Instagram isn't just about posting pictures of your lunch, or selfies with you and the pug. Like all social networks, it can actually be used as an educational tool. Here are a few South African accounts illustrating this point. @birds_by_rousseau Follow for: a wealth of information about South Africa's birds. Ran by Stellenbosch University lecturer Rousseau Lotter, this account is dedicated to documenting the bevy of bird species prevalent in South Africa. From glossy starlings to doves, to kestrels and spoonbills, this account will help even the novice bird watcher identify their featured subject. The Cape Glossy Starling shown here is distinguished from some...
Update: The taxi strike affecting Cape Town and surrounds was suspended late on Monday. Cape Town's MyCiTi and Golden Arrow bus services may not operate in certain regions of the city tomorrow, as the provincial taxi strike is set to continue. On Monday, commuters were left stranded as trains and buses were late or suspended, and taxis refused to operate. Two buses were set alight in Khayelitsha, south east of Cape Town's city centre. Late Monday, MyCiTi failed to confirm that its service to the area -- namely its D01 and D02 service -- will be reinstated on Tuesday. "The City of Cape...
Today Capetonians woke to rain, gridlocked highways, late trains, buses on fire, and a taxi strike. Yes, yet another taxi strike began in the early hours of Monday morning across the Western Cape. According to a News24 report, the strike is the result of a leadership dispute within the South African National Taxi Council. As a side effect, commuters who use taxis to travel across the province were left stranded on Monday. Folks gonna be expected to take "alternative" transport to work. Alternative being a code word for teleportation. #TaxiStrike — Sarkastik Observer 🦈🔱 (@Sindelo_) August 6, 2018 Some commuters who braved the strike...
Fitbit Pay is now available in South Africa. The wireless payments service which works through Fitbit's range of wearable devices is now compatible with FNB and RMB VISA bank cards. "Customers will now be able to make secure payments on the go, directly from their wrist wherever contactless payments are accepted — adding convenience and freedom to leave their smartphone and wallet at home," writes Fitbit in a statement. Fitbit Pay is only available on two of the company's watches, namely the Versa and the Ionic. To use the service, consumers are required to connect their cards to the Fitbit app on their...
South Africa's unemployment rate has increased by 0.5% to 27.2% between April and June 2018, according to Stats SA's latest report. More than 100 000 jobs were lost during this three month period. Additionally, some 6.1-million South Africans between the ages of 15 and 64 do not have a job. South Africa’s #unemployment rate was 27,2% in Q2:2018, up from 26,7% in Q1:2018 6,1m people of working age in SA were #unemployed #StatsSA https://t.co/srPxmTL6WA pic.twitter.com/UyQv8kKACY — Stats SA (@StatsSA) July 31, 2018 The worst performing province was the Free State with an unemployment rate of 34.4%. While the Eastern Cape reduced its unemployment rate by...
Twitter is well known as an effective tool in political campaigns. Research indicates that “politically interested individuals and groups can no longer ignore the opportunities presented by Twitter to engage in political discourse and to influence the outcome of campaigns and legislation". US politicians Donald Trump and Barack Obama both used Twitter as a marketing tool in the election campaigns that resulted in their presidencies. But using the platform thoughtlessly can also be damaging. South Africa has more than 7.7-million Twitter users. In a country where racial and political sensitivities continue to run high, posting faux pas is bound to land you in...
Another hot, dry and precipitation-scarce week hasn't had much of an impact on Cape Town's dam levels, this according to the City's latest report. Surprisingly, even though not a drop of rain was recorded at any of the City's monitored stations, dam levels continued to rise. As of 23 July, the city's dam levels stand at 56.4% or 506-billion litres. That's an increase of 1.3% over the previous week, or 12-billion litres. Dam by dam breakdown: Theewaterskloof Dam | +1% to 41.7% Voëlvlei Dam | +2.3% to 56.9% Berg River Dam | +1.2% to 85.9% Wemmershoek Dam | -0.1% to 84.8% Steenbras...
As with key emerging technology trends such as Big Data and Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been hailed as nothing short of revolutionary for businesses, governments and consumers. Already, global juggernauts such as Amazon are structuring their entire business models around AI and machine learning (ML), a key subset of AI. "Without ML, Amazon.com couldn’t grow its business, improve its customer experience and selection, and optimize its logistic speed and quality," the company has stated. Indeed, the technology has been deemed so important that in 2016, several tech bigwigs including Amazon, Apple, DeepMind, Google, IBM and Microsoft created the Partnership...
South Africa's population has grown by less than a million in 2018, this according to Statistics South Africa's mid year population report. Published today, and disseminated to users through Twitter in bite-sized chunks, Stats SA noted that the nation's current population figure stands at an estimated 57.73-million. That's up from 56.8-million last year. 51% of the South African #population is female #StatsSA https://t.co/K3ifNgoi3U pic.twitter.com/4am8KZB19v — Stats SA (@StatsSA) July 23, 2018 Additionally, 51% of the country's citizens are women. More than 60% of South Africa's citizens are between the ages of 15 and 59, with a massive spike noted between 21 and 37 years...
Not everyone can make it to Johannesburg's Wanderers cricket stadium to watch former US President Barack Obama deliver the 16th annual Mandela lecture, and that's where technology plugs the gap. Today's lecture will be broadcast live on Facebook from 2pm through the Nelson Mandela Foundation's page. "Members of the public who have not been able to secure a ticket to attend the Annual Lecture can watch the event via Facebook Live here at 2pm on Tuesday 17 July," reads a post on the page. Users who don't have a Facebook account but happen to have a set of virtual reality goggles can...
In April 2018, MTN launched its new social media bundles aimed specifically at WhatsApp users. Those purchasing the network's WhatsApp Bundle would be charged R10 for 1GB on the service. But this is about to change for some. According to a statement issued by the company on Monday, MTN will increase the price of the bundle to R30. The reason? To protect its 3G network quality. "Social media usage remains a dynamic and ever-changing environment. Our commitment remains to continue driving down the cost of data with a strong focus on alleviating pressure on the most vulnerable in our society," explains Mapula...
South Africans love sport, don't they? And now that the World Cup is entering its pivotal semi-final stage, more users than ever are tuning in to see a ball (and Neymar) roll around a field. DStv has noted this trend, reportedly seeing a 60% increase in weekday usage of its DStv Now mobile streaming app since the World Cup began. Notably, there are five times more people using the app this June than in June 2017. "The absolute peak in concurrent usage for one event was reached on 26 June, during the Nigeria vs Argentina game," the company adds in a...
This is not a drill: the Carters are heading to South Africa in December. Beyonce and Jay-Z will both perform at the Mandela 100 Global Citizen Festival taking place in South Africa, it was announced Monday at a press conference at the Sandton Convention Centre. They'll be joined by Ed Sheeran, Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam, Pharrell Williams, Chris Martin of Coldplay, Usher and Wizkid. Naomi Campbell and Oprah will also reportedly be in attendance. Oh, and Cassper Nyovest will also be there. Sharing a stage with Beyoncé and Jay Z in December. #GlobalCitizenFestivalSA pic.twitter.com/s4mwWgEK9S — R.M Phoolo (@CassperNyovest) July 9, 2018 The concert, organised...
The honeymoon period is officially over, South Africa. Earlier this year, the country rejoiced when President Cyril Ramaphosa was sworn in, replacing Jacob Zuma. For a few weeks afterward, we enjoyed the memes, his run along Sea Point promenade, and even the jokes shared with EFF leader Julius Malema. Now, 141 days into the Ramaphosa Presidency and South Africans are struggling to stave off the rising cost of living. Food, fuel and even the recently cold snap are being blamed on the president. The hashtag #SinceWeSentRamaphosa began trending across the country Friday afternoon, and South Africans were all too ready to embrace it. Some...
Congrats KFC South Africa, you're now 9GAG famous. The website laced with memes and funny videos posted a clip of KFC South Africa's pre-World Cup advertisement, featuring a footballer "making a meal" of a tackle. And no, surprisingly, Neymar isn't starring in it. The clip was published to 9GAG's Instagram account of some 45.6-million followers early Thursday. The post has since amassed more than 3.5-million views, 60 000 likes, and more than 13000 comments. KFC South Africa must be loving the free publicity too. Its Instagram account in comparison has just 24 000 followers in total. If you haven't yet seen the ad, watch...
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