I went to the February Cape Town OpenCoffeeClub meet yesterday. I had lunch with Nur (Nomade One) beforehand. We had a really interesting conversation around religion, values, ethics and business. I look forward to meeting Nur again.
Internet at the event was generously provided by Henk from Skyrove. Skyrove have an interesting business model. They manage internet hotspots and revenue share with the venues who host the hotspots. Bandwidth is outrageously expensive in South Africa, so Skyrove are also a little pricey.
However, Skyrove have undoubtedly gone up in my estimation since I met Henk. When accessing the internet through Skyrove hotspots he pays as an ordinary user, so that the venue get their revenue share. It’s nice to meet ethical business people.
From the meeting we spawned a Cape Town WordPress meetup. I’ve started a mailing list and a blog. I chose Google Groups to host the mailing list, much to my distress. I simply cannot find a good alternative. If you know of one, please put me out of my Google misery! 
3 Comments
Hey Callum, was great meeting up with you. I had planned to write a little bit about the meet but seems you’re way ahead of all of us. Looking forward to chatting some more and getting involved in this wordpress thing you got going now, much needed here in Cape Town and South Africa.
Hey Callum, thanks for the kind words about Skyrove! I think good ethics is simply linked to Karma conscious self-interest! Besides, the more money the coffeeshop owner earns from a Skyrove hotspot, the more likely he is to tell his friends about it!
Although we do install and manage some hotspots ourselves, the real idea is for ordinary people to start their own hotspots and share internet with neighbours. The guy who owns the hotspot gets some money back, while his neighbours don’t have to pay Telkom line-rentals! I.e. the net effect is cheaper internet for everyone, while also creating more micro-entrepreneurs!
Users sharing internet with their neighbours, now that sounds like a *fantastic* idea in South Africa!
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[...] to a few names I’ve come across online for a while. A little before the event I met with Callum Macdonald from Scotland who’s graced our shores with his nomadic presence for a few months. Very [...]