Saturday, November 13, 2004
Debeersgroup.com and Yday.org.za
Hello, good morning and peace – this is Cybersurf where the web definitely matters, and I am Steven Lang your friendly Cyberhost, taking you through two local-is-lekker web sites.
Let’s start off with the youth - or more specifically Y – Day which is found at www.yday.org.za/ that is Y.D.A.Y dot org.za and if you guessed that the Y stands for Youth you would be right, but I am also told that it stands for Yo – as in Yo day – as in tell Yo friends - whatever that means.
No kidding – this is a great site put up by a group of young people for the young people of our country. It has good messages “Spread Love, Not Aids”
It has phone numbers for childline for youthline and many others.
There is a news section, where not all the articles are in English – in fact Y-day appears to have made a commitment to use all South African languages on its pages.
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Y-Day is currently preparing for a six day training program to help young people learn about information and communication technologies. The program, running from November 29 till December 5 will benefit 50 trainees, who will learn ICT skills, to help bridge the digital divide and so improve their local communities.
The program still needs more sponsorship – so if you are in a position to help check out the yday.org.za web site.
Now for a quick change of face . . . .
(T) Last week, the de beers group had a grand re-launch of their web site which you will find at this address: www.debeersgroup.com . It really was a splendid affair with some of the most unusual catering I have ever experienced – rare fillet steak dipped in chocolate sauces – and so on.
The new site is a very classy effort and a vast improvement over its predecessor. As the URL indicates – it is the debeers group so it is a type of one-stop-shop – everything you ever wanted to know about de beers or diamonds.
Navigation is quick and easy – a classic horizontal nav bar across the top with drop down menus on mouseover.
And then when you go to each section, it has a sub navigation bar down the right hand side.
The debeersgroup site is one of the few that makes effective use of flash technology without over-doing it. Have a look at the section on the four Cs – – Cut, Carats, Clarity and Colour –and find out how diamonds are valued. The quick, easy to understand info graphics explain all the jargon professionals use to describe a diamond.
My favourite section is the one on the history of De Beers – it has an interactive timeline telling the user not only about the company, but also about the history of the diamond industry over the last 140 years or so. Navigation is very fast and content is informative.
One of the designers said that the aim is now to ensure that content is always fresh and that plans to set up an e-mail newsletter goes ahead.
So there you have it – two really top notch sites today and both of them are made in South Africa.
If you didn’t get an address - do not stress – go to the cybersurf blog at www.cybersurf.blogspot.com – cybersurf.blogspot.com
Thanks for listeneing and till next week remember to keep on surfing.
