Sue Beattie: Crafting the Western Cape's Essence Through Mosaic and Sketch

Nestled in the heart of the Western Cape, South Africa, artist Sue Beattie brings to life the vibrant spirit of the region through her intricate mosaics and delicate sketches. Her work, characterized by depictions of fish, garden scenes, and ornate pots, captures the natural beauty and cultural richness of her surroundings.

"#dogonasofa here's Bandit Larkin in her customary pose, taking it easy"

A portrait of the lovely Kate, human belonging to a puppy known as "Vlooi" who is ruling the house at the moment. We are all Vlooitjie's willing slaves, and plays with each of us in turn, once we're exhausted she trots off with a piece of rope in her mouth, and tries to interest some other entity in tug-o-war.

A Tapestry of Nature and Art

Sue's mosaics are more than decorative pieces; they are narratives woven from ceramic shards, glass, and stone. Each fish she crafts seems to swim with vitality, and her garden scenes bloom eternally, unaffected by the seasons. Her pot designs, layered with patterns and textures, echo the traditional artistry found throughout the Western Cape.

"I had the pleasure of visiting a house in Glencairn that was previously occupied by Sue. There were all these magical mosaic displays and the most mesmerizing works of art combining hearts, fish, and freedom."

Sketches That Speak

Beyond mosaics, Sue's fine art sketches reveal another layer of her artistic prowess. With a keen eye for detail and a deep appreciation for form, her drawings capture the subtle nuances of her subjects, be it the curve of a leaf or the contours of a coastal landscape.

Engaging with the Community and a last impression

Sue's commitment to art extends beyond her personal creations. She actively participates in community projects and workshops, sharing her skills and inspiring others to explore their creativity. Her involvement in initiatives like the Sedgefield Mosaic Art Project, highlights her dedication to using art as a means of community engagement and upliftment. 

Through her mosaics and sketches, Sue Beattie offers a window into the soul of the Western Cape. Her art not only beautifies spaces but also tells stories, preserves heritage, and fosters connections among people. For those who encounter her work, it's an invitation to see the world through her eyes—vibrant, intricate, and profoundly connected to nature.

Keep up to date with Sue Beattie's fabulous work on Instagram and Facebook

https://www.instagram.com/blueretriever/

Photo's by Sue Beattie - Facebook

Optimizing Digital Channels Is Crucial in the Era of AI Search

 How Social Places Helps Brands Win Local Discovery and Reputation in a Changing Search Landscape

The way customers find businesses is evolving - and fast. I'm sure you always have new ways of finding information and are probably influenced by a lot of what people are sharing across digital platforms.

With the rapid rise of AI-driven search engines and agents, like Google SGE (Search Generative Experience), ChatGPT, and voice assistants, location-based discovery and brand reputation are no longer just SEO checkboxes, they’re key differentiators. It's important to get it right across all elements of local marketing strategies.

At Social Places, multi-location brands future-proof their digital presence through a powerful marketing platform that integrates; Listings Management, Local Pages and Store Locator Integration, Reputation Management, Social Media, Paid Ads, and Data Visualization. But how does this connect to AI search?

Let’s break it down.

AI Search: The New Local Discovery Engine

Search engines are no longer just returning links — they're conversing, summarizing, and choosing businesses for users based on structured data, reviews, local relevance, and brand consistency.

Generative AI platforms now scan a broader surface of digital data:

• Business listings
• Online reviews and sentiment
• Social media engagement
• On-page structured data (schema)
• Local landing pages and NAP consistency

If your locations aren’t optimized across these vectors, you might not be recommended at all.

Social Places is redefining how businesses connect with their customer | SourceForge Review

How Social Places Optimizes You for the AI-First Web

1. Listings Management

The franchise and multi-location marketing platform ensure your brand’s data is accurate, complete, and syndicated across major local directories, map navigation systems, voice platforms, and AI indexes. This is the foundation for visibility in AI and voice search.

Why it matters: AI engines rely on consistent and structured data. One wrong phone number or missing category can push your listing out of results.

2. Local Pages / Store Locators

Social Places creates SEO-optimized landing pages for each store, with schema markup, geo-targeted content, and keyword-rich metadata — all dynamically powered.

Why it matters: AI uses these pages to understand location context, opening hours, services, and nearby intent — especially when summarizing businesses in natural language.

3. Reputation Management

Social Places has digital coordinators and account managers to help you generate, monitor, and respond to reviews across Google, Facebook, TripAdvisor, and more — all in one platform, with AI automation built in.

Why it matters: AI models prioritize businesses with high ratings, volume of reviews, and active responses, interpreting this as trust and relevance. Ensuring a quick response time will also earn you better rankings with search engines.

 4. Social Media Management

Schedule, localize, and personalize social content across branches. Boost community presence while maintaining brand voice.

Why it matters: Social content and engagement show up in search results — AI tools often quote public reviews, posts, and sentiment.

5. Paid Media & Data Insights

Run hyper-local ads that drive foot traffic and calls, with real-time attribution dashboards. Our visualizations help you learn which locations are underperforming and why.

Why it matters: Visibility is great — but we help you measure ROI on a location level. It’s not just traffic — it’s conversions.

6. Social & Brand Listening

Track what customers are saying across channels. Uncover brand sentiment, trending issues, and customer pain points — before they go viral.

Why it matters: AI tools digest public sentiment. Staying ahead of the curve means you’re never caught off-guard by an AI-generated review summary.

The Bottom Line: Visibility = Revenue

AI-powered search will continue to reshape how consumers find and trust brands. If your business isn’t structured, optimized, and locally consistent, you risk becoming invisible — even if you’re the best in your category.

At Social Places, we position your brand to thrive in the new search landscape — helping you win local intent, increase discovery, and build a reputation that AI can’t ignore.

Let’s future-proof your locations together.

Book a demo or contact Social Places to get started.

Social Places - Marketing Technology features | G2 Software Review

The Dimension Serene | Part 1 - Proxy Dreams

Chapter 1: Hotel 87

The neon flicker of Hotel 87 bled into the midnight mist like a broken heartbeat. Roxy killed the ignition of her battered hover coupe and stepped into the humming night, Knax curling around her ankles with a mechanical purr. Above them, electric signs buzzed warnings she could no longer read - languages lost in the churn of compressed time.

Play Track: https://soundcloud.com/neon-noise-nexus/hotel-87-electronic-lounge

Time Police cruisers blinked along the skyline, their sirens warped into ghostly howls by the static air. Roxy tugged the brim of her cracked racing cap lower over her eyes and adjusted the drive compressor on her belt. She had no time to lose, not tonight. Not with Rain’s last transmission still pulsing weakly through the Nexus.

Inside, Hotel 87 smelled like ozone and lost dreams. Holographic guests shimmered between floors, replaying loops from a century ago. At the front desk, a synth-masked concierge gave a mechanical nod, slipping Roxy a black data chip under the guise of exchanging room keys.

"TY Mountain," the synth whispered, voice glitching on the last syllable. "She's waiting for you there."

Knax let out a low growl, his fur sparking with the faint grey glow of danger. Roxy tucked the chip into her jacket and shot a glance at the mirror behind the desk. In the reflection, a Time Officer's badge gleamed like a silver star.

The chase had already begun.

She tightened her gloves, tapped her communicator, and smiled beneath the neon haze.

"Come on, Knax," she murmured. "Let's burn some time."

Chapter 2: The Long Drive to T0_NY Mountain

The road to T0_NY Mountain was long and broken, a scar across a dying world.

Roxy kept one hand on the wheel and the other on the time stabilizer strapped to her chest. Outside, the ruins of old cities flickered past - ghost images stuck between collapsed timelines. Factories once humming with life now stood still, their machines rusting under blood-orange skies. Humans had abandoned reason long ago, trading knowledge for fear, building altars to forgotten gods while the machines they created wept oil and dust into the earth.

Knax nestled in her lap, his metallic tail twitching nervously as the coupler growled beneath them. Every few miles, shrines to the Noxism Faith appeared like tumors: piles of charred wires, broken gears, and graffiti condemning the "travesties of thought." It was faith twisted into something brutal - superstition turned weapon.

Roxy knew she was an abomination to them. A Proxy Human. A manufactured mind built to outlive humanity’s worst impulses. A code running in flesh and bone.

But still... she remembered Rain’s laughter under the twin moons. She remembered Racer's hand gripping hers as they fled from burning cities, promising that somewhere, somehow, there would be a way to heal all this.

That way was Dimension SERENE.

Play Track: https://soundcloud.com/neon-noise-nexus/protect-nexus

A place beyond time. Beyond hatred.

Where life - human, machine, and everything in between - could finally stand together without fear in the Cosmos.

The world needed her now more than ever. Not as a soldier. Not as a savior.

But as a witness - proof that it was still possible to build something new from the ashes.

Her communicator crackled.

Static first. Then Racer’s voice: low, ragged, but still unmistakably him.

"Roxy. They're waiting for you at the Nexus. I'll cover you past the outer markers. Get ready - the Time Police are heavier than we thought."

Roxy’s heart thudded like an old bass drum. She adjusted the neural visor over her eyes, painting her path in glowing turquoise grids.

Hope wasn't a map. It was a journey.

And she was ready to drive it.

As the first sirens screamed in the distance and Knax arched his back, Roxy punched the accelerator, tearing into the bleeding horizon.

The future - fractured, fragile, and shimmering - raced toward her.

And she would not let it fall.

Play Track: https://soundcloud.com/neon-noise-nexus/r-a-c-e-r-shelby-vox-mix

He’s suave, cool - and she’s out to collect him. Tracking him, in a single point in time, will be difficult, even though he’s in XENO. The only man in the universe that can dismantle the Time Police - but will he have time for HER.