The Clanwilliam Dam becomes an unlikely social media star

Well, here's something you don't see often, let alone in September. On Wednesday morning, the Table Mountain Cableway on Instagram reported that snow had begun falling at the Upper Station near the mountain's summit. A video was also included for non-believers, and those experiencing immense FOMO. "Christmas has come early at the #Cableway ... it's 2 degrees at the summit of #tablemountain and it's snowing," the company wrote in the post, published around 11am Wednesday. View this post on Instagram Christmas has come early at the #Cableway ... it's 2 degrees at the summit of #tablemountain and it's snowing 😎 A post shared by...

There are a wide range of smartphones available at a mid-range price, but it's difficult choosing one among them. But now that Nokia Android smartphones are available in South Africa, this decision has been made a whole lot easier. At R3999, here's six reasons why the Nokia 6.1 should be your next smartphone. Hardy but beautiful Scratch-resistant glass was a feature consumers could only dream of in the lower smartphone tiers, but the Nokia 6.1 is bringing this flagship feature to this affordable price bracket. This means the Nokia 6.1's screen can brush off taps and scrapes from errant keys or the...

Instagram has introduced a new online shopping experience to consumers, but it’s not the standalone app we expected. Instead, you can shop inside Instagram Stories and from a new Shopping channel in your explore feed. “We began testing Shopping in Stories in June, and today we’re rolling it out globally and expanding it to businesses in 46 countries,” the company said on its blog. So now, when viewing Stories posted by brands and stores, you can click on shop-linking stickers to see more about the products. “Topic channels, which launched in June, allow you to browse across your interests and go deeper on...

On Tuesday, the Constitutional Court decriminalized the private use of cannabis in South Africa. The ruling comes a year after the Western Cape High Court found that some of our previous laws regarding cannabis were unconstitutional. So yes, as an adult in this country, you can now legally grow and consume cannabis privately. But no, you shouldn’t be buying or selling it just yet, and Parliament must still decide exactly how much you can legally use before a police officer decides to arrest you. All the hazy specifics aside though, if you’re over 18 and know how to grow some green then...

Coca Cola has confirmed that it's not ruling out the use of cannabis in its future wellness products. More specifically a substance contained in cannabis called Cannabidiol (CBD) which said to relieve pain but not produce the high that many associate with weed, could be added to a wellness drink. "Along with many others in the beverage industry, we are closely watching the growth of non-psychoactive CBD as an ingredient in functional wellness beverages around the world," Coca Cola spokesperson Kent Landers said in a statement to Bloomberg. "The space is evolving quickly. No decisions have been made at this time." Notably, the...

Cape Town's dams are now 70% full, this according to the City's latest dam levels report. That an increase of just 0.9% over the previous week. Still, it's the first time this milestone has been reached in September since 2015. That may seem sufficient, but the largest dam in the system that holds nearly 54% of Cape Town's surface water, the Theewaterskloof Dam, remains just 52.5% full. It did however gain 1.1% over the previous week. Other dams however are all above 80% full. The Berg River Dam is 97.6% full, but fell by 0.8% over the previous week. The Voëlvlei Dam...

Elon Musk's SpaceX has announced the first private space tourist to venture to the Moon's orbit will be Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa. Maezawa, founder of Japanese fashion firm Zozo and art aficionado, will hand pick "a painter, musician, film director, fashion designer..." and some of the "Earth's greatest talents" to join him on the mission. "During the week-long spaceflight, what will they see? What will they feel? What will they create," quips a totally cringe line on the mission's web page. Looks like that BA degree might come in handy after all. Although the party won't land on the Moon's surface, it will...

Australia's dealing with a rather odd crisis at present. Sewing needles have been found lodged in strawberries and bananas across the country, in what some are calling "commercial terrorism". Last week, a man was taken to hospital after swallowing a strawberry that contained a needle. This week, the issue has escalated, with six of the country's territories all reporting incidents. Incredibly, at least six brands are also afflicted. The country's minister for health Greg Hunt has ordered the "Food Standards Australia New Zealand to investigate the handling of strawberry contamination," he tweeted. "I urge all Australians be vigilant for potential contaminants." I have ordered...

Last week, at least seven cyclonic storms were active in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. While all the news focused on Hurricane Florence which clattered into the US east coast, fiercest storm was making landfall just south of Hong Kong. When Super Typhoon Mangkhut finally struck China, it lashed Hong Kong with 180km/h wind and driving rain. Can't quite wrap your head around that number? That's more than enough power to rip a crane from a building in Tai Kok Tsui, Hong Kong. Scaffolding collapse at a building site in Kowloon pic.twitter.com/O69ILlXOJr — 高地柏啲 (香港) (@HighlandPaddyHK) September 16, 2018 This video was viewed over 1.4-million...

You can soon leave college in Canada with a qualification in growing cannabis. Yes Elon, weed. Ontario's Niagara College, CBC reports, recently debuted its cannabis programme which teaches students the fundamentals of cultivating and caring for the versatile herb. "Students will get intensive hands-on training in growing pot with classes that focus on topics like plant nutrition, climate control, pest control and plant selection," the report adds. Courses about Canada's cannabis legislation are also taught. Even with the prospect of sitting through boring legal chatter, the course as a whole is proving extremely popular. Reportedly only 24 spots are available, but more than 300 people...

There is no doubt that lead generation is not without its share of challenges. B2B campaigns especially need to align marketing and sales goals in a way that reduces friction points throughout the funnel, in order to bring leads home, hopefully, to convert. What happens when there are issues at any point along the journey, though? And, what happens where there are inefficiencies and issues right at the very top of the funnel? Problems at the top of the funnel can end up causing far more damage than you may realise, affecting not only your entire funnel but also your...

Google Science Fair is open for submissions until 12 December 2018 for those between 13 and 18 years of age. The competition, which first took place in 2011, has been a place for global learners to share and develop their science initiatives, and possibly win exclusive prizes from Google and sponsors alike. The possibilities for African entrants are tangible too. The last grand prize winner, Kiara Nirghin, was born in South Africa. In a blog post about fair’s commencement, Google interviewed Nirghin, who designed a way to help alleviate the effect of drought on crops using fruit waste as water retaining polymers. Her...

Hurricane Florence is just a few kilometres east of North Carolina at the time of writing, but hurricane-force winds have been lashing the US east coast since late Thursday. As is customary with hurricanes in the modern era, a few fearless meteorologists, reporters and camerapeople are braving the conditions to broadcast live images to stations and social media across the world. Nat Geo photographer Mike Theiss is one such example. Intense band from Hurricane #Florence swirling through Wrightsville Beach right now causing strong winds and torrential downpours !! Currently a barometric pressure of 989mb. pic.twitter.com/mA8X0em9dy — Mike Theiss (@MikeTheiss) September 14, 2018 Mike Seidel,...

Google Maps has become an essential for many commuters. The navigation tool has guided us through our daily travels, on both new and warn out routes, playing co-pilot wherever we go. Maps however, isn’t just a way to get from A to B anymore. In fact, the tool has evolved into much more, and is actually a pretty cool way to feed your inner explorer -- literally. This week Google outlined these new social features for Google Maps that are geared towards travellers and food lovers. Discover the bites around you Google Maps can suggest places for you to visit based on your...

A 2018 report from Statista estimates that global ecommerce sales are set to rise 246.15% by 2021, from 1.3-trillion in 2014 to 4.5-trillion in 2021. As more brick and mortar shops close their doors and the rise of online shopping continues to change the way that customers and stores interact, there is no doubt that the global ecommerce industry is not going to be slowing down anytime soon. Each year, technology continues to evolve in leaps and bounds, creating more of an experience for shoppers and more opportunity for etailers. This year alone has given rise to a number of...