On October 28 2008, Google announced a huge development in the course of its work with books. It is potentially the biggest single development in the book industry since the founding of Amazon. As a result of a settlement agreement in a class action suit involving authors, publishers and libraries, which has been hanging over […]
2008
Posted inGeneral
Audience participation in the social networking model
I’ve often spoken to clients, colleagues and conferences about the “rule of thumb” in terms of community engagement. This could be engagement in a social network, a community content portal or an enterprise venture. It’s a little Jack Walshian in its approach, but serves to illustrate the point. * 70% just watch * 20% actually […]
Posted inGeneral
Are all sales managers created equal?
Recently I have recruited for a National Sales Manager position at our company. I received many, many CVs from a vast range of excellent candidates – most with great track records: young, older, MBA grads and self-study and industries: banking, cars, telesales, pharmaceutical – you name it, but only a small handful from some form […]
Posted inNews/Politics
ANC’s politics of intolerance
Submitted by Mandla Nyathi The fall-out over the recall of the former president of the country, Thabo Mbeki and the subsequent public defiance by some disgruntled ANC stalwarts such as former minister of defence Mosiuoa Lekota and former Gauteng premier Mbhazima Shilowa has set in motion a very interesting but concerning development in our political […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Gun-happy SA: have the police failed us?
This week’s Talkback question on the Mail & Guardian Online: Gun-happy SA: Have the police failed us?
Posted inNews/Politics
Halloween and the ghost of Tom Bradley returned to haunt Barack Obama?
Halloween has its origins in the ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain. The ancient Gaels believed that on October 31 the boundary between the living and the deceased dissolved, and that the dead emerged back into the world to cause chaos and run amok. The tradition of dressing up in ghost costumes and otherworldly spirits […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Of distortions of the truth by Zuma before the US Council on Foreign Relations
When Jacob Zuma and his sidekicks departed for the United States (US) a week ago, we were told that the purpose of the visit was to further strengthen relations between South Africa and the US, and to discuss areas of further cooperation. What utter bollocks! Strengthening what relations? The ANC has no diplomatic relations with […]
Posted inMedia, News/Politics
Why did the Brits stop laughing?
If Australia is riveted by the saga of the poo in the gelato, the British are being distracted en masse by a scandal involving a comedian, a talk show host, a member of a Gothic burlesque group called Satanic Sluts Extreme, and Manuel from Fawlty Towers. It sounds like a set-up for a joke, and […]
Posted inGeneral
The internet buzz election — Britney pips Obama? Not quite …
(This post first appeared on my own blog, www.tonylankester.com) Every time you turn the television on these days you get more talking heads crunching numbers about the US Elections – whispering urgently about who is going to win which states and why. I’m feeling a little left out, so I thought I would do my […]
Posted inGeneral
The ebook scramble
Much of the buzz at Frankfurt Book Fair this year was about ebooks, and particularly the impact that the Amazon Kindle and Sony Reader have had on that part of the industry over the last year. According to IDPF spokesperson Michael Smith, ebook sales this year are up 53% in the US, and for August […]
Posted inMedia, News/Politics
BBC’s Brand and Ross: ‘sfunny how low you can go
Two of the BBC’s superstars Jonathan Ross and Russel Brand have been suspended and their show taken off the air pursuant to a series of prank calls to Fawlty Towers star Andrew Sachs. This involved a number of messages left on Sachs answering machine, which suggested one of the presenters having had sex with Sachs’s […]
Posted inGeneral
A walk on the dark side
When walking in open territory, bother no one. If someone bothers you, ask him to stop. If he does not stop, destroy him. http://www.churchofsatan.com/Pages/Eleven.html No, the above is not from Julius Malema’s latest verbal palpitations. Neither is it an excerpt from Terror Lekota’s much talked about divorce papers. On a side note, it is laank […]