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.

Popularity: 6% [?]

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: 15% [?]