Many people in South Africa today rely heavily on internet banking. Internet banking came as a life line to many people as it meant that their trips to the bank became fewer and fewer and a lot of transactions they would do at the banking hall could now be done whilst on the internet. It took some time for people to get to grips with internet banking but credit must go to the banks that developed relatively reliable and simple to use interfaces for the online banking portal. Read the rest of this entry »

The parent company of TheRandToday.com , Rand Mediacom, has recently launched its own blog. This blog, branded under the name ‘Our Blog’ is a blog focussing on news, information and trends occurring in the online industry in South Africa and across the world. Rand Mediacom is a company focussing on taking online media in South Africa to the next level.

Rand Mediacom’s belief is that users should be given a ‘total experience’ when they are online and should not be limited to what they can do when they are online. The advent of Web 2.0, social networking and blogs have taken the internet by storm and Rand Mediacom aims to assist businesses and individuals to harness to full benefits of this phenomenon. Our Blog will be posting regularly so be sure to visit Our Blog and bookmark it to keep in touch with the online media world.

You can visit Our Blog on www.randmediacom.co.za/blog

According to a recent eMarketer forecast, mobile marketing will reach more than $19 billion globally by 2012. With that said, I think it is clear for all to see the effect mobile marketing is going to play over the next couple of years and it is time for South Africa to start to make a significant contribution into this lucrative and emerging market. Read the rest of this entry »

A report in the Business Day, today said that, the price of international bandwidth in South Africa would plummet 80% when the Seacom undersea cable goes live on June 17 next year. This is great news for all in South Africa as internet costs are currently very high and hindering businesses from expanding and reaping the full benefits online media can offer to businesses today. It is reported that, the Seacom cable will cost as little as R267 a month per 1MB, compared to between R3500 and R11000 to use Telkom’s bandwidth on the existing Sat-3 cable, or a punishing R231000 for satellite connectivity. That is one big difference in prices! Read the rest of this entry »

Identity fraud or identity theft are comparatively rare type of crime, but are on the increase. These terms are used to refer as a crime in which someone obtains and uses another person’s personal data. It is done when an impostor obtain pieces of personal identifying informations like your name, credit card number, Social Security number without your permission. This is also called ID Theft.

Internet is the major route for fraud to victimize merchants who sell and ship products and also for those who provide online services. If you are using credit cards to transact business using the Internet, protect your identity against the fraud by using Lifelock. Be responsible enough with your identity. Read the rest of this entry »

There is no hiding from it anymore now, if you are a running a business today, no matter how small or large it is, you need to be online and have a website for a business. I have come across many businesses in South Africa who do not have a website and to me that just goes to show that businesses in South Africa are still a few paces back from realising the importance of having a website. How often do you hear of a company and then you think, “Let me find out more about them.”? The first thing you would do is type in their company name in your web browser and end it with .co.za or .com. You should be taken to the company’s website straight away. If not, you then try to Google the companies name and find their website. If both options do not yield any results then it is highly likely the company you are looking for does not have a website and for me I already loose an element of confidence in doing business with them. Read the rest of this entry »

One of the most important aspects of E-commerce today is the ability to receive and make payments online, after all that is what e-commerce is about. But today in South Africa we find ourselves facing challenges in setting up an online business. One of the key challenges is the ability to receive payments from clients or customers outside South Africa online. Read the rest of this entry »