The Case of Kim “DotCom”, owner of MegaUploads may not be the best of examples seeing the guy was living a really lavish and unbecoming lifestyle off of the profits generated from his network. What is significant is that MegaUpload was one of the largest, accounting for almost 1% of US net traffic with a huge following.

So it comes as no surprise that an even more widespread and possibly mroe dangerous piece of legislation is being forced through not only in the US but internationally. One of the most concerning factors in this Saga is the timing of all of this, co-inciding with a wide range of other legal actions taken by governments to curtail civil liberties and to clamp down on the free spread of infomation which governments deem a threat. Wikipedia defines ACTA as -

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is a draft plurilateral agreement for the purpose of establishing international standards forintellectual property rights enforcement.

It will become mandatory for ISP’s to enforce the legislation or become liable for it’s contravention should their user’s be found guilty.

We’ve seen additional corrosion of privacy from most notably Google with it’s new unified Privacy Policy seen by many as a mere announcement of intent to spy and share personal information including communications, interests and inclinations of it’s users in a more comprehensive manner.

Twitters new censorship policy of taking down content on a country by country basis surfaces at exactly the same time. No doubt these are all linked, and the decisions by these major players have been informed by their consultation with the authorities who use these tools to track sentiment and clamp down on objectors.

After witnessing clamp downs on social media and spread of information connected to the Arab spring, and the stifling of the OWS movement in the US, these pieces of legislation no doubt have more than piracy as a target.

It’s up to us, citizens of the web to organise, speak out and strategize ways to keep our world alive, free and safe so we can continue to make our voices heard, and protect ourselves from the times to come.

Check out Electronics Frontier Foundation, for the latest info and action on net privacy, activism and related issues. Sign the Avaaz Anti ACTA petition - http://www.avaaz.org/en/eu_save_the_internet/

I saw another message shortly after that warning those who logged into Twitviewer to change their passwords which i did immediately. Twitter then also acted when they saw some phisy activity through this app and auto reset many account passwords.

I’m locked out of my twitter account and a few attempts to get back in has proved unsuccessful. As a precaution try what you can to verify the security of twitter apps before supplying your login details!!!

This morning(Feb 18th) myself and a few friends decided to take a job up Lion’s head. We’ve been hiking weekly in various locations but this must rank as the most beautiful morning we’ve seen on Lion’s Head so far.

3 months later, and I have a landline which can’t get adsl, unless someone cancells their contract in my area or Telkom decides we deserve another port a year or 2 in the future. This even after I specifically asked only to process an application if I could be assured that the line would receive adsl access.

You’ve heard of road rage, right now I feel like slapping that sales guy who processed my order and assured me that I would have adsl.

The worst part, even though we have efforts like broadband.co.za and hellkom.co.za there seems to be very little anyone can do to force Telkom to up their game.

The last month has not been without incident, not having worked much and also fighting with clients over payment has seen me experience a few challenges, but things are looking good, loads of new projects popping up as well as starting WordPress training again at Friends of Design this evening.

As with many bloggers I’ve gone through one of those no posting periods as well so I have some major catching up to do. I’ve been toying with the idea of a major nomad-one re-design as well, which I believe is badly needed, but need to tackle some new business development for www.the-colab.com first.

Last year this time I was experiencing a major drought but Praise the Lord things are looking positive, the pipeline is looking healthy and some great partnerships are forming.

We also need to get cracking on planning WordPress Meetup number 4 (WPCPT#4). I’ll probably be in Botswana for the first 2 weeks of November consulting for a client up there but need to get a WPCPT#4 planning team together. I also need to get wpteacher.com moving, now that I have some more course notes. Time, however, has been working against me and so has procrastination.

My Linkedin has experienced a blast of activity of the last 2 weeks, I put out request for recommendations and received quite a few which I’ve placed on my Testimonials page. I’ve also linked up with a ton of very well connected business people.

So without further ado, lets get back into action for the year ahead!

During the month of Ramadhan I will not be blogging on any of my sites and will focus on writing a little for www.ramadan.co.za, a project initiated by Ismail Dhorat in order to share our Ramadhan experiences, advice and generally convey the spirit of this holy month.

nomad-one.com will be back in action in October God Willing

Should you wish to learn more about Islam please visit some of the links provided in my blogroll in the footer of this site, or contact me to ask a question.

Peace be upon you all

Jacob of Just Creative Design wrote Why logo design does not cost $5.00 in which he mentions:

1. A logo is the very first impression people get of your company
2. A logo needs longevity
3. A logo needs to be original
4. A logo should look professional
5. A logo should reflect the time and thought gone in to designing it
6. A logo is the starting point of your whole corporate image

Many people don’t understand either the value a well designed logo can add to their Brand Image or the effort it takes to design a logo which will add that value.

Misconceptions part of the problem

It’s extremely frustrating dealing with clients who don’t appreciate the time, effort and consideration required to develop a logo which does justice to what they are trying to sell. Many people think the designer should go off on their own with a company name and re-appear with a brilliant perfectly suited design.

Briefing a designer is very much about setting constraints, boundaries for the creative process not to cross, which will make for a more targeted and relevant solution.

I have also found people do not want to engage with the design process and expect to see a final perfect design which solves all their problems with actually spending he time to convey to the designer what their business is all about.

My perspective on Logo Design

Logo design or any design for that matter has got nothing to do with guess work. It’s also got little to do with dreaming up great ideas out of nothing. It takes alot of thinking, researching, exploring, questioning and experience to bring together all the elements needed to realise a great looking and functioning logo.

So what do you think a Logo design Should Cost?

What have you paid or have you heard of others paying?

Post your comments below

I was asked by Tim Shier for some assistance in designing a flyer to get the message out there and call for people to act and report on incidents. Please download the flyer, print it out and spread the word about the unitedforafrica.co.za project.

Want to do something? Print it, cut it into flyers and hand it out (particularly at shelters etc), next sms 38871 with your ‘name’ and ‘area’ and make a R10 donation.

- Funds raised go directly to TAC for responsible distribution

The south African government has in part admitted it knew this was coming.

"Of course we were aware there was something brewing. It is one thing to know there is a social problem and another thing to know when that outburst will occur," Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils told SABC public radio.

http://www.thetimes.co.za/SpecialReports/Xenophobia/Article.aspx?id=772375

The country Unites in Action

A Facebook group has been launched with information and contacts to help us get involved. For starters we need to show concern and not just go about saying "shame!". In the days of apartheid, the countries from where those being attacked have come, stood by South Africans and welcome those fleeing the oppression of apartheid. We owe it to ourselves and those being oppressed in our country to do something.

The guys at the Quirk Station have swung into action as well starting a campaign which they hope will

… attempt to use our skills where they will have the most impact. With this in mind, I am thrilled to say that we will be launching a “Web2.0” portal that will serve as a platform for all Africans to share information about the attacks, get information about the NGOs involved in mitigating the violence and provide an opportunity to cultivate a culture of tolerance while working together to affect change.

http://www.gottaquirk.com/post/1347/xenophobia-finding-a-solution;

Keep your eye on http://www.unitedforafrica.co.za/ to see how you can help then wage an information campaign to bring back tolerance and understanding.

Mustadafin Foundation, a  Cape Town based relief organisation has started a drive to provide food and other support to those being affected. they need donations and volunteers to assist them. They can be contacted MUSTADAFIN FOUNDATION – 021 633 0010 OR 082 7742611.

Gift of the Givers, the largest disaster response NGO of African, has set up a base at Sandton’s Village Walk where people have been invited to leave any donations they may wish to offer. In just a week, Gift of the Givers has moved over R1 million worth of goods from Village Walk to refugee centres in Alexandra, Cleveland, Primrose and various other parts of Ekurhuleni.

Protest Marches and action groups are being started all over the country so please get involved in some way to voice your disgust and pledge your support. Religious communities have thrown their efforts into supporting the victims and drumming up activism to bring the situation to an end.

South African corporates have also expressed their condemnation and shown support for victims. Since launching an appeal for assistance last week, the South African Red Cross Society has received donations from a number of corporates, including  a R3 million cheque from Standard Bank.

Something has to be done, many of us are not affected by these acts of indiscriminate violence, but if we stand still and don’t act to stop what is happening, a time will come when it lands on our own doorsteps as well.

It’s not "their" Fault

Please, when you speak about "illegal immigrants" you are devaluing their humanity and somehow putting the blame on them for being attacked. It’s not only those who are illegally present in our country being attacked, but anyone who does not fit the approval of the violent mobs.

So far, about 43 people have been killed, more than 500 arrested and 20 000 displaced following the attacks. These figures are modest and only based on what has been reported officially.

You can track news on these events at the Times website.

Please get involved, donate, march, inform others and keep them in your prayers. May Allah(God) be with us and help us out of this dark hole we have fallen into.

Check out this nice little intro:

I’ve become so bogged down with client work lately that doing this little T-shirt Design for the upcoming WordPress meetup was a nice little break from the norm.

I’d like to know what you guys think of the design. Those attending will be receiving a free T compliments of the Sponsors (FormFunction, Radiiate & World Wide Creative), thanks to our generous sponsors. We’ve catered for 30 people attending.

To register for the WordPress Cape Town Meetup which will be happening on 28th May, 4 – 7pm at the Bandwidth Barn, click here and add a comment saying you’ll be there.