When in 1974 the first e-mail was sent as two
computers sitting close to each other exchanged the “word” QWERTYUIOP. It was
the beginning of a new way of life for the planet. Perhaps the architects of
such innovation didn’t really see the far-reaching consequences it was going to
have on life on this planet. Time passed till 2002 when the first ever social
network that connects real-life friends was launched. FRIENDSTER was supposed
to give friends the opportunity to connect over
the internet eliminating any geographical barriers. It was the beginning
of even better things to come.
Fast forward to 2004. In a college dorm in Harvard, the 3rd
social network was born. Within the
first month, over half of the 19,500 students had registered on Facebook. It
was set to change the world and overtake its predecessors, FRIENDSTER and
MYSPACE.com. Today, there are countless
number of social networks serving various purposes. Most of these social
networks are developed to cater for certain geopolitical regions. Russia, for
example uses LiveJournal and VKontakte
more than Facebook. Same can be said of China where QZone has the
highest user population and RenRen maintains a fairly strong active user
population. Truth is, they serve slightly different purposes and target different
age groups and social classes. Where is Africa’s own social network?
This is where the YoungRf idea begun. Africa recently has
seen its youth engaging in highly innovative ventures pioneered by diasporans
returning home. Analysts have suggested the continent is beginning to benefit
from the brain-drain. Good news isn’t it? www.youngrf.com
, which started in June 2011 in the international students setting of Kharkiv-
Ukraine, was developed by a young Ghanaian medical student. It registered over
1500 members who were mostly international students from USA, UK, Canada, South
Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Cameroun etc. Today it is registered
in Ghana as Youngrf Technologies Ltd, maintaining it’s true Ghanaian and
African originality.
The YoungRf Concept.
According to the company’s mission statement which reads;
“To become the leading social network globally, presenting
users with powerful revolutionary features, applications and great self
development tools, giving them something worth of their time spent online.”
Youngrf is set to change the social media landscape,
starting with Africa, by integrating self-development tools, mentorship and
education with entertainment and socialization, fitting into the African
continent’s broader goal of empowering its human resource base by using
integrative technology that is user friendly. One other striking feature that
distinguishes youngRf from other networks is the feature that connects people
who share similar interests. With this
feature, users who share a particular interest can connect and share ideas,
transfer technology and discuss or
debate pressing issues relating to their chosen field of work/interest. This is
to promote consensus building and wider consultation across the continent and
the world at large while giving users the chance to have fun by playing games,
watching videos and listening to music.
The youth, probably would enjoy the most from youngRf with
its numerous entertainment features as multi-player games, abiity to watch a
wide variety of videos fron youngRf central database without switching to other
sites like Youtube, Dailymotion etc. You can share pictures and tell your stories to the world, with your own style and
swagger.
The autotranslation feature is a testament to YoungRf’s
commitment to bridging all language barriers. You can chat with people from the
world and language won’t be a problem. Want to organize polls, quizzes and
write blogs? YoungRf is in to serve you.
Businesses, Celebrities, Pastors, Politicians etc are not
left out. YoungRf offers you the platform to engage with fans and clients in
the context of our shared values. You are assured a wide population to reach
with your advertisements, promotions and campaign messages.
As unique as it is, YoungRf comes with its own site
language. RF, for example means a status update which can be Admired
(similar to ‘Like’ on other sites) or elicit a Remark ( same as
‘comment’).
The features are mind-blowing, but accessibility is key. In
a continent where affordability of computers and Tablet Pcs remain a problem,
mobile phone usage remains central to YoungRf’s accessibility drive. As quoted
from the article, A Social Media Boom Begins In Africa
“The widespread availability of mobile phones means that the
mobile web can reach tens of millions more than the wired web” With this
central idea, all features are developed to work perfectly on mobile phones so
than you can chat with friends, share photos, connect with mentors and
mentoring, play games and watch videos on the go. All you need is a mobile
phone and internet access.
YoungRf is set to change the African social media landscape.
Join the network that is truly African.
Log on to www.youngrf.com and experience
a world of difference.
Written By
Samuel Ofori-Agyekum
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