy
• Simple
• Visual 
• Mobility Capable 

Cons -

• Not as much information - prices, school buses ect

Portal Gun

Something worth sharing.

Project 30

I've decided to start my own project 30. A project 30 is were you add or subtract something from your life or try to lose certain number of pounds in 30 days. My first project 30 is going to be "Read 50 pages of a book everyday for 30 days". This may sound simple, but I never read on weekends and I only read about 30 pages in English class which isn't every day. Then I'm going to move on to hard ones like:

• 30 days with no TV
• 30 days with no Facebook.
• Sleep 10 - 11 hours a day.

This was inspired by Matt Cutts when he talked on TED:

OPINION: Your safe from phone hacking in New Zealand.

This post in response to: Phone hacking: Are you safe?

The New Zealand Herald recently posted a article claiming the some phones in New Zealand were hackable. This was in the sense that you could hear the voice mails of a some mobile phones just by using skype . For my generation where it is all about texting people don't even call much let alone leave voice mails. If I call someone and they don't pick up, I close the call and send them a text and/or an email. My friends do the same for me.


The last time I got a voice mail was ages ago and from my parents and that was a one off occasion. My entire close family don't use voice mail much if at all so if any of our phones were hacked for voice mail, they couldn't get anything anyway. Secondly we don't leave important information on voice mail when we do use it. It is usually a simple "Call me when you can." or "Can you get some milk on the way home?". Hacking our family wouldn't be very fun. We also all have pin numbers on our phones.


I know this article my completely outrageous to some of you because your family and friends might use voice mail but this is what I have grown up to.

The State Of The New Zealand Daily Deals Industry

I hope I don't get to boring to fast in this post but I find the amount of daily deal websites out there amazing. There are over 24 daily deal sites in New Zealand alone and there is simply too much competition. To give an idea of how many logos that is, well here you go:


Just recently 1-day deals shut down. 1-day offered 3 deals over a 24 hour period to the entire country. They shut down because 'because the company doesn't see vouchers as a viable long term business model for both the 1-day business and for the suppliers/vendors.' -- Vooxy.co.nz

If you watch tv in New Zealand you would have surely heard the annoying Yazoom ads. Five years ago there were a few sites like these around but no one went to them. Now they have to advertise to get people to come. And you can see why. Yazoom has the worst sites design out of all of them and the most annoying ads as well. While the deals may be awesome and 'life changing' for others, being a 13 year and going on these sites only to find offers about laser hair removal and wine boxes and tastings isn't very exciting.

In fact I can't think of much worse than 5 billion emails clogging up my inbox every day on to show me deals I don't want. In the long run the businesses that give them selves up to these deals companies are hit hard.
The deal companies say it is a great way to drive traffic to your business, and it is. But sometimes it can be a disaster and there are far to many people coming in the door and not enough tables, chairs, food, plates. Some businesses just aren't prepared for some many people.

I also doubt the profit that these businesses make, a 65% saving is huge and that might be eating into their profits hurting the financial stability of the business.

Of course there are good things about Daily Deal Websites like for instance 70% savings on products and services. I just don't thing New Zealand has the population to keep 24 websites going with full time employees.

Sources:
http://www.voxy.co.nz/business/leading-daily-deal-site-closes-its-voucher-business/1861/92466
http://www.onedaydeals.co.nz/daily-deal-site-rankings-nz.html

Hover Coupon Codes

Hey Guys.
Recently hover.com gave me coupon codes to give out. They save you 10% on any order and all you have to do is enter the coupon code 'TArmstrong' and you save!

I currently use hover as my domain name registrar for TimArmstrong.Me and it was like $5 (US).
Any way here is what you can get:

Hover make it really simple to buy and set up a domain name and has really easy to use settings and controls. You can also buy custom email addresses with your domain name.

Just remember the code 'TArmstrong'

First Omnom

QR Code for this website.

This is my first blog post on this new blog as you can probably tell. I decided to start a new blog which didn't focus so much on me but life in general and my outlook on it. As boring as this sounds I hope if you read a few more posts you will gain some sense of failure of fulfilment.

While making this new blog I decide to change the design from a very interesting creative one, to a very boring and grey one. Because at least with this design, you can actually read the text. The one thing I do leave behind however is my readers from my other blog who stayed with me. I leave my many page views and stats behind as try out this new, improved blog.