New home-grown BuildRSA says it wants to become SA’s go-to social media platform for users who want to hold gripping discussions on pertinent societal issues that affect locals on a daily basis.
Founded by Dr Sifiso Falala, CEO of Priority Performance Projects, BuildRSA is described as an initiative developed with the greater good of the South African nation in mind.
According to Falala, the platform gives users an opportunity to collectively and constructively problem-solve through dialogue to tackle SA’s myriad of challenges, and move the country forward through brainstorming to find viable solutions to some of these.
The web-based platform aims to promote active citizenry, develop positive mind-sets, and help cultivate a culture of problem-solving and hard work among users.
Over the years, technological advances have meant people can easily access services, such as transport via mobile apps, shop online, host virtual meetings and even use artificial intelligence (AI) like ChatGPT to complete various tasks, including sentiment analysis.
BuildRSA says it operates through dialogue shared either as status updates or engagements held in chat groups, on topics ranging from load-shedding; the stagnant economy; water cuts; education-related issues; and high rates of unemployment, poverty, crime and corruption – which are among the numerous challenges facing SA.
Dr Falala tells ITWeb that while pertinent discussions take place daily across various social media platforms, BuildRSA’s key distinguishing factor is that it’s premised on an advocacy pillar and users sign in as solution-seekers or problem-solvers.
“We attract creative solution-makers, and while it is true there are random discussions all over the internet, they are uncoordinated, without a clear motive, agenda or end goal.
“Based on our observation over the last 20 years, there is little evidence of social cohesion and national outcomes improving as a result of the random online discussions taking place daily.
“Our aim and clear agenda is to tackle the two main reasons why Africa is where it is today: firstly, the lack of problem-solving skills at many levels. Secondly, lack of global competitiveness.
“It allows citizens to set the agenda on what’s important and come up with ways to fix our challenges. Leaders can then take a cue from the contributions of society to develop policies and programmes to empower our nation,” he explains.
BuildRSA was developed by Priority Performance Projects, which is part of research firm Plus 94 Research.
Dr Falala, co-founder and CEO of Plus 94 Research., has a PhD in Management of Technology and Innovation and Technology from the Da Vinci Institute. He leads the research, design and development efforts at Plus 94 Research.
BuildRSA was piloted in March, gaining more than 500 users in one month, and continues to add new registrations on an hourly basis, he notes.
To ensure users stay up to date, BuildRSA runs AI-driven news service BuildRSANews and video-based news service DIYAfrica. For erudite users, the site offers academic content from a dedicated page called AfricanScholar.
Also available on the platform is the opportunity for users to benefit from thought leadership articles, do a thread, participate in surveys, like and reply to posts, as well as share them on Twitter.
BuildRSA features polls on various issues, including patriotism, the 2024 elections, happiness and volunteerism, while giving users the chance to pick up on trends in discussion.
Subscription is free. Priority Performance Projects makes revenue through advertisements placed on the cloud-based platform. Plans are in the pipeline to introduce mobile versions of the app.
“We have benchmarked the work that we do on four very important values, namely: problem-solving, which we believe is one of our biggest challenges; global competitiveness; self-love and patriotism.
“Ultimately, BuildRSA highlights that the power and responsibility to change South Africa for the better, forever, lies with us all,” he concludes.
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