[This blog entry has been edited and updated on 9 Sep 2007]
Cape Town bloggers Rafiq Phillips uses MXit offering customer support for his idrive.co.za project. This idea can save small businesses money if they consider the implications – offering a support contact on MXit which can be accessible from any cellphone anywhere in South Africa (currently over 5 million users and growing at 13,000 new users per day). With some software development this service could be linked up with a call centre, if one already exists, and give clients the option of contacting your call centre via MXit.
Secondly today I met with Childline Gauteng to discuss a potential partnership to promote online safety more widely and through their regional offices. Laurie Butgereit, a researcher from Meraka Institute, part of the CSIR was also at the meeting. I was completely blown away by their project, Dr Math, which offers learning support and tutoring through MXit . The pilot at one school in the North West province is growing daily in numbers. For now the focus is on Mathematics but this mobile education programme will be rolled out with science and other subjects in future.
With this project educators can begin to warm up to MXit in new and interesting ways. And I’m looking forward to innovative ways to continue where William Smith left off.
* special note add any of the numbers 27799923960-9 as a MXit contact to access Dr Math.
