City people held their inaugural Social Media awards in February with a lot of eminent people, banks, politicians and Government agencies being nominated and picking awards. One of the most important awards of the night though was for the ‘Innovative use of Social media’
In this Category, the winner was Giditraffic, the social media handle and platform that keep Lagosians and indeed Nigerians abreast of the traffic situation in their environs. They beat out Nigeria News Desk another very innovative user of the social media platform Twitter.
Giditraffic has been around since September of 2011 and have since then provided support for numerous people. Topics ranging from traffic situations and the best routes with which to avoid them, to the best places to take a date, or even which movie is worth watching. Giditraffic has evolved to something more than just a place to get traffic updates, it’s now a hub of information for the Lagosian on the move.
This information hub has also been used for life saving. In 2012 when the #OccupyNigeria movement started, there was a woman in labour unable to get the required medical attention due to hospitals being closed and refusing to take people in. The woman tweeted at Giditraffic and with amazing alacrity they found a certified midwife who was willing to perform the child birth. The baby was born without complications.
They were nominated for the Shorty award, which recognizes people and organizations that produce short, real time content on the internet, in 2012. They have also won the Future Award for best use of Social Media also in 2012.
Now in their fifth year of service, Giditraffic is still using social media in an innovative way, just take a look at their #Skyfire photos, some of which are truly breath taking. They have no plans of slowing down and according to Bethia, their public relations officer, plans are underway to spread their tentacles to other states in the country, determined to give up to the minute traffic reports and general information to the Nigerian populace.
Their motto is ‘Lending each other and eye’, it’s an apt motto, for it captures their essence and by extension the essence of a new generation of Nigerians who keep an eye out for each other through this amazing tool called Social media.