You know, four years ago when I started my one matchstick journey, I knew nothing about social media and the extent of the possibilities of the internet. I knew about emails and bit of HTML, and had just started to hear about blogs.

Then everything changed when I heard of Kyle, and my journey into the world of possibility and Web 2.0 started. Over the fours years I've learnt a lot about blogs, facebook, twitter, myspace, google, websites, etc and the technology that's most useful to manage all this. On the other side I've learnt heaps about negotiation, bartering, resilience, writing, and met the most wonderful people along the way!

And now I get to step up again in my learning and learn from the best in the WORLD about these things, and where technology is heading- especially in Africa.

In two weeks time I will be attending the Tech4Africa conference here in Johannesburg. As I mentioned previously, a lot of what I have learnt so far was applied in getting me to the conference, and now it's just a few days away.

I have been researching all the speakers and topics so that I can squeeze every opportunity out of this conference, and wow is there a line up of fantastic speakers!

Having just upgraded my phone (am I still a closet geek?) to a smart phone, and knowing that Africa has led the way with a few of the applications of mobile solutions (like the example of Nigeria to America, that Clay Shirky shares in this video), I am looking forward to hear Jonathan Snook of Yahoo! talk about the latest stuff with smart phones.

And then there's one of the panel discussions about where the mobile industry is going with applications like banking and weather alerts and more. Also Justin Spratt is going to be talking about wireless and how more of and cheaper communication is coming Africa's way.

I'm especially looking forward to hearing about building a brand on line from Alex Hunter, and all about Social Media from the panel including the likes of Walter Pike, Andy Hadfield, Mike Stopforth and Alistair Fairweather- all experts who I know I'll learn a lot from, having met some of them already!

There is also the key note speakers: Leila Chirayath Janah, the most innovative woman in technology who is combining crowd sourcing and mobile technology to give farmers in Africa work tending to virtual farms in social networks, where they could earn more than ploughing their land. And the Clay Shirky, who says that the internet runs on love!

And then – the cherry on the top of highlights for me is going to be the Q & A session with Andy Budd, Dustin Diaz, Joe Stump, John Resig and Jonathan Snook – For the coach in me this will be fascinating, to hear how they overcame challenges and their personal experiences on their respective journeys.

And then the Bootstrap session with the panel of entrepreneurs- hearing how Brett Haggard, Barbara Mallinson, Gareth Knight, Eve Dmochowska and Andy Higgins think! The theme of the session is that ideas are everywhere, but execution is everything! So true!

So for those that know me, you should by now have an idea of why I am so over the moon about the Tech4Africa conference! It combines all my passions in a few jam-packed days: technology, entrepreneurship, learning, networking, Africa, the Internet, and love!

Gareth Knight- the visionary behind Tech4Africa- says he hopes "to inspire a generation of Africans to go and do extraordinary things with the Web and other emerging technologies" through this confernce.

Well Gareth, so far you've inspired me! Let the extra-ordinary start rolling out!

This bartering is sure becoming a way of life with me. It seems whenever I hit an obstacle- especially when it's a financial "I cant afford it right now!" something happens, and I end up trading my way to get where I want to go.

The latest bartering opportunity came along after the last 27Dinner in Jozi, where Gareth Knight was talking about why international viewpoints in the technology and digital arena are relevant and significant to us here in Africa.

Gareth is organising Africa's first conference about web, mobile and emerging technology called Tech4Africa. He's got overseas speakers like Clay Shirky, Matthew Mullenweg, and Dustin Diaz sharing their knowledge amongst some of South Africa's best like Andy Hadfield, Mike Stopforth, Justin Spratt, and even one matchstick traders like Elan Lohmann and Andy Higgins! It's quite a line-up of speakers!

One of the areas where my learning and growth has increased exponentially through the last four years of turning my matchstick into a pen into Rod the Frog into books into wine into a holiday into cash into a hot air balloon ride into a party with DJ Al into 375 Springleap T-shirts to where I am now, is my knowledge of the web, social media and technology. And I have so enjoyed learning and exploring this emerging world.

So when I heard of the line up of speakers at Tech4Africa, I immediately felt a huge desire to attend. I saw it as an opportunity to experience consuming a huge amount of useful information is a short space of time for my hungry mind. Just like Neo did in The Matrix movie (my favourite movie, by the way!) when he downloaded Kung-Fu fighting in a few seconds.

I think Gareth must have picked up on the sparkle in my eye or something, and after a brief conversation and a few emails back and forth, I've bartered my way into the conference! Woohooo! Now I've just got to decide on which speakers and what topics I want to focus on during the conference- they even have workshops to consider! (Any tips welcome- the list of speakers to choose from is so awesome that it's overwhelming!)

So I hope to see some of you there at Tech4Africa on 12th to 13th August, to learn and interact with the best. Maybe you'll too see a sparkle in my eye and end up trading with me for one of my T-shirts? ;)