The most significant communication trend to emerge in 2011 was mobility, which is beginning to drive major changes in the way the global economy operates. There are other important developments emerging that demand attention, however my best bet is it that mobility will remain a dominant force in 2012. Mobile social media Social media has […]
2011
Posted inGeneral
Not The Mac Maharaj News
While going through the Sunday papers it became clear to me that the media are under immense pressure to stay within the bounds of South African law. Not only is a Protection of State Information Bill on its way but the National Prosecuting Authority Act and even the case law prohibiting the naming of litigants […]
Posted inNews/Politics
The ANC’s meaningless victory over the media
A belligerent government claims victory. A defiant coalition of media and civil society organisations vows that it will seek legal recourse. The decision to ram through parliament the so-called ‘secrecy Bill’ on what has been dubbed Black Tuesday – the vote was brought forward by a day in a futile attempt to avoid embarrassing comparisons […]
Posted inGeneral
The fundamental contradiction in society — conventional vs critical thinking
I wonder if it has always been the case that there is a fundamental tension in society, or societies, between a kind of conventional, mainstream opinion (what the ancient Greek philosophers derogatorily called “doxa”), on the one hand, and a countervailing, critical thread of thinking, on the other. Moreover, in addition to this tension, there […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Secrecy Bill: As Africa opens up, SA shuts down
By Tammy O’Connor The passing of the Protection of State Information Bill by the National Assembly on November 22 marks a significant erosion of the right to know in the country. The passage of the Bill comes just as Africa is celebrating a surge in the acknowledgement of the right of access to information on […]
Posted inGeneral, Lifestyle
Why can’t successful women get hitched?
Not long ago I found myself chilling at the Nelson Mandela Square in Sandton with a group of super-successful African male professionals. They were four, middle-aged gentlemen wearing designer labels with their posh cars parked in the underground lot. We had just decided to get together to play catch-up because we had increasingly become aware […]
Posted inMedia
Did Durex screw its own brand?
Handing your Twitter account over to a complete doos is the PR equivalent of giving a loaded gun to a drooling moron. Jen Thorpe has written about the Durex Twitter cock-up from a feminist stance. Inevitably, there are those who can’t see anything wrong with what Durex did. But from a brand point of view, […]
Posted inEquality, Gender violence, News/Politics
Durex cocks it up on the eve of 16 Days
I received a forwarded horrific tweet moments ago. The tweet in question came from Durex SA, and went as follows: @DurexSA: Why did God give men penises? So they’d have at least one way to shut a woman up. #DurexJoke When I pointed out to them that this endorsed violence against women, their response was: […]
Posted inGeneral
An open letter to President Goodluck Jonathan
By Gbenga Sesan Dear Mr President Thank you for your continued efforts towards improving Nigeria. Though I have my opinion on the impact of your efforts that is not the purpose of this letter. Sir, as a citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, whose daily duty is to work with young Nigerians and ask […]
Posted inGeneral, News/Politics
Malema sowed the seeds of Mugabeism
In SA, as in most of Africa, a struggle of epic proportions has been raging between the “haves” and “have-nots”, this in a world where we are told no-one owes anyone anything. It is a dangerous world because the “haves” have much and are few and the “have-nots” lack much and are plentiful. It has […]
Posted inGeneral
I am an apartheid beneficiary. I am not proud of it
Background: Last Sunday I published a letter in the Afrikaans Sunday paper Rapport addressing one Dr Marie Heese. Heese had written a scathing attack of my colleague Prof Pierre de Vos’s views on the so-called T-option language policy at Stellenbosch University. De Vos’s commentary was sparked by a motion by a doctoral candidate in law […]
Posted inGeneral
Untangle corporate mobility – BYOD
The mobile revolution is well under way, but it comes with problems of its own, including picking among the growing range of options on which to reach colleagues. The answer? Ask your employees to bring their own device. Join the mobile revolution Office mobility is on the up and up. As the world population hit […]