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Helen Zille goes Web 2.0

By: Simone Puterman
18 May 2007 10:3130 commentsBizLike
Cape Town mayor and leader of the Democratic Alliance Helen Zille is inviting Internet users in Cape Town and the rest of South Africa to visit her interactive profile on Zoopy.com, which allows the public to submit their comments and air their views on local government service delivery or on any other issues, according to a statement issued yesterday, Thursday, 17 May 2007, by Robert Macdonald, spokesperson for the mayor of Cape Town.
Zoopy allows anyone to sign up and create their own video and photo webpage, and to interact with other users' pages. Zille has agreed to work with the Zoopy team in order to explore what this new medium can do to bring her executive office closer to the citizens that it serves, especially the youth.

Comments Zille, "This is an incredibly promising project. Though we're still in the testing phase, I'm extremely happy with the amount of response I've received so far."

www.zoopy.com/helen includes a regularly updated collection of photos and video clips of Zille discussing current issues, as well as behind-the-scenes and light-hearted footage from the Mayor's Office.

"Giving Helen Zille an online voice has been incredibly exciting for us, and for her," Jason Elk, CEO of Zoopy, told Bizcommunity.com. "But the most important voice it adds to the web is yours.

"Helen's wish from the start has been to make herself as accessible as possible through her Zoopy profile, without any airs and graces. She wants people from any city in any province to have direct access to her whenever they wanted, from wherever they can. With Zoopy Mobile, users can upload photos and videos from their cellphones and then refer to these when contacting Helen on her profile."

Following the international success of YouTube, which attracts 120 million visits worldwide per month, South Africa's Zoopy aims to make a significant impact on mass communication in our country. Only two months after its launch, Zoopy already attracts 120 000 visits per month, according to Elk.

"For us, it's a milestone in South African politics and SA technology. Who would've thought the two would ever find common ground? We're thrilled to be a part of bringing Politics 2.0 to life, straight from the tip of Africa!" enthuses Elk.

Related articles:
Helen Zille: media savvy PR pro
 
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About Simone Puterman

Simone Puterman is managing editor of Bizcommunity.com. After majoring in psychology and linguistics at Rhodes University, and then completing her Honours in psychology, she has been in the world of B2B publishing since 1997 and at Biz since 2006. To submit press releases and contributor pieces, see How to contribute to Bizcommunity, from op-ed pieces to news | Submit news. Follow @SimoneBiz on Twitter.View profile and articles...
Bizcommunity reporting bull-
This is a great idea and will help Zoopy’s growth! Well done guys!

“Only two months after its launch, Zoopy already attracts 120 000 visits per month, according to Elk.”

120k uniques a month? All Zoopy's video channels views added together doesn’t even get 120k. Zoopy avg's 2-5 video uploads a day and most videos views are on 30-50??

If your receiving 120k uniques a month that would rank you higher than bizcommunity itself and even 5fm.co.za ranking zoopy in the top 20 sites in SA!?

Either you cant read your stats or someone is miss informing you. Posted on 20 May 2007 12:52
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LOSER.COM
You wrong!Bullshit!-
Hey,man!This is not about Zoopy but Helen Zille.

You can grind your axe with Zoopy at another forum and time.Do you have a missive for Helen Zille or not?Then shut the hell up!OK? Posted on 24 May 2007 12:09
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Tim Singiswa aka loser .com
Mandate-
Ihave it in me that if I can contribute via the blog Iwill not be given any attention because while politicians shout "accountability and democracy"they still show great sense of fascism.

I need Zille to do the following before I can join her party.All her party`s executives must as a condition to remain in the party and to prove they are not just using the party for their own aggrandisement work among their communities to conscientise them about equality,humanity,justice and reconciliation and healing.

This is what is missing from the speeches and statements of her.Let us now move away from this personal endless talk and get to the Constitution of the party.

The DA must change its name before it even embarked on any programmes.The DA must strive for an egalitarian society and the guide is as follows;
discrimination against any individual on the basis ofgender,creed,religion,sect,education level,social status or colour;equality.humanity,justice and reconciliation and healing must be the buzzword;people must not strive for individual benefit6s on the expense of collective benefits;all people must be respected as human beings irrespective of their level of education and wealth;freedom of speech where people will be free to air their views on any topic and issue;CAPITALIST CLASS MUST BE CONTROLLED TO SERVE INTERESTS OF THEIR employees and poor. Posted on 20 May 2007 15:33
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Helen Zille
Dear Tim-
Dear Tim

I am sad that you have taken this line when you know that the DA has always been working for an egalitarian, non-racial society.

Regarding your view on the ‘Capitalist Class’, all I can say is that our country already has a number of labour laws in place that protect workers’ rights. You talk about protecting the workers, but let’s not forget that we need to create opportunities for the unemployed too. We should be doing all we can to bring in more businesses to create more jobs.

Regards
Helen Zille Posted on 25 May 2007 08:52
LikeReplyReport
loser.com
noo...-
I have been visiting DA offices countrywide{Capetown,Durban,SRINGS,Randfontein etc and I was treated behind the gates and was never given a hearing but was told I must wait there for a black Councillor`s contact details whereas I came there to submit proposals for the leadership to take to the National Assembly.

No doubt I was treated like this because Iwas not regarded as fit to can be accorded a dignified and courteous reception so there was either economic or status discrimination and this therefore implies that your branches have not strived for an egalitarian society.

Yes,we have labour laws but which are not policed and so opening-up for employers to expoloit and abuse.Your members must campaign very strongly in their communities to discourage inequalities,inhumanities,injustices and create peaceful and stable environments.Whites must set-up forums,platforms,projects and programmes to reconcile and to heal.I`m happy to assist them on that score if they do not understand what needs to be done to heal wounds.

As I read in today`s Star{letter pages}that whites are scrambling to employ foreigners over and above locals the DA must discourage this since the reason is cheap labour and not job creation or poverty alleviation.

Yes,in Capetown you are doing a great job in fighting homelessness,joblessness,overcrowding,lawlessness,crime,loafering and loitering and bouquets. Posted on 25 May 2007 12:07
LikeReplyReport
loser.com
Mandate-
It is very sad that te media can sexualize the appointment of politicians to senior positions in their parties or government as if they are elected or appointed on a feminist ticket because this now leads to these women being pitted-up against their male counterparts and being arrogant and intransigent.

Zille does not seem to be different since we are hearing more about herself and biographical details than the job at hand.She has not revealed a program of action to steer the DA into a spot where the public will be able to know more about it and make their informed decisions as to if is their political home.

The name should have been her first priority where she should taken into account that-that alliance does not exist anymore.Black executives in the DA have left in droves or others are groaning within citing the supremacy and siffiness that still exist in the party and one would have expected her to start wit these blacks in her endeavours to woo blacks into the party and get them to complain directly to her so that she can then work towards equalising relations and make all feel at home in the DA.

wHAT i CALL "hit and run"politics is her retortions without expanding i.e what she meant by "open society" and liberal since to me open society is about knowing "your place"and of course race,class,income,profession and status discrimination.

Do I have a new political home in your party,Helen?You are a quakerist and surely you should bring that spirit of Ubuntu shown by Quakers into your party to conscientise your members. Posted on 2 Jun 2007 09:49
LikeReplyReport
loser.com
Mandate-
Hi,Helen

This was the message that I took to the Kenilworth DA Constituency office when Dene Smuts agreed to come down from Parliament{courtesy}to meet me but got-up three minutes after the start of the meeting and strutted like a model-on-the-ramp down the stairway on to the pavement and into her car{very humiliating indeed}.

I wanted the DA to take-up this issue of racial discrimination against Europe and the West foreigners where they are expected to honour each and every aspect of the law whereas the darker hue foreigners are reciving preferential treatment in total violation of the immigration laws which refers to foreigners regardless of their background and I`m aware that the DA asked Mbeki for clarification and he retorted thatwe will have to live with it{quite unstatesmanlike and recalcitrant}.

Regards
signed
Tim Singiswa Posted on 6 Jun 2007 10:00
LikeReplyReport
loser.com
Condolences to family of Nick KARVELAS-
wHY HAS THE da NOT YET EXPRESS ITS FEELINGS TOWARDS THE MURDER OF kARVELAS?

iS IT BECAUSE HE WAS A THORN IN ITS FLESH DUE TO HIS ENDLESS CAMPAIGN TO OPPOSE ITS CAMPAIGN TO CREATE GATED COMMUNITIES WHICH IMPRESSES THAT THE AIM WAS TO RETAIN THE REPEALED gROUP aREAS act!

Ichallenge the DA youths to take the baton dropped by Nick and push ahead with his work and stop whinging that we must not bother them about what happened in the past.

Nick was one young whity who listened when we advised whites to fight inequalities,inhumanities and injustices among his own community and the opposition that he encountered shows the level of white resistant to equality and justice.

As for that Diamond all Ican say its that he is one among many of the rightwingers who joined the ANC to feather their nests and his expressions has indicated just that.To hell with you Diamond and your time to go to hell will come! Posted on 14 Jun 2007 10:13
LikeReplyReport
loser.com
Thanks.....!-
Many thanks to the DA for expressing itself as regards the death of Karvelas .However it did not go far enough n stating as to if they supported him in his endeavours to open areas to be utilized by all with no restrictions and if they intend to carry-on with his work or do the opposite. Posted on 15 Jun 2007 10:06
LikeReplyReport
loser.com
How far is the investigation ...?-
Why all this deafening silence as regards investigations to Nick`s murder?

Those rogue cops who started all the trouble have they been reprimanded,censured,disciplined or fired since when they were torturing members of the public and claimed they were mastering justice that was their justice and so meaning they work under their own justice and not one of a democratic order.

Is the case been assigned to the very same cops whohad an axe to grind with Karvelas hence he did not even bother to ask for their help when he was told there was a burglary at his house because he lost all confidence in them. Posted on 21 Jun 2007 09:22
LikeReplyReport
loser.com
Helen is cantankerous....-
Zille is driving the DA to its death-knell for her failure to carve-out a new ID,direction and Constitution for the party and instead continue to lead it as it is which will lead he to fsatigue where she will end-up like her predecessor-throwing in the towel.

She is wrong to think her womanhood,fluency in Xhosa,journalism with a liberal paper or racial remarks about being a white party that wants to venture into the townships.She is continuing with that confrontational,abrasive,irascible and cantankerous culture of her predecessor ignoring the sage advise of the media that she should play the ball and not the man.

In the Pretoria Gazzette volume i and two she made the fllowing statements;"Tony had the courage to do what no other leaderwould do.He stood up to the new government,to hold it to account,and to create an alternative".She ranted on-and-on about her determination to foster and pursue all Leon`s campaigns.Leon was for white freedoms,victims of crime,rights of individuals,racism.He was in favour of cops who kill blacks not to be prosecuted hence his failure to follow-up on the Jeppestown shootings to ensure that cops acted within their codes of conduct and ethics. Posted on 7 Jul 2007 09:46
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loser.com
I appealed to Portugal not to admit Mugabe-Zille-
Zille`s role in campaigning Portugal not to admit Mugabe in the forthcoming EU summit was divisive and racist to say the least because I don`t think she will be doing the same thing with the Israeli and Australian rulers due to their rotten human rights record.

So,it has become obvious that the DA is playing a divisive role in Zimbabwe and that it should be banned from ever entering Zimbabwe and I have asked the government there to note Zille`s correspondence to Socrates and treat her and her party with didain and contempt.

Zille does not stand a chance of ever winning any general elections but will end-up fatigued and worn-out like her predecessor if she is a supremacist. Posted on 12 Jul 2007 10:44
LikeReplyReport
Zoopy to prove it's figures!!!!!-
I would like to see Zoopy prove it's figures of uniques as in my experience too many sites are lying or have no clue how many uniques they have or they are tallying up each days totals and not excluding re-visits. BizCommunity should take note of this and before allowing articles like this on the site, they should make sure it is true especially when it comes to unique users.
Thanks for a great site , now make it even better! Posted on 21 May 2007 10:50
LikeReplyReport
I agree - but Zoopy reporting bull!!!-
120 000 unique visits, they must substantiate that!! 120 000 unique pages maybe and probably 10 000 uniques readers, if they lucky!! DO NOT TRY CON THOSE WHO DONT KNOW ANY BETTER! Posted on 21 May 2007 10:53
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Jason - Zoopy.com
Hang on guys, read the article properly-
Take a chill pill guys.

The article says '120 000 visits per month'. It does NOT say '120 000 UNIQUE VISITORS per month'. Not sure where the confusion crept in?

To give you an update: we're on 143,000 visits and 14,500 uniques for May thus far.

Take care!

Jason
Zoopy HQ

[web] http://www.zoopy.com
[tel] 021 552 6383 Posted on 21 May 2007 11:41
LikeReplyReport
Greg Minaar
ATT: MR ELK-
I still dont believe those figures. Then your users arent very active or they dont like what they see as each day you have 2-4 videos uploaded.

Zoopy is a ghost town.

The term visits means visitors to your website - if you meant 120k pageviews then state PAGE VIEWS! Why quote your page views in the first place without stating your uniques.

I think your just trying to cover up..Jason Elk is a bulshitter, its a pity as I liked his work. Posted on 21 May 2007 22:22
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Hannes Brink
CEO????-
Since when is a new website a public company? Because if Jason is the CEO zoopy needs to be a public "ltd" company. Trading on the JSE even.

Dodgey press release biz community! Posted on 21 May 2007 22:27
LikeReplyReport
Another sunny day in South Africa-
Guys, guys, guys. You need to calm down. |||

GREG:

I assure you the figures we mentioned are 100% accurate, measured by two different tracking mechanisms. You're more than welcome to visit our offices to view the stats in person with us - give me a call on 021 552 6383 and let's meet.

As to your assertion that "Zoopy is a ghost town" and "your users arent very active or they dont like what they see as each day you have 2-4 videos uploaded", I don't see your point. What does our upload rate have to do with visits or unique visitors? It's only natural that we'd have a substantially higher amount of visitors than active members. This is standard across the internet. I can assure you that we're no ghost town. Ask the thousands of IOL visitors streaming through or the hundreds of Google/Yahoo/MSN searchers arriving every day, and returning.

As for your last comment, about me personally, I'm happy to meet in person to corroborate every single fact we've ever stated in any of our blog posts, comments or announcements. Are you? |||

HANNES:

Not sure where that comment comes from? Refer to Wikipedia's CEO page (at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CEO) and you'll agree that a CEO is appropriate in a Pty Ltd company. Zoopy.com is owned by Full House Technologies, which is the trading name for RZT Zelpy 4287 (Pty) Ltd. We have shareholders and a board of directors.

Phew, that should cover everything. Unless you have any other questions? If so, fire away :)

Jason
Zoopy HQ

[web] http://www.zoopy.com
[tel] 021 552 6383 Posted on 22 May 2007 10:03
LikeReplyReport
Zoopy figures-
Seems to me that there is something strange going on here! Why personal attacks on people? Really not necessary in our era of Ubuntu and all. Why doesn't someone ask for an independant third party to verify these figures instead of hurling all this vitriol around? Whats up with this attack guys? Posted on 22 May 2007 10:29
LikeReplyReport
Ready when you are-
Not to worry Flambe, we can take the heat :)

As soon as I hear from one of the guys above, we can clear up any and all of their stats questions in person at our offices.

In case that day never comes (they've suddenly gone quiet?), I thought I'd post a few stats updates. You'll see that it includes photos as well, which were very strangely omitted in Greg's calculations above (and one of the previous anonymous posters too).

As of this morning, we have:

15,962 unique visitors (for May 2007 so far)
175,883 visits / page views (for May 2007 so far)
1,172 videos uploaded (since Live Beta launch on 5 March 2007)
1,345 photos uploaded (since Live Beta launch on 5 March 2007)

Again, if anyone has any doubts, our office number is 021 552 6383. For the rest of SA, hope you're having as much fun on Zoopy as we have running it at Zoopy HQ.

Jason Posted on 24 May 2007 10:11
LikeReplyReport
LOSER.COM
tHANKS MAN.-
yOU HAVE KEPT THE WOLVES OUT OF THE DOOR AND LET`S HOPE THEY AIN`T COMING BACK TO DEAFEN US WITH THEIR WAFFLE AND DRIVEL BUT GONE FOR GOOD.

cHEERS jASON!GOOD DAY TO YOU TOO,MAN. Posted on 24 May 2007 12:15
LikeReplyReport
Jason - Zoopy
Some people just 'get it'-
Thanks Tim, for the support and for focusing on what this article was really about: the development of an incredibly exciting future for Helen Zille and for politics in Africa in general. The more direct access we all have to those who we elect, the more power we give to our collective voice.

Hope to see you on Zoopy soon :)
Jason Posted on 24 May 2007 14:36
LikeReplyReport
Greg-
Visits and pageviews are two completely different stat terms. Get it right

Why on earth would I want to visit the Zoopy HQ

Im over this and Zoopy. Posted on 24 May 2007 14:07
LikeReplyReport
Jason - Zoopy
Thought so-
Thought so, 'Greg' :) Posted on 24 May 2007 14:25
LikeReplyReport
loser.com
Greg isa ghost person.-
Hey-Jason!thanks for your patience but you should have let those nerds go fart somewhere since they`re nothing but old farts and burbers. Posted on 25 May 2007 12:14
LikeReplyReport
Jason - Zoopy
Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters!-
I think you're right, Tim. But they seem to have moved on to another haunt now :)

Have a great weekend! Posted on 25 May 2007 17:25
LikeReplyReport
loser.com
Shoo!-
Thanks,for the wish! Posted on 27 May 2007 10:53
LikeReplyReport
Helen Zille-
I think she is a great lady and a true leader. I back her all the way in her request made to ex speaker Ginwale to recuse herself from the enquiry into the scorpion saga.
Not just in South Africa, but to the entire world it is blatantly obvious that the reason Ginwale was selected is because she carries an ANC ticket. I strongly feel that an independent judge should have been commissioned for this enquiry.
On the other hand, if Selebi was involved in any unlawful business, then let him be charged and allow him to prove his innocence or otherwise in a court of law. Why must he be protected? Posted on 11 Oct 2007 20:09
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Colleen Joubert
Goverment Hospitals in Cape Town-
Well Mrs Zille what a shock when my daughter was admitted to Tygerburg Hospital today 19/05/2010 for an operation!What awaited in the ward was a big shock No pillows and no Blankets! A hospital is a place where you go when sick and a pillow and blanket would bring some form of comfort to one that is ill! I support DA come on Mrs Zille get your foot in the door of the MEC of health to pull finger and explain how on earth do they expect a person to find comfort with none of this available.....our hospitals have gone too the dogs now!! We had too resort to taking our own bedding which I feel is a disgrace.... can our hopitals not even supply the basic needs and comfort....in the old regime we never ever had these problems What now!!!!! Posted on 18 May 2010 21:23
LikeReplyReport
Please do something for the arts-
There seems to be a new scam looming about South Africa's participation in the Venice Biennale- "Skande vir SA op die Veniese Biennale?" artikel deur Marilyn Martin. Please investigate and stop the corruption. Posted on 20 Apr 2011 10:19
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