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Social networking

  • The world thinks I faked a drone crashing through my office window and into my head

    By on 13 April, 2016

    It’s 5:25pm on a Thursday and I am just about to post an onboard video from my latest Ferrari test drive when I hear a whistle instantly followed by an extremely loud bang, glass flying all over me and a huge thump to my head. Drone Crash. Into Head. What actually happened was that two guys were flying a drone in a densely populated area in Cape Town, the lost control of it and it smashed into my 5th story office window and into my face. Initially I thought a bomb had gone off, but once I opened my eyes and checked...

  • WhatsApp rolls out full end-to-end encryption to its billion users

    By on 6 April, 2016

    WhatsApp, the Facebook owned instant chat platform, is rolling out its full end-to-end encryption, ensuring that each message, photo, video, file, voice message, group chats and voice calls user's send are encrypted. The encryption is by default, given the users chatting are using the latest version of the app. WhatsApp states that in the years to come, people's digital information and communication will be far more vulnerable to attacks and the only way to protect users is end-to-end encryption. Read more: Always put the user at the centre of your security strategy The company has been working on the encryption...

  • Does Snapchat’s future lie in customer service?

    By on 18 March, 2016

    For years now, businesses have understood the potential that lies in social media. What started out as a convenient way to stay in contact with friends and family has quickly transformed into a potent tool for businesses of all types. Many companies have used their various social media channels to reach out to new customers, promote their products, and make special announcements. Every time a new social media option comes along, businesses have been quick to come up with ways to use it to their advantage. This is true of nearly all companies, whether it’s a hotel chain, big...

  • Skype for Web now lets non-Skype users join conversations

    By on 15 March, 2016

    Microsoft has today introduced a slew of new features to Skype for Web, including the ability to make calls from the web directly to mobile phones and landlines, and inviting users without a Skype account to join calls. The feature is primarily being introduced to enable users to save money on calls, Skype says. Other features include notifications and watching YouTube videos within Skype for Web. Making calls on Skype for Web allows users to save on charges. "Once you’ve signed in to Skype for Web, simply click on the call phones tab, select your destination, dial the number you’d like...

  • Facebook News feed will now show you Live Video first, then everything else

    By on 2 March, 2016

    Last week at the Facebook Q&A in Berlin, Mark Zuckerberg, spoke about how Facebook Live, the company's attempt at live streaming feed, is going to be a big part of Facebook News feed going forward. The Q&A, live streamed on Facebook, was the first time that Facebook had live streamed it since it launched Facebook Live Video in August 2015. Today, the social network has announced that it is changing its algorithm to favour Live Videos, putting them at the top of News Feed. This is only for currently live videos and not saved videos. "Over the last three months...

  • WhatsApp will no longer support BlackBerry, Nokia S40, Windows 7.1, earlier Android versions

    By on 29 February, 2016

    By end of this year, WhatsApp users on BlackBerry, including BlackBerry 10, will no longer be able to use the instant messaging sevice.In addition to cutting support for the BB OS, WhatsApp will no longer be compatible with Nokia S40, Nokia Symbian S60, Windows Phone 7.1 and earlier versions of Android, Android 2.1 and Android 2.2. The Facebook owned IM announced that these devices and platforms will soon be incompatible with the platform, owing to their inability to offer the kind of capabilities that WhatsApp needs to expand its app's features in the future. The company, which recently turned...

  • Mark Zuckerberg is currently doing a Townhall Q&A in Berlin, livestreaming it on Facebook

    By on 26 February, 2016

    Late last year, in August, Facebook launched Live, its own live video streaming feature. At the time, the feature was meant for celebrities to broadcast live videos to their fans. The company announced then that public figures can take their fans behind the scenes, host Q&As, share announcements and more. "Whether you have an established fan base or want to build up your audience, Live is a new way for you to connect authentically with your fans in the moment. When you start a Live video, it will appear in News Feed for your fans to comment, like and share...

  • #SONA klaps #Budget2016 in social media showdown

    By on 25 February, 2016

    While most South African news organisations were heavily focused on Pravin Gordhan's first budget speech since his return to the post, social media was a lot less interested than it was in the State of the Nation Address (SONA) earlier this month. That's according to figures from social media insights company YouKnow digital, which shows that there were around 43 680 conversations around the speech. That's not bad. It was certainly enough to make it a top trending topic in the country, but it's nothing compared to the 345 964 conversations that took place around SONA. That's understandable. SONA...

  • How to add warmth to cold online relationships

    By on 22 February, 2016

    In an article titled The False Face of Our Social Media Persona published on Psychology Today, Michael J Formica states, “Social relationships, by their very nature, are transactional. They are richly imbued with nuance, color and tone. Relationships engaged in the various theaters of social media - even when those relationships exist in a coincident social milieu - lack these characteristics. This is due in part because social media introduces two parallel and paradoxical elements - false intimacy and social distance. These elements contribute to the fostering of relationships that, in their lack of authenticity, can sometimes be at best...

  • 7 things you need to know about fostering authentic relationships

    By on 19 February, 2016

    American self-help author and motivational speaker, Dr Walter Wayne Dyer, said in one of his lectures, “The mantra of the ego is What’s in it for me? and the mantra of the higher self is How may I serve?” Jon M. Huntsman said, “Selfless giving unto others represents one’s true wealth”. Madeline Bridges said, “Then give to the world the best you have. And the best will come back to you”. How do you apply these quotes in your business relationships? I have provided some examples below. 1. Lose the ego Words relating to ego include I, me, us, we and ours. From an...

  • The case for an employee advocacy platform

    By on 11 February, 2016

    This is a case study of an employee advocacy platform implemented recently at a professional services firm with a pan-African operation. The firm in question has a highly successful email channel with thousands of executive decision makers at target clients subscribed to receive introductions to their thought leadership on a weekly basis. The email campaigns are managed through a reputable email service provider and emails are personalised (i.e. emails are sent from a known person and email address and emails begin with “Dear FIRST NAME”). Email subscribers are categorised by industry and management category and email campaigns are filtered as such....

  • Today is Friends Day in the Facebook universe

    By on 4 February, 2016

    In a galaxy not so far away, a universe called Facebook, with a population of 1.59 billion active monthly users, invented its own special holiday. Facebook has announced 4 February 2016 is Friends Day. Facebook prides itself in connecting people, not only that but initiating real life friendships that begin or are maintained on the platform. Friends Day is about celebrating those friendships. This year's Friends Day marks Facebook's 12th birthday. To celebrate this day, Facebook has revealed some stats and stories. According to the company over the past five years, the degrees of separation on the platform have decreased...

  • WhatsApp gains 100m monthly active users in three months, passes 1b like a boss

    By on 2 February, 2016

    WhatsApp has reached one billion monthly active users. One billion users means one in seven people in the world can be found furiously typing away on WhatsApp. The growth has been rapid too, taking the instant messaging service only three months to move from 900-million monthly active users to the billion mark. "We are proud of this milestone, and we're humbled by the extraordinary ways all of you have used WhatsApp. Whether it's sharing vital information during natural disasters or health emergencies, finding a date, growing a small business, buying an engagement ring, or seeking a better life" The company...

  • Four top executives leave Twitter, Jack Dorsey announces

    By on 25 January, 2016

    Jack Dorsey might be doing his utmost to rescue Twitter and make it a viable business, but that hasn't stopped people jumping ship. In a post published on Twitter, Dorsey announced the departures of executives who oversaw the product, engineering, media and HR teams. The executives include Vice President of Human Resources, Katie Jacobs Stanton, the company’s VP of global media; Kevin Weil, SVP of product; and SVP of engineering Alex Roetter. Also departing Twitter is Jason Joff, GM of Vine. This is not the first time that Twitter that employees have departed the company since Dorsey's return. A...

  • Facebook Sports Stadium: a new feature for fans to discuss and follow games live

    By on 21 January, 2016

    Facebook has introduced a new hub that is dedicated to sport lovers. Facebook Sports Stadium is a place to experience sports in real time with friends, users and experts around the world. Facebook claims that it has 650-million sports fans on its platform, something the hub aims to take advantage of. Facebook has long shown interest in sports but this is the first time that it has built a feature dedicated to sports. The hub will pull content from Facebook and not from any sports content producers. Sport has always been a big deal with Facebook users. In 2015,...