Know thy social mediaWith 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. This led to GAP reverting to its old logo. Consumers have more of a say in brand-building and they sure can make a loud noise when they're not happy - the volume grows when it's on a public platform accessible to anyone at anytime - there's no hiding from an opposing group in today's digital world. A very similar case happened in South Africa last week with Woolworths when the company took a strategic business decision to remove some of the poor-performing religious magazines from its shelves. Some consumers took deep offence and ranted on the Woolies Facebook page calling for a boycott of all Woolworths products and stores. Within 24 hours the retailer released a statement saying it reconsidered its decision and the said magazines would remain on sale. I'm not sure if this was a good move - being swayed by emotional reasoning rather than rational business sense. It's clear though that companies need to now always take into consideration the active consumer who's armed with social media platforms that could make or break your reputation. Companies also need to think long and hard before reacting rather than just rolling over immediately after the outcry. Management at every level needs to attend a course on handling social media negativity if they're to survive a butting of heads with the online consumer. Cheers, Sindy Peters, Africa editor
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Special focus on media freedom
NEW YORK: The Committee to Protect Journalists has expressed its alarm by a recent statement from Swaziland's Prime Minister, Barnabas Sibusiso Dlamini, announcing his intention to create a law requiring newspaper columnists to seek permission before they write critically about the government. Read more >>Advertisement:
NEW YORK: A popular Angolan radio commentator, whose satirical broadcasts have been critical of the government, was injured in a stabbing on Friday morning, 22 October 2010, in the capital city of Luanda, according to local journalists and news reports. Read more >>NEW YORK: The Committee to Protect Journalists has expressed its grave concern regarding the health of imprisoned Tunisian journalist Fahem Boukadous and has called upon the Tunisian government to release him immediately. Read more >>JOHANNESBURG: The International Press Institute (IPI) joined South Africa in commemorating 'Black Wednesday' earlier this week by participating in the annual National Media Freedom Day at Wits University. This year's Black Wednesday events holds particular relevance in light of recent debates centering on the government-proposed Media Appeals Tribunal and the Protection of Information Bill. Read more >>Reporters without Borders has released its Press Freedom Index for 2010. The Horn of Africa is still the region on the continent with the least press freedom and Eritrea is at the bottom of the world ranking for the fourth consecutive year, with Sudan and Rwanda not far ahead. South Africa is slipping, too. Read more >>[Tom Rhodes] Though it has been a dark year for Rwanda's press, it has also been a year of resistance and turning to a new sort of reporting - from exile. Ever since Rwandan authorities began cracking down on the nation's independent press before the presidential elections in August, the space for critical reporting has been dissipating. Read more >> CAIRO: According to the International Press Institute (IPI), Egyptian authorities have introduced a host of new regulations ahead of parliamentary elections, to be held on 29 November 2010, in an apparent attempt to clamp down on independent media. Read more >>Branding
[Dumisani Ndlela] Zimbabwe has launched a fresh brand war cry, or a tourism destination brand, as they are calling it in hospitality circles: "Zimbabwe - A world of wonders". It is part of national rebranding efforts being spearheaded by Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara to help reshape the image of the country. Read more >> Cinema
[Janine Erasmus] Africa will be the main attraction at a film festival, which runs from 21 October to 5 November in Edinburgh, Scotland. The 2010 Africa in Motion (AiM) Film Festival is the fifth edition of its kind, with this year's productions sharing themes of celebration, freedom and independence, according to festival organisers. Read more >> Digital
JOHANNESBURG: The 2010 World e-Parliament Conference officially opened at the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) in Midrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. The event ran from 21-22 October 2010 under the theme 'Mind the gap: the impact of the digital divide on parliament and democracy' with delegates from five continents attending. Read more >>[Tara Turkington] Who is Jabulani the Octopus? When did it last snow on Table Mountain? What does a kudu sound like when it is dying? Why should we care about Australopithecus sediba? What happens when a whale jumps on your boat? And what in the world does any of this have to do with online destination marketing? Read more >> [Staff reporter] Google has pledged to strengthen its privacy and security practices after its "Street View" mapping service gathered private wireless data, including emails and passwords, in dozens of countries. Read more >> Max-Philipp Deitmer has been appointed head of digital analytics EMEA at MediaCom. He will be supporting regional and local clients in selecting, establishing and optimising website-analytics solutions and will oversee their integration into holistic reports. Read more >>[Nur Bremmen] The number of Internet users worldwide have doubled in the past five years and will surpass the two billion mark in 2010, with most of the growth coming from emerging markets, says the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Read more >> WASHINGTON: Many popular applications on Facebook are violating the social network's rules and transmitting identifying information about users to advertising and Internet tracking companies, The Wall Street Journal reported. Read more >>Education and Training
PRETORIA: The development of African languages at South Africa's higher education institutions are critical for the future of the country's education system, Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande said on Friday (22 October 2010). Read more >>Eventing
Accra, Ghana will be hosting an international business conference and exhibition aimed at growing businesses, promoting an enabling environment for the private sector as well as creating jobs and alleviating poverty. The event, Business Sense 2011 takes place at the Accra International Conference Centre from 25-26 February 2011. Read more >>Media
The Africa Editor's Forum (TAEF) elected Cheriff Sy, publishing director of Bendre and media analyst in Burkina Faso as its new chairperson at its biannual conference held in Mali, 14-16 October 2010. The conference hosted over 190 senior African editors, editorial executives and media trainers from 36 countries. Read more >>A dozen-odd journalists from across the SADC region attended a media workshop from 10-13 October 2010 in Maun, Botswana, to consider how to better write about policy, people and practice in the water sector. The training coincided with SADC's Multi-Stakeholder Water Dialogue meeting from 12-13 October. Read more >>[Staff reporter] The Pentagon on Monday urged media outlets not to publish secret military files on Iraq obtained by WikiLeaks, as the website vowed to release the secret documents "very soon". Read more >> Mobile
[Dumisani Ndlela] Zimbabwe's smallest cellular network operator NetOne Cellular is wriggling to extricate itself from a financial crisis, with sources indicating the company had punched a financial black hole after being deserted by contract subscribers last year. Read more >> The African continent has a total population of a billion people and 500 000 of these are cellphone users, says Deon Liebenberg, regional director for sub-Sahara Africa at BlackBerry phone manufacturer Research in Motion (RIM). Read more >>[Nur Bremmen] While South Africa's teachers were on strike in September, volunteers used the country's largest social network to help students prepare for exams. If you think they turned to Facebook, you would be wrong. Read more >> [Erik Hersman] India has sent a clear message that it is watching Africa closely, especially after the impressive US$10.7-billion move by Indian telecoms giant Bharti Airtel to take over Zain Africa's mobile operations in 15 countries. Speaking recently at Kenya's technology centre, iHub, Ankit Rawal, head of African advertising for mobile advertiser inMobi, spent some time explaining why Africa is at the centre of mobile's global growth, backing it up with solid research. Read more >> Islamist militant group al-Shabab said on Monday (18 October 2010) it would ban all mobile phone cash transfers in Somalia. The rebels released a statement ordering three local mobile phone companies which have developed the popular service in the country to stop mobile money transfers within three months. Read more >>[Gregory Gondwe] Zain Malawi has announced plans to invest US$100m in its extension drive as it prepares to penetrate rural areas over the next three years. Zain Malawi MD, Saulos Chilima said as part of the investment the company will erect 150 network signal towers in the next 12 months to increase coverage. Read more >> Research
Students at the University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB) in South Africa are to be the first in Africa to benefit from the use of new intelligent software, SenseMaker after the business school teamed up with global software firm Cognitive Edge and its sole SA distributor The Narrative Lab. Read more >>Retail
Global brewing giant SABMiller Plc said Monday (18 October 2010) that it has recommenced reporting the results of its Zimbabwe associate, Delta Corporation with effect from 1 April 2010. The business contributed total beverage volumes in the six months to September 2010 of 1.0 million hectolitres, including lager volumes of 0.3 million hectolitres. Read more >>WASHINGTON: Coca-Cola's profits rose 8% in the third quarter versus the same period last year, amid growth in its still drinks and international businesses. Profits rose to $2.1 billion, up from 1.9 in the third quarter of 2009. Read more >>Ministers will meet at the Conference of African Ministers of Agriculture (CAMA), under the theme, 'Delivering on Africa's agriculture development agenda', from 26-29 October 2010 in Lilongwe, Malawi. The conference is organised by the Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture (REA) of the African Union Commission (AUC), together with the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency (NPCA), in collaboration with the Government of Malawi. Read more >>Sales
Rani R. Raad, former SVP of CNN International Ad Sales, EMEA has been appointed SVP and MD of CNN International Ad Sales and Business Development. In the new role, effective immediately, Raad will work with the regional sales heads to develop a global commercial strategy, aimed at growing the CNN client portfolio. Read more >>TV
[Dumisani Ndlela] Multichoice Zimbabwe has been forced to allow free viewing of the country's state-owned broadcasting channel, ZBC TV 1, as election fever grips the country after a fall-out between principals in the inclusive government. Read more >> [Andreas Pouros] Finding a good story for Google in China is going to be tough - Screen Digest's figures from earlier this year show Google accounted for 33% share of the Chinese search market, behind Baidu. Read more >> NUREMBURG, GERMANY: Latest findings of Media Control GfK International show that release of movie boosts sales of book on which it was based. Read more >>HONG KONG, CHINA: comScore, Inc announced yesterday, 21 October 2010, that it will offer free participation in Media Metrix 360 to online publishers in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Read more >>PARIS, FRANCE/ LONDON, UK: In line with its strategy of providing PR and corporate communicators with the tools to engage their audiences on a global basis, the acquisition of Hors Antenne by PR Newswire aims to significantly strengthen its reach in the European French-speaking markets. Read more >> More International news...
SOUTH AFRICA Tokara Wine Made Art celebrates Africa MoreSOUTH AFRICA Friday Night at RTD 2010 MoreSOUTH AFRICA RTD 2010 After Party More[Henrie Geyser: motoring editor] Mercedes-Benz has dabbed some fresh make-up and applied the nip and tuck scalpel to freshen up the looks of its revamped, family-hauling R-Class station wagon and it has also added some new high tech goodies. Read more >> [Henrie Geyser: motoring editor] In off-road terrain combat Nissan has proved its ability over and over with its tough Navara - and now this veteran of bundu-bashing is set to become an even more respected opponent, thanks to an almighty new V6 3.0-litre diesel linked to the first seven-speed automatic transmission in the 1-ton market segment. Read more >> [Henrie Geyser: motoring editor] Each year, Nissan produces more than a million V6 engines, making the company the most prolific V6 producer in the world. The VQ series of petrol V6 engines fitted on vehicles such as the Murano, 370Z, Pathfinder and Navara have won many accolades and fans over the years. Read more >> More Motoring news...
More Travel news...
Spur's 2010 School Mountain bike league had more than 2100 participants, with over 115 riders from 18 schools across five provinces competing in the finals on Saturday, 16 October, 2010, during the annual Dirt Festival at the Rietvlei Farm, near Alberton. Read more >>The original Public Enemy line-up: Chuck D, Flavor Flav, Professor Griff and the Security of the First World will be playing a series of gigs in Joburg and Cape Town between 2 and 9 December, 2010, but the final dates are still to be advised. Read more >>[Bonga Percy Vilakazi] This week, Bonga Percy Vilakazi looks at some of soul music's finest releases Read more >> U2 will return to South Africa for the first time since 1998 and will stage live concerts in the FIFA World Cup stadia in both Johannesburg and Cape Town. Two dates are scheduled for February, 2011, as part of the U2 360° Tour. Read more >> More BizLounge news...
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- The essential elements of a profitable business Cinao Business Mentors cc - Bedfordview, 28 October
- A practical workshop for screenwriters The Writing Studio - Cape Town, 30 October
- Oracle at the SAOUG conference 2010 SAOUG - Cape Town, 31 October
- Ebony launches 'In Still Light' - Marc Stanes JP Inc Communications - Franschhoek, 31 October
- Customer service 101 for entrepeneurs Viljoen Consulting - Johannesburg, 2 November
- Project management seminar South African Association of Project Professionals - Johannesburg,Fourways, 3 November
- Think Sales sales leadership conference 2010 ThinkSales Corporation (Pty) Ltd - Johannesburg, 3 November
- TV acting workshop Prime Time Communications - Johannesburg, 13 November
- Enterprise architecture bootcamp Real IRM - Johannesburg, 22 November
- Marketing for non-marketers *mdp marketing and Twenty3Media - Stellenbosch, 25 November
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"Energy and persistence alter all things." - Benjamin Franklin "There are three kinds of people; those that make things happen, those that watch things happen and those who don't know what's happening." - Proverb "Motivation is the art of getting people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it." - Dwight D Eisenhower
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