Mix together elements of YouTube, Flickr and MySpace and you’ve got Zoopy, a social networking site for the country of South Africa. Starting back in March 2007, the site bases its operations off the premise of sharing photos and video for your network of friends, or even complete strangers.

Recently introduced to the site is the Zoopy Street Cam, a first-person, man-on-the-street type format where people are directly asked their opinions on issues in and about South Africa. Even local politicians are jumping on the Zoopy bandwagon, including Cape Town mayor and leader of the Democratic Alliance Helen Zille. According to Zille, “[Zoopy] is an incredibly promising project.” This sort of political transparency is refreshing, especially given how reticent a majority of politicians here in the States have been in terms of embracing technology for reaching out to their constituents.

While Zoopy is but one of a host of social networking sites, there’s not much behind their smiley yellow mascot that you wouldn’t find on any other social networking site. What Zoopy does have going for it is context. Pictures and videos are local to South Africa, giving people an inside look into their country, their customs and more. But without any revolutionary features or a new perspective or take on the social networking landscape, Zoopy stands the chance of fading into the background of larger, less local competitors.

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