Smart Marketing in a Downturn

Right, so our government here in South Africa says we're not in a recession, but we all know that things are much tighter all around and the squeeze is on - there is most certainly a downturn in the economy.

According to Business Day, "SA’s trade deficit hit a record R17,4bn in January, swelled by plunging vehicle and precious metal exports as a global economic crisis hits demand."

For us with small businesses the knock-on effect will ripple down, so we need to work smarter.

Smart Marketing in a Downturn

Debbie Weil is one my online sources of inspiration and information. She recently wrote an excellent blogpost called Digital Cupcakes: Smart Marketing in a Downturn Whether you are Out of Work or Not.

Debbie Weil says: "Smart marketing in a recession is about building relationships. Most folks are not ready to buy - or hire. Everyone is ready to connect. That's the secret of social media marketing."

So for those of you who think you can still do all your business on the golf course or the "power breakfasts" - the playing field has changed. You need a solid online reputation to succeed in the market today.

You need to be able to connect with people online and establish a presence, and you need to be able to do it smartly.

Ronald McDonald as the Joker?

Ronald Mc Donald is a red and yellow clown for a fast food place I don't visit because trans fats freak me out... and I'm vegetarian.

But I came upon this blog of The 20 Most Terrifying Pictures of Ronald Mc Donald Ever, and I thought, come on how weird or scary can that get?

Most clowns are quite scary. They rate right up in the top ten of people's biggest fears, believe it or not. Fear of clowns is called Coulrophobia.

So I look at the first picture on this Ronald Mc Donald post and it is one of Ronald as the Joker. Now I really don't like clowns at all anymore.

The Sad Story of Carl Niehaus

Unlike many people, especially those critical of the ruling party, I don't see the story of Carl Niehaus as a sign of "endemic corruption" or a "breakdown of morals" in the ANC.

I know the excited, baying crowds, jumping up and down on the sidelines have been waiting since 1994 to say "We told you so!" (Of course they will deny that they are racists or that they really believe that black majority rule can never work).

They will spew lofty words like democracy and morality and leadership and rule of law. Wonderful, noble and great goals to strive for and exactly the kind of stuff I would love to have in place if I lived in a perfect society.

But I don't.

Do we forget so quickly? We live in South Africa.

It has been a VERY short time in history since we have been a FREE country.

I have Jewish friends who still won't buy a German car and when did the war end? (WW ll)

Does a soldier with post traumatic stress ever not duck and hide when he hears a car backfire? Does a beaten dog ever not cringe when you put out your hand towards it? Does an abused child, when grown, up ever "get over" the trauma?

This generation of South Africans and maybe the next will be too close to the horrors of apartheid - the "Crime against humanity" - to always function in the nicely packaged acceptable Western normal way.

Some escape with less scars, others with more.

We just have to deal with it. And not throw everyone under the bus.

I feel sorry for Carl Niehaus. I wanted to klap him when he went on and on, on TV like this was his last confession. I can only imagine how embarrassing it was for the ANC.

I thought Carl should have got himself a therapist long ago and sorted out his problems. Hopefully we will do so now, and find some peace.

Capitalism and Socialism in the New York Times

I'm a lazy blogger, but I've made a late-February resolution to blog more.

That a look at this diagram, it illustrates the words 'socialism' and 'capitalism' appearing in the New York Times as a timepiece visualization. 12:01am is January 1st 1984 and 11:59pm is January 1st 2009. By Jer Thorp of Vancouver, Canada.

Why Vote? Get Registered

Why Vote is an Internet initiative to encourage South Africans to take responsibility to their lives, to make sure they are registered and to vote in the coming general election (whenever that may be)

WhyVote.co.za is not affiliated to any media organisation, group, government organisation, political party, business initiative or conglomerate. WhyVote.co.za is an initiative run by citizens of this country, for citizens of this country.

Go on check it out. Download posters. Get web banners. Download videos.

If we want change, if we want things to be different, then we the people of South Africa have to act differently. We have to elect the politicians we want and hold them accountable.

So check out Why Vote?

COPE Leadership? Lynda Odendaal - Who?

I had to smile - obviously COPE is influenced by beauty pageants that have a first runner-up and a second runner-up. (first deputy and second deputy president)

Elected in Bloemfontein were multilingual, Terror Lekota as president with former Gauteng premier Mbhazima (Sam) Shilowa as its first deputy president and a political unknown from the same province, business woman Lynda Odendaal, as second deputy president.

I hadn't heard the results when I came in from a meeting and switched on the TV. I saw this blond chick hugging Terror and blowing kisses to the audience so I wondered what pop star they had with them up on stage, obviously to endorse the party. Then I saw the ticker tape and couldn't believe my eyes.

I watched her closely while they were singing the National Anthem and she doesn't know all the words - 15 years into liberation! (Maybe she was just overwhelmed or exhausted from "black power" salutes and blowing kisses).

The only mentions of her company on the net are a few media releases.

I know some COPE members. Some are women. Some are white. Some are both. All are infinitely more qualified than Lynda Odendaal for national leadership in a new political party that is promising to challenge the ruling party.

No Political Profile

"She has no political profile, but it will be built," Lekota said in an article in IOL.

Is the top echelon of a Party, three months (or so) before a general election a good place to build a political profile.

Well Sarah Palin did OK out of her VP spot, so who knows how Lynda Odendaal is going to shape up?

How will the ANC COPE with Transformation?

Unlike many of my friends, comrades and countrymen (and women) I haven't ushed of to join the Congress of the People (COPE).

I'm watching with great interest how the political scenario in South Africa is evolving and developing and how the African National Congress (ANC) is reacting to a potential real opposition.

I hope the leaders of COPE and the ANC are going to a bit more responsible in their rhetoric. The vote of the "masses" that they are competing for is like a Freestate veld in July when a high wind howls and someone throws a stompie out of a car window.

I'm afraid that if they throw too many stompies out of car windows we're doing to have casualties.

The masses are politically aware but maybe not sophisticated enough to understand the robust rhetoric of their leaders and the wild metaphors - it would be a tragedy if some decide to take matters into their own hands to ensure the security of their party.

I don't know whether COPE will last or not, but I believe that it can only be good in the long run for South African democracy, although a right centrist opposition - I don't know.

The ANC has to transform from a liberation organisation into a political party. It has to shake off its arrogance and get better organised, and with COPE nipping at it's heels - it might just emerge stronger.

Will the Congress of the People be just another splinter party or the beginning or a new look opposition - time will tell.