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 The new logo that will start appearing throughout the website was not just a whimsy. It is necessary for new templates that link banner ads to content on pages served dynamically. Why don't you read more about how affordable banner ads really are... click here. The featured businesses in our directory that was introduced in the last issue will continue in future issues, but we have two items that require quite some bandwidth to present... and although less than 5% of all readers, we still cater for those on dial-up.  Between the shenanigans of our politicians, our lucky-packet passports and Eskom, the rest of the world has had a lot to snigger about lately. But YOU can change perceptions. We're getting ready to launch eCards for iAfriCa! and this is an invitation to businesses, destinations and all our creative stars to contribute ecards. This invitation is extended to the whole of SA, not just the Western Cape. We're looking for cards that will inform, inspire and entertain. We won't publish any hard "product" selling. This is an opportunity for creative people to pull out all stops and be credited for their work. But if anyone has great ideas for ecards, but lacks technicals skills, we want to hear from you too! Anyone can visit eCards for iAfriCa! and send free cards to family, friends and colleagues around Southern Africa and the world. And we hope businesses will send ecards to their global colleagues.
Click here to visit eCards for iAfriCa! You can send cards now but we also appreciate feedback and ideas.
 The sorry saga continues. Cape Town Routes Unlimited announced that they are not renewing Cape Town Tourism's management contract for the Tourism Gateway at the V&A Waterfront. They will be running it themselves. Now this is surprising. CTT has an outstanding track record for running visitor information centres. It is recognised by the UNWTO as a global best practice model of visitor services and destination management. Self-generated income increased from just over R2million in 2003/4 to R7,4million in 2006/7. And 70–80% of all the Western Cape's tourism businesses are located in Cape Town. CTT is more representative of the industry than anyone else. CTRU's press release waffled on about Western Cape Tourism Act and the Provincial Visitor Services Strategy but said nothing about the benefits CTRU management will bring, or how they will do it better. Nothing in the Act or Strategy says CTRU has to manage tourism gateways! When CTRU and the new CTT were established, there was a very clear division of responsibilities – CTRU handled the marketing and CTT the visitor information services. CapeInfo asked them to explain this, and acting CEO Calvyn Gilfellen took exception to the tone of our email saying, "You would agree that an e-mail crafted in a tone like this doesn’t deserve an answer...". We'll repeat what we said in the email... the press release was a load of manure! It seems CTRU looks after its political interests better than it looks after the interests of the tourism industry. There is no focus on the bottom line. Being out of town, we couldn't accept an invitation for coffee but asked for a written reply. This has not been forthcoming. It seems Gilfellan does not like straight talk, certainly not using the written word. Some while back he asked us not to send emails that are bluntly to the point, because "my mail is read by others too." WHAT is the bottom line? As CTT proved 10 years ago, turning a down-at-heel visitors' bureau into a world class facility needed the buy-in of the industry and a very focused commercial approach. CTRU enjoys very little support from the industry, it has no members and doesn't have a commercial fibre in its body. CTRU has been leaderless for over a year (not to mention poor leadership since its inception) and there's still no word on the appointment of a CEO. But don't be surprised if Finance MEC digs deeper into the public purse when the City Council's funds dry up in June. We still have another question. Did CTRU terminate CTT's contract prematurely rather than just "not renew it" as they claim? If so, why? (Click here to see the press release.) Click here to tell us what you think of all of this. (This article was referred to CTRU's chair and deputy chair on February 18 for comment.)   Sending this newsletter out and the huge upgrade to CapeInfo have been made possible by using a BlackBerry cellphone as a modem. More noteworthy though, is that while all cellphone reception in this neck of the countryside is almost non-existent, BlackBerry's data connection has worked... and worked, and worked!
So it's little wonder that C-Net rated the BlackBerry Curve as the world's best smartphone. We've been a BlackBerry fan for three years. For anyone who needs to stay in touch, especially by email, it cannot be beaten. The old phone was bulky and worked well, but we weren't fans of the design because, well... there was very little designed about it. The much smaller Curve, on the other hand, is a gem! We were apprehensive about getting one after reading a Sunday Times review. Their reporter got it wrong; the cellphone sound is not tinny (and the speakerphone works very well), nor are the photos from its 2MP camera grey. (See below.) It's packed with features. The email works like a dream and the automatic spellchecker is great. The notepad and voice memo are useful. CapeInfo will start using GPS extensively for our maps. The BlackBerry Internet Service costs about R60/month for unlimited data usage – emails and internet, and the Curve's large screen makes internet use acceptable.– When using the phone as a modem, bandwidth costs are additional. Was it all plain sailing? Well some while back we gave Vodacom's corporate call centre an orchid for stellar service. Our experience with the ordinary call centre – admittedly over their busy, holiday period – has been unacceptable! We heard that Vodacom lost millions in December due to systems' failures. We can believe it! (They can't recoup that from prepaid customers, so contract customers... check your accounts!) Getting through to the call centre is our first issue; taking an hour in one instance. Where is the "call you back" facility when you need it? Then there were repeated calls and repeated undertakings to rectify account issues. And then came the howlers! "If you buy a 30-day data bundle on the 29th, it only lasts one day;" and "The person who took your order a month ago was new; he only joined us two weeks ago." Sorting out the cellphone account has been a monstrous waste of time. It's difficult to blow your top because everybody there sounds so nice and genuinely tries to be helpful. When the problem was escalated, management did step in and issues were resolved. There is no doubt, Vodacom is serious about customer service. It's then that Vodacom's follow-ups become too much with different people calling to tell you how they are attending to the problem, some asking you to hold on while they wait for their slow terminal to respond to whatever they're doing. These are intrusions in an already busy day. Surely email and SMS are as efficient and less intrusive? Now if only the IT people could sort out the systems... their faulty systems cost CapeInfo R190 for less than two days of bandwidth use. And hearing the frequent "sorry, my terminal is slow" needs to be banished forever. Not bad for BlackBerry's happy snaps: Paradise Beach, Langebaan; full moon over farm dam; and Akela the wolf – the flash works!   
  The final phase of CapeInfo's new directory system will be completed in the next few weeks. But before we finish off, we'd really appreciate your help.
Please visit the mockup at http://capeinfo.co.za/new/mockup.php. Let us know what you like, what you don't like and what we can do better. It's important that we get the icons for facilities & services, dining and languages spoken right now. We'd like these to cater not only for accommodation establishments, but as many other business types as possible. So tour companies, restaurants, retailers, etc, please give us your views. These icons, or what they represent, are also used by the search facility so visitors can make more comprehensive searches. If you're a frequent user of websites to find facilities and services, we'd love you to rate our new page, and make any suggestions you can.  If you have content on CapeInfo, this is for you! It is essential that you register online and "claim" your page. CapeInfo has a new directory system and this is needed in order to do the following:
To start editing your directory page, you need to register at capeinfo.com (top left hand side of the page) and then "claim" your content (bottom of your directory page). There is more comprehensive information which we urge you to read in our Forum & Help section. If you have questions, please ask them there so others can share the answers. Your comments:
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