The digital home of Dennis A. Smith
IT Entrepreneur
This is the digital home of Dennis A. Smith
Dennis A. Smith, author, blogger & IT Entrepreneur
It's great to have you here.
I am a New Zealand born author, blogger and IT Entrepreneur, who relocated to post-Tsunami Samoa in 2009.
I established and run the SWAP Foundation (a Samoan registered Charitable Trust), that assists Samoan businesses with strategy, Internet marketing and more. SWAP facilitates "voluntourism" in Samoa. I am the ideas-factory and driving force of what we do here.
Our preferred business model is to Joint Venture partner with local businesses, developing and owning the brand thus bringing badly needed stability and credibility into local small business marketing efforts.
I aim to be a helpful conduit to Palagi wishing to engage with Samoa - a sounding board, facilitator and advisor. This is a role I have naturally grown stronger in, the more experiences I have enjoyed here!
Following on from Internet UNMASKED!!, and Lipstick on a Pig, my third and fourth books (A Little Slice of Paradise, and Fun in the Sun) share many of my recent experiences in Samoa.
In my blogging I come from a Christian world-view, speaking directly and fearlessly about what I see and think. I try hard to write generously however, fully recognising that "the higher you climb the coconut tree, the more you will see"!
Samoa is a challenging country to live and work in:
- it takes a while to adjust to the tropics
- understanding Fa'a Samoa (the Samoan way of doing things) takes time and requires patience and cultural sensitivity
- cross-cultural issues abound, and Paradise can be 'not' for a Palagi off-the-beaten-track
Getting established here has been a roller coaster experience with constant criticism, betrayal and adversity, but our ideas are sound and my commitment is very strong.
Wherever you are, whoever you are, I welcome you to join us in Paradise, any time!
SWAP Samoa – help post-Tsunami Samoa
The SWAP Foundation is a Samoan registered charitable trust Debbie and I established to assist with post-Tsunami Tourism recovery.
We bring volunteers to Samoa to help with blogging, photography and Internet Marketing, providing food, accommodation and airport transfers for short-term real-life experiences.
Why not join us in Paradise and help make a real difference in the world?
Just slip on across to www.swapsamoa.com and we’ll see you there!
Called To
Almost a decade ago, I found myself responding to a call to move out of the mainstream (organised) church. I resisted at first but eventually complied with what I viewed then and now as the leading of the Holy Spirit. I shared the experience online in 2008 in a post “Called Out“. An online friend [...]
The Race to Zero
I’ve had a long-term privately-held desire to reduce my cash-footprint to zero (aka living simply, having no money etc). In this regard I’ve used Trade Exchanges, barter and suchlike extensively over the years. I will still live well and pay taxes and do business and obey the laws of the land, but I now really [...]
Smarter than Barter ~ Better than a Bank!
I’ve just completed an intensive study on economics and the nature of money for a business that I established last year (2012). For Club Samoa we wanted to have a simple, stable, equitable international currency that was not affected by recessions, global market conditions nor subject to the Money Power manipulations that seemed to be [...]
Sacrificial giving
In this Sermon from Samoa I share a prophecy for Samoa. If I was asked to speak one word about the Lord’s will for Samoa it would be giving. If asked to expand it from one word, I would include the words sacrificial, and then in faith, then include it in the context of the [...]
Hating the Hatred
I recently experienced another lovely session of Samoan hatred. A Samoan guy threatened to stab his fork in my face if I didn’t shut up while he was eating his lunch. Not nice, especially as he’d just previously asked if he could sit at the table my friend and I were using. The cause of [...]
Savea Sano Malifa – Fooled by gossip
Savea Sano Malifa, founder and Editor-in-Chief of the Samoa Observer recently supplied me with a perfect example of the mindset and conduct of a Samoan who lives (and in Savea’s case works) in the world of gossip. What is unusual for me is that this example is remarkably clear and in writing, from an influential [...]