MyNews24 has jumped from the 5th spot on Mark’s Twitter News Ranking Index to 1st. In a month. The road to success seems to be very much in line with a recent column MarkLives published on how news organisations can effectively use Twitter.
Category archives: Tech
2009 South African Blog Awards – Nominations open
Nominations are now open for the 2009 South African Blog Awards! The SA blog awards is a showcase of the very best of South African blogs.
SA gamers punk’d by new broadband provider
The truth is out – the debate that has been raging across the South African gaming community (see below) about who are better gamers – boys or girls – was in fact a marketing campaign planted by new IS broadband provider PLuGG. PLuGG targeted the gaming community as a core niche in its customer base. It planted posts on gaming forums and blogs, and even put out YouTube videos supporting one side or the other, with the help of agency Hello World. PLuGG conceived the campaign to conclude around a first-of-its-kind Girls vs. Guys Game-Off event that was held at the end of 2008.
Gmail on the Gfailure
Google has posted an official notice on its blog regarding the world-wide failure of Gmail earlier today:
Quick fix: How to open a docx file without Office 2007
If you Google that question you find a number of sites explaining that docx files (Office 2007 files) cannot be opened by Office Word 2003 or earlier and that you will need to download install all 27 megs of a compatibility pack made available by Microsoft. There are also several online document converters that supposedly convert docx files to PDF or doc files but in my experience they either don’t deliver or they charge.
The simplest way to open a docx file is to email it to your Gmail.com account, and then to view the file as html, which lets Gmail do all the converting, and save you a lot of hassle!
Coca-Cola Company responds to MyCoke.co.za closure
MarkLives.com contacted and received the following statement from Kaizer M. Nyatsumba, Public Affairs and Communications Director for Coca-Cola South Africa, regarding the closure of popular MY Coke Fest blog MyCoke.co.za. The blog was set up South African blogger Jason Bagley who announced the blogs closure earlier this week following legal action taken by The Coca-Cola Company.
SA Newspapers sees growth in followers on Twitter
MarkLives is tracking SA newspapers using Twitter to try and gauge which if any are implementing strategies that could benefit both users (followers in Twitter tongue) and publication. We published the first data in December last year.
Photoshop CS4: a quick tour
The guys at Adobe must derive much perverse pleasure from keeping us mortals on our toes, or perhaps they’re just a particularly motivated bunch of guys. I’m not sure, but just when you thought it was OK to sit back, relax and sink your teeth into CS3, Creative Suite 4 parades across our software landscape amidst much fanfare and mouse-clicking.Adobe’s latest incarnation is packed with new features that will no doubt entice the most reticent of users to reach for their wallets.
Steve Jobs doesn’t like seams it seems
Steve Jobs doesn’t like seams. I know this because the 15-inch MacBook Pro sitting in front of me is largely devoid of the seams common to earlier aluminium MacBook Pros. In fact, the main chassis around which this newest of Apple’s laptops is built is carved out of a solid block of aluminium using a new process that, according to Apple officials, creates lighter, stronger, more environmentally friendly machines.
Zapiro show seeks new platform online
The producers of Z News, a news satire co-developed by award winning South African cartoonist Zapiro, is seeking alternative distribution channels after the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) pulled the plug on the show before the pilot even aired. The SABC reportedly spent close to R1 million on development before the show got canned. Zapiro is often criticised by senior government figures for his politically inconvenient views of Zuma and other members of the ANC leadership.