About Us

‘What’s up?’ is a common question from one person to another in most languages.

But in South Africa, the words have an exciting new meaning.

WHAT’S UP is the brainchild of Gavin Cooke, whose vision of a totally innovative way of communicating electronically has finally come to fruition.

WHAT’S UP is a newly launched, fully interactive social networking platform that revolutionizes the way people communicate, opening up limitless opportunities for consumers and businesses alike.

The aim of the network is to become an interactive entertainment hub encouraging people to meet and enjoy each other’s company in person.  Ease of use across the total user market guarantees that even the most technologically challenged user will get all the information they need – all it takes is two or three simple clicks of a mouse.’.

For Gavin it has been a long and hard road.  ‘It has taken four frustrating  years of trying to explain the concept to people who would be able to help me action it  Last year I met a young man, Nicholas Marini, whose study of the psyche behind social media made him the perfect person to talk to.  He immediately understood my vision, and commandeered a software development team to bring the concept to life.  The team, based at Computer Facilities and headed by Craig Christie, has expanded my vision even further.  From having a passing idea, to writing it down, to trying to market the idea, to meeting Nick and now to having my dream realised in a way I thought was totally impossible, has been a roller coaster ride of note!’

The most satisfying aspect of it all for Gavin is that it is a purely South African-developed and implemented concept.  ‘South Africa has always been perceived as lagging behind the rest of the world in social networking development.  This will put our country firmly at the forefront! of user-friendly technology

Nick explained the exciting concept further. ‘WHAT’S UP is a platform where users can schedule events in an interactive calendar, organise their day and see what friends – or groups of friends – are up to. The focus on the platform is its ability to allow the user to schedule social events and invite friends and users who can communicate with each other in multiple ways, from walls to status updates to personal messages.

‘Events are delivered to users in a highly targeted and defined manner, with the same being done for locations, brands and restaurants.

Brands and restaurants will be able to form a presence on the site, allowing users quick and simple interaction with them and their calendar, which will show all upcoming events for the brand, pictures of the events and the venue, as well as showing who else is attending.

Innovative functions included in the platform’s application form include services such as the booking of tickets and tables at events.  As partners become more available and use of the network picks up, the ability to book entire holidays (from airline tickets to cruises to car rentals) will become available’.

Gavin added  ‘Nick’s refusal to put barriers on his thinking process means that we are constantly improving on what we can offer on this social platform – the possibilities are endless.  The role WHAT’S UP will play in developing small businesses in South Africa is of vital importance to us. Corporates and small businesses alike will benefit from the ease of use, as the simplification of social media advertising offered by WHAT’S UP will address the issue of measuring ROI from social media campaigns.  With WHAT’S UP, a company will be able to relate it directly to the event being marketed and see how many people attended from the platform. Detailed statistics will allow clients to identify the demographics, psychographics and key words affecting their campaigns and therefore refine their marketing in order to gain maximum effectiveness’.

For Gavin and Nick, the future of South African social network is looking very, very bright.  And their vision?   Today South Africa, tomorrow the world!

For more information contact us at Contact Us