Curators should credit their sources

On a slightly different tangent from my recent posts concerning the need to curate news sourced online, for accuracy and verification purposes, I was horrified to learn that popular Seth Rotherham of the award-winning 2oceans blog, had not been credited as a source in a ‘breaking news’ story in a local traditional newspaper. When confronted, the [...]

Generations’ criticism moves into the social media space

The Times reports that Durban pastor and prominent ANC member, Vusi Dube, slammed South Africa’s leading soapie,Generations, on Facebook earlier this week, calling the show a ‘disgrace’ to black people and accused the SABC of subjecting its viewers to ‘junk’.
Generations’ Artistic Director, Mark Graham, responded to the criticism by stating that the purpose of drama is [...]

Standard Bank is moving forward – it’s more than just a rebrand

Most South Africans will have heard by now that Standard Bank (SB) has rebranded it’s slogan once again, from ’simpler, better, faster’ to ‘moving forward’.
The rebrand comes with a vigorous embrace of social media, with the launch of a new-look Standard bank blog and a definite ‘moving forward’ mood.
Take, for example, the following online conversation as [...]

Getting your story out there – the changing face of journalism

Building on my post from yesterday, I’ve decided to look into the changing face of journalism, and the new opportunities (and sometimes threats) offered by ‘new’ social media. According to Gino Cosme of Cosmedia, social media refers to the: “collective intelligence of internet users, the communities and web real estates they frequent, and the content [...]

Have you tried blerping yet?

Media Update has recently subscribed to Blerp – a social networking website that allows you to start discussions right on top of your favourite websites. Unlike typical web comments, you are in full control and you can post on any webpage you choose, regardless of whether it permits user feedback. In other words, Blerp transforms [...]

Tweet your say in full

ReadWriteStart, the Microsoft BizSpark-sponsored ReadWriteWeb channel dedicated to profiling startups and entrepreneurs, has blogged about a new application for folk who simply can’t say it all in a 140-character post. If you need more space to get it all off your chest, you’re sure to love Write4Net, which automatically links to your Twitter account and [...]

Budding writers step on online platform

All those interested in creative writing; posting it on the internet; and doing it for free can sign up on the Ficly website. Ficly is a collaborative writing community where members can contribute to shared works of fiction. With only 1 024 characters, Ficly users issue story challenges; start new story stubs; and add sequels and [...]

Taiwan boosts tourism through blogging and incentive

 
I came across an article describing an interesting marketing strategy of sorts today.
The Tourism Bureau of Taiwan has come up with a novel idea to create awareness about Taiwan by offering 50 pairs of backpackers the opportunity to visit the country for four days, on a budget of $200 per day, and blog about Taiwan’s [...]

Socks – orphaned, abandoned, or just plain lost?

iLearn blogged that today’s Vimrod cartoon ‘highlights how pedestrian everyday issues could be turned into online opportunities’ – this got me thinking… who hasn’t wondered where ‘the other sock’ ends up? (I personally subscribe to the ‘Island of Lost Socks’ idea – click here to read the Island of Lost Socks poem, which explains the single sock’s [...]

Blogger ethics and paid reviews

Chris M has brought up the increasingly relevant topic of whether bloggers should let their readers know whether a blog post/review has been paid for or not. 
As more and more PRs are seeing the value of establishing relationships with bloggers, bloggers are increasingly bombarded with press releases and requests to review products and services. 
Chris suggests that it [...]