If I was writing this article based purely on facts and page views, I’d be telling you that the 5 biggest websites in South Africa are News24, iol, Mybroadband, Bidorbuy and Kalahari. Factually they are the biggest South African based sites, and have the most SA, and international visitors. However, this article isn’t about the big 5, but about the 5 most entertaining SA websites.
Now, I don’t consider myself a celebrity, but with over 140,000 page views on my Google+ profile, and nearly 500 friends on Facebook, I’d say I’m pretty famous, and this article will give you some insight into my daily reads, and sources of information.
Aiden’s Top 5 Go as Follows :
5. Carbonite
This is by far the underdog in this contest, but gets a well deserved spot. I visit here daily, and I am a lurker of note. It’s purely a forum and has a lot of hot tempered basement nerds selling stuff, talking shop, life and everything else. A good mixture of proper information, with some humour, experience, and a lot of know-how.
4. ITWeb
This is a more clear cut, article based website, with lots of good writers and quality information. They have regular updates, and stay abreast on a broad range of IT based stories, and mostly offer unbiased and fair reading. A definite must for anything you need to know about South Africa’s broader IT sector.
3. CliffCentral
What on earth is this idiot doing in the list you might wonder. Gareth Cliff, a very successful breakfast show host, broke away from his 6-9 job at a censored, government owned radio station and started one of SA’s biggest Internet radio stations. Although not great for driving, the shows have gotten considerably better. He has also filled up the days with various high profile South African celebs, bombarding the “airwaves” with their own brand of radio. It is definitely worth the visit.
2. News24 (and all its spin-offs)
The ultimate success story in news websites in South Africa. News24 and it’s spin-offs are the most visited sites in SA. The reason is that they have so much information, all laid out so well, and they make it easy to access. If you need any general, car, finance or weather news, this should be your first stop.
1. Mybroadband
The winner, and my favourite, is MyBB. They are on top of tech news, gadget news and business news in SA, and have grown significantly over the years. They also sport a forum which is crammed full of good info, and have a lot of giveaways for participation in polls and surveys. The research is always spot on, the writing style is light and easy to take in, and they aren’t afraid to say what needs to be said.
There are some worthy mentions that I feel are also great Proudly South African sites, that would have made the top 10. They are takealot, Kalahari, Bidorbuy, Techcentral and PNet. All great sites that have had massive impact in SA.
We have a lot to offer as a county, and digital content is no different, we are up there with quality sites, playing an international game. I’m glad that “Proudly South African” finally resonates with world class offerings.