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  • Presidency Uses Social Media Ahead of SoNA

    The Presidency says that President Jacob Zuma will use social media to find out what is troubling South Africans ahead of his State of the Nation address on 9 February 2012.

    In a press statement, it says that this year, his social networking has expanded to include Facebook, Twitter and e-mail.

    Last year, Zuma used Facebook to encourage ordinary citizens to speak directly to him and to highlight the needs of communities.

    To read the article titled, “Social media helps Zuma connect with SA,” click here.

    Source: 
    The Citizen

  • Media Attention Needed for Cyber Abuse

    Facebook, the world’s most popular social network with over 750 million members, has become an everyday feature of modern society, allowing users to stay connected with people from all across the globe. However, the relative ease with which it is possible to become ‘friends’ with total strangers on the social networking platform has resulted in some women becoming victims of cyber crime.

    The media attention given to the notorious case of South Africa’s ‘Facebook rapist’ may have finally woken people up to the possibility of social networks as dangerous places. The case also showed that the wheels of justice can move swiftly when they want to. Perhaps the notoriety of the case itself, and the resulting public eye, stimulated the quick actions of the justice system. This is not usually so. During 16 Days of Activism, many survivors of sexual and domestic violence will voice that most gender violence receives hardly a passing glance.

    Thabo Bester, otherwise known as the Facebook rapist, was relatively unknown in the public domain until stories began to emerge in newspapers and on television about a man in his twenties, operating behind the guise of a modeling scout on Facebook, who had been conning young women of their possessions. The robberies escalated to sexual assault and even alleged murder. After a brief cat and mouse chase, police finally arrested him on 21 September 2011 in Alberton, Johannesburg.

    The courts convicted Bester on two counts of rape and two counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances, sentencing him to 50 years in prison on 14 October 2011. Although he pleaded guilty and faces further trials on charges including rape and murder, it is remarkable how efficient the South African criminal justice system can be, don’t you think?

    A 2010 study led by the Medical Research Council (MRC) found that in Gauteng Province, home to South Africa's most populous city of Johannesburg, more than 37 percent of men said they had raped a woman. Nearly seven percent of the 487 men surveyed said they had participated in a gang rape. Yet, a Human Rights Watch country report in the same year states that “arrest and conviction rates of rape perpetrators are extremely low.”  The denial of justice for victims likely contributes to the normalisation of violence against women in South Africa.

    Another MRC study on sexual violence in 2005 found that only one out of every nine rape survivors report the attack to the police. Furthermore, a 2007 report by People Opposing Women Abuse (POWA) found only seven percent of those one in nine reported rape cases resulted in successful convictions in court. Moreover, of that seven percent, only five percent reach the high court for proper sentencing. These statistics certainly present a very bleak picture of the justice system.

    While sexual assaults have been a worrying trend in South Africa long before online social networking took root in society, its apparent that there’s a need to have a close look at these new forms of potential abuse. By including cyber crimes in the national crime statistics report, society could be provided with a gauge to assess the prevalence of this particular form of crime, and whether it is increasing or not. In terms of addressing cyber crime, the “Take Back The Tech” campaign is an excellent example of civil society taking up the initiative to educate women about protecting themselves from cyber violence.

    However, until all stakeholders do more to inform and educate users (especially women and children) about the dangers of social networks and the Internet, the World Wide Web will continue to be exploited by individuals aiming to attack, victimise and endanger others. Media remains essential to the public dissemination of accurate and well-researched information about cyber crime.

    However, it is equally important for the media to report on all kinds of violence against women in a manner that challenges gender stereotypes, instead of promoting them, and includes more diverse voices. The Gender and Media Progress Study conducted by Gender Links in 2010 found that women feature less often than men as sources when reporting GBV, even though women are more intimately affected. Furthermore, survivors of GBV constitute a low proportion (15 percent) of all sources on the topic. Despite the high incidence of GBV in South Africa, stories mentioning GBV account for only three percent of the total number of stories.

    Better reporting on GBV requires more than just greater quantity, it also requires a move away from sensationalism and simply reporting “hard news” to adding more depth to stories. For example, media and journalists could greatly enhance their stories by including the voices of those affected, information on response and support structures, and activists opinions.

    Although it is not necessarily the duty of the media to influence matters of the court, it would certainly be naïve to underestimate its critical role in raising public awareness about GBV. Cyber crimes will almost certainly continue to feature in this fast evolving information and digital age, and while the coverage of the so-called Facebook rapist undoubtedly raised awareness of the problem, more in depth and thoughtful reporting on the wider issues is needed, as it is with all forms of GBV.

    -  Ticha Tsedu is an Intern working with Gender Links. This article is part of the GL Opinion and Commentary Service series for the 16 Days of Activism.
    Author(s): 
    Gender Links

  • Facebook Insecurities Lead to Abuse

    Three months after giving birth to my son, I discovered that we were both HIV positive.  My boyfriend, the baby’s father, tried to blame me. At that time, we lived 400 kilometres away from each other. He had already told me that his sexual desires were causing him to go and seek satisfaction outside our relationship, but he insinuated that it was someone in my past, and not him who had given me HIV. I lost all hope in finding true love and a man who'll love me and protect me.

    My relationships after that never seemed to work, especially since I couldn't open up sexually because of my status. Then one day I read about a dating site for people living with HIV, and I thought there is my answer right there. Finally, I could find someone who understands my situation who can love me for me, including my HIV.

    I registered, started going through profiles, and I found this one particular profile that was frank and assertive. I contacted him and we started talking. Our relationship moved from that site to Facebook, and months later we had to meet. He hopped on a bus and came to meet me.

    We clicked so much! The sexual chemistry between us was out of this world. We took pictures together, posted them on Facebook and told anyone who was listening how in love we were. I also visited him where he stayed.

    All was well until one day he found an inbox on my Facebook page from a guy friend, we've been friends for a lifetime, who had referred to me as ‘his love'. All hell broke loose and I had to delete the guy as my friend, along with any other guy he thought was a threat to our relationship.

    Another time, a different male friend of mine called me in the middle of the night and I answered. My boyfriend couldn't believe we were just friends, but he let it slide. The following morning he left me in the house the whole day and came back drunk. He demanded sex, claiming he needed ‘sexual healing’. I didn't want to but eventually I gave in after he told me that he could've not come home that night, but he came out of respect for me. It was the coldest sex we'd ever had since we met, I couldn't wait for him to finish.

    Later on in the week, he got on to my Facebook and found a chat conversation I had with a female friend about how he made me feel, especially when he would use what I'd told him of my past to hurt my feelings. Soon after, he came home drunk again and said we should talk about how I really felt about him. Before I could even say anything, he started calling me names, telling me how much trouble I was to him with my neediness.

    I couldn't take it anymore. I got up and started packing. He threw my suitcase away, started pointing and even poking my eyes with his fingers. He told me I was making him angry.

    The next thing I saw was his foot in my neck as he drop-kicked me and slapped me. I snapped and fought back. I scratched his face, he strangled me and I did the same. I told myself if I had to die, we'll die together. We fell on the floor and just when I thought he'd realised what we were doing was wrong I dropped my guard, and that's when he gave me one strong punch that cracked open my upper left-eye in an instant.

    Then he dragged me on the floor, threw me out with my clothes, and told me to leave as that was my wish. He tore my clothes and when I ran to the security room he chased me and dragged me back to come get my clothes. I was lucky a security guard who was doing his rounds saved me. He was arrested, but I later dropped the charges.

    He changed cities and got a new job. I believed him when he told me he was attending anger management classes. He proposed to me via all social networks we were members of and I said yes, not realising I opened a gate for him to control all my social networking activities.

    Soon, things went back to the way they were before. He would tell me I wasn't behaving like an engaged woman. He was more than 1 000 kilometers away but he controlled me like a puppet. He would dump me over a Facebook update, accusing me of flirting with both guys and ladies. He would publish things about me that I told him in private and in trust. He even published private pictures.

    I couldn't leave him, because I knew what he was capable of doing – even from far away. He used Facebook as a way to humiliate and threaten me, I felt trapped, knowing he still had more to say. I prayed he got tired of me and left, and finally my prayers were answered. He decided he had enough of me. I celebrated the whole day and looked forward to my life beyond the emotional hell he put me through.

    - Not her real name. This story is part of the I Stories series produced by the Gender Links Opinion and Commentary Service for the Sixteen Days of Activism on Gender Violence.
    Author(s): 
    Gender Links

  • MXit, Leading Social Media in SA

    A study released by technology research organisation World Wide Worx  and online reputation management group Fuseware, has found that nearly a quarter of South Africa’s population actively uses social network, MXit.

    The study also found that Facebook appears to be losing some of its early appeal as the youth turn to BlackBerry’s instant messaging service instead.

    They say currently, MXit remains the most popular site by far, with 10-million active users.

    To read the article titled, “MXit leads the social media charge in SA,” click here.

    Source: 
    Business Day

  • Govt Calls for Decryption of BBMs

    The Department of Communications has called for the decryption of BlackBerry-type messenger services like BBMs amid an increase in cyber-crime in this space.

    Speaking at the Southern Africa Telecommunication Networks and Applications Conference (Satnac) in East London in the Eastern Cape, Deputy Minister, Kopeng Obed Bapela, pointed out that South Africa might have to follow Britain and Saudi Arabia for a decryption system, if crimes were committed using social messenger services.

    Bapela quickly assured the audience that government's intention will not be to spy on local citizens, adding that government will aim to tap into this prevention policy once a crime is committed, or potential threats came about.

    To read the article titled, “DoC calls for decryption of BBMs,” click here.

    Source: 
    Business Live

  • SAHRC Concerned About Social Media

    The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has expressed concern about the unregulated nature of communication activity on social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and others.

    In a press statement, SAHRC chairperson, Lawrence Mushwana, points out that the current environment where there are no regulatory mechanisms to fully subject, among others, user-registration to the relevant legislative provisions, has resulted in users of these sites engaging in acts of hate speech or other human rights violations.

    Mushwana's concern follows the Hawks' announcement that they had launched an investigation after the Sunday Times published a Facebook image of a ‘white man with a rifle posing over what appears to be a lifeless body of a black child like a hunter celebrating his kill’.

    To read the article titled, “SAHRC concerned about Facebook, Twitter,” click here.

    Source: 
    News24

  • 10 Tips to Give Your Charity A Digital Spring Clean this Spring Day

    Happy Spring Day!

    As we celebrate the packing away of winter clothes, heaters and blankets and look forward to the advent of Spring and warmer weather, isn't it time you gave your charity a much needed digital spring clean? Dust away the cobwebs with these 10 tips we've devised to revitalise your fundraising, both online and offline.

    1. Review your website

    Is your website design tired and your site cluttered? Could you be improving the flow of traffic from the homepage to the key pages that help you achieve your objectives? Could you rework your home page to make it more effective? Can it tell your story better? Maybe you could add some video, a picture gallery or just add social buttons, so people can share your content.

    2. Is your e-mail tired?

    Maybe your e-mail too could benefit from a refresh. Do you have an effective e-mail template? Do your subject lines need revamping? What about your database? Are you still sending e-mail to people who don't exist? Do you give them the opportunity to opt in to your e-mail newsletter or update their details via your website?

    Make sure too that you have an automated e-mail programme that welcomes new supporters too. There are a variety of ways you can keep supporters interested and loyal using e-mail.

    3. What conversations are you having?

    Do you get a lot of feedback when you post on Twitter or Facebook? Do you really have interesting things to say and do you know when to say them? Social media is not a one-way channel. Reinvigorate your pages or feeds by posing interesting questions and get to know your audience better. Post better content - content that is shareable. You'll reap the benefits of traffic and awareness.

    4. Is your database in no man's land?

    Do you have databases in different places? Isn't it time you consolidated and updated them? Not only does this save time and energy but your charity will benefit from having one source of truth. It doesn't matter where or what this database is (OK maybe it does depend what it is, but more about that later), just ensure that you have the data you need for you to create intelligent campaigns and provide brilliant service to your donors. Also de-duplicate your records to get a much more accurate picture of your supporter numbers.

    5. Purge the disinterested

    Do you have inactive donors? Query your database and if you have records for supporters who have never made a donation, never attended an event, haven’t responded to any of your efforts for five years, perhaps it’s time to purge their records and free up some space.

    6. Rotate your team

    Do you have fundraisers who would be better suited to writing content for your website? Could they keep your Facebook page or Twitter feed up-to-date? Or maybe they should be out with people, face-to-face fundraising. Do an audit of your team's strengths and weaknesses and look for opportunities where they could excel.

    7. Get some new links to your website

    There may be a huge opportunity for you to get links from your supporters’ corporate websites or blogs. Do an audit of who they are and what links they can possibly offer you. Then approach them to ask them for specific links to specific pages on your site with specific wording. Make sure you use keywords that are key to your charity. You will benefit from moving up higher in search engine rankings and the increase in traffic to your site that results from this exercise.

    8. What keywords do you want to be found for? Where are the gaps?

    Do you know what people are searching for when it comes to your website? Granted, the majority of keyword searches are brand terms but maybe you could be picking up more traffic around keywords that have high demand and are relevant to content on your site. Look at key themes of your site and try to find keywords with high searches and low competition. Create relevant content on your site to help drive more traffic to these pages. Make sure it's all in line though with your objectives. e.g. jumble sale. Create a page for promoting jumble sales for your charity. Give people clear instructions how they can host a jumble sale and pay the money earned into your charity bank account.

    9. Are you tracking everything online - end to end?

    Do you know how to measure awareness of your charity online? Can you tell whether a specific channel like e-mail or Facebook is driving revenue for your charity? Make sure you have Google Analytics installed on your website and work on a tracking plan to ensure all campaigns and activity on and offline is tracked. This will make the world of difference to your organisation!

    10. Refresh your skillset

    Sometimes charities ask for volunteers to work with them on projects. But maybe they have skills you could be utilising in-house. Ask volunteers to update your database, write content, collect supporter testimonials, film a video and keep audiences updated on social media. Sure they may need a little training, but keeping your charity fresh and relevant doesn't need to be a resourcing headache. Just make sure you always steer them according to the overall fundraising strategy and things won't come undone.

     

    **Feeling inspired or stuck?**

    Get in touch with us to discuss how we can help you with some of these tasks. Or share some of your ideas in the comments below.



    **About Digital4Good**

    Based in Cape Town, South Africa, Digital4Good helps charities make the most of digital media so that they can embrace digital technologies to engage more with their supporters, increase awareness of their cause as well as achieve their fundraising objectives.

    With many years experience in digital charity fundraising working with top local and international charity brands, we can help you cut through the hype and use the tools that make sense for your charity. We are committed to positive results and ROI for our clients. Changing the world…one pixel at a time.

    Contact us at www.digital4good.com or like us on www.facebook.com/digital4good.

     

    Flickr image: 
    Cleaning Supplies for Spring Cleaning

  • NGO Uses Social Media for Mandela Day

    For the first time, the Nelson Mandela Foundation (NMF) is using social media to spread awareness about the Nelson Mandela Day celebrated on 18 July.

    NMF information and communications manager, Sello Hatang, states that, “The first two years of Mandela Day, the foundation was not officially on any social media platforms.”

    Hatang further explains that with the power of social media, the Foundation has noticed substantial growth of awareness of the media and the public.
    The NMF uses its social media accounts to provide genuine information about Nelson Mandela the Mandela Centre of Memory and the Mandela Day initiative along with daily updates.

    To read the article titled, “Mandela Day campaign gets social,” click here.

    Source: 
    IT Web

  • Social Media and Online Fundraising for NGOs - East London

    GivenGain and SANGONeT will be hosting a half-day workshop on "Social Media and Online Fundraising for NGOs" on Friday, 13  May 2011 (08h00-12h30), at the Premier Hotel Regent in East London.

    The following issues will be covered in an interactive session presented by specialists from both organisations:
    • Introduction to applications for various social media platforms (e.g. Facebook, Twitter and Flickr);
    • Introduction to the GivenGain platform (website publishing, donation reporting, database management, e-communication and online fundraising);
    • Applications of the technologies and how to take these tools and turn them into value for your organisation (e.g fundraising campaigns, donor management, etc.).
    Programme:
    • 08h00 - 08h30: Arrival and coffee
    • 08h30 - 09h00: Introduction to Social Media
    • 09h00 - 10h00: Benefits of Social Media
    • 10h00 - 10h15: Q&A
    • 10h15 - 10h30: Refreshment Break
    • 10h30 - 11h30: Introduction to GivenGain
    • 11h30 - 12h15: Applications & Integration
    • 12h15 - 12h30: Q&A

    Participants are requested to bring the following with them:

    Don’t miss out on this opportunity to learn more about social media and online fundraising tools and techniques.

    Participation is free of charge, but will be limited to two people per organisation.

    To register and confirm your participation, please forward your name, designation, organisation and e-mail address to Dipuo Mahanyele at SANGONeT on dipuo@sangonet.org.za by 12 May 2011.

    Enquiries:

    Jannie Smith, GivenGain, Tel: 021 882 9070, E-mail: jannie@givengain.com or
    Nicolle Beeby, SANGONeT, Tel: 011 403 4935, E-mail: nicolle@sangonet.org.za

    For a map and directions to the venue, click here.

    Event type: 
    Workshop
    Event venue: 
    Premier Hotel Regent, 22 Esplanade, Beachfront, East London
    Event start date: 
    13/05/2011
    Event end date: 
    13/05/2011

  • Social Media and Online Fundraising for NGOs - Durban

    GivenGain and SANGONeT will be hosting a half-day workshop on "Social Media and Online Fundraising for NGOs" on Wednesday, 11 May 2011 (08h00-12h30), at the Diakonia Centre in Durban.

    The following issues will be covered in an interactive session presented by specialists from both organisations:
    • Introduction to applications for various social media platforms (e.g. Facebook, Twitter and Flickr);
    • Introduction to the GivenGain platform (website publishing, donation reporting, database management, e-communication and online fundraising);
    • Applications of the technologies and how to take these tools and turn them into value for your organisation (e.g fundraising campaigns, donor management, etc.).
    Programme:
    • 08h00 - 08h30: Arrival and coffee
    • 08h30 - 09h00: Introduction to Social Media
    • 09h00 - 10h00: Benefits of Social Media
    • 10h00 - 10h15: Q&A
    • 10h15 - 10h30: Refreshment Break
    • 10h30 - 11h30: Introduction to GivenGain
    • 11h30 - 12h15: Applications & Integration
    • 12h15 - 12h30: Q&A

    Participants are requested to bring the following with them:

    Don’t miss out on this opportunity to learn more about social media and online fundraising tools and techniques.

    Participation is free of charge, but will be limited to two people per organisation.

    To register and confirm your participation, please forward your name, designation, organisation and e-mail address to Dipuo Mahanyele at SANGONeT on dipuo@sangonet.org.za by 10 May 2011.

    Enquiries:

    Jannie Smith, GivenGain, Tel: 021 882 9070, E-mail: jannie@givengain.com or
    Nicolle Beeby, SANGONeT, Tel: 011 403 4935, E-mail: nicolle@sangonet.org.za
     
    Event type: 
    Workshop
    Event venue: 
    Diakonia Centre, 20 Diakonia Avenue, Durban
    Event start date: 
    11/05/2011
    Event end date: 
    11/05/2011
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