By Nikita Gomes Achadinha “It’s great to be acknowledged by an objective organisation outside our direct industry, especially when the company that compiled the Top 200 list is such a respected media entity.” That is what Jason Elk, CEO of Zoopy, says it means to be on the Mail & Guardian’s Top 200 Young South Africans You Must Take to Lunch list. Adds writer and blogger, Khadija Patel: “I think it is an acknowledgement of our collective potential to affect the future of the world, to affect eternity. It’s a door to an opportunity to work harder, learn more, do more.” These fine, young South Africans are definitely people I would like to have lunch with, and looking at the rest of those who made it onto the list this year, the Mail & Guardian has a great understanding of the kind of credibility that makes someone an example to the youth of our country. When the option of doing a feature first came up on the list at COUP headquarters, there was much excitement and more than a little postulation over who would make it onto the list. Someone even offered up, “One of us needs to make it onto this list next year!” Besides the fact that we consider ourselves to have a few potential list-makers in our midst, what is more important to note than our aspirations is the calibre of people who actually do make it on to the list, and what those who set their sights on making the list in future are working towards. The reward of being placed among those ranks is evident when Patel explains her reaction to the call from Verashni Pillay of the Mail & Guardian to pass on the good news. “I was thrilled! As I continued speaking to [Pillay] I began jumping up and down repeatedly like an excited kid. When I got off the phone I rushed to tell my parents and then a good friend of mine. As I spoke to my friend, my laughter soon turned to tears. I was overwhelmed.” be first So what really made Elk and Patel worthy enough to be on the list? Elk has been growing Zoopy for “four years with an awesome team”, and they plan to become “leaders in the mobile/online video industry in South Africa”. Patel has a column on the Daily Maverick and is editor of a Muslim community magazine, and feels the rapidly changing nature of technology makes it an exciting time to be a journalist. “The convergence of social media platforms with traditional news mediums means we’re creating a virtual theatre with what we do.” And so, we got onto the topic of social media, again. It seems I can’t write a single article without mentioning social media somehow, somewhere. Admittedly, I’d have to say that instead of descending into monotony, each time it comes up, it’s with an emphasis on the many different, direct effects it has on our industries. If you can’t be creative Making it on to the Mail & Guardian’s list COUP JUNE 2011 04