Author: Toby Shapshak

Geeks don’t watch sport, they say. Nor do we love rugby. Yeah right. After Saturday night’s historic win in the World Cup final in Paris, we’re all Springbok fans. And the internet is filled with patriotic and funny memes celebrating the 12-11 victory – as well as endless video clips of the remarkable moments that we’ve seen in this event where the Springboks held on to win by a single point in their last three games. Inspirational captain Siya Kolisi has united his team and our country in a way that only Francois Pienaar and Nelson Mandela did after the…

South Africans will have to wait a little longer for the holy grail of e-commerce to arrive. Amazon’s much-rumoured local launch was finally confirmed – but its launch has been delayed until next year. “We look forward to launching amazon.co.za in South Africa, providing local sellers, brand owners and entrepreneurs — small and large — the opportunity to grow their business with Amazon, and delivering great value and a convenient shopping experience for customers across South Africa,” says Amazon GM for sub-Saharan Africa Robert Koen. “The launch of amazon.co.za in 2024 will provide independent sellers throughout the country an opportunity to rapidly launch, grow…

When Springbok flyhalf Handre Pollard was working out if he could kick the 55-metre penalty that would ultimately win the quarter-finals against host France, on-field captain Bongi Mbonambi screamed into his ear: “This is for South Africa”. And it was. Pollard slotted that crucial late penalty away, as he did the following week against England, where a lacklustre and emotionally exhausted Springboks stumbled into the final. But we’re in the final and, once again, sports has shown us the way to unite our fractured country – in precisely the way our (ageing) political leaders cannot. Bringing braai-loving South Africans together…

Internet sleuths have revealed that Tom Curry isn’t a “white c**t”, he just can’t understand Afrikaans. Last Saturday night, in the heat of a frantic World Cup semi-final, on-field South African captain Bongi Mbonambi wasn’t taking time out to hurl insults at the English flanker. He was seemingly warning his teammates that England was going “wit kant” (white side) – a warning that the English Roses had changed their attacking direction. We don’t know what “wit kant” referred to, but it clearly wasn’t Curry – who does seem a bit of a narcissist thinking it was all about him. If…

Google makes as much as 40% of its revenue from media content for its search business in Switzerland, according to new research. “The value of news is far higher than policymakers or publishers think it is, at least on Google Search, which accounts for the majority of Google’s $280bn annual revenue,” Courtney Radsch, director of the Center for Journalism & Liberty and a fellow at the Institute for Technology, Law & Policy at the University of California, Los Angeles, writes in Tech Policy Press. Radsch was quoting figures from a new study commissioned by the Swiss Media Publishers’ Association that assessed the…

The uncontrolled power of US Big Tech firms has finally met its match with the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA). The wide-ranging Digital Services Act was promulgated last year and took effect on 25 August 2023. History will show this is when the Old World took back its power from the New World – to use the historic classifications of Europe and the Americas. For the past two decades Google, Facebook, Amazon, Apple and Twitter have owned – or pwned (look it up) – the internet, social media, advertising and e-commerce spaces. No longer. Say hello to the DSA For…

Only “illicit businesses (cigarettes or drugs) that could rival these economics” said Google vice president for finance Michael Roszak in a note that the search giant fought to keep from being made public. “Search advertising is one of the world’s greatest business models ever created,” Roszak started the July 2017 note, adding “We are fortunate to have an amazing business”. The note, supposedly from a training session, has come to light in the first month of the US government’s first major antitrust case in two decades. Talk about an own goal. Having lost the fight for the note to be…

For many millions, a mobile phone is their only computer and their only screen. Jason Lobel, MTN South Africa’s head of video, wants to get streaming services to those people, he tells Stuff editor-in-chief Toby Shapshak. MTN wants you to stream more video Also available on Apple podcasts | Spotify | Google podcasts

If you haven’t already heard – or have been living under a rock – the Springboks are through to the semi-finals of the Rugby World Cup through a titanic performance from a bunch of elite players. But Sunday’s blockbuster quarter-final against tournament hosts France was special for several moments of brilliance – two of which came from electric winger Cheslin Kolbe. In the 20th minute, the lightning-fast Kolbe charged down French fullback Thomas Ramos’s conversion, a feat that has had rugby commentators the world over raving about. Those two points would ultimately be the deciding factor in the Springboks one-point…

The Hollywood writers’ strike may be over, but the underlying problems haven’t been resolved. After five months, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) has struck a deal with the major studios, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). But the fundamental issues aren’t going to go away as quickly – the 148 days of striking may not seem long, but it is a forewarning of what will come. The immediate knock-on effect of the strike will only be felt in a year or so, when shows destined for broadcast would have aired. Turning over a new leaf for…