Can a brick-and-mortar retail business use the internet to grow its customer base, increase sales and improve repeat business? I believe that it can -- and I'd like to show you how.Have you ever wondered what the hardest part is of running a business? For most business owners, it's finding clients. In a world deeply mired by a recession more and more people are turning to self-employment to put food on the table.The problem is that most engineers, accountants, lawyers, ...

Banking is an area that, sadly, none of us can really get away from. It touches all of us at least twice a month -- the day your salary goes in, and then the day all the debit orders go off. But how are banks in an emerging market like South Africa trying to integrate with people's daily lives, and how are they using the available tools to interact with their customers and learn from them on a daily ...

With over 800 million users worldwide, Facebook has all but annihilated its oldest, closest rival Myspace, and left cyberspace littered with the remnants of social networking start-ups that tried to match its success. But how?What made Facebook so much better, and how did it manage to topple a company like Myspace which was expected to generate over US$1-billion in 2007? Overall, Facebook had a number of key successes which helped to elevate its status from young upstart to ...

Renowned US billionaire Warren Buffett announced that his Berkshire Hathaway investment firm has been quietly buying up shares in technology giant IBM to the tune of US$10.7-billion since March this year.Speaking to television network CNBC, Buffet said that his company's investment in IBM amounts to about 64-million shares, or a 5.5% stake.If accurate, the investment would see Berkshire Hathaway become IBM's second biggest shareholder, behind investment advisory group State Street. The 81-year-old Buffett, sometimes called the "Sage ...

American multinational internet publisher Yahoo has been quietly approaching South African publishers and advertisers over the past four months in preparation for re-entering the country.The site had a visible presence in South Africa in the late 90s but pulled out of the country for unknown reasons. Now the company wishes to make another play for South African audiences.Yahoo has a presence in key emerging market BRIC countries, including Brazil, Russia, India and China. It does not have a dedicated presence ...

If you thought that being the winner of a Man Booker Prize or having one of the highest profiles in the world of literature would exempt you from Facebook’s real name policy, as Salman Rushdie learnt, think again.Rushdie, whose full name is Ahmed Salman Rushdie, has won a tussle with Facebook over his profile page on the social network.The ruckus began when Facebook -- believing it was a hoax -- deactivated Rushdie's Facebook account. Rushdie then submitted a copy ...

I have cognitive dissonance over the term "Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D)". This term, “ICT4D,” is confusing, hypocritical, and has a whiff of condescension that makes me cringe.As I understand it, it’s what NGOs do in places like Africa and Asia, but if the same things are done in poor communities in the US or Europe, it's not called ICT4D, it’s called "civil society innovation" or a "disruptive product".I'll be the first to say that I think more ...

Twitter recently finished adding the final touches to a more "Facebook-like" interface. Users on Twitter can now see who "likes" their posts and discover what their followers are doing.In a recent blog post, Twitter said, "You can now see when someone favourites (likes) or retweets one of your Tweets. You can also learn which Tweets are most interesting and inspiring to the people you follow."Using the "Activity tab", users now have the option of viewing any interactions between themselves ...

Up until recently, making offensive comments online was a bit like peeing in a crowded swimming pool, cheeky and somewhat satisfying, but ultimately there was little risk of being exposed. These days, however, it seems the law may be catching up and nowhere is the swimming pool of fervent opinion more crowded than in social media. In that vein, here are 5 legal disaster stories from the blogosphere:The High Court of Victoria wants to be friends In Victoria, Australia, police ...

You could see this piece from two perspectives.It could be a belated review of the Motorola Atrix. Belated because, as the Atrix is permeating its final markets and we’re sending back our review units, the Atrix 2 is announced. Out with old, in with the new, right?Or, you could see it as a timely piece that could offer some useful buyer’s advice. The latter perspective stems from the likelihood of a reduced price on the original Atrix, which is actually ...