2010 Football World Cup On UK TV and Satellite

The first batch of 2010 Football world cup matches to be shown on BBC and ITV have been announced.....

ITV1 will screen England's first two World Cup group games, against the USA and Algeria, when the tournament begins in South Africa in June

England's second game, against Algeria, who finished fourth in this year's African Cup of Nations, will also be shown in a primetime evening slot on ITV1

Only in South Africa

A little precursor to Braai Day

Only interpretable in South Africa

Some SEO needed!

It's never a good thing when a search for a political party ranks their opponents higher.

South African Banks on Facebook

The Facebook adoption by the big four SA banks is , in some cases rather interesting:

• ABSA have one fan page on Facebook with 2488 fans.
  Although an ABSA fan page, this has been geared more around the Currie Cup than actual banking. It's heavily branded with Currie Cup information, photo's and videos of their Currie Cup TV commercials. However they do seem to respond to wall posts made by their customers, even posting a TV ad script when requested.
  
  
  
  

• FNB have one fan page aimed at the their Premier Bankers with 73 fans.
  It's a very informative, has upcoming events, weekly economic updates from their chief economist and some interactive tools. They also appear to respond to posts, albeit they have only had two. I do find it odd that FNB have chosen this market (those earning R350k to R1mill a year) to target on Facebook though. If they are looking to keep things managable and niche, perhaps the student market would make more sense? They have made good use of Facebook for the various events they are naming sponsors for namely the FNB Classic Clashes, The Varsity Cup and Whiskey Live Festival
  



















• Nedbank has no banking consumer orientated Facebook presence. They do have a page dedicated to the Nedbank Local Heroes, where you can nominate a worthy cause or person for a R10 000.00 prize. A touch I like is the videos they have included of the nominated heroes.
  
  
  
  
  

• I couldn't find any evidence of Standard Bank having any official presence on Facebook other than someone who has setup up a persona with a Standard Bank logo.
  
  

It would seem that ABSA has a clear lead when it comes to using Facebook to interact and communicate to it's customers. The beauty of this platform, if they do this right, is the positive image the bank can portray to their customers, as well as those who are customers of other banking institutions, as they react timeously to queries, suggestions etc posted on the fan page wall . The public display of helpfulness is priceless PR. Of course, the opposite can also be true as they leave themselves open to public displays of unhappiness.

It's going to be interesting to see how corporate South Africa use Facebook and it's online social media competitors to connect to their clients.

Free-ish SMSes

There is a new free sms service that by all accounts actually is essentially free.
Mjoy is using advertising within it's interface to support a service which allows it's users to send text messages of any size for free to any mobile phone in the world. Being a mobile web-based service they are also able to, and do, offer a few enhanced services like conversation-sorted messaging ala-Gmail for easy following of to-and-fro sms conversations, multi-source contacts import and mobile video. Registration is simple and quick and the experience not hard to follow, even without reading through the help, and the messages are delivered just as rapidly as normal messages would. The only difference being an additional 'I am texting for free with http://mjoy.com' after your message. Importantly when they receive the message it appears as if you sent it, so when they reply it goes straight back to your phone.
For those who have 3G enabled phones with contracts with cost effective data plans this could change the way you communicate.
Just remember this is not 'free' as you are paying your service provider for the data you view, but this is a whole lot cheaper than sending smses.

Corporatocracy alive and well in SA?

It was with great interest I read a comment posted at the 'Living in Jozi' blog today. A seemingly innocuous, albeit valid , rant about the inability to view the IEC's elections.org website using anything else but "Microsoft Internet Explorer V4 (and upward) on the Windows operating system" to be able to access whatever information may be available on the site, seems to have unearthed a far greater issue than simple ineptness.

The anonymous commenter claims to be contractor within the IEC (Independent Electoral Commission) and while he points to internal systems problems, it is the alleged 'control' and resource 'milking' of the commission by Accenture that peaked my interest. I am just about finished John Perkin's best seller, Confessions of an Economic Hitman and the it must be said these allegations have a very familiar sound to them. The American corporatocracy culture appears to have become so instilled in the large companies that claim that "IEC is run by Accenture" ,while truthfully remains an unsubstantiated musing of a faceless anonymous internet commentator, has a fateful ring to it.
To take a half step back; Wikipedia describes Corporatocracy as a "neologism that describes a government dominated by corporate influence, banks, and governments." Perkin's claims that American corporates are a front for the USA's march towards global colonisation. They get their tentacles into their target country's halls of power through various means, that I won't go into here as the book is a good read, and eventually when the time is right the strings are pulled up and big daddy has one more puppet.

I have always happily lived under the hope that South Africa is not strategic enough to warrant this from happening here ... perhaps I was wrong ... or perhaps this is just one of those conspiracy theories ....

Watch the Markets Online

If, like me, you have followed the recent global economic movements with great interest, you have probably wanted to keep up with trends of the various indicators on hourly rather than daily basis. Of course the catch is to do this from a South African perspective.

I have found the best place to do this is Moneyweb.co.za. While the broadcast arm of the Moneyweb company has had a checkered past, channel-hopping as they have been given the run-around be SABC's radio executives, their online offering remains a great resource. But click on the the 'Daily Indicators' link on the frontpage's menu bar and the usefulness jumps as you get slightly delayed positions of all the major indexes, exchange rates and commodity prices.
Combine this with a litle intra-day graph you get a fantastic picture of the what the current days movements are. More than sufficient for the amateur market watcher.
An additional option which creates an interesting picture is the little menu under each graph which allows you to get a graphical view of whatever indicator you are currently analysing over various time spans. On the left you can see graphs of the JSE All Share, Rand/Dollar exchange rate and Brent Crude Oil price over the past 3 months. Interesting.

South Africa's Electric Car

I sincerely hope that this makes it into production. Optimal Energy, a privately owned South African company based in Cape Town, plans to start selling their electric 'baby' Joule in 2010 for between R200 000 and R250 000, and while locally this is a wee bit pricey it should be seen as a precursor for future, more affordable vehicles with more of a mass market appeal.
While we naturally suspect that we will not have the electricity to recharge our newly purchased Joule, we must remember our electricity shortfall only happens during peak usage hours, so we can happily plug our car in overnight with the knowledge that we are not over-burdening the national electricity grid.

SA's 'Xenocide' features on The DailySourceCode

Thanks to a link sent to 'The Podfather' Adam Curry by Derek 'The Bandit' Richardson, the South African anti-foreigner rampage has entered the consciousness of the worldwide independent media movement.
Take a listen as Adam responds to the news and pictures featured at The Times' website. (and, no Derek has not left the country)



Catch the full podcast here
The slideshow referenced : Flames of hate

Nokia snubs South Africa

I went check to out the highly rated new Nokia N96. (It's a beaut by the way). Clicking over to http://www.nseries.com/ I was greeting with a little pop-up box, asking if I was willing to spend a few minutes filling in a little questionnaire. Being the obliging fellow I am, I agreed.
Page one asked me for my sex and age. Page two for my country or region I currently reside.
Now I know South Africa may not be Nokia's biggest market, but I would think that we rank a little higher than, let's say Solomon Islands?

... needless to say I did not continue. (Still want to get my hands on a N96 though)

A quick look at SA's top 100 websites

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WatchSouth Africa / India Test Cricket live online

If, like me, you are feeling a little out of touch with the South Africa/India test series due to the lack of terrestial television coverage click here, to watch online.
[You will need to install this little add-on : Sopcast]

What you looking at?

How d’you tell the difference between someone just video-ing crowded place and someone who’s checking it out for a terrorist attack?

How can you tell if someone’s buying unusual quantities of stuff for a good reason or if they’re planning to make a bomb?

What’s the difference between someone just hanging around and someone behaving suspiciously?

How can you tell if they’re a normal everyday person, or a terrorist?

The answer is, you don’t have to.

If you call the confidential Anti-Terrorist Hotline on 0800 789 321, the specialist officers you speak to will analyse the information. They’ll decide if and how to follow it up.

You don’t have to be sure. If you suspect it, report it.

Call the Anti-Terrorist Hotline on 0800 789 321 in confidence.

This is the transcript of the radio ad campaign currently being flighted on London's main commercial radio stations.

It supplemented by a massive print campaign. Click here for more info on the campaign and the here to have a listen to the ad,

There has been much discussion online, in the media and around the braai's of South Africa about the future of country and various individual's future within the country. There are many understandable reasons people of rethinking their stance on the 'should I stay or should I go' debate.
My two cents worth in these discussions has always been;

1. "I am a proud South African and it's going to take a big push to get me out of this magnificent country. I accept that some of this bias is seen by some as being irrational, but that is something that that is built-in to my African DNA."
2. "Most if not all countries have their problems, their magnitude and effect differs dependnig on what you see as being important and part and parcel of life"
3. "If I was pushed, where would I go? There are many of the usual suspects that people flee to that I would never consider, I would much rather move to a fellow 3rd world country, where I can enjoy a simple, quality and preferrably slow, lifestyle."
4. "At least we know what we need to be scared or weary of"

The campaign above helps justify the final point and is , why the States and the UK will never become home to Eishman. There are millions of citizens of these, and other nations, that are petrified of something, many of the not sure of what and most, if not all, have no clue why. Massive propaganda campaigns have been prevalent, usually surreptitiously, that have allowed governments to quietly pass laws that have taken away citizens civil liberties without much resistance from the blindfolded populace..
Back to this particular campaign. The English are now been asked to report their neighbours who act suspiciously, have more than one cellphone, take too many pictures or engage in activities that do not fit into the norm of the neighbourhood. This in a country that already has thousands of CCTV cameras currently carrying out surveillance on it's unsuspecting citizenry, a country that is considering enforcing an open law that could mean the entire population will need to have their DNA logged on the a national database.

Is this really a place worth trading our motherland for?

South Africa produces another Oscar

Once again a South African has had a hand in producing an Academy award-winning film. 'Taxi to the dark side' won the 'Best documentary feature' Oscar last night. Directed and produced by Alex Gibney, and the executive producer was South African (and Capetonian) Don Edkins.

The doccie was part of the Why Democracy initiative, of which Don Edkins and his company Steps for the future were intimately involved.

"Over one hundred prisoners have died in suspicious circumstances in U.S. custody during the "war on terror". Taxi to the Dark Side takes an in-depth look at one case: an Afghan taxi driver called Dilawar who was considered an honest and kind man by the people of his rustic village. So when he was detained by the U.S military one afternoon, after picking up three passengers, denizens wondered why this man was randomly chosen to be held in prison, and, especially, without trial? Five days after his arrest Dilawar died in his Bagram prison cell. His death came within a week of another death of a detainee at Bagram. The conclusion, with autopsy evidence, was that the former taxi driver and the detainee who passed away before him, had died due to sustained injuries inflicted at the prison by U.S. soldiers. The documentary, by award-winning producer Alex Gibney, carefully develops the last weeks of Dilawar’s life and shows how decisions taken at the pinnacle of power in the Bush Administration led directly to Dilawar’s brutal death. The film documents how Rumsfeld, together with the White House legal team, were able to convince Congress to approve the use of torture against prisoners of war. Taxi to the Dark Side is the definitive exploration of the introduction of torture as an interrogation technique in U.S. facilities, and the role played by key figures of the Bush Administration in the process." (Taken from the Why Democracy website)

Check out the trailer below. I actually had a sneak peek about 18 months ago. It's controversial and hard hitting.

FNB's Michael Jordaan's turn to be positive

A few week's ago Iburst's CEO Alan Knott-Craig (jnr) sent a mail to his staff in response to the growing pessimism about the future of our great country. This letter spread virally and was even given time during a Mnet's Carte Blanche insert.
Yesterday it was the turn of Michael Jordaan, CEO of banking giant FNB, to deliver his message, entitled "Pride, Prejudice and Power". Here is an excerpt.

"Dear FNBers

Is it possible to be both proud of something, yet criticise it at the same time? Of course it is! Take any beaming parent for example. He or she will use every opportunity to tell others about his/her child’s achievements. At the same time, good parents are constructively critical when their child needs it. The thing that is consistent in both pride and criticism is the positive intent.


Exactly the same applies to our country or for that matter our company. Our value of Pride says that we are proudly South African or proud of FNB. Yet, that should not stop us from criticising.


I think the Eskom outages are a disaster for our economy and have done serious damage to the confidence in our young democracy. In any ordinary business venture there would be consequences for the incompetence we all had to / have to suffer. There, I’ve criticised.


But I’ve heard enough of the doom-and-gloom that has characterised South Africa over the last four weeks. And I am tired of the point-scoring politicians and told-you-so expatriates. Character is defined in bad times. Everything depends not on the national crisis itself, but on how we respond as a nation.


Change can either paralyse or energise. I choose the latter..."

Power crisis - Time for a conspiracy theory

There has been a surprising shortage of conspiracy theories surrounding the power crisis South Africa is currently contending with. So here's one for those that have an appetite for such things.

It's been widely reported that the CIA, and US President George Bush are concerned over the identified capability hackers have to shut down power grids. According to the UK's Telegraph.co.uk 'Tom Donahue told a utilities security conference in New Orleans all the successful hackings occurred outside America.' News24.com reported on the same issue on the 18th January this year, and also states that no details of the power cuts, the country in which they took place or when will be divulged. And this is not a new phenomenon, there are reports dating back to August 2003, of the problem.

The SA government, while projecting apologies the way only politicians can do, have up to now, refused to take action against any of those individuals responsible for the delivery and maintenance of our electricity supply. Couple this with the fact that, as Carte Blanche (video link) revealed, the real problem is not so much the increased demand but the massive shortages of supply and one can think that maybe are playing hardball with some cyber-terrorists.

How much could they be asking for?

Related Posts :

• 10 Power sketches
• Power problems affecting SA psyche
• Give Eskom the finger ... install your own nuclear reactor
  

10 Power sketches

If any of the images below are unclear, click on them to enlarge ... enjoy

New National Symbol

South Africa - Angola highlights

What a goal! Elrio you boykie