Mutumwa Mawere

What is the purpose of life? We all know that human life is perishable and yet each day of life provides meaning if it is shared.

Social groups exist as personal and direct social ties that either link individuals who share values and beliefs or impersonal, formal and instrumental social links.

When individuals interact then social phenomena arises and in the majority of African countries, the interaction is more personal and solidarity is, therefore, mechanical whereas in the world we now live in that is characterized by dissolution of borders there is a new reality that we have to appreciate and accept that compels humanity to invest in organic solidarity that is a consequence of cooperation between differentiated individuals with independent roles.

The role of the Internet in allowing humanity to connect cannot be overstated.

Some of us can recall the day in the not too distance past when we needed to use letters to communicate with loved ones. The memory of those days is rapidly fading on account of technological advances and the quest for more direct and real time links.

The human spirit is complex and yet its true meaning is to be found in a collective setting notwithstanding the power and limits of human ego.

We all want to belong and more significantly we want to be different.

With respect to social networking, there are numerous groups on the cyberspace that provide highways for human connectivity.

The websites that host online users and such platforms are commonly referred to as social sites.

People choose to connect with people they alike.

The mushrooming of social sites represents the human instinct at its best.

Can you imagine 100 million, for example, human beings sharing the same highway anyone compelling them to belong?

It is now possible for different people to be part of this virtual state without a President and no government to think for the users.

What do we learn from this new phenomenon of social organization? When we think of nation states it is often too easy to surrender to the lowest denominator of human tolerance.

How many of us would want to create nation states that are exclusionary?

It is not rare, for example, to find people born in Kenyan regarding themselves as authentic citizens and yet the foundation of online communities is premised on inclusivity.

We need each other and we can learn from the experiences that are shared.

The concept underpinning social networking is no different from the one that should underpin nation building.

A welcoming and user-friendly site often attracts traffic whereas sites that are complex to access discourage traffic.

The site belongs to the users in as much as a nation state belongs to be people who subscribe to its values, beliefs and principles.

If a nation state, for example, increases income taxes then the most likely reaction of income earners is either to rebel or migrate to jurisdictions that can respect the cardinal principle that nation state viability is only guaranteed by the income of hard working citizens.

When one visits a social networking site, one is welcomed to be part of the community. No visa is required to join. No passport is required either.

It is easy to join and more importantly once you join you are not compelled to remain part of the community if it no longer serves your needs.

What is more striking is that any big person like a President of the social community does not welcome one to the site. One is free to navigate and create subgroups that allow people who share one's interests to be part of the community.

In the many online highways available in cyberspace, it is difficult to know the percentage of people of African heritage but what I do know is that the online platform is being used extensively by many people who believe that Africa matters but lack organization.

Contrary to social networking, human social organization is more complex. In the case of nation building, nationalism can be toxic as expecting leaders to think for citizens can be counterproductive.

The human spirit is difficult if not impossible to manage given that human beings need to be free to make their own choices.

People want privacy and yet we all want to be recognized and acknowledged.

Unlike other creatures on earth human beings have a voice and a mind. Communication is a critical part of human civilization.

Work is part of human civilization. The labor market exists to allocate human time so that those who need it can purchase it efficiently and effectively.

It is incumbent upon the people who need to sell time to ensure that the market can appreciate what is between their ears in as much as any human being who needs to find a social partner cannot do is without reaching networking.

Notwithstanding, it is not rare to find people who need to be known so that they can access opportunities; taking pride in withholding critical information about themselves on their profiles.

Some even take pride in withholding their photographs forgetting that business is best done between people who know each other.

Personally, I find it easier to remember faces than names on business cards.

It is not unusual that in many instances I find myself in embarrassing situations where I cannot remember the name associated with a face that I am familiar with.

As a first generation corporate player, I have come to appreciate the power social networking in my life as well as business.

It is for this reason that I chose to join as many social networking sites as I can.

This has allowed me to connect with many long lost friends, business associates and family.

What is striking about the history of corporate South Africa, for example, is that its architects were alive to the imperative of social networking.

They were connected and yet many of use the medium to complain about the past instead of using it to advantage.
There is no impediment to us as Africans creating our own Facebook, for instance, so that we can know each other.

Imagine all the online users who believe in Africa were connected and using one highway, how much power would that constitute.

It means we can convert our anger about the past into a new window of opportunity.

How many of us use the social networks to show case what we are able to offer to the goods and services markets?
Some use the platforms for politics and negative messages.
The future of humanity lies in these very platforms that we have failed to harness for good in Africa.

The mobile phone will be the future terminal device for content and it may very well be the case that the distribution channel for services like financial products, for example, will be through mobile connectivity.

If technology cannot undermine nationalism, how can we harness it for common good?

We need to invest in a new language. Calling myself Zimbabwean simply because I was born in Zimbabwe is akin to creating a social networking that can discriminate notwithstanding the fact that if a day were to arrive when 

I can tell who is and who is not Zimbabwean, for instance, just by looking a how the person looks then that would be a sad day for Africa.

In the online world, if I have products to sell, I could care less what the color skin the seller is in as much as when I go to a supermarket the last thing on my mind is the color of skin of the producer of the product that I need to purchase.

The online community has grown because it is open. Many of our societies can grow because of the freedom they can offer and not due to a sentimental attachment to land or minerals.

Just to make sure that we are not technologically compliant, we also have own social community called Africa Heritage Society www.africa-heritage.com that has been created to provide a common highway for people who believe that the future is their business.

If you are a professional and wish to position yourself in the job market this is your address and equally if you are a businessman who wants to access a bigger market in Africa then this can be your vehicle.

The key is that you must not expect anyone to do what you can do for yourself i.e. join in the expectation that it is someone else's obligation to find you a better job, for instance.

Any successful nation state has to be underpinned by hard working citizens. It is the pride and work ethic of citizens that gives character to a nation state.
What is important is that we use such online platform to create our own personal subgroups from which suppliers and purchasers can tap into.

If you join alone and refuse to persuade your circle of friends to be part of the highway then you are only doing yourself as disserve.

A country that expects a head of state to provide solutions to the challenges of citizens is doomed to fail.

Each day, citizens get out of their beds and face the world only to better their lives and not because they wish to please someone else.

We also have created a purely networking site, www.myafriface.com that seeks to connect people who believe that through an investment in networking they can better themselves.

We have a lot to do and working together we can do more. A highway that is used has more value to the users. It is the users who can make the difference.

Social networking can be our new business platform. If I am a doctor, for example, I would see these platforms as a mechanism for reaching out to more patience and allowing me to provide a standardized wholesale solutions.
People with a "can do" attitude can scale the heights in their self-interest.