Let me preface an introduction to it first by that I can’t remember the last time I washed my own car. I feel guilty about that fact because of my upbringing – my dad is one of those men’s men who believes that a man washes his car and is proud of doing so. He’ll get up at 7 on a Saturday and wash his car until it’s spotless. And I appreciate that – he is valuing the possessions he has worked very hard to obtain. I’m different. I could care less for washing my car. I like a clean car and feel good when it is so, but would far rather pay someone to do it for me. I use ‘job creation’ as an excuse…

You might have guessed that the business I am talking about is a humble car wash. Situated on South Rd by the Shell garage (near the Rivers church complex), Morning View car wash is a simple company with a winning formula. It’s not one of those machine washers, it’s a human-only, pressure-washer-powered experience followed by intensive drying and interior cleaning that leaves your car – forgive the cliche but it’s true – good as new.

The owners of the car wash know full well it’s not the easiest business to differentiate from competitors. We have our cars washed largely based on location and convenience. I don’t know many people who are loyal to a car wash! So in order to create loyalty and a repeat customer base they’ve come up with simple ideas that make the experience painless and professional. These were some of my observations:

1. Happy staff. It’s not rocket science… Happy staff mean great service. The supervisors don’t sit back barking orders to their underlings – they get involved, give advice, participate, clean the cars themselves. The most senior people are willing to do the crappiest jobs. It means their staff are interested and motivated. Perhaps they have a scheme in place that rewards staff based on the amount of vehicles they process, I’m not sure, but whatever they’re doing works. The staff I met were professional, smart and friendly. I went upstairs for lunch at Europa and the staff there could learn a lesson from the car washers in the basement…

2. It’s freakishly clean. Car washes are supposed to be littered with manky rags, cranky old vacuums, rubbish from cars, etc. But the whole area is kept clean and tidy, probably by the staff who actually care about where they work.

3. Above and beyond. I paid R 130 – R 70 for wash, dry, interior and tyre polish and R 60 for a leather treatment. Then after the clean, which was great, I asked one of the supervisors to look at an oily stain on the door panel leather, which he then proceeded to fix for me, no extra charge. Before I climbed back in my car someone had put a little carpet outside it to prevent me treading soapy water into the car. How’s that!? Just excellent service all round. Customers don’t remember businesses who do what they expect, they remember those that exceed their expectations.

The parking area underground was packed with at least 30 freshly washed cars, with many lined up to get washed outside. The valet area (R 400 whole day clean on every part of the car) was packed too. It’s simple – do great work and business will come, regardless of how ‘ordinary’ your occupation is.

The conference will discuss pertinent issues relating to media, public relations and branding in both the public and private sectors. The premise is that media, public relations and branding combined act as a magnet, and a channel of communication, that holds all sections of an organisation together.

The summit promises to focus on new strategies aimed at improving public relations and corporate communications for companies. The idea is that this will improve your company’s reputation in the eyes of management and stakeholders. According to the organisers, those who attend will walk away with the latest ways to integrate media measurement into their company’s business goals.

When: 20 to 21 October, 2010

Where: The Park Hyatt Hotel, Rosebank, Johannesburg, South Africa

Fee: R7999

To attend, contact Bronwyn: 011 781 9131 or info@asmcomm.co.za by close of business on Tuesday 19^th of October.

Considering that, and how blown away I was with the second annual Bookmark Awards evening held last night at Movida in Jozi, it’s clear that digital in South Africa is definitely growing up and competing with it’s print, TV and radio cousins for quality.

From the high quality of the judging panel, to the evening’s entertainment (1st Project and the Dirty Skirts) to the really funky awards themselves, it really was a world class event. Huge congrats goes to Adrian from Habari, Ben from Stonewall+ and Rob from Quirk (Rob justly walked away with the best contribution to digital in 2009 award) for their roles in the success of the event.

Big winner’s on the evening included Gloo, Quirk and Stonewall+. Afrigator walked away with an award, while Women’s Health (a Cerebra project) was nominated in the publishing category.

I look forward to next year’s event!

Thanks needs to go to eBucks who sponsored cocktails for all in attendance and gave an insightful talk on virtual currency, and also to our guest speaker Ronnie Apteker. The inimitable Toby Shapshak kindly offered up a pile of Stuff magazines for those in attendance, and it seemed fun was had by most.

I was quite disappointed in FTV as a venue (I paid R27 for a beer – ridiculous), and so we continue to search for the ideal venue. Your suggestions are welcome if you have any ideas!

To promote their new range of mens and ladies shavers, Philips linked up with the very impressive and professional teambuilding outfit, The Poker Room, the brainchild of Cape Town entrepreneur Mark Bernberg.

I love poker. I started playing poker late last year, after my brother encouraged me to learn the game with ‘play money’ chips on a poker website. It didn’t take long to get hooked, and to cut a long story short poker is fast becoming my favourite sport (yes, I said sport) – and I’m not the only one. Millions of people the world over are falling in love with the highly strategic, thrilling game that is Texas Hold ‘Em No Limit poker – it is in fact the worlds fastest growing sport. Having graduated from it’s seedy roots and history poker is now ranked closer to it’s strategic equals – chess, backgammon and bridge – rather than slot machines and blackjack.

Recognising this trend and acknowledging the numerous analogies that can be drawn not just between poker and business, but poker and life, Mark’s business seeks to take the game of Texas Hold ‘Em poker to companies and brands in such a way as to help them understand just how critical it is to build relationships, understand people and leverage yourknowledge of those people in today’s economy – skills that are essential in poker too. From their site: “If good business is all about relationships, then let’s stop and think about the relationship. Any relationship is the simple interaction between two people. Therefore before attempting business interaction within any relationship; it’s in your interest to understand what that other person is thinking, and more importantly, how this thinking can affect the relationship. And this understanding is defined through the economic and financial principle of… Game Theory”

I was deeply impressed with The Poker Room’s ability to link their offering with Philip’s message, the professionalism of the staff and just how quickly newcomers to the game picked up on the sheer thrill of poker. Only negative side? I spent all of last night’s drive home thinking “now why didn’t I think of that!!?”

• Stay true to yourself

  There is a plethora of self-help books, training programmes and online resources that will help you become a better speaker, not to mention formal clubs like Toastmasters that are brilliant for honing your craft. Also, it’s essential that you pick up tips from colleagues in the speaking industry. But I want to encourage you to stay true the the characteristics, traits and sometimes even habits that make you who you are – it is one of the ways you’ll differentiate yourself and develop a style that will be memorable. I have given up trying to be like the speakers I admire and instead borrowed valuable stuff, while celebrating what it is that I do uniquely.

• Know your audience

  It’s embarrassing to admit but I have found myself doing some last minute tap-dancing on more than one occasion because I took for granted who I would be speaking to. Do some research, ask for a briefing from the organiser of the event, spend some time understanding the industry – certain anecdotes, jokes, stories or illustrations just won’t work as well with some audiences. Rather save yourself the pain and spend those extra few minutes preparing.

• Tell stories

  When I think about great presentations I have seen, I remember the stories the speaker told. If you want people to remember what you have to say, tell a story. The nice thing about stories is that you can, unless you’re speaking about a factual event, be quite creative and elaborate. The ability to communicate meaning effectively through metaphors and stories is fast becoming a competitive differentiator for leaders in business, so it’s a no-brainer that us public speakers should refine this skill as part of our craft.

• Use props

  One of my favourite stand up comedians is Demetri Martin. His brilliant use of a flip chart inspired me to start using atypical props in my presentations. Today I tend to incorporate flip charts, brooms and even the remote for the data projector in random moments in my presentations. It doesn’t work for everyone, but if done right, can be extremely effective and memorable.

• Speak for free!

  What!? Speak for free?? Earlier this year I advertised on this blog that I would be offering anyone who booked me in a specific period of time my social media talk, for free. I pitched it as an initiative to improve my preso, but in actual fact the primary motivation was a marketing one :) I wanted to get out there and get seen, and hopefully use the exposure to land more gigs. It worked. I did 29 free talks and a plethora of consulting business and more talks sprung from the experiment. Why not give it a go?

BONUS TIP:

Record your talks and put the videos on your site – many of you think this will lead to people stealing content or showing their staff your video instead of hiring you. That might well happen, but the fact is that it’s probably going to happen anyways. Rather put your content out there to be viewed, passed on, commented on and who knows – if you’re good enough it might go viral!

I trust these few tips from my speaking experience will help you improve your business, regardless of what level in your speaking career you are at. Good luck!

Prizes on offer:

• The first five valid entries drawn out win FREE tickets
• The next ten qualify for R4000 subsidies from the standard price of R6500 – attendance costs R2500
• Every other valid entry qualifies for R3000 subsidies from the standard price of R6500 – attendance costs R3500

How to enter:
To qualify to enter entrants will need to send an email titled “I would like to win a free place for Mobile Web Africa” to info (at)allamber(dot)co(dot)uk with these details: Name, Position, Company, Telephone, Email, Company Website Address, Years company has been operating, Number of staff working at the company.

The competition closes on Friday 18th September and the Winners will be notified on Monday 20th September

Get your emails in now!

I was jealous – I wanted to be a young South African to take to lunch. Not only because it was a great accolade, but also because I like free lunches.

This year I was very fortunate and honoured to be included in the very same insert in the technology category, among much respected colleagues like David and Marc Perel, Vincent Hofmann (who recently joined Cerebra), Matt Buckland, Adii, Heidi Schniegansz and more.

Undoubtedly the highlight of being included in the list was an invitation to a lunch, hosted by M&G, where Prince Mashele of the Institute for Security Studies delivered a brilliant speech that challenged me to my core, and I believe needs to be shared. He kindly offered to let me share it with you here:

Master of Ceremonies, Mr Songezo Zibi;
The Editor-in-chief of the Mail and Guardian, Mr Nic Dawes;
Representative of Xstrata South Africa, Mr Eric Ratshikhopa;
The 300 influential young South Africans;
Invited guests;
Ladies and gentlemen,

I am humbled by the honour to address the cream of South African youth today.

To be selected by the Mail and Guardian amongst 300 Young South Africans people must take to lunch is a confirmation of the prestigious position you occupy individually in our society today.

As a collective, you are the best that our country has in 2009, and what we will have in the foreseeable future. You are to South Africa what an emerging sun represents at dawn.

I need not remind you that you are all youth leaders in different fields of our social, political and economic life. Those who are worried about South Africa’s future look at you for national inspiration and hope.

For that, you all deserve a round of applause!

While I am aware that you are here to celebrate your individual success stories, I would like to take advantage of your collective presence and pose a question I think future generations will ask later on in your lives: Where were you, and what did you do when South Africa began to degenerate?

I raise this worrying question because I agree with the assertion made by Roberto Mangabeira Unger in his book, Democracy Realised, when he says:

The perversion of economic growth and its fruits begins when we attempt to make up for the scarcity of public goods by producing more private ones, and to find in the private consumption a barren solace for social frustration. (1998:7)

Who amongst you would argue that we have not yet reached a perverse stage in the evolution of post-apartheid South Africa, where the public sector is the worst preferred, and the private sector the most preferred?

Should anyone doubt if this is true, imagine how an average young South African would reply to the following questions:

• If you had a choice, would you like your mother to be treated in a public or private hospital?
• If you had the means, would you take your children to a private or public school?
• If you had a private option, would you go to the Department of Home Affairs for services?
• If you lived in a townhouse, would you trust the police or ADT to secure your private property?
• If you had to negotiate an ethical business transaction, would you prefer to talk to a politician or a private entrepreneur?

Those who would choose the private sphere as their answer to these critical questions must immediately be alerted that they are active participants in the construction of a private sub-state in South Africa!

A private sub-state is populated by people who choose to kill their conscience by conveniently turning a blind eye to the ills plaguing society. Yet the wealth and incomes generated by these private citizens owe a great deal to the sweat and toil of the suffering workers and the poor.

In his famous book, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, Walter Rodney lamented this situation in post-colonial African states, focusing on the middle class. He said:

They squander the wealth created by the peasants and workers by purchasing cars, whisky, and perfume. (1972:19)

As the South African middle class, I am not sure if you do not, as Walter Rodney observed elsewhere in Africa, “squander the wealth created by the peasants and workers by purchasing cars, whisky, and perfume.”

But I am certain that, if the champions of the private sphere were to succeed, it would essentially mean the hastening of the very social perversion that Roberto Mangabera Unger wrote about.

The tragedy, however, is that at the peak of post-apartheid South Africa’s economic success in 2007, the Bureau of Market Research at the University of South Africa estimated the size of the black middle class – the so-called Black Diamonds – at 9.3 million.

We now know the economic difficulties the black middle class has fallen into, when the Reserve Bank raised interest rates sharply and the global economic crisis began to hit home.

Even if we were to combine the struggling Black Diamonds with the entire white population, we would still have to confront the painful reality that more than half of our country’s population live in poverty and cannot afford the services provided by the most preferred private sector.

It is these objective socio-economic conditions that divide our nation into ‘us’ versus ‘them’. Those who are cushioned by the comfort and opulence of the private sphere continue to withdraw further and further into their private cocoons, while the poor are left to their own devices.

But the two worlds do, in many ways, interface in a manner that reinforces and continues to widen the chasm between the haves and have-nots. Those who have the means feel threatened by those who do not. The propertied class fortify their private spaces to protect themselves against the property-less.

It is against this background that British cultural theorist Terry Eagleton wrote the following in his book entitled After Theory:

It is not hard to imagine affluent communities of the future protected by watchtowers, searchlights and machine guns, while the poor scavenge for food in the waste lands beyond. (2003:22)

When Eagleton made this profound observation in 2003, he probably thought he was a prophet whose words would come to pass like a religious prophesy that waits for centuries to pass before it is proven right.

Little did Terry Eagleton know that, three years down the road (in 2009), a fellow like me would address 300 Young South Africans, among whom there would be those who already live in communities protected by watchtowers, searchlights and machineguns while the poor scavenge for food in the waste lands beyond.

I say all this not because I am bent on spoiling your special day, but as a desperate attempt to point out your historic responsibility towards the broader society.

• If you are a famous young writer, and you do not write about the plight of the poor, history will ask: Where were you, and what did you do when South Africa began to degenerate?

• If you are a prolific young journalist, and you say nothing about corrupt politicians who embezzle public funds, posterity will ask: Where were you, and what did you do when South Africa began to degenerate?

• If you are a flourishing young entrepreneur, and you do not contribute to the improvement of the lives of the destitute, future generations will ask: Where were you, and what did you do when South Africa began to degenerate?

• If you are a singer, and you do not sing in defence of the downtrodden masses, history will also pose a question to you: Where were you, and what did you do when South Africa began to degenerate?

It does not matter what kind of work you do, there is a role you can and must play to stop the perversion of our society. Your success will mean nothing if it is not connected with the general advancement of society!

For those of you who are Black and whose success is connected to the struggles waged by the masses of our people, Frantz Fanon has an important message for you:

… we who are citizens of the under-developed countries, we aught to seek every occasion for contacts with the rural masses. … We aught never to lose contact with the people [who have] battled for [their] independence and for the concrete betterment of [their] existence. (The Wretched of the Earth, 1961:150-1)

If you do not take Fanon’s call seriously, the ‘us’ versus ‘them’ that already exists in our society will deepen its roots even further. You will fortify your private spaces without success. Criminals will not fail to reach wherever you live. ADT will not be enough to prevent the theft of your luxury sedan, the murder of your family members or the rape of your mothers, sisters and daughters.

We should indeed be wary of behaving as if the poor are powerless. When the gap between the poor, the middle class and the rich is allowed to widen its yawn, the poor always – and sometimes brutishly – have a way of outsmarting those who think they are educated and know it all.

Politically, the poor possess the disruptive capacity to disturb the untenable tranquillity of the educated elite. The destitute have it within their power to take over society in ways that leave the middle class kicking and screaming from the margins as if they are little children crying for help. As Roberto Mangabeira Unger reminds us once again:

The excluded … will not wait. They will strike back through politics, especially through the election of populist leaders, threatening to recommence the destructive pendular swing between economic populism and economic orthodoxy. (Ibid: 82)

Once this has happened, the educated class will be dismissed with derision, as if they have nothing to offer society. Society will be forced to celebrate mediocrity, and the slide into hopelessness can only be faster.

When mediocrity prevails, there will be circumstantial heroes whose heroism will be defended even if it means embarrassing society. Indeed, this hastens society’s collective descent into the abyss.

Once the poor have taken over, having been abandoned by the champions of the private sector, the public sector becomes a realm where corruption and inertia reign supreme! African and other countries that have gone down this road have, unfortunately, failed to make substantial reverse.

When the destitute strike back at the indifferent middle class and the rich, abnormality becomes normality; scorn is poured on sensibility; and rationality is subjected to demeaning ridicule.

When politics has reached this stage, the relationship between the authority of the office and the office bearer becomes tenuous. This is precisely what Herbert Marcuse refers to in his seminal book, A Study on Authority, when he says:

The dignity of the office and the worthiness of the officiating person no longer coincide in principle. The office retains its unconditional authority, even if the officiating person does not deserve this authority. (1972:16)

• Who amongst you does not know a youth leader whose authority does not coincide with that of his office?
• Who amongst you does not laugh or get embarrassed when some of our leaders speak on national TV?
• And who amongst you does not wish that some of our leaders were something close to Barack Obama?

If you have experienced this personally, it means that you agree with Unger when he says: “The excluded … will not wait. They will strike back through politics, especially through the election of populist leaders.”

If you find this situation familiar, you should then ask yourself the following question: How do I respond to Frantz Fanon when he says: “… we who are citizens of the under-developed countries, we aught to seek every occasion for contacts with the rural masses”?

If you do not ask yourselves this soul-searching question, you might find yourself unable to respond when future generations ask: Where were you, and what did you do when South Africa began to degenerate?

I know that most of you are by now upset with me, that I have troubled your hearts and souls during an occasion where you were invited to celebrate your success stories.

I did this because I am convinced that the Mail and Guardian selected you to be among 300 influential, young South Africans because of the burden history has placed on your shoulders.

Like the Mail and Guardian, I see no person better than you to rescue our society from the yawning divide between the private and the public spheres of life.

I see no other group of young people better placed to lead me in all facets of South African life in ten, twenty years from now. And I also think you have an immediate responsibility to halt our country’s slide into hopelessness.

There is nothing magical you are expected to do that is beyond your already proven capabilities! All you need to do is to intensify the work that made it possible for you to be selected as part of 300 Young South Africans people must take to lunch.

But when you do it, keep in mind that future generations will one day ask: Where were you, and what did you do when South Africa began to degenerate?

Congratulations, and thank you very much!

What do you think? Where were you, and what did you do when South Africa began to degenerate?

Net Prophet 2009, an initiative by the RAMP Foundation, blew all of that out the water with a really world-class first attempt today at the Old Mutual Business School in Pinelands, Cape Town. Quite simply Net Prophet brought together some chaps (we lacked girls, must be said) who have at some point in time or another experienced a degree of success building online or mobile businesses, apps, platforms or publications to share insights with tech startups, geeks, entrepreneurs and whoever else wanted to hear.

The conference was free to attend, funded entirely by sponsors (another differentiator), and I have no doubt that based on the overwhelming success of today’s event (must have been nigh on 400 people in attendance) the brand will grow to new strengths and entice bigger and better sponsorship in years to come. As a speaker, I was highly impressed with the organisation leading up to the event, and I gather attendees had just as positive an experience. Talks kept to time, generally, and we finished on time. Unprecedented. Perhaps the only downside was one or two minor technical glitches (really minor) and a shortage in snacks, but that was a testimony to the brilliant turnout.

A brilliant, personal touch was ‘custom’ intro tunes that the organisers played for each speaker as they went up to talk. They actually researched my favourite music to play the right stuff – I was blown away. The presentations will be going up on the Net Prophet website (videos and slides), I will link to them once they’re up. Once again, a huge thank you and congratulations to all involved.

Gatorpeeps is a micro-blogging platform, not unlike Twitter or Pownce (which died), that makes it really easy for existing Afrigator users to connect with other Afrigator users in 140 characters or less, and with all the other cool functionality you’ve come to expect from a micro-blogging platform.

I can say a few things with absolute confidence. Firstly please understand that I can take absolutely no credit whatsoever for this new extension to ‘Gator – this is purely a product of the amazing energy and efficiency being produced by the dream team of Hartman, Pretorius and Hein in tour Cape Town offices. I’m very much the silent partner ;)

Secondly I can guarantee that Gatorpeeps will either be a huge success or a bit of a flop. And that depends entirely on you, who have supported us so faithfully until now as we evolve this little beast of ours into something really useful, valuable and meaningful to you and the rest of Africa’s digital citizens. Help us make it a success by giving it a go and sending us feedback like you always do.

Awesomeness!