I’m a tad tired of the catchall phrase “smartphone”. There is no way all Androids and Blackberries can be classified as smartphones, and yet everything gets lumped together for the purposes of stats.Luckily, I bumped in Jaco Loubser recently and he gave me a definition I buy:1. A touch screenNo touch screen = feature phone.2. …
Do we judge based upon skin colour? Are we judging form or substance? Do we ignore what a person looks like before judging him?Of course we do! The term “Don’t judge a book by its cover” would not exist unless humans ALWAYS judge a book by its cover.Our brain sizes people up within seconds. Its…
There are three kinds of risk, in order from least to most importance:1. FinancialThe risk of losing money is a biggie. It’s a serious motivator. Especially when you have a family. Taking financial risk separates the entrepreneurs from the “business owners.” But, in spite of the unpleasantness of losing money, you can make it back…
An advertising revenue model creates an incentive to monetise your user’s personal data. People have a high tolerance for others messing with their privacy, but one day the people will snap. It’s like the frog in boiling water. All happy, smiley faces, then POW!Green blood everywhere.
One day I started my own business. Along the way I realized I needed more money if I were to go to the next level.So I diluted.A year later I realized I need more money if I were to go to next level, again.So I diluted.Of course, the dilutions led me to toying with the idea…
1. A secret that affects no one. Like picking your nose.2. A secret that affects other people but does not hurt them unless the secret is revealed. Like the name of a rape victim.3. A secret that affects other people and hurts them…
It must have been a cellphone network. Or in those days whatever was as integral to every day life. Lets call it the post office. The post office was operated by the private sector. It all started so well and then one day mail started going missing, was delivered late, or was simply not available…
Without fail, big companies become bureaucratic and cumbersome beasts. There are no exceptions. Even Google has gone down this path. My knee-jerk was to blame the leadership. The company is a reflection of its leader; therefore a bureaucratic company means the CEO is a bureaucrat. And then I read Uncertainty by Jonathan Fields. Turns out…
10 April 2012 I used to be against anonymity. When I read the forums and comments sections on sites like Moneyweb and MyAdsl my knee-jerk reaction was: “Online anonymity should be banned. It provides a cover for racists, misfits and angry people.” What’s wrong with using your real identity? What are you afraid of? If…
17 February 2012 How many passwords do you have? No, wait. Let me guess. TOO MANY. Why? Because every company in the world has their own password rules. At least 11 characters. At least one special character. At least one capital letter. At least one numeric. Faaaaaaaaark! Take online banking for example. I experience deep…
31 January 2012 Africa has been freed from its shackles by the advent of prepaid airtime. Prepaid triggered the mass adoption of mobile phones on the continent, which in turn filled the communications vacuum that has existed since the beginning of time. Africa missed the printing press, the wireless telegraph, the fixed line phone, and…
30 January 2012I’ve recently read Poor Economics, a great study of the poor in developing countries. One of the interesting observations was that if you give the poorest of the poor an extra $1 per day, they only spend 40c on additional food. The remaining 60c goes towards entertainment.Turns out being poor is boring.And the…