And they always have been

Bizcommunity recently published one of my articles The times they are a changin’. It discusses how everyday life has changed from to digital, and how it has left many people wondering as to how to deal with it. You can find the article here. Give it a read.

Nice angle on this story.

It is a captivating story, isn’t it? Julian Assange, the face of Wikileaks, is now an enemy of some of the most powerful people in the world. This Australian born ex-hacker, questionably accused of sex crimes, is now on the run from Interpol and hiding out in Europe. The recent leak has spread like wildfire over news sources, while its web origin is under constant DDOS attack, at least in part by a hacker known as “The Jester” ( Th3J35t3r). It’s the closest thing, at least in my lifetime, to watching a political psychological thriller occurring in front of the eyes of the public.

The Internet is a series of tubes... perfect to transfer money!

The market for digital content in South Africa is in a curious place at the moment. With just over 6 million Internet users in this country, and less than half being comfortable with using higher level web services, those who would buy digital content are barely numbered in the hundreds of thousands. At the same time, we watch as digital content is exploding throughout the developed world. As an example of this success, 27% of worldwide legitimate music sales are now online (according to the IFPI). That’s a $4.2 billion industry that has emerged in less than a decade. Apple’s iTunes Online Store is responsible for 70% of these sales (19% of worldwide music sales, through one online store). Online game and movie downloads are also gaining traction over physical sales. There seems little doubt that digital content is not only a growing industry, but one that will continue to grow and consume many other, traditionally physical, media.