OpenWeb Drops The Ball

South African Internet provider, OpenWeb, have been letting it slip lately as far as customer service and support goes. The following correspondence is between a colleague and the ISP.

Now I've never been a big fan of the name-and-shame game, but I thought this deserved attention, as such blatant ignorance, discourtesy and miscommunication is unacceptable. Customer service is tops these days. As a brand, considering the boom of social media and the birth of the humble blog, one slip up is all it takes to send your business into disarray. Ask Woolworths. Ask Nestle. Now ask OpenWeb. Read on.

The Dirty Skirts Album Launch Ticket Give Away

It's been a good week for competitions. I gave away a ticket to The Used at Grand West yesterday, and today I'm giving away a set of double tickets to The Dirty Skirts album launch in Cape Town, Pretoria and Johannesburg. That's six tickets in total. All the details for the shows are on the FB events (linked to the locations above).

So what do you have to do? It's pretty simple really: click the FB-share button at the bottom of this post. In the box that pops up, tag The Dirty Skirts (@-tag them!) along with a good reason why you, of all people, deserve the tickets. Also, include the launch you'd like to win tickets to. So, basically:

• Share on FB
• Tag The Dirty Skirts
• Include a reason and either CT, JHB or PTA
• Hold appendages

Winners will be chosen at random, so enter as many times as you like. Better get sharing. Competition ends tomorrow at 17:00. Later.

Who Wants A Free Ticket To The Used In Cape Town?

I held a small, Twitter-based competition this morning. This is how it went:

We have a winner! And it's none other than Kaydee Van Eyssen. A well-deserved victory! Thanks all who participated. We managed to get #usedcomp trending at Number 1 in Cape Town - above the likes of #Murdoch, #Mandela, #Malema and the Google Engage Conference.

Any feedback can be left in the section below. Later.

A 67-Minute Walk to Freedom

I was content with spending my 67 Mandela minutes doing nothing. Not because of my tendency towards apathy or any resistance towards the whole idea of the initiative, but because doing nothing for an hour is - technically - doing something good for an hour. In my case, anyway.

There it is. Just under 68 minutes of charitable goodness. You know it’s true, because it’s on an iPhone screen. You can check out the rest of the pictures on the Purple Cow FB Fanpage. And remember to get your charity hat on for 67 minutes today. It’s the very least you can do.

We made a difference to a bunch of kids' lives by showing up at the Homestead and dropping groceries off. Check out their website (linked above) if you'd like to contribute to a good cause.

Special thanks must go out to a few of the herd; specifically Jo, Leilah, Cheridan and Keena. The rest of us weren't too bad either.

Social Media Guru, Leilah and Copywriting Queen, Faeron.

What did you do for Mandela Day? Leave your stories in the feedback section below. Later.

Copy Busters [Part 1]

Welcome to Copy Busters. This is where I get to let my inner grammar Nazi shine through. For the good of the human race, this is me correcting life's many typos. Boom.

Uri/nil – Take a look at this ad for the recruitment agency, VHC Online. Read it. It’s blatantly obvious that it’s targeted at women. The content, the colour... All signs lead to this very obvious conclusion. Which is confusing... When you consider the fact that I saw it here:

God Boobs – This one has been busted before by the legends over at Mojodojo, but it was the first time I’d seen the ad – so I’m including it. For those who don’t know, the girl is FHM model, Genevieve Morton, and the ad is for the sunblock brand, Tropitone. Oh, and in case you’re wondering what the bust is all about...

God: 1. A holy man; a guru 2. An incarnation of a god in human form.

Goddess: 1. A female deity 2. A woman who is adored for her beauty.

Definitely Not Regular – If you’d like to witness this one for yourself, you can check it out at the fish and chips shop on the Fanwalk across from my office. Quality spelling... Although, to be fair, the people in that shop don’t even look human – let alone English.

Irony Truck – Okay, so technically this isn’t a typo, but it’s still pretty funny. Would you hire this guy to tow your car?

Can’t You C? – There are high dosages of fail in this one. No further comment is needed. Check it out at 2 Oceans Bac(k)packers on lower Long Street, Cape Town.

Disgrace – This is a test. Somewhere on this Heat magazine cover, there’s a lone copy error. Leave your answer in the comment section below. If you get it right I’ll give you a Grammar Nazi high five.

Some Monday Goodness [Video & Song]

I trust you've all had just as cold a Monday as I've had? Wow, I know I'm reaching the next level when I start talking about the weather on my blog right? There are just two things I'd like to bring to your attention this evening:

Grizzle and I recently did an interview with Capetowners.co.za. Check the finished clip below. Big ups to the rad guys from Capetowners. Follow them on Twitter here.

And: Kristyn Rohm (remember her from the White Blank Page video post?) recently recorded another cover song with the uber-talented Louwtjie Rothman. This time it's a Coldplay track. Checkit:

The Scientist by Nick Frost

So what'd'y'think?