Cerebra

Jeff Fletcher (one of the brains behind IS Labs) was recently interviewed by Nicholas Haralambous, business manager of the Mail and Guardian online. The focus of the interview was Jeff’s involvement in IS Labs and his thoughts on Web 2.0 and social media.

The interview gives us a bit of an insight into the thought processes behind IS Labs and why it was set up. If you are having any doubts regarding the motivations behind IS Labs, then this is definitely a must-read. It’s actually pleasant to find a group of people that are motivated by the more altruistic motive of improving the internet experience for everyone. While IS will definitely benefit from the ideas posted, the plan is to make sure that the people who submit ideas themselves stay involved to reap benefits as well. At the end of the day, when the ideas get implemented, we all benefit. It’s essentially a win-win-win situation.

What I found very interesting regarding the interview was Jeff's insights into the future of social media. He strips away the hype and tells it like it is, which is very refreshing. He gives us a serious foundation on which to build our expectations. While social media is a powerful media tool at the moment, and its future does look bright, it is not the solution to all your marketing problems, and will never, ever be able to make you that much needed morning cup of coffee (it might make you wealthy enough to pay someone to do that though).

After reading the interview, I’m pretty sure that the ideas posted here on IS Labs are in good hands. With people like Jeff piloting projects like IS Labs, the future of this country's connectivity looks very bright.