I’ve realised that my writing all centres around one core obsession: why people act the way they do. I was quite aware of it before, but this week I’ve been interviewed (lah-di-da!) at length about my novel, Strange Nervous Laughter, and the one topic that kept resurfacing is this fascination with why people act the […]
2007
Posted inMedia, Tech
Cost-per-performance pricing models
Cygnus Business Media today announced that 67 of its trade publications are offering advertising based on pay-per-performance, fuelled by the popularity of this model online. A bold move for print! It wasn’t too long ago that Google announced its CPA (cost per action) model and much frenzy resonated globally by those in favour as well […]
Posted inNews/Politics, Sport
Why is cricket still a white preserve?
If anyone asks you what you think of our national cricket team, reply with Gandhi’s famous words about Western civilisation: it would be a very good idea. Fifteen years after this country re-entered world cricket after apartheid, its cricketers took the field against New Zealand the other day with precisely two black players out of […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Why the ANC needs to cleanse itself
The ANC needs to cleanse itself like the ocean. If it does not do that, then the rest of us and our dreams are doomed. The bloodletting in this movement that carries the aspirations of the African people in our country needs to come to an end so that the delivery of key basic services […]
Posted inGeneral
South African bloggers don’t whine about crime
I read with interest a few posts on the local blogosphere about how South Africans whinge and whine about the crime rate, so I became curious whether this is true on the local blogosphere. I did some digging into the statistical data I have on Amatomu.com and found the following that only 0,3% of the […]
Posted inNews/Politics
South African bloggers don’t whine about crime
I read with interest a few posts on the local blogosphere about how South Africans whinge and whine about the crime rate, so I became curious whether this is true on the local blogosphere. I did some digging into the statistical data I have on Amatomu.com and found the following that only 0,3% of the […]
Posted inLifestyle
Islamic charities make positive changes
Ramadan is the Islamic fasting month. Most Muslims use the fasting month to discharge the obligatory charity, called Zakaat, for those with the means. Ramadan is also a time when voluntary charity is given more freely. I am nowhere close to being versed with the rules and regulations covering all these charities, but having done […]
Posted inGeneral
Consistency? What for?
In my column in the Mail & Guardian I wrote that I was tired of blackness being an albatross around my neck (I suppose on the necks of other blacks too). The point I was making was that constant disappointments by those who expect black journalists “to know better” would be avoided if they just […]
Posted inGeneral
The only crime statistic that matters, according to The Secret
Unless you’ve been held hostage by infidel-busters in Baghdad and featured in MTV videos next to angry guys wearing balaclavas for the past three months, you’ve heard about the book The Secret. Gazillions of people swear by it and have used it to cure themselves of all manner of ailments, from cancer to arsehole-ishness apparently. […]
Posted inGeneral
Are we all part of a computer game?
It’s more than likely. No, really. Nick Bostrom wrote an excellent paper on this, and let me tell you: it isn’t just a new plot of a Hollywood blockbuster. I have summarised (greatly) the key issues as they are presented in the paper, but I strongly suggest you read the full paper before you dismiss […]
Posted inBusiness, Media, Tech
Show me the money!
I’ve had quite an eventful trip to the United States (still here), attending both the Commission Junction University Conference and TechCrunch40 — two seriously great conferences. I met hundreds of people, saw dozens of companies and handed out and received countless business cards. It was great fun — there is coverage on my personal blog […]
Posted inNews/Politics
State versus Stan Katz
When I was down at the Randburg Magistrate’s Court yesterday I asked around to see which “movies” they were showing. Turns out that in court 11 they had a drama that unfortunately had been remanded until today. Yadhana Jadoo, the South African Press Association “critic”, had written this news item on the matter. State of […]