Eric Edelstein says “no comment(s)”

Eric posted an announcement about a new project to launch a 3rd blog aggregator about a week ago and the post got a fair amount of interest which was reflected, in part, in the comments section of that post. I took a look at the post to see if there were any updates and say the following:

3rd blog aggregator - no comment

Interesting! His finger must have slipped a couple times on the checkboxes and the “Delete” button …

Technorati Tags:
, , , , ,

April 25th, 2007 in Blogs and blogging, Don't be evil, People

Viewing 29 Comments

    • ^
    • v
    I have my own skewed take on the government's policies about telecoms and see two things at work here = greed and perhaps myopia. There is a lot of money to be made through Telkom so why open everything up? It isn't like the legal infrastructure isn't in place already for a potent communications industry (we have constitutionally guaranteed independence of ICASA and the legal framework for not just multiple telecoms providers but also competition across industries for media services). What we lack is leadership with a real social consciousness and backbone.



    The irony is that many of these jokers were educated in the former Soviet Union and have political affiliations with socialist organisations. I think their ideology shifted to selfish capitalism when they stepped into office.
    • ^
    • v
    @Max LOL re the tequila chirp, I wonder where you heard that from :-)

    The SA govt used the Malaysian Convergence Bill as a starting point for the EC Act and I wonder if modelling something in SA after the Malaysian Technology Corridor might not work too. I remember at some point being told that moving a tech business there earned you the first ten years tax free, plus the immigration process was fast-tracked and the govt had agencies that helped you network in KL once you were there.

    Of course SARS might not be that keen on this plan but its worth some thought and I'm pretty sure people in govt have already thought this through a few times already.
    • ^
    • v
    @Vincent indeed deserved .. and more to come I know , I've heard tales of the legend of the Maher mind. Apparently, a tequila or two may also be missing on your recipe for innovation (your brainfuel of choice or so the story has it ;-)

    In due seriousness though we do need to get involved in the policy-making process or at least actively guiding the strategy for long term sustainability in SA. The government with its pack of parasitic parastatals is unlikely to shape reality in the form of those kind of reforms without pressure and a practical plan. It's worth taking a look at Alec Erwin's planned infrastructure policy for the next 3years. As a practical framework to begin discussions, particularly as regard the telecomms development which affects the growth of our sector in particular.

    It's altogether far too late at night to be thinking about getting into the thick mucky complexities of tax and the instantly inflammatory ZA banking sector and creating incentives for risk. But certainly glad we're starting to have some worthwhile conversation.
    • ^
    • v
    I think we should all lay this to rest - as I said to Eric when he announced his plans, I wish him well and there is no such thing as too much competition in the market.

    The broader debate about innovation needs to be looked into seriously. My feeling is that the government is not creating the right climate for innovation, from taxes to infrastructure costs and until that happens innovation will be sporadic rather than systematic in the country. What we need is tax breaks for small businesses, cheaper broadband, cheaper hardware, funding for globally competitive salaries and we need the crime rate to reach a level where people can live here and not feel worried all the time.

    Thanks for the kind words Max.
    • ^
    • v
    hash: well said. and I agree, this is a massively interesting topic that should not just stop here. It needs to be taken seriously and further. I think that we are tentatively approaching things right now in SA, but I feel great things coming and building on great things that have happened and are happening here right now.
    • ^
    • v
    oops typo market was meant
    • ^
    • v
    Nic: just trying to keep up with you!

    Hash: let her rip!

    Ok, I am really going to bed now ...
    • ^
    • v
    holymoses!! WTFlaminghell is going on?!
    LOLs a lot .. wow.. everyone is working L8 tonight.
    @Paul - so wild I do the scheduled backups & before I know it Eric has put up 3 new posts and a directory - he's a content-machine, it's scary!! just like going to bath & coming back to find a comment-party on wiredgecko .. I think he's one for daily backups.. changing the schedule NOW

    For the rest i think perhaps a little tootle over to the "third blog aggregator project" page may be worthwhile as an aside : possibly, maybe or perhaps Eric was taking a little bit of the mickey out of the market's & providing a bit of the jester's perspective (just a thought). Could be why pacman is making an appearance? We honestly can't take ourselves so seriously in all of this. Strewth, maybe I'm wrong & Eric is trying to take over the world, haven't spotted a white cat hopping on his lap yet, but I'll let y'all know the moment I do!

    PS. a raving fan of Amatomu o'Maher-marvel - fark bru you have some skills
    • ^
    • v
    What I think is most interesting about this is how I hear people saying, "do something original" and "what's happening overseas". That kind of stuff. Yet, these same people aren't coming up with any new groundbreaking ideas of their own.

    I believe something like Scribd could come straight out of SA. There's a great deal of talent in the SA region of the continent. The reasons why it wasn't made there is what I think Eric talks about - and he's right to an extent. However, this isn't a zero-sum game, there can be local "copies" of great ideas that are useful and make money.

    However, when something good does get created especially for this market it seems there are a lot of critics. Sure, Zoopy and Muti might not be completely new and different, but they still serve a purpose.

    Let's see some great kick-ass SA sites that go international (Eric, bring out your best). Let's also support the ones that are there. In this I need to eat my own dogfood and start using an African video-hosting site for African Signals.

    Damn, the more I think about this, the more I think there's about 10 blog posts worth of content stored up in the ideas in this blog post and discussion alone.
    • ^
    • v
    ja, thats the one!!!!!!! :) along those lines!! thanks paul, glad you following me here.
    • ^
    • v
    Nic, I think the quote is more along the lines of "its not what's inside that matters, its what I do" or something like that - inspiring, goose pimple inspiring scene from Batman Begins ...
    • ^
    • v
    It's not what a man says but what a man does has defines him.
    • ^
    • v
    My hat ... a virtual flame war on my humble blog ...

    Eric: Thanks! It is still past my bedtime so I am going to wrap up here soon.

    Nic: Locally produced and focussed innovation is cool too. I don't agree that everything should be BIG and GLOBAL and SOLD FOR A GAZILLION BUCKS (although that is nice too) to be considered a success. At the same time we are so connected in a sense that well produced local initiatives will attract global attention (look at Afrigator's recognition overseas) and lead to it becoming BIG and GLOBAL and SOLD FOR A GAZILLION BUCKS.
    • ^
    • v
    Paul: For sure, innovation on a global scale is the desired outcome of every project, if not, so be it. I also agree with anyone who says that SA online entrepreneurs and media peops can go big, really big, Eric you got that right. Anyone who says otherwise is smoking some of the good stuff. I am just saying that it takes an even playing field and much, much more than funding (which can come from anywhere or be earned alone I might add).
    • ^
    • v
    Paul - LOVE YOUR LATEST TWITTER COMMENT:

    "Paul Jacobson : ok, stirred a little on Wired Gecko, going to bath and bed - way past my bedtime about an hour ago"
    • ^
    • v
    Nic - *sigh* - i'm not saying, don't do it!!!

    of course do it - there's money to be made in dem hills!

    you'd be crazy not to...

    BUT if SA is to become a super internet connected mega ....you get the point...

    we need a couple stars to shine who want to create global success story's being based in SA

    there's room for everyone.

    unfortunately at the moment i'm only seeing the local sites / copy of international sites and not the super stars...

    the majority of south african's won't innovate (or will innovate, but it won't be earth shattering) - but that's kewl as well - and hopefully they'll make mountains of cash, and have fun along the way...

    Choice - 9 to 5 job or create a copy or local only site and make a ton of cash? no brainer!!!!

    but to get us into silicon valley mode we need super stars.

    BUT Nic - now a question for you.................
    Did I say it was going to be Me who did it?
    • ^
    • v
    Jeez, I go bath and you guys go nuts in the comments! Love it!

    Max: silly billy for not doing backups! The data loss was weird!!

    Nic: What you said! Although that being said, I would love to see something truly innovative. It won't come from a copycat site though, it requires new thinking altogether.

    Neil: No shit. This thing just exploded in the last half hour or so.
    • ^
    • v
    Hey, given an evening, I can throw together a blog aggregator which will do pretty much what Eric seems to be proposing. Either I'm extremely brilliant (pats self on shoulder) or I'm missing what the value proposition is here. Or just suffering from post-match depression...(Go Sri Lanka!!!)
    • ^
    • v
    Eric, you missed my point somewhat. You have preached that as great as local is, you think we are copycats (who will make money) but copycats nonetheless. While back at the ranch you are producing a 3rd generation local copycat that you believe have already been copied from international sites. You are doing in your business capacity what you are slating others for doing... not so?
    • ^
    • v
    ... it rubs the snake oil into its skin ...
    • ^
    • v
    Nic - for the 169797th time...

    the BIG money will only flow when the returns show MASSIVE POTENTIAL.

    so if we start having global ideas, SA (and hopefully Cape Town as i'm a bit biased towards this beautiful city) will become the new Silicon Valley / Herzlia.

    however, there is still plenty space for new local ideas, and competition for existing ideas, hopefully with some of them bringing something fresh to the party (imagine SA reunited or one of the other 3 or 4 that were floating along, had the vision to become the next facebook)

    so create new local only sites, create more competition amongst existing concepts...

    and hopefully make lots of money...

    and then launch innovative global ideas which attract the big money and which propel SA into a new era.

    for the record, i'm doing all of them - launching a few SA only concepts which probably won't go global, providing more competition for sites that might not go global but i believe will make money, AND am involved in a number of projects that have the POTENTIAL OF BEING GLOBAL AND MASSIVE!

    but if we want an Internet EXPLOSION in our country, we have to be thinking BIG - ...at least some of the time...
    • ^
    • v