An article in this morning’s Times, cleverly positioned next to a marketing blurb about an increase in traffic to their website, says that South African bloggers are thriving in cyberspace. A new study released this week by World Wide Worx claims that 4.5 million South Africans are now online and that over 5,000 are consistently blogging. (According to Rick Joubert of Vodafone, another 9.5 million connect to the internet with their mobile phones.)
The Times article claims that 1,000 of these 5,000 bloggers took part in a survey to learn more about the social demographics and motivations behind South Africa’s blogosphere. Some interesting findings:
- Cape Town is the epicentre of blogging in the country with more than 75% of bloggers living in the city;
- 58% of local bloggers are aged 25 to 44
- 95% of them speak English or Afrikaans
- 42% earn more than $2,000
- 46% of them have children and 55% are married
- 88% describe their blogs as online hobbies rather than income-generating tools
- 65% spend more than 10 hours a week blogging
What I want to know is where is the raw data? In the open spirit of the web, will it be made publicly available? The survey says that 95% of South African bloggers speak English or Afrikaans (I assume they mean “write in English of Afrikaans”.) What are the other languages represented and where are their blogs? (I have a hunch there are probably more Urdu blogs than Sotho despite the fact that there are way more Sotho speakers.) Also, I was amazed that 42% of the bloggers participating in the survey earn more than $2,000 a month. But what were the average and mean salaries?
On the second night of our Bloggers Roadshow of South Africa, we joined our South African blogging colleagues at Asoka Bar and Restaurant in Cape Town for a few rounds of drinks. With lounge techno in the background we clinked glasses and exchanged business cards. I finally got to meet some bloggers that I had been reading for years like Rafiq Phillips, Matthew Buckland, and Chris Rawlinson.
Among the dozens of bloggers packed into the bar, however, only two or three were black. And, as I learned from Rafiq, they were Rwandan, not South African. When I asked Rafiq about the lack of non-White bloggers at the meet-up he said there were two explanations. First, more Indian and Pakistani bloggers would have showed up if the event were not held at a bar serving alcohol, as the majority of Indian- and Pakistani-South Africans are Muslim. (Rafiq makes a point of noting that he was drinking orange juice at the bar, which I dutifully confirm.)
Second, South African bloggers of different ethnicities tend to stick to their own spheres, as I’ve written about in the past. This was quantified in a study by Annie Kryzanek of the Berkman Center’s Internet and Democracy project. She selected 30 blogs from AMATOMU’s life section, categorized them as English-speaking white bloggers, black bloggers, and Afrikaner bloggers, and then examined their linking patterns. 30 blogs is a very small sample size, but the results are provocative: South African online society is nearly as segregated as it is offline.
There is an obvious history behind all of this. Like in most other countries, South Africa’s bloggers started out as a community of tech-centric geeks. They had the computers, internet access, and time on their hands to figure out the new tools and develop their voice. They were nearly all White males in their 20’s and 30’s. Once the community was defined, it unknowingly became an exclusive clique. Mario Olckers, looking at South African social media through the framework of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, argues that the South African blogosphere’s exclusive start already spells out its impending failure.
Any kind of Social Media Strategy is therefore little more than inside baseball amongst an incestuous clique of privileged practitioners who retain and guard the old money and benefits of the old apartheid regime. Whatever Social Media campaign is launched online will necessarily only be seen by a handful of regular old faces who continually regurgitate each other’s utterings and bounce around any newsworthy items or movements within the local South African Web 2.0 zoo.
I think that he’s right-on in his diagnosis, but I tend to be more optimistic about the future. South Africa has centuries of ugly race relations history. The only way that things are going to improve is with dialogue. And social media – be it forums, twitter, blogs, or social networks – are ideal for that. But it’s going to get ugly, emotional, and difficult as it did a couple years ago at the Digital Citizen Indaba. Those are exactly the kinds of conversations that need to take place and we need leaders like Ndesanjo and Ory who can summarize them so well, step back, and offer some clarity and perspective.
The first step for any White South African bloggers reading this post (or anyone else for that matter) is to subscribe to the feeds of all the bloggers featured by Ramon Thomas in “Who’s who in the non-white Web 2.0 South African Zoo“.
Over the past five years the vast majority of South Africans have been excluded from the new public spehere that is the social web. Ridiculously expensive internet connections ($20 an hour at the hotel where I am writing at this very moment) and a lack of new media training programs means that only the wealthy are able to participate. Furthermore, English and Afrikaans have centuries-long histories as written languages. You’ll find that many bloggers – and writers in general – are more comfortable expressing themselves in writing than in person. South Africa’s other 9 official languages, however, have, comparably, only recently existed in written form. Unlike in Tanzania, where written Swahili was a significant and symbolic part of their independence movement, formal education in written indigenous South African languages has never really taken off.
I don’t want to discount the up-and-coming movements of Zulu and Xhosa literature, but it has to be said that most South African languages are still 99% oral and are rarely put down on paper. Which I believe is why the bloggers in Kwa Mashu tend to be unenthusiastic about updating their blogs with text, but become instantly excited when there is an opportunity to communicate with video, audio, performing arts, and music. For them, those are simply the best ways to communicate. Unfortunately, South Africa’s bandwidth constraints means that participating online is still restricted to text-based communication. But in the next few years a number of international and domestic projects are going to vastly improve connectivity in South Africa. Once video becomes the major medium of South African cyberspace, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if it’s the old guard of White tech bloggers who are clamoring to keep up.
On a final note, it is increasingly difficult to define what is and isn’t South African. This country has always been cosmopolitan. The majority of its people, languages, and culture actually came central-Western Africa when Bantu-speaking farmers migrated south. Yesterday, walking around Soweto’s Freedom Square, the majority of merchants were not South African, but rather from Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
Today two of the most highly regarded bloggers living in South Africa are probably completely unknown to the majority of South African bloggers. Manal and Alaa are hugely popular Egyptian bloggers currently living in South Africa, as is Ory Okolloh, a Kenyan who is one of Sub-Saharan Africa’s most authoritative voices internationally. Meanwhile, there are plenty of influential South African bloggers living abroad, like Mohamed Nanabhay. It is becoming increasingly difficult to categorize bloggers by nationality or location. Soon enough we’ll just have to treat each other as people.
And for an extra bonus, I recommend Théophile Kouamouo’s “Why I blog about Africa.”
Interesting article – thanks for giving the issues some thought. I think the idea of a ‘white boys club’ is rather dated though. Not to mention offensive all round. Your article isn’t nearly nuanced enough in this regard. You can be a white guy and not be rich, or you can be gay, or date somebody from another ethnic/cultural/non-Afrikaans or English language group. Any of the above would exclude you from what one would normally consider a ‘white boys club’. The lingo lingers but its no longer contextually appropriate. I also don’t buy that South Africans are as segregated as the international media and some politicos would make us out to be. We might be many colours and speak many languages, and I agree we need to make work of showcasing that diversity, but for the most part we are all proudly South African. Over simplifying us into little boxes won’t achieve any real change or constructive discussion.
I found the survey itself very weak. Most SA bloggers, across the spectrum, blog in English. This does not signify the colour of your skin. It simply means you want to reach the widest audience possible and that you want to pull in international readers. The statement that x percentage of bloggers speak Afrikaans or English was misleading and open to very wide interpretation.
Hey David
Nice to meet you too, albeit too briefly. Have huge respect for Global Voices and the work you are doing there.
Just to respond publicly to your post, parts of which I found disappointing.
It makes some good points, but I submit to you humbly that there was a patronising and dismissive tone that made it fall outside the realm of constructive criticism or fair observation, and perhaps unwittingly perpetuates racial stereotypes. Statements like: “…lots and lots of smiling white faces that had driven in from Cape Town’s upper-class suburbs” can come across as churlish. (Thanks for removing it, via our email discussion.)
Just to add some context (and in my defence):
1. You are right about the lack of diversity. And it was disappointing. It’s perhaps a reflection of the socio-economic constraints that make the internet affordable to only a few in this country. It’s something we as a country and society are working to fix and correct years of institutionalised and legislated racism that was known as Apartheid. We’re hoping that cheaper internet and the mobile revolution will change this. My point is that it’s an economic issue, as opposed to an ideological issue… and one that we as a society are working hard to address.
2. Just to emphasise: The event I organised was supposed to be a casual affair, and I had no budget for it, so i made the best out of what I had, including finding a lounge/bar that was open on a late sunday night — the slot alloted to us by the organisers of the event. I did it in my own time and expense for no remuneration, other than an altruistic motive of providing some networking for you guys. It was an open event — anyone could attend, advertised on my blog, the organisers blog (brand south africa) and in interviews I did.
3. The dismissive tone could also be construed as an insult to local bloggers who made the time to come and see you — paying their own way and taking time out of their Sunday evenings. Their “smiling faces”, including my own, were probably because they were excited to meet you and the others, brought on this tour and paid for by taxpayers in this country.
4. I doubt there was anyone from the “upper class” as you depict it, but young, progressive entrepreneurs in a multi-racial democracy trying to make a living and build this country. Out of interest: they probably fitted more squarely into what could be termed a “middle class” by western standards.
5. You infer that in some way myself and perhaps other bloggers are “old guard”. You then link us to wanting to preserve apartheid via the citation which you see as “right on”. I don’t think that this is what you mean, although it dangerously comes across this way. You’re talking about young people, including myself that reached adulthood as apartheid was collapsing — is this the old guard to which you are referring to? What is perhaps particularly hurtful is the picture it paints. Out of interest, my parents were activists during Apartheid, regularly getting in trouble from the regime and fighting against an abusive system.
6. On the clique reference. What is this based on? Who is part of this clique? What I see are a growing group of bright, young people who have taken up the technology and culture enthusiastically — and are innovating and trying to grow it. I think your depiction of it as a “clique” or “old guard” is cynical. I’m not aware of any clique that has been created, and personally I don’t want to be part of or speak for any clique — nor the SA blogosphere for that matter.
Maybe I’m an idealist, and that’s what makes me rail against this rather cynical depiction I see in parts of your post. Cynicism will only ever assume the worst in a situation or a person, and often is devoid of solution. Constructive criticism is welcome, but a clearer apprehension of context and analysis to what is a very serious subject, is vital.
Hope you enjoyed the trip and what our country had to offer you. Hope to see you again soon!
Matt
Interesting discussion – I took part in a recent survey on bloggers and was fascinated by the results. I would hate to see myself stereotyped! Perhaps to explain:
– where do you fit in if you are 38 white male and afrikaans speaking from a family where you had a “broederbond” [stongly Afrikaans and Nationalist] upbringing and priviliged enough to go and read law at University?
– you attend a strong Afrikaans university, stay in a Afrikaans hostel and the first time you work on a computer is as academical assistant at University in 1992 [with a green screen!]
– You get to learn more about life and you commit yourself to assisting young people of all races, teaching them about the Bill of Rights in the early 90’s
-At the age of 33 you discover that your true passion is creating awareness of road safety and you start a road safety website – but you no zero about IT and only find out at conferences about SEO and Blogs – so you start one February 2007 – only because it does not cost a lot of money and it can compliment the work which you have done on the website and for which you are paying quite a bit!
– You blog in english only because you want to get the road safety message across to as many people as possible – and road safety does not discriminate on racial and language lines.
Now you glance at your bank statement and see you might be dropping out of the “middle class” soon. You are however happy cause you believe you might be making a difference – you meet clever people like Rafiq who also blog about road safety and from whom you can find inspiration and ideas on how to further strengthen your efforts and you do the Facebook thing, the mobile website thing etc…
So where the heck am I going….?
I believe many young people will be more fortunate in experiencing IT at school and using the opportunity presented to become bloggers of note. These will be color blind youngsters whom I hope will see the opportunity to use these mediums to make their voices heard and adress “social causes” such as road safety, hiv/aids, crime, violence against women and children, global warming etc…
Unfortunately our financial resources are scarce – and we are fortunate if we can attend these events to communicate with the clever people. I believe the picture of the blogosphere [ think that is what some call it] will change significantly and would love to hear your analysis 5 years from now!
I have mixed feelings on this topic. Yes, I used to worry that “OMG, there aren’t more coloured bloggers and we are losing those stories that could’ve been told”. But I’m no longer that sure these days.
Thing is, there *are* black bloggers. You’ll find them on different platforms, not only WP and Blogger.
I was one of the three ‘black’ (I’m coloured, actually) South African bloggers that Sunday evening. I was there because I stay in the city centre and I love meeting like-minded people.
Your second point is very true: SA is still segregated socially. We stick to what we know. Herman, this is where I disagree with you. Yes, our workplaces are cosmopolitan but what do the bars and restaurants look like? Go to Miss K in Green Point or Manna in Kloof Street and you’ll see the patrons are mostly middle class whites.
I do not, however, believe that the high cost of broadband is to blame. How many people have high monthly cellphone bills and pimp their cars but feel that broadband is too expensive? If black people can use Mxit on their cellphones then they can use those cellphones to browse the internet, too. And blog from there.
Most of us also have access to the internet at work. So I think the problem lies somewhere else: do black South Africans *want* to blog and express themselves online? Or do they sneer at this pastime?
And if black South Africans *do* blog should they be expected to attend every blogging event?
Matt, the South African online community *is* a small one and the bloggers *do* tend to link to their pals 90% of the time. Nothing wrong with that but it *does* look like a clique from the outside. Perhaps it doesn’t feel like one to you, but that’s because you’re part of it.
My solution? Well, if black people do not want to blog and if they do not wish to attend blogging events then no-one can force ’em. It’s a matter of *wanting* to express yourself.
Vincent,
I don’t think I ever stated otherwise. In fact, I mentioned the fact that there are more mobile internet users than desktop. And you’re right, O’Reilly Web conferences are horribly elitist and lack anything resembling diversity. I’ve brought that up many times before.
To call any training program patronising, however, is to try and guess someone’s intentions. Definition: “treat with an apparent kindness that betrays a feeling of superiority.”
Were you patronising us when you taught us how to use The GRID? Obviously not. You were inviting us to participate in a social space and showing us how to do it. Just like you did in Soweto. In my book that’s not patronizing, that’s being a good guy.
@David, my main issue with the insistence on diversity is that the thinking behind it often tends to pursue a notion of homogeneity in society – that we must all access the same technology and use it in the same way. The main point of my comment was that bloggers and social media pundits seem to think that everyone must be doing what they are, and this is a symptom of the rampant egotism in that space.
The work we did in Soweto had nothing to do with training, it was about producing media in that social context, promoting the place, the local personalities and brands.
Vincent,
I understand and appreciate your concerns, but I don’t see how they fit in with this post. What I’m advocating for is more interaction, inclusion, and dialogue … not more homogeneity. Those are two very different concepts. Otherwise you are equating heterogeneity with segregation, which is ridiculous.
It is a shame to hear that, rather than giving the tools and training for Soweto’s youth to make their own documentaries, Mobikasi was produced by others. Given the cost of mobile data connections in South Africa, Vodacom will obviously make a nice earning from those who download the videos to their mobile phones, but what does Soweto get? In my book that’s on-behalfism and exploitation, not promotion.
@Vincent, re. ‘I think this post lacks both subtlety and a depth of understanding of the way South Africans use new media.’
Sound familiar? Sounds like a time in history when white South Africans would refuse to listen to any criticism because others *just didn’t understand the uniqueness of the South African situation.*
As David says, this is a very specific criticism about the blogging community in South Africa refusing to see dialogue and development as a responsibility.
I think there’s enough people who care enough about this issue to do something about it. If others don’t see it as important, then that’s ok. I just don’t think it’s helpful to cloud the issue by being defensive.
I posted this comment on Heather Ford’s blog:
“I think I’m finally getting it. Black people have the opportunity [finally!] to become content producers. We can finally rewrite the negative stereotypes that exist. We can write our own stories. And we’re not doing it.
I do, however, think that the points you and David made do not take into account black people’s apathy. It exists. Not sure why but it does. Perhaps we should ask why black people are not blogging instead. And perhaps we should ask why black people are not attending these events. We should also ask why they use closed blogging platforms such as Bruin-ou.com instead of WP and Blogger.
Heather, I don’t think people from different social circles *will* interact. Or want to interact. Your thoughts on this?”