Blog

  • SA Street Dictionary – Fun and… Interesting

    I recently got an email from one of South Africa’s leading mobile network operators, Cell C, about “a pretty exciting new project” called the Cell C South African Street Dictionary.

    The project is an initiative to allow the emerging techno-conscious South African citizen to express themselves through the urban colloquialisms of modern South African language. Now for those that don’t know much about my country, it’s pretty diverse. There’s 11 official national languages, and it comes as no surprise that many words are carried over from each language, thus creating an eclectic blend of accents and slang words that so uniquely express the South African experience.

    The site is stylishly designed, with the generic branding of Cell C. Interestingly, the first word in the welcome headline is “heita” – perhaps a dig at competitor 8ta? The home page offers a concise overview of the reason for initiating the project (alluding to the youth march of June 16th and the need for unique expression), as well as a sidebar showing the top 10 SA street words.

    The site is simple in layout, and this makes it fun and easy to use. Users can even submit their own words to the dictionary. Each entry has the commonplace social sharing features, and there’s also an option to subscribe to the “Word of the Day” feature.

    I can see that the intentions of Cell C are in good light, but this still carries with it a sort of PR or marketing stunt that is unavoidable in this increasingly competitive market. What with Vocacom going red (and making their customers – myself included – seeing red from experiencing hideous network service), it pays to offer added products that show the company cares about its customers. It’ll be interesting to see where they take the South African Street Dictionary in the near future. If you’re a South African, an ex-pat, or a foreigner due to visit our shores soon (or simply curious about South African culture) this website is worth a visit.

    Visit it: www.sastreetdictionary.co.za

  • Google+ and Facebook

    Google recently launched an early test of their idea of a social network – certainly, a service that carries their hopes of redemption after the fiasco that was Google Buzz. They call this new network Google+, and from reviews of those lucky enough to be invited into the testing programme, this social network is great – some are even going as far as saying that its what Facebook ought to be.

    Now that’s quite a bold statement, seeing as Facebook has garnered over 750 million users worldwide – surely those statistics indicate the Palo Alto success story is doing something right? But then again, Facebook showed us that we can get something that’s better than MySpace, and so it can be brought down to logical conclusion that Google+ has the potential to show us a new face to the social techno-phenomenon.

    Google’s approach revolves around the notion of “circles” – as in “real life”, we should be able to share things with people within our different social circles. This extends the social media ritual of sharing that has become so essential to its very establishment. What’s even cooler, though, is the inclusion of group video chatting and, of course, tight integration with Android (after all, Google does develop the mobile operating system).

    These are exciting times to be living in, and I would certainly like to experience what Google+ has to offer. If anything, the competition that is poses for Mr Zuckerberg and his team will only result in one thing: a better digital social experience for us all.

  • Pottermore: On Second Thought…

    Now that the excitement over J K Rowling’s latest reveal has died down, I’ve come to my senses (somewhat) and, after reading an excellent article by one of my other favourite writers, Lev Grossman (TIME magazine writer and author of The Magicians), I’ve realised that Pottermore may actually be detrimental to the art and magic that is reading.

    As Lev says,

    There are two things that separate reading from other media experiences. One is that reading is better: it’s richer and deeper and more complex and more beautiful. It’s more intellectually rewarding. And I say this as, among other things, a hard-core video gamer. All media have their strengths. I just think reading’s strengths are strongest.

    So, the question is: will Pottermore be able to really augment the reading experience, or will it detract from the richly-imagined Potterverse that is so unique to each and every reader out there? Of course, the website hasn’t been released as yet, so we can’t say anything definitive about it just yet. But if you were to take away the whole glitz shrouding the site, is Pottermore just another interactive website – akin to countless other “spin-off” sites that publishers deem necessary to promote books to a younger, more techno-savvy readership?

    Rowling said it herself, that e-books are here to stay. So, for the fist time ever, the Potter books will be available in digital format. But will this cause an entire generation to not experience the charm of reading traditional “codex-form” books, as they become engrossed in the digital formats that are set to permeate the reading sphere?

    For me, it all comes down to increasing global readership in general. The biggest challenge the world faces today is a dwindling population of readers, as more and more people become infatuated with an excess of multimedia. Not that I’m saying multimedia is bad – hey, I’m a big fan of digital content. But the fact that e-books have the potential to convert more people to the joys of reading is enough to ensure that this sacred art lives on.

    Read Lev Grossman’s brilliant observation of Pottermore here at the TIME website.

  • Pottermore is Announced!

    Harry Potter author JK Rowling has officially announced Pottermore, described as “a free website that builds an exciting online experience around the reading of the Harry Potter books.”

    Here’s the official announcement video from her YouTube page.

    Pottermore is a unique experience that brings the richly-imagined world of one of the most-loved stories to the sphere of the social web, embracing powerful new technologies to connect readers and the author herself. As speculated, Rowling has “hoarded” a ton of information on the world of Harry Potter that has been unreleased to the public. Through the new Pottermore experience, we will be exposed to fascinating facts about this story – essentially, more exposition on the world of Harry and his friends (and foes).

    My initial reaction to this is that Pottermore appears to be a social network for ardent Harry Potter fans – a “Facebook for the Harry Potter world”. Of course, leveraging the immense popularity of the series, for the first time ever, the Harry Potter books will be available in e-book format directly from the new website.

    Pottermore is an extension of the Potter universe, and will allow readers to shape the stories.

    This is an exciting concept indeed. What are your thoughts? Share them in the comments below.

    Visit Pottermore here.

  • The Owls Are Gathering…

    It seems like Harry Potter author JK Rowling has another magic trick up her sleeve. The billionaire scribe has revealed that she will have something of great importance to announce to fans around the world, through a new website tantalisingly called “Pottermore”.

    Of course, we can see from the very name of this site that it is an anagram for “more Potter” – hinting that, perhaps, there’ll be a continuation of the series… but I think otherwise.

    The beloved Harry Potter septet ended spectacularly in Deathly Hallows, and ardent fans will be treated to the “movie event of a generation” in the conclusion of the cinematic adaptations when Part II releases next month.

    Speculation from leading Harry Potter fansites like MuggleNet and The Leaky Cauldron point to Rowling releasing a comprehensive encyclopædia of the wizarding world. In fact, from an earlier interview I saw with Steve Kloves, the films’ screenwriter, apparently Rowling has a vast storage of information on the world she imagined – far more than what she revealed in the seven books that made her a bestselling author.

    Other rumours point to a massively-multiplater online game akin to World of Warcraft, with physical-world tie-ins like hidden wands placed around the world that must be found.

    The official announcement happens in just over an hour from a special YouTube page Rowling has set-up.

    Visit the YouTube page here.

    Visit Pottermore.com here.

    I, like thousands of other devout Harry Potter fans out there, am waiting with bated breath.