‘I love sending postcards to my wife and kids when I travel. Blue Mountain creates a unique form of communication that comes alive. Their electronic postcards come with real audio, with romantic poetry. It conjures up in my mind that once I used to write romantic poetry.”
The minister of telecommunications and broadcasting’s hectic schedule means he spends a lot of his time travelling, often overseas. He likes to stay in instant contact with his family, which the Web is perfect for.
He lists the premier telecommunications and financial publications as those he spends his work time reading. He compliments the government’s sites, especially the Government Communication and Information System and parliamentary sites.
Blue Mountain was one of the innovators in electronic postcards. It offers a range of cards, for love messages, birthday wishes, Shakespeare’s sonnets, celebrations (like Mardi Gras, a Chinese lantern festival, Palm Sunday) and a variety of theme days (St Patrick’s Day, Women’s Day, even Dentist’s Day) – with a choice of musical accompaniment.
The cards are sent to a loved one’s e-mail address, by way of an Internet link that takes them directly to the personalised greeting. Senders can add their own messages to a card, and even write their own poetry. Blue Mountain Arts, which operates the site, also runs a poetry competition.
”What little there is for families and entertainment [on the Net] is Pamela Anderson or porn,” says Naidoo. That is why a site like Blue Mountain is so pleasing, he adds.
The Department of Communication’s website is at .
Jay Naidoo spoke to David Shapshak