I’ve been in the field of location-based services since 2003. At Cellfind we launched one of the first cellphone tracking services in the world, and since then I’ve been lucky enough to see the location datasets at a telco (iBurst) and a social network (Mxit).Conclusion:  Location is the single most useful piece of data for…

Here I am, in Arizona, gun country… and, it just so happens that the USA is once again boiling with fear and outrage after a shooting tragedy, this time in a Connecticut primary school where a 20-year old shot six teachers (including his mom) and twenty children, and then shot himself.   His weapons? Three…

My uncle is a heart surgeon and he recently explained the orthodox means of training future doctors. In essence, when a trainee makes a mistake the teacher follows this mantra:Shame, blame, retrain.In my uncle’s opinion this is wrong. His method is to rather accept that everyone will make mistakes every day. The job of the…

Asking “why” is a very powerful tool, and some would argue it is the sole reason for humankind’s rise to dominate the world as a species. We seem to be alone amongst animals in our ability to seek causation“Why are the birds not chirping?” “Why are there tiger paw marks on the ground?” “Why is…

Having studied tax law (against my will), and having listened to many people complain of their taxes around the world, I thought I’d give some quick perspective for my fellow taxpayers in sunny South Africa: Belgium has a 50% income tax rate in the highest bracket. The USA has an “exit tax” for renouncing US…

Someone just explained to me that there is virtually no difference in the number of neurons between a chimpanzee’s brain and a human’s brain. The difference arises when one compares the number of connections between neurons.In that regard, human brains are far ahead of chimpanzee brains. Therefore, intelligence is determined by the number of connections…

After spending 4 weeks driving through the US of A, from Washington DC to San Diego, there are a couple of things that are extremely clear: There are plenty poor people Most poor people are seriously overweight Fast is everywhere Fast food is tasty Fast food is very cheap My wife was the first one…

Alabama is like the Kruger National Park.People visit Kruger so they can see things they’ve only seen in books and on TV. Everyone makes a big deal of it, but the truth is you spend most of your time driving really slowly and looking at thorn trees, zebras and giraffes. You rarely see the desired…

You can do one of three things in life: Follow the money Follow the people Follow the heart Each choice has the potential for failure or success. Only one has the potential for no regret.

Michael Jordaan recently told me of a Harvard Business Review article where the author distinguishes between businesses that create value versus businesses that capture value. For example, Google is extremely good at creating value, but not so good at capturing value when one considers the value it brings to the world (organizing all the world’s…

When I think of the factors that led to any successes (or failures) in my career thus far, the following come to mind:1.         CommunicateIf you can’t effectively transmit the picture in your head into the head of the person you’re communicating with, you’re dead. This is the key to getting people swimming in the same…

I notice the iPhone5 charger has a new connector… Well done guys. You’re officially on the Nokia path.I remember the 90’s. Mustard jeans. U2. Everyone had a Nokia. And one of the reasons that everyone stayed with Nokia (other than user experience), was the fact that you knew you could charge your phone anywhere. Everyone…