MarcForrest.com

Month: May 2010

  • YouTube launches in South Africa

    Some great news for South Africa, from the guys at Youtube, is that today, on their 5 year anniversary, Youtube is officially launched in South Africa. What this means is that so far we have a YouTube.co.za domain, faster and more localised searches, and pretty soon we should have local servers with Youtube content

    Here is the official press release from Google & Youtube:

    YouTube Plants Roots in South Africa

    Online video platform debuts its first localized site on the African continent

    – Freshlyground, vlogger KhayaV, Rhodes Journalism, and SABC among key channels
    Johannesburg, May 17 – YouTube, the place where anyone with a video camera and an Internet connection can share their life, art and voice with the world, today announces the launch of a South African domain (http://www.youtube.co.za). YouTube South Africa offers South Africans the best video content from around the world through a local interface that promotes the content most relevant to them.

    YouTube South Africa makes it even faster and easier for local users to find and view the videos most relevant to them, by tuning search and discovery algorithms such as featured videos and homepage and category spotlights. Content uploaded by users in South Africa will show up as “browse pages” on the YouTube South Africa site, creating a new space for the national community and giving South African users the opportunity to increase their exposure.

    “There’s something on YouTube for everyone, from amateur to professional content, the unexpected to the emotionally affecting, the educational to the entertaining,” said Chad Hurley, YouTube Co-Founder. “We’re very excited to bring a local version of YouTube to South Africa and we look forward to continuing to improve the YouTube experience for our South African users.”

    “YouTube is a fascinating platform where people from different cultures and countries all over the world are active participants in a global conversation,” said KhayaV, a South African video blogger who has been using YouTube since July 2006. “By giving people the power to broadcast themselves, YouTube helps increase our understanding of each other, one clip at a time.”

    “Our students are covering South African issues that are often under-reported in today’s media landscape,” said Alette Schoon, television lecturer, Rhodes University Journalism and Media Studies. “We see YouTube as one of the most powerful mediums for telling dynamic stories and reaching a broad audience. Through RhodesTV, the Rhodes Journalism School’s new YouTube channel, we will raise awareness about serious issues that cannot be ignored.”

    In advance of this launch YouTube signed partnership agreements with a number of South African media companies including the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) and e.tv.  These broadcasters, like other YouTube partners, have established a presence on the site to easily distribute their content and grow their audience.   Over the years the public broadcaster SABC has built up an extensive archive of TV shows. Its current broadcasting schedule also contains gems that are well suited for this new platform. The SABC will be piloting a variety of older and current content on the channel. If the pilot proves successful the content offering may be extended to include a variety of its news, sport, soaps, dramas and comedies.
    One of YouTube’s key priorities, in addition to the making the platform a comprehensive destination, is ensuring that videos load and play quickly — even in places where bandwidth is at a premium. In addition to the standard YouTube experience, users have the option to watch videos with YouTube Feather. This beta offering is a stripped-down version of the page on which any video plays; it only includes the site’s most basic features to help ensure that those with low-speed Internet connections are able to play videos play faster. YouTube Feather can be found in TestTube (http://www.youtube.com/testtube), the area on the site where new products are tested.

  • Win a weekend away at the new Southern Sun Montecasino

    The guys from Southern Sun have an awesome competition on at the moment where you can win o a weekend stay at Southern Sun Montecasino for 2 adults  sharing, bed and breakfast and dinner to the value of R200 each.

    Here is the details. Feel free to enter if you have a blog :)

    Southern Sun announced last week the opening of their latest hotel on 24th April, the Southern Sun Montecasino.

    What’s really cool is that they’ve opened up a competition to bloggers!

    Blog about the Southern Sun Montecasino opening

    1. In the blog post mention that this competition is open to all bloggers

    2. Answer the 6 easy questions

    3. Send the blog post link to [email protected] to tally all entries

    ·         Questions are as follows:

    1.       What is the opening rate special?
    2.       Where has the latest Southern Sun opened? (they opened on 24th April)
    3.       Who is the General Manager of the hotel?
    4.       How many rooms are there in the new hotel?
    5.       When is their room service available? [How many hours a day?]
    6.       Which item would you most like to order off the Punchinello’s menu?

    *Hint: visit the website and download the fact sheet for more info.

    On Friday 14th May, one blogger will be chosen to win a weekend stay at Southern Sun Montecasino for 2 adults sharing, bed and breakfast and dinner to the value of R200 each.

    Terms & Conditions:
    Subject to availability, not applicable during 2010 World Cup
    Children under 18 sharing parents’ room stay and eat breakfast free
    Valid for 6 months from date of issue
    Winners need to make their own travel arrangements to the hotel.

  • Super 14 Betting odds – 8 May 2010

    I came across a site called Greatodds.com the other day which is a Sportsbook betting site in South Africa, which allows you to place bets on all sorts of sports from around the world.

    Being the chance taker that I am, last weekend, I put R50 on the Bulls to beat the Sharks by 9 points. Unfortunately they beat them by 8 points, so I effectively lost my R50. BUT, I didn’t. Greatodds have a great promotion on where whatever you place on your first bet on the site, up to R1500, you can get back if you lose. So, you don’t actually end up losing your money. I got my R50 and placed some of it on South Africa to beat Afghanistan in the cricket, and ended up with about R70 in my kitty. So now I have a bit of a credit to play around with.

    So, I decided to take a look at this weeks South African Super 14 rugby games, and see what the options are.

    First up, tonight the Bulls take on the Crusaders at Loftus. The Bulls have been on a rampage of late, and look to take the Super 14 title again this year.
    Greatodds have the Bulls to beat the Crusaders by 9 points, for an even return. So, if you put R100 bucks down, and the Bulls beat the Crusaders by 9 points or more, you walk away with R200. #Money4Jam

    The First game tomorrow is the Lions against the Blues. Now we all know the Lions have been rather sad this season, so Greatodds have the Blues to by 7 points or more at 5/6 odds, meaning if they win by 7 points or more, you put down R100 you will get back R183.33

    Next up the Cheethas take on the Western Force at 5 tomorrow afternoon. The Western Force have the upper hand with this one, and have a 2 point advantage also at 5/6 odds.

    Finally the Stormers take on the Sharks, which should be a fantastic game to watch on Saturday at 7pm. The Stormers have the better odds on this one, with a 6 point advantage and 10/11 odds. So put down R100 and you walk away with R190.91 if they beat the Sharks.

    All in all, looks like a pretty good weekend. (Note: The above values may change over the course of the weekend)

  • Support Brad Brown running the Comrades

    Brad Brown, who I follow on Twitter, is also a DJ on Highveld Stereo up in Jozi is running the comrades this year. For those of you who follow Brad on Twitter, will know, that almost a year ago, Brad was hugely overweight, and decided to take up walking &  running. To say the weight has literally fallen off would be an understatement, and Brad is now running ultra marathons, as well as entering the Comrades this year. That is hugely inspirational, and kudos to Brad for changing his life. I need to follow suite !!

    Here is Brad’s story about his running of the Comrades this year. He is running for a charity called Pinkdrive, which is aims to raise money for breast cancer awareness. Good luck Brad, we will be behind you every step of the way on the 30th of May.

    Hi There,

    My name is Brad Brown, I’m one of the DJ’s on 94.7 Highveld Stereo in Johannesburg and I need your help. I am running this year’s Comrades Marathon on the 30th of May as part of the Comrades Marathon Associations celebrity challenge. I decided to take up the challenge last June and have chosen the charity I’d like to support as the Pink Drive. They do great work in the field of breast cancer prevention and awareness. You may or may not know the reasons why I am running, my mom is losing the battle to breast cancer as I write this and I wanted to do something to make a difference to people fighting this horrible disease and also for the families of those who have lost a loved one to it. Breast cancer does not have to be terminal and if it is picked up early it is in most cases curable. If you would like to find out more about what they do please have a look at their website http://www.pinkdrive.co.za

    Running Comrades as part of the Comrades Marathon Associations celebrity challenge provides a great platform to raise money for the Pink Drive. We have set up an sms line that if you sms the word ‘run’ to 42220 you will donate R30 to the Pink Drive. The other fundraising initiative we are running is the 89 Memories – One Race initiative. The Comrades Marathon is 89km and run between Pietermaritzburg and Durban and this year I will be running each kilometre for someone that is either fighting the battle against breast cancer or in memory of someone who has lost the battle to breast cancer.

    That is where I really need help. I need 89 individuals, families or businesses to sponsor each one of those kilometres. Maybe a colleague is battling with breast cancer and you want to pass a hat around the office and sponsor a kilometre then I’ll run it for them. Maybe you’ve lost your wife, mother, daughter or niece to breast cancer; I would love to run a kilometre in their memory. I would obviously like to raise as much money as I can (I know I’m greedy but it is for a great cause) so I need to put a minimum amount on the sponsorship for a kilometre. I have decided to make it R100 but if you can afford to donate more it would be highly appreciated. Ideally I’d like to try and raise at least R89 000 from this part of the initiative – That is R1 000 per kilometre. So if you can donate that please do and if you can do more we would obviously be massively grateful. I am running in Toyota’s colours this year and in return they have agreed to double whatever I raise. If you would like to sponsor a kilometre please send an email to [email protected] I will also include your loved ones story and memory on my blog and a picture of them too. If you would like to sponsor a kilometre or just to make a donation to our 89 Memories initiative the Pink Drive Bank details are as follows:

    Bank: Nedbank
    Account Name: PinkDrive (Comrades)
    Account Number: 1825 011 109
    Branch Code: 182505
    Branch Name: Clearwater Mall
    Reference to use: 89 Memories & Your Name

    What I am also challenging you to do is make a list of 89 memories of the person you know. Whether they are fighting the disease and are going to beat it, if they, Iike my mom, are terminally ill or if they have lost the battle and passed away. It’s really tough to do. I know this because I’m putting together this list together for my mom. It’s a very emotional process and in the build up to comrades keep checking back here or subscribe to my rss feed to see the memories I will always treasure of my mom. Even though she is still with us, I want her to know what I will always remember about her. Also if you would like to is send those 89 memories to me, I would love to post them on http://www.bradbrown.co.za

    It is going to be a very emotional day and I want you to be a part of it. I will be tweeting (http://www.twitter.com/bradbrown947) my progress as well as updating my Facebook profile (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Brad-Brown/158393978752)from the road. Even just by passing this message onto family, friends and colleagues you’ll be helping me get this message to as many people as possible.

    Thanks for your support, I really appreciate every little bit of it.

    Brad Brown
    94.7 Highveld Stereo – On Air Presenter
    http://www.highveld.co.za

  • Jack Parow ft Francois Van Coke – Dans Dans Dans!

    OK, I know I have been a bit Jack Parow befok lately, but I came across his new video last night, and it is an awesome track. First there was Coole as Ekke, and now, the new song, Dans Dans Dans, also features Fokofpolisiekar front man, Francois Van Coke, who adds a different edge to the song.
    Here is the new Jack Parow video, Dans Dans Dans