X
03:10Last update on: 12 Aug 2013
The Namibian
Mon 12 Aug 2013
SMS Of The Day * MINISTRY of Gender and Child Welfare, TEARS are rolling down as I write this SMS. The killing of women in Namibia is now like reciting a poem. Are we really getting the protection we deserve while women not being treated as part of this c Food For Thought * SO the Zimbabwe elections were free and peaceful and not free and fair? Bouquets And Brickbats * NURSES at Katutura Hospital must stop wearing those big plastic sandals at work because they are not the official working shoes. We want to see you looking smart and beautiful with your full uniform. SMS Of The Day * THIS nation is in dire need of a massive conference on housing. When we experienced a crisis in the education sector a crisis-control brain-storming conference was organised which resulted in the best deal ever for the Namibian child, nam Food For Thought * BOURGEOISIE has become a daily occupation if not the order of the day of the upper-echelons, President Hifikepunye Pohamba we urge you to revisit this unpatriotic geocentricism among your staff and the well-connected, for everybody to r Bouquets And Brickbats * COMMISSIONER of Prisons, can you please explain the strategies you use to appoint officers to certain positions? It is my observation that you are being fed with wrong information then you just promote individuals without making p SMS Of The Day * I THINK Paulus ‘The Rock’ Ambunda lost his belt because of this promoter and trainer. How can a world champion still be training at the Katutura Youth Complex where there is not enough equipment. I think they must follow the example of Ha Food For Thought * NAMIBIA Dairies are unable to match low prices of imported milk and this ultimately means the consumer will have to pay more for local milk. Look at the prices of the local chicken. All these profits are going in the pockets of a few in Bouquets And Brickbats * I AM pleased to hear that Cabinet has responded positively to the proposal of Namibia Dairies to support the industry. The restrictions which support the industry by reducing competition to ensure the survival of the industry is a SMS Of The Day * CEO’s golden handshakes. Somewhere on our statute books there must be a provision that if a board of directors suspends/dismisses a CEO without due regard to legal provision (substantive/procedural law) such board must carry the costs for Food For Thought * JACKY Asheeke was so right with her last column- why are the fathers of the dead children not being prosecuted? (Reference to the children who died in shack fires last week) Our justice system still protects men over women. In this cont Bouquets And Brickbats * ALEXACTUS Kaure, your column in Friday’s newspaper opened my eyes. One hardly finds impartial case study analysers in Namibia. Let’s not destroy the Polytechnic’s strong foundation (Tjivikua) as yet. At least wait until the transf
POLL
What do you think of the renaming and addition of regions and constituencies?
Results so far:
Older Polls
FEATURES -
| 2013-08-09
Jeff Bezos, tech pioneer to turn media baron
ECLECTIC ... Jeff Bezos speaking in Santa Monica, California, in September last year.
Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com Inc and soon to be the new owner of the Washington Post, is one of the few chief executives in corporate America who refuse to bow to Wall Street’s quarterly profit demands. Since starting Amazon in 1994, he has frequently upset investors by spend- ing heavily on long-term investments, even if it means missing analysts’ financial targets and sending the e-commerce giant’s stock price plunging.
Bezos’ approach makes him well-suited to own a storied but deeply troubled newspaper business like the Washington Post. Away from the harsh glare of Wall Street, Post employees can expect an intense boss, but one who will likely not demand to see immediate financial returns from his US$250 million acquisition.
“The Post has got itself a patient, exacting and imaginative owner which are attributes its journalists should welcome with open arms,” Mike Moritz, a part- ner at Sequoia Capital and a former journalist, said in an e-mail.
Bezos (49), who is buy-
ing the Washington Post as a personal investment, has funded an eclectic array of ventures through an entity called Bezos Expeditions, including the business news website Business Insider and Twitter, the messaging service.
He has not previously expressed deep interest in newspapers or journalism, though Amazon’s forays into electronic books, tablet computers and television programming have placed it squarely in the media business. By his own de- scription, he is a voracious reader of newspapers.
“He’s long valued the written word and authors,” said Tom Alberg, a manag- ing director of the Seattle- based Madrona Venture Group and a board member of Amazon.com. “There’s a danger of long-form journal- ism being on the decline. He takes a long-term view.”
‘Revolutioniser’
Bezos’ journey, both liter- al and figurative, from a suc- cessful stint on Wall Street to the suburban Seattle garage where he launched Amazon.com is one of the famous founding stories of the dot-com era.
From modest beginnings
as an online bookseller, Be- zos and Amazon branched out into almost every prod- uct category available, end- ing up taking on established retail giants such as Wal- Mart Stores Inc.
Under Bezos, Amazon launched the Kindle e-read- er and revolutionised the way books are distributed and read. The company has also been a pioneer in cloud computing – a trend that has begun to turn the traditional IT business on its head.
More recently the com- pany has moved into grocery delivery and begun experi- menting aggressively with same-day delivery services. That experience could come in handy at the Post, given that production and distribu- tion of printed newspapers remain the company’s cen- tral business.
Despite its success, or per- haps because of it, Amazon has been a target of critics who say it is helping to de- stroy Main Street retailers and creating a new class of low-wage workers in its rapidly expanding network of distribution centres. In Seattle, locals have com- plained that the company is stingy with its philanthropy.
Yet an Amazon ware- house in Tennessee was a
featured stop last week on President Barack Obama’s economic policy tour, with the company announcing that it was hiring 5 000 more workers with pay and benefits that were better than those of most retailers. Amazon has also won over some critics by giving up its long-running opposition to sales taxes on online purchases.
Electrifying
Bezos has described him- self as ‘stubborn’ many times and likes to spend heavily on long-term pro- jects while sharing few details with analysts and investors.
In person, the wiry, close-cropped Bezos is an electrifying presence. At Amazon’s annual share- holders meeting, one of his rare public appearances, he answers often difficult and confrontational questions with brief intensity.
Politically, he has been mostly low-profile. He made waves with a US$2,5 million donation to the campaign for a Washington State bal- lot measure supporting gay marriage, but otherwise he has given sparingly, and mostly to home-state Democrats.
His personal interests sometimes run to the exotic, such as the Blue Origin pri- vate space programme and a plan to build a clock that will keep time for the next 10 000 years.
John Battelle, a veteran journalism entrepreneur and chief executive of Federated Media Publishing, ascribed Bezos’ purchase of the Post to simple motives.
“I think a guy reaches a certain age, has money, realises that stuff like what the Washington Post does is important, and figures he has the brains and the money to figure it out,” said Battelle. “Not the first, won’t be the last.” – Nampa-Reuter
“The Post has got itself a patient, exacting and imaginative owner which are attributes its journalists should welcome with open arms,” Mike Moritz, a part- ner at Sequoia Capital and a former journalist, said in an e-mail.
Bezos (49), who is buy-
ing the Washington Post as a personal investment, has funded an eclectic array of ventures through an entity called Bezos Expeditions, including the business news website Business Insider and Twitter, the messaging service.
He has not previously expressed deep interest in newspapers or journalism, though Amazon’s forays into electronic books, tablet computers and television programming have placed it squarely in the media business. By his own de- scription, he is a voracious reader of newspapers.
“He’s long valued the written word and authors,” said Tom Alberg, a manag- ing director of the Seattle- based Madrona Venture Group and a board member of Amazon.com. “There’s a danger of long-form journal- ism being on the decline. He takes a long-term view.”
‘Revolutioniser’
Bezos’ journey, both liter- al and figurative, from a suc- cessful stint on Wall Street to the suburban Seattle garage where he launched Amazon.com is one of the famous founding stories of the dot-com era.
From modest beginnings
as an online bookseller, Be- zos and Amazon branched out into almost every prod- uct category available, end- ing up taking on established retail giants such as Wal- Mart Stores Inc.
Under Bezos, Amazon launched the Kindle e-read- er and revolutionised the way books are distributed and read. The company has also been a pioneer in cloud computing – a trend that has begun to turn the traditional IT business on its head.
More recently the com- pany has moved into grocery delivery and begun experi- menting aggressively with same-day delivery services. That experience could come in handy at the Post, given that production and distribu- tion of printed newspapers remain the company’s cen- tral business.
Despite its success, or per- haps because of it, Amazon has been a target of critics who say it is helping to de- stroy Main Street retailers and creating a new class of low-wage workers in its rapidly expanding network of distribution centres. In Seattle, locals have com- plained that the company is stingy with its philanthropy.
Yet an Amazon ware- house in Tennessee was a
featured stop last week on President Barack Obama’s economic policy tour, with the company announcing that it was hiring 5 000 more workers with pay and benefits that were better than those of most retailers. Amazon has also won over some critics by giving up its long-running opposition to sales taxes on online purchases.
Electrifying
Bezos has described him- self as ‘stubborn’ many times and likes to spend heavily on long-term pro- jects while sharing few details with analysts and investors.
In person, the wiry, close-cropped Bezos is an electrifying presence. At Amazon’s annual share- holders meeting, one of his rare public appearances, he answers often difficult and confrontational questions with brief intensity.
Politically, he has been mostly low-profile. He made waves with a US$2,5 million donation to the campaign for a Washington State bal- lot measure supporting gay marriage, but otherwise he has given sparingly, and mostly to home-state Democrats.
His personal interests sometimes run to the exotic, such as the Blue Origin pri- vate space programme and a plan to build a clock that will keep time for the next 10 000 years.
John Battelle, a veteran journalism entrepreneur and chief executive of Federated Media Publishing, ascribed Bezos’ purchase of the Post to simple motives.
“I think a guy reaches a certain age, has money, realises that stuff like what the Washington Post does is important, and figures he has the brains and the money to figure it out,” said Battelle. “Not the first, won’t be the last.” – Nampa-Reuter
Comment on this article
www.weatherphotos.co.za
Windhoek
7°
24°
0mm
Walvis Bay
8°
22°
0mm
Oshakati
8°
31°
0mm
Keetmanshoop
1°
17°
0mm
Grootfontein
2°
27°
0mm
Gobabis
5°
24°
0mm
(August 12)
View more ...