With 2009 coming to a very rapid end The Digital Edge decided to take a look back into the year that was with commentry by local web celebrities. What news stories shocked them the most and what technological advances tweaked their interest in 2009? Find out in daily posts or listen to the podcast.
Elan Lohmann, GM, Avusa Media Online
TDE: As someone in the publishing industry, what trends were big in 2009?
Elan: One of the exciting things for me in 2009 was the release of the Kindle in South Africa. Beyond reading books, for me as a publisher, there have been this and a lot of other developments in this area and I believe the future lies in touch and eventually having digital paper.
On a more personal note, laptops are getting smaller and sexier. It’s really a trend I’ve noticed that high flyers have always had to have as small a notebook as possible, which is perfect on the plane, easy to carry around. I’ve noticed a trend amongst these tiny laptops and this promotes mobility. Mobility then in turn promotes a need for wireless connectivity. Skyrove has done quite well this year, there’s a bunch of other companies such as IS hotspots but you’re starting to find wireless hotspots more easily than you did before and I think in 2009 that was quite characteristics.
Other quick things were Bing being released and another big trends were a statistic I heard that fifty percent of South Africans were booking their flights online. I suppose this stands to reason as if you fly you probably have a credit card and the money to get online. However, it’s still fantastic to see people identifying online as a way to manage their lives.