SA Rocks

The one and only Keo.co.za is our featured blog interview this week. Let’s get into it:

Hi Stu – Can I call you that or is it a secret?

You can indeed, most call me Ig and a lot of other names probably not worth reproducing here.

So your blog is pretty much the most popular blog in the country. How’s that feel?

Pretty dam cool. We never really had anything to compare ourselves against to until Amatomu came along. But it is very rewarding after all the effort from the Keo team in the last three years.

You are a fairly tough guy to get in touch with. Is this something you’ve done on purpose? There is no “contact us” section on your blog in case you didn’t notice!

Funny – people keep pointing that out. Beginning to think we should add one ! There is an email link for the webmaster – thats gets you just about anything you want. And most of our readers just post their questions in the comments and i try to answer them – as do all the guys who write on the site.

What have you done to make Keo.co.za so popular? Is it the sports angle?

Sports in SA was always going to be a winner, and when Keo started the site it was admidst the whole 2003 World Cup debacle, and a little bit of contraversy never hurt, i think our biggest asset was Keo.co.za was one of the first out there in terms of allowing fans to talk back, As opposed to a lot of the traditional columnists who offered an opinion and no channel to challenge it – this has of course changed and just about every media site now offers this facility these days.

We also got quite a lot of paper exposure through the columns Keo wrote for the Business Day, the Independant Group – and this gave us great exposure to South Africans who love nothing better than to talk about rugby. Keo.co.za is also the official online partner to SA rugby and SA Cricket magazine and provides branded content – which also brings us new readers all the time. I also think on any day that you vist the site – you can get a snapshot of the entire rugby world – and leave an opinion – and i think this is our single biggest reason for our success.

Do you ever get berated for what you cover with regards to black/white/racial sports? Too much rugby, not enough soccer, too much cricket?

Keo is essentially a rugby site, we didn’t really cover anything else until the end of last year when we added cricket looking to the world cup in the West Indies, it was met with mixed reaction, some didn’t like it, some did. In terms of the politics in sport – we do cover it and it generates a lot of debate – not all good . We have had a couple of requests not to publish stories covering the political side of sport – but the reality is we publish news and if we don’t publish it – someone does in the comments and the debate will go on.

If anything we get more complaints about stories we have missed !

What do you think makes SA such a special place to live?

Dude, you have to ask ? It Rocks !

Is our sporting culture different to that of other nations or does every nation think that?

I think we are particularly unique for a variety of reasons, South Africans love to rally behind winners – Look at the RWC wins – dam it sounds sweet to say wins and not win – , The African Cup of Nations win, all our Olympic athletes – we love them and we celebrate them and back them to the hilt as long as they win – if they don’t South Africans can be a little harsh on passing judgement from the couch. But i think most nations have the same vibe – everyone wants to win, we just seem to create obstacles to our success whenever we can.

Are there any future growth plans for Keo.co.za or other projects you are planning?

We have endless ideas about expanding the site, but time and money tend to get in the way, i hope by next year we would have added a couple of podcasts and video casts, we are looking at a shopping section for supporters. Hopefully in the next few weeks these ideas will firm up and we will implement them. My biggest fear is to be just another rugby website – we want to be the place rugby fans visit on the web because we are the best at it – not because the site has endless features.

You don’t often cover women’s sports, is that going to change or do I just keep missing all those blog posts?

I think in the 7000 odd articles in the databse – 5 are about the Womans Bok team – so in short no we don’t really cover womens sport.

Do you truly believe that sporting patriotism has an effect on the broader community in the long run, like the RWC win for example?

Yea i do, its been shown time and time again in SA and abroad. People need heroes. And our sporting stars tend to deliver more often than not. Its a great unifying force.

In closing, what do you have to say to all your loyal readers and all those amazing South African sports fans?

Without you we wouldn’t be where we are today, we luuuuurve you.

Thanks alot for participating Mr Keo! Keep on rocking!

Keo is probably Mr Keo himself ! But you cannot mention the site without mentioning – Simon, Jon and Ryan who generate our copy all day and all night. They deserve alot of repect and take a lot of flack.

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The Times has a short interview with Ruda regarding her move from the hit T.V. programme Carte Blanche.

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In February of this year Dell Computers launched a website called IdeaStorm as a forum for customers to contribute ideas for future Dell product offerings. The IdeaStorm concept is a brilliant one in that for the first time a major computer manufacturer has allowed normal end-users to contribute to the production of the latest Dell hardware.

A quick visit to the IdeaStorm site shows that of the top 15 voted on ideas 8 of them are ideas relating to Linux and Open Source Software proving that Linux and OSS are starting to compete with the proprietary software giants in a very serious way.

The most discussed idea and feedback that customers gave was the need for Linux on desktops and notebooks and amazingly Dell listened. So much so that on 1 May Dell announced a partnership with Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, to offer the latest Ubuntu 7.04 release on select consumer desktop and notebook products.

These Ubuntu systems will be available in the coming weeks to customers in the United States with no clear date on when it will be available to South African consumers however this is seriously a move in the right direction and I may even consider buying a Dell for myself when they ship them here.

Thanks to Dell I am able to include the following video in which Canonical founder Mark Shuttleworth talks about why he started Ubuntu, Linux adoption rate trends, how previous barriers to Linux adoption for mainstream users are improving, and more.

– Justin Hartman

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You might have seen him on MTV, you might have caught the movie but you should know the name Brendan Jack. And guess what? He’s back with a new angle: Footskating baby, Footskating.

Hi Brendan! Let’s get started:

We’ve seen you on MTV for a while now, How did a bunch of South Africans get on to the channel?

It’s not true that my dad owns the channel… in fact, we tracked down a contact at MTV London, then pitched them the idea. They said it was cool, but didn’t have a budget to give to unknown South Africans… so we made the first batch of stuff with our own money and contacts… when they saw it, they commissioned us to make more stuff for them. It snowballed from then.

Crazy Monkey was hilarious, is this new series going to have the same feel?

Thanks. It’s the same kind of feel, except it’s about what happens when the Crazy Monkey-types get a bit of fame, or what they perceive to be fame.

It seems as though there is a movie coming out soon, want to give the SA Rocks readers a heads up? (Free promo goes here!!)

There is definitely a movie coming out… called Footskating 101. About the birth of footskating in a small mining town. It’s well extreme and will be out around the country in September. In it we’ve got Twakkie from The Most Amazing Show, as well as a lot of other SA comedy talent like John Vlismas, Riaad Moosa, Kagiso Lediga, and plenty more… Check out www.footskating.com

Is this movie going to be different to Straight Outta Benoni?

Yes, it was made in Roodepoort. Actually, we took a lot of feedback from Straight Outta Benoni and used it to make a more straight-up over-the-top comedy, more in the style of the MTV spots. And more extreme.

The South African film industry, on its way up or on its way out?

It’s small, but it’s growing. There are definitely talented artists and filmmakers out there, it’s just difficult to break through when competing against big international films.

You have grown your team a bit, how did you pick the new recruits?

The original guys have moved all over the world, so we needed some new blood to spill on the streets. We recruited them through endless questionnaires and a grueling aerobics workout. And also because they begged us to be part of the revolution, some even bordered on stalking.

You have experienced some of the tragedy that our beautiful country can encompass. How do you feel about South Africa?

There is tragedy everywhere; it gets very focused on in SA at the moment… but I’m positive about what’s happening here… it just needs to keep on happening. And more people need to turn off the bad news and get naked outdoors.

I would like to know a bit about the man behind the footskater. Did you study, if so what? Do you have a “real job” or is footskating it, man?

I messed around with City College in Los Angeles, then came back to Wits and got a BA, aiming to do psychology, but then changed my mind and went to advertising school, and ended up in advertising for a few years… which then led to Crazy Monkey… now it’s all about touring the world and teaching sad people to be happy.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

I’ll be working for world peace with Bono, as well as the fitness trainer for the Springboks, and hopefully I’ll have moved out of my parent’s house by then.

Where do you see South Africa in 5 years?

Still at the base of Africa. But also with a bit more unified multiculturalism and maybe a little more grown up.

What can others do to become incredible footskaters?

Always warm up, keep an open mind, and create your own moves. It also helps to have good genetics and friends who support what you do.

Check out Footskating 101 now!

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Tell me a bit about Back to SA?
It’s primarily aimed at South Africans coming back to live in SA, but it could also be useful to anyone who is coming to live in SA. When I decided to move back (after more than nine years in the UK) I found very little info on the web about this huge thing I was trying to organise.
In the process of getting info together during my move BacktoSA I have realised that the scope for the site is endless. I want it to grow into an all-encompassing resource that anyone considering to move to SA would find useful. Or a place to browse and see what is happening in SA even if they don’t want to move.

It is also a partner to www.LeavingSA.com, which is aimed at traffic going the other way.

Why did you move to South Africa?
I really feel that this is ‘Africa’s century’. It feels like it’s the right time to come home, it’s time to get involved and celebrate South Africa’s success, and it’s a great time to bring your skills home.

And this is why you started the website?
Even before making the decision to come back I wanted to find out about living costs in SA and what type of money I would earn if I moved back. All the usual stuff, such as can I afford the same luxuries there as in London. I wanted to stay in touch and understand the SA market and feel a little closer to home.

How old is the site and how is it doing?
I had the skeleton site up in August 2006 just before we left London, and then revamped and fine-tuned it and relaunched in Jan 2007. The site is growing fast every month.

What is your take on the negativity floating around SA at the moment?
Sure, there are problems but who wouldn’t expect that, given our past. I have hope rather than fear for the future.

How many people have you moved to SA?
I hope the site has inspired the few thousand people who are visiting every month, but it is this gorgeous country that really moves people.

Where is the most sought-after spot when people move?
Cape Town

You must’ve done your research regarding locations in SA, what is your favourite SA location?
Cape Town feels like the only place to live, but if I hadn’t lived for 25 years in Josie I would be there first. The East Coast… Kleinmond, Bettys Bay, Hermanus etc is absolutely breath taking and I spend as much time as I can there. Watch BacktoSA for more info on the gems that I have found.

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Tertia of So Close fame is doing phenomenally well with her blog and her book. She talks to me about raising children in SA, her book, her blog and much more:

You have the most read blog in SA, how does that feel?
It feels completely strange. That so many people seem to care about what goes on in my seemingly mundane life. It also adds a certain amount of pressure on me to update often (I update daily, and if I don’t, I will get at least a few emails from strangers asking me if I am ok) and to write in an interesting way

What do you think makes South Africans read your blog?
I must say here that most of my blog readers are not South African. Around 50% of them are from America, 30% from Europe, 10% from Asia Pacific and only about 10% from South Africa. Why do people read my blog? Well, hopefully I have a way of writing that makes people think, or entertains them, or challenges them. If they weren’t interested in reading what I wrote, they wouldn’t come back again. There are literally hundreds of thousands of blogs out there – what is going to make someone click on your site again? You have to entertain them or inform them and you have to write in a way that they feel a connection to you or to your story. I hope I achieve that.

Are you a proudly South African blogger?
I am very much a proudly South African blogger. I am immensely proud of my country and love talking about what it is like to live here. The good and the bad. Because most of readers are not South African, I often feel a little ostracized by the local blogging community, as if I am not ‘local’ enough, which isn’t fair. I write as a proud South African, I just have a broad readership base. But that feeling of being ostracized is changing though. Wonderful people like Mike Stopforth, Dave Duarte and Max Kaizen have done amazing work in bringing the local blogging community together in a way that embraces all flavours of SA bloggers. Mommy bloggers such as myself rub shoulders with Geeks, Marketers, Web 2.0 experts etc. Rock on South African bloggers! Check out the 27 dinners vibe.

How do you feel about raising children in SA?
This is the country where I was raised. I know it has its faults, but I love my country. I love the feel of the African sun warming my arms when I walk outside. I love the smells, tastes and textures of this beautiful country. I couldn’t imagine living any where else.

Your book is doing incredibly well, tell me a bit more about that.
Yes, I am really lucky. The story behind my book is that in October 2005, I got an email from a publisher telling me that they had read my blog, liked the way I wrote and thought that I had a story worth telling (my infertility journey). They asked whether I would be interested in writing a book, I said yes and my book was published in August 2006.

I’ve had the most amazing response to my book. Hundreds of people from all over South Africa have reached out to me and shared their stories with me. It has been a hugely rewarding experience. And it all came out of my blog!

The Lulu Blooker awards hey…What’s all that about?
The Lulu Blooker Prize is the world’s first literary prize devoted to “blooks”-books based on blogs or other websites, including webcomics. (http://www.lulublookerprize.com/)
The prize aims to encourage cutting-edge literature, more of which is beginning life in the blogosphere.

I think they had around 60 odd entrants and I was short listed with 5 other bloggers in the Non Fiction section. It is a huge honour, and I am on the list with some seriously big international blogging heavy weights like the guys from Daily Kos, Seth Goldin, Frank Warren from Post Secret. I don’t have a hope in hell of winning against those guys, but it is such a huge thrill being in their company.

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