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Herman Manson (@marklives)

The inaugural Vodacom Social Media Journalist of the Year in 2011, Herman Manson (@marklives) is a freelance business journalist and media commentator who blogs at www.marklives.com and his writing has appeared in newspapers and magazines locally and abroad. He also co-founded Brand magazine and is a columnist for BizCommunity.com.

RECENT POSTS

• Media corrections and our social reputations

  The modern news cycle has been diminished to a matter of minutes -- even less on services like Twitter. And it seems to just keep speeding up.As newsrooms become increasingly hard pressed to produce news content quickly -- very quickly -- they find themselves facing an audience that demands near immediate reporting on events and expects that reporting to be factually correct.But journalists make mistakes too and maybe as a profession it has sold itself into the 'we are relevant ...

• Occupy Twitter in the name of the global citizen

  Twitter can now censor tweets by country. National borders, drawn on paper and defended with razor wire and guns in the physical world, now have a presence on the internet as well. You won't find politicians complaining -- but maybe the rest of us should.It was interesting to see how Twitter decided to break the news of its new localised censorship policy -- in the name of transparency of course -- by framing it through the blighted heritage of the ...

• Magazine mindset undermines tablet opportunity

  The rush by media owners to embrace tablets borders on the unseemly. And who can blame them given the continued decline of print revenue and resistance by folk to pay for content on the internet. Tablets, we are told, are much closer to print magazines than to the free-for-all interwebs.Publishers like tablets because they bring people back into "closed" environments through apps. Closing the circle and getting people to "stick" around on one media property was also the purpose of ...

• Mandela ‘death’ hoax exposes weakness of Twitter as news platform

  The retweet didn't kill the newsman, after all. As it turns out, the growth of Twitter simply reiterates the essential role of journalists in sifting through and filtering the rumour mill that hangs around the neck of the information economy. And a good thing it is, too.This past weekend, users on social network Twitter inadvertently spread a rumour that Nelson Mandela had died. Many contributed to its spread by asking in tweets whether the rumour of his death was correct, ...

• Emerging market journos embrace social media, unlike Western news brands

  The stringent social media policies adapted by some Western newsrooms indicate an inflexibility in adapting to a changed information and news environment. This has left the door open for journalists in developing economies to step up and drive adoption of social media tools in journalism.Important US-based papers such as the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal are choosing to restrict use of social networks by journalists. These are papers with proud journalistic traditions which have helped define modern journalism.An ...

• What WikiLeaks means for a government’s assault on media freedom

  What happens when a government moves to clamp down on media freedom? It might simply force journalists in that country to adopt the WikiLeaks model when it comes to publishing sensitive information. Here's an example: The South African government recently announced a triple play to clamp down on media freedom in that country, a move which may force journalists to a model akin to WikiLeaks. Concern is mounting over the country's proposed apartheid-inspired Protection of Information Bill, which will give government ...

• The rise of eBooks and the myth of affordability

  Major drum roll from the guys at Amazon.com for their announcement that "Amazon.com customers now purchase more Kindle books (eBooks) than hardcover books." The group went on to claim that for every 100 hardcover books sold, it has sold 143 Kindle books, and also announced that Stieg Larsson, author of the Millenium Trilogy, has sold one million Kindle books.The statistics given out by the giant online retailer don't look quite so amazing when put in proper context. In fact, quite ...

• When tweeting an opinion is a fireable offence, media loses

  Last week CNN fired one of its senior editors, Octavia Nasr, after she paid her respects in a tweet following the death of a controversial Lebanese Shia cleric.The cleric in question, Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah, has been associated with Hezbollah, which is deemed a terrorist organisation by most Western governments.The tweet that cost Nasr her job read "Sad to hear of the passing of Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah.. One of Hezbollah's giants I respect a lot.. #Lebanon."She ...

• Twitter breaks news, but will it break journalism?

  Twitter's value to breaking news quickly and efficiently is beyond doubt, but the accuracy of the news being reported is far from perfect.This weekend, Twitter was abuzz with the news that South Africa’s former national police commissioner, Jackie Selebi, was found guilty of both charges he was facing. But the initial buzz on Twitter was wrong, or at least not 100% accurate.At first it was reported on Twitter that he was found guilty on charges of corruption and obstruction of justice. What happened ...

• The future of mobile app development lies in simplicity

  With the move of computing power away from the desktop to cellphones and other mobile devices, computing is becoming increasingly intimate and integrated into daily life.In his latest book, "Mobile Mania", Simon Silvester (EVP Head of Planning at Young and Rubicam and Executive Planning Director, Wunderman Europe Middle East and Africa), argues that computings’ new intimacy, driving as it does aspects of our social, shopping, travel and personal communication, offers amazing opportunities for mobile app developers and entrepreneurs.Memeburn.com ...

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