For the last few years, the old media companies have belittled blogging - pretty much classifying it as writing for fun. Newspapers have long been the voice of truth and a credible source of information. Blogs on the other hand have been notorious for recycling news originally printed in the papers. Over the last few years there has been a major shift in the balance of power in professional journalism. Bloggers are now breaking news, and journalism is sovereign territory no more.

Reuters Africa is breaking new ground by meshing regular news articles with blog articles with the launch of their new website dedicated exclusively to the African continent. Journalism in Africa has been tricky, due to the fact that dissemination of information in past years could cost you your life. Blogging opens up unprecedented avenues of expression. I can't wait to see where this is headed.

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For the last week, I've had the privilege of testing out what I believe to be the future of television. Another creation from the well known disruptors of the decade. The same guys who brought you: Kazaa - Peer to Peer file sharing and Skype - Free PC to PC calling.

The duo of Janus Friis and Niklas Zennström have thrown yet another spanner into the cog wheels of the system. Their new product 'Joost' revolutionizes television - using the same principle as their first two products by running on a hybrid peer-to-peer platform. The principle is simple in theory; stream data, in real time on a global scale by distributing the load throughout the peer-to-peer network.

Anyhow… enough of the technical mumbo jumbo. Basically you can watch high quality streaming tv on your computer. I was blown away by just how good the quality was in full screen mode. That coupled with the fact that the tv stream was smooth, no skipping or stuttering. This is truly a peek into the future. Joost has a slick interface that allows you to watch movies, documentaries and music on demand. Currently, Joost channels are like playlists of videos. You can flip between channels, or use the program guide to choose a channel or a video to watch. The channels start when you play them and not at any particular day or time. If you let them continue they will loop round to the beginning again.

I have Joost installed on my laptop and home pc and so far I'm impressed beyond words.

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South Africans have had it with internet spam (unsolicited email)! The Internet Society of South Africa (ISOC-ZA) has launched a new program that puts a bounty on spammers. We're not talking about a measly amount of money - you can earn up to R30,000 (USD 4,250) for reporting a spammer who's successfully convicted. What was once considered child's play is now a grown mans game. Spammers are now criminal offenders and the consequences can range from harsh fines to jail sentences.

Local ISPs have reported that spam makes up more than 70% of all monitored email traffic. This has increased by well over 20% in the past 6 months. This along with all the viruses and phishing attacks puts quite a dent in the global economy. Spam is costing the world billions in network resources, diminished productivity and forgone Internet sales.

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Those who know me well know that voicemail has always been my achilles heel. I've found it to be practically impossible to keep up with, and made many enemies in the process. Over the last month I've had the privilege to beta test a new service that has freed me from this seemingly inescapable bondage.

Spinvox turns your voicemails into text and sends them to your mobile phone or email inbox. I can now read my voicemails quickly on-screen while at a meeting or having a drink somewhere. I cannot put into words just how fantastically useful this service is. I've even tested it out with a variety of accents, and it hasn't failed me so far. Well… I take that back - on one occasion it did spell my name as Colby instead of Kobia.

This service has been primarily targeted to UK residents and is now in beta in the US. Their pricing plans are somewhat awkward as they charge by number of conversions. Some might consider their pay-per-use model better than a flat subscription fee though.

Either way, it has earned two thumbs up from me.

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As you can tell, I'm on a roll here with global warming and sustainable energy. I came across what might be the future of power generation for Africa through a renewable source - the sun. Fossil fuels are drying up, and global warming is upon us. Renewable energy is the only long term solution to our looming energy shortages.

Enter the “Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Cooperation”. This company wants to build an ultra high-efficiency DC (direct current) power grid across the deserts of the middle east and africa upwards throughout Europe including offshore windfarms.

The best solar power technology for providing secure capacity is solar thermal power plants (also called Concentrating Solar Thermal Power, CSP). They use mirrors to concentrate sunlight to raise steam and generate electricity. Excess heat from additional collectors can be stored in tanks of molten salt and then be used to power the steam turbines during the night, or when there is a peak in demand. In order to ensure uninterrupted service during overcast periods or bad weather, the turbines can also be powered by oil, natural gas or biomass fuels. An interesting by-product that can be a great benefit to the local population is that waste heat from the power-generation process can be used to desalinate seawater and to generate thermal cooling.

Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Cooperation (TREC)

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Here's the perfect example of how social networking via the internet can bring change. Tree-Nation is a project aiming to get 8 million trees planted in the shape of a heart in the Sahara - yes you heard that right. This sounds like a colossal process, but is inherently feasible… via the web of course. You can join and buy a tree for as little as 10 Euros. By planting your tree, you can help combat desertification and regenerate the productivity of the land. This in turn will have a major impact on the livelihoods of the poor in the region.

"When we plant trees, we plant the seeds of peace and the seeds of hope"
Prof Wangari Maathai.

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