SA Rocks

Last week, shocking revelations concerning the activities of the ANC Youth League spokesperson Nyiko Floyd Shivambu came to the fore. According to a letter published in various news outlets, a complaint was laid by 19 political journalists with the Secretary General of the ANC, against Shivambu. This complaint letter detailed attempts by Shivambu to leak a dossier to certain journalists, purporting to expose the money laundering practices of Dumisani Lubisi, a journalist at the City Press. The letter also detailed the intimidation that followed when these journalists refused to publish these revelations.

We condemn in the strongest possible terms the reprisals against journalists by Shivambu. His actions constitute a blatant attack on media freedom and a grave infringement on Constitutional rights. It is a disturbing step towards dictatorial rule in South Africa. We call on the ANC and the ANC Youth League to distance themselves from the actions of Shivambu. The media have, time and again, been a vital democratic
safeguard by exposing the actions of individuals who have abused their positions of power for personal and political gain.

The press have played a vital role in the liberation struggle, operating under difficult and often dangerous conditions to document some of the most crucial moments in the struggle against apartheid. It is therefore distressing to note that certain people within the ruling party are willing to maliciously target journalists by invading their privacy and threatening their colleagues in a bid to silence them in their legitimate work.

We also note the breathtaking hubris displayed by Shivambu and the ANC Youth League President Julius Malema in their response to the letter of complaint. Shivambu and Malema clearly have no respect for the media and the rights afforded to the media by the Constitution of South Africa. Such a response serves only to reinforce the position that the motive for leaking the so-called dossier was not a legitimate concern, but a insolent effort to intimidate and bully a journalist who had exposed embarrassing information about the Youth League President.
We urge the ANC as a whole to reaffirm its commitment to media freedom and other Constitutional rights we enjoy as a country.

Blog Roll

http://thoughtleader.co.za/siphohlongwane
http://rwrant.co.za
http://vocfm.co.za/blogs/munadia/
http://vocfm.co.za/blogs/shafiqmorton/
http://blogs.news24.com/needpoint
http://capetowngirl.co.za
http://thoughtleader.co.za/sentletsediakanyo
http://thoughtleader.co.za/davidjsmith
http://letterdash.com/one-eye-only
http://boyuninterrupted.blogspot.com
http://amandasevasti.com
http://blog.empyrean.co.za/
http://letterdash.com/brencro
http://6000.co.za
http://chrisroper.co.za
http://pieftw.com
http://hamishpillay.wordpress.com
http://memoirs4kimya.blogspot.com
http://thoughtleader.co.za/azadessa
http://watkykjy.co.za
http://fredhatman.co.za
http://thelifeanddeathchronicles.blogspot.com/
http://blogs.timeslive.co.za/common-dialogue/
http://www.clivesimpkins.blogs.com/
http://mashadutoit.wordpress.com
http://nicharalambous.com
http://sarocks.co.za
http://blogs.timeslive.co.za/stompies/
http://helenmoffett.book.co.za/blog/
http://01universe.blogspot.com
http://groundwork.worpress.com
http://iwrotethisforyou.me
http://fionasnyckers.book.co.za
http://attentiontodetail.wordpress.com
http://blogs.women24.com/editor
http://www.missmillib.blogspot.com
http://snowgoose.co.za
http://dreamfoundry.co.za
http://www.vanoodle.blogspot.com
http://www.exmi.co.za
http://cat-dubai.blogspot.com
http://alistairfairweather.com
http://www.zanedickens.com
http://www.nickhuntdavis.com
http://guysa.blogspot.com
http://book.co.za
http://baldy.co.za
http://skinnylaminx.com
http://blogs.african-writing.com/zukiswa
http://www.mielie.wordpress.com
http://blogs.timeslive.co.za/gatherer/
http://thoughtleader.co.za/sarahbritten
http://stii.co.za
http://blogs.news24.com/FSB_AP
http://twistedkoeksuster.blogspot.com
http://whensmokegetsinyoureyes.blogspot.com/
http://trinklebean.wordpress.com
http://commentry.wordpress.com/
http://matthewbuckland.com
http://blogs.news24.com/colour-me-fran
http://gormendizer.co.za

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As the US bloggers tour came to a close I was asked to put together a short summation of our trip with Ray Lewis. We decided to ask the bloggers what South Africa means to them, this is the response we received:

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Our first proper day of excursions kicked off today with a helicopter tour of Cape Town. What an absolutely stunning city CT is. I wont go in to that too much because this post is purely going to show you all the bloggers on the tour with me and the links to their respective projects or blogs.

Virtual Africa is the brains behind this amazing photograph. They will be supplying the tour with more panoramic shots as we progress through the trip.

For now you click on the image below to visit the full panoramic view or click here.

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I am really chuffed to be a part of a fantastic (and very smart) initiative by the International Marketing Council (IMC).

The basic idea, as I like to understand it, is that 11 international bloggers who are all prominent in their respective fields will all be heading for SA for a ten day whirlwind tour of our magnificent country. You can see more about the project over at We Blog the World. So the ten day tour will invariably allow the readers of the 11 international blogs to be exposed to the wonders of SA. Therefore invoking a desire to find out more, experience SA, travel to the country or simply read more SA stuff. Great move by the IMC I think. It’s social marketing. Brilliant.

I have been invited to take part in the tour.

Don’t fool yourself thinking that I will be on a joy-ride for ten days. Big Mistake.

Bizcommunity have proudly offered my a column for the ten days where I will be writing about the trip and publishing video and photo content through the ten days. I will also be double posting the trip on my two blogs, nicharalambous.com and SA Rocks. If that isn’t enough I will also be posting to the Zoopy blog sporadically, the We blog the world (WBW) flickr group and the Zoopy profile/landing page for the event. I am going to be one blogged out blogger by the end of this week.

But it will most definitely be worth it. The IMC have put together an incredible trip for all of the attending bloggers.

Here are a few snippets of the trip, where we’ll be and what we’ll be doing:

A heli flight over the peninsula

and then we head off to JHB for various events, viewings and museum trips

I am incredibly excited to be taking part as many of the things on the itinerary are things that I have been wanting to do in SA for ages but have never had the chance.

Expect some great content.

Head over to Matt’s blog and see who else is taking part. Leave comments or contact me if there are specific questions you would like to see the visiting bloggers answer while they are here in SA!

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I have just completed the SA Blogosphere Census called SPEAK UP! presented by 24.com, Afrigator and Amatomu.

Interesting concept this census is. I was asked for my input before the census went live. I think that there are some interesting questions that are sure to yield some VERY interesting results at the end of it all.

There are some questions that worry me and I am sure will worry others such as the finances, users, pageviews and that sort of information. I was reluctant to give away some of the information but at the end of the day, I’m not pulling in a million people a day on the site and everyone knows it, so who cares!?

So, do yourself and the rest of us a favour and let’s end the debate about blogs, how many, how big, how much etc etc, head over to the PushPlay sponsored SPEAK UP! census and get started now!

I’d like to also suggest that you blog about the census and tag people who you think should take the census and blog about it too!

So I am tagging Mike, Matt, Tertia, Cherryflava, Charl and Chris.

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What a fresh idea. A bakeoff. I love it. Going back to the days when I was 7 and had to get my mom to bake me something to take to class to sell and raise money. Old school, new rules as the saying goes.

The event is called the World Wide Bloggers Bake Off and here’s the lowdown:

It seems to me that the event is held by Breadline Africa. That’s the first thing.

The next thing is the intention:

Join the many bloggers, everyday internet users and other concerned people around the world who have made a pledge to help end hunger in Africa by signing up to participate in the Breadline Africa Worldwide Blogger Bake Off.

How it all works:

Quite simply; bake bread, give dough. You can sign up for the campaign, make a donation, upload your bread recipes and document your culinary adventures in the media centre to spread the word. Bloggers can go even further by downloading our widget and tagging five other bloggers to do the same.

Every donation goes towards our $1 million target, and the honour of having a container kitchen in Africa named after you is the first prize, along with an Amazon voucher of $500. The winners with the most votes for each recipe category will receive $250 in Amazon vouchers each.

It really appears to be a simple and fun way to actually make a difference. None of this signing of petitions or ranting. Simply donate, bake off, submit a recipe or visit the site and spread the love.

The Widget

I have placed the Widget in my sidebar to the right as you can see. Click on the donations button there and donate in the name of SA Rocks. What better way to try and help your fellow Africans?

If you are a blogger and want to get involved here’s why you should use the widget:

The Worldwide Blogger Bake Off widget is more than just a decorative badge for your website or blog. It is specially designed to function as a gateway for bloggers and fundraisers, referring traffic through to the Worldwide Blogger Bake Off site.

The sleek and sexy widget displays how much you and your friends have managed to generate for the alleviation of poverty in Africa, as well as the overall donation total.

Lastly and most importantly, the widget acts as a billboard for the campaign; spreading the wholesome Breadline Africa message far and wide. Wear it with pride.

So let’s do it. Oh, and thanks to Rob Stokes from Quirk for alerting me to the event.

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No, I am not getting rid of the current contributors, they are doing a sterling job! But I thought that it has been some time since I asked readers, bloggers and anyone else to contribute.

So if you have a blog post, cool story, idea, concept ar anything else for that matter please email me either with the full post or the idea!

If you are interested in becoming a more permanent contributor to the blog then email me too with your pitch!

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There are many South African bloggers who have made and continue to make a great impression on me and the countries onlince scene. I have taken the time to compile a list of who I think are some of the most influential bloggers in SA.

Jon Cherry – has had his fingers in many cherry pies. He initiated the SA Blog awards which were arguably the best and worst thing to happen to the SA Blogosphere in recent history. His projects include: Cherrypicka, FeverPitcher, Jetstreaker and is one of The Times Blogumists. Jon’s all-round involvement in the local blog scene definitely makes him an influencial figure.

Dave Duarte – Might not blog very often but when he does it seems to be profound. Most of the time. Dave made this list because of his incredible demeanor towards all things techie, innovative, blog-orientated and fresh. His work at the UCT Graduate school of business and Technomadic Markets have brought the online trend to marketing mainstream of business elite. His involvement in Muti.co.za, iCommons, Cerebra and the 27 Dinners makes Dave an effective networker. I think it’s a toss-up between Dave and Mike Stopforth when it comes to networking whores!

Vincent Maher Maher has featured on Al Jazeera and CNN in his capacity as a blogger, this alone makes him influencial. On top of his television appearances he has, along with Matthew Buckland, helped Mail&Guardian become one of the forerunners in the online sphere in South Africa. His involvement in Amatomu and Thoughtleader have set him apart among local online innovators. He was also nominated for IT personality of the year.
Maher’s blog also helps to define his prowess in the online sphere. Whenever he blogs you can rest assured that something dramatic will be said or take place. His coining of the term “Bullardgate” in the infamous bullard-scandal is one of the moments that stand out in recent history. Maher was also one of the first local bloggers to land a sponsorship for a blog.

Keo – When Keo talks the country listens. Sports are an integral part of South African culture. Keo is sport online in SA. There are no two-ways about it. Keo says Jake is going to win, and Jake won. Keo says that Sports are thriving and they thrive. I really do wish that I had more information on Keo.co.za but it is very hard to track the man down. Keo editors, if you read this, email me and let’s chat! This blog currently sits at the top of Amatomu.com rankings and has done so since it joined the service. Killer.

Mark Forrester – The man creates pure design bliss. He has helped design many blogs that form the top of the SA Blogosphere. He had a hand in the So Close redesign and the HomecomingRevolution and Represent blog designs. His own blog has put him on the international design map and made SA a name in those circles. His involvement in the design of Afrigator is clear and present and has definitely assisted the website in becoming a force to be reckoned with in Africa and the world.

Tertia Albertyn – Tertia is the author of one of SA’s greatest blogging successes, So Close. She was one of the first, the biggest and the ones that have lasted. Her blog allowed her to become a recognised figure in a niche market in SA and the world. She was recognised for her writing skills in 2007 as a 2007 Lulu Blooker finalist. She was in contention for the prize with the likes Frank Warren from Post Secret, Seth Godin, Colby Buzzell, Kristin Espinasse, Jerome Armstrong and Markos Moulitsas from Daily Kos. Tertia keeps on proving herself as a niche force to take seriously in the local blogosphere.

David Bullard – Author of the now defunct Bullog at the Times blog. The reason that bullog makes this list is thanks to his baptism of fire entrance in to the blogosphere. He had other names on this list scrambling for a response to his brash approach to bloggers and blogging. Bullard is living testament to the open nature of blogs. He surreptitiously entered the sphere, made his mark and departed as a non-blogger who blogged his way to fame in a short period of time.

Michael Trapido – Mr Trapido is a very new addition to the South African blogosphere (I hate that word but can’t think of another one). He was asked to blog for MG’s Thoughtleader blogging platform and has excelled. The reason that he makes my list of influential bloggers is his content. He pulls no punches and calls a spade exactly what he wants to call it. Trapido is a specialist criminal attorney. He is a director of the firm Turnbull and Associates. He is, like Bullard, living proof that blogging is for anyone and anyone can succeed. He has been of Thoughtleaders top bloggers for a while now and continues to pull no punches with his topics and his approach to blogging. If you haven’t read his blog yet, I think you should. Get there now.

Jarred Cinman – The voice of the underdog on his Thoughleader blog, burningpaper. Cinman goes against the grain in ever way and never ceases to make waves with his blog posts. He is intuitive, factual, heavy into research and loves to stir the pot. I love his blog posts because he is very willing to say what others wont and back it up with some viable research. Research is something that is seldom used by many bloggers but often makes the best bloggers who they are. He is a software director at Cambrient, South Africa’s leading developer of web applications and co-founded Johannesburg’s first professional web development company. This means that he has bite because his bark is justified. Another blogger who is a rising star. Keep a close eye on him.

Special Mention:
Adriaan Pienaar
Justin Hartman
Mike Stopforth

This list could be longer as any list of this type can always be. This is a subjective list and I know that many readers will have their own opinions. These are my choices and I am proud to say that I know, have spoken to or have met many of the people on the list.

Add to the list if you like and let me know who you think does SA proud in the online market nationally or internationally.

Popularity: 14% [?]