Companies, no I should say the industry giants, are shaping the way we interact with the world. If you think about it for a moment, a good example is Apple, you can clearly see this curated world by the fact that the Apple App Store computing process is mostly closed. This obviously causes its own […]
2011
Posted inBusiness, Media, News/Politics
Cowardly big business is failing our democracy
Democracy is an ecosystem. Its survival is dependent on many things: a sound legislative framework, an independent judiciary, a vibrant parliament and a responsive government. Beyond this, it also needs a vigilant, proactive civil society, engaged voters and a free media: three elements that ensure government is held accountable for its actions, transparent about what […]
Posted inEnvironment, Lifestyle, News/Politics
There’s no place for fracking in our future
Recently I went to a public debate about fracking in the Karoo. The motion debated related to the moratorium that’s been imposed — should it be permanent or simply scrapped altogether? The four speakers — two in favour of the moratorium, and two against — each presented their views and spoke about numerous aspects of […]
Posted inGeneral
MTN NokNok shutting down
SMSs went out yesterday informing MTN users who had subscribed to NokNok in the past and if you visit the NokNok website it simply says it’s shutting the service down at the end of this month. It’s hardly surprising. The product was ill-conceived, poorly rolled out and was hardly supported by the network operator. History […]
Posted inMedia
If the shoe fits in your mouth, wear it
Every now and then an ad comes along that offends people, and there’s an outcry and outraged calls to 702 and threatening comments on some company’s Facebook page, and the ad is withdrawn, everyone says sorry, and the agency gets blamed. It happened with the spoof sell-your-organs pamphlet campaign for a local horror movie. Its […]
Posted inBusiness
Walmart, Massmart, nationalisation and MTN
Pick ‘n Pay recently rolled out its Smart Shopper card, one of those loyalty cards that allows you to amass redeemable points. Do I smell the influence of the recent move of US retailer Walmart into South Africa, via Massmart? It’s a possible small example of the benefits of competition or the threat of competition. […]
Posted inGeneral
The silver lining in South Africa’s cloud
Cloud-based services are becoming more attractive for South African companies, even with our bandwidth limitations. There has been a great deal of hype recently around cloud computing, which promises to transform traditional contact centres into nimble, flexible and affordable systems geared to cope with a fragmented multimedia communication environment. Thus far, however, South African companies […]
Posted inGeneral
Proteas get their man but now patience is needed
The news that Gary Kirsten, the former South African opening batsman and coach that masterminded India to their second World Cup triumph, was to be appointed head coach of the Proteas was a poorly kept secret by the administrators but one which supporters of the national cricket team must have breathed a huge sigh of […]
Posted inGeneral
Gaming, simulation and killing
The recent killing of a seven-year-old girl by a teenage online gaming “addict” in Vietnam raises important and disturbing questions. From reports it is apparent that Mong The Xuong, 15, tempted Anh Nhu to accompany him into the woods near their northern Vietnamese village of Yen Hoa with the lure that they could pick fruit […]
Posted inNews/Politics
We have no youth leaders
Today’s young leaders are largely, arrogant, self-obsessed and concerned with position and power. I’m talking about, mostly, young men and women who are not only under 35 years of age but hold so-called important positions of influence and power in organisations, be it politics, business, NGOs or even the church. They are not the sort […]
Posted inGeneral
The English Premier League, how I saw it
By Chester Thomas It has been two weeks since the Premier League wound up but the memories will linger on until the new season starts unless you are an Arsenal or Chelsea fan, you might have forgotten about the 2010 / 2011 season already. My best comeback (a split) What most thought was a routine […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Will we fight or idly watch the ANC remove our freedoms?
Many South Africans are idly watching the government remove their freedoms. Exaggerated as you may think this claim is, the government has several policies and Bills on standby which suggest that this threat is very real. As all three levels of government begin to tighten the noose around the necks of ordinary people, where do […]