Melva Cummins. What a little old darling she is! Genevieve Helliwell's story on this dancing granny was by far the best viewed page on bayofplentytimes.co.nz last week.
At 82, Melva has become a true social media sensation.
She was filmed dancing in the streets on holiday in Australia where she made a real impression on JumpClimb, the organisers of the event which got her so excited.
JumpClimb's company director, Paul Fletcher, wrote: "She lit up our lives with her agility and grace and stunned us with hipster moves that are usually only for those with fully functioning hips.
"And then, in the blink of an eye, she was gone."
An online campaign was launched to find her and thanks to the amazing detective skills of Facebook, they traced her all the way back to Tauranga. We shared it online and people just loved it!
Melva's story became the editor's pick on the New Zealand Herald online too, and this funky nana even featured on Campbell Live that night.
She's off to Australia again soon to star in a music video.
If you have no idea what I'm talking about or if want you just want to see her boogie again, check this out.
The video is awesome and the story will make you smile.
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Buy now! How often are you tempted to click on it? Group buying sites are my new weakness. Incredible deals? Huge discounts? Bring it on!
Daily deal sites are great tools for small business to attract new customers but there are a few too many of them around at the moment.
Navigating them is becoming a bit of a nightmare.
I've checked them all out and GrabOne is my favourite. They have the deals I'm most interested in and the site can be accessed straight from bayofplentytimes.co.nz. You can also find them on Facebook, where they have over 125,000 "likes".
Thanks to GrabOne I've discovered some interesting local businesses and I've snatched some unbelievable bargains. Food and beverage vouchers ensured a couple of great nights out with the girls, I'm not strawberry blond any more, I've grabbed a concession for the gym, there is a photo book with pictures of the kids on its way to Holland for mum's birthday, and next I am looking at booking a nice winter get-away on GrabOne Escapes.
The only one I do have to be careful with is GrabOne Bottle. Click "buy now" and you'll get not one but six bottles of wine delivered to your door the next day. It's just too easy.
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Worth mentioning is how clever local jewellery designer Annie Blackberry uses GrabOne, TradeMe and Facebook. Not only does she use the web to promote her own business and to sell her cool new and redesigned jewellery, she also uses social media to advocate for good causes like children with leukaemia and an organisation against child-trafficking. Good on you Annie Blackberry!
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Here's one for the boys. And for girls who don't mind roughing it. The locally produced NZ Outdoor Hunting Magazine has been going strong since 1937 and they are certainly not behind when it comes to modern technology.
Their Facebook page is engaging and up-to-date, with regular posts and links to stories on news sites. A healthy debate is encouraged, and to me that is what Facebook is all about. The topic that caught my eye was the annual black swan shoot in Tauranga. Locals weren't pleased.
A letter to the editor we received from Phil McKernon said: "I had the displeasure of being up close to the shooters who gathered for the black swan cull in Tauranga Harbour recently. They gathered in camouflage gear, excited and pleasured by the thrill they would soon achieve from this murderous act. I was mortified by the laughter and shouts of glee from these people when another bird plummeted into the water."
The straightforward comment on the magazine's Facebook page was: The hunting of black swans is legal and endorsed by authorities. They make nice sausages, patties and salami ...
I think I'll stick with chicken.
