I recently came across a wonderful essay by Gilbert Germain — in a book entitled Globalisation, technology and philosophy — on “the human condition in the age of technology”, where he takes a serious look at the reflections of Jean Baudrillard and Paul Virilio on contemporary technology. What immediately caught my eye is the striking […]
2011
Posted inGeneral
Why Google can’t let + #FAIL
By Antonio Petra The future of the web is connected platforms. This is a bold statement, I know, but it is human nature to need parameters whilst at the same time revolt against institutions whose parameters are too onerous. No one platform can ever be an entire digital experience for users, for many reasons, aside […]
Posted inMedia, News/Politics
Julius Malema, Ferial Haffajee, Eric Miyeni and the economic web
It is ignorance of how the media operates that will make people act surprised at the sacking of allegedly controversial Sowetan columnist, Eric Miyeni. He published an article where he attempted to put the relationship between politics and the media into context. Specifically, he tried to link the City Press’ vigorous efforts to taint the […]
Posted inGeneral
Great leadership needs great information
The difference between leadership and mere management often boils down to just one thing: vision. People follow leaders because they are able to paint a picture of a future that is so desirable that it inspires people to do what they ordinarily wouldn’t. But to be inspiring, a vision also needs to be believable. Otherwise, […]
Posted inLifestyle
Flesh eaters
Nothing I could tell you about meat production will shock you. The factory farms and the routine, unrelenting torture of animals; the environmental cost of producing the amount of meat we eat; the amount of antibiotics and hormones relentlessly pumped into the animals because of how they are raised — and what those antibiotics mean […]
Posted inGeneral
Why David Smith should write on Thought Leader
It was with a great deal of sadness that I read David Smith’s piece, announcing his intention to stick his head into the sand, which I took mean that he would no longer engage us in intellectually stimulating writing. Of the political sort, I mean. I understand my friend’s fatigue. South Africa is a madly […]
Posted inGeneral
How Anders Behring Breivik brought us closer together
By Siri Linn Brandsøy In a book by Norwegian author Jon Michelet in 1989, a young man with twisted environmentalist ideas makes his way to an island, just off the coast of Oslo, where he plans to kill several innocent people. If someone had told me something frighteningly similar was about to happen in Norway, […]
Posted inGeneral
Future — on canvas
By Erik de Ridder Foreword “This world demands the qualities of youth: not a time of life but a state of mind, a temper of the will, a quality of imagination, a predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the life of ease.” As it were, Robert Kennedy stated this in […]
Posted inGeneral
Which unified communications vendors are getting mobility right?
Mostly due to the triumphs of Apple’s iPad and iPhone, mobility has arrived in the enterprise in a big way. The following data points illustrate this eloquently: Research organisation IDC recently included iPads in its definition of PCs, positioning Apple to overtake HP as the leading notebook vendor in 2012. This year, sales of smart […]
Posted inGeneral
Should transfer fees be abolished in professional soccer?
The biggest signing of the current European summer is Argentinian Sergio Aguero’s move to Manchester City from Athletico Madrid for a reported fee of £39 million. Dutch master Wesley Snejder hasn’t yet ruled out a move to Manchester United from Inter Milan, but as things stands, Aguero’s signing will be the most expensive of the summer. […]
Posted inGeneral
Is you is or is you ain’t a Springbok?
I was watching my son’s rugby team play Kasselsvlei on Saturday morning and so I missed the televised All Black/Springbok Tri-Nations clash at Westpac Park in Wellington. The night before, I had chuckled at a Facebook warning sent to a friend living in New Zealand: “Don’t go near Wellington tomorrow, Rob. They may put you […]
Posted inGeneral
Encounters with Diversity and Arabic in Cape Town
A little more than a week into my stay in Cape Town, I have encountered a rich and diverse range of apparently new foreign social influences in the city. In the first week I have met a range of people from South Asia, Congo (Brazzaville), Malawi, England, Zimbabwe, the People’s Republic of China and from […]