It is probably the first time in the world that so many political leaders contesting an election have come together on a single platform to blog about their experiences. It is the first time in Africa that major politicians are blogging online as part of their campaigns.
Readers can catch a fascinating glimpse of what is happening in the lives of party leaders like Patricia De Lille, Tony Leon and Mangosuthu Buthelezi. All South Africa's major political parties were invited to blog on the Mail & Guardian Online, and most took up the invitation enthusiastically. The parties not represented on the blog decided not to take up the offer.
According to Mail & Guardian Online Publisher, Matthew Buckland, this initiative is an opportunity for readers to see another side of their political leaders and put comments directly to them via their blogs.
"In many way blogs are a very accessible and democratic form of publishing - and we are taking this a step further by using blogs to further democracy," says Buckland.
Vincent Maher, head of the Rhodes New Media Laboratory, believes that this level of commitment by politicians to the creation of a public space on the Internet is an important step in South Africa's democracy.
"I think that the young politicians of the future must realise that they compete for reputation not only at rallies and in the streets but on a global stage of public opinion and that their words will last forever on the internet," adds Maher.
The M&G Online is, according to Nielsen//Netratings and the Online Publishers Association (OPA), one of South Africa's biggest online publishers with more than 400 000 readers and two million page impressions per month.
The Rhodes University New Media Lab is a multimedia journalism education unit at the Rhodes University School of Journalism and Media Studies. It focuses on pushing the technical boundaries of journalism and the Internet.
You can see the blogs at http://electionblogs.mg.co.za.
