What’s Trending Now?

Signal Has Arrived

Signal is a citizen and photojournalism news app which is going to have the entire offline media world in a panic.  Using the combination of picture- and story-sharing, everyone with an iPhone is about to be properly enabled to really make the news.

Why It’s Important?

Citizen journalism is no longer a novel concept.  You might know it better by the names “participatory” or “democratic” journalism, but essentially the term refers to the process whereby public citizens report, analyse and then disseminate news and information. But why is Signal important?  Isn’t it just like Twitter?  Well, in one sense, that analogy holds; Signal disseminates information, it is real-time, and gives users the freedom to choose what or who to follow.  But Signal goes further.

Whilst newspapers and magazines may have been able to argue for a peaceful coexistence alongside various social media platforms, there is no way that Signal isn’t the disruptive technology print media were always worried about.  “Professional journalists still have serious clout over the tweeting mob,” wrote Paul Sawers in 2011.

But ‘Signallers’ are not the tweeting mob, and the professionals will no longer benefit from that clout, because the app has its own means of disseminating information.  

In other words, the big advantages of accountability and reliability that professional journalists used to enjoy are no longer unique.  They have been conferred to users of Signal too.  And that should be terrifying to the traditional media industries. Signal is also introducing geo-location tracking, so that one can filter in the interesting stories that are literally around the corner.

What’s the Butterfly Effect?

I can think of four knock-on effects.  Firstly, although Signal is only in Beta on the iPhone at the moment, there is little doubt that it is lining up for an Android release in the near future.  This may well put the final nail in RIM’s coffin, unless somehow the developers are convinced to work on a Blackberry version as well.

Secondly, expect organised protest action to step up several levels.  The events in the Middle East and North Africa could easily be emulated; and with South Africa’s hugely powerful trade unions, strike action might well become more crippling than ever in the years to come.

Thirdly, apolitical news is not going to be stopped by the Information Bill.  In fact, within a few years, the Bill may well become redundant.  News-houses and broadcasting outlets are easily controlled by ruling parties, but democratized media is not.  If Signal creates a true culture of citizen journalism, then traditional media is likely to be displaced rather quickly; especially if it is being censored.

Fourthly, technology companies are going to follow the success of Instagram and Signal by building technology that is capable of disrupting industries, not users.  Innovation will become synonymous with brand strength – as we have already seen with Apple.

The Pioneers

Signal has been developed in the Middle East in the aftermath of the Arab Spring by entrepreneur Mark Malkoun, and is built around the idea of having a “simple way to see what is happening around you straight from the people.”

The real question to ask is how can companies get involved?  And at this stage there is no clear answer.  The technology is so new that it is difficult to define the role a brand would play in the new ecosystem.  I would imagine that being seen as a credible source of interesting news – with many geographically accessible subscribers – is very appealing.

Global Hotspots

In case you believe that South Africa is a long way off from being affected by this trend, remember that it has its very own citizen-generated news network, and one of the highest mobile penetration rates in the world. The market here would love another empowering app.

However the iPhone app launches only to a Lebanese audience this month.  Services will be coming to other countries in time and it is likely to have additional features, such as video, built in by then.

By: Benjamin Shaw

About Benjamin

Benjamin is a broad-thinker, fast learner and passionate trend spotter.
He particularly loves reading about the integration of technology into society, and the role that entrepreneurs have to play in new South Africa.

What’s Trending Now?

Stalkology as a Lifestyle

Following people used to be seen as strange and unnerving to general society.  Nowadays we brag about the numbers that make up our TweetStreet, and we create Facebook profiles with pictures accessible to just about anyone.  This has led to the development of stalkology – which the Urban Dictionary terms as knowing someone’s life in significant detail.

Why It's Important?

Stalkology is important for three reasons. Firstly, its very existence testifies to the way in which we view access to information as a right. Online privacy is close to dead and the extension is that 'stalkers' should be and are able to access significant details about our everyday lives. And that's pretty unnerving to a great many of people today.
The second reason that stalkology is more important than you think is because behind this trend of data accumulation lies the truth that it is no longer only the minority of the socially awkward who stalk or follow online, but is actually the majority of people. This may be a result of several factors; as society pushes couples to reveal everything about themselves before marriage, as magazines praise blog-stalkers and personal-gossip-seekers and as the online world begins to further ingratiate itself with life offline. In effect, stalkology not only echoes society's open-policy-sentiment, but promotes it.

The third consideration which makes stalkology important is that slowly people are realizing that one can find a perfect fit for just about anything, if one searches for it correctly. Whether it's finding the perfect date, product or holiday destination, there now really is no excuse not to 'pre-test' what you want by looking it/he/she up in significant detail. An interesting thought is whether becoming skilled at doing this might soon become a feasible career path...

What's the Butterfly Effect?

The exciting news for business is that it too is able to engage in the practise of stalkology. If consumers are able to research products and brand reputations, companies ought to be doing similar research on them. We all acknowledge that gone are the days where information asymmetry was an accurate description of the majorities of industries.
The big question therefore is how best does business go about accumulating precise customer data? We already know that traditional LSM labels don't hold and that niche tribes are proving more valuable to marketers and so there is a real need to stalk and reclassify customers.
Stalkology also bridges the divide between creepy and fun. It fills a gap. It compromises. We want to find ways to do things previously taboo, but still be seen in a positive light for doing them! This is a call to companies as outrageous as PETA to be more careful in what image they portray. Find ways to compromise between what people want and what people are comfortable to say they got.

The Pioneers and Global Hotspots

Technology appears to be bringing the first set of answers to this problem, with companies such as IdentityMine are developing apps aimed at seamlessly updating information between consumer and producer to enhance the shopping experienceby helping the retailer access customer preferences.
The often-cited, but equally valid example of a company which literally stalks its consumers is Facebook. Its business model revolves almost exclusively around its intimate knowledge of its users, and as can be seen with its valuation, clearly modelling offline, business behaviour on social, online behaviour is proving profitable.
Expect retailers to access and use intimate consumer data more liberally than ever, with little to no customer backlash.

By: Benjamin Shaw

About Benjamin

Benjamin is a broad-thinker, fast learner and passionate trend spotter.
He particularly loves reading about the integration of technology into society, and the role that entrepreneurs have to play in new South Africa.

We are crossing the threshold into a new world order. Tried and tested templates of business are either coming to the end of a natural cycle, or are proving glaringly inappropriate for a changing world. If technology has altered social dynamics, it is doing the same thing to businesses across all industries. You either adapt, or simply become irrelevant.

One of the benefits of technology is the ability to work where you want and when you want. It has also provided entrepreneurs the platform to start up small businesses: quicker and easier than ever before. The protracted economic downturn has, ironically, spawned a new breed of entrepreneurs while giving corporate companies a window of opportunity to restructure their  operations, and therefore their workforce, as well as reassess their management styles.

A new generation is also entering the workplace, and with it they bring a fresh perspective and a completely new attitude to work/life balance - usually at odds with the soon-to-retire top management (the “silverbacks” as one young worker so eloquently put it).
We have reached a crossroads where it is not the new workforce that must fit in with the old, but rather the old guard having to adapt to a brave new world.

New jobs are being invented as new technologies are adopted. How we want to work and where & when we work is becoming more flexible and fluid. Even the timelines and boundaries of when you learn and when you retire have blurred.

Whichever way you look at it, the idea of “one career for life” is fast becoming a relic of the 20th century, as is the concept of working 9 to 5. In the future, asking someone “So what do you do?” becomes a loaded question. Shouldn’t you start thinking about that now?

This presentation looks at the future of work from the following angles:

- How the traditional template of “learn, work, retire” is being challenged, and how it is already proving to be unsuitable for a fast evolving, new world order.
- How the mindset of the young workforce is forcing corporate companies to rethink and adapt, not only their HR policies but also the company’s operational structure.
- Understanding who the new workforce is, what they want and how to best harness this new approach for optimal productivity.
- New workspaces: the death of the “cubical nation” and the birth of transient workspaces.
- How technology has revolutionised the way in which we can work, and the impact this is going to have on company structures and operations.

Who should attend? This presentation is a must for any business grappling with the changes taking place in the workplace as well as with their workforce. It explores new ways to boost productivity, recruit and retain a forward-thinking workforce and most importantly, leave obsolete systems behind.

BOOK NOW

When: Wednesday, 16 May 2012
Where: Protea Hotel Fire & Ice! Cape Town
              New Church and Victoria Street , Tamboerskloof, Cape Town
When: 4:30pm ( Registration opens at 4:00pm)
How much: R300

To attend this presentation contact the Flux office on 011 726-5528 or e-mail Tumi at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

To book this presentation for corporate events, e-mail Bethea on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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