Molo: Digital Power to the People by Cape Town Partnership

FREE

february 2017

A PROJECT OF THE CAPE TOWN PARTNERSHIP Molo | Hello | Goeiedag

LOVE BYTES How to find local love online PAGES 4&5

DEEP AND WIDE

A portrait of Cape Town’s digital divide PAGE 10

CONNECTED CITY Why smart cities can be dumb

DIGITAL POWER TO THE PEOPLE

PAGE 11

WHY CAPE TOWN NEEDS CONNECTED CITIZENS Oh snap! 10 local apps to make your day more interesting PAGE 2-3

Chenai Chair: “Barriers to internet use are more likely to be faced by women than men. ”

SCREEN PLAY

You told us about your first time online PAGE 12

www.capetownpartnership.co.za

MOLO february 2017

EDITORIAL

Molo. Hello. Goeiedag. Molo is a free community paper, focused on the people of Cape Town, and published by the Cape Town Partnership. Created by: Alan Cameron, Ambre Nicolson, Chenai Chair, Dave Buchanan, Joey Vance, Kaylon Koeries, Maxine Case, Nadia Krige, Quasiem Gamiet, Ruby Zhao Published by: Cape Town Partnership 34 Bree Street T: 021 419 1881

SEND US YOUR STORIES If you or someone you know has an interesting story to tell, mail us at molo@capetownpartnership.co.za (no press releases, please).

WHERE TO FIND MOLO If you or your organisation would like to receive or distribute the print publication, please mail us at molo@capetownpartnership.co.za. Include your postal address and the number of copies you’d like to receive. Every month, we’ll continue the conversations we start in the print edition of Molo online at www.capetownpartnership.co.za.

Contact the creators of Molo:

@CTPartnership #Molo

Email: molo@capetownpartnership.co.za Tel: 021 419 1881 www.facebook.com/molocapetown Molo, Cape Town Partnership, 10th Floor, The Terraces, 34 Bree Street, 8001

The new right to the city

recently spent a month in the rural Eastern Cape, for our annual family holiday. On my return to the office, colleagues enthused about how rested I looked, how relaxed I seemed. “Must have been the lack of internet access,” one of them concluded. “Actually, the connectivity where we were is very strong,” I countered. “That was a nonnegotiable.” Everyone laughed, knowing how anxious I become if I’m out of the internet loop for too long. I smiled too, thinking about the fun we used to have when visiting only a few short years ago. Then, the problem was signal strength – try as I might my phone would remain signal-free. There was not a single bar to be had in my father’s home. The solution was to climb to the top of one of the nearby hills; and there we would call or surf to our heart’s content, until the light faded or the cooling weather sent us back down. I’m lucky that in my daily life, internet access can be a non-negotiable. In South Africa, of course, this is not normally the case. According to the General Household Survey published by Stats SA in June 2016, only 9.6% of South Africans have access to the internet at home (in the Western Cape, this figure is 21.4%). However, home internet access (accounting for 9.7% of internet usage) is only part of the picture. Most South Africans access the internet at work (15.1%), and 5.1% go online at school, university or college. While these numbers seem low, the research revealed that 53.5% of South African households had at least one member who was able to access the internet – whether at home, work, place of study, or at an internet café. Thinking of how my family and I accessed the internet years ago, using phones with limited functionality, it is interesting for me to note how smartphones are driving internet access.

In South Africa, 47.6% of people access the internet via their mobile phones, and this is particularly relevant to rural households. From the Stats SA report: “Whereas only 2.1%, 3.7% and 3.1% of households respectively had access to the internet at home, at work and elsewhere, more than a third (33.7%) had access through mobile devices.” The authors of the report noted that mobile access also benefited households in the

High-speed fibre has been laid at more than 1 000 public buildings.

metropolitan and urban areas of South Africa, and that the largest proportion of households in the Western Cape and Gauteng access the internet via mobile devices. However, as we all know by now, data is extremely expensive in South Africa. Falling data costs would benefit all South Africans – but especially the nearly 50% of the population who use their mobiles to connect to the rest of the world. Government has a part to play. In her recent State of the Province address, Premier Helen Zille announced that high-speed fibre has been laid at more than 1 000 public buildings, while broadband has been activated at over 900 of these sites. Of this number, 692 schools, 92 libraries and 169 corporate sites have been connected. Thanks to a partnership with Neotel, in March this year the first 50 of more than 380 public Wi-Fi hotspots offering limited free Wi-Fi will be launched. The City of Cape Town has more than 250 public Wi-Fi zones offering free access via a partnership with Always On; these operate on top of the City’s fibre-optic network. According to the City, most of these hotspots are located in suburbs and centres that are not covered by commercial service providers, or where the cost of such services are out of the reach of most residents. These areas include Nyanga, Philippi, Kraafontein, Seawinds and Khayelitsha. A 2017 report by the Alliance for Affordable Internet, released in February, predicts that by this year, 50% of the world will have access to the internet; but of the 50% offline, most will be women in developing countries. The cost of data is one of the biggest barriers to achieving universal access. For instance, in Africa, buying 1GB of data “costs an average citizen nearly 18% of their monthly income.” The report confirms that data costs are falling – but not fast enough. We need to do better. And yes, fees should fall!

shorts

10 Cape Town-based apps for your phone Audio walking tours, shark spotting, online wine shopping, city-specific photo edits … and more than a couple of ways to figure out where you’re going, and how you’re going to get there. Local app-makers have you covered.

SnapScan

Shark Spotters

Cape Town Love

Cape Town Maps and Walks

Rooster Mornings

Cape Town entrepreneur Kobus Ehlers founded SnapScan in 2014. SnapScan links to your credit card, allowing you to pay for goods by scanning QR codes and eliminating the need to carry cash. Cost: Free Compatibility: iPhone, Android, Blackberry

In 2016, Shark Spotters created an app to help inform people of shark sightings. In addition to reporting the latest shark activity, the Shark Spotters app provides updated weather and surfing information for Cape Town’s most popular beaches. Cost: Free Compatibility: iPhone, Android

Collaborating with design studio Wild Measure, tech whiz Aaron Marshall and his company, Over, developed the Cape Town Love app. It allows you to overlay cityspecific phrases and artwork on your photos. You can then share your personalised Cape Town images on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and other social media. Cost: Free Compatibility: iPhone

GPSmyCity’s app Cape Town Maps and Walks features a comprehensive map of the city, and multiple self-guided tour options. The app works offline, so you can explore Cape Town’s sights without internet or data. Cost: Free (lite version) and $4.99 (full version) Compatibility: iPhone, Android

Josh Perry and Dominic Koening are co-founders of the Cape Town start-up Rooster. Their app, Rooster Mornings, is a social alarm clock that allows you to create personal audio notes that you can send to other users. You can also set channel alarms, such as news, weather, and comedy, to brighten up your morning. Cost: Free Compatibility: iPhone, Android

IN SHORT

COLUMN

UNEASY ACCESS: WHY WOMEN ARE LESS CONNECTED

here’s universal agreement that accessing and using the internet is important – almost lifechanging. Roll-out of broadband to increase connectivity marks many developmental policies, including South Africa’s. The Western Cape provincial government, in line with the national policy, implemented the ‘Connected leadership’ broadband roll-out for the purposes of provincial development and growth. To see how ready users would be, in 2014 a Digital Readiness Assessment of the province was conducted by Research ICT Africa. It was found that 57% of individuals had access to the internet. Broken down by gender, the results show that internet access is still low for both males and females, but more so for women. Only 53% of the female population were internet users, compared to 61.5% of the male population. Closing the gendered access gap is rightly a call to action, but it leaves one wondering: will the access provided result in meaningful use? For both men and women, internet use enables a whole range of activities – for educational purposes, e-commerce transactions, and getting information on different subjects. Clearly the internet provides a platform for sharing information, providing some sense of knowledge-sharing that is relevant to women. However, further investigation is needed into the kind of information

women post online. In a focus group study done in Ashton in 2016, we found that both women and men were using the internet to post and read information relating to work opportunities. Seeking health information was significant for both men and women, but more so for women. The focus groups highlighted women’s reliance on searching for home remedies for ailments, while men did not mention this use. While this shows a limited difference between internet use by men and by women, when education and income are taken into account, the levels of use and access begin to differ more significantly. Barriers to internet use are more likely to be faced by women than men. For women who are internet users, surveillance or privacy invasion was a significant concern, limiting their internet use. One female focus group participant resorted to changing her contact information and limiting online interaction after receiving unwanted sexual advances on social-media platforms. Some men have the opinion that in order to preserve the relationships they are in,

Barriers to internet use are more likely to be faced by women than men.

Male %

feMale %

77.4

Social network

77.5

71.8

Fact or word definition checks Posting & reading information

73.4

Health related information

68.6

60.6

68.1

Video/TV and music viewing

67.7

Video/computer gaming

66.3

61.3

Downloading music or videos

66.6

60.2

Getting information about goods or

64.2

services Find a place or get direction Educational research Online documents collaboration Searching for free educational con-

Downloading software Educational or learning activities

59.2

71.7

58.1

50.3

53.2

53.9

53.0 51.8

47.8 45.5

43.6

tent Distance learning or job training

64.6

59.2 42.5 49.7 54.1

43.5 43.5 41 40.2

FIGURE 1: Highly rated activities that internet is used for between males and females in the Western Cape. Source RIA Digital Readiness Survey 2014

women should not be online. As a male focus group respondent put it: “No, my point is, what is she going to do there – what do married people want on WhatsApp?” Looking at people who do not use the internet, who made up 43% of respondents to the survey, 61.4% were women. A significant reason for women’s non-use of the internet was a lack of knowledge

on what the internet is and how to use it. For these women – in particular those who lack digital skills – the significance of connecting to the internet is lost. In my opinion, women would be able to use the internet to benefit them in their day-to-day lives if they had the ability to use it meaningfully, as a result of building up digital skills. But building up women’s skills also

means equipping them to protect their online information and deal with privacy challenges, without being pushed offline. Chenai Chair is a Researcher and Communications/Evaluations Advisor who focuses on understanding access and use issues for marginalised groups, in particular women and youth. @chenaichair @RIAnetwork

Transport for Cape Town (TCT)

Official Guide to Cape Town

SNAPnSAVE

VoiceMap

MyVinos

The TCT app, a Cape Town Transport Authority creation, combines the stations and stops of all scheduled public transport in the city. With this information, you can plan trips across various transport services and estimate the cost of these excursions. Cost: Free Compatibility: iPhone, Android, Windows

Cape Town Tourism launched the Official Guide to Cape Town as a mobile app in 2016. Targeted primarily at first-time tourists, the app is like ‘having a local in your pocket’. It provides essential visitor information, such as event times, opening hours, and maps. Cost: Free Compatibility: iPhone, Android

Mark Bradshaw, founder of Cape Town-based SNAPnSave, announced the release of his company’s app in 2015. SNAPnSAVE is a shopping app that has reinvented couponing in South Africa. Use the app to browse special offers and book them. Then you buy the product, upload the receipt, and enjoy the savings! Cost: Free

Ian Manley and Lauren Edwards co-founded VoiceMap, introducing their app in 2014. VoiceMap offers ten GPS audio walks in Cape Town, each featuring an insightful local narrator. Cost: Free (in-app purchases) Compatibility: Apple, Android

Xavier, Shaun Conway, Philip Kiracofe, and Jörg Pfützner, with the help of the Taj Reserve, launched this app in 2015. A must-have for any wine enthusiast, MyVinos allows you to choose from an extensive list of whites and reds and have them delivered to your door. Cost: Free Compatibility: Apple

MOLO february 2017

SMART CITIZENS

DIGITAL INNOVATORS

Meet six of Cape Town’s most inventive digital characters, start-ups and social-media platforms. Text by Kaylon Koeries, images supplied.

Suzelle DIY Suzelle DIY (portrayed by Julia Anastasopoulos) is one of the country’s most beloved YouTube personalities. She is a sincere (and slightly naïve) Afrikaans woman from Somerset West, with a quirky style. Her web series is made up of highly comical yet informative DIY tutorials – and the occasional South African recipe. SketchBook Studios, headed by Ari Kruger and Julia Anastasopoulos, have blurred the line between real and digital by creating an entire persona (and her world) using YouTube and social media. Initially they intended Suzelle to come across as a real person, and didn’t put their names to the project at the start. The duo were fascinated by YouTube, the myriad characters and variety of content, and thought it would be amazing if someone looking up how to drill a hole came across Suzelle. The mystery surrounding the character really helped to build the hype. The genuine tone of the videos and unique use of all the platforms make Suzelle feel like a real person, and not just a character. YouTube allows a freedom unheard of in traditional film – initially, Julia and Ari wanted to produce a film, but were short of resources; instead, they opted to “just put a video on YouTube, and see what happens”. The first video uploaded was ‘How to drill a hole without making a mess’; but Suzelle hit the big time when ‘How to make a braai-pie’ went viral. This led to brand partnerships and TV advertisements. The studio used YouTube and other digital platforms to release entertaining content, bypassing the many hurdles of film publication.

Isabelo Wi-Fi bench

Given our high data prices and permanently connected smartphones, the words ‘free WiFi’ can be more refreshing than a cold breeze on a hot day. The Isabelo bench provides free, unlimited internet access, and a space to recharge your body and your devices. The bench features a night light, Wi-Fi access, and four USB outlets to charge your gadgets, all powered by solar energy. The first Isabelo bench was installed in Braamfontein. The name ‘Isabelo’ is derived from a Zulu word meaning ‘to share’ – very apt, as the bench creates many opportunities for sharing, whether it be your latest selfie on Snapchat, a lunch pic on Instagram, or simply an interaction with others using the bench. The bench was created by Louise Meeks of Public Access Consulting, and designed and constructed by acclaimed design company Dokter and Misses, who describe it as a “plug-and-play solution for public spaces”. Sadly, the Cape Town Isabelo bench has left the city centre, but there is one being put to good use in Stellenbosch.

3 Team C4

Cape Town’s erstwhile Isabelo bench

Contact centres are an accessible employment option for a large number of Cape Town’s unemployed youth – but finding suitable jobseekers with the right skills has been a struggle for the industry. Business Process Enabling South Africa (BPESA) joined forces with creative design and development partners Formula D, who specialise in the design and production of learning games. After discussing the skills challenges facing the industry, they had the idea of making use of a platform already ubiquitous among young people – smartphones. Part game, part recruitment tool, Team C4 measures a player’s numeracy, literacy, problem-solving and language capabilities through the completion of games, or ‘missions’, as they are referred to in the app. It then makes this data available to recruiters and potential employers. This allows prospective job seekers to be placed in positions that are in line with their skill set. The game is available for any smartphone that runs Android 2.2 or later, and takes up only 39Mb, which means it is extremely accessible to the target demographic.

feature

45 Lumkani

Domestly Domestly, the brainchild of Thatoyaona Marumo and Berno Potgieter, is a South African service that allows you to hire domestic workers at the tap of a button. The idea came about in 2014, when Berno wanted to help his domestic worker, Victoria Ngetu, to earn extra income. He moved the idea from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town and it took off, subsequently launching in Johannesburg and Pretoria as well. Domestly is the first local, on-demand cleaning app. It takes less than three minutes to hire a cleaner, for as soon as the following day. The app connects you to cleaning professionals directly, making it easier for you to hire a professional, while also creating business opportunities for the cleaners. Reviews, ratings, background checks and detailed profiles make hiring a cleaning professional safe, quick and easy. They also offer their services to businesses. Domestly not only takes the effort out of hiring a cleaner, it also aims to empower women by granting them the flexibility of being self-employed, without being exploited. The cleaning professionals set their own rates, allowing them to decide their own income, and receive the full amount paid. Customers pay via credit card or EFT. The service is available via the Domestly app from the App Store and Google Play, as well as on domestly.com.

Berno Potgieter, Natasha Riley and Thatoyaona Marumo

Fires are a very real threat in informal settlements, thanks to a combination of high population density, flammable structures, and fire being the main source of heat and lighting. When a fire breaks out in an informal settlement, it spreads very quickly – and the results can be devastating. In 2013, a tragic New Year’s Day fire in Khayelitsha that displaced thousands of people sparked research into and the development of Lumkani, a fire-detection system, by a team of UCT students. The early-warning detection system originated in the Engineering Honours thesis of Francois Petousis, at UCT. The 2013 fire brought together a multi-disciplinary group of three mechatronic engineers (Samuel Ginsberg, Paul Mesarcik and Francois Petousis), an industrial designer (Max Basler), a social scientist (Emily Vining), an entrepreneur/economist (David Gluckman), and a community liaison officer (Clive Nqiwa) – each with a wealth of experience in their respective fields.

Many people in informal settlements still burn fossil fuels for heat, cooking and light, so a smoke detector is literally just a false alarm. Lumkani detects heat (as opposed to smoke), and alerts those in the dwelling of the danger, allowing them to escape or put the fire out – but then it also communicates, via transmission technology, with other Lumkani devices within a forty-metre radius, sounding the alarm across the vicinity. This allows the damage caused by a fire to be minimised, as potential victims are alerted so they can help to put out the fire – saving themselves and their property; minimising repair costs; and more importantly, preventing loss of life. Lumkani are hoping to sell their devices and service to government, international donor agencies, NGOs and shack dwellers – not only locally but internationally. Each device costs only around R110, though there is huge opportunity for government and other organisations to subsidise the cost and help to increase uptake rapidly.

6 Gather

Gather is a new social-media platform, founded by South Africans, that focuses on conversation. It is intended to connect people in discussion around common interests. Mark Bryson, COO of Gather Online SA, told us their story. “David Price, a South African expat living in Australia, lost touch with most of his newlyformed Australian network when he lived briefly in the UK. On his return to Australia, he tried using existing social-media platforms to meet new people, but wasn’t satisfied with the results. “At a barbecue, David met a lot of new people – which stimulated a brainwave. The limited duration of the event was a catalyst for interaction and engagement; people didn’t want to miss the opportunity to connect. So David set about emulating this situation online, creating ‘an environment with a limited duration, which would drive people to interact’ – and Gather Online was born. “The broad concept of the platform is to provide

an online space where users can join or start a conversation, about any topic imaginable. The reasoning behind the time limit is to ensure that the content is always fresh (unlike a forum); and to increase engagement, as it puts a time limit on interaction. It also provides a measure of comfort that you can express your opinions freely, as there is no permanent record of the conversation.” Mark further expressed the company’s desire to build a platform that offers social and business value propositions. A successfully tested use case for the platform has been hosting online networking points for conferences; there are also obvious opportunities to connect socially, and even romantically. The website was launched (in beta) six months ago and the company currently has over 30 000 users, with strong interest from outside South Africa and Australia – notable sign-ups being from Pakistan, the USA, Canada and India. An app is available on Android and iOS.

MOLO february 2017

Find A free Wi-Fi spot

WE MAP CAPE TOWN’S UNEVEN DIGITAL LANDSCAPE AND SHOW YOU WHERE TO FIND AFREE Wi-Fi HOTSPOT = 0-30%

= 30-60%

= 60-80%

= 80+%

Ward 1 (Plattekloof) – 75.5%

Ward 56 (Kensington, Acacia Park, Maitland) – 61.2%

Ward 2 (Bellville, Parow North, Parow East) – 71.9%

Ward 57 (Woodstock, Obs, Salt River) – 79.8%

Ward 3 (Belgravia, Bellville) – 70%

Ward 58 (Rondebosch) – 87%

Ward 4 (Milnerton, Montague Gardens,

Ward 59 (Claremont, Newlands, Kenilworth) – 85.3%

Joe Slovo) – 65% Ward 5 (Bothasig, Edgemead) – 75.1%

Ward 60 (Rondebosch East, Landsdowne) – 75.1%

Ward 6 (Brackenfell) – 38.3%

Ward 61 (Simon’s Town) – 59.6%

Ward 7 (Scottsdene) – 55.2%

Ward 62 (Constantia, Bishopscourt, Wynberg) – 80.1%

Ward 8 (Brackenfell) – 68.5%

Ward 63 (Ottery, Wetton, Wynberg) – 68.5%

Ward 9 (Bellville South, Belhar) – 41.1%

Ward 64 (Muizenberg, Fish Hoek

Ward 10 (Ravensmead, Bellville) – 58.1%

and Kalk Bay) – 77.9% Ward 65 (Grassy Park, Lotus River) – 49.1%

Ward 11 (Kuils River) – 50.7%

Ward 66 (Ottery, Parkwood) – 43.5%

Ward 12 (Belhar) – 38.1%

Ward 67 (Zeekoevlei, Pelican Park) – 38.8%

Ward 13 (Belhar) – 30.2%

Ward 68 (Steenberg and Lavender Hill) – 43.1%

Ward 14 (Blackheath) – 48.5%

Ward 69 (Noordhoek and surrounds) – 55.8%

Ward 16 (Eerste River) – 43.3% Ward 17 (Blue Downs, Eerste River) – 51.5%

Ward 71 (Bergvliet, Tokai, Steenberg etc) – 75.8%

Ward 18 (Mandalay) – 36.8%

Ward 72 (Heathfield, Retreat) – 62.1%

Ward 19 (Blue Downs) – 42.3%

Ward 73 (Deurdrif, Meadowridge, Diep River) – 75.8% Ward 74 (Hout Bay – Bakoven) – 59.8%

Ward 20 (Delft) – 30.5%

Ward 75 (Woodlands) – 47.9%

Ward 22 (Belhar) – 44.1%

Ward 76 (Lentegeur, Mandalay) – 52.7%

Ward 23 (Blouberg, Melkbos) – 83.1%

Ward 77 (Oranjezicht, Tamboerskloof etc) – 84.7%

Ward 24 (Nyanga) – 30%

Ward 78 (Mitchells Plain) – 63.6%

Ward 25 (Elsies River) – 26.9%

Ward 79 (Mitchells Plain) - 41.8%

Ward 26 (Parow) – 51.6% Ward 27 (Goodwood) – 65.4%

Ward 80 (Philippi farmland) – 27.4%

Ward 28 (Elsies River, Epping) – 30%

Ward 81 (Mitchells Plain) – 41.2%

Ward 29 (Chatsworth) – 37.8%

Ward 82 (Mitchells Plain) – 31.2% Ward 83 (Strand) – 42.5%

Ward 30 (Epping) – 41.7%

Ward 84 (Somerset West) – 71.8%

Ward 31 (Montevideo, Nooitgedacht) – 34.1%

Ward 85 (Nomzamo, Strand) – 41.7%

Ward 32 (Atlantis) – 32.5%

Ward 86 (Nomzamo, Lwandle, Strand) – 26.4%

Ward 33 (Philippi) – 25%

Ward 87 (Khayelitsha) – 24.5%

Ward 34 (Philippi) – 26.2%

Ward 88 (Philippi) – 32.6%

Ward 35 (Klipfontein) – 24.6%

Ward 89 (Khayelitsha) – 30.6%

Ward 36 (Crossroads) – 33.1% Ward 37 (New Crossroads/Nyanga) – 30.9%

Ward 90 (Khayelitsha) – 28.6%

Ward 38 (New Crossroads) – 57.8%

Ward 91 (Khayelitsha) – 34%

Ward 39 (Nyanga) – 23.4%

Ward 92 (Khayelitsha) – 53% Ward 93 (Khayelitsha) – 30.5%

Ward 40 (Nyanga) – 23.5%

Ward 94 (Khayelitsha) – 46%

Ward 41 (Gugulethu) – 48.7%

Ward 95 (Khayelitsha) – 26.6%

Ward 42 (Nyanga) – 31.5%

Ward 96 (Khayelitsha) – 32.3%

Ward 43 (Strandfontein) – 60%

Ward 97 (Khayelitsha) – 43.8%

Ward 44 (Heideveld) – 32.9%

Ward 98 (Khayelitsha) – 31.2%

Ward 45 (Manenberg) – 37.3%

Ward 99 (Khayelitsha) – 29.2%

Ward 46 ( Surrey Estate, Primrose Park, Newfields, Hatton, Pinati) – 45.9%

Ward 100 (Gordons Bay) – 50.9%

Ward 47 (Hanover Park) – 28.4%

Ward 101 (Kraaifontein) – 26.2%

Ward 48 ( Belthorn, Sunnyside,

Ward 102 (Brackenfell East) – 73.8%

Rylands Estate) – 55.6% Ward 49 (Kewtown, Bridgetown, Silvertown) – 43.5%

Ward 103 (Durbanville) – 78.2% Ward 104 (Morningstar, Durbanville) – 36.7% Ward 105 (Durbanville) – 57.3%

Ward 50 (Bonteheuwel) – 32.8%

Ward 106 (Delft) – 29.4%

Ward 51 (Langa) – 42.9%

Ward 107 (Tableview, Blouberg, Sunridge) – 83.5%

Ward 52 (Langa/Bonteheuwel) – 27.4%

Ward 108 (Blue Downs) – 34.4%

Ward 53 (Pinelands, Epping, Ndabeni) – 74.3%

Ward 109 (Macassar) – 34.9%

Ward 54 (Camps Bay – Mouille Point) – 78.2%

Ward 110 (Cafda Village) – 43.8%

Ward 55 (Woodstock, Paarden Eiland,

Ward 111 (Kraaifontein, Wallacedene) – 35.6%

Milnerton) – 64.1%

Free public Wi-Fi hotspots Rolled out by Western Cape Government Ward

Location

Education District Office North

Brackenfell High, Brackenfell

Aristea Primary, Kraaifontein

Bellville HTS, Bellville

Bosmansdam High, Bothasig

Scottsdene CDC, Kraaifontein

Kraaifontein CHC, Kraaifontein

Gene Louw Traffic College, Brackenfell

Bellville Suid Secondary, Bellville

Sunbell Building, Bellville

Health Department, Parow

Education District Office East, Kuilsriver

Dr Van der Ross Primary, Boston

Rosendal Secondary, Delft

Eerste River Social Development, Eerste River

Manzomthombo Secondary, Mfuleni

Forest Heights High, Eerste River

Kuils River Primary, Kuils River

Voorbrug Secondary, Delft

Durbanville High, Durbanville

Symphony Secondary, Belhar

Uitsig Primary, Uitsig

Elsewood Secondary, Elsies River

Goulbourn Centre, Goodwood

Marian Road Secondary, Matroosfontein

Range Secondary, Matroosfontein

Modderdam Secondary, Bonteheuwel

Sophumelela Secondary, Mitchell’s Plain

Sinethemba Secondary, Philippi

Dr Nelson Mandela High, Crossroads

Oscar Mpetha High, Nyanga

Mannenberg Secondary, Manenberg

Heideveld Secondary, Athlone

Phoenix Secondary, Manenberg

Easter Peak Primary, Athlone

Hanover Park CHC, Hanover Park

Bridgetown Secondary, Athlone

Bonteheuwel Secondary, Bonteheuwel

Ikamvalethu Secondary, Langa

Isimilela Secondary School, Langa

Langa Social Development, Langa

Green Point CDC, Green Point

St. Agnes’ Primary, Woodstock

Maitland Sekondêr, Maitland

Salt River Secondary, Salt River

Livingstone High School, Claremont

Groote Schuur High, Rondebosch

Windsor High School, Rondebosch East

Tenterden House, Wynberg

Plumstead High, Plumstead

Grassdale High, Grassy Park

Ferndale Primary School, Ottery

Zeekoevlei Secondary, Lotus River

Kenridge Primary, Durbanville

Zwaanswyk High Tokai

Southfield Primary, Southfield

Westcott Primary, Diep River

Zisukhanyo High, Mitchell’s Plain

148 Long Street, CBD

Company’s Garden

Intsebenziswano High, Philippi

Philippi Secondary, Philippi

106

Masibambisane Secondary, Delft

108

Mfuleni Secondary, Mfuleni

110

Grassy Park Secondary, Grassy Park

111

Scottsville Secondary, Scottsville

Feature

23 105 104

107

113

46 47

45 42

38 33

72 71 68

108 17

87 90

116

114

118

81 67

19 20

110

37 34

106 13

40 41

63 74

50 44

49 59

102 7

101

111

115 77

70 0

103

112

93 97

16 96 95

109

64 69

83 85

100 61

Private hotspots Ward

Location

Church Square, CBD

Table Mountain Cableway Wi-Fi Lounge

CTICC, Foreshore

St. Andrewâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Square, Green Point

MOLO february 2017

Love online DIGITAL DATING

It can be hard to find something that satisfies our souls (or even just our sexual fantasies, if that’s what you’re after) in the overwhelming buzz of city life. Over the past few years, dating and social media websites and apps have provided a new sort of ‘hunting ground’ for those looking for love, romance, or something a lot like them. Tapping into my personal experience as well as those of fellow Capetonians, this article offers a tiny snapshot of the vast realm of online dating in the Mother City.

Text by Nadia Krige Illustrations by Quasiem Gamiet

It started with a Twitter crush It was just more than two-and-a-half years ago that my ‘Twitter crush’ asked me out for coffee in the comment section of an Instagram photo of my cat. We’d been exchanging online pleasantries for about two months, and felt an uncanny connection in the similarities of our Instagram feeds and overlap of interests. Of course, it’s easy to fake these things online. But luckily for us, it turned out really well, and we seemed to have an endless stream of topics to discuss – so much so that we chased our conservative afternoon cappuccinos with three (large) beers each and a shared pizza, conversing well into the night. The very next day we set out on our first adventure – a snow-hunting day trip to Ceres – and we’ve been together ever since. My boyfriend and I regularly return to the spot we met IRL for the first time, and giggle at the thought of us nervously sitting there across from each other, two strangers wearing familiar faces. A pair of avatars come to life – terrifying and exhilarating, awkward and reassuring all at once. In more serious moments we muse over that first meeting, and wonder whether it would ever have happened had social media not done Cupid’s work. The conclusion, for various reasons: probably not.

Meeting online – is there still a stigma? In the late-20s/early-30s circles we move in, our story is considered relatively unique; more than a few of our friends find it somewhat strange that two well-adjusted individuals ended up ‘having to turn to the internet’ to find love. Well, it’s not like we were looking… But even if we were, why would that be so weird? Especially when so much of our time is spent online. A recent study by We Are Social revealed that South Africans tend to while away an average of five hours a day on the internet, which means that you stand a far better chance of encountering a likeminded individual in a Facebook comment thread than at a braai or – heaven forbid – your local bar. Despite the fact that over the past few years, meeting people online – whether for professional, friendly, romantic or sexual purposes – has become a much more widely accepted social practice (especially among younger millennials), a measure of stigma remains (especially among older millennials and their seniors). Echoing my own experience, 35-year-old Capetonian Helen Westcott shared the following via email: “I can’t tell you how many times people have said to me, ‘Why are YOU on online dating – YOU don’t need to be on online dating!’ Usually while poking me in the ribs.” Helen was one of a number of people who responded to various social media calls and emails I sent out asking for real-life online dating stories. Along with this, I cajoled colleagues and bugged friends, and in the process, made a remarkable discovery. While a variety of women were happy to spill the beans, the men were altogether absent. Even when I asked those who have been known to enjoy a batch of Tinder-swiping every now and then, they simply shrugged, and said it was no big deal. And they’d rather not participate. I started getting flashbacks of the awkward ‘ums’ and ‘ahs’ my boyfriend tends to utter when asked about how we met … and suddenly it all made sense: men (or maybe just the South African variety) are still embarrassed to admit that they search for – and sometimes even find – romance online.

FEATURE

Real-life stories – the good, the bad and the inventive. Be that as it may, I’m delighted to share a few of the reallife stories sent my way by fellow Capetonians:

Anonymous – a traveller’s perspective

Helen Westcott – a return to organic over online

Fazielah Williams – turning bad experiences into bad-ass blog posts “In an age in which the hook-up culture prevails, via dating apps like Tinder, OkCupid and Datingbuzz, it’s a difficult task to find The One,” says Fazielah, who started her blog series ‘How I Met Your Father’ when, on her 28th birthday in 2013, her friends challenged her to complete 28 dates in a year. “I obviously didn’t complete my challenge in a year, because I fell in love, had my heart broken, and tried again – and so the cycle continued.” While her dating life is by no means limited to online connections, Fazielah says that her original rationalisation for finding love or romance in cyberspace was that if she wasn’t meeting any guys in the ‘natural’ ways, perhaps it was time to ‘order’ one to her specifications online. “I use Datingbuzz, OkCupid and Cosmopolitan Dating. I tried Tinder for three days, and the blatant disrespect of some of the ‘gentlemen’ on that site freaked me out, so I deleted my profile.” Datingbuzz has become Fazielah’s chosen platform, but she also hopes to try Elite Singles at some point, despite the hefty subscription fee. In the meantime, she’s found that it’s by no means as simple as dress shopping on Superbalist, but “hope springs eternal for this hopeless romantic, unfortunately”. Be sure to check out her blog!

“These days I much prefer to meet people organically, through friends, while out and about,” says Helen. Having learned that – for her in particular, but probably for many out there – online dating tends to be emotionally exhausting, she now prefers to delve for a limited time frame now and then, rather than throwing herself down the well all in one go. Having tried a variety of sites and apps over the years, Helen has found OKCupid to work best for her, as a lot of effort goes into setting up a profile, which in turn provides much more specific information about people. “I find it difficult to determine whether I‘m going to be interested in someone based solely on the way they look, so having an idea of what they like and don’t like is useful.” What Helen would like to see more of in the local online dating scene, however, is people signing up to sites or apps that will help them to connect over music they like (TasteBuds is a good example of this), and the pet hates they have in common (enter a new app called Hater). She reiterates, however, that meeting people organically is by far the best option for her these days. “Go out more, and talk to people. The spark you feel when you meet a person is almost impossible to predict via algorithms and pictures.”

Kaylon Koeries – let’s keep things light

A recent study revealed that South Africans tend to while away an average of five hours a day on the internet, which means that you stand a better chance of encountering a like-minded individual in a Facebook comment thread than at a braai or. heaven forbid - your local bar.

As a 22-year-old gay man living in Cape Town, Kaylon doesn’t take online dating too seriously, and isn’t looking for a relationship; but he enjoys using apps like Grindr, Tinder and Hornett to meet up with people who pique his interest. “I prefer Tinder, as not just anyone can engage with you – only those you approve. You don’t get weird people messaging you who wouldn’t interest you in the first place.” Interestingly, he has found Tinder users to be less focused on casual hook-ups and more interested in hanging out and getting to know people. “You’re more likely to end up going on a second date with someone you meet on Tinder than anyone you find on Grindr.” Currently he goes on three or four dates a month with online connections.

A keen traveller, Anonymous reserves his use of Tinder for farflung cities and unfamiliar corners of the world. But probably not for the reason you’d think. With the rise of carefully curated top-10 things-to-do lists, and sponsored ‘influencers’ flooding social media, he believes that it’s becoming more and more difficult to find a city’s best attractions that aren’t paying for the accolade. “Tinder has the ability to cut through the nonsense and deliver some of the best personal recommendations you could wish for. Over the years I’ve been told about photographic exhibitions in dimly-lit basements, unbeatable pintxos bars in San Sebastian, the best ruin pub in Budapest, and I received proposed walking routes and an unofficial weather advisory in Vienna,” he explains. If nothing else, these stories seem to prove that just as ‘there are as many kinds of love as there are hearts’, there are as many different ways to make online connections as there are internet users.

Apps and sites to try So – whether you’re looking for love, sex, romance or friendship – if you haven’t felt comfortable with the idea of venturing into cyberspace just yet, this could be a good time to start! Looking for a little light romance? • Tinder – By ‘introducing’ you to people in your vicinity, the app is infamous for the hook-up culture surrounding it. • Grindr – users are limited to gay men, and the app is also associated with hook-up culture more than relationships. Want to take a chance on love? Both these sites/apps require you to fill out a relatively extensive questionnaire, making it more likely you’ll find someone with whom you share interests. • OkCupid • DatingBuzz Extramarital affairs Yes, this is something people actually look for. • VictoriaMilan • Marital Affair Try something new • Hater – what could be more fun than laughing over the things that really grind your gears? This new app is definitely worth a try! A few fun podcasts: If you’re tickled by the idea of online dating, here are a few great stories to listen to on the topic: • Data mining for dates – A man reverse-engineers OKCupid’s algorithms • Love in bits – Dating back to 2005, this is about the early days of dating sites • Love in the Digital Age – The Sugars take on two questions that explore different ways in which we try to connect online.

Share your story Do you have a story of finding - or losing - love online? Send your story to molo@capetownpartnership.co.za

MOLO february 2017

portrait of a city

THE great divide

We often hear the term ‘digital divide’ – but what does this mean for the average citizen of our city? Text by Joey Vance Images by Quasiem Gamiet

Text by Joey Vance

Meet Kungawo The sun is rising in Gugulethu, and its light has begun to penetrate the patched roof of Kungawo’s home. Soon, his room is illuminated, and he wakes up next to his wife, Rethabile. It’s Monday; but, since Kungawo has struggled without success to find work, he has little motivation to get out of bed. At the same time, the twenty-two-year-old is thinking of starting a family, and needs a steady source of income. While the miscellaneous jobs he has been doing in the township have allowed him and his wife to survive, the couple require more stability. Kungawo understands that opportunities are sparse in Gugulethu, so he wants to find employment outside of the township. However, he is one of the 526 437 Capetonians who does not have access to the Internet. While he has a cell phone, like 58.8% of people in the Western Cape, he cannot afford data. Kungawo’s inability to access the Internet compounds his job-searching difficulties. Fortunately, Rethabile’s friend Junior lives nearby, and is one of the 46.2 % of Capetonians who can access the Internet via cell phone. At Rethabile’s urging, Kungawo decides to meet Junior so that he can take his job search online. Thirty-seven percent of South Africans own a smartphone. Junior is one of them. When Kungawo arrives at Junior’s home, they exchange greetings. Kungawo then timidly asks

to use his phone. Junior is happy to show him how it works, but says that he cannot use the phone’s data, because it is so costly. In fact, South Africa’s Internet access ranks amongst the most expensive in the world. Our median monthly cost of R230 per Mbps was the highest of 62 countries surveyed in 2015. Instead of lending him his phone, Junior gives Kungawo the address of an Internet café outside of the township. Kungawo is reluctant to pay for a taxi to the café, but feels the opportunity to secure a job justifies the investment. When Kungawo gets to the Internet café, he wanders around the room perusing the various websites that others are browsing. It is all very foreign. Kungawo is not one of the fortyone percent of South Africans who regularly use Internet cafés. The rates are expensive for him, but Kungawo is determined; he needs to find work. He sits down next to someone who is shopping online – but Kungawo wouldn’t know. Only twenty-two percent of South Africans have ever purchased something online, and he is unfamiliar with the concept. As Kungawo deliberately presses each key, he hears the online shopper’s rapid typing. This is only the third time Kungawo has used a computer. His search, ‘Jobs in Cape Town’, yields results, but Kungawo becomes discouraged as he clicks through them. Almost all the job descriptions state that to qualify for the job, applicants must have a tertiary education and some computer skills. Kungawo has neither. Perhaps his luck will be better if he returns tomorrow. However, Kungawo cannot

South Africa’s internet access ranks amongst . the most expensive in the world.

afford to taxi to and use the Internet café that often, so he may just have to find other ways of making money in Gugulethu.

Meet William The grating beep of an alarm clock echoes in William’s room; a new week has begun. William awakes groggily, slams the sleep button, and murmurs something about hating Mondays. Like Kungawo, William is twenty-two years old, and searching for work. Unlike Kungawo, William recently completed his tertiary education and already has several attractive job offers. Today, he is being interviewed by the Cape Chamber of Commerce; an exciting opportunity. After getting ready for the big day, he walks downstairs and greets his parents. William’s job search has not been that urgent, as he lives with his parents, who support him financially. They live together in Constantia. His parents’ home is the type that Kungawo will only ever see from afar. The house, with its reflective marble and tranquil garden, could be a mansion, despite not actually being one. It is also part of the 21.1% percent of households in the Western Cape with internet access. As a result, once William powers up his laptop and smartphone, he can respond to emails and do some last-minute preparation for his interview. William must be optimistic about his chances of getting the job, for having just one of these smart devices means he is fiftyone percent more likely to be employed. And William has two smart devices! Only six percent of Capetonians can say that. William not only has access to the latest digital devices – he knows how to use them. From 2001 to 2011, the percentage of

households in Cape Town with computers increased from 8.5% to 21.4%, so for many Capetonians, computers are a technology about which they are still learning. This is not the case for William. He has always had access to the newest phones and computers. As a result, he has developed a technological proficiency. This will help him to secure a job, as sixty-three percent of South African employers consider computer literacy when evaluating applicants. Given his educational background and qualifications, William is confident that the interview will be a success. However, during his trip to the Cape Chamber of Commerce, disaster strikes. William’s car battery dies; he must have left the lights on overnight. For Kungawo, who is lucky to have one means of transportation, such a mistake would be devastating. However, William has alternatives. He is part of the 41.3% of Capetonians who have a phone with a 3G data plan, so he decides to call an Uber. William arrives on time at the Cape Chamber of Commerce. Though he is a little anxious, William also can’t wait to show his interviewers that he is the man for the job. He aces it; his technological prowess, resumé, and connections all impress the CCC. The job is William’s if he wants it, but he must consider all his options – and he has the time and support network to continue his job search, if he so pleases.

From 2001 to 2011, the percentage of households in Cape Town with computers increased from 8.5% . to 21.4%.

FEATURE

The connected city The idea of the ‘smart city’ may have lost some of its shine in recent years, but information technology is continuing to intersect with urban life in all sorts of interesting ways. Text by Ambre Nicolson

The life and death of a buzzword It’s 2010; and all around the world, in municipal meeting rooms and corporate boardrooms, people are getting excited about the idea of the ‘smart city’. Though cities have always relied on human technology for their existence – you could argue that the idea of a smart city started back in 1922, when the first automatic traffic light was switched on in Houston, Texas. But mostly, when people use the term today, they’re talking about how the fabric of our cities will be fitted with sensors, which combined with broadband internet, results in the ‘internet of things’. Automated ambulance drones! Intelligent parking meters! Citywide climate-control sensors! Anthony Townsend, author of Smart Cities, argues that the idea of the smart city has its roots in the 2008 financial meltdown. According to Townsend, giant tech companies such as Cisco and IBM moved their focus away from big corporate multinationals and started grafting this technology onto local government platforms. Proponents of the idea described futuristic and utopian visions of well-managed city resources, raised living standards, economic development, and cleaner, safer and less wasteful cities. Critics, on the other hand, wondered what it would mean for ‘citizens’ to be replaced by ‘end users’.

Are smart cities a dumb idea? By 2012 the term ‘smart city’ was looking a little tarnished. The criticism came in three broad flavours: critics saw the possibility of technological mishaps, privacy infringements, and societal control. Firstly, if the whole city becomes a giant operating system, what happens when it crashes? This may sound outlandish; but in cities such as Songdo, in South Korea, almost all the infrastructure – including roads, power supply, waste management and water systems – is operated remotely, employing electronic sensors.

Secondly, if all aspects of city life are monitored to the degree that one can trace the route of an individual cyclist through a city grid (possible at one time through London’s bike share programme), what does this mean for privacy? Thirdly, will smart cities actually undermine democracy, since in the future they may have so much data that they no longer require consent? Or, as the architect Rem Koolhaas put it, “The citizens the smart city claims to serve are treated like infants. We are fed cute icons of urban life, integrated with harmless devices, cohering into pleasant diagrams in which citizens and business are surrounded by more and more circles of service that create bubbles of control. Why do smart cities offer only improvement? Where is the possibility of transgression?”

So, what now? Today, the definition of a smart city has broadened to include city projects and policies that are more ad hoc and which may not always rely on futuristic technological solutions, while still encouraging connection. Many of the enormous multi-billion-dollar schemes that so piqued the interest of the likes of IBM have foundered. In their place, Townsend sees the more piecemeal approach as a good thing. “You build an open grid, you allow people to customise the pieces of it that they have jurisdiction over, and you get this fine-grained, resilient, vibrant kind of system with a lot of complexity – as opposed to a very controlled, hierarchical system that’s actually fairly brittle when it comes under stress.” In some cases, smart city hacks are not even about the future – they’re about the past. In 2014, ScanLabs used 3D scanning technology to interrogate the way two concentration camps in the former Yugoslavia memorialise their pasts. Another way of envisioning a smart city is by creating virtual models of cities

If the whole city becomes an operating system, what happens when . it crashes?

as experiments. Simudyne is a city simulation company that creates complex models for anything from natural disasters to electrical blackouts. In this way, public officials can ‘practise’ before rolling out urban projects in reality. In recent years, Medellin – the Colombian city once infamous for the poverty of its favelas (slums) – has become the poster child for social urbanism. The city invested in new infrastructure in its poorest favelas, and has seen a remarkable integration of these communities into the city. And the project relied on analogue solutions such as cableways – not a smartphone in sight. Cape Town, like Medellin, is a city that does not have the enormous budget of cities such as London or Barcelona, and is also one of the most ‘unequal’ cities in the world. How can Cape Town consider smart-city strategies, when vast swathes of the city’s inhabitants lack plumbed toilets?

Cape Town as a smart city “We’re striving towards a Western Cape where every resident in every town and village has access to affordable high-speed broadband infrastructure and services and has the neccessary skills to effectively utilise this infrastructure.” This statement from the provincial government highlights not only Cape Town’s current lack of digital access but also the fact that supplying such infrastructure is only half the story. So far, Cape Town’s efforts towards becoming a smart city have included rolling out public Wi-Fi, a broadband fibre network, an open data portal, CCTV surveillance in the inner city, and a smart power grid. Perhaps even more importantly, however, is local government’s efforts towards providing adequate training so that people can effectively use new infrastructure when it arrives. Last year Nokia acknowledged Cape Town in its Smart Cities Playbook, for the city’s commitment to providing the necessary training to citizens so that they can take advantage of digital opportunities in the future. An important step for a city which is projected to be home to five million people by 2030.

MOLO february 2016

YOU SAY

STREET TALK

What’s the app Cape Town?

Maurietta Stewart

WhatsApp was the first app I can remember using. Those two blue ticks irritated me, because then I knew that the person had seen the message and just wasn’t replying. I would miss Pinterest the most! I use it for everything from fashion to décor.

We asked you about your first apps, your favourite apps and what you would miss the most if the internet ceased to exist. Text by Kaylon Koeries Images by Ruby Zhao and Kaylon Koeries

Trevor Lee

Yvette Schuler

“Mxit – it was so much cheaper than SMS. It saved so much money.”

“WhatsApp was my first app. It became the main form of communication – nobody picks up their phone to call anymore.”

“I would miss everything! It would feel like I was going back to the Stone Age.”

“I would miss the convenience of it all. Everything is on there, even books.”

Alex O’Donoghue Carolyn Willoughby “My first app was a photo editor. It was so easy to make my pictures better, all of those filters really changed the way my pictures turned out.” “I would miss Googling things – especially when I’m sick, and I want a better idea of what might be wrong with me.”

“WhatsApp was the first app I used – and I found it very scary, because the volume of communication had increased so much. I wanted to turn it off, but I couldn’t, because nobody used SMSs anymore. I liked it, but I felt like I was trapped.” “I’d actually be happy if we didn’t need the internet anymore, but I would definitely miss Google. I jokingly call Google my digital god. I’m a very curious person, I like that I can ask any question and immediately get various sources – I don’t need to use expensive books.”

Lesley-Ann Spero:

Ruwayda Isaacs

Google was the first app I used, it was so great to be able to find anything! Videos, music … anything.

YouTube was the first app I remember using. I loved that I could watch music videos, and all these little movies and short films.

I would miss WhatsApp the most. It’s my connection to everyone – that would be my gossip gone!

I would miss WhatsApp the most – it’s so easy to use, convenient and quick.

Ayanda Ngobeza: “Mxit! I was on fleek! I remember hiding my phone under the blanket and being constantly connected, it was great!” “I would miss the convenience of shopping online, and being able to do almost anything from my phone without having to leave the house.”

Michelle Isaacs “Candy Crush comes to mind, but BBM was actually the first app I ever used.” “I’d miss Google the most – Google knows everything.”