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    Really, Don't Panic!: Positive messages by South Africans, for South Africans
    Really, Don't Panic!: Positive messages by South Africans, for South Africans
    Really, Don't Panic!: Positive messages by South Africans, for South Africans
    Ebook119 pages54 minutes

    Really, Don't Panic!: Positive messages by South Africans, for South Africans

    By Alan Knott-Craig

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    About this ebook

    South Africans remember when electricity load shedding brought the country to a standstill in 2008. There was a rush on generators and property in Perth, Australia. An email from Alan Knott-Craig reminding South Africans of the upsides to living in South Africa went viral and elicited responses from thousands of South Africans - Don't Panic! was a book that captured a moment in SA history. Fast forward to 2014, and load shedding is forgotten (mostly), the country hosted the soccer world cup and survived the global recession, but now the panic feeling is settling in again. The currency is crashing, politics dominate headlines, service delivery protests are everywhere. Read the advice of Alan Knott-Craig, Alec Hogg, Max du Preez, Siya Mnyanda, Brand Pretorius and a host of others (well-known people, ordinary South Africans and international citizens drawn to South Africa) who tell us: Really, Don't Panic!
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBookstorm
    Release dateJun 21, 2014
    ISBN9781920434861
    Really, Don't Panic!: Positive messages by South Africans, for South Africans
    Author

    Alan Knott-Craig

    Alan Knott-Craig is 'n welbekende Suid-Afrikaanse teg-preneur wat in sosiale media, telekommunikasie en sosiale-impaktegnologie spesialiseer. Hy is die redigeerder van die 2008-blitsverkoper Don't Panic! en die skrywer van Mobinomics, die storie van Mxit - die grootste sosialenetwerkinstrument in Afrika. Die W?reld Ekonomiese Forum het hom 'n 2009 Jong Globale Leier genoem. Knott-Craig is tans die HUB van Project Isizwe, wat gratis wi-fi-netwerke na Suid-Afrika bring.

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      Book preview

      Really, Don't Panic! - Alan Knott-Craig

      REALLY,

      DON’T PANIC!

      POSITIVE MESSAGES BY SOUTH AFRICANS, FOR SOUTH AFRICANS

      ALAN KNOTT-CRAIG

      © Various contributors, 2008 and 2014

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission from the copyright holder.

      ISBN: 978-1-920434-85-4

      e-ISBN: 978-1-920434-86-1

      First edition, first impression 2014

      Published by Bookstorm (Pty) Ltd

      PO Box 4532, Northcliff 2115, Johannesburg, South Africa

      www.bookstorm.co.za

      Edited by Sean Fraser

      Proofread by Wesley Thompson

      Cover design by mr design

      Book design and typesetting by René de Wet

      Ebook by Liquid Type Publishing Services

      CONTENTS

      Publisher’s preface

      Introduction

      Introduction to Don’t Panic (2008)

      The email that started it all…

      Contributions from South Africa

      The last word

      Where to from here?

      Acknowledgements

      PUBLISHER’S PREFACE

      In 2008 Alan Knott-Craig compiled the first Don’t Panic as a response to the overwhelming reaction he received to an email sent to staff at iBurst, where he was MD at the time. His words touched a nerve in South Africa and that email went viral. We’ve included some of the original Don’t Panic contributions here to remind you of what it felt like in South Africa in 2008. He ended the book with, ‘Let’s hope we don’t see another edition in five years entitled: Panic!’ Well, it is now six years later and many South Africans are panicking once again. Alan doesn’t think you need to panic (yet) so he’s set out to remind us of what we can feel positive about. This book, Really, Don’t Panic! is the result of contributions to Alan’s blog www.alanknottcraig.co.za and the Don’t Panic Facebook page – add your thoughts and maybe we’ll have to do yet another collection!

      Louise Grantham

      PUBLISHER

      INTRODUCTION

      Don’t panic (again)

      Remember the load shedding in 2008? The papers said it would be five years before Eskom had built enough power plants to meet demand… We were all buying candles and generators and researching property in Perth.

      But what has happened since then? No more – or at least limited – load shedding. In fact, Lehman Brothers went bankrupt and the world crashed into a major recession, with South Africa mostly insulated, thanks to our banking regulators and the Soccer World Cup.

      Thank God we didn’t leave.

      And now it’s six years later and the same feeling of panic hangs in the air: a crashing rand, dramatic politics and wildcat strikes… It seems the end is nigh and Australia is beckoning once again.

      Personally, I’m still bullish. I’ve been to a few countries around the world and I still can’t see how any of them offer what South Africa is able to offer… Every country has problems, but not every country has opportunity.

      And South Africa is indeed the land of opportunity. Africa is on the cusp of a decade-long economic boom, and we will benefit. How many other countries can boast such an upside?

      The India story is now an awkward footnote. China is so yesterday. Brazil seems cool enough, but I don’t speak Portuguese. Nowadays financial analysts are all upbeat about the MINT countries: Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey.

      But I don’t want to live in Mexico City, Jakarta, Lagos or Istanbul.

      Show me a country in the world that doesn’t have woeful politics and I’ll show you a liar. The only guys who seem to be politically stable are the likes of Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan. Do you really want to live in a Tajikistan?

      And jobs? The last car company just pulled out of Australia – that means no more jobs in the vehicle-manufacturing industry on the whole continent of Australia… A strong currency may sound cool but spells doom for exports and local jobs.

      The rand has crashed, again. Of course this has triggered a stampede for the exits. In 2005 the rand was R11.58 to the dollar. Anyone remember that? Well, today the rand is R11 to the dollar. That means we’ve appreciated 5% in the past eight years.

      Our country has its issues, but there’s no other place in the world where I’d rather raise my kids. The answer to our problems is not emigrating. It’s action.

      But that’s my perspective and maybe I’m wrong. What do you think?

      Once again, I asked people to send me their thoughts on why South Africa is still a great place, and why perhaps it’s not time to panic just yet…

      Alan Knott-Craig

      INTRODUCTION

      Introduction to Don’t Panic! (2008)

      Picture it: the summer of 2008, an overcast Joburg day. There I was, minding my own business, when suddenly my office is full of coffee and I am swamped with letters and phone calls! An innocent memo to the iBurst staff triggered quite an amazing response, and made me realise that many people just need a nudge to get some perspective in the midst of the sudden negativity that swept in with 2008.

      Hence this book.

      We have compiled a selection of opinions from a wide-ranging group of people, both well known and unknown, with the intention of showing the perspective of others.

      The intention is not to paint a perfect picture and sugar-coat the very real and serious problems we have. It’s not great to deal with Joburg traffic at 8am during load shedding. Shatter-proof windows are not so much needed as protection against would-be hijackers, but rather as a shield against road-ragers!

      The reaction to my infamous email led me to the conclusion that not everyone is able to put things in perspective, and that many people are being carried away on the tsunami of negativity.

      Will we still have a viable country in 2020? I think we’ve got a better than 50/50 chance, otherwise I wouldn’t be here. Is it a slam-dunk? Hell, no. Crime, service delivery and education are just some of the problems that need to be addressed; otherwise we’re dead in the water. But it’s still an absolutely terrific country to live in if you’re striving to get ahead in life.

      So I guess the aim of this book is to help you sit back, look at the positives and the negatives about sunny SA, and choose your direction regardless of what everyone else is doing.

      Alan Knott-Craig

      IBURST MD, JOHANNESBURG

      APRIL 2008

      THE EMAIL THAT STARTED IT ALL…

      MD’s message – What a start to 2008…

      2008 has certainly started with a bang! The future was rosy on 31 December 2007, but suddenly everyone is buying candles and researching property in Perth! A combination of recession

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