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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According to the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS), the Department of Science and Technology and one of the country's leading banks, Absa, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding that will see the two collaborating on ICT and agricultural business development programmes. 
According to Business Report, Mpumalanga farmers say the country faces a national food crisis if water pollution from mining in the province is not brought under control. Louw Steytler, new chairman of Grain SA, told Beeld newspaper that the organisation was deeply concerned, as Mpumalanga was responsible for a large part of South Africa's food supply. 
We live in an era where it is generally accepted that future generations may never lay eyes on many of the species we have taken for granted in our own lifetime. This is why Food & Trees for Africa's founder, Jeunesse Park, gathered together a group of concerned individuals in 1990 with the realisation that the real environmental crisis in this country centred on people, uplifting quality of life and addressing climate change. 
