Sporadically, I am invited to speak at various conferences. Last week, for instance, I was invited to speak at one focussing on private equity in Africa. I assume it is because I founded Crowdfund. I would have been a part of a panel, although I was also invited to submit a proposal for a solo…
A funny thing happened to me this morning: I finally realised that a really large chunk of people who use the internet haven’t got a clue about the internet space at all. Actually, this is hardly news breaking. Evidence of it abounds. Phishing (creating fake login pages that mimic your online banks login page) is…
Are you an online entrepreneur or developer, with enough ideas for online projects to keep you busy for …well, forever? Great. Pull up a chair and let me tell you about Business Beat. It’s a collaboration between the Innovation Hub, GIBS MBA program and IdeaBank (my company). The goal is to bring together people from…
Ideas are free. Developing them into viable businesses, not so much. Developing them into viable online businesses…well…take a number. Especially if you live in South Africa. Entrepreneurs with exciting new ideas for online ventures usually have two problems: 1. They are unable to get funded for the first stage of developing their product 2. Their…
There is a website, www.childtrader.com that allows and even encourages you to permanently swap your child should you feel that you are not an ideal match. You cannot sell or buy a child, only swap one (your own, preferably) for one that is better suited to you. The website is filled with testimonials, FAQs, encouragment…
For starters, the Republican VP candidate allegedly hid her daughter’s pregnancy and claimed the baby as her own. Also, she had only met McCain once prior to the nomination announcement (and the phone call between the two regarding the nomination was the only other point of direct contact). She does not believe that humans are…
Google South Africa has abused its position of dominance in the online advertising market and has used underhand methods to win a major online advertising account with the SA Yellow Pages website. [Update: Allegedly, of course.] You can read the full press release here. In a nutshell, Entelligence was awarded the online marketing contract for…
As any South African who has tried to make money online undoubtedly knows, Paypal does not allow us to receive funds via its system. We can only use it to spend money at other merchants, most often via our credit card. This has been a huge bottle stopper in the e-commerce climate in this country….
Quality newspapers are in trouble. The local daily printed newspapers are in even bigger trouble. I know this because I am a news junkie, and I haven’t bough a daily paper in ages. I even cancelled my subscription, and I am sucker for convenience. My interaction with newspapers goes something like this: on the morning…
In theory, I could live almost anywhere in the world. I have a US education, an EU passport, a work-from-anywhere career and have already called four countries home. I have chosen to settle in South Africa, not because it is my country of birth (it isn’t) and certainly not because of a lack of choices….
