Last week, Facebook took the first step to becoming a public company by filing its S-1 documents with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Enormous figures are being bandied about but, as with Google, which listed the year Facebook was founded, the question investors
“You’re being irrational.” No one likes to hear those words. They are the verbal equivalent of a pat on the head. But, like it or not, we are fundamentally irrational beings. And the area in which we should be the most clear-headed, our personal finances, is usually
Just over a year ago I asked whether Facebook was really worth US$50bn. On Thursday I got my answer: no, it’s worth more like $100bn. After years of flirting with the market, Facebook has finally opened its kimono and started the process of offering its shares for public trading. On 1 February
Christo Davel, former head of now-defunct online bank 20twenty, sparked intense debate and provoked security warnings from local banks last week when he took the wraps off his new venture, personal financial management website 22seven. The start-up got itself noticed. But is the service safe to use?
Two related US bills have recently been the topic of much controversy. Public outcries and widespread online protests were followed by an unprecedented Internet blackout on 18 January. The blackout was supported by the likes of Google, Facebook, Reddit and Wikipedia, to name but a few, and was not only
Yesterday, a new personal financial management service called 22seven was launched in SA. It allows you to track your personal spending and savings with tools for financial planning. The interface is slick and the intention of the developers, who I have spent some time in conversation with, is to make
You could almost feel sorry for Google’s management team lately. Their every move draws stinging criticism from the media, regulators and customers. The latest kerfuffle? Google is changing its privacy policies on 1 March. Now, website privacy policies are generally like Ayn Rand novels and the Government Gazette
Looking around SA, it’s hard to believe BlackBerry maker Research in Motion (RIM) is in trouble. The BlackBerry remains South Africans’ smartphone of choice but in developed markets consumers are shunning it in favour of alternatives. The resignations this week of long-serving
Last week, Eastman Kodak filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. How did the Rochester-based company that made photography accessible, affordable and ubiquitous go from being unbeatable to broke? It wasn’t hubris or avarice that prompted Kodak’s
It seems such an obvious truth now: the Internet can be catalyst for political and social change. But until the Arab Spring of 2011 few people fully realised or believed quite how powerful it could be. Now the US government, accustomed to celebrating the democratising power of the Internet, is getting a taste of
