Justin Hartman

Afrigator Internet

Afrigator Internet

Afrigator Internet (Pty) Ltd is a technology company based in Cape Town, South Africa. In April 2007 we launched Afrigator - a social media aggregator and blog directory - and more recently we launched Adgator - a targeted blog advertising network.

• Startup type: Company
• Status: Active
• Stage: Growth

My day job and passion involves running Afrigator, a startup which I co-founded in April 2007 and later sold a stake to MIH Print Africa.

Prior to moving to Cape Town, South Africa to work on Afrigator full time I was the Digital Innovation Manager of Avusa’s (formerly Johncom) online and mobile excellence unit known as the iLab where I managed a small team of dedicated and enthusiastic Web 2.0 gurus.

In August 2007 I joined The Times newspaper as the New Media Strategist and I was heavily involved in conceptualising and implementing the web-based strategies for South Africa’s first interactive newspaper.

I also started my own web development and hosting company in October 2003 which I ran for just over three years. This is where I really learnt my trade and during this time I was heavily involved in various Web 2.0 developments which included a South African search engine, a free blogging platform as well as two Top Site directories.

I have worked in both the Media and Internet space since early 1997 with companies that include Media24, CareerJunction, True Love and FinWeek.

Employer:	Afrigator Internet (Pty) Ltd
Position:	MD and co-founder
Time period:	March 2007 - Present
Description:	Afrigator uses social media tools and technologies to showcase the best digital content that Africa has to offer, ranging from syndicated news feeds to blog posts, podcasts, videos and images. We built the platform from scratch. Our dream is that it will evolve into the first choice destination for anyone wanting to get a taste of the social vibe on the African continent at any given point. We’d also like to use the site to build useful data around social media users and producers in Africa. Afrigator has already enjoyed a fair amount of success with a steady 25% month-on-month growth rate, and the wonderful accolade of having being listed as #20 of 31 “top non-US startups to watch worldwide” by Business 2.0 (money.cnn.com). We’ve also been featured on Read/WriteWeb, Go2Web20.net, KillerStartups.com and we’ve received some press coverage in the Financial Mail, The Times, Intelligence Magazine as well as on Bizcommunity.

Employer:	Avusa Media
Position:	Digital Innovation Manager
Time period:	January 2008 - August 2008
Description:	I am the Digital Innovation Manager of Avusa’s (formerly Johncom) new online and mobile excellence unit known as the iLab where I manage a small team of dedicated and enthusiastic Web 2.0 gurus. Together we create commercial applications for online, traditional media and the mobile space.

Employer:	The Times
Position:	New Media Strategist
Time period:	July 2007 - January 2008
Description:	The Times is a new daily newspaper distributed to subscribers of the Sunday Times. Through various innovations and operational plans The Times has become the first Interactive newspaper in South Africa. As a New Media Strategist I am responsible for analysing, advising and formulating Web based strategies for the company. I am involved on a technical and strategic level.

Employer:	Ja! Productions (Pty) Ltd
Position:	Web Strategy Consultant
Time period:	January 2007 - November 2007
Description:	Ja! Productions (Pty) Ltd is an electronic media production company. Using the brand TWAC (www.twac.co.za). Twac produces comedy for mobile entertainment – the first South African company to produce humour specifically made for mobile viewing – and they also facilitate quality user generated content. My responsibilities include: 1. Systems administration for both mobile and web. 2. Project management for the web development. 3. Manage development team to ensure the projects are completed on time. 4. Analyse current business and operational trends and provide advice on implementation of new strategies.

Employer:	Synaptix (Pty) Ltd
Position:	Managing Director
Time period:	February 2005 - December 2006
Description:	Synaptix (Pty) Ltd was formed in March 2005 and is a technology solutions provider. The core focus of Synaptix was in providing online survey technology to the corporate market with the idea to focus on broader technology infrastructure in the mid to long term future of the company.

Employer:	CareerJunction
Position:	Web Graphic Designer / Content Manager
Time period:	January 2004 - January 2005
Description:	I am employed at CareerJunction as the Web Graphic Design and Content Manager for the CareerJunction website but within a few months I had more than proved my worth. My job description includes the following responsibilities: 1. All print based advertising 2. All online advertising 3. Maintaining the content on CareerJunction and partner websites. 4. Email communications, i.e. HTML newsletters, and emails 5. Conceptualising Advetising campaigns In October of 2004 I was commission with the task of putting together an e-marketing strategy for the 2005/2006 fiscal year. This incorporated recommendations for: Online advertising Search Engine Optimisation Viral Marketing campaigns Based on my recommendations a plan of action was formed and the campaign has effectively begun in 2005.

Employer:	Hartman Productions
Position:	Managing Director
Time period:	September 2003 - September 2006
Description:	Justin Hartman established Hartman Productions in 1997. At that time Justin already had extensive experience in web site design, multimedia and print design. Since then he has increased his knowledgebase in keeping with the ever-changing expansion of information technology. The company as a whole benefited from this and grew into a very competitive concern. We are proud of our ability to design with the efficiency that results in remarkably low-cost websites. This is one of the reasons we have been able to build lasting relationships with our clients. In February 2004 we started a web hosting division and we offer clients latest-technology web hosting with Windows and Unix packages and reliable servers that guarantee 99% uptime. Hartman Productions strive to meet our clients' requirements across all platforms and mediums. We aim to build websites with optimised searchability, usability and accessibility, coupled with the highest degree of cost-efficiency.

Employer:	Don't-Q (Pty) Ltd
Position:	Managing Director
Time period:	February 2003 - January 2004
Description:	Dont-Q provided services to the public and corporate sector that relates to vehicle licensing, home affairs, visa applications and UK immigration solutions. My duties were as follows: Marketing and developing the brand name Financial operations and capital investment Staff management, employment, disciplinary actions, etc. Maintenance, design and optimisation of the Website Business operations Advertising development and design as well as placement for adverts in publications and the Internet Budgeting, Wages and Salaries Project Management Business Development My achievements during my time at Dont-Q are as follows: Successfully signed up new deals with Investec Private Bank and Alexander Forbes whereby we became preferred suppliers to all of their employees. Spearheaded the successful application to become Proudly South African members. Secured deals with TransUnion ITC, Netflorist, Kalahari.net and Flowers.co.za to sell their products via our website.

Employer:	True Love Magazine
Position:	Acting Art Director / Assistant Production Editor
Time period:	July 2001 - January 2003
Description:	As assistant production editor my roles include: Overseeing all production issues with the magazine. Dealing with the various factories in JHB and CTN. Doing Layout and design work on Quark 4.1, Photoshop 6.0 and Freehand 9.0. My Managerial duties included Human Resources work, managing of production team and budgeting and financing. In July 2002 I was asked to stand in as the Art Director and Production Editor. My new roles included: Ensuring layouts and designs are strictly adhered to Creating new designs for the magazine Solely responsible to manage the Production Department as well as Reproduction Department in Cape Town Budgeting and Financing Ensuring production deadlines are met and coordinated in the proper way

Employer:	Finance Week / Finweek
Position:	Layout Artist
Time period:	December 1997 - July 2001
Description:	Finance week was my starting point in the Media sector and it gave me a great platform to learn and achieve many things in the space of time that I was employed there. Being a financial magazine I was forced to learn not only the ins and outs of the magazine but also to improve on my analytical and financial skills to understand what the magazine content entailed. Within a few months the current magazine layout artist left the magazine and I was once again entrusted into a very important position of doing the layout for the entire magazine. My responsibilities now included: Layout of entire weekly magazine 40 to 50 editorial pages each week done on a Monday and Tuesday. Layout of all supplements and corporate profiles to Finance week 2 to 3 supplements of 12 to 24 pages each week done on Thursday and Friday. I also had to ensure that pre- and post-production was done correctly and that it all ran smoothly and according to production schedule.

Awards:

December 2008: Afrigator voted one of the Top 10 International Products for 2008 by ReadWriteWeb (featured in the New York Times). December 2008: ReadWriteWeb gives Afrigator an honourable mention in Top 10 RSS and Syndication Products of 2008 (featured in the New York Times). November 2007: Read/WriteWeb writes a glowing review of Afrigator. August 2007: The CNN backed publication, Business 2.0, selected 31 of the world’s hottest non-U.S. startups of which Afrigator is featured at number 20. April 2007: KillerStartups.com rates Afrigator as one of the best in the UGC category. April 2007: Afrigator is featured on Go2Web20.net website. 27 October 1999: PICA award for excellence in Journalism in the Health Sector category. 1998: Runner-up in the Femina feature article competition.