Episode 66: Ning goes paid for, Malema brand value and Tech4Africa
Listen (27 min, 13 seconds)In this week's episode of The Digital Edge we look at the Ning social network moving from Freemium to paid only model, the brand value of Julius Malema online and finally speak about the upcoming Tech4Africa conference.
First up, U.S. based author and podcaster, Jeffrey Powers joins us to discuss the current change in the Ning business model. For the past two years social network building service Ning has worked on a model of Freemium. In essence they gave away their basic service for free and charged extra for more premium offerings. However in recent weeks things have changed with a new paid for model emerging.
Then in an article for the Daily Maverick, our very own Jarred and online reputation management software Brandseye's MD Tim Shier created a study on the brand value of Malema and how much his mentions were worth in terms of advertising value. Tim explains how the study was put together and Jarred explains the why.
Finally, Tech4Africa founder Gareth Knight joins us to discuss the conference and the kind of speakers he'll be having. Gareth also talks about the person this conference will appeal to and if you're either a technical person or an entrepreneur, this is one to watch out for.
Guests:
Jeffrey Powers:
Jeffrey is the creator and primary poster of website Geekazine.He has been in a technical role in Southwest Wisconsin for the last 12 years. He has worked on many systems – PC, Mac, Sun, AS/400 and a host more. Jeffrey has worked in many roles including Helpdesk, Installation, Troubleshooting, Administration and Management. Jeff is also a musician – a drummer for a local area band.
Tim Shier:
Tim was formerly the marketing manager of Quirk eMarketing and is now the MD of sister company BrandsEye
Gareth Knight:
Gareth Knight is a consultant, digital maven, entrepreneur and open source evangelist. Educated as a zoologist and interested in the importance of sustainability, he is a veteran of two dot com bubbles in London, one web 2.0 acquisition, and is currently managing director of Technovated, a leading web 2.0 provider based in London and Johannesburg. Previously, Gareth served in London as director of product management for MyHeritage.com, a global family genealogy company. Gareth is also organising Tech4Africa, a web and emerging technology conference, which will bring global experience and perspective to the African context.
Links:
Geekazine: http://www.geekazine.com/
Brandseye: http://www.brandseye.com/
Tech4Africa: http://tech4africa.com/
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