South Africa: Opposition leader goes web 2.0

Helen Zille invites Internet users in the city and the rest of South Africa to visit her interactive website, which allows the public to submit their comments and air their views on local government service delivery or on any other issues.

The website, Zoopy, allows anyone to sign up and create their own video webpage, and to interact with other users’ web pages.
Following the international success of YouTube, which attracts 120 million visits worldwide per month, South Africa’s Zoopy looks set to have a significant impact on mass communication in our country. Only two months after its launch, South Africa’s Zoopy already attracts 120 000 visits per month.

The mayor’s website includes a regularly updated collection of photos and video clips of Zille discussing current issues and also of behind-the-scenes and light-hearted footage from the mayor’s office.

The mayor 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.
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