http://langabi.name/blog Paul Cook's blog Mon, 20 Jul 2009 17:52:12 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I've had some excellent examples of how completely differently bureaucracy can be managed by different organisations. Be warned: rants below. And raves. Cellphones 1: Vodacom I wanted to change my Vodacom account from a contract "Top-up 315s" package (which costs R315 a month (around $38), but rolls-over whatever you don't use in ... http://langabi.name/blog/2009/07/20/bureaucracy-some-good-and-bad We're in Lusaka at the moment, stayed here overnight. Chris and I flew in yesterday morning, and we had a lot of time to wander around, as the Land Cruiser on the way from Livingstone had a little wheel bearing problem. All sorted out now! My first impression of Lusaka was ... http://langabi.name/blog/2009/03/25/economic-imperialism-in-lusaka Since it's been more than a week since my last post, I think it's time for an update. I'm leaving on Tuesday for three weeks travelling through Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique. I'll be joining a few other people in a beast of an old-school Land Cruiser, and meandering through the game ... http://langabi.name/blog/2009/03/20/update This last weekend I attended the wedding of (as of the weekend) Rebecca and Danson Joseph, at the Cathedral Peak hotel in the Drakensberg. It was a beautiful wedding, and a good party -- many of us camped near the hotel, in a big shared campsite. My congratulations and best ... http://langabi.name/blog/2008/12/04/contradictions-in-the-countryside I'm very excited about a project running at the moment, as summarised below. Full disclosure: It's funded by my company, Thornhill, so I may be biased! The idea is a modern alternative to initiation - a way in which school leavers could be introduced to the attitudes, ethic and life skills ... http://langabi.name/blog/2008/12/04/biz-school Just got two oil paintings completed! (EDIT: By which I mean, the people who paint these have finished painting them for me, the buyer). Turns out there are people in Vietnam (where my father recently visited), who will paint big oil paintings like these (the larger one is more than ... http://langabi.name/blog/2008/10/21/my-first-art-commission Fascinating analysis of the numbers involved in the murky, model-driven world of the derivatives markets: The Size of Derivatives Bubble = $190K Per Person on Planet . Thanks to @RubyGold for the link. http://langabi.name/blog/2008/10/17/size-of-the-derivatives-market Project Diaspora TMS Ruge (A personal note: it's been great meeting Teddy, who's behind this project -- five days of conferences makes for good friends quickly!) We started with the reminder that the African diaspora is a highly educated and useful group of people! As a starting point, looking at mobile banking. Many African ... http://langabi.name/blog/2008/10/15/mobileactive08-project-diaspora South African Government Communication and Information Service (GCIS) Two representatives from the above government office are here, and looking for feedback on how best to use mobile technology for communication from the government. Great to see people working really hard on working out the best models. Where have we been: GCIS descends ... http://langabi.name/blog/2008/10/14/mobileactive08-mobile-technology-and-government-communication Power of Mobile Group Communication - HIV/AIDS support groups Anna Kydd - SHM Project called Zumbido, in Mexico: support networks for those living with HIV/AIDS sufferers anonymously but intimately and conveniently. Project development: lots of workshops, meetings with stakeholders. Pilot ran with 40 participants for three months. Groups of 10, mostly HIV positive, ... http://langabi.name/blog/2008/10/14/mobileactive08-hivaids-support-groups-via-sms Getting the numbers straight: Use of mobile phones by low-income youth Tino Kreutzer Incredible presentation -- I've always said that South African cellphone users are very savvy. This really confirms it, even (and especially) at the bottom end of the income spectrum. We all know about the huge growth in cellphone usage, but ... http://langabi.name/blog/2008/10/14/mobileactive08-use-of-cellphones-by-sa-youth In the Elevator with Operators - Pitching New Ideas to Mobile Operators Peter Verkat- Chief Marketing Officer MTN; Vuyani Jarana, Executive Director Regional Operations Vodacom; Moderator: from Global Some lingo: - A.R.P.U.: Average Revenue Per User/Unit (eg. UK $40/user/month, SA $15/user/month, elsewhere Africa as low as $5/user/month) - Churn: subscribers lost per month (lower ... http://langabi.name/blog/2008/10/14/mobileactive08-in-the-elevator-with-operators-pitching-new-ideas-to-mobile-operators In the Elevator with Operators - Pitching New Ideas to Mobile Operators Pieter Verkade, Chief Marketing Officer MTN; Vuyani Jarana, Executive Director Regional Operations Vodacom; Moderator: Jesse Moore Some lingo: - A.R.P.U.: Average Revenue Per User/Unit (eg. UK $40/user/month, SA $15/user/month, elsewhere Africa as low as $5/user/month) - Churn: subscribers lost per month (lower ... http://langabi.name/blog/2008/10/14/mobileactive-08-in-the-elevator-with-operators Thought experiment: what would it be like not to have a bank account and live by cash for one month. But yet, applies to maybe five billion people -- and this prevents them from being economic citizens. Estimated R12 billion under mattresses at any given time, in South Africa. First speaker ... http://langabi.name/blog/2008/10/13/mobileactive08-m-banking-and-m-commerce