Hundreds of citizens have signed up for WiFi Chat, the City of Tshwane municipality's new hyper-local social network, with more joining each day, says Project Isizwe marketing manager Tim Human.
The chat was launched at the State of the City address last week. Mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa said the aim of the platform was to improve communication channels and reach younger generations. "The city will be able to create live chatrooms pertaining to any relevant discussion topic, such as Q&A sessions, city updates and debates."
Unlimited access to the service is available over the free WiFi network provided by Project Isizwe, allowing users to post to chatrooms and follow conversations with no mobile data cost. However, users are able to log onto the service via any Internet connection.
Users are required to sign up with an e-mail address, username and password. Once that is done, users can participate or observe what is going on in chatrooms set up by the municipality.
WiFi Chat differentiates itself from other social networks because of the direct contact the city is able to have with its citizens. The network is also more secure, says Human, as no personal information is seen by other members in chatrooms.
"Soon, users will also not only be able to follow and discuss topics posted by administrators, but create their own topics where they can discuss topics of interest with like-minded people and those in very specific communities," says Human.
The service is Web-based, accessed on https://wifichat.projectisizwe.org/ or via the Tobetsa Portal http://www.tobetsa.co.za/. Human says that the company is looking at the possibility of an app.
Human says the project is in pilot phase to gauge interest and ask communities what they would like to see from WiFi Chat in the future, with the possibility of extending the model to other municipalities.
It was recently announced that, over the next 18 months, Tshwane will deploy a further 1 848 free WiFi hotspots. Human says the city and Project Isizwe hope to eventually provide free WiFi connectivity in every street and to every household in the municipality.
Project Isizwe is the free WiFi initiative founded by former Mxit owner Alan Knott-Craig Jnr, and also has live deployments across the Western Cape and in Limpopo's Thulamela and Mutale municipalities.
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