The 3 Web 2.0 experts that ITWeb missed

Mandy de Waal wrote this good article on ITWeb listing some of SA's top web 2.0 experts. However, Mandy missed three many of us know quite well, so I thought I better add them here [better late than never]:

1. Bolton Deventer
   The SEO guru with the name that sounds more like planning for a holiday [Jannie, grab the bakkie, bolt-on de-venter trailer and lets go to de coast]. The truth about this "webtrafficmaker" is still unknown to many of us [although there was plenty of popular speculation], and it seemed our friend Bolton may have been a case study in why only kids should have imaginary friends. Nevertheless Bolton caused quite a stir in his time online and made a substantial name for himself.
   
   
2. The spammers formerly known as D-A-D
   With the relative youth of internet marketing and therefore the lack of precedents in online behaviour, these guys showed us very clearly how not to do it. Whether it was intentional or not, we can all learn something from this [something we should already have known, admittedly], but the best part was watching how users picked it up and spat it out - proving that there is an effective element of self-policing within the web 2.o world.
   
   
3. Vernon Koekemoer
   A South African internet phenomenon that came out of nowhere, Vernon has jumped through the window of opportunity presented by his instant fame. I don't quite know what role VK played in the whole thing [think Steven Spielberg vs Chuck Norris], but either way, it has been a huge web 2.0 storm.
   

Ha ha. In all seriousness though, I know several of the people on Mandy's list and have great respect for them. Great job Mandy - I trust that with the growth online it will be a lot more difficult to make next year's list. But that's a good thing!

One thing I want to add is how good its been to see what web 2.0 can do for us, not just from a marketing and business perspective, but also in terms of contributing to social awareness of serious issues. The recent xenophobic attacks are a perfect example, as Afrigator and many others posted information - creating tons of awareness about these important social issues.

So if anyone asks why web 2.0 really matters, to me this is it. Yes you can create great businesses. Yes you can market almost anything. But most importantly you can transfer knowledge amongst interested community members far better than ever before. And its these web 2.0 experts [and hopefully the rest of us as we tag along] that make the wheels turn.