Socalising in the digi-age - 11 May 2009

Geeks and non-geeks alike have ample social media to poke, prod and tweet to their heart's content. The term "social life" has taken on a new meaning in the digi-age of Facebook, MySpace and Twitter etc. My 16-year old sister asked me recently if I was on Twitter, to which I replied, "No." She is, and she's dying to get her hands on an iPhone so she too can become a regular tweeter. I just can't understand why she'd want to provide a moment-to-moment update on her state of being to the world and why the world would care. Funny enough, the world does care and the more popular folk have hundreds of followers. However, Twitter's figures are not as great as they appear, according to a recent Nielson research report. More than 60% of Twitter users have stopped using the micro-blogging service a month after joining, according to Nielsen Online. Twitter's also about to possibly lose more users from the African continent with the official launch of Afrigator's Gatorpeeps. While Justin Hartman, MD and co-founder of Afrigator, says they're not trying to steal Twitter users, I'm sure it's inevitable as an African network might seem more appealing to African social media users. Either way, Twitter has some work cut out for it if it wants to retain its users. Some good news though for those struggling to get their Loeries entries in on time for the 2009 awards is that the deadline has been extended to the end of May. Entries from Africa and the Middle East are eligible for the competition so it would be wise to get cracking asap.