Nic’s blog
I write about building businesses, failing and building a life, not a legacy.
Young bloggers in South Africa
A while back I read a few blog posts that spoke of young bloggers abroad making waves and finding great success.I am relatively young but I think that these posts are referring to bloggers younger than I am.Where are the young bloggers under the age of 21 in SA? Are there any and if not, why not?I can't think of any and don't read any but that doesn't mean they don't exist. But is there really value for this sort of market in SA? Should we be looking for the next big thing now and getting them online and benefiting from their potential success? Is this exploitation?I am also extremely interested to discuss what the next generation of bloggers will look like.Should there be a batch of teenagers coming to the fore? Surely if blogging was taking off as much as bloggers think it would be reaching the younger generation and adopting the practice of blogging?Could this be a sign that blogging is not all that it's cracked up to be and it isn't growing at the rate we all think it is? With so many teenagers on Facebook and using Mxit in SA in my mind it makes sense that some of them should be, could be and would be publishing their own content on blogs. But they just aren't. Why?
MXit tutor assistance
MXit is now apparently able to be used a tutoring tool.The Department of Science and Technology has spent more than R4-million to explore the use of cellphones as learning aids, according to a Sunday Times article. Wikipedia is also in the play here. The site is being used as a resource to assist students via instant messaging.Students have been encouraged to make use of MXit and enter dr.math.help.me@jabber.org on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays between 2pm and 3pm. In these time slots students are able to ask questions via MXit and have a tutor answer their questions. An obvious concern is whether the service provides students with answers or help. There is a difference; if you are sitting in a class and ask a tutor for the answer via MXit, what is the point of being in the class really?However if you are at home, doing your homework and you are stuck, simply IM the tutor and wait for assistance regarding your question, brilliant.This sort of project is incredible as messaging via MXit costs less then 2c per message. Cheap, accessible and efficient.
Mobile Q and A...hmmm
I am intrigued by this site, MOBILE Q and A. Firstly I am intrigued by the url http://mobile-qanda.com/... I immediately pronounced it as i read it, QANDA. That's not a major though. So who cares.Rafiq has a great point, goodluck getting people away from Mxit. But I think that there could be some use in this site if it used correctly. Ask the right questions, review the right phones and deal with a need you have. Interesting.