In Retrospect

May 28, 2010 | Uncategorised

Africa

Africa, The Next Throne of ‘Hip-Hop’: I’ve mentioned this story before because it was one of those experiences that always stays with you. In December 2009, I wrote the following in a column at AllHipHop.com: “In 1996, while serving as GM of Wu-Tang Management, I participated in a private meeting with executives from RCA Records. At a certain point they brought out our sales figures from around the world. It only included totals from the Americas, Europe and Asia… [more]

The Funniest Lines From Scathing SATC2 Reviews: You could grow out your bangs, or met your future husband, conceive and give birth or you could go see the groaningly long Sex and the City 2. But why bother when you can read some really clever reviews that skewer the film and actually make you laugh out loud. And you don’t have to buy a ticket… [more]

We Need You To Publish A Book: Far less than one percent of the 6.7billion people in the world have published a book. I feel blessed to be a part of this small community who have had the discipline to collect their thoughts, transfer them to computer or paper and then weather the publishing process. I meet people all the time who are either thinking of writing a book or are in the process but can’t seem to get past what I term, ‘the critical hump’… [more]

Key Factors That Make Brands Succeed On Facebook: “Your Brand needs to be on Facebook.” It’s the first thing anyone says these days and honestly, it makes me wince. There’s a reason why most brand ‘Fan Pages’ on Facebook are desolate wastelands that do precisely nothing for the brand’s reputation or sales… [more]

The 10 Best Stand-Up Comedians Of All-Time: Comedy is a tough business to become a part of. You either start writing it, hit the stage to perform it, or you do both. Stand-up is the cruellest of all the forms that comedy manifests itself. Being a stand-up comedian can be very difficult, as it takes just the right mixture of writing, timing and delivery… [more]

Why I Won’t Speak At A Conference For Free: Sporadically, I am invited to speak at various conferences. Last week, for instance, I was invited to speak at one focussing on private equity in Africa. I assume it is because I founded Crowdfund[more]

Net Prophet: Take the most innovative/successful/creative/ambitious thinkers and entrepreneurs in the Internet space, and ask them to share their stories, ideas and predictions for the future in a format that is fresh, relevant and engaging. The result: Net Prophet… [more]

The Art of the Start: I gave this speech at TIECON in 2006. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Meg Whitman also spoke that year. There are days you are “on,” and there are days you are “off.” This was definitely an “on” day… [more]

Five Ways To Maintain Authenticity With Social Media: Over the past several years, businesses have flocked to social media. Many have done so because they want to, and many more have done so because they think they have to… [more]