The 93rd Comrades Marathon takes place on Sunday, June 10, 2018. Why is this a scary fact for many people? Because it means that if you’re one of the 20 000 people running this year’s race, you're running short on training time! Experts reckon that you should run in the region of 600kms in training between January 1 and the day of the race itself. And that's just to make sure you finish! Of course, if you want to...
We are bombarded daily with new criminal MO’s and the latest shocking house breaking stats. We are flooded with advertising from security companies and insurance brokers, new and improved alarm systems, thermal imaging and so much more. It’s easy to see why the average South African suffers from a type of mental exhaustion that sees us shrug our shoulders and turn away when it comes to security awareness. It’s understandable, but it’s not ideal. Most of us have some sort of...
“I've seen people do some crazy things. A friend in an armed robbery kept trying to grab the gun and asked the robber if it was real. They just wanted to touch it.” This quote from a conversation on Quora highlights the effect that fear has on us humans. We may laugh at the absurdity of these stories, thinking erroneously that we are immune to the biological effects of fear. But the bottom line is when we are truly afraid...
Wondering whether to sign up for mobile statements for your banking, insurance, medical, retail and other services? Read on… It’s one of life’s little pokes in the eye. Somehow, notices of speeding fines and other traffic violations always seem to find their way into our postboxes. That Christmas card from Auntie Violet with R200 tucked inside, however? Not so much. A recent letter to the Mail & Guardian expresses the frustration that is common to many South Africans: “There is...
When it comes to marketing potential, there is nothing – and we really do mean nothing – that comes close to the virtually unlimited power of a mobile phone. There are almost seven billion mobile phone subscriptions worldwide. (This represents about four and a half billion people, as some have more than one subscription). According to research from Hubspot, more people own a mobile phone than a toothbrush! When you compare those statistics to just two and a half billion...
Five billion. That’s how many smartphone users there are likely to be by 2019. That’s five billion people who are pretty much always online, and always available – and they expect you to be too. Your employees need to be on call from anywhere, at any time. With consumers increasingly connected to more advanced technology, you simply can’t afford to hide behind outdated communication systems. The idea that business only happens during business hours is no longer a thing. Business hours...
Cellfind has partnered with Cell C to deliver a value-added service mobile application to allow subscribers prompt access to emergency services. Cellfind built the Cell C MiAssist app using its location-based technology and value-added service offering. Cell C also partnered with ER24 to provide emergency services on the app. The app is available on both iOS and Android. It is currently only offered to Cell C's contract subscribers. However, Cellfind COO Jacques Swanepoel says the companies are busy with phase two, which...
Marketers who want to use mobile devices to interact with consumers in Africa will find that SMS and USSD still offer them the ability to reach the widest swathe of customers at the lowest costs. However, the rapid growth in smartphone penetration means that the picture will look markedly different by 2020. That’s according to Jacques Swanepoel, COO of Cellfind, who says that the fact that so many African customers are still using basic cellphones and feature phones means that...
TeleCommunication Systems and Cellfind have partnered to provide solutions for mobile network operators (MNOs) in Africa to quickly and cost-effectively deploy location-based services (LBS) that drive new revenue streams and enhance subscriber loyalty. TeleCommunication Systems brings its insight in LBS infrastructure to the partnership, while Cellfind offers mobile LBS applications for both the consumer and business markets. The combined hosted turnkey solution can fast-track MNOs into the LBS market without big upfront investments, the companies claim. "This arrangement combines TeleCommunication Systems'...
