Archive
Opinions
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When Has a One Night Stand Ever Been a Great Idea?
May 28, 2013
The setting is all right, you look great, your confidence level is at a record high and you almost feel invincible. You tell yourself that you just going to try it out and that it does not have to be serious. So you flirt and you engage and all goes exactly according to plan and for that brief moment in time everything is perfect. But as quickly as you got into bed – you jump...
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Mobile Turns Out Tops at the World Economic Forum
May 15, 2013
Be it financial inclusion, education, healthcare or social reform, mobile was the key word associated with discussions around these topics at the World Economic Forum on Africa 2013, held in Cape Town this past week. Mobile is perhaps a distinctly African opportunity. The fact is that more people have mobile phones in Africa than they have bank accounts. Africa has more than 650 million mobile phone subscribers, which is more than the US or the...
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Working Women – Their Own Worst Enemies?
May 13, 2013
The debate around the penetration of women into executive positions across public and private sector remains a healthy one, and one that it would seem no concrete solution has yet to be found. Attending the ‘Working Women: from Talent to Leadership’ session at the World Economic Forum on Africa 2013 last week I was struck by two initial thoughts. Firstly, just how few men there were in the audience – the brave few in this...
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NEWS FROM WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM
May 10, 2013
Shaping norms and values in Social Media – Democracy is messy, certainly in the media space On May 8, I was asked to participate in a panel discussion around ‘Shaping Norms and Values of Social Media’, I was to share the World Economic Forum stage with Minister of Communications Dina Pule, the Executive Chairman of MultiChoice, Nolo Letele and two highly regarded representatives from Africa...
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Communications in a Time of Conflict
May 3, 2013
In a time of war, whether declared or not, how much access do you, as a citizen, have to critical information? After the recent debacle in the Central African Republic there was an outcry from the general public that they should have had greater access to sensitive information relating to the SANDF operations in the CAR. But where is the line. How much information can you share with the general public to keep them happy...
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The Rise of the ‘Authentic Voice’ in Crisis Communications
April 30, 2013
One of the challenges that all communicators experience during a crisis is balancing transparency and the need for authentic responses with the requirements of legal teams protecting a business’s liability when trouble comes knocking. Recently we saw a crisis explode on Twitter pertaining to a large global brand. The legal team took too long to approve the recommended responses to those defaming the brand on this most public of forums. The result was that the...
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State Information Bill Close to Becoming Law Amid Fierce Opposition
April 26, 2013
South Africa’s controversial Protection of State Information Bill, so-called the Secrecy Bill by its detractors, was finally passed by Parliament yesterday. It now awaits President Jacob Zuma’s signature to become law. The main objective of the bill, according to State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele, is to protect state security. He says it is needed to enable government to better regulate the handling of sensitive state information, combat the peddling of such information and counter espionage...
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Don’t Like What People Are Saying About You? Then Change It.
April 25, 2013
Ah, life used to be so much easier for companies in the good old days before The Digital Revolution came and took over the world. They controlled the world: they could tell people what they did, and what they should think about them. How times have changed. Radically. Irrevocably. Suddenly, people buy stuff based on what they think of a company as much as the product itself – and those perceptions are being shaped by...
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Content Marketing – When Your Opinions Are Really Valued
April 23, 2013
As the media space in South Africa continues to contract and adapt, media traction for clients is becoming increasingly difficult. This is the reason the idea of ‘content marketing’ is taking over; positioning itself as the rescuer of all things not getting into the press on their own steam. In light of this trend, below are my thoughts on what constitutes good ‘content marketing’, and elements that should be taken into account during its development...
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I Just Can’t ‘Belieb’ It
April 15, 2013
So the world of communications has irrevocably changed - on that all communicators agree - but just how much damage is being caused by the power of social and online media in the hands of the wrong influencers? If the recent Justin Bieber debacle at Anne Frank's house is anything to go by I would say there is room for some serious concern. For those who haven't followed the story, the 'teenage superstar' Bieber commented...