Vlogging with the Reconstructed

This morning I had the privilege to facilitate the Reconstructed session at the Reconstructed Living Lab (RLabs) space. Video blogging or "Vlogging" was the area we focused on and it was amazing to see how the team managed to video blog with ease. A short background about what video blogging was and how others have been using it (like the "From the Couch" site) was explained.

The team had to go out and shoot a short 30 second video which they had to upload to YouTube and post to their blog. Within a few minutes we had the video shoot, some even posted to YouTube and embedded into their blog. You can view some of the videos on the Reconstructed blog. Many of the team will be using video as a medium to explore the rich and colorful stories of their communities sharing that message of hope.

Blogging as a change agent to empower citizens

As I am getting ready to attend the World Wide Web Conference in Port Elizabeth this week I was reminded of a paper we presented at the same conference in Cape Town last year titled "Blogging as a change agent to empower citizens in communities with tension". Below is a short abstract from the paper:

"The power of the Internet as a facility is that it has allowed many people worldwide to use it without feeling the real bite of the term ‘cost’. It comprises of numerous technologies that create an interesting question: How far has the information technology world come in terms of development? The introduction of a Web 2.0 technology known as weblogs or blogging has fast become a popular choice of application used on the Internet. Blogging prove to have both major advantages and disadvantages when used in the business environment. Not much research has been conducted on the personal impact blogging has on individuals. An issue that this paper addresses is in determining how helpful blogging can be when used by a group of individuals that are in the phase of drug rehabilitation. Ex-drug addicts and gang members from the Cape Flats in Cape Town were used as a case to investigate how much of an impact blogging had on them on a personal level, in their everyday lives and others that surround them. Blogging could be an alternative assisting or possibly empowering individuals in communities with tension allowing them to express themselves and see the world from a new perspective."

Source: Proceedings of the 10th Annual Conference on World Wide Web Applications 3-5 September 2008, Cape Town, South Africa

Social Media for NGOs - Blogging

Social Media for NGO'S

View more presentations from craig ross.

Social Media is a great leveler

Over the past few weeks I have seen the power of Social Media and how it is a great leveler in a society where status and many other factors separates communities. Through our Reconstructed and Mom2.0 project we saw people embracing life through the use of Social Media where they share stories, give messages of hope and do not feel inadequate when connecting with people across the world.

Through the use of Social Media people who before might have felt disjoint from communities are now able to use this medium as a way to improve communication and writing skills, regain confidence and above all feel that they are part of a global conversation where their voices are heard irrespective of their background, status, race, culture or whatever else generally would bring about discrimination or separation. Social Media in my opinion is a great leveler and we are seeing the fruits of it in the conversations that are floating around and the real impact its having in the lives of people.

Featured on Interactive Cultures

It was a great privilege to be a guest blogger on the Interactive Cultures Blog that is being managed by Jon Hickman. The post "A Letter from Cape Town" was published yesterday and you can read it here

Abstract from post:

"Marlon Parker is a South Africa based social media educator. He is visiting the UK, including Birmingham, in July 2009. Ahead of his planned visit to Interactive Cultures, he was good enough to send us an overview of some of the social media activity he has been involved with in and around Cape Town.

With the world being LinkedIn, everyone sharing content over the web and embracing friends and foe alike on FaceBook and Twitter we decided to see how we can take the phenomena of Social Media to Communities in Cape Town, South Africa...."

East Coast Radio "News Watch" features The Reconstructed

It was very encouraging to have The Reconstructed project beaing featured on East Coast Radio and on their "News Watch" blog which shows that their are many who can make a difference using the technology that they have at hand.


With examples this past week from people like Ashton Kutcher using Twitter as medium to raise awareness of Malaria but also to acquire Mosquito nets through using this new media format for donations. Another incident is also a British woman, Susan Boyle, who had the life long dream of becoming a famous singer and at the age of 47 her dream are being realised through her audition on Britian's Got Talent show, being seen my millions of people accross the world via sharing sites like Youtube.

This shows that with the technology we have at hand and if its being used appropriately that we can Empower our Communities as we see the lives of The Reconstructed being transformed.

1c Blogpost using MXit

1c Blogpost using MXit. We have been exploring ways of how we could ensure that more people especially youth start blogging using their mobile phones and MXit. Using a chat bot and linking MXit with this blog we were able to blog for less than ZaR0.01 using this mobile chat platform. Not bad when bandwidth and accessibility to computers are expensive. This could mean that South Africe is alive with possibilities for ordinary citizens to blog and share their thoughts using this simple technology. Setting up your blog in MXit post will be coming soon.

Reconstructed we salute you

Firstly a huge thank you to everyone who has voted for The Reconstructed blog, you have truly made a huge impact on the lives of The Reconstructed Team. Just to be mentioned in the same breath with blogs such SARocks, Thought Leader (by Mail and Guardian), Moral Fibre and all the others is a humbling experience for us (see image above), taking in consideration that this blog is managed by young men and women who just over a year ago had very little to live for.

For many of them this highlighted that through using a simple medium such as blogging and engaging with others using social media that their lives will be changed and their voices will be heard again. They can leave a positive footprint and slowly begin to re-write (re-blog) their lives which for many is needed after a dark and cold past. To think that in this group 90% of its contributors have not completed school or formal education, had a past caught up in substance abuse, gang related activities and crime. This is just a breath of fresh air to see how their lives have been reconstructed and how they are now using what they've been taught and teaching others who has joined the Reconstructed Team.

To all the young men and women of the Reconstructed, I salute you for a job well done!! You've shown that change is possible and that there is always hope for those who believe that all is lost.

Mom 2.0 - Blogging Video

Finalist for SA Blog Awards 2009

Thanks to all who nominated The Reconstructed for the SA Blog Awards. This is a great testimony having young men and women who's lives were destroyed by substance abuse and gangsterism, and through blogging have began a journey of reconstruction (Some of our bloggers in picture above).

So to help us make this journey even more memorable please vote for us http://www.sablogawards.com/2009/ for the "Best Group Blog".

Pam Sykes with Mom2.0

Pam Sykes with the Mom 2.0 and Reconstructed Group. Taking them through the writing skills of blogging. The importance of the Story is what should be shared. Telling your stories from the heart will have a big impact.

Mom2.0 Cafe Session: FaceBook

Today the ladies all gathered at the Impact Centre to engage with an exciting Mom 2.0cafe session. After only four sessions the women have now managed to be able to send emails, blog (www.mom2zero.com) and FaceBook. What an amazing achievement by women who just over a month ago had no experience with technology.

Many of them are now also to use their mobile phones to send emails, do social networking and blog. It is really exciting to see how they've developed and we know that this is only the beginning.

What Mom 2.0 means to me

Brent and his mother at Mom 2.0

Whenever I see Brent and his mom together I'm over the moon with joy knowing that Brent is making such an impact in many people's lives. The pic you are seeing in this post is the now but it was'nt always like this. Two years ago Brent and his mom had a very different relationship where he was disempowering his mom even to a point where he would almost have physically hurt her. But seeing him now and his willingness to help others is an incredible story of how lives are reconstructed. Using technology he can now empower his mom but they can also share their stories of hope to many parents and children out there who need that glimmer of hope.

Well done Brent and Aunt Allida Williams, we are proud of what you are doing.

Mom 2.0 - Cafe Session: Blogging

Reconstructing families using Technology

This evening we did a presentation at a church in Westridge Mitchells Plain titled "Reconstructing families using technology". It was good to see so many people coming out and having an interest in technology. The talk was presented in such a way to show possibilities of how technology could be used for family reconstruction and empowerment.

The projects that were presented included:
- The reconstruction project and the reconstructed blog of the reconstructed team. One of the team members, Jerome Mias, shared his story of how he was addicted to Tik and how his life was reconstructed. He also shared what blogging did for him as part of the healing process and how he is currently using blogs as an outlet of expression. Interesting fact is that Jerome never completed school (only passed grade 8) yet the skills that he acquired through technology and how he is using to empower others are remarkable. Well done Jerome for showing us that we can use technology even when we don't have the education background to help our families and communities.

- The Drug Advice and Support on MXit (DAS@MXit) was also introduced to the audience. The room had both parents and children present and there were mixed feelings about this technology. This was an opportunity to show how this technology is being used to save lives. Brent Williams shared his testimony as a MXit counsellor and what he has experienced through the use of MXit for drug advice and support. Hearing how it impacted his life and how he could share the many stories of others who's lives have been changed through this service was well received. (We got an additional 10 contacts after the presentation to the service.

- Finally we ended with the Mom 2.0 project and showed what the plans are to empower mothers and women in the community.

Having parents, children and grandparents there was an opportunity to engage technology on all levels and see how best it could be used to reconstruct families. We hope that this talk is the first of many of its kind and with the positive feedback we know that there are lots more innovative ways how technologies could be used.

PR 2.0 blogging workshop

Today we had the honour having Ramon Thomas, CEO of NETucation, doing a blogging workshop with the Reconstruction Team. The workshop was entitled PR 2.0 blogging and focused on how you can get you blog in the mainstream media.

The talk was interactive and allowed the team to express themselves. Ramon also gave valuable tips on what can be done to get your blog read by the right people. He use a 3 point approach:

1) Message- You should have a vision and know what your message of your blog is. You have to read blogs before you can start writing. Start reading blogs in your area of interest and leave comments. Will get you use to the writing style.
2) Marketing - You should have a clear idea of how you going to market your blog.
3) Momentum - You need to maintain that passion for blogging.

It was also a wonderful opportunity to meet with other bloggers in and around Cape Town. We are hoping to have Mr Thomas return and do another talk with the team sharing his expertise and allowing us to use it to empower our citizens.