2023: The Year That Was

Tech Things #14

If you’re not growing and learning, what are you doing with life? Every year, I answer these 25 questions from as far back as 2009. Since nafisa dot co dot za does not exist anymore, I thought it would be fitting to share this as my slightly late final newsletter for the year.

If you’re new to this post, I hope you enjoy the read. Feel free to answer the same questions on your platforms and tag me.

1. What did you do in 2023 that you’d never done before?
a) I finally took the plunge and started my own publication Recharged. b) I completed the Dolphin Trail; a multi-day hike in the Eastern Cape. It was beyond epic (thanks for the support, Samina!). c) I drove an electric car in the snow in Andorra. d) I appeared as a guest on a panel for the launch for the Oppo Find N2 Flip. e) I never thought I’d attend a Backstreet Boys concert at age 40. f) I spontaneously made two trips to Paris for the Rugby World Cup through once-in-a-lifetime opportunities I could not pass up.

2. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don’t do new years’ resolutions, but my goal for 2024 is to take Recharged to new heights.

3. How will you be spending New Year’s Eve?
My husband decided last month that he didn’t want to be in Joburg during the festive period, so here we are, in NYC. It’s been a rollercoaster year; I didn’t plan anything as we’ve been before, just not in December. Give me cooler temperatures any day!

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Fortunately, not.

5. What countries did you visit?
USA, Netherlands, Spain, France, Andorra, Zimbabwe, UAE, South Korea, and Germany (ended up visiting some more than once for business).

6. What would you like to have in 2024 that you lacked in 2023?
Time; there’s so much I want to do but not enough time. But now that I’m focusing on growing Recharged, some of my priorities have changed.

7. What date from 2023 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
7 October 2023. We are witnessing a horrific genocide in real-time while global leaders who have the power to stop it are doing nothing (all while social media giants are censoring pro-Palestine content down to a flag emoji!).

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Having several brands support Recharged in its first four months. My biggest sponsor agreed to come on board before the site was live. The power of relationships, credibility and authenticity all came together in that moment. And you know what? Copycats can’t copy that.

9. What was your biggest failure?
I struggled with several things this year, and no matter the circumstances, when you get retrenched or something doesn’t work out the way you wanted it to, it feels like failure. I know they were no ‘fault of mine’ but the feeling is there. Maybe I’ll get better at dealing with it, maybe I won’t.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nothing too serious.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
My new domain recharged dot co dot za!

12. Where did most of your money go?
Towards my travels!

13. What song will always remind you of 2023?
I recall opening Instagram in the first half of the year and everyone using Flowers by Miley Cyrus as their audio, so it stuck. It also happens to be the most streamed song on Spotify this year – 1.6 billion streams.

14. What do you wish you’d done more of?
More charity, not just monetary donations, but more in-person ones.

15. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Taking on some commissions with less than two weeks’ notice. Why do I do this to myself?

16. What was your favourite TV program?
I didn’t watch a lot of “new” TV to warrant a favourite. But I did watch an unhealthy amount of true crime documentaries. Cough.

17. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
No, I try not to focus on people who have no impact on my life (yet keep cropping up somehow).

18. What was the best book you read?
I don’t read enough books to be able to choose a best. Tragic, really.

19. What was your greatest musical discovery?
I wasn’t that into music this year. Maybe it’s an age thing, I tend to listen to older stuff from my younger days.

20. What was your favourite film of this year?
The Barbie Movie.

21. What did you do on your birthday?
It was my 40th this year, which fell during Ramadan. I celebrated a few weeks before on the Rovos Rail from Victoria Falls into Pretoria. A bucket list item ticked off!

22. What kept you sane?
Prayers.

23. Who did you miss?
My sisters who are not in Johannesburg.

24. Who was the best new person you met?
Tanya in Paris. I sent Tanya a spontaneous message via Instagram to crash with her in exchange for a rugby world cup ticket, and she agreed to do it for a total stranger. We started off as mutuals on IG then but had the best time adventuring in Paris to a point that I wished I had known her while she was still living in South Africa, considering we were kinda in the same professional circles. There’s also something about connecting with someone in an industry where we’re in the minority yet share so many similarities in and outside of that.

25. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2023:
Intention is everything. People are doing what they can in whatever capacity they can for the causes they are fighting for. If you don’t see something on social media, it does not mean what is being done offline carries less weight. If a person bullied suddenly does something you demanded from them, how do you know their true intention? You do you, but respect everyone’s choices.

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I also want to add that this year I relied less on social media; algorithms can change overnight, and you’re censored for no real threat. But this has more to do about diversifying in an ever-changing media landscape. Growing a newsletter has been most satisfying, as well as focusing on Recharged, and having a Whatsapp Channel that unintentionally exploded… while excellent for website traffic, having an engaged, tech-focused audience is first prize. Social media can’t take that away from me. There are so many issues with SM today, it’s no surprise we’re seeing articles about people posting less. Instead of complaining, I decided to shift my focus instead of fighting with algorithms.

And that’s my wrap for 2023! I hope you all have a wonderful break. Tech Things will be back on 16 January.

Till next year,
Nafisa