JEAN-PIERRE MURRAY-KLINE OLDER ARTICLES

HELLOPETER.COM CONCERNS

An article for the attention of the Competition Commission.

Has your business been NEGATIVELY AFFECTED by HelloPeter.com, especially by harmful fake reviews?

Review sites have been around for almost as long as the internet and are essentially a tool for consumers to evaluate other people’s opinions on a business. The general process either includes a rating option (like stars), or one can leave an actual written comment and perhaps even provide other media such as photos. These insights can offer value to prospective consumers and shoppers before they proceed with a purchase.

A BEDTIME STORY FOR US ALL

Get a nice cup of hot chocolate and some Niknaks chips. Now curl up in bed and enjoy.

This is the perfect story for the entire family, it is for young and old, the curious, business people, and scholars. The pages that follow are filled with interesting facts, a little bit of suspense, and perhaps even a touch of wonder. You will make a new friend, learn how life started, how it works, where you fit in, and where we might, as a species, one day end up. Today, we live in an age where our children are able to name more TikTok celebrities than plants in their garden, or where people live and work thinking they are not part of something important and truly miraculous.

AFRICA COLONIZED THE WORLD

I use social media from time to time as a thermometer on the moral temperature of society. I find this an exceptional and authentic firsthand tool as a writer. In one such instance, I posted the following on my social media thread:

“I am going to say something now that will upset some people and their beliefs, but it’s true nonetheless. AFRICA COLONIZED THE WORLD. All of our species traveled from Africa. (Some returned a little later on boats and with an ego, but still, even Europeans come from Africa).”

DIGITAL MARKETING NOT WORKING FOR YOU?

‘Marketing’ is a ‘funny chap’ and even if you do it perfectly, follow every tip and spend a bazillion Rands, it can fail. Sometimes it’s just timing and you have no control over that, or people’s personal interpretation of content. EG: the Democratic Alliances May 2024 advert in which a digital flag burns is a prime example of how people can interpret a message in polar opposite ways.

Let me share a few ‘chat notes’ for you and your marketing team for the next get together.

INTELLIGENCE – HUMAN OR ARTIFICIAL

There is a lot of fuss about Artificial Intelligence. My focus has always been the aptitude and morals of Humans. If we are creating AI to emulate people we should be a little apprehensive about it. This is a 13 page, all you need to know, easy to read AI manual for the people of South Africa.

BOYCOTT LGBTQIA OR NOT?

A choice a business needs to make, because it’s not assigned at birth. Many business owners and management teams have asked the question: “should my company support LGBTQIA+?”

This is an exciting subject because it challenges major social norms. As a business and environmental technologist, I write about trends that affect companies, society and nature.

WHAT IS R50 TO YOU?

Recently I worked on subject material regarding domestic cleaners in South Africa and from this I shared the following social media post:

• “Domestic Workers in South Africa, are in many ways, modern and legalized slave labour.
• There are around 900 000 people working in this sector.
• Even at the increased minimum monthly salary of R4 433.60 a month, this is still simply not enough.

MIND THE GAP

It took me so long to read the United Nations “Closing Window” report; I was worried that by the time I would be done, Global Warming would be over. This points to one of the problems on the subject: information is simply overwhelming, and there is too much of it. People are inherently reluctant to read pages of doom and gloom, and this is one of the root causes why the severity of this crisis is not being shared as it needs to be.

DON’T RUSH INTO THINGS

The RELATIONSHIP between SOUTH AFRICA and RUSSIA under review. A perspective by a Future Thinker.

Do you really know Russia? The country has 17 098 242 Km² of land. Their spot on earth is so massive that as the sun sets in one part, it is also rising in another. This expanse of land is very cold, and inspite of this there are 125 000 types of animals and 12 500 species of plants.

THE ARROGANCE

No person’s happiness should come at the cost of another. The conceitedness and assumed position of superiority fueled by ego throughout recorded history and across the world  by ‘white men’ is at a magnitude it would take a lifetime to study, and why would anyone give the time required to understand the past? Therewith in the problem. They don’t. Stupidity persists and with it acts of violence.

THERE IS NO VACCINE FOR THIS

I have been back in Johannesburg for a month after being away for a full year. I need to call a problem by its name because a problem well stated is a problem half solved.

The city of Johannesburg and those who live within it are gravely ill. I do not mean to insult. I live in Johannesburg and we all want to ‘defend’ home. I have visited numerous cities around the World, and while Johannesburg might not be the worst, it is the nastiest one I have experienced. 

SOUTH AFRICA IS BEING CANNIBALIZED

South Africa’s Desperate Fight for Survival: The Shocking Truth About Our Infrastructure Crisis

Why South Africa’s Infrastructure is Being Cannibalized, and How We Can Stop It.

LONDEKA THE INSPIRING

An Insight into the future of Education.

If you want to feed a person for a day give them a potato. If you want to feed them for a season show them how to plant spuds. If you want them and their children’s children never to go hungry, teach how to teach.

LOSING CONTROL OF YOURSELF

It happens to us all!

Recently I was dealing with a person who literally lost control of his ‘e-life’. Specifically his business website domain, files and emails. This poor gentleman had no idea where his website designer was, or who had access information to the back-end of his domain or controlled his email services. He didn’t even know which hosting provider was being used.

DIGITAL COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT

I thought this experience would be an ideal learning opportunity for my followers. One can easily imagine I manage a number of websites. In addition, I am responsible in some way or another for about 600 other company websites.

If a digital copyright issue left a person like me feeling naive, I can only begin to imagine…

MORE – AN ARTICLE ABOUT WHY WE HAVE LESS

I believe if you are being lawful, there are ‘more’ reasons to report a crime than not. I believe if you are being lawful, you are ‘more likely’ to use an EFT payment method and not deal with large amounts of cash on your property. I believe a true leader leads by example only, not by decree. More people would report crimes if their leaders did.

THE FUTURE OF LEGAL PRACTITIONERS

An attorney, advocate, or the good old lawyer who fails to use technology would be offering a substandard level of work to their clients. Is this injustice?

I fell in love with ‘law’ at the age of seven. My mom was a paralegal and snuck me into Reilly’s Attorneys. 

THE FUTURE OF SHOPPING MALLS

I am an introverted extrovert. While lounging on the sofa, I long to be out and about, and then while doing that, I crave my ‘me time’ on a couch. Of course, if it were our President’s couch, I might never leave it!

The idea of going to a shopping mall has always generated anxiety, and researching whether these establishments will exist in the future sparked curiosity for me.