From Kommetjie to Cairo - 14 Feb 2011[Sindy Peters, Africa editor] I followed the revolution in Egypt since the first "Day of Anger" on 25 January right up to when Omar Suleiman, on Friday, 11 February at 6pm, addressed the Egyptian people announcing the departure of former president Hosni Mubarak. Naturally, my twitterfeed on Tweetdeck flooded almost instantaneously in spreading the word - so if you were sipping on your pina colada on the white sands of Mauritius with smartphone in hand, you probably got the news pretty soon too. read more Press freedom takes a knock in Egypt - 7 Feb 2011[Sindy Peters, Africa editor] It's been two weeks since anti-government Egyptians took to the streets of Cairo and other cities across the country calling for the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak. Last week however, we saw a nasty twist in developments as the media became the target of certain factions. read more Power to the African people - 31 Jan 2011[Sindy Peters, Africa editor] Is 2011 the year when Africa's citizens unite and with one voice let their leaders know enough is enough? Is 2011 the year when they decide they deserve better? Is it the year dictators step down from power and yield to the people. It sure does seem so. read more Thumbs up for MTV and democracy - 24 Jan 2011[Sindy Peters, Africa editor] If you live in a democratic society, voting for your leaders is one of your most important rights - if not the most important. Voting allows you the voice to choose how your country is run and to dismiss this right is a sincerely foolish thing to do. read more Media you can trust - 17 Jan 2011[Sindy Peters, Africa editor] I imagine that when a world icon like Nelson Mandela does pass away there will be international mourning as was with the death of Princess Diana in 1997. I was only 12 when the news broke of her death and I remember feeling a sudden sense of loss as if someone close to me had died. read more Let the rat race begin! - 10 Jan 2011[Sindy Peters, Africa editor] Wow! And we're off to a crazy start! Bizcommunity officially ended its silly season last Monday, but we're going at full throttle today as most staff report back to work. I had a restful, albeit short, break away from the office and hope you too took some time off to rejuvenate. read more See you in 2011! - 13 Dec 2010[Sindy Peters, Africa editor] From the number of "out of office" replies I've been receiving of late after sending out the daily newsletter, it's fair to say a large number of you are already in the festive mood and enjoying the silly season. It's been a fairly smooth year as everyone took recovering from the global economic crisis in their stride - some failed while some showed true resilience and today are flourishing. read more Africa, a winning nation - 6 Dec 2010[Sindy Peters, Africa editor] Africa has been recognising its successful media practitioners and businesses of late with numerous awards being handed out across the continent. Econet Wireless walked away last week with the much contested Zimbabwe Superbrand Award with Coca-Cola and Spar not trailing too far behind. read more Aspiring to more in Africa - 29 Nov 2010[Sindy Peters, Africa editor] Africa has many strong, innovative, capable thought-leaders across the continent. From educators to entrepreneurs, they inspire us all to aspire to more. read more C'mon Zim, time to get it together - 22 Nov 2010[Sindy Peters, Africa editor] Just when the world thought Zimbabwe was on its way to a home run with the inclusive government set on levelling economic affairs and developments implemented to further press plurality and freedom, the country has been caught out again facing a string of violations against media freedom. I can only imagine this is due to the possibility of national elections being hosted next year that could see vast changes for the country if those elections are free and fair. Change is good, but in Zimbabwe's case, change will be great - and change can only come for the better if human rights are upheld and if freedom of expression is honoured. read more Media must empower citizens - 15 Nov 2010[Sindy Peters, Africa editor] The media play a pivotal role during election time - it has the power to sway citizens into voting for a specific candidate. Plenty of effort should be made to ensure journalists are well-trained and experienced enough to remain objective in coverage during the build-up to electoral proceedings. read more The evolving everyday-ness of everyday - 8 Nov 2010[Sindy Peters, Africa editor] The internet is evolving faster than you think, but don't be disconcerted - this makes it even easier to jump onto the bandwagon because nothing is static for too long - what's new now might be old news soon. After recently discovering the wonders of the Twitterverse, I now appreciate being updated throughout the day with what's going on beyond my laptop. read more Sweets instead of change? - 1 Nov 2010[Sindy Peters, Africa editor] Would you accept sweets instead of change after a round of shopping? I certainly would not and I'd like to think most people would think the very idea preposterous, but these are the circumstances that Zimbabweans must endure as retailers in the recovering country refuse to take coins from banks. Retailers are not willing to accept the South African rand coins at the official exchange rate from banks and are essentially holding the economy and consumers to ransom. read more Know thy social media - 25 Oct 2010[Sindy Peters, Africa editor] With the rise of social media, companies are slowly but surely losing more and more control over the shape of their brands. Take for instance the recent GAP case in which the company's new logo was heavily criticised in the online domain by consumers. read more Keep your private life private - 18 Oct 2010[Sindy Peters, Africa editor] For some, privacy is a huge concern when it comes to their online profiles on the various social media platforms. The key is to either make sure that the platform you choose to use is serious about keeping your information private and that you choose the best privacy settings for you, or don't include your personal information online. read more |
