Interview with Charl Norman
Posted on 28 January, 2009 at 10:39 AM
There are already 23 Comments
About the Show
Today we interview one of South Africa's most respected social network gurus. He was creating social networks while we were still on skateboards in Grade 8.
He owns & runs multiple social networks and recently one of those sites got acquired by one of the biggest companies in the world.
He is young, dynamic and smarter than most of us.
His name is Charl Norman, and today he is on the Couch.
Below is a list of Charl's projects:
- www.blueworld.co.za - South African social community
- www.zoopedup.com - Niche social network - Cyber Car Garages
- www.carblog.co.za - SA's leading car blog - Top 10 blog in SA overall
- www.bandwidthblog.com - Technology startup news - Nominated for best tech blog in SA Blog Awards 2008
- www.sarugbyblog.com - SA Rugby news
- www.iphonefan.co.za - iPhone and Apple news in general
- www.charlnorman.com - Personal blog
- www.seoblog.co.za - Search marketing ideas and tips - colab with Rafiq (webaddict.co.za)
Related Shows
- (9) Episode 183 - Social Media Ends Outside
- (23) Episode 182 - One Year Anniversary
- (7) Episode 181 - Social Media Etiquette and Making Money Offline
- (8) Episode 176 - Online Marketing Talk
- (15) Episode 169 - Creative Block
User Comments
Marc Perel 28 Jan, 2009 13:01:11 PM
@Ash - Cool!
@Charl - No worries man, it was a pleasure having you on the show, I see Adii's already commenting on your smooth performance.
PS. David would also comment but the power point at his desk just blew, so he's PC-Less (#FAIL)
Charl Norman 28 Jan, 2009 13:37:48 PM
Disclaimer: I dont consider myself a 'social media guru' (whatever that means) - just in case, before Vince M rocks up and tears into me (:
@adii Not quite Rockstar ego yet tho.. getting there
@Bagley hahahaha... monetize!
@uno props dude.. you helped start it all
@alex - thanks!
JP van der Spuy 28 Jan, 2009 13:54:39 PM
Wow dude, brilliant interview!
Provides quite a neat little background on where it all started and where it's all heading. Very inforative, nice1.
David Perel 28 Jan, 2009 14:02:22 PM
Finally back online after the panic of the wall plug blowing up in my face :P
First off... talk about an explosion of comments. Must be an FtC record. Thanks everyone.
@Charl - It was awesome having you on the show bru. Great interview... slickster ;)
@JBagely - Dude I only heard that line after you mentioned it... I cracked myself up on this side. Very Sneaky, I dig it.
Ross 28 Jan, 2009 14:57:09 PM
Interesting to see you on video and speaking your mind Charl. Silicon valley sounds interesting. Good luck into the future, you deserve it. Working smarter...
idale 28 Jan, 2009 15:14:38 PM
I think the right word is 'suave'. Nice one guys, good interview, good chat. I think I'll be watching future episodes from now on...
Marc Perel 28 Jan, 2009 15:16:21 PM
@iDale - thanks for clearing that up, you're 100% on that one.
Great to have you on board :-D
Rhys 28 Jan, 2009 15:30:54 PM
Hey man,
Just some questions. Did you buy Blueworld in 2004 or at a later stage? Were you involved with the original developers in its creation? Lastly, what year did you turn it into the more than just a website that hosts pictures of nightclubs?
Thanks Rhys
Chris M 28 Jan, 2009 16:24:38 PM
Big up Charl for standing up and annoucing "100,000" users, it'll go up and up and up :)
Matt 28 Jan, 2009 19:52:21 PM
Awesome show guys. Really enjoying your interview shows. :)
@Charl: Was cool to hear about your Silicon Valley trip and how you got started in the web world. Thanks for the insight. :)
Seags 28 Jan, 2009 23:54:47 PM
Flippin amazing interview guys, really enjoyed this one.
Charl it has been cool seeing you come from a 1 page tiny website that looked like some comment block to your network you have today.
Charl Norman 29 Jan, 2009 09:02:09 AM
@Rhys, cool questions
My business partners acquired a very low key Blueworld from entrepreneurs in PE at the end of 2004
I then came on board as a technical adviser and added basic user profiles.. etc
From the start Blueworld had Gender Bash (guys post questions to girls and vice versa) and other community areas so it was never "more than just a website that hosts pictures of nightclubs? "
Since then we have relaunched the site numerous times as our understanding of the social web has grown
There's obviously some small details I left out in the interview as its a casual chat not a documentary on Blueworld
Rhys 29 Jan, 2009 09:50:47 AM
@Charl Norman
Thanks for answering the questions man. Obviously you couldn't give all the details in the interview. Really appreciate the background info and all the best for whatever projects you are involved in.
Nick 29 Jan, 2009 11:54:31 AM
Great post, I really enjoy these interviews. You've obviously dedicated yourselves to procuring quality content for your videos, I look forward to more!
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Ash 28 Jan, 2009 11:51:00 AM
Awesome in depth interview guys. You guys were really grilling Charl. Anyways keep up the good work, I'm off to go sign up on blueworld.