Kevin Spacey (yes, THE Kevin Spacey) being very practical in educating David Letterman on Twitter. Sending a tweet (via @KevinSpacey) while live on The Late Show with David Letterman:

Clip below (04:23)…

Mr. Spacey, love your work!

But I think it’s time to put a stake in the ground and do some research into Twitter’s pervasiveness in South Africa… this is what I could find:

1. According to research company, Sysomos, South African Twitter users make up 0.85% of total Twitter users (that is the 10th largest usership in the world!)
2. According to Nielsen Wire Twitter receives an estimate 55 million visits per month (7 mil unique visits)

Based on this, I can make an assumption that SA Twitter users generate 467,500 visits per month (59,500 unique visits).

Taking into account that these stats seem to exclude access via mobile apps, these numbers are sure to be somewhat higher as well.

Right, how does this compare to some of SA’s other sites (unique visits):

• SABCnews.com (60,730)
• GoTravel24 (60,505)
• Premier Soccer League (59,629)
• IOL Property (57,190)
• SAReunited.com (55,834)
• The Times Multimedia (55,587)
• The Herald (54,578)
• Thunda.com (52,590)
• Sake24 (52,544)

(Source: Online Publishers’ Association of South Africa)

Now, I know that these calculations aren’t 100% statistically sound (and guys like RWW also admits this) but from this point forward, it’s my stake in the ground.

How relevant is Twitter in South Africa?

Well, with 467,500+ visits per month, a steady growth curve and very, very unique opportunities to interact/engage with an affluent audience…

How relevant is Twitter in SA you ask…

PS I Love You

By using a new e-mail service that allows up to 100 messages to be sent after your death, you can send personal notes written before hand to people in the future.

The Last Messages Club e-mail service was launched on Tuesday and organisers of The Last Messages Club insist their idea is in no way horrid but rather, eases the anxiety and trauma coupled with the death.

The emails can be final love letters, a list of instructions, guidance for someone left behind, details on life insurance or any other information you feel needs knowing after death. This service allows you to store photos, videos and other attachments. Important documents such as wills and insurance details can also be accessed through the site.

A member can write up to 100 e-mails that can be sent once they die at times of their choosing. This makes me think of the movie P.S. I Love You (sniff, sniff, tear). The movie revolves around quite the same concept just via the post office.

Geoff Reiss, founder of The Last Messages Club, says “it’s much better to be fully prepared, so that there is less stress on your loved ones after you pass away.” This innovation could be a step closer to immortality – even if it is only an email saying ‘bye’.

These incredible images of waves were taken by the number 1 photographer of surf: Clark Little. He has dedicated his life to photographing the waves and has published a selection of the the best images of his career.  He captures magical moments inside the “tube”, as surfers say.

waves

waves

waves

waves

waves

waves

waves

waves

waves

waves

visual web

Need to visualize the world wide web?

Here’s the latest Web Trend Map released by Information Architect:

According to Trendspotting blog…

“The current map is based on categorization of the web according to 13 trend categories, while the 3d visualization captures brands stability (width) and success (height). Trendsetters were added to the map as well. Influencers have indeed become powerful web brands.”

Again, it shows how desperate we are as marketers to make sense of this very fragmented, multi-faceted digital space. Challenging (read: intimidating) indeed.

*Note: You can also view the map on Flickr and a play with the zoomable version on zoomorama.com

Without thinking about it, I wanted to give a bit of insight into the relevance of the number: 4.5 million.

Why 4.5 million? Sounds like a random number doesn’t it?

It’s the widely agreed upon stat for number of Internet users in South Africa (+-).

So, I opened up my mobile browser, asked ol’ faithful Google for some advice, and here were some of it’s… errr… my findings:

HOW MUCH IS 4.5 MILLION?

1. Amount of Internet users in South Africa
2. Predicted amount of iPhones that will be sold in Wallmart (US) in 2009
3. Amount of people with Alzheimer’s disease in the United States
4. Amount of people with Alzheimer’s disease in the United States (OK, you saw that coming a mile away, sorry!)
5. Amount of viewers the most-watched programme on TV received in 2009 – The 2009 Academy Awards
6. Amount of Americans currently unemployed
7. Official world robot population (Really! Check it out here)
8. Estimate number of HIV infected people in South Africa as recorded by Stats SA
9. Amount of registered firearms in South Africa
10. Amount of plastic waste (in tons) being dumped annually in India
11. Total white population in South Africa (this excludes all of Steve Hoffmeyer’s children off-course)
12. Total population of the Western Cape province in South Africa
13. Amount of registered tax payers in South Africa in 2003
14. Population of countries such as Norway and Ireland
15. Bigger than the populations of New Zealand, UAE, Singapore and Congo
16. Amount of money (in Rands) Victor Matfield was paid to play club rugby for 6 months in Toulon, France
17. Amount of money (in Rands) of unclaimed lotto winnings just waiting to be collected
18. Amount of money (in Zim Dollars) you’ll pay for a taxi ride to Harare Airport
19. Number of contract mobile subscribers in South Africa in 2006
20. Number of digital marketing factoids shared with clients of WWC in the last week (we are just that talented!!)

Ok, so this wasn’t the most scientific way of doing research, but hey, it was fun and bottomline, you get the picture, right

For those who haven’t been following the campaign, The Missing Zebra is a site set up by Perdeberg to get the public involved in retrieving their zebra, Merlot, that was kidnapped in January. Each week, the kidnapper has been teasing the Perdeberg team with clues as to the whereabouts of Merlot, and each week, Perdeberg have been asking the internet community to help solve the kidnapper’s riddles.

Last week saw a twist in the saga however. Detective Swart of the Paarl police almost nabbed the kidnapper in a foiled ambush at Cellucity Mobile Warehouse in Cape Town. The kidnapper got away but left a BlackBerry phone behind. A riddle was then anonymously given to Swart that would lead him to the Blackberry box …laden with the kidnapper’s fingerprints!

(Shew, it’s all too much!)

The riddle to reveal where the Blackberry box was left, read as follows:
No sign of hooves, no whisper of a neigh,
Only footsteps from where the trendsetters rove
The kidnapper dropped a box in a place in the Bay,
Not red, not ochre, not purple, not mauve
On a balcony with views of the sea,
With some of the best food on the planet
The name of the person with whom the box will be
Starts with a vowel and rhymes with Janette

After some diligent detective work, Kirsti in Cape Town, figured out the answer was, of course, Blues Restaurant (why didn’t I think of it??), with the box in the safe hands of their marketing co-ordinator, Annette Muller.

kirsti

This is social media at its most breathless. Who needs ‘Prison Break’ when you’ve got Detective Swart??

Keep posted to Heavy Chef and The Missing Zebra and we’ll keep you up on the action. That’s if we’re not out trying to get our hands on that bastard kidnapper ourselves…

My money’s on Swart to find the zebra soon. You can tell this guy is switched on.

Spiderbama

You know you’ve made it when you appear in a Spiderman-comic…
(Courtesy: Breitbart.com)

The story line:

The comic starts with Spider-Man’s alter-ego Peter Parker taking photographs at the inauguration, before spotting two identical Obamas. Parker decides “the future president’s gonna need Spider-Man,” and springs into action, using basketball to determine the real Obama and punching out the impostor.

Can’t beat that, can you… I’m so jealous

This undated handout image provided Marvel Comics shows a page from an Amazing Spider-Man comic book featuring President-elect Barack Obama. (AP Photo/Marvel Comics)

Check out Dave’s article here.