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 ...

The current tough economic climate has hit small and medium-sized businesses and start-ups hard, particularly in emerging markets where safety nets are few and far between. Consequently, organisations are looking for every possible way to cut costs and increase profit margins without risking efficiency.The use of open source software (OSS) as an alternative to proprietary software in the technical management of many business processes is an effective way of doing just that.What exactly is ‘open source software’?In summary, the definition ...

South African sports personalities have made their mark all over the world, but one of the downsides of being a global sports star is that you are away from your family and fans for long periods of time. What better way than staying in touch with them than embracing Twitter, the micro-blogging platform which has taken the world by storm.Here is a list of some of the most popular South African sports stars on Twitter at the time of writing ...

Do you like the idea of saving 25% on a floatation hydrotherapy session? Or what about a R100 saving on a meal at Gourmet Burger. If these deals appeal to you, then you might want to consider joining Twangoo.co.za, a new Cape Town-based startup which is harnessing the power of collective buying to make great deals available in cities around South Africa.Collective buying is one of the hottest trends on the web right now, and it's a timely introduction to ...

For well over a decade Google’s iconic self-service advertising system has been connecting businesses to potential customers cheaply and efficiently (while generating billions of dollars for Google in the process).Adwords is so brutally effective that it has become the reflex choice for many brands online. A whole ecosystem of businesses has sprung up around the optimisation and administration of Adwords campaigns.The problem, though, is that when you have a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail. Many companies continue ...

South African online retailer kalahari.net is forecasting impressive growth by the end of the year from Marketplace, its new and used trading platform which was launched in February this year.Kalahari.net believes that the trading platform, which lists both used and new products for sale, will provide South Africans with a way to earn extra money, which is especially important in the current economic climate, and speaks to South Africa’s natural entrepreneurial spirit.“The launch of our marketplace allows online users to sell ...

I haven’t been able to use PayPal for two months. I just got profiled for extra security measures on Facebook. I can’t make certain purchases from Africa. Few organisations ship goods to me here in Kenya.Let’s be honest; living in Africa, or being African, gives you a certain unwelcome aroma in the eyes of global corporations. Frankly, we’re just not trustworthy.This isn’t new to any of us who live, or spend a great deal of time, in Africa. You’re blacklisted, ...

With her own savings, support from friends, and the backing of a UK Government Grant, South African entrepreneur Barbara Mallinson founded Obami, a social networking site that’s been developed specifically for schools and to facilitate e-learning.Mallinson has since brought Obami back to South Africa to try and make a difference in the country she’s always called home. Memeburn.com caught up with her to talk online education and where it is all going.Memeburn: What are the major trends you are seeing ...

The heated debate that has swirled around the WordPress community over the last few days appears to have been settled amicably with the news that the famous Wordpress theme or "search engine optimised framework" Thesis has agreed to a "split licence".By licensing their PHP code under the General Public License (GPL), Thesis can now more directly contribute to the growth of the WordPress code-base as a whole. It can also directly benefit from the many developers working with the framework ...

Following the launch of CNN’s app for the iPhone and iPod Touch in the United States last year, the news giant has announced the availability of the international version on the App Store. Available free of charge to users outside of the USA, the international version of the CNN App is purpose-built and designed to provide a visually-driven news experience for iPhone and iPod touch users.“CNN’s new app will offer our international audience a fantastic mobile experience for iPhone and iPod touch, ...