A friend of mine sent me a link to a story about a man from Bushbuckridge who attempted suicide in protest over the state’s meddling in his private life. Ever since a young, sweaty, cross–eyed Afrikaner SAP constable caught up with me on the foyer of the EG Malherbe Library at the then University of […]
2008
Posted inGeneral
Why are South African businesses scared of Social Networking?
It struck me today what an uphill battle we’re facing in the new media / web 2.0 / social networking industry. These shiny new communication and engagement tools are an unknown and feared art. What’s more frightening to a business than the phrase “perpetual beta”? Let’s examine some of the reasons why… Bandwidth It’s a […]
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The OOPinacity of ActionScript3
Although ActionScript was originally conceived as a simple tool for controlling animation, it has since evolved into a sophisticated programming language for creating rich applications for the web, mobile devices, and the local desktop environment. With the launch of ActionScript 3 (AS3) under the new Adobe monopoly (used by Flex, AIR, and Flash), the language […]
Posted inGeneral
The best way to Twitter
Twitter is a weird service. It is simple to use, yet difficult to explain to someone. To explain it best is to say its like Facebook, but Facebook without everything but the status updates. Yet, if someone said to me “Twitter or Facebook. You can only keep one.” I’d say without ANY hesitation “Twitter, thank […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Xenophobia – Alexandra, a tale of two in one city
As a regular visitor to Alexandra as a criminal attorney, I decided to go in there yesterday and find out from the guys on the ground why they were so angry, and put the allegations of xenophobia into some form of context. As we all know, nothing happens in a vacuum and people who are […]
Posted inNews/Politics
On makwerekwere…
Submitted by Boitumelo Magolego The inside cover of my Oxford English dictionary features a word with which I have become all too familiar: the word is kwerekwere. (It may be more familiar to you with one of its vernacular language–dependant prefixes prepended — the Sotho singular being le– and plural ma–, the Nguni singular being […]
Posted inNews/Politics
The rise of xenophobia: Is the govt supporting foreigners at the expense of locals?
This week’s Talkback question on the Mail & Guardian Online: The rise of xenophobia: Is the govt supporting foreigners at the expense of locals?
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Grand Theft Morals, or ultimate role model? (part II)
In part one of this piece I listed some of the powerful teaching and learning traits embedded in good digital games. Now, what happens in the case of GTA IV where we have good learning, with bad content? I’m afraid there are more questions than answers right now as we try to better understand games–based […]
Posted inNews/Politics
The great polar-bear crisis
The US has declared the polar bear to be a threatened species. So from today, global waffling alarmists will be able to cite the doomed polar bear for their doctrinaire opposition to energy production, industrial projects and economic development.
Posted inGeneral
Questions to ask before starting a social media campaign
One of the sections in my recently updated free social media primer highlights some questions that I think need answering before diving head first into the social media landscape. There’s probably many more questions that I could add to this list. Please feel free to add what you think is missing… Why do you want […]
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Succession is also an issue for civil society
This is probably the last time some people will talk to me. For what I am about to say is well known in the sector and no one has dared say it publicly, at least in a systematic and sustained manner. Well, today I am going to. I want to make it clear that what […]
Posted inMedia
Journalists: uber–contributors in an age of social networks
Dan Pacheco Social networking is a headache to the mass media because it sets up thousands of niches, demographics and interests. But luckily, says Dan Pacheco, people themselves contribute to creating such niche–related content. In a twist to Marshall McLuhan’s famous “media are the message”, he declared: “The people are the content.” However, “your staff […]