Google launches Woza Online for SMEs in SA

Oh dear. I foresee the same thing happening here as happened in Kenya. All the local services trying to get SME's online are going to be crushed, after having their data strip-mined by Google.

I love Google, don't get me wrong, and I think it's totally great that they're offering such a remarkable service for so little cost.
We just need to make sure that this effort to "help" local businesses doesn't actually kill off a few in the process.
 
MyBB, where is the link to Woza? Come on?!

Can you put a link the website/product/service that the article is about?
 
It's not the myBB way.

I think it's a good initiative, I'd rather get solid results from Google when I'm looking for something rather than the flaky directory services that are currently cheating at Pageranks.
 
McGuywer said:
MyBB, where is the link to Woza? Come on?!

Can you put a link the website/product/service that the article is about?
Click to expand...

Businesses participating in the initiative get:
• a free easy-to-build professional website
• a free sub-domain name and hosting (http://mybusinessname.wozaonline.co.za )
• an automatic listing on Google Places which reflects in Google Maps
• access to training material and workshops
• free online support available via Google Chat and email
• Vodacom will provide the option of a 1 year free top-level .co.za domain name for first 10,000 applicants (this will follow a registration process and will be available in about 2 months)

For more information, support and to create their own websites, interested businesses can visit www.wozaonline.co.za
 
As they say. Nothing in life is free.

The backlink at the bottom of the site would certainly put me off when seeking a "professional" business on the interwebz :p

You can't remove it either.

I won't say this is all bad. It helps tannie Sannie and her Pastry Service to have an online presence.
But for anyone seriously valuing their business, I would not advise this :imho:
 
teraside said:
As they say. Nothing in life is free.

The backlink at the bottom of the site would certainly put me off when seeking a "professional" business on the interwebz :p

You can't remove it either.

I won't say this is all bad. It helps tannie Sannie and her Pastry Service to have an online presence.
But for anyone seriously valuing their business, I would not advise this :imho:
Click to expand...

I think it's great for anyone wanting to get their foot in the door. I wonder if you're allowed to broker multiple SMEs?
 
There goes income for numerous web designers!

There was recently an article on myBB on Google and their anti-competitive practises (http://mybroadband.co.za/news/columns/41211-anti-trust-or-anti-google.html). Well, my words are not even cold on that issue and here Google muscles in on an industry which MANY thousands of small-time web developers rely on to make a living.

Google is becoming FAR too powerful...this latest move just shows that there is no industry in which they cannot move in, use the power that comes with their brand name and bottomless pockets and practically destroy entire vertical markets. The thing is...they don't ever intend making money off of web development...their focus is getting people online so that people can use Google Ads.

Beware the Googleopoly folks...beware!
 
CritiKill said:
There was recently an article on myBB on Google and their anti-competitive practises (http://mybroadband.co.za/news/columns/41211-anti-trust-or-anti-google.html). Well, my words are not even cold on that issue and here Google muscles in on an industry which MANY thousands of small-time web developers rely on to make a living.

Google is becoming FAR too powerful...this latest move just shows that there is no industry in which they cannot move in, use the power that comes with their brand name and bottomless pockets and practically destroy entire vertical markets. The thing is...they don't ever intend making money off of web development...their focus is getting people online so that people can use Google Ads.

Beware the Googleopoly folks...beware!
Click to expand...

Right, because non Google ads are so much less offending.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Fudzy said:
Right, because non Google ads are so much less offending.
Click to expand...

What on earth are you talking about? This has nothing to do with which ads are offensive or not, this has to do with MONOPOLY and unrestrained corporate power that threatens the online economy in its entirety. It's a wake-up call for the people of this world threatened by Google's unfettered expansion and look more seriously at open-source alternatives to Google's proprietary search algorithms. P2P search projects like YACY, Hadoop, Hypertable...all the building blocks necessary to start building a not-for-profit search engine are available...the process is just severely held back by people who are willfully subservient to the might of Google and in spite of the fact that they should know better when it comes to monopoly practises (Telkom), we still think that an online superpower that controls it all is a wise move.
 
CritiKill said:
What on earth are you talking about? This has nothing to do with which ads are offensive or not, this has to do with MONOPOLY and unrestrained corporate power that threatens the online economy in its entirety. It's a wake-up call for the people of this world threatened by Google's unfettered expansion and look more seriously at open-source alternatives to Google's proprietary search algorithms. P2P search projects like YACY, Hadoop, Hypertable...all the building blocks necessary to start building a not-for-profit search engine are available...the process is just severely held back by people who are willfully subservient to the might of Google and in spite of the fact that they should know better when it comes to monopoly practises (Telkom), we still think that an online superpower that controls it all is a wise move.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I bolded the part I was referring to in your post. Google are the only ones who have really put their cock on the block here, everyone else has been too greedy when it comes to initiatives to promotes SMEs to really make them work.
 
Fudzy said:
Sorry, I bolded the part I was referring to in your post. Google are the only ones who have really put their cock on the block here, everyone else has been too greedy when it comes to initiatives to promotes SMEs to really make them work.
Click to expand...

I disagree. Some web designers/devs have been too greedy and they are the minority.
I feel Nada for this move by Google. I wouldn't want a site like this even if it was free, footer backlink or not, it's just not professional, which a business needs.

It's a great move for "work from home" businesses, but for anything else I wouldn't touch a business that utilizes this product.
There are many free CMS products on the market which give you kick ass websites, all free. Free hosting is readily available and so are completely free domain names.

I don't see this as competition to any normal WebSpace companies, hosting or development. I see it as a way for these companies to excell and give Google a kick in it's mouth ;) :D :p
 
teraside said:
I disagree. Some web designers/devs have been too greedy and they are the minority.
I feel Nada for this move by Google. I wouldn't want a site like this even if it was free, footer backlink or not, it's just not professional, which a business needs.

It's a great move for "work from home" businesses, but for anything else I wouldn't touch a business that utilizes this product.
There are many free CMS products on the market which give you kick ass websites, all free. Free hosting is readily available and so are completely free domain names.

I don't see this as competition to any normal WebSpace companies, hosting or development. I see it as a way for these companies to excell and give Google a kick in it's mouth ;) :D :p
Click to expand...

Yeah, good web development companies won't be threatened by this move.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter