What happens when you mix online entrepreneurs, VCs and a couple of good bottles of wine over dinner, with no agenda but to discuss “the space”? A heated discussion, some bruised (and some inflated) egos and hard realities for online innovation in South Africa. The setting was perfect: a round table, in a secluded area […]
2007
Posted inTech
Cyber-activism and its legal implications on the blogosphere
By Arthur Chatora Professor Guy Berger, the head of the School of Journalism and Media Studies at Rhodes University, presented a lecture entitled Cyber-activism and Legal Lessons at the Digital Citizen Indaba in Grahamstown on Sunday. The lecture interrogated the legal discrepancies within the blogosphere and focused on issues of censorship, credibility and regulation. The […]
Posted inBusiness, News/Politics, Tech
Just abolish the Dept of Communications
ITWeb reports that a letter has been sent to the police, half the government oversight committees and the presidency, in which fraud and kickback accusations related to the hiring of staff in South Africa’s Department of Communications are alleged.
Posted inMedia
Let’s talk about kissing
Kissing: in essence, two people licking each other and (sometimes) trying to devour the others’ lips. I’ve got me a definition that says: “A kiss is a touch of the lips as a sign of love, reverence, sexual desire or greeting.” Love, reverence, sexual desire or greeting. You’ve pretty much got the whole spectrum of […]
Posted inMedia, News/Politics
Hear your Thought Leaders …
This is not a post, just a plug. In the form of a post. If you haven’t yet heard the Mail & Guardian‘s weekly podcast Between the Pages, then this is as good a time as any to get on the bandwagon. The show has been going for 43 weeks now and, each week, we […]
Posted inGeneral
Madeleine, her mom and the media
I’ve been following the Madeleine disappearance from the start, and have been deeply touched by the story of the little girl. The latest events haven’t made me feel much better. Madeleine’s parents are now named as suspects in the case. Tony Lankaster has a good theory about this, but my concern is more with the […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Who will deliver us from delivery?
A colleague who lectures in politics at Rhodes University has banned his students from using the word “globalisation” in class. Someone should follow his excellent lead by preventing all commentators who want to be taken seriously from using the word “delivery”. The reason he insists that people who use the word “globalisation” are not to […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Oh, Cecilia, you’re bringing me down!
They’ve dubbed her the new Greta Garbo, Jackie Kennedy or even Princess Di, but judging by her conduct they’ll soon be chanting: “Are you Cherie in disguise?” Cecelia Sarkozy — as may be seen from this article in the Sunday Telegraph — defended her role in the Libyan/Bulgarian medical staff release by going on about […]
Posted inMedia
Challenges of content within the blogosphere in Africa
By Arthur Chatora The issue of content production and representation is important within African news production. Anna Badimo, the chair of LinuxChix in South Africa, highlighted the need for new approaches in African news production in her presentation at the 2007 Digital Citizen Indaba conference in Grahamstown on Sunday. African news products should deconstruct Western […]
Posted inMedia
Creating content for consumption
By Galen Schultz Die Burger, the Mail & Guardian Online, Independent Online and, more recently, the Times Online have all dived deep into the process of multimedia story-telling, the Digital Citizen Indaba in Grahamstown heard on Sunday. But what potential does this form of story-telling offer? What challenges do online news sites face? And what […]
Posted inMedia
I blog what I like
By Melissa Gardiner Anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko published a collection of writings called I Write What I Like, speaking out against censorship under apartheid. With the rise of the internet, we have found ourselves in the throes of the “democratic” digital age and blogging gives people the opportunity to say what they like, in the […]
Posted inMedia
Fractured identities in the blogosphere
By Arthur Chatora Blogging significantly impacts how people share information around the world. Within the African blogosphere, specifically, there are a number of challenges that bloggers face including issues of language, representation and development. Were explained that blogging is not new to Africans. Africans have been blogging from time immemorial. Leadership has always been dependent […]