Posts Tagged ‘Internet’

Posted on June 2, 2008 - by Justin Hartman

SA Blook, Chapter 7: The importance of technology in SA’s global emergence

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Technology and globalisation go hand-in-hand. Globalisation unleashes technology, which in turn drives companies to plan production and sales on a global basis. Technology changes the work we do and the jobs created by it demand more education and training. It also changes the way business operates by transforming relationships between suppliers, producers, retailers and customers.

One aspect of globalisation that tends to be most apparent in almost every facet of life is the emergence of technology - particularly the way in which technology is globally integrating people of the world. The advent of the Internet has over the past decade provided a common platform upon which countries from all corners of the Earth are able to communicate and share information.

Global Emergence of the Information Age

In the space of thirty years technology has caused widespread improvements in access to information and economic potential.

If you consider that just twenty five years ago the use of personal computers was still limited to a fairly small number of technologically advanced people while the majority of people produced documents with typewriters.

Twenty years ago, large and hefty mobile phones were carried only by a small number of users and some fifteen years ago only limited universities and scientists were using, or had even heard about, the Internet.

Today however computers, mobile technology and the Internet have transformed communication and commerce, creating entirely new ways for retailers and their customers to transact and for businesses to manage the flow of production and market their products.

Websites, chat rooms, instant messaging systems, email, forums and other Internet-based communication systems have made it much easier for people with common interests to find each other, exchange information, and collaborate which was almost unheard of until the Information Age.

Technology Transformation in South Africa

With over 30 million subscribers the mobile industry in South Africa is booming. While this industry is largely controlled by the major mobile phone operators, making entry into the market difficult, almost every South African has access to mobile technology.

Internet adoption in South Africa has been slow off the starting blocks. There are some 5 million people accessing the Internet everyday and currently we have more than 1 million broadband subscribers yet these figures represent only a small portion of the population.

One of the primary reasons for the poor rate of adoption of broadband and the Internet, in comparison to the mobile industry, is the high-costs associated with going online. Added to this, South Africa has not had the technology or infrastructure to facilitate fast adoption rates and the early adopters have had to uncover defects and fund development of the technology further.

Fortunately, over the last couple years, companies and local government have been investing heavily in Fibre optics and the infrastructure needed which will not only help drive costs down but also increase accessibility and adoption through the use of these improved technologies.

Leveraging Technology

Technology facilitates the expansion of products, ideas, and resources among countries as well as people regardless of geographic location. Technology can be leveraged to create efficient and effective channels to exchange information and can be the catalyst for global integration.

The single greatest benefit of technology is its ability to multiply effort. This multiplier of technology turns the effort of one person into many.

Any business can leverage technology to work:

• Faster
• Productively
• Predictably
• Safer
• Efficiently

With the advances in technology any business can now do more with less.

Challenges and Successes

As an emerging market South Africa has some fundamental issues affecting global emergence. Some of these include high-costs, low Internet penetration, unemployment and lack of education, yet despite this advances in technology are producing many positive changes in our society.

Technology innovations have created new jobs, promoted the growth of new markets, and increased international trade and investment but one of the biggest technology challenges we need to address, which makes us unique to first-world countries, is the major divide between mobile and Internet users.

What is evidenced today is that only a small minority access the Internet while the majority of the population use their mobile phones for various tasks yet there is little to bridge the two users together.

The greatest opportunity that exists in our global emergence is the ability to understand how to use all this technology to our advantage, bridge the gap between mobile and Internet users, and in turn solve the various communication and technology problems that we are faced with as a developing country.

This post is a chapter of the SA Blook: A Piece of Significance, an online book written by a diverse group of writers with strong views of our country and the reality we find ourselves living in. The other chapters in the Blook are here:

Introduction
1. The new South Africa - is it real?
2. Is SA rich or poor?
3. What the world thinks of South Africa and what our global opportunities are
4. The importance of each individual’s contribution collectively
5. SA Inc and the business of doing business in SA
6. The beauty and grandeur that surrounds us
7. The importance of technology in SA’s global emergence
8. Building brand South Africa
9. Making the most of SA’s creative talents and abilities
10. Innovate for a better South Africa
11. The role of the younger generation in SA, and what we need to do to support them
12. Connecting South Africa - Communities that transcend technology
13. We are African - the role of collaboration in South Africa’s growth

Copyright Justin Hartman 2008. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No-derivatives 2.5 ZA license.

Posted on March 20, 2008 - by Justin Hartman

What the Internet looked like in 1995

I found this video via Common Craft which is a digital version of a VHS tape educating people about the Internet. It’s amazing to watch how ground-breaking the Internet was in 1995 and it makes you wonder what people will be saying about the Internet in 2018.

Posted on July 20, 2007 - by Justin Hartman

25 Web 2.0 Startup Commandments

1. Your idea isn’t new. Pick an idea; at least 50 other people have thought of it. Get over your stunning brilliance and realize that execution matters more.

2. Stealth startups suck. You’re not working on the Manhattan Project, Einstein. Get something out as quickly as possible and promote the hell out of it.

3. If you don’t have scaling problems, you’re not growing fast enough.

4. If you’re successful, people will try to take advantage of you. Hope that you’re in that position, and hope that you’re smart enough to not fall for it.

5. People will tell you they know more than you do. If that’s really the case, you shouldn’t be doing your startup.

6. Your competition will inflate their numbers. Take any startup traffic number and slash it in half. At least.

7. Perfection is the enemy of good enough. Leonardo could paint the Mona Lisa only once. You, Bob Ross, can push a bug release every 5 minutes because you were at least smart enough to do a web app.

8. The size of your startup is not a reflection of your manhood. More employees does not make you more of a man (or woman as the case may be).

9. You don’t need business development people. If you’re successful, companies will come to you. The deals will still be distractions and not worth doing, but at least you’re not spending any effort trying to get them.

10. You have to be wrong in the head to start a company. But we have all the fun.

11. Starting a company will teach you what it’s like to be a manic depressive. They, at least, can take medication.

12. Your startup isn’t succeeding? You have two options: go home with your tail between your legs or do something about it. What’s it going to be?

13. If you don’t pay attention to your competition, they will turn out to be geniuses and will crush you. If you do pay attention to them, they will turn out to be idiots and you will have wasted your time. Which would you prefer?

14. Startups are not a democracy. Want a democracy? Go run for class president, Bueller.

15. You’re doing a web app, right? This isn’t the 1980s. Your crummy, half-assed web app will still be more successful than your competitor’s most polished software application.

16. You will have at least one catastrophe every three months.

17. Outsource effectively, or be effectively outsourced.

18. Do you thrive on stress and ambiguity? You’d better.

19. The best way to get outside funding is to be successful already. Stupid but true. But you, cheapskate, don’t need money, right?

20. People will think your idea sucks. They’re even probably right. The only way to prove them wrong is to succeed.

21. A startup will require your complete attention and devotion. Thought your first love in High School was clingy? You can’t take out a restraining order on your startup.

22. Being an entrepreneur requires a healthy amount of ignorance. Note I did not say stupidity.

23. Your software sucks. So what. Everyone else’s does also, and re-architecting is the kiss of death for a startup. Startups are no place for architecture astronauts.

24. You do have a public API, right?

25. Abject Terror. Overwhelming Joy. Monstrous Greed. Embrace and harness these emotions you must.

Source: It’s difficult to say where these all came from but I do know that Mark Fletcher, founder of Bloglines came up with at least the last 10.

Posted on June 25, 2007 - by Justin Hartman

My Digital Life?

Found on iburst this afternoon. Anyone know what the relationship is because I don’t see any other advertising anywhere on the site…