This week, on the music front, Stephen Hollis sets out the costs to the music industry and individual artists who produce the music we all enjoy as he discusses
the rise of the pirates of the digital age, and we also look at a different type of piracy. This is a far more deadly one in terms of being life-threatening (and even more costly in monetary terms), and it is also receiving attention, this time on the high seas, with
anti-piracy efforts being boosted by a joint navy exercise involving the German and South African navies.
For all of you who find bank fees... how can we say this tactfully... onerous... you may be interested in the tiff between two of SA's major banks as
FNB bites back at Standard Bank on the subject of bank charges.
And to end off, Martin Sprott and Dr Philip Bode say that South African companies had better get with the action and
join the social media conversation. As the writers say, in one way or another, social media has always been with us - but now your customers are not just chatting about you and your products over the fence, but on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. That means comments (good and bad) are reaching a far wider audience - so you should capture the "energy" and turn it to your advantage. As Sprott and Bode say... put social media at the core of your customer- engagement strategy.
Rod Baker, general manager: content
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IT services company Gijima and the University of Western Cape are scheduling a "Code Jam", which will take place between March and May 2012. Students are invited to submit innovative app ideas to the portal that will be expanded and rated by the Code Jam community. 
Craige Fleischer has been appointed head of mobile communications for Samsung Electronics South Africa. This appointment, which is effective as of 1 April 2012, will see Fleischer drive stronger market alignment and penetration for Samsung's Mobile Communications business division into both the retail and business sector, through his developed business portfolio and experience. 
Epson has teamed up with leading RIP provider EFI, to offer a complete package for all in-house designers, agencies and advertising departments to support their proofing needs. The new Epson Design Editions range includes three key products - the WT7900, the SP 4900 and the SP 3880 - allowing Epson to deliver a complete one-stop-shop for all in-house proofing needs. 
Communications Minister Dina Pule says the outsourcing of security has "definitely" reduced copper cable theft from Telkom. SA loses about R20m to copper cable theft every month, spurred by Asian demand for the metal. 
MWEB has concluded a strategic long-term agreement with Level 3 Communications, an international provider of fibre-based communications services, to exchange traffic to Level 3's global IP network and content distribution network (CDN), bringing services to South Africa and the Southern African region. 
South Africa will not probe allegations that mobile operator MTN paid bribes to win a licence in Iran, in exchange for Pretoria backing Tehran's nuclear programme, the foreign minister said on Monday. 
Internet security is one of those things that small businesses never think about, until they become the victim. "Small businesses are prime targets for cyber criminals," says Bruce Goodwill, sales director at AVG Technologies. 
LONDON, UK: comScore, Inc, a leader in measuring the digital world, has released an overview of mobile news access across the five leading European markets (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) using the 
BERLIN, GERMANY: The third annual WAN-IFRA Printing Summit opened in Berlin on yesterday with an inspiring message to publishers: despite conventional wisdom to the contrary, the latest technologies, trends and business strategies are helping many newspapers and printers thrive during challenging times. Germany's Die Zeit is a case in point. The weekly's circulation, reach and advertising income have been steadily increasing in recent years. 
