The Silicon Cape initiative, founded by Vinny Lingham and Justin Stanford, aims to create a tech ecosystem in South Africa similar to Silicon Valley. During a recent conversation period, there were significant positive discussions on social media, particularly on Twitter, with a peak of 175 mentions on March 31, 2010. Recommendations include developing a strategic communication plan to maintain momentum and engaging various community stakeholders.

1. t Silicon Cape Conversation Report 25 March – 6 April 2010

2. “ The Silicon Cape Initiative is a private sector community movement originally founded by two South African high-tech entrepreneurs, Vinny Lingham and Justin Stanford. Both being entrepreneurs and angel investors in the ICT startup sector in South Africa, they observed the unique confluence of circumstances emerging in their home country and in particular in the province of the Western Cape, which served to create the first organic elements of an ecosystem in its infancy, that could be likened to that in Silicon Valley, California, USA.” For more information please go to http://www.siliconcape.com

3. General Statistics 560 conversations discussing Silicon Cape Brand momentum: 43.077 mentions a day Most discussion was on Twitter (91%) 97.297% of conversation positive 557 175 opportunities to be seen (OTS) Total Ad Value Equivalent: R95 983.88

4. Major Themes

5. General Overview Sentiment in the build up and during the event was higher than in the days on either side of it. The volume of conversation spiked on 31 March (at 175 mentions) but quickly dropped off to 100 (1 April), then 13 mentions a day on Friday the 2 April.

6. Conversation Volumes

7. Volume Overview The volume of conversation peaked at 175 conversation in a single 24 hr period (31 st March). On the day after there were 84 mentions and 100 on the day after (1 st April). For the week of Silicon Cape an average of 76.2 mentions were found per day (which is higher than most corporates in SA). Conversation dropped off dramatically on the Friday – as post event hype dissipated.

8. Volume Recommendations A communications plan is required to guide the build up of momentum prior to events and the management of conversation post events. This could significantly improve the longevity of the momentum. Sharing this plan with and empowering key influencers will help drive authentic, community centric engagement – ultimately improving momentum.

9. Sentiment Distribution

10. Sentiment Overview 97.297% of the conversation spoke positively about the initiative, 38.417% actively endorsed and 7.529% praised it. This further highlights the value of regular events. Initiatives should be taken to identify advocates within the community and integrate them into a wider consulting committee as a representatives of the community.

11. Sentiment Overview Lower credibility authors spoke more positively (and in higher volumes) than more credible authors. This is likely because they have more to gain (in personal and business growth) and therefore wish to lever the community. Mentorship programs should be constructed to assist young entrepreneurs through the early stages of business development.

12. Sample Mentions with High Sentiment

13. Media Distribution

14. Media Overview 97% of conversations came from delegates and their networks. A concerted effort should be taken to get more businesses involved in the initiative (in their business capacity) – not just employees in their personal capacity. Integrating the press and highlighting their role in the success of Silicon Cape is critical to continued growth.

15. Domain Distribution The number of times a particular domain mentions Silicon Cape within the reporting period.

16. Domain Overview As previously mentioned the vast majority of conversation came from Twitter (91%). Efforts should be made to extend the conversation outside of this network. Ongoing, authentic, engagement with bloggers and companies will help drive other sources of conversation. Additional domains will likely begin to feature in the coming days as blog posts about the event are written.

17. Reputation

18. Reputation Overview As expected, reputation improved dramatically (19.444%) on and after event day – largely a consequence of hype surrounding the event. Reputation has remained high post the event (which is uncommon), this demonstrates that the community perception of the brand was less focused around event hype and more about overall value of the initiative.

19. Other – less serious – Statistics Event was ReTweeted 128 times The top @ed individuals were: @justinstanford – 37 times @robvanVuuren – 22 times @geekRebel – 16 times @elodiek – 11 times

20. Other – less serious – Statistics 173 different individuals tweeted about the event. The greatest supporters of Silicon Cape (based on the number of tweets) was a tie between @kylejonck @laraleepalmer and @wesleylynch.

21. For more information please contact Tim Shier: [email_address] @brandseye www.brandseye.com Or call us on 021 462 7353.