The South African blogging numbers for 2007 and the beginning of 2008 are in, and they tell a story almost as eloquent as do some of the blogs. Just six months ago, blogging was the next big internet fad in South Africa. Seemingly from nowhere, in the middle of the year, the number of blogs […]
Media
More online treasure
Remember when I said that finding cool new websites was like tapping into a vein of gold? I seem to have hit the jackpot! Check these out, and tell me you don’t feel inspired. I won’t believe you. Freshly Found (http://freshlyfound.blogspot.com/) is a blog full to bursting with creative ideas and beautiful things, some homemade, […]
Fresh design blogs
I’m always intensely jealous of people who can blog with pictures. Words come easily to me, but although I love beautiful images, they don’t flow naturally from my fingertips. Here are a few of my favourite (really lovely) design blogs of the moment: Notes by Naive (http://thisisnaive.com/) Beautiful photography of simple things, as well as […]
Online millions: The advertising model
Part one is here. You will probably never make millions from online advertising, no matter what type of website you run. However, if you are able to create a site and attract a reasonably sized and loyal audience, you can sell the site to a bigger player who can exercise the advertising potential. That’s how […]
The ‘I’m not a journalist’ excuse
Recently on Thought Leader a blogger defended his inflammatory and inaccurate post with the words “I do not profess to be a journalist. I never have. I only analyse journalism and give you my perspective.” But that’s no excuse. If you want to engage in analysis — which most Thought Leader bloggers do — you […]
How to make millions online (part one)
You know you are behind in your financial achievements when Entrepreneur magazine starts running articles on how to make your first billion. Or when you see a property exhibition for apartments in Brooklyn, Pretoria, that cost up to R24-million. Each. Or when you read that there are more than 5 000 South Africans who became new […]
The SA Blog Awards: Storm in a thimble
The “debate” about this year’s SA Blog Awards has gone from irrational to hilarious to just plain stupid. Fuelled by a tiny community of self-proclaimed experts who doubtlessly feel left out of the action, the war of words has labelled the awards as unrepresentative, elitist, exclusionist, ill-conceived and invalid. And all this over a completely […]
Digital marketing: Putting effective measurement into perspective
Much has been written recently about digital marketing effectiveness and the measurement thereof. Finally, a few astute marketers are waking up to the significance of bona fide, accurate measurement. There is however, still a lot of misconception and understanding of what exactly should be measured, and why digital marketing is so effective at accomplishing just […]
Fair trade is unfair
“What developing countries need is to develop, not to have their present conditions of life and work preserved like a museum exhibit,” writes Janet Daley in a column prompted by a report that finds “fair trade” to be fundamentally unfair.
(Maybe) I wish for too many things
The invitation letter from the Thought Leader website brains suggests that it would be ideal to post at least one blog entry a week from my fingertips to the aforementioned website. I wish I could do that; be more regular in meeting the “ideal”. But I don’t always have something to say. Well, actually there […]
The pitfalls of South African journalism:racism and capitalism
The biggest achievement of the recent Human Rights Commission hearing on the Forum of Black Journalists and racism in South African newsrooms has not only plunged the profession into its deepest crisis but got it to hang its dirty linen in the public. The heated debates and personal attacks among some of the players have […]
Young black journalist in confusion
Sitting in the forum held by the South African Human Rights Council (HRC) regarding recent issues regarding the Forum of Black Journalists (FBJ) and its subsequent fight with Talk Radio 702, I wondered whether anyone really understood the matter at hand. The fighting between the two over spilled into an attack on each other’s character: […]