I was recently asked by my magazine editor to carry out a review of a new addition to the social bookmarking scene, the website is called AfricaNe.ws. My first impressions were very good, the site is well laid out and incorporates a warm welcoming feel, something generally lacking in the social networking sector. The site provides an array of news and gossip from around the African continent, this site more than any other shows how fast web 2.0 is progressing through the online world. The site is bound to attract huge support as there are very few media based African websites. To my knowledge this is the first African based social bookmarking website. I feel honored to be the first to review this unique venture.

The AfricaNe.ws site provides the ideal portal for news based publishers and the general public to post their own news or African related stories. The site encapsulates all aspects of African life with each post being listed in its own geographical section. I prefer these types of sites when I am researching a subject or simply catching up on the latest news, the reason is, they provide an unbiased view and they house all the information under one roof. This prevents me having to visit numerous sites whilst gathering information on a particular subject.

The site is easy to navigate and user friendly, it has a comfortable feel to it, this is backed up by the enforcement of a strict editorial policy, this is important as all the information displayed on the site is deemed suitable for all age groups. The use of colors and fonts certainly help to give an African feel to the site.

I managed to catch up with the owner, Mr Mike Kofi Okyere. I asked him for his thoughts on the AfricaNe.ws project and if he had any future plans for developing African themed websites. Mike Kofi informed me, he has always been passionate about providing a news based African website, in the end he decided to incorporate this idea into a social bookmarking network. With web 2.0 products growing daily I see this as a wise forward thinking move. Mike Kofi also went on to state that this would be the first of many African based websites, he would like to be an integral part of the expansion of the Internet within the African Continent. If the AfricaNe.ws venture is anything to go by I am sure Mike Kofi will have some interesting projects lined up for the future.

I give AfricaNe.ws a big thumbs up, I find the whole site generates a refreshing atmosphere, I am sure it will be well received by its members and visitors alike. As this is a totally new venture I imagine the first few months will be slow going; however I expect the site to gather momentum very quickly and in a few years have a multi-million membership base.

I would like to thank Mike Kofi for allowing us to carry out this review of his website, we wish him well with this and other ventures he undertakes in the future.