Um…Who do I have to tweet to get on a list?

// June 16th, 2009 // Analysis

You know lists are dangerous things. We all love them, but we all hate to be left off them right?

Nic Dawes, editor in chief of the MG, said it himself in the intro to the 300 Young South Africans in Technology,

“Compiling the Mail & Guardian’s annual 300 Young South Africans You have to Take to Lunch list is tough, not so much for who we put in, but whom we leave out. And that doesn’t mean the people whose PR consultants beat their fists bloody on our doors.”

I have no intention in this post to take anything away from the guys and gals that made the list and would gladly buy lunch for any of them – they are all valuable people playing important roles in our industry.

But MG, I do however think that there are other strong candidates that have been overlooked – perhaps because they are not in the self-promotion game that tends to dominate our tiny webspace – where it is all to easy to make noise.

It does seem that in the local industry whoever attracts the most attention is deemed to be the most successful – which is not always the case. In some cases it is. But there are many quietly going about there business who are making big bucks and carving out great businesses and careers.

Below is a list of people I think are truly successful in SA internet business. I have had the pleasure of working with all of them in one capacity or another. Nic, you and your team may want to look these people up next time round,

Kim Reid – CEO of MIH Internet Africa (Naspers) – Probably the most powerful man in SA internet
JP Farinha – CEO of 24.com, SA’s largest internet property by a long stretch
Adrian Hewlett – Founder of Habari Media – A very successful online media sales house. He is also the current Chairman of the OPA.
Yaron Assabi – Founder of Digital Mall and the Digital Solutions group who have been successful over the past decade in providing leading web and mobile technology solutions.
Warren Moss – Former GM of Digital Planet and now co-founder of Global Acquisition which is making lots of cash.
Nikki Cockroft – Young and CEO of the Primedia Digital Group
Andy Higgins – Bid or Buy – Andy has built a successful business in a tough commerce market.
Ronny Apteker – Needs no introduction
Justinus Arendse – PrivateProperty.co.za who turned around the Property market online pretty swiftly. There are other guys involved with him whose names I forget.
Mark Levy and Neil Watson – Founders and owners of Digital Planet – online retailer
Gary Hadfield – CEO Kalahari.net
John Kotsaftis – CIO MIH Internet (Naspers) – one of the most powerful Internet positions in the country. Has now moved on as the new CEO of Digital at Multichoice.
Tim Bishop – Owner and Founder – Prezence
Daniel Aufrichtig – Partner in Shake Interactive, formerly Bluesouth, an SEO and SEM company.
Alan Lipschitz – Owner of Webmail and Easy Info
Herman Heunis – Founder and owner of Mxit
Geoff Cohen – Current publisher of 24.com controlling all of 24.com’s content brands
Vincent Maher – Needs no introduction, now doing great things on the Vodacom Grid.
Brian Benetar – Owner of Thunda.com
Catherine Luckhoff – Founder of Mango-omc – The first truly digital and social-media minded PR gig in SA.
Derek Abdinor – A niche expert in digital Investor relations
Bryan Porter – Former editor-in-chief at 24.com and now Business Manager of Travel24
Jp van der Spuy – Founder of recently launched Mytrade.co.za and has been buying and selling on ebay since a kid.
Justin Hartman and Stii Pretorius – Founders of Afrigator
Jannie Momberg – Editor of News24, the most engaging lunch you will have
Heather Ford – I am not into NGO’s but Heather has achieved much with Creative Commons and championing the cause for digital copyright and the open web.
Clint Bryce – Previously creative director at Aqua now heading up Space Patrol Car – a 24 Design studio and single-handedly helping to make online creative in SA a better place.
Allan Kent – Because if the agencies had more people like Allan online would be getting a bigger slice of the pie.
Adrian Frielinghaus -Senior manager Analytics and strategy MIH Internet Africa. Adrian makes business plans that work.
Jonty Fisher – I don’t know Jonty but he is the only person I follow on Twitter who gives me 100% value every time with his pinpoint accuracy of a worthwhile and relevant read.

Some young up and comings –

Bradley Voges – Co-founder of Blueworld.co.za – Brad does not feature in the media but has played a big role in that business.
Alistair Fairweather – Social media head at 24.com
Cathryn Reece – Interactive editor for News24 and has played a key role in building up Mynew24
Peter Sserwanga – Founder of Modelbase .co.za
Uno de Waal
Stefano Sessaand I could go on and on ………………

The irony is that I have probably left a number of people out -SORRY – so there will ultimately always be those who feel aggrieved. That as I said is the nature of a list. I have also restricted my list to people I have had direct experience with and tried to avoid “perception”.

The POSITIVE to me in this is that having been in the industry from the start this is the first time that I am able to say we have a flourishing industry that is growing and gets more sexy and exciting every day. Even 3-4 years ago you would not have got 50 people to a “Geek” event. Online has become sexier to younger people and that is a victory in itself that we should all smile on. I am glad there is a verve, a zest for digital. It’s what we have all been fighting for.

Lets keep on trucking,

So…..The editorial attached to the MG 300 said,

“The point of such a list is not to be complete. On the contrary, it is meant as a starting point, perhaps even a provocation, but in any event the opening of a conversation about a generation that is truly beginning to shape our possible futures.”

So there you have it. My response – as invited.

PS – Anyone feel to add any names you feel I may have omitted post the person and simple reason on the comments section. tks

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