Coupons, Virtual goods, shopping communities and social shopping are getting a lot of attention from venture capital. Shopping communities are an industry that I have been following for the last 6 months. In Europe and North America in particular, the fashion industry have seen an emergence’s of digital fashion discounters.  Rue La La, Gilt, Vente – Privee, My Wardrobe, ideeli, RowNine and Beyond the Rack have provided users with various temptations and discounted goods. The industry, I believe work on a very simple concept that is exclusivity, with a supply and demand cycle that is managed aggressively. Most of them require membership that either needs to be applied for. I have either had to wait weeks to be given membership or have not had the ability at all to access their various campaigns.

In South Africa at the moment we have two of these communities.  They operate on a similar concept but both are different in the products that are available for purchase. 36Boutiques is a fashion only community and Luxury4Less provides various different product lines to their users.

I am of the opinion that this part of e-commerce could become a very big part of the overall picture as it provides luxury brands at discounted rates to users. Tell me about anyone that does not enjoy a sale? Also due to the fact that it is membership related, it provides the ability to communicate directly to the user through email.  The emails are a reminder that a brand is on sale and for a limited period of time.

How can you share the beautiful Cape with your international friends? One can either take photos and load them on a photo sharing service or add them to your facebook profile. If this too much effort then postcards become a great souvenir as you can add a short note with it and post it.

So recently I found some postcards that I particularly like. The designs are a graphic representation of certain highlights in Cape Town.The Winelands, Bo-Kaap, Cape Town and Namaqualand is shown.

They are made by Jesse Kramer from Chakalaka Designs. Having bought many of them it, I just need to add some notes and then post them to many parts of the world. The postcards are from Chakalaka designs and are available at the following stores in Cape Town:

• Heartworks- Gardens Centre;
• Rainbow Experience- Mandela Rhodes Place;
• Balletique- Sea Point;
• Rhubarb Room – Bo-Kaap;
• Wordsworth – Gardens Centre;
• National Gallery Gift Shop.

Also have a look at their Facebook Page for up to the minute information.

So share our beautiful province with friends and family.

Disclaimer:  I purchased my postcards and thought others might like to do likewise.

Workaholism is not a badge of honour. I think inherently we all are under the impression that working long hours is good. The book contradicts that and they point out that tired staff will make errors that will potentially lead to more work. I agree and believe that you should be able to set certain limits on how long you work on certain things. You need to understand when you are most productive and then consistently repeat the process. I tend to think that this could be seen as looking for balance between work and social life. I am fully aware that a startup founder will have to work mega hours as he needs to balance all the various different hats he has to wear. He needs to consistently speak to his staff, talk to his board, look for funding and get his work/tasks completed with limited resources.

but that just means they’re wasting time fixating on inconsequential details instead of moving on to the next task.”

They continue and state that all of their associates are to do time in their customer service part of their business which is something I agree with. Having worked with the public this installs a certain effect as they then understand that if they mess up then they will have to deal with the repercussions.  They also mention that personal communication from a CEO is a great indicator for the public on their importance.

Then they mention spam and the huge amount of content that we get from various people (blog posts, press releases, CVs) and how some of seems to have little purpose. I tend to agree with the notion and emphasise that everything that one writes needs to have a purpose.

The one thing that I agree with them is the over use of the term entrepreneur and start-up and how it seems to “be like a boys club”. I like the idea of rather calling it a starter than founder.

Then they also tackle meetings and the fact that in general they kill productivity and can be seen as toxic. I believe that one should only request a meeting as a last resort and rather communicate with email or short phone calls.
Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson have written a book that I believe I will be constantly going to as a reference or when I need some inspiration. So purchase one and see it as an investment into your own future.

“Working without a plan may seem scary. But blindly following a plan that has no relationship with reality is even scarier.”

We are creatures of habit, let’s be clear about that. I am not an expert, scientist or whatever one calls some with some expertise. I am me.. and my wallet makes decisions for me.. Simple. My parents have instilled in me a sense of bargain hunting in me and saving money comes naturally .. I hope.
However working in the e-commerce industry I can say, one saves money as you can browse till the cows come home. There is no pressure from a sales person (I get extremely annoyed when visiting a store and I get harassed by people looking for a commission..).

This leads to my reason for writing this post.. Shopping Comparison Engines. A life saver just like the sweet.. a legend in the making. It saves bandwidth.. a common problem with South African Internet users as one only have to visit one place instead of numerous online shops.

As far as I am aware, I believe South Africans are unaware just how lucky they are. We are fortunate to have some leading Shopping Comparison Engines in our midst. We have some: BlueString, Jump Shopping ,OneShop, PriceCheck and ShopMania.
It is as simple as entering a term of interest and then getting the desired results, having a look at them and clicking on the most relevant result and then purchasing it at the shop.
Looking for a flight and take away the travel agent commission.. sure ,look for it on the Internet.. looking to do some research on credit cards, loans etc.. find it online..
So what has changed.. simple,entrepreneurs have seen what is done in other markets and then taken all the risk and adapted it to their country’s need..
Being computer illiterate is a massive disadvantage, so if you know of someone .. help them to help themselves.

Is this friendship not really a percentage of trust that you have in the other part of the transaction. Yes, it is an intangible but it is a transaction, as it boils down to information being “sold” to a party. Ultimately we are sharing habits, likes and dislikes and general views on many topics. This is the ultimate information for digital marketers as they then can shape product/service offerings depending on the trend which is being written about, viewed on a viral YouTube video etc.

A colleague described it today as “how much information is given by both parties to one another”. I tend to agree with that. Is it real? That is really subjective in my mind as some “friends” could be people you have never actually met or it could be your next door neighbor.

I think it is also a bit of a deceit, as sometimes the friendship does not really exist. It is just to be seen by users and not a sign of real relationships.

Call me old school, but digital friendship, email, Instant Messaging and even phone calls are impersonal and keep people from meeting face to face. They might meet now and then but it does not replace real face to face talking and seeing a person’s facial expressions.

Ultimately it leads to a lot of bandwidth burned to view videos and pictures and text..

Then start-ups are an interest of mine and on the Bloomberg channel (channel 411) on DSTV there is a show dedicated to it. The show is hosted by Cris Valerio and she travels all over the world to report on start-ups and challenges they face. I have noticed that on her show, her guests are more willing to communicate on certain issues than on blogs. Venture is shown on Saturdays and Sundays in South Africa.

Bloomberg describes “Venture gives viewers an inside look at what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. The weekly half-hour program, hosted by Cris Valerio, will feature interviews with entrepreneurs and small business owners, focusing on issues and policy that impacts the way Main Street does business.”

Ultimately one gets all the information, you need to make your own assumptions on it. I certainly have found both of these to be good learning resources.

I look back to my studies and remember how some of my classmates just wanted to pass and others who wanted to achieve. Why is there the difference? It boils down to the individual and the internal drive that is found in the individual. Some have it and others not. Why do some people ask questions and other except the status quo? I tend to believe that is generated in your formative years. My parents always created the environment for us to talk about things and debate it and then ultimately find some common ground.

Education in my mind is a constant process.  One never feels that you know it all but being able to talk and talk sense on a variety of topics is what most people crave for. I can name a few friends who have this and also name others who are trying to talk but are merely rehashing forum posts and other people’s views. One must have an opinion and seek to talk to others about it but remember that pushing it down others’ throat is not the proper thing to do.

When I studied, we had to purchase text books (most of which I kept as reference works) and attend lectures.  Then every so often tests were written to test whether the knowledge has been acquired by the individual.  This is the traditional education picture and is seen worldwide.

However, the last few weeks I have realized that this picture might be changing. I read blogs (weblog for the purists), watch videos and have bought e-books on related topics. The education material is now available (some of it needs payment) but one need the ability to give it a relevancy value. Some information is naturally better than other due to the person’s skills being described. I have bought 3 E-books in the last couple of months and have found them decent in terms of the knowledge provided. E-books can be an income generator for the “online entrepreneur” as currently promoted by various successful bloggers. I generally research the author before purchase and also look for negative blog entries about the author.
Podcasts are also a great way on getting information on specific topics.

I like to listen to “The Digital Edge” – as the topics differ from week to week. What is nice about podcasts are that you can download it and load it onto your iPod and listen to it whenever you please.

This week in Tech is another podcast I enjoy. Leo Laporte and the Twit gang entertain while they educate. While I am  talking technology a local podcast that now has gone to livestreaming on a Friday,  is also a great resource  is the ZATech Show.

The picture that I am trying to paint is that the information which can further educate you is out there, you just need to find it. That is the tricky part but makes the knowledge acquisition process even more interesting. I believe that the process boils down to individual and the person’s ambition.
Process the information and make it part of your decision making cycle which I feel will make you a better staff member and potentially a better person.