2010: An online odyssey
On Friday we received some fairly significant news regarding yet another social media acquisition in SA, and it really just brings home what an eventful year it has been so far.
2008 will go down in SA history as the year that social media attained widespread acceptance and business interest. The highlights so far:
- Media24 acquired a controlling stake in Blueworld
- Vodacom bought a 40% stake in Zoopy, and Zoopy attracted Nic Haralambous to fuel the growth
- MIH Print Africa purchased a majority interest in Afrigator
- Vincent Maher leaves the Mail & Guardian for Vodacom
- Matthew Buckland heads to 24.com from the Mail & Guardian
As online activity gains increased weighting with media and communication businesses, I thought it might be fun to consider what could happen in 2010 [just a couple of short years away] if this trend continues. Consider these possibilities:
- Government finally recognises the need for reducing bureaucratic red tape and focusing on a common growth initiative for all business [and government]. Paul Jacobson is hired to head this task force [nicknamed "the Scarabs"], to be based on Creative Commons principles, aimed at encouraging local innovation.
- Eve Dmochowska negotiates and spearheads a joint venture between Blue Catalyst and Kiva.org that introduces widespread availability of seed capital for aspiring South African entrepreneurs. The JV, called “Blue Angels”, is an immediate success and attracts the courtship of all of SA’s major private and investment banks. Standard Bank finally wins the bid on the back of its blue corporate logo and a promise not to change the name of the JV.
- Having seen the success of Stormhoek’s online activity several years back, Nederburg purchases a large stake in WineCountry.co.za, and uses this as the foundation for its consolidation of a variety of brands that it acquires during the year. The company plans to use this to maximise customer communication opportunities as it shakes up the wine industry.
- Max Kaizen is appointed by leading Advertising Agency The Jupiter Drawing Room as their Online Creative Development Director at large. Her primary responsibility is bringing SA’s corporate websites out of the dark ages. Her tenure here is short-lived though as the Kelly Group lures away this “Hunter of Genius” to revolutionise the recruitment process and spur the return of talented, experienced people back to SA.
- Noticing the third successful Pro 20 Twitter campaign, Supersport hires Marc Forrest to manage the roll-out of online communication for all SA’s major sports, spearheaded by coverage of the Springboks and the Proteas. The Indian Premier Cricket League follows SA’s lead and subcontracts Supersports’ new division to manage their global social media match coverage [via Twitter] of all their professional games. [While there, Marc insists that SA be recognised for its leadership in this sphere, and this indirectly leads to the International 20/20 Cricket League being formed in 2014.]
- Dave Duarte’s contribution to education does not go unnoticed, and he is approached by at least three leading SA professional consulting firms to handle their knowledge management programmes. He turns these down to join the Department of Education as Head of Electronic Knowledge Dissemination, since SA’s wireless cities provide greater education possibilities than ever before.
- Edcon acquires Springleap, making all winning designs available in its stores countrywide, and also placing in-store booths to allow all its customers to access and participate in Springleap. Print-on-demand facilities are promised for delivery early 2011.
- Naspers continues on the acquisition trail and buys out a majority stake in WebAddicts to complement its other online businesses. Rafiq Phillips moves out into full-time role with iDrive.co.za, which lands a lucrative contract with the Department of Transport to assist in the roll-out of driver education programmes via integration between GPS units and cell-phones. This programme is credited for a 41.6% decrease in vehicle accidents and the new-found stability of the Road Accident Fund.
- Matt Mullenweg decides that Wordpress needs a Facebook integrated platform [with Twitter integration to follow] to increase its presence and make blogging more effective, and appoints Tyler Reed as 2IC of Automattic to oversee the development. Tyler decides to base the offices in SA as he tackles the task of building FacePress.
Two years ago, who would’ve thought we would see in 2008 what we have already seen this year? And for the future? Only time will tell. In the meantime, its fun to imagine the possibilities.
Disclaimer: I [sadly] do not own shares in any of the companies listed, and I am not related to any of the people mentioned [although I do know quite a few of them]. I am not at liberty to say whether any of these deals have ever been mentioned to me or not, and if I did tell you, I would have to… dispose of you. Seriously though, this is a work of fiction so do not rely on any of the predictions above in any way. If you do, you do so entirely at your own risk and I will not be held liable for any losses resulting from it. If you do and you make some money, please let me know so I can forward my bank details to you for any donation you may wish to make 
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