“It started from a place of anger,” says Kaya FM presenter and medical doctor, Dr Sindi van Zyl. “I joined Twitter in February 2011. I used to tweet about public sector facilities and systems that weren’t working. A Twitter user called Nyakallo Lephoto, messaged me one day and suggested I change my stance from complaining to educating. That was my Aha! moment and I haven’t looked back since!” Today, the Sidebar with Sindi presenter has a whopping 124 000 followers on Twitter and credits this to being consistent about what she talks about.
“I’ve narrowed my medical tweets down to a handful of diseases. Now I focus primarily on HIV and refer other questions to my colleagues on the timeline,” she adds. The doctor says that social media has opened many doors for her – including the one at Kaya FM. “Since radio is my first love, I jumped at the opportunity to be a guest presenter for Influential Fridays at the station on 3 November 2017. Two years later, I’m hosting my own show and talking about matters close to my heart.”
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NEW BRIDGE
Van Zyl is not the only one who has used social media to advance her career. A number of young people are finding employment through digital platforms. Did you know that comedian, presenter and actor Moshe Ndiki, also known as Prince on Mzansi Magic’s The Queen, started o his career journey on YouTube? He’d been unemployed after graduating and his friend suggested they post a random video that he had made on YouTube.
