Web 2.0 evangelist, bloggers and other web savvies tend to forget that there’s more than the Valley. Believe us, there is! Just look at the Open Coffee meetings all over the world and prestigious European conferences such as Le Web: representatives of the next web are everywhere! That’s why The Next Web asks influential and creative web experts from different countries to tip us about cool initiatives in their environment. We call them WebTipr’s and are really glad they keep an eye on the next web for us.
We’ve just started this blog and already received some useful tips. Johan Pretorius from South Africa recently mailed us an article, which describes the Web 2.0 and New Media community in his country.
‘WordPress Rockstar’ Adii writes that they are ‘a very close-knit community with a lot of energy – and compared to other countries our size, I believe that we have achieved a helluva lot in the past 12 months’.
The 18-blogs-rich list shows us a very diverse crowd of people. From the co-owner of the African blog aggregator – Mike Stopforth to talented web designer Mark Forrester and from ‘Mr. Web 2.0′ Vinny Lingham to ‘Web Addict’ Rafiq Phillips – who most likely is ‘born online’.
The ‘Great Saffa List’ is certainly worth a look. I always find it inspiring, reading the blogs of people from a totally different country, yet active in the same business. Great way to discover new possibilities and point of views. Have fun on your virtual trip to South Africa!
[WebTipr: Johan Pretorius]
FYI, “South Africa” isn’t hyphenated. :)
@coda: fixed it…
Out of interest, how much time did you spend researching this article before writing it?
Hi Chris, most of the information came from the sources mentioned in the post. Do you have information to add?
Your article is great, my response was not to be taken negatively, I was more just curious.
I see that you back linked Adii, and amongst the posts on his blog is: http://www.adii.co.za/2007/09/17/adii-featured-in-financial-mail-campus/ which showcases some other great South African bloggers and online gurus. This article is a great resource for information on what South Africans are doing online.
I wrote two articles about South African Web Gurus:
http://imod.co.za/2007/08/16/south-africa-web-gurus/
http://imod.co.za/2007/08/16/south-african-web-gurus-ii/
These articles show the depth of the talent in South Africa. As much as I think your post is great, I feel that to really embrace the actions of South Africans on the Internet, your post would need to mentioned at least another 20 to 25 names. Your article mentions some good names, but there are many others who represent South Africa.
Perhaps this article could slowly be expanded as you grow your knowledge?
Just a thought, respect to your article! Keep blogging, I’ve had a great read of your stuff :)
I don’t know how much time it was, I do know that I’ve read the post, tipped by a well informed man from SA, and that I’ve visited the blogs of the people mentioned.
As Boris said, if you have anything to add, we would be glad to hear that.
EDIT: Your post was still in the spam filter, thanks for you reply. I will most definitely read your posts and get back to you.
Fantastic :)
Chris,
I’m sure you’ve gathered by now that Boris and Ersnt-Jan has just started to scratch the surface as far as South African web 2.0 projects go.
And I’m also sure that they will appreciate news on any ongoing project locally, the idea is not to promote a select view :-)
Johan – Yes I have, and I love the fact that Boris and Ernst-Jan are doing so :)
Johan – Ye, one thing I feel strongly about is seeing the same names over and over again. This is so common when it comes to SA, the same 20-30 names are constantly repeated, leaving very little room for anyone else to shine a little. But this happens with most things in life though.
I just look forward to a potential follow up article :)
Ah yes. Trends. What would we do without them?
South Africa and it online habits.. i’m not too sure how this can’t be seen as ironic. The only thing that makes the ‘habits of South Africans online’ – ‘South African’, is their link to Telkom.
The internet’s a global network with a few waves, effecting a couple peopele scattered in different reading patterns of web content. These are caused by search engines and media exposure. Manipulated.
As for Web 2.0, I don’t have a lot of respect for it. The ‘design’ has been used by various linux OS’ for years.. Mac also. It’s just another knock-off ‘idea’ to refresh an old one.
I’ll make a mission to come and have a look-see at the next local geek dinner.. get a feel for who’s who in the ‘zoo’ :)
I’d be keen to meet a couple more web-addicts and share some ideas.. ruffel a couple feathers.
Keep well and good luck with your ventures!
Christopher J Combrink