Sunday Independent 2021-06-06

Twitter announced that it would be rolling out its first iteration of Twitter Blue in Australia and Canada. This initial phase is designed to gain a deeper understanding of what will make Twitter experience more customised, more expressive, and generally speaking more.Those who sign up for a Twitter Blue subscription will get a set of features and perks that include undo tweets and reader mode. Samsung has launched a new door-to-door repair service in South Africa for smartphones, tablets and wearables. Samsung users will be able to request a repair service in the comfort of their homes or workplaces by simply going online, filling the forms, and have their devices picked up for repairs and returned back to them. Facebook is touting its latest feature, which will allow…

Dieketseng Maleke dieketseng.maleke@inl.co.za LABOUR law specialist Grant Wilkinson has warned businesses to get their ducks in a row as the Protection of Personal Information Act is soon to take effect. The much-anticipated Popi Act comes into effect on July 1, giving businesses until the end of this month to comply with the new legislation. The act was signed into law in 2013 but parts of it became effective a year later. Regulated by the information regulator, the act will be used as a reference in instances where consumers feel that their personal information is abused or companies demand personal information when it is not necessary. “The act provides rights and relief to clients in protecting their personal information, all companies that process personal information must comply with the Popi Act,”…

Wesley Diphoko wesley.diphoko@inl.co.za When WhatsApp introduced its controversial privacy policy, many people migrated to other platforms such as Telegram and Signal. During the same period, data from analytics firm SensorTower suggests that downloads of the privacy-focused Signal app grew by nearly 1 200% year-on-year throughout Q1 2021. It was downloaded an estimated 64.6 million times. January was the blockbuster month for the app, with more than 51 million downloads. Telegram’s download growth in the same period was 98%, and the app recorded 161 million installs. This surge also helped Telegram cross the mark of 500 million monthly active users on the platform. The massive migration to other platforms has, however, not impacted WhatsApp as much. Facebook told a leading tech start-up media entity that most users had accepted the updated…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za THE UNCERTAIN business and market environment caused by the pandemic has resulted in falling share price valuations, which in turn has caused the founders and controlling shareholders of listed companies to consider delisting and buy-back minority shareholdings. However, “looking forward into 2021/22, the roll-out of Covid-19 vaccines should underpin an economic recovery. There is a resurgence of a positive sentiment that companies that had withdrawn or delayed IPOs (initial public offering) are now considering their return to the market and we should start seeing some more corporate actions and spin-offs into listed companies,” the JSE said in response to BR questions. In a bid to reduce costs in the tough environment, it had proposed relief measures in June 2020 to stimulate liquidity through discounted trading fees, and…

Ben Bierman ALMOST every aspiring entrepreneur gets their chance to weigh up whether it is a good idea to have a close friend or family member as a business partner. The answer is not always simple and almost always varies from scenario to scenario, and person to person. There is certainly a reason why the adage, “never do business with family and friends”, is an expression rather than a concrete rule. As a starting point, when faced with this kind of decision, ask yourselves the following salient questions: Are we in it for the same reasons? The most successful and efficient business partners share a vision and are clear about their goals from the onset. Is the collective ambition to employ a growth strategy that will boost the business’s bottom…

Pali Lehohla CATS do not devour their kittens often, but when they do, you should know they made a very difficult decision to come to that conclusion and take that action. Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke released the results of the first quarter labour force survey (QLFS) this week. Compared to 2008, the share of employment for the youth aged 15-34 proportionately and in absolute terms has been gutted in favour of their parents. The mother cat is devouring the kittens. When I, as Statistician-General, made the point in 2016 that the current generation of the young was underperforming relative to their parents in education and employment outcomes, then-president Thabo Mbeki said we must be a strange nation. However, it should not be the fact of being strange, but rather what should…