South Africa is a brand. It has products much like Apple, Ford Motor Company and Nokia have. The focus of brand South Africa, just like any other brand, is to make money by selling its products.

Sandy beaches, impeccable weather, wild life and cosmopolitan lifestyles are all products of South Africa. So too are murder, rape, theft and racism.

Like all other brands, South Africa has its loyal customers, the people of South Africa that live here, love here and remain optimistic about their future and the future of their fellow countrymen. These people continue to buy the products of brand South Africa simply by making a living in this country.

These people can be compared to die hard Apple fans. They buy an iPod, MacBook Pro, register for iTunes and then late last year, they got their hands on the much anticipated iPhone.

What makes these customers special? They tell everyone they know about their passion and loyalty to the brand.

The opposite also holds true. Negative, passive and skeptic customers of brand South Africa continue to dwell on the bad products that the country is selling to its people. They are confined to a maelstrom of depression, anxiety and paranoia. Many of them are ready to try another brand (like Australia) and many of them have already done so.

What makes these negative customers similar to the loyal ones? They also tell everyone they know about their distrust, dissatisfaction and the desire to change brands. Sometimes they go slightly further by seeking ways to negatively influence your reputation as a means to persuade others to tag along.

Blogging, love it or hate it, is a real and present outlet. An outlet which could either positively influence your brand or provide a springboard of exponentially dire potential for people that don’t particularly like your brand.

Let me give you an example of the power of community building: Darren Gorton, evidently a passionate citizen of this country, recently launched a new “book of blog posts” or “blook” as he called it: A Piece of Significance.

With brand South Africa in mind, he published his intentions of the book on his blog and welcomed any fellow citizen with the same passion to contribute chapters to it. The result, quite frankly, is a piece of significant brand building; something we have not seen since SA Rocks was launched.

The book thus far has 13 chapters, each chapter carefully crafted and published by 13 individuals on their respective blogs. One can only imagine the online presence this book will achieve as more and more chapters are added to it.

Of course, there are individuals out there who despise living here. Seeking out information about rape, murder and xenophobia to highlight to the people of the world why they deem this country as hell on earth.

What they seemingly fail to realise is that a community, a following, an army even, of dedicated, passionate and active people that come together to celebrate the beauty of a brand far outweighs any futile attempt of an individual trying to unjust it.

Let’s tie this together. Your business, regardless of size, shape and format, is a brand. It has customers. Some of them are madly in love with your products and some are looking for a way out. (You might not even know that)

A real and present danger lurks. The internet, mobile communications and community networks present the opportunity for brand haters to break your back. That is if you choose to see it that way.

If you’re anything like Darren, you’ll realise that all these channels provide an opportunity for you to not only create a loyal following of customers, but also allow them to publish their support for the world see.

Read Darren’s Blook: A Piece of Significance

Introduction
1. The new South Africa - is it real?
2. Is SA rich or poor?
3. What the world thinks of South Africa and what our global opportunities are
4. The importance of each individual’s contribution collectively
5. SA Inc and the business of doing business in SA
6. The beauty and grandeur that surrounds us
7. The importance of technology in SA’s global emergence
8. Building brand South Africa
9. Making the most of SA’s creative talents and abilities
10. Innovate for a better South Africa
11. The role of the younger generation in SA, and what we need to do to support them
12. Connecting South Africa - Communities that transcend technology
13. We are African - the role of collaboration in South Africa’s growth