News from the upside!
Welcome to The Upside, your destination for uplifting stories and positive news from around the country. In a world often filled with challenging headlines, we aim to bring a refreshing perspective by celebrating the inspiring moments, acts of kindness, and achievements that showcase the best of New Zealand. From heartwarming community efforts to breakthrough innovations,The Upside is dedicated to spreading optimism and highlighting the bright side of life. Let’s shine a light on the good happening all around us!
Marathon Record Broken, Bugle With History, and New Stadium A Hit
Taking a look at recent, positive, uplifting, news stories and yarns, from New Zealand and all around the world, to bring a smile and a bit of cheer. New stadium a big hit Last weekend Christchurch 's brand new stadium hosted the Super Ruby round and it has proven to...
Life Jacket Sells For Titanic Sum, New Dog Shelter, and More Amazing Kiwis
Taking a look at recent, positive, uplifting, news stories and yarns, from New Zealand and all around the world, to bring a smile and a bit of cheer. Generous Kiwis give free haircuts and personal care The other night I was talking with my dad about the people in his...
Huge Pumpkin, Picasso Painting Raffle, and Rarest NZ Bird Making Comeback
Taking a look at recent, positive, uplifting, news stories and yarns, from New Zealand and all around the world, to bring a smile and a bit of cheer. Carriage sized pumpkin When I first read this story I though I must be seeing the world's largest pumpkin. I was...
Epic Swim, Astronauts Go Further, and Tortoise Visits Own Exhibition
Taking a look at recent, positive, uplifting, news stories and yarns, from New Zealand and all around the world, to bring a smile and a bit of cheer. Tortoise visits own exhibition It's a rare occasion indeed when a visitor at a museum gets to see an exhibition about...
Musketeer’s Grave, Cake Picnics, and Whales Support Birth
Taking a look at recent, positive, uplifting, news stories and yarns, from New Zealand and all around the world, to bring a smile and a bit of cheer. Cake picnics take off This is a really great story about connection, community, a wonderful idea, and people bringing...
Dads Run For Community, Breeding Kārearea Discovered, and Playing Possum
Taking a look at recent, positive, uplifting, news stories and yarns, from New Zealand and all around the world, to bring a smile and a bit of cheer. Breeding kārearea pair discovered Any story about native birds found breeding successfully is a great one and this one...
Huge Snapper Wins Prize, Kākāpō Livestream, and Fish of the Year
Taking a look at recent, positive, uplifting, news stories and yarns, from New Zealand and all around the world, to bring a smile and a bit of cheer. Huge snapper wins top prize An angler from the Far North caught a massive snapper and in the process won new Zealand's...
Naming Storms, Amazing Philanthropy, and Finders Keepers, Sort Of
Taking a look at recent, positive, uplifting, news stories and yarns, from New Zealand and all around the world, to bring a smile and a bit of cheer. Brits propose names for storms For the past ten years, people in the United Kingdom have been able to suggest names...
Voucher Error, First All Black Honoured, and Largest Coral Colony Found
Taking a look at recent, positive, uplifting, news stories and yarns, from New Zealand and all around the world, to bring a smile and a bit of cheer. First All Black honoured After nearly 100 years our very first All Black - number one, by the record books - is...
Bug Of The Year, Top Kiwi Olympian, and Speedgolfing Champion
Taking a look at recent, positive, uplifting, news stories and yarns, from New Zealand and all around the world, to bring a smile and a bit of cheer. Endangered moth crowned bug of the year In case you missed it, a rare moth found only in certain places in the West...
Law Named After Loyal Dog, Volunteer Hut Cleaners, and Honest Citizens
Taking a look at recent, positive, uplifting, news stories and yarns, from New Zealand and all around the world, to bring a smile and a bit of cheer. Volunteers clean hiking huts This is a really nice story that sheds light on the fantastic things achieved when...
Heroic 13 Year Old, Fastest Man Alive, and Kiwi Teen Runner Breaks Record
Taking a look at recent, positive, uplifting, news stories and yarns, from New Zealand and all around the world, to bring a smile and a bit of cheer. Teen runner blitzes record Ever since Roger Bannister broke the for minute mile in 1954, athletes all over the world...
Record Breaking Toddler, Death Defying Climber, and Sailor On Cusp of Historic Feat
Taking a look at recent, positive, uplifting, news stories and yarns, from New Zealand and all around the world, to bring a smile and a bit of cheer. Toddler sinks Guinness records Snooker is a difficult game, made easier by a tonne of practice but one wee fella in...
Etiquette is not a universal truth
Etiquette is a strange concept. While some would think that there was a right way of doing something, based on their own notion of manners or social niceties, others will have an entirely different point of view and will act accordingly. Driving is a great example,...
Huge Pumpkin, Picasso Painting Raffle, and Rarest NZ Bird Making Comeback
Taking a look at recent, positive, uplifting, news stories and yarns, from New Zealand and all around the world, to bring a smile and a bit of cheer. Carriage sized pumpkin When I first read this story I though I must be seeing the world's largest pumpkin. I was...
Cafe owners’ reputation garners unwanted attention
Hospitality is a hard industry to work in. The customer is always right and customers are pickiest about what they eat, where they stay, and how they are treated in the process. I've worked in hospitality, many years ago, and I can still remember being summoned to a...
UK regulators in mission to stop the sale of fake reviews
With every innovation comes those looking to exploit it through manipulation and fraud. Online reviews are no different and the unscrupulous go to great lengths to make money out of the sale and dissemination of fake reviews. In the UK, the Competition and Markets...
How free is our freedom of expression?
Yesterday a Christchurch man was sentenced to 21 months in jail for disseminating the video posted to Facebook by the perpetrator of the March Mosque attacks. His conviction has raised issues and questions about hate speech and free speech and the rights of...
We want the world and we want it now!
The other day I was driving through a part of Auckland I used to live in, when I first came up from Christchurch, many moons ago. The small assortment of shops remained the same, all apart from one glaring omission - the video store. What had now become yet another...
Reviews keep a business on its toes
Last year I had a conversation with the owner of a large plumbing business about online reviews and the ways they helped his business. Apart from the usual generation of more enquiries through online searches where the reviews and five stars were visible, he told me a...
“If you think this has a happy ending, you haven’t been paying attention”
A story in recent weeks got me thinking about the nature of our human species and the ways our evolution appears to be falling behind the fearsome speed of technological innovation. Be warned - this piece contains no spoilers but will further the odd generalisation....
Epic Swim, Astronauts Go Further, and Tortoise Visits Own Exhibition
Taking a look at recent, positive, uplifting, news stories and yarns, from New Zealand and all around the world, to bring a smile and a bit of cheer. Tortoise visits own exhibition It's a rare occasion indeed when a visitor at a museum gets to see an exhibition about...
Kiwi leadership grabs global attention
Now that the Australian election is done and dusted and Scott Morrison and the Liberal/National coalition returned to power, it's a good time to pay some attention to a story that emerged a few weeks ago, regarding our cousins across the ditch and their preferred...
I’ve got a golden ticket
Along with millions of children (and adults), I was enthralled with Roald Dahl's magical Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the subsequent 1971 film, starring the ethereal Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka. Children love many things and two of the most enduring are...
Boeing has a lot to do to restore trust
For decades, Boeing has been a leading light in the aviation industry, with a focus on technological advancement,, efficiency and safety. But in the past six months it has struck a potentially devastating issue with one of its aeroplanes after two fatal crashes that...
Great businesses deserve great customers
I was talking to a business owner the other day, and he was telling me about a recent experience where he had sighted a job and gave a customer a verbal quote. This 'lead' had come from a jobs board site and he costed the job and gave an estimate, that he was told by...
Air New Zealand tops reputation lists in NZ and Australia
For years our neighbours across the ditch have laid claim to Kiwi successes and achievements - think the mighty Pavlova, Crowded House, Russell Crowe, Phar Lap, Lamingtons, and lolly cake. This year, again, they have voted our national airline their most trusted...
Musketeer’s Grave, Cake Picnics, and Whales Support Birth
Taking a look at recent, positive, uplifting, news stories and yarns, from New Zealand and all around the world, to bring a smile and a bit of cheer. Cake picnics take off This is a really great story about connection, community, a wonderful idea, and people bringing...
Creating a powerful symbol for a new Christchurch
Symbols are powerful things and can transcend their intended purpose to create new meanings. Buildings are a pertinent example of this. One building, more than any other over the past eight years has generated huge debate and discussion. Christ Church Cathedral in...
The reputation economy
I was reading an article recently that discussed the exchange between raters and businesses and cited a paper by a marketing academic, who referred to it as 'the reputation economy,' and while that term has been around for a few years now, it got me thinking about the...
“Consumers don’t want to be guinea pigs”
Presentation is everything and more and more, online consumers are looking for particular things when they search for products and services online. If they don't see what they are looking for, then they are moving on to another business and product. For businesses...
Time for a change but not right now
When the Super 12 competition was being created, I was a student in Dunedin. I was raised in Christchurch and was a huge fan of Canterbury. After a few years at Otago, I developed split loyalties - between the team I had grown up with and a new one representing my new...
The best little country on Earth
Last week I was in Paris, waiting with thousands of other Eurostar commuters for more hours than usual to queue for trains back to London. French customs officials were striking to show what travel would look like in a post-Brexit world, and I had a lot of time to...
Dads Run For Community, Breeding Kārearea Discovered, and Playing Possum
Taking a look at recent, positive, uplifting, news stories and yarns, from New Zealand and all around the world, to bring a smile and a bit of cheer. Breeding kārearea pair discovered Any story about native birds found breeding successfully is a great one and this one...
Hatred will never trump tolerance and love
I'm currently in London and woke up on Friday morning to the unbelievable news that there had been a shooting at two mosques in Christchurch - a city I have lived in for 28 years of my life. Like most Kiwis - at home and around the world - I have followed the news of...
Zip codes and sea monkeys
When I was a kid I used to love poring over the advertisements for toys, magic tricks, and gimmicks in the back pages of comics. There were two items that myself, and my friends coveted the most - sea monkeys and the 1000 piece US Revolutionary War set. One thing...
Brand loyalty only goes so far
Since I was a kid I have loved airplanes and flying. Not that I can fly myself - just that I have enjoyed the experience of jetting between countries inside of some of the greatest engineering feats human beings have achieved. My father worked for Air New Zealand for...
Pointing fingers at other other generations is never a good idea
Inter generational verbal warfare has always struck me as a particularly dumb idea and this week an Astralian CEO of a multinational company created a huge amount of damage by deciding to stick the boot in to millennials. Muffin Break general manager, Natalie Brennan...
Huge Snapper Wins Prize, Kākāpō Livestream, and Fish of the Year
Taking a look at recent, positive, uplifting, news stories and yarns, from New Zealand and all around the world, to bring a smile and a bit of cheer. Huge snapper wins top prize An angler from the Far North caught a massive snapper and in the process won new Zealand's...
Lime Scooters need to earn public trust
Every newly introduced product is going to have the odd teething problem, and Lime Scooters have proven to be no exception. Since they were released on New Zealand’s streets and pavements last year, Lime Scooters have come in for a healthy dose of media attention...
“Build it and they will come”
There's been a lot of talk recently about Eden Park. The future of the stadium is in serious doubt and requires substantial financial investment and support. Auckland ratepayers are being asked to take on $40 million in existing debt and $64 million maintenance costs...
When your imagination is a deluded fool
I celebrated one of those milestone birthdays recently where, if I were playing cricket, I would slightly raise my bat to the crowd and then take guard hoping to amass another half tonne. One of the gifts I received was a ticket to see Marlon Williams at Villa Maria...
Football gets it right – and dreadfully wrong
Sport tends to mirror the best, and the worst of real life and that is possibly its greatest attraction. Sure there's the drama, the comebacks, the domination, the fierce contests between rivals - but I think sports is at its greatest and most dire, when it reflects...
Consistent marketing wards off invisibility
For a business to survive and thrive it needs to be seen – that may sound overly simplistic but it’s true. Being seen is the key to attracting customers, accruing revenue and sustaining growth. To be seen, a business has to market its brand, goods, and services and it...
Naming Storms, Amazing Philanthropy, and Finders Keepers, Sort Of
Taking a look at recent, positive, uplifting, news stories and yarns, from New Zealand and all around the world, to bring a smile and a bit of cheer. Brits propose names for storms For the past ten years, people in the United Kingdom have been able to suggest names...
Plucking out a name and hoping for the best
In the past few weeks I have had to book some accomodation and travel for an upcoming overseas holiday. All of it has been done online. I haven’t exchanged one word with another human being, except for a quick online chat with the good people at Eurostar to ask what I...
Our day of sporting infamy
In 1981, New Zealand sports teams were involved in two events that have significantly shaped our sporting and cultural legacy. The first was the Springbok Tour - where the South African rugby team’s visit to our shores deeply divided the nation - resulting in...
You can’t put an Elastoplast on a gaping wound
I’ve never considered using Viagogo to purchase tickets to concerts or gigs, and after following up on an online story recently, I doubt I ever would. Usually I would got to a site like Ticketmaster - their prices are transparent, selecting seats is easy to do, and...