Contributors A-Z | Top contributors | Edit profile

Amanda Sevasti: Columnist

Amanda Sevasti is the content and social media manager at 4D Euro RSCG. She was a through-the-line copywriter for eight years, working at both Ogilvy and Draftfcb, but finds the online side of advertising a lot more fun. Amanda also freelances for various publications and has a Mail & Guardian Thought Leader blog. She will one day be buried with her MacBook and iPhone.

RECENT POSTS

• The other WikiLeaks: 8 whistleblowing sites you probably don’t know about

  Last year a website called WikiLeaks and a man called Julian Assange made the world’s most powerful governments quiver in fear. No army or diplomacy could stop revelation after revelation, as classified communiqués and documents were placed online for the world to read.The goal of WikiLeaks, to reveal the truth, may have been noble, but it was criticised for putting lives at risk by revealing sensitive information. The dubious rape charges against Assange also dented the organisation’s image. But ...

• 10 things you should know about Instagram

  Instagram has captured the hearts of iPhone users around the world with its elegant design, filters that turn any photo into a potential work-of-art, and -- most importantly -- integrated social sharing that’s quick and easy.It’s enjoyed one of the most successfully launches ever for an iPhone app and is adding 130 000 users a week. The incredible thing is that it’s not even eight months old. Here’s what you should know about this hot new app.It was originally called ...

• 7 reasons people opt out of Facebook

  Not being on Facebook in 2011 has become a bit like not having a cellphone in 2001. In the early noughties there were a few renegade members of the old-school who got sick of being constantly available and threw their Nokias in the river.Today we have those who delete their Facebook accounts or refuse to have one at all. And I’m not talking about the over-40s, but Millenials who’ve grown up online. In this super-connected age, why do they ...

• Social networking: A fun cocktail party not a psychologist’s couch

  Projecting a brave and blissful face to the world when your wife has left you and you’ve been retrenched is nothing new. People have been “keeping up appearances” for hundreds of years.But in the social media age, this has taken on whole new proportions and become a daily pressure (or pleasure).Of course, creating an online persona is one of the wonderful things about the digital space. Real-life introverts often find the freedom to express themselves vociferously via social media ...

• Whatever happened to the floppy disk? 8 tech blasts from the past

  Modern philosophers have suggested that the rate of technological innovation increases exponentially (see Moore's Law). That means most of us, even those under 25, remember a certain tool or product that was once vital and is now just a faded memory.Here’s a look at what happened to a few icons of the late 20th century, many of them the forerunners and trailblazers of today’s digital world.Wordperfect In the late 80s and early 90s, Wordperfect was the automatic choice when it ...

• 12 ways to get the most from your business Twitter account

  Twitter's potential as a business tool is finally being realised on a massive scale. Some companies are increasing brand loyalty, launching new products and growing fast – all thanks to clever tweeting. Others are confused about how to use the medium or downright dismissive.Of course, not all businesses need to be on Twitter, but if you offer any product or service that the average person might use, then you probably should be. Here’s how can you take advantage:Listen, listen, ...

• Does your brand even need a website anymore?

  The move to social media is the most important shift in digital marketing since the birth of the internet. In the same way that CRM was the buzzword of the 90s, social media is the touchstone of the noughties and the teens.Gone are the days of big and costly interactive websites. More and more people are choosing to communicate with their brands via social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Many discover brands via these channels too. Of course ...

• 5 ways to restore your damaged online reputation

  At a recent debate entitled, “The wild wild web – who polices the internet?” South Africa’s most famous political cartoonist, Jonathan Shapiro (better known as Zapiro) spoke about a racist, right-wing website that had published some of his work.They had used it out of context in order to support their agenda. His concern was that people would find the site when searching for him and think that he endorsed their beliefs.Unfortunately the web is pretty wild and we have ...

• Facebook: Emerging market countries surge into the top 10

  Only a year or two ago, developed countries were dominating Facebook, but in terms of growth it’s the developing economies that are taking giant leaps forward in Facebook numbers. While the United States seems to have hit a plateau, the emerging markets are going from strength to strength.India has moved up three spots in just two months, while Mexico and the Philippines feature strongly too. It seems fair to assume that as online access increases, so will the Facebook ...

• Memorable tweets of 2010: BP, Aussies, WikiLeaks, Palin, Vuvuzela, Pigspotter

  The World Cup, the BP Gulf oil spill, Wikileaks, the launch of the iPad, Chilean miners... 2010 was a year with plenty of opportunities for online witticisms and criticisms. The 140-character-enforced brevity of Twitter means that it often distilled a current topic down to its essence. The phrase, “Did you see that tweet about…” became as common as the sound of vuvuzelas during this year.Selecting the best tweets was no easy task: There were more than two-billion tweets posted ...

• Read more articles... »