Media retains audiences according to AMPS Dec 11

SAARF has released the AMPS December 2011, covering the media, product and brand consumption habits of South Africa's adults over the past year. What it shows is that for most media, 2011 was not as bad as some might have anticipated, at least where maintaining audiences was concerned.

This AMPS release uses the new 2011 population updates from IHS Global Insight estimates. These updates, which see the adult 15+ population growing by 2.7%, have had a significant impact on the AMPS Dec 11 results. The industry should carefully examine these population changes, bearing them in mind when dealing with changed audience results.

Readership results

In brief, the overall readership results for print were reasonably positive, with both newspapers and magazines reportedly maintaining their readership bases in the face of increased media proliferation and the continued rise of digital (internet access once again grew significantly). In total, newspapers maintained their reach, as did magazines.

Television too retained its strength. While weekly TV viewing was stable, overall, most individual TV stations and satellite platforms attracted significantly more eyes in 2011. More adults also tuned into radio, with the commercial and PBS sector growing significantly, while the community radio sector trended up.

Moving to the out-of-home sector, the revision of the frequency options and the wording of questions for this medium have driven the significant changes recorded in levels of exposure, which have declined overall. Another decline was posted by cinema, which showed a significant decrease in attendance across 2011.

Download the full AMPS December 2011 results pdf.

Misperceptions seem to be a stumbling block for PR

There are quite a few misconceptions about what it actually entails to work in the public relations industry. The most common one is that PR is all about balloons and parties. It’s not. It’s also not easy, glamorous or pretty.

                                By Darren Gilbert

There are quite a few misconceptions about what it actually entails to work in the public relations industry. The most common one is that PR is all about balloons and parties. It’s not. It’s also not easy, glamorous or pretty. At least not all the time, according to Soapbox Communications managing director, Inky Dresner. PR is a lot of hard work, and tougher than what most people think. It is about maintaining relationships with the media and understanding your clients inside out. The problem is that there are many young professionals going into the industry believing the misconception rather than the reality.

It’s proving to be a headache for Dresner, who admits that this reputation has done the industry a disservice, resulting in the development of a gap or hole in PR. It’s not hard to understand why, though. If you need figures, you only have to turn to Soapbox Communications’ account assistant, Aisling Philips. Philips completed her higher diploma in PR in 2008 and of the 80-odd people that began it, only 20 finished. Why so few? According to Philips, they had realised that PR wasn’t for them. And that’s fine, because this is the thing: as Dresner points out, PR is not for everyone. But that is cold comfort to those within the industry.

“At the bottom, you have a lot [of graduates] coming in and they are not staying with the course. They are coming in with this misperception of what the industry is about and in the end, [they] leave disappointed [when they realise it’s the opposite].” Dresner isn’t the only one who believes this — Sarah Murchison, owner of LayerCake Recruitment, is just as quick to acknowledge the issue, adding that the gap is affecting every level within the industry, including senior management. “I was called up recently to put out an advert for a senior PR position. It’s a nightmare trying to find them because there aren’t as many as there should be.”

What you get will be a valuable industry slowly imploding on itself as the wrong people are placed in the wrong positions. My colleague, Samantha Cook wrote in more detail about whether or not PR graduates are properly trained in an article last year. Kirsten Hopwood-Smith, founder of Prestige Communications, adds that this will have an obvious consequence – the job won’t be done effectively. She also believes that it will have a disastrous overall effect on the reputation of an industry that is still not understood or fully appreciated. “[It needs to be understood that] this affects the whole industry and not just certain PR firms. We cannot settle for mediocrity [but should rather focus on being] the best at what we do and who we represent.”

Dresner lays it out straight. “I believe that some PR companies are masquerading as true PR agencies [that employ media and communication specialists]. If you want to sell yourself as a company that specialises in events, promotions and parties, then sell yourself as an event organiser rather, because that is what you are.” Meanwhile, Hopwood-Smith believes that too many companies representing top brands are employing inexperienced staff members to manage accounts at a fraction of the cost. It is what ultimately leads to bad management and poor results and PR losing face.

Mind you, there shouldn’t be any panic just yet. Yes, there is gap in the industry, but that doesn’t mean it is anywhere near to being a disaster. For Murchison, the solution comes down to encouraging and attracting the right people, while also identifying those with potential. Meanwhile, Dresner believes it’s also about understanding that PR is a professional career. It’s not “light and whimsical”, as she puts it. “I think also that those who offer courses should be specific in what the courses involve. PR is a lot of hard work [and] it should be treated like any other career.”

The good thing, according to Hopwood-Smith, is that more and more companies are adopting PR practices as part of their marketing strategies and brand development when compared to a few years ago. Meanwhile, a conversation with Dresner around the prospects of PR will leave you encouraged as the year ahead looks full of promise. “It is almost as if there has been a reintroduction of PR after a really dry 2011. I’d say there is definitely a buzz again.”

In order to keep that buzz going, though, the right people need to be involved. Misconceptions of the industry need to be laid bare and replaced with reality – however disconcerting that may seem. As Dresner concludes, “PR is not something you study because you don’t know what else to do. It’s a big job [that requires your full attention]. It’s a professional career.” If everyone approaches it like this, she believes that the ‘gap’ that is there won’t be as big as it is now.

DropGifts comes to SA

DropGifts, described as a global leader in friend-to-friend gifting, is due to reach South Africa by the end of the first quarter of 2012. Already a market leader in the UK, France and Germany, the Berlin-based company revolves around the concept of social gifting, by enabling Facebook friends to send gift cards to each other from a range of top retailers.

"We're very excited about launching in South Africa. Most international companies don't see the benefit of launching here, but with the relatively high number of Facebook users, South Africa is a perfect market to launch," said Kevin Tucker, MD of DropGifts South Africa. "The gift card market is already a $100 billion market in the US alone and in South Africa it really is growing in maturity. We're seeing all kinds of gifts cards on sale and now we're bringing that to Facebook and smartphones, with the app."

There will be gift cards on offer from a variety of South Africa's favourite brands and retailers. Users will also have the unique ability to pool together as a group of friends and give a group gift card. Because the service uses Facebook to connect users, an added benefit is that it will be easy for South Africans living overseas to send rand-value gifts back home.

For merchants, the service offers a unique, performance-based marketing channel for their brand. The gift card system is a modern way to reach new customers at a considerably lower customer acquisition cost than traditional channels. Research in Germany has also shown that recipients of gift cards spend upwards of three times the gift card value, in-store or online.

Gift cards also provide a significant influx of cash for currently cash-strapped merchants. In contrast to food and beverage sales where 25%-40% of the product cost has been spent prior to sale, 100% of gift card value is available in cash to the merchant until redemption.

Tucker founded PriceCheck, South Africa's leading shopping comparison destination in 2006. MIH Internet Africa subsequently acquired it in 2010. While in the MIH environment, Tucker started up the very popular but short-lived daily deal site, Dealify.

What is plagarism and how to avoid!

Plagiarism is an illegal form of copying. It means taking another person's work (without asking) and calling it your own. Plagiarism can be accidental or intentional. Copying an entire essay or story and calling it your own is plagiarism. Copying one sentence word-for-word without "quotations" is also plagiarism. Whether you hand it in to a teacher, or post it in your blog, plagiarism is against the law in most nations.

Examples of plagiarism

• copying and pasting from the Internet and posting somewhere else without proper citation
• putting your name on another person's essay or project
• copying exact wording from another person's text
• using another person's photo, diagram, sounds, or ideas without proper citation
• presenting research in your own words without providing your references
• purchasing another person's text and using it as your own
• presenting ideas in the same format and order as your research source
• having a teacher, or higher level student edit your paper to perfection

Why do students copy?

Here are some common excuses students use:

• "I didn't know how to put it in my own words."
• "I thought the Internet was a public domain."
• "I don't understand the rules of copyright."
• "I wanted to get a better mark."
• "I wanted to impress my teacher."
• "I didn't understand the assignment."
• "I have a small vocabulary."
• "I didn't have time to do the work."
• "My parents want me to get better marks."

There are two main reasons why plagiarism is taken so seriously in the academic world:

1. Authors and artists work very hard to create original work. They deserve the credit.
2. Teachers want to know that students understand their research. Copying requires almost no effort.

Reasons NOT to Plagiarize

Even though most teachers will not accept any of the excuses above, many students are tempted to plagiarize. Teachers are trained to recognize plagiarism. Most importantly, they know the level of their students. Learners who intentionally plagiarize will likely get caught.
Here are more reasons NOT to plagiarize:

• It is unfair to the true author.
• You will not learn anything.
• You will get a bad reputation with teachers and other learners.
• Teachers don't want to be the police.
• You will lose important references for future jobs.

Student spending is going up, but so are their savings!

Black students spend more on hair and beauty, Indian students eat out the most, coloured students splurge on fashion more than any other ethnic group, and white students spend up to three times as much on cigarettes and alcohol.

These were among the findings of Student Village's Student Spending Report 2012, which were released recently in Johannesburg. Presenting the results, Student Village Insights and Research Guru Anelisa "Dada" Mzinyathi said: "The research showed that the average monthly spend per student is R3 268, giving us an average yearly spend of R39 216. That's some serious money."

Extrapolated across the South African tertiary education campuses, that means students spend around R33 billion a year, up from R28,5 billion in 2010 (based on a reported student population of 850 000).

The research was conducted during February and March this year among 1 220 respondents at the main campuses of the University of the Witwatersrand, the University of Pretoria and the University of Cape Town, the University of Johannesburg's APK and Bunting campuses, and the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal's Howard campus. It was carried out online and in-field by Student Village in conjunction with Unisa's department of marketing and retail management.

Mzinyathi said the three top sources of students' income were parents (77 %), part-time work (18%) and bursaries (10%). Up to 90 percent of them saved around R250 a month - generally towards the purchase of a 'big ticket' item. Most popular purchase here were cellphones, followed by clothing, computers and laptops, electronics and then travel. The research showed that students had already bought over 330 000 cellphones this year and that close to 35 000 of them had either bought or had cars bought for them.

Female students, said Mzinyathi , spent "more on food, less on alcohol, more on airtime, less on petrol, and more on beauty products and toiletries" than male students. Male students spent 200 percent more on contraceptives. As one student put it: "When money is tight, it's Lovers Plus. But in a good week, Durex is the way we go."

Almost half of the students had credit cards. The leader in the credit card providers on campus was Absa (40%), followed by Standard Bank (32%), FNB and Nedbank (25%), Capitec (16%) and Investec (seven percent). When it comes to buying clothing on credit, the top three retailers here were Edgars, Mr Price and Truworths.

Asked who they trusted with their money, i.e. who they banked with, students ranked Standard bank first, Absa and Nedbank second, FNB third and Capitec forth.

"The message here for those who market to students," said Mzinyathi, "is that there is no -one-size-fits all in this 18 to 24-year-old demographic. Even the campus culture differs from varsity to varsity. The brands that prosper here are those that take the time to clearly understand these young consumers."

57 Time-Management Hacks for College Students

Most college students learn very quickly the value of their time when they're struggling to balance work, school and a social life. With so much to do it can be easy to become overwhelmed, stressed and eventually burnt out. Students can help themselves stay sane and still get everything done by developing good time management skills early on. These skills will not only be valuable during their time at school but can carry over later into the workplace. Here are some great ways for students to make the most of their time, stay productive and still have fun.


Basics You have to start somewhere, and these tips can help you learn the basics of time management.

1. Write things down. With so much going on it's hard to remember every little thing you have to do -- unless you write it down of course. Get a student planner or a notebook to take down all your important engagements, assignments and more.
2. Don't take too many hours. Unless you're ultra ambitious, taking more than 18 hours a semester is unnecessary and will result in extra stress and less time to concentrate on each class. Take a reasonable amount of classes each semester so you won't feel completely overwhelmed.
3. Stay organized. You'll save yourself loads of time later by staying organized from the get-go. Instead of having to hunt around for notes, assignments and misplaced papers, keeping them all in one place makes studying and doing homework easier and less stressful.
4. Focus on one thing at a time. Multitasking may seem like a good idea, but really you'll get more done by focusing your energy on one task at a time. Once you've finished one thing you can check it off your list and move onto the next.
5. Take charge of your time. At the end of the day, only one person has control over how you spend your time, and that's you. Take charge of your day, get important things done and learn to say no if you have to.
6. Resist the urge to procrastinate. Everyone knows how hard it is to want to stay in and study for finals when it's perfect outside or you've just gotten a new video game. The world is full of distractions, and to really be effective at managing your time you have to find a way to ignore them when it counts. Give yourself little breaks as rewards for not putting off tasks.
7. Avoid taking classes on material you've already learned. This may seem like a "well duh" sort of thing, but many colleges will require you to take courses that may be over things you already know. See if you can test out of these courses instead to save yourself the time and effort of studying things you already know.
8. Get an early start to your day. College students aren't usually known as early bird types, but you can be doing yourself a huge favor by getting up early. You'll have more time during the day to work on homework and study, which will leave your evenings free to do things you enjoy.
9. Learn material the first time around. If you don't understand something in your classes don't just gloss over it and assume you'll learn it later. Take the time to ensure you learn it the first time. It can help you to more easily understand concepts that follow and will save you the time of revisiting the topic later.
10. Control your surroundings. While you can't always make your study environment distraction free, you can do your best to create an environment that is most conducive to getting work done. Go to the library, put on headphones or whatever it takes to keep you from straying off task.
11. Have confidence in your abilities. Sometimes your schedule will seem almost impossible. Have confidence that you can do things, and you may surprise yourself when you truly step up to the challenge. You'll never know how much you can do unless you test yourself, so give yourself opportunities to shine, even under pressure.
12. Get the most out of class. If you're just going to class to sleep or talk to you friends, you're wasting time you could be using to do other things. Read over class materials ahead of time so you have a rough idea of what class will be about. This will allow you to concentrate on the elements of the lessons that are truly important and make it easier for you to study in the future.
13. Know what's important to you. Everyone has a different idea of what they want to take out of college. Some people want to get perfect grades and others are more concerned with making friends and building relationships. Figure out what things are most important to you and concentrate the bulk of your energies on those.

Studying While you may not have that many hours of classes each week, you still have to account for the time you'll need to spend studying for them. Here are some tips on how you can fit your study time into your schedule.

14. Take advantage of downtime. If you take a long bus ride each day or have some spare time while you do your laundry, why not use it to get a little studying in? The less time you waste during downtime, the more time you'll have later.
15. Set goals. It can be hard to get motivated to study when you don't have a clear goal in mind. Set a goal of how much you want to get done and try your best to meet it.
16. Use the syllabus. Your syllabus will let you know when and how fast you'll be covering topics in your class. You can use it to get ahead when you have extra time or to know when and what you'll need to work on each day to keep up.
17. Work to boost your memory. You'll spend much less time studying if you can remember what you study the first time around. Easier said than done, however, but you can play games, read books and eat foods that will help keep you at your maximum memory potential.
18. Learn what works for you. Different methods work better for different people. If you're struggling with a certain way you've been studying, try something else. You may find it takes you less time and that you get a lot more out of it by making a simple change.
19. Study difficult subjects first. There's no sense in putting off the worst for last -- it will only encourage you to procrastinate and get less done in the long run. Get the hard stuff out of the way and you'll have a much happier rest of the day.
20. Work in short blocks with breaks. You won't be doing yourself any favors by pulling marathon study sessions with no breaks. Studies have shown that the most effective way to get through material is to go through it in smaller sessions and to give your mind and eyes time to rest in between with short breaks.
21. Team up with classmates. There's no need to study alone if you can get more out of working with your classmates. Sometimes collaboration can be a much faster way to get through material, and it can be a great help if you're struggling with certain concepts. Just make sure your study sessions don't get too off track.
22. Avoid skipping class. While everyone skips a class now and again to catch up on sleep or to get other things done they feel are more pressing, try not to make a habit of it. Going to class will make it easier for you to keep up with the material and will give you the chance to ask questions.
23. Create a strategy. You'll get the most out of your study time if you go into it with a strategy in mind. Focus on certain subjects first or spend a little extra time on topics that you struggle with. Whatever you do, make sure it works for you and makes the most of your time.

Homework Homework is rarely fun but you still need to get it done, and the sooner the better. Here are some tips on making homework as painless and time-friendly as possible.

24. Prioritize. If you've got a number of homework assignments, focus on the ones that are due the soonest or that will take you the most time first. Once you get those out of the way you'll feel better about concentrating on the others.
25. Don't wait until the last minute. While for most people this is easier said than done, waiting until the last minute to complete homework is not only stressful but it can mean that you get a lot less out of the work that you put in. Give yourself enough leeway with time to ensure you won't have to rush around to get things done.
26. Get ahead if you can. If you find that you have some extra time in your day, use it to get ahead in the classes that you can. You'll thank yourself later, on a day when you have loads of extra work to do and you'll have one less thing to worry about.
27. Assign a specific amount of time the project should take. One way to keep yourself moving forward and not to waste time is to assign a specific amount of time that you think a project should take and try to fit it into that time frame. Sometimes this isn't always possible, but if you know about how long it takes you to complete a certain kind of assignment, it can help keep you on task.
28. Find your peak hours. Everyone has hours of the day when they simply perform better mentally. Figure out what your peak times are, and do your hardest work during these times so that you'll have the energy to get through them more quickly.
29. Break up large projects. Don't let yourself get overwhelmed with huge research projects. Break them up into sections which will be easier to tackle and will allow you to complete a small part of the project each day.
30. Work smarter. You don't have to work harder to get more done, just smarter. If you know you have two projects that need research at the library, work on both at the same time and save yourself an extra trip.
31. Set mini deadlines. If you know you're a chronic procrastinator, you can help keep yourself working on homework assignments, especially larger ones, by creating mini-deadlines within the assignment. This will help to keep you working through the assignment and prevent it from all having to be done at the last minute.
32. Ask for help. Sometimes you'll have assignments that you simply won't understand no matter how many times you look through them. While figuring things out on your own is rewarding, at a certain point it can be much more time efficient to simply ask for help from your professors or classmates.
33. Don't put off projects you're dreading. No one wants to think about starting a giant research project that isn't due until the end of the semester. The problem is that projects like these usually get put off until the end of the semester, and then you have very little time to put them together. If you're dreading a project, do it little by little or just get it out of the way all at once. You'll feel a million times better once it's out of the way and you won't have to worry about it anymore.

Scheduling It's essential for time management that you keep a schedule and stick to it.

34. Avoid over-commitment. While it would be great if you could cram in every activity you'd like to into your schedule, the reality is that that probably isn't going to happen. Give yourself a little breathing room between classes and study time to simply relax, watch tv or even eat dinner.
35. Use a calendar or planner. Don't try to keep your schedule in your head. Eventually you'll forget something, and it might be something pretty important. Keep track of your assignments and engagements on a calendar, either online or off, so you can't forget things easily.
36. Account for the unknown. Even the best schedules can be upset by an unexpected event. Whether you have a birthday party to attend that you didn't know about or you somehow get sick or injured, make sure your schedule allows for enough flexibility to accommodate life's little surprises.
37. Keep track of how your time is spent. One thing that can help you to make a better schedule for yourself is to see how long it really takes you to get certain tasks done. Keep a record of the time you spend on each thing so you can get a better idea of how much time to allow yourself in the future.
38. Stick to your plan. If you've got a plan of how to get an assignment done, try to stick to it. It's easy to become distracted and to want to slack off, but if you stick to your initial plan you'll have more free time in the long run.
39. Work out a schedule at the beginning of each week. Figure out what you need to get done each week on Sunday or Monday so that you know what to expect and how your week will play out.
40. Write down major tests and due dates at the beginning of the semester. Your syllabus will likely tell you the dates when major projects, test and assignments will be due. Put these dates on your calendar immediately so that you'll be able to work around them.
41. Set up daily study times. One thing you can easily add to your schedule is a few hours each day that are just dedicated to studying. Sometimes you'll need less time and sometimes more, but making room ahead of time can be very beneficial to getting things done.
42. Keep trying new systems. Your first way of scheduling yourself and managing your time may not be as effective as you like, and you may find that you're wasting a lot of time. As the old adage goes, if at first you don't succeed try, try again. Eventually you'll find a method that suits you.
43. Create realistic to-do lists. Who wouldn't love to get a whole two page to-do list done each day? The reality is that most of us simply don't have the time or the willpower to get that much done in a day. Give yourself realistic goals and you won't end up disappointed when you don't finish everything you planned.

Work Students who work and go to school have to work extra hard to balance their responsibilities. Here are some ways you can make the most of your time at work.

44. Find work on campus. You'll save yourself a lot of time commuting if you can find a job that's located on campus. This will make it much easier to go to work between classes.
45. Study and work at the same time. If your jobs allows you to, try reading or working on assignments while you're at work. While not every job will offer this luxury, if you can do it, make sure to take advantage of it.
46. Keep a flexible schedule. Ensure that you find a job that allows you to keep a fairly flexible schedule. Otherwise you may end up unemployed if you need time off to study or to prepare for exams.
47. Try work-study programs first. Many schools offer work-study programs that allow you to work on campus. Some may even give you college credits for your work so long as it applies to your major.
48. Freelance. One way to ensure that you can work when you have time to work is to offer freelance services. Artists can paint portraits and design websites, and many studious types can offer their tutoring services to local high school or grade school children.

Personal Time While doing work and learning is the main goal of college, having a good time isn't far behind. Here are some ways to help you have fun while maintaining your time management.

49. Use fun things as motivators. There's nothing that works as motivation to get things done like the promise of doing something fun once it's completed. Use this to your advantage to speed up your work.
50. Always make time for things you enjoy. Whether you're going to college fresh out of high school or going back as an adult, it's important to make time for the things you enjoy doing amidst all your school assignments. Ensure that you're scheduling in enough time for fun so you won't get burnt out.
51. Allow time for clubs, sports and other activities. If you're the type of person that loves to participate in clubs or sporting activities, limit the amount of hours you take so that you'll have enough time to enjoy playing and bonding with other students. Remember, this is also an important part of your college experience.
52. Take care of yourself. Having too many classes on your plate can sometimes mean that you don't have enough food on it. Make sure you are eating well and that you are making time to stay healthy even when you're super busy. Otherwise you could end up sick.
53. Learn to say no. Perhaps one of the most important things in time management is learning to say no, even to things you enjoy doing. Sometimes turning down friends' invitations is an integral part of making your life easier, however hard it may be to do.
54. Don't schedule out sleep. Sleep is incredibly important, and if you're not getting enough, your grades could start to suffer. Always make sure to schedule yourself an adequate amount of time each night to rest and recuperate.
55. Leave time for yourself. While hanging out with friends is fun, sometimes you just need to set aside time for doing things that you like to do alone.
56. Understand that all your time is important. The time you spend doing assignments is no more important than the time you spend relaxing and being with friends. Understand that your life has to maintain a balance, and schedule your time accordingly.
57. Set boundaries. Don't let your schoolwork overtake your life. Set some guidelines as to how much time you'll dedicate to work each day and how much time you'll dedicate to enjoying yourself. This will help you to maintain more of a balanced life and keep you from getting too burnt out with school.

Lots of job interviews but no offers?

Getting a lot of job interviews but no job offers can be very frustrating and leave you feeling discouraged, but don’t fret. Getting an interview means you at least got your foot in the door – don’t give up!
Getting a job can be a hard experience, especially for competitive jobs. But there are many things you can do to help you get a job, not just job interviews.

 

Double-check your CV 

Make sure there are no errors, grammatical, factual, or any others, that can make you look bad, or silly things on there that aren’t necessary. For example, you don’t have to put you worked at the local book shop for two months in high school on your professional CV. Click here: http://all4women.co.za/at-work/upgrade-cv-part-1.html for more tips on making over your CV.

 

Work on your interview skills 

Practise in the mirror or with friends. Make sure that you are not being awkward, but instead are having a good conversation that is flowing easily, that you are concentrating on your good points and strengths, and showing them why you would be a good candidate for the job. 
If you don’t interview well, even if you have the right qualifications, they might pick someone else over you. This especially goes for jobs that have many applicants. So this is very important. It’s not only what you’re saying, it’s how you’re saying it too. 

 

Don’t sound desperate or oversell yourself 

Make sure that you express that you’re interested in that job, not in any job, and don’t appear arrogant. Also, appear passionate about getting the job, but don’t overdo it. 

 

Dress professionally 

If you have shown at an interview looking dishevelled, now is the time to change it. Stick with a classic look and don’t make any part of your appearance distracting. Read more about dressing for work here: http://all4women.co.za/beauty/fashion/what-to-wear-to-work.html. Also, make sure to be on time and to act professionally too. Give them a firm handshake and make good eye contact. Don’t act fidgety or strange. 

 

Know as much as you can about the job and the company 

Do research beforehand if necessary. Ask good questions throughout the interview about the establishment and the job position itself, but make sure never to cut off the person interviewing you. Show them that you know what you’re talking about! After all, you’re there to do the best job you can do. 

 

Give reasonable salary expectations

People often lose out on jobs purely because they asked for a salary that was not appropriate to the job. If you ask for too much, they may settle on another candidate with similar (or fewer) qualifications because they asked for less.
If you ask for a salary that's way underneath the job position, they might assume you are too junior for the role too. Visit mywage.co.za to compare your salary expectations with industry standards. 

 

Above everything else, try your hardest 

Eventually you will get a job and be very proud of yourself. Good luck! 

Demand for Journalism grows

Report: Tablets helping improve news consumption

By DAVID BAUDER
AP Television Writer

NEW YORK (AP) -- Mobile technology appears to be increasing the public appetite for news but it's far from clear whether the news industry will profit from that, a study issued Monday concluded.

The Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism, in its annual state of the news media report, found encouraging signs within the 27 percent of Americans who say they get news on their smartphones or tablets.

These consumers are likely to seek out traditional news sites or applications, strengthening their bond with old newspaper or television news organizations. People with tablets tend to read longer articles and spend more time with news sites than they do on phones or desktop computers, said Tom Rosenstiel, Project for Excellence in Journalism director.

Many people already make it a habit to check their tablets before going to bed to see what is going to be in a newspaper the next day, he said.

Unique visits to online news sites jumped 17 percent from 2010 to 2011, similar to the increase from the year before, the report said.

"The demand for conventional journalism endures and in some ways is even growing," Rosenstiel said. "There were many people that didn't predict that. The content is still coming from traditional news companies."

Yet technology companies, rather than news companies, are better set up to take advantage of online revenue opportunities. The report found that five companies - Microsoft, Google, Facebook, AOL and Yahoo! - generated 68 percent of digital ad revenue in 2011.

News companies are generally not as able to provide the specific consumer information that digital advertisers seek, and they certainly have not been as aggressive in this area as the technology companies, said media critic Jeff Jarvis, who writes the Buzzmachine.com blog.

Jarvis also criticizes news organizations for not being more creative with their websites and applications, and not encouraging users to link information.

"I fear the iPad is a siren call to news organizations, seducing them into thinking they can maintain their old models and old controls, not just maintain but regain them," he said.

For news organizations, "there's a lot of work that needs to be done," said Roger Fidler, program director at the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute at the University of Missouri. "But it needs to be done very quickly."

Rosenstiel noted the trend of technology companies working with news organizations on new ventures announced within the past year: Yahoo! reaching a deal to stream ABC News reports; YouTube launching original programming channels, including one operated by the news service Thomson Reuters; The Washington Post developing a news aggregator, Trove.com, available through Facebook.

The Associated Press has begun providing some of its election coverage to the popular tablet app Flipboard, entered into a partnership with WhoSay.com over use of celebrity photos and also worked with Twitter on release of Nevada Republican caucus results.

The PEJ report noted how social media is increasingly driving news, through people who pass along recommendations to read articles to their friends through Facebook and Twitter. Still, only 9 percent of adults say they follow such recommendations regularly, compared to 36 percent who say they go directly to a news organization's app.

Most media sectors saw audience growth in 2011, with the exception of newspapers, the report said. The television network news audience grew for the first time in a decade and local stations also saw news growth in the late evening and early morning, the PEJ said.

What's in your emotional toolbox?

Come on, lets get down and dirty and see what is in our emotional toolbox.

Tool: device for doing work, an object designed to do a specific kind of work

It is a natural mindset from an early age, to view things and situations in a negative light

Pessimism is the coward's way of going through life, mainly because it guards against disappointment, and this is a lovely comfort zone to be in.

Unfortunately pessimism does not allow its prisoner to consider a wider view of all the various possibilities and outcomes. Pessimism and negativity bindsyour mind, trapping inside a fear-filled existence.

“To a person who only has a hammer, every problem looks rather like a nail.” - Traditional English Proverb

Did you know that our little toolbox has been our constant companion since we were small and has probably grown in size just as we have?

We make very good use of all our tools in every trying situation we encounter

In the midst of emotional turmoil, problematic situations and stress, we are inclined to either attack or retreat.

We blame others for their part in our situation – they didn’t hold the level straight so our shelf is mounted skew. We make excuses for why we didn’t do something sooner now we have to bring out the large broom to clean the mess. We use the hack-saw to get in deeper and find out what it was in our past that made us act this way.

We drill at our self-image until there is only dust left

We cement ourselves behind walls to protect what little dignity we think we have. Sometimes we use the nail-gun like a weapon to keep those prying eyes away.
Often we hammer our way through life, making the same mistake over and over!

Do you walk through life armed with a hammer, ever ready to knock each problem however small into the ground with force?

Is your hand raised above your head, holding your weapon high expecting each problem to have a negative outcome? It has been said that the best form of defence is attack, so I have to assume that you have been in that same situation time and time again.

Many of us hide behind our hammer a ten pounder... because we do not believe in ourselves.

There is merit in buying new tools or changing the tool to suit the job. It will broaden your thinking, motivate your decisions, change your attitude and open the intellect.

Wouldn’t it be more expedient to stop, gather our thoughts, decide on an action, and then proceed with determination, expecting the best to come out of the circumstances?

There are so many different tools that can be used to solve problems - what’s in your toolbox today?

Top Social Brands of SA revealed

A newly launched service ranks companies, news organizations and local celebrities according to their social media influence.
A new online service named Brandometer was launched, benchmarking South Africa’s most influential brands according to social media relevance.

“Social media has gone mainstream in South Africa. There are over one million South Africans using Twitter, many of them on a daily basis. The Brandometer is an official benchmark to gauge the crème de la crème of South African brands on social media,” the Brandometer website states.

Brandometer was started by Michal Wronski, who founded and heads Fuseware, a company which focuses on social media monitoring and analytics with clients like Vodacom, 8ta, SAB, Nokia and Mxit.

“Brandometer is powered by Fuseware’s systems, which we created internally. It is completely free to use and there is no revenue model at the moment. We are simply satisfying the need for online influence to be benchmarked,” explained Wronski.
“We would like this to be the official influence scorecard that brands and agencies can turn to in the future. This can also facilitate brands and agencies for pricing media buy-ins correctly via those influential channels in the future.”

Biggest influencers of them all
Brandometer lists South Africa’s top social brands according to various ranking criteria on Mxit, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

The top listed brands in a few prominent categories are available here:

 http://mybroadband.co.za/news/internet/45567-top-social-brands-in-sa-revealed.html

Writing tests

When you get your test paper, make sure that it is the right one – it should have the course name and code on the front cover – and then read the instructions very carefully. This is probably the most important piece of advice you will get about exams:

                         READ THE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY!

If there is any confusion, or if there is something you don't understand about the instruction, ask the

invigilator to explain. There will always be someone from your department in the exam room at the

beginning of the test. This person is there to answer questions, so don't hesitate to ask.

When the invigilator officially starts the test, you should flip through the whole paper and choose the

questions you will answer, in accordance with the instructions. Decide on how you are going to divide

up your time. If you have to deal with three sections of equal weight, and the test is three hours long,

you should plan to spend an hour on each section. Be strict with yourself throughout the test and stick

to the times you have allowed for each section or question.

Answering the first two sections very well will not make up for leaving out the third section altogether. If you feel that you probably can't do the third section very well, you should at least spend enough time on it to get the maximum marks you can for it.

If you have time left after doing the best on that session, you can always go back to the first two

sections to improve your answers there. Remember that your marker knows that your answers have

been produced under exam conditions, and won't expect you to include every possible thing. It is not always best to answer the questions in the order in which they appear on the paper. You can choose to start with any questions, as long as you

You should be prepared for the different types of exam questions.

Number them all correctly. It is often a good idea to begin with the question that you feel you can answer best. This will make you feel confident about your knowledge and may help you to answer the next question well, too. Before handing in your paper, check that your questions are properly numbered.

Essay type questions

These should be treated in a similar way to essays that are written during the term. Of course the big difference is time, but otherwise the same steps should be followed:

Analyse the essay title. What is the focus of the question, and what are the action words? Keep the title

in mind as you plan and write, as going off the topic will lose marks.

Plan. You might think that this is a waste of time in an exam, but, in fact, it could save you time as you

won't get stuck halfway through the essay, wondering how to proceed.

Write the essay, keeping to your plan. If you are writing an 'open book' exam, observe all the usual

rules for referencing and quoting. Plagiarism is as serious an offence in an open book exam as it is in

an assignment during the term.

Watch the time carefully, and don't get carried away with one essay if it means neglecting other questions

Multiple choice questions

These are very often included in exams. Although they look as if they should be quick, they often require careful thought, and sometimes you have to go through the process of eliminating the impossible or obviously wrong answers before choosing between two that look similar.

Short questions

These are so called because they require answers that are shorter than essays. You do not need to do the kind of planning for them that you would do for an essay, but you do need to write short paragraphs which require some degree of thought. You should always be aware of the number of marks allotted to a short question so that you can give it the right amount of time. A question asking you to list six properties of something, for 3 marks, should obviously take less time than one asking for a paragraph on the advantages and disadvantages of something, for 8 marks.

GOOD LUCK FOR THE COMING TESTS!

The New Way Doctors Learn - a new way of studying

This is an interesting article from Times, that you can learn from to improve your study skills.

A simple technique dramatically improved the memory recall of Harvard Medical School students. Try it for yourself

By Annie Murphy Paul | @anniemurphypaul | March 7, 2012

Turning a medical student into a doctor takes a whole lot of knowledge. B. Price Kerfoot, an associate professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School, was frustrated at how much knowledge his students seemed to forget over the course of their education. He suspected this was because they engaged in what he calls “binge and purge” learning: They stuffed themselves full of facts and then spewed them out at test time. Research in cognitive science shows that this is a very poor way to retain information, as Kerfoot discovered when he went looking in the academic literature for answers. But he also stumbled upon a method that really is effective, called spaced repetition. Kerfoot devised a simple digital tool to make engaging in spaced repetition almost effortless. In more than two dozen studies published over the past five years, he has demonstrated that spaced repetition works, increasing knowledge retention by up to 50 percent. And Kerfoot’s method is easily adapted by anyone who needs to learn and remember, not just those pursuing MDs.

The theory behind spaced repetition is simple: when we first learn a fact, our memory of it is volatile, subject to change or disappear. Each time we encounter that fact again, however, the memory becomes stronger and more stable—especially if the encounters are spread out over time. Cramming the night before an exam (or a speech or a presentation) is a sure way to make the information vanish from your head a short while later. But exposing yourself to that same information multiple times over weeks or months fixes it firmly in your brain. Kerfoot’s innovation was to make these spaced-out learning sessions easy and convenient. Starting with the knowledge medical students had to master in his own specialty of urology, Kerfoot devised questions about the curriculum, with multiple-choice answers, that he sent in weekly emails to the students participating in the study. The students took a few minutes to answer the questions on their laptops or smartphones; each week brought a new round of queries, mixing new material with material already covered. At the end of the year, the students who received the spaced emails scored significantly higher on a test of their urology knowledge.

Since that first study, published in the journal Medical Education in 2007, Kerfoot has evaluated the effectiveness of spacing out exposure to a variety of other topics that doctors in training need to learn, such as performing a physical exam, diagnosing medical ailments, and administering a cancer screening test. In each case, the spaced-out information delivered to students on their devices helped them to recall the information better.

How can you learn like one of Kerfoot’s Harvard Medical School residents? Most email programs allow you to schedule the sending of messages, making it easy to create a spaced-repetition course for yourself. Divide up what you need to know—the text of a speech, the material on an exam—into smaller units, no more than a few sentences long. Then put the information into emails scheduled to be sent to yourself at weekly intervals. To achieve the greatest memory-strengthening effect, mix up old and new material, and put the information in the form of a question to which you’ll have to recall the answer. You’ll find that your email is making you smarter—no all-nighters necessary.

Student spending: a new school of thought

In days gone by, the university student was viewed as a dreamer. According to them, the world was their oyster. If conditions didn't suit them, off came the shoes and out came the placards. With drinking abilities often matching their outspokenness, they were the noisy neighbours of society. Their jovial and carefree existence was juxtaposed with real adult life of taxes, mortgages and in-laws.

Until only recently, brands looked at them with a similar disdain.

A little more seriously

In recent times, though, businesses have been schooled that maybe it's time to take their studies into the student market a little more seriously. For brands, students offered a bit. They had to study, drink and, at times, eat. But, aside from banking brands, no one really gave them that much attention.

This all changed with the advent and adoption of on-campus media. University-based engagement was seen as another channel of marketing student-focused sub-brands, as well as helping mass FMCG ones improve their annual growth figures ever so slightly.

Despite the use of these one-on-one channels, communication was basic at best, with no real strategic considerations. The evolution of three major marketing, media and social trends, however, would irrevocably change this mindset:

1. The birth of experiential marketing
   
   No consumers value experiences quite like students. Give them a great experience that they can appreciate, tell their friends about and potentially 'score' something free from, then Bob's your uncle. If brands could tap into this psyche, NBFs (social media lingo for 'new best friends') with mostly disposable income are around the corner.
   
   What makes experiential marketing that much more impactful is the willingness of the student consumer to engage. A potential psychological explanation of this is the students' appreciation for 'cool'.
   
   Today, this often translates creatively into the retro, nostalgia craze where Ninja Turtles, aviator sunglasses and Photobooths are back with a vengeance, leveraging off of an almost ironic edgy factor.
   
   This is evident in the adidas Originals Legends Cup held annually at the Plett Rage student festival [disclosure: produced by Stretch]. Dressing up in 70s-inspired soccer gear, complete with moustaches, tight shorts and afros, seems to make so much sense to this market.
   
   

   adidas Originals Legends Cup- Plett Rage 2011. click to enlarge

2. Early adoption
   
   This 'cool-dar' factor has also manifested itself in students being termed 'early adopters': either setting trends or adopting them closely thereafter. Nonetheless, brands today realise more and more that, to be cool, the work often starts with the leaders of tomorrow and it's imperative to seed your brand at student level.
   
   In this back-to-the-future scenario, students are recognising trends the rest of us will follow at a later stage. Google+'s targeted on-campus launch [disclosure - produced by Stretch] is testament to this as the super brand looks to campus recruitment to spread the love of Circles and Hangouts across the globe.
   
   

   Google + On Campus Launch. click to enlarge

3. Social media power
   
   Google are, of course, by no means the first to recognise the ever-increasing role that social media communication plays in shaping everyday life.
   
   Consider that a recently graduated but unemployed Tunisian fruit vendor sparked the Arab Spring uprising using social media to affect global regime change. Similar power is at the fingertips of UCT and UJ students, with the ability to tarnish a brand's reputation with a few misplaced tweets.
   
   

   Arab Spring student protester. click to enlarge

   
   Being realistic, we're never going to see Mercedes Benz on campus any time soon (except maybe at a few posh Varsity College sites). Products such as washing powder and energy drinks, though, are desperately seeking to make acquaintances with students in the hope that they'll 'poke' back at a later stage.

Communicate appropriately

A warning: feeble attempts to communicate inappropriately can easily be equated to #thatawkwardmoment when their fathers try using words such as 'kiff' and 'awesome'. Never before has a consumer group been so acutely sensitive to the tone and delivery in communication.

Get it right and you may be entitled to your place on their Facebook wall and share of their bar tips indefinitely. Speak down to them, and you may risk regime change on a corporate level.

I did that ad!!!

'i did that ad’.com is a search tool designed for the creative advertising industry. With over 100 portfolios to search through, it is the largest online resource in South Africa that showcases the work done by photographers, directors, illustrators, animators, renderers, art directors and stylists. It was designed for creatives by creatives and sets itself apart from other websites by the way the search is designed - just follow the images to find the work you’re looking for, then drill down to a specific portfolio. And it’s free to use! Whether you’re uploading a portfolio or searching for talent.

Please check it out at:

http://www.ididthatad.com/default.aspx?link=site_home

Interaction Management

The term interaction management has been used in a variety of studies on interpersonal communication and refers to the techniques and strategies by which you regulate and carry on interpersonal interactions. It is certainly one of the essential interpersonal skills. Effective interaction management results in an interaction that’s satisfying to both parties. Neither person feels ignored or that he or she must carry on the entire conversation; each contributes to, benefits from, and enjoys the interpersonal exchange.

Of course, all interpersonal communication theory, research, and skills are devoted to the effective management of interpersonal interactions. Here, however, are three specific suggestions:

<  Maintain your role as speaker or listener and pass the opportunity to speak back and forth—through appropriate eye movements, vocal expressions, and body and facial gestures. This will show that you’re in control of and comfortable in the interaction.

<  Keep the conversation fluent, avoiding long and awkward pauses. Powerful people always have something to say. For example, it’s been found that patients are less satisfied with their interaction with their doctor when the silences between their comments and the doctor’s responses are overly long.

<  Communicate with verbal and nonverbal messages that are consistent and reinforce each other. Avoid sending mixed messages or contradictory signals—for example, a nonverbal message that contradicts the verbal message. These will signal indecision and hence a lack of power.

The Job search test

Personal and Professional Development
1. I read relevant newspapers and magazines regularly to stay abreast of key issues in business and my field of interest.
2. I have the appropriate education for the kind of job I am interested in getting.
3. I have the appropriate experience for the kind of job I am interested in getting.
4. I attend seminars, events and workshops that will add to my knowledge and expertise.
5. I belong to at least one professional group.


Preparation
6. I have identified my key skills and abilities, as well as my strengths and weaknesses.
7. I know how to dress professionally.
8. I know my key strengths which differentiate me from other job applicants.
9. I know exactly the kind of job I want .
10. I know exactly how to properly research companies and industries - and I do.

Networking
11. I keep in contact with colleagues, lecturers and people in my field.
12. I keep in contact with people I have worked with in the past.
13. I attend professional/industry seminars and make contacts with leaders in my field.
14. I introduce myself to others at social and business functions.

Covering Letter
15. I can quickly and in a few words communicate my value.
16. I address all my cover letters to named individuals.
17. I never leave the ball in the potential employer's court; I always take a proactive approach.
18. I tell what I can do for the company rather than what the company can do for me.
19. I have eliminated all errors from my cover letters.

CV
20. I have identified two or three key accomplishments I have had.
21. I have eliminated all errors from CV.
22. I have tailored my CV for each application.

Total your "yes" answers. If your yes answers total:
20-22: You're in great shape - you are ready for a successful job-search.
17-19: You need some fine-tuning
14-16: You need more preparation
under 14: There are a lot of positives – but a lot of room for improvement.

Where to build your professional brand?

Following its opening up as a free personal branding platform for professionals in Southern Africa, Who's Who has seen an exponential growth in registrations of more than 470% since opening up its membership to a larger audience in 2010.

Naspers Labs, the division responsible for taking the 100-year-old brand from an information resource about noteworthy individuals to a sophisticated social media platform, is focusing efforts on user acquisition and positioning the brand as the leading personal branding platform for professionals in Southern Africa.

During the development of the Who's Who platform, the company identified personal branding, reputation management and professional networking as key trends fuelling the adoption of social media.

Tech-savvy trendsetters have all realised the value of social media to build their personal brands and this is fast becoming a prerequisite for all who are serious about their professional and social reputation in an online environment.

Ongoing debate

"There is an ongoing debate that social media has reached a saturation point, but what remains evident is that different social media platforms each have a distinct role to fulfil, given most people have different personas for their social and professional lives. With Facebook you can share your life stories with friends, LinkedIn displays your professional background and Who's Who provides a local user-friendly platform, which empowers you to distinguish yourself from competitors by building and managing a personal brand online," says Minette Havemann, chief revenue officer (CRO) at Naspers Labs.

By creating a Who's Who profile, you determine how others see you in the professional arena, and you can showcase your professional history, skills and achievements. The rankings assigned to each profile allow you to see how you rank against other professionals in the network and serve as a yardstick for measuring areas of progress and development.

"Networking is key in the world of business and we are all familiar with the saying it's not what you know, it's who you know. The platform is also a powerful business tool which allows you to message, befriend, interact and connect with like-minded professionals and build a meaningful professional network," says Havemann.

Launching in Kenya

End February 2012, it will launch in Kenya, the first of a number of countries on the continent it plans to expand into over the next few years. Given the record of accomplishment of its foregoer and the rapid growth in social networking and blogging among internet-savvy Kenyans, the platform is also set to become a leading source of information for the media, researchers and the public.

For more, or to create a profile, go to http://www.whoswhosa.co.za/. Individuals who create a profile before 22 March 2012 stand a chance to win a 'Professional Success Kit' valued at R50 000.