maintaining a digital foot print is quite important, the game is faster now and if you fall out of rhythm, it might be difficult to catch up. The reception to The Round Up has been tremendously amazing. Last week when I made the decision that I finally had to get back in the digital creative space, I believed I would get support but I also did not anticipate for it to be tremendous. I won't lie, it sort of put some pressure on me to keep up with the momentum and not drop the ball. Eventually I had a minor creative block, relatable right? In this age of digital creativity and digital marketing, maintaining a digital foot print is quite important, the game is faster now and if you fall out of rhythm, it might be difficult to catch up. As a blogger and as someone looking to teach people how to master the art of influencer marketing, it is important for me to maintain an easily traceable digital footprint. Your value as an influencer is affected by your digital footprint. Brands love consistency so does your audience too - the people that matter the most. So in this post I will share tips on how I managed to handle the creative block. I put some Beychella into it The moment I feel confined and unable to get my ideas structured, I quickly stream Beyoncé's live performances, those get my mind moving in the right direction. Music stimulates my creativity, it broadens my mindset and desire to explore and play around with some ideas. Studies have shown that music may improve cognition and enhance learning and memory. Remember it might not always be Beyonce for me, I remember there was a time when Miguel was the rhythm of my creativity. So learn the season you are in and whose voice is speaking to you in that season Use your mind, don' t let it use you. I promise you, as long as your mind is not calm, you will struggle getting anything done, or at least done to the best of your abilities. I am a strong believer of mental wellness and always try to be optimistic. While getting your head in a healthy space is easier said than done, there are several platforms I use to refocus my mind and deal with the issues my mind is recognising. I have a couple I frequent the most. I use the Calm app, to check in with my mental state and take note of what is making me anxious and what is the nearest solution. I also listen to Oprah's Super Soul Sunday podcast just to realign my mind. Remember your why It is never a bad idea to finish what you started , the best part of the creative process is seeing your vision manifesting. One of the reasons I stay on track with projects is that I always remember that I am a student of life and a prisoner of hope. Therefore if I do not follow through, I am potentially missing out on an opportunity to learn and grow. So these are my top three creative block hacks, I have plenty more to share. I will share more as time progresses, next week I will release my first influencer round up list and you won't want to miss who the top ten influencers in Namibia are right now.
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A few weeks ago, prior to the global lockdown due to the COVID-19 outbreak, I stumbled upon the Elevate App. This app that serves as a personal guide to mental and emotional success. It caught my attention and what excited me was the fact that it was developed and is ran by three black men. Seeing men of colour, who look like me, leading in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics sectors is such a rarity. Let alone find them merely involved in the mental wellness discourse. I decided that I’d have fun reviewing this app and reached out to the team. Well, then COVID-19 happened, I had a health scare and had little motivation to be creative and also was anxious about the global pandemic and being in isolation only triggered that anxiety further. Oddly enough this gave me an opportunity to make use of the app in my most vulnerable state without the ulterior motive to write a fun and cool blog review just for clicks. SO here it goes. WHO YOU NEED TO KNOWThe app is ran by three young black gentlemen who are graduates from Lincoln University which is just outside of Philadelphia, in the USA and is also the first HBCU in the country. Aaron Warrick, Greg Wilson, and Dante’ Wade who teamed up to build a mental wellness app after recognising the rise in numbers of people in the black community suffering from depression, stress and other mental health challenges. WHY YOU SHOULD TRY THE APPThe Elevate app introduces the basics of mindfulness elevation featuring different a resource based guided courses with videos and meditation audios to help you in the process. Also in addition the App comes with Self Enhancement Challenges, where one can put themselves in a course to follow through with a self enhancement activity. Having experienced all the above, the app. has been amazing to me. What I do enjoy the most are the forums where one can add their thoughts on a topic and engage with fellow users in constructive discussions. Especially now that we are being encourage to isolate, this platform serves as a filler, for the social interaction void. We need society and have grown all our lives engaging with our friends and peers. While that can still be done on social media, Elevate offers you a space dedicated to positive and elevating interaction without unnecessary digital noise. WHO SHOULD TRY THE APP?The Elevate App is designed toward adulting young individuals, especially those in black communities, including those new to the concept of mindfulness, like those that recently acknowledged their need to pay attention to their mental wellness, yet its content can be useful to those that have also been giving attention to their mental health for a while. Elevate is an app that may benefit people looking at solutions to help them deal with daily anxiety triggers and find a calming place that also elevates their state of mind. Users will also appreciate the wide variety of topics and resources available in video and audio format, such as mental championship faith, procrastination, dating with anxiety and balance among others. MY RATINGS OF THE APPI would give the app a good 8 to of 10 chiefly because of my bias as a black person, but also merit wise the app is deserving, a perfect user experience and it is easy to navigate while also meeting my needs as a user. I would recommend it to anyone in need of it, especially having used it during a trying time and was able to get back on track. ...male Instagramers sharing their personal style, their inspirations, and the proving the fact that men can DRESS! Have you ever seen that one picture on Instagram and tapped on the bookmarked icon to save it? I am sure we have all done that at some point, Instagram fast became our place of inspiration especially when it comes to style. Well Pinterest and Tumblr too, until we discovered we couldn’t really use Pinterest to catch up with an old friend abroad and Tumblr just became too difficult to use and also it is hard on the data. As promised in my previous post, this week I will post a round up of male Instagramers sharing their personal style, their inspirations, and the proving the fact that men can DRESS! LOL this list is not a ranking and it is arranged in no particular order. Kevin is a content creator., a film maker and photographer. If are looking for versatility in style Kevin's page is the place to be. Being able to dress well and take great pictures of your outfit is one thing, but being able to create content that blends your style with your work and traveling adventures is a skill not so many can do well. It makes so much sense that Kevin is part of the Navy Kevin has the range to rock a suit for and the range reaches the ability to wear a leather jacket for mountain hiking...channeling his inner fenty feisty self. Follow his account if you want to expand your sense of style. Kenneth is like that one creative big brother that most black upcoming creatives never had and look up to. What captured me to his work before I knew he was a DJ, curator and creative, I noticed his style first. Kenneth has a great shoe collection and has a coat collection that will leave you desiring more days where you curate your warmth through style. If you are looking for style that is ahead of our time, his page will definitely be your plug. Kenneth has notable experience in fashion retail and style commentary and his opinion on style is from a place of expertise. Also you get to see his exciting projects. A conversation on men's style and Instagram without mentioning Blake, is a fraud. In my opinion, Blake is probably in the top five of the best male style bloggers on Instagram and beyond. Blake stands out because of his unique ability to stay authentic in this age of digital influence. He was once a science major and now runs The Scott Effect blog. I particularly enjoy his blog, his ability to break down an outfit and explain it and where it can be best worn is insightful. Follow for an enhanced gentle look and tips on the best buys. Linda, is in my humble opinion one of the best suit makers on the continent if not in the world. Not so often do you find designers that are able to dress themselves especially in such a way that represents the vision they have with their craft. Linda is one designer that dresses in such a way that highlights how the modern gentleman should look like in a suit. Well fitted, mint and crisp. His page is quite exciting because you get to see some of the clients he has dressed and how neat and clean they look and also some of the work he is doing with his formal accessory collection. Follow for an idea of gentle luxury. So funny thing is everything I was doing wrong with my style when I thought I was in my best element, I learnt it through Jospeh's page. Exactly why you should follow this stylist par excellence. To learn how to get your right fit, your wardrobe staples , the basic shoe types you need and how to add some fun into your closet. Every Monday on his Instagram stories he hosts a Q&A where he generously gives tips and style advice to his followers. To learn your best fit and what style works best for you, follow his account. Wanna learn how to wear a t-shirt, dress pants and monk straps or and not look funny? Well Hardy is one person that can merge a leisure and luxury in one look. One thing about Hardy's style is that it is fun, casual and yet still remans smart. His style is timeless, remember trends are expensive but style is liberating. Vibert is an entrepreneur and a real estate investor, his style surely speaks to a person that is looking at dressing for success. Joshua Kissi's page is one of the leading Instagram destination for men's contemporary fashion and streetwear. His bio reads; 'Ghanaian-American creative entrepreneur specializing in photography and creative direction.' Joshua's attention to detail in his looks is what amuses, his hairstyle, clothes and accessories tell a story. If you are looking to wear vintage pieces and still keep up to date with the latest must have itms and rock some cool tribal accessorise, his page is a great source of reference. He is the co founder of Street Etiquette a page that documents mens style particularly black men. Rocking shorts with a blazer? One word...bold. I wouldn't dare but when I see Londani do so casually and comfortable, I actually realise that it is doable if you find the right fit. His page features some of his well dressed friends as well and he is the master of the cosy corporate look, rocking crips shirts and well tailored pants or a clean golfer with a a pair of jeans, the range goes beyond that too. If you are looking for a clean, simple and easy to maintain style, Londani will definitely be your guy. Ankari is the co-founder of Ankari Floruss, and he has taken New York City and beyond by sartorial storm. Ankari is featured on various men's style pages on Instagram and surely this is a spot he deserves. He has an interesting blog where he shares lifestyle tips and insights on where men's style is headed to. If you are looking to find inspiration to do what you love, his blog - The Metro Man is the place to be. He documents his style and one can tell it is from the things that surround him, be it in the concrete jungle or when he is vacationing or his fitness journey. In the past three years I have had the opportunity to engage with key individuals in Sub Saharan-pop culture and digital marketing through my work with Vaultz Connect Magazine. Over the past few months I have utilised my twitter platform to raise awareness on how the quality of understanding of influencer marketing can be enhanced.
My experience working with four brands on a daily while consulting various clients, I have learned quite a lot. However experience alone was not enough, I went on to read on influencer marketing, brand management, data science and the politics behind marketing.One additional area of interest, which I'd rather categorise as a concern, is that of how best young Africans can contribute to the discourse around; 'Narrowing The Digital Divide.' This amount of knowledge I have garnered through studying , surfing the internet and observing others is worth sharing. While I enjoy digital marketing, I am also enthusiastic about taking care of myself and dressing more mature, and enhancing my financial literacy. All this and other experiences i face in my life, summed up with my zeal for blogging, this has reawakened my interests in digital content creation. As you read this, you are probably part of the first readers. So welcome to The Round up with David Wamambo. Looking forward to engaging with you and sharing with you. Haircut: Got Your Barber Suit: Miles Meroro |
David WamamboDigital marketing enthusiast, brand strategist and lifestyle blogger. Archives
May 2022
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