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  • Designer of viral Steve Jobs silhouette image lands Coca Cola deal

    By on 19 April, 2012

    Hey, remember that kid who designed the iconic Apple logo incorporating Steve Jobs' silhouette after the tech icon’s death? He’s back. Hong Kong-based design student Jonathan Mak Long has designed a new logo for Coca Cola, after being approached by Ogilvy China. As Mak explains on his Tumblr account: If you are in Shanghai, you may come across a poster I designed for Coca-Cola. The Chief Creative Officer of Ogilvy China got in touch with me, and offered me this amazing opportunity. I can’t thank them enough, and really hope we can keep doing work together in the future. Long’s tribute...

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  • VCs, tech incubators get on board with Twitter’s patent agreement

    By on 19 April, 2012

    The tech industry has reacted positively to Twitter’s innovative patent agreement, announced earlier this week. The Innovator’s Patent Agreement, informally referred to as the IPA, is effectively a promise by the company to only use its patents defensively. It also promises that it will “not use the patents from employees’ inventions in offensive litigation without their permission”. According to The Next Web, big VC companies including Union Square Ventures, Spark Capital and SV Angel have already signed up to the agreement. Startups Yammer and Multizone as well as incubator Tech Stars meanwhile have all publicly backed the project. ...

  • Online shopping on the rise: Price, convenience, security key

    By on 18 April, 2012

    According to the latest MasterCard Worldwide Online Shopping Survey, online shopping has increased significantly and continues to show potential for growth, with price, convenience and security key factors to consider making a purchasing decision. The survey revealed that even in an emerging market like South Africa shopping online has steadily increased over the past two years, with 58% of respondents in a survey of active internet users saying that they use the internet for shopping. This is an increase from the 53% that said that they shop online in 2010, and the 44% that gave the same answer in 2009. When...

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  • Time 100: Anonymous gets a nod, thanks to you

    By on 18 April, 2012

    Time magazine has released its list of 100 most influential people for 2012. It's hardly surprising to see a few tech faces on the list given the all-pervasive role it plays in our lives. What's pretty interesting is that Anonymous made this list even though the list is technically for most influential people not groups. But yay for you Anonymous. Time published its annual list Wednesday, highlighting an interesting mix of personalities, ranging from the rich and powerful, such as financier Warren Buffett and United States leader Barack Obama to innovators and gamer-changers such as, founder of Change.org, Ben...

  • Want to be a millionaire? Make a smart phone game [Infographic]

    By on 18 April, 2012

    Would you like to make a pile of cash? I rate you go into mobile gaming. While you’re merrily launching flocks of birds at a bunch of thieving pigs, gaming companies like Rovio are cashing in. How much is the Finnish game giant making, exactly? Well, its revenue totaled a nice US$100 million last year -- a substantial increase over 2010, where it made US$10 million. Which, you know, wasn’t bad either. It’s a nice industry to be in -- gaming is the most popular app category and gamers are happy to pay for the game and buy virtual goods....

  • LeWeb London: Faster than real time

    By on 18 April, 2012

    Popular French tech conference LeWeb is making its way to London this June. The tech couple behind LeWeb revealed the theme for LeWeb London: Faster than real time. How much faster can something occurring immediately be? How is that even possible? It seems there is a way, as Loic and Geraldine Le Muer point out: "Whether it’s Highlight, constantly broadcasting your location, or Voxer, a walkie-talkie social experience born out of the fields of war torn Afghanistan, it is clear that our appetite for split-second interaction is insatiable." There are a few ways the conference hopes to explore the concept...

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  • Startups head to the cloud

    By on 18 April, 2012

    The excitement evoked by the word 'entrepreneurship' too often drains away when the business leaders of tomorrow start trying to turn their 'big idea' into reality. Along with challenges around securing funding, building a client base and finding skilled staff, the challenges around setting up the essential IT organs required for running a healthy and secure small business is possibly one of most daunting prospects. Beyond a great idea, two things drive successful startups: speed to market and keeping the burn rate to a minimum. The cloud can help startups do both and is quickly proving a competitive advantage. By...

  • Thanks to Facebook, my birthday is an event

    By on 18 April, 2012

    I recently had my birthday, which for most people is the day of the year when they have the most activity on their Facebook page. When I checked my Facebook on the day I saw only four birthday posts on my Timeline. I felt taken aback. All of the people that I have close relationships with had already phoned me by then, I had a great birthday date planned, and was going to see all of my closest friends at a birthday party the next day, so why was I still disappointed by my four Facebook posts? I started...

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  • America’s new cybersecurity bill faces opposition from the top

    By on 18 April, 2012

    Lawmakers in the US incurred the wrath of the web when they tried to push the SOPA and PIPA bills. Now they could find themselves facing even stronger opposition as they try to push through the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (better known as CISPA). The lawmakers claim that CISPA is designed to help private businesses and government share information more easily. Its critics, however, believe that it would effectively mean an end to internet privacy. This is primarily because the companies supporting the proposed legislation include tech giants such as Microsoft and Facebook – both of whom...

  • Meet 50 of the most influential political tweeters in emerging markets

    By on 18 April, 2012

    Social media in emerging markets is poised in a delicate position. A number of governments are trying to clampdown on various platforms, all while they’re experiencing phenomenal growth. Given this situation, it’s worthwhile seeing who the most influential political tweeters in some of the biggest emerging market countries are. It is they, after all, who drive debate and help form the national political opinion. Using research from PR and communications firm Burson-Masteller and social influence measuring tool Klout, we can get some idea. It should be noted that there are members of the web community who aren't exactly what you’d call...

  • Rape video causes social media outrage

    By on 18 April, 2012

    Video footage of a girl being violently gang raped is causing a social media storm. The video, which Memeburn will not link to for legal and ethical reasons, reportedly shows seven males aged between 14 and 20 raping a 17 year old girl. According to Eyewitness News, the video was captured on a cellphone camera and clearly features faces, genitalia, and several instances of penetration. The young males can also be heard offering the girl R2 for her silence. The girl meanwhile can be heard pleading with her attackers to stop while they discuss whether or not she is crying. The girl has...

  • Sergey Brin clarifies his thoughts on web freedom

    By on 18 April, 2012

    Google co-founder Sergey Brin has come out on the defensive, saying that his thoughts on internet freedom “got particularly distorted” following an interview with UK newspaper The Guardian. In the interview Brin said that Facebook and Apple could potentially threaten web freedom with the “walled gardens” they build up around their products. In a Google+ post, the renowned internet billionaire said that this did not mean he wasn’t a fan of the actual products: I have much admiration for two of the companies we discussed -- Apple and Facebook. I have always admired Apple’s products. In fact, I am writing this post...

  • Play nice you two: Apple CEO and Samsung chief to meet

    By on 18 April, 2012

    You know a dispute is real when a judge orders CEOs of two of world's the largest tech companies to meet face to face. Yup, Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics agreed that their respective chief executives would meet in San Francisco to talk and hopefully bring an end to their ongoing patent war, reports Reuters. Apple sued Samsung in the United States last year, saying the South Korean company's Galaxy line of mobile phones and tablets "slavishly" copy the iPhone and iPad. Samsung then countersued Apple. So began the great patent war of 2011. It seems the courts are done...

  • Father of the internet calls for an end to proposed UK surveillance bill

    By on 18 April, 2012

    Sir Tim Berners-Lee is pleading with the UK government to put a stop to a bill that would allow intelligence agencies to monitor citizens emails and social media accounts. The bill in question, intended as a counter-terrorism measure, has been in discussion for some time. Berners-Lee serves as an the adviser to the UK government on ways make public data more accessible has called the bill "a destruction of human rights". He also believes it will make peoples' most personal information "vulnerable to theft or release by corrupt officials." reports the Guardian. According to the father of the...

  • Looqiloo turns everyone into an infomercial host

    By on 18 April, 2012

    Ever wanted to be an infomercial host, but never figured out how? Then Looqiloo might be the right site for you. The site's developers claim that it lets people buy directly from a video pitching products at them. The site, which goes live today, also wants to make selling social. Looqiloo claims that "anyone can easily upload personal videos about their favorite products and share them with their friends, family and social networks". The site isn't exactly starting from scratch either. Looqiiloo says there already 14 000 products live. It also says getting started with pitching a new product is relatively easy...