Tania.co.za

University-certified Programme in Project Management for Local Government (NQF level 7)

The course dates have changed as follows:

Cape Town: 1–5 September
Gauteng: 22–26 September 2008

Click here to submit an enquiry.

New law to curb unsolicited marketing via mail, e-mail, SMS, and telephone

"According to soon-to-be legislated law, any company embarking on a direct marketing campaign will be required to run its list against the opt-out register and ensure that any names on the DMA register are deleted off its database. The register has been developed by the DMA in response to required Government legislation to professionalise the industry and curb unsolicited marketing messages via mail, SMS, email, telephone and post to unsuspecting consumers." Read the full article here:
http://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/11/25773.html
It was published only a few days ago. According to the article, the management of the DMASA opt-out register has also been improved to meet with the requirements of the law. Visit www.optout.co.za to see the new options.

Follow-up on my attempts to opt out of the National Consumer Database

Liberty Life got back to me with a call from their legal department, and they are investigating my report; they said they'd revert in a day or so.

I also heard from Prima-Data regarding the National Consumer Database, and they said I should contact a company called Effective Intelligence. The person they said I should speak to, Simone Ardagh, is away until 14 July, but I mailed the person designated by her automated out-of-office reply, David van der Merwe. I also found this Web site, www.dontmailme.co.za, which I think they run, so I entered my details.

An interesting note in the FAQ on that site, is this one:

Do lots of consumers “Opt Out” of promotions?

No, very few people elect to restrict the promotions they receive. It is difficult to give accurate statistics but we estimate that only 1,000 people have elected to opt out from at least 50 million mailing pieces (from all suppliers and all major companies) over the last 10 years.

I think the reason for this is simple: The steps have been made very convoluted by users of the National Consumer Database -- companies like AIG, Liberty and others of their ilk. I say this because it has taken me many months to find out how to opt out, and I am not all that sure I have even succeeded. "Don't mail me" doesn't mean the same thing as "don't phone me", so I don't know if registering at the site is going to stop any cell phone calls. I believe that many more people would opt out if they knew how to, or if they trusted the process.

On the other hand...

My right hand is bruised. I put ice water on it last night, and kept it warm today, so it doesn't hurt unless I touch it. I think all four punches may have been done with my right hand; I should practice punching with my left hand. Also, the last one was a back-hand punch, and that is not as powerful as a straight forward punch which allows you to put your full weight into it. And anyway, I wasn't fully committed, and that is part of the problem. You feel half sorry for the person, and then you don't pull it off forcefully, even if you're trying to hit as hard as you can. The thing is, though, I used to be able to knock someone to the ground with the first punch, a simple backwards flick over the shoulder, so I get cheesed off now when I can't drop a person to the ground even with a much harder punch than that -- which all goes to show that practice is required, and I am really out of practice. On the other hand, ballet dancers aren't really supposed to beat up the audience in the first place.

Project Management courses in Nigeria

It has been so difficult for our Nigerian participants to come to South Africa, what with the visa situation and all that, so we have decided to go to Nigeria. I don't have any dates or prices yet, but what I can say is that we are planning to offer training in Project Management (probably with credits on a university masters level), and possibly also some hands-on training in Microsoft Project, sometime next year in Abuja. If you want to submit your details so that we can keep you updated, fill in an enquiry at ProjectManagement.co.za.

As long as you give in to spam, people will continue spamming you

This is what Primadata (or Prima-Data) has to say about Prescon, the guys who run the National Consumer Database: "The majority of [Direct Mail Respondents] have taken the time and effort to send a 'not thank you' [sic] response to one of Prescon's offers. Don't be put off by that due to the fact that when Prescon mail them again with the same offer they are three times more responsive than the average list."

In other words, they are saying that they do not care about your time and effort. They will continue to contact you anyway, pressurising you until you buy. So, in case I have not said so enough already, do not buy. As long as you give in to extortion, extortionists will continue to do this to you and to everyone else.

Getting in touch with the guys at the National Consumer Database

OK, I am getting somewhere at last. NextMark is not the company that has this list, and have no control over the content of lists; they are simply a software company that provides the technology to promote and find lists that are available on the market. Prescon List Management is the company promoting this list. The email address for the person who promotes the list through the Internet is b_baker@mweb.co.za, but I do not know if this is the correct contact for removal. However, this person may be able to point me in the right direction, so I have sent him a memo and will see what happens.

It seems as though Prescon List Management once belonged to Moneyweb. Their annual report of 2006 states that "on 1 April 2005, the list division of Prescon Publishing Corporation (Pty) Ltd was sold for R200 000. The decision to dispose of the division was based on the fact that selling of lists is not part of Moneyweb's strategy."

That sounds like a company selling off its shady drug dealing division because they have decided to go straight.

National Consumer Database: Dodging the law by running it offshore?

I have just learned something. The South African National Consumer Database (used by AIG, Liberty Life and others), complete with people's telephone numbers and other intimate details, is available from an American company. I don't know if they are the sole providers, but if so, the fact that it is being run from outside the country may explain how they get around the law which requires them to remove people's names upon request.

Liberty Life is in on the plot

How's this for coincidence: As I was busy adding detail to my article about the National Consumer Database, I got an unsolicited call from a Liberty Life salesperson. This time I did not lose my cool. I asked him to remove me from their list, and to tell me where he got my details. He said that he was not authorised to have me removed from their list, or to tell me where my details were obtained; nor was he authorised to give me the contact details of any person who could do so! He did, however, make mention of -- you guessed it -- the mysterious "National Consumer Database"! I got him to write down the details of the legislation which his company is infringing, and to pass it on to his superiors, and to notify them of my intention to take action against them for refusing to grant me my privacy.

My suggestion is this: Unless you are happy to be contacted in this manner, I would suggest to you to refuse products and services from companies who make calls of this kind, and to specifically state that this is the reason why you do not want to deal with them. As long as people respond positively to this type of solicitation, marketers will continue with such campaigns. Only once they understand how negatively their choice of marketing channel impacts on their brand will they learn to respect the wishes of the public.

How can I get my name removed from the National Consumer Database?

There is no National Consumer Database. This is the conclusion I have reached after following up several leads over the past few months. It would appear that if somebody told you they got your details from the National Consumer Database, they are not telling the truth.

[Note added 2008.06.20: I was wrong about this. See other entries for the full story. I have, however, kept this article in its original form in spite of the fact that I now have additional information.]

If the organisation that contacted you is a member of the DMASA (Direct Marketing Association of South Africa), then in theory you should contact the DMASA directly and ask to be placed on the Don't Contact Me list. However, it has been my experience that if one of the members of the DMASA contravenes the arrangement by contacting you anyway, the DMASA will not follow up your complaint.

If a particular organisation keeps bothering you, you could probably lay a criminal charge against them, but as far as I know no such charge has ever led to a conviction. Your local police station may be more accustomed to dealing with robberies and assault, so you would probably have to be very specific. Tell the police you want to lay a charge in terms of Section 45 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act (Act 25 of 2002), which you can download from the government's Web site. In terms of this Act, an organisation which contacts you has to tell you, upon request, where they got your information, and upon your request they have to remove you from their list. So if they tell you they got your information from the National Consumer Database, then, as far as I can figure out, they are breaking the law, because there is no such Database and therefore no way of breaking free once they start bothering you; and if they want you to send an SMS to them at your own expense to be removed from the list (a form of "micro-extortion" on a massive scale), then if you like you can do what they say, but remember that by law they are actually supposed to pay for that SMS, so once again, they are breaking the law and you have reason to lay a charge against them. If they are found guilty, then according to the provisions of the law, they could receive a fine or even a prison sentence. But, as I said, I don't know how successful you would really be.

If you prefer, you could contact the offending organisation's complaints department, but the problem with this approach is that you will only be stopping the problem only for yourself -- two months down the line, your colleague, housemate or ageing mother may be the next victim. If that matters to you, and if you have the time, you could start class action. This means you write a letter to the newspaper or on the Internet saying that you are interested in hearing from others who have had the same experience with regard to a specific company. You get everyone to tell you their stories in detail and to provide proof (e.g. "On 6 June I received an SMS from... saying... I have saved the message on my cell phone as proof"). Then you can contact the police on behalf of the group.

One of the problems with laying a charge, either as an individual or as a group, is that court proceedings can become expensive and time-consuming, while the whole object of the exercise in the first place is actually to stop wasting your time your time and money rather than to be further inconvenienced. A less expensive way to vent your frustration is to start or join a group which provides media pressure against the offender. One of the best-known groups of this nature is Hellkom, the organisation famous for allowing consumers to express their frustration against Telkom (and now also Eskom). You need to understand your rights and duties in terms of freedom of speech if you want to do something like this, though. Telkom is a monopoly, which is why the law protects the public from libel charges in the Hellkom situation. You cannot mercilessly attack a small company with hateful and defamatory public statements and not expect that they will want to defend themselves in terms of their own rights within the law. For a quicker route, try HelloPeter.com, which transfers both complaints and praise from consumers to various companies.

Some of the organisations that have consistently continued to contact me in spite of the fact that I have expressly asked them not to, were AIG, Nedbank, Fox Fitness and Leisure in Bellville, and a certain organisation that raises funds for the blind. There are also some computer training colleges and PABX providers that do not keep a record of people who have asked not to be contacted; nor do they apparently keep a record of people who have indeed done business with them in the past, so you can expect a cold call from them every time they appoint new sales reps. (Inter alia, this has been my experience with New Horizons.) Eventually, after numerous requests, I did manage to stop AIG and Nedbank. (I am not sure whether the others will stop contacting me, though, as for many years they have always promised to do so, only eventually to repeat their behaviour after six or twelve months.) But that's just me. If you are still being troubled by the same people, then I would suggest that you contact either Cape Talk or its sister station, 702. These radio stations have been following up on such stories for more than a year, and although nothing much has come of it so far, I think in the long run there may be some results if they continue doing so.

And of course, boycott the companies that do this kind of marketing, and encourage your friends to do the same.

My profile at MyGenius

Dear Tania,

Please note that MyGenius requires a photo of you in your profile that shows other members who you are – and of course we consider the best way to encourage an engaged business community is for members to have a head and shoulders photo that best reflects your personal brand.
We don't consider your current photo to reflect that and have consequently deleted your photo and hence downgraded your membership until you have uploaded a suitable photo.

We look forward to upgrading you again soon and allowing you to take your business to a new level!
         
The MyGenius Team

Thank-you for explaining your terms. I try to avoid doing business based on appearance. I find that it fosters a type of bias and prejudice which I do not like. A head and shoulders photo of myself would therefore be the opposite of what I stand for. Our company Web site deliberately does not have any photos of our associates either. If I were to continue using MyGenius, I would upload a picture of a face disfigured by burn wounds, and I do not think that would be acceptable. If those are the terms of the site, therefore, I would rather not use MyGenius at the moment. If you wish, you can delete my profile.

Tania

University-certified course in IT Project Management

It's official! Well, no, not quite, but almost: we had the meeting yesterday, and unless some evil authority thinks up something to put a spanner in the works, our first university-certified Programme in IT Project Management on NQF level 7 will be held in Cape Town early in the second quarter of 2009. The course will be presented by Martin Butler (senior MBA lecturer and an experienced IT Project Manager), whom I regard as an awe-inspiring systems thinker and an extremely good presenter. You can't imagine how chuffed I am about this. We should be ready to start taking booking enquiries via the ProjectManagement.co.za Web site by mid-July, but if you like, you can fill in an enquiry in the meanwhile if you want to be notified as soon as more information becomes available.

PRINCE2 courses available soon

ProjectManagement.co.za has been approached by the powers-that-be to offer formal PRINCE2 training and certification not only in Cape Town but also throughout the rest of Africa via the official affiliate programme. If all goes well, this could be up and running within a few weeks.

Putting a SPIN on things

Too nerdy and too niche, said Joe in response to my request for a talk explaining and comparing the different IT Project Management methodologies at the Geek Dinner in May, and suggested that I go to a SPIN meeting, which I finally managed to do last night. Never mind nearly running out of petrol, getting caught in the rain and being a little dull from a lack of sleep, because I was completely refreshed by the conversations I had about Agile, Blackadder, PSNext, Goldratt, Bladerunner, Scrum, the importance of melody in musical experience, The Goal, Red Dwarf, RUP, managing risk in IT projects in the DRC, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, processes versus tools, and the unimportance of PMI certification in the pursuit of happiness as an IT Project Manager. I left the Cape Town Yacht Club (which is where I ended up after the meeting with Gerhard and Emile, two experienced systems thinkers) sometime before midnight. Memorable phrases of the evening include, "Abuja is like Bloemfontein. You have to experience Lagos!" and "Friends don't let friends use Microsoft Project." I can't wait for the next meeting. So I won't. We're going to make a plan to get together sooner. In the meanwhile, I am getting ready for an important meeting between ProjectManagement.co.za and the university this afternoon to develop a certification course in IT Project Management.

Somtyds, net somtyds...

...wil ek graag 'n werk aanvat in 'n ver land waar ek binne 'n paar maande soveel geld kan verdien dat ek jou losprys kan betaal, sodat ek binne hierdie leeftyd vir jou kan vra om my vas te hou wanneer ek jou nodig het, en dat ons binne hierdie leeftyd die tyd kan hê vir verstaan, saam kan opstaan, saam kan hulp vra, saam kan hulp gee, saam kan bid.

Maar die meeste van die tyd is ek kalm en bereid om nog tien, twintig, dertig jaar, ja, die res van my lewe vir jou te wag. Want daar is niemand soos jy nie, en niemand wat my so liefhet soos jy nie.

Overheard in Andringa Street, Stellenbosch, on Saturday morning

Middle-aged guy to Coloured policeman as a group of five or six Goths passed by: "Lyk soos 'n kerkraad uit die apartheidsjare."

My very own nine hours

Nine hours. Nine precious hours were mine today to be alone, to do as I pleased. Seven of them are already gone, what with shopping, lunch, doing the dishes and the laundry and sitting down for a while. I feel sad today. There is still so much more I would have liked to have done: tidy all my cupboards, vacuum my bedroom, put on clean bedlinen, sew my own outfit, sort out my receipts, take a nap, invent a new style of dancing, defrost the freezer, draw a cartoon, mop the floor and just sit and think. I will only have time for one or two of these. Three loads of laundry will be ready to be taken out of the drier soon, and there is no space in here to spread it all out and deal with it systematically. Someday, someday when I grow up I want my very own weekend.

Deflection

Daardie woord was so koud per private SMS, 'n groot swart harde drieletterwoord op 'n klein grysgroen skermpie.

Ek verwerk dit en kleur dit in met warmte deur vir myself te visualiseer dat jy dit eerder vanuit emosionele en fisiese uitputting skreeu terwyl ek sowat vier meter van jou af staan, en op daardie manier kan ek dit ervaar as 'n uitdrukking van jou pyn, frustrasie, vasgevangenheid en woede, gerig aan my en teenoor my, maar nie met die bedoeling om my daardeur te vernietig nie. Daarom verdedig ek myself ook nie. Deur gedurig daardie prentjie voor my geestesoog te hou, "bewaar [ek] ons liefde, vernietig [ek] ons pyn, bly [jy] so 'n feesland vir ons drome". (Breyten Breytenbach)

My Monday

Exhaustion. Expl...

My Saturday

Expectation. Emotion. Exhaustion. Explosion. Entropy. Empathy. Encouragement.

My Friday

Expectation. Exhaustion. Emotion. Explosion. Entropy. Empathy. Encouragement.

Visit to Harmony Park refugee camp

I neglected to mention that I saw Agrippa on the weekend. I had contacted him a while ago to find out whether he and his family were OK and whether they needed anything. After first assessing the situation for a couple of days to see if it would change, he contacted me and told me that they needed additional blankets, so I bought some and took them over to Harmony Park on Sunday afternoon. (I didn't check anywhere else, so I can't compare, but the prices at Pep Stores were pretty good, IMO. I think it was R39 for Polarfleece and R27 for those grey makwetha-type blankets. I bought mainly Polarfleece but topped up with a couple of grey ones.) I also took some of my clothes. We had a good chat which showed that he had lost neither his sense of humour nor his philosophical realism and insightful political perspective. He had also managed to return to work for two days, and was making a plan to move to a place of temporary accommodation with his wife, while his relatives (two men and a woman) would remain in Harmony Park for the time being.

While I'd been waiting for them in the parking lot, I asked a woman about the VISITOR sticker she was wearing. We spoke in Afrikaans -- she was Coloured -- and she told me she was visiting her fiancé, originally from Mozambique. "Ons het 'n huis," she said, "maar nou moet ek hier kom kuier, want dis nie vir hom veilig by die huis nie." I asked her if they had children together. "Ons het 'n dogtertjie van sewe," she replied. "Sy mis haar pa en vra wanneer hy dan gaan huis toe kom."
"Maar hoe is die lewe vir haar onder dié omstandighede?" I asked. "As die mense so is oor hom, maak hulle nie die lewe vir haar ook moeilik nie?"
"Ag," she said, "sy is al haar hele lewe lank daaraan gewoond. Sy sê vir hulle: 'Ek is trots om 'n kweri-kweri te wees.'"
Then the woman left to get ready for work as Agrippa and the other men came through the gate.

Benefits of stress

Occasionally, stress has some useful side-effects. I lost 3 kg in less than a week, without picking up any weird eating disorder. The benefit is that two pairs of pants which last fitted me before the Wizard and I ate so much pizza at the KKNK more than a year ago, now fit me again.

If I lose another 2 kg, I will be able to sit down in them too.