Oprah Winfrey Fan Starts BLOG for Oprah's Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa

February 28, 2007; 02:15 AM

Longtime Oprah Winfrey fan, Robin Smith, has started a BLOG dedicated to the new Oprah's Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa also known as: “Oprah’s School”. According to Mr. Smith the genesis for this sprang from a deep admiration of the philanthropic work done by Oprah as well as a keen interest in this project; “The whole idea just seemed really cool so I decided to start this BLOG as sort of clearing house for information”. Please visit the BLOG here: http://www.oprahsschool.com

Oprah’s School opened on January 2nd of this year and represents the culmination of a 2002 promise that Oprah made to former South African President- Nelson Mandela. When asked by Oprah what she could do for the school he replied that she could build a school. So far, the project is expected to cost fifty million dollars with Oprah promising that she would continue to support each girl individually so that they could attend any university in the world.

Mr. Smith says that there are more changes coming; “The BLOG is only the beginning. I am working on a new site as a “home” to the BLOG and other resources pertaining to Oprah’s School. There’s a really nice template that’s being finalized. We’re going to create other resources too, such as a Donate to Oprah’s School page among other things. For now, I am content to let the process define itself as we go.” There is also a Google Group dedicated to Oprah’s School. Robin Smith says this was created to; “…give the friends & fans of Oprah’s School a place to meet and interact.” Visit the Oprah’s School Google Group here: http://groups.google.com/group/oprahsschool

The Oprah’s School site and BLOG is following a search engine marketing strategy from DotVentures. They are a domain name investing and search engine marketing company located in Phoenix, Arizona. Robin says; “The DotVentures’ Model has really given me a framework to operate in that follows a proven path to success. Look for more indications of the DotVentures’ Model as the site evolves.” Visit DotVentures here: http://dotventures.com

Robin says that the Oprah’s School BLOG found some much needed support from the Oprah Fan Site; “I contacted the Webmaster- Moni in Germany and she immediately gave us a link on her site and endorsed us. This was a huge shot in the arm for Oprah’s BLOG right at the beginning.”

What does the future hold for the Oprah’s School BLOG? “I don’t know,” says Robin; “things are kind of happening fast. I’m busy keeping up with the news coming out of Johannesburg, there’s building the site and then there’s the fact that Oprah’s initiative is totally new as well. I suspect that we will morph and grow as the school develops and grows. It’s exciting to be watching this happen. But I do know this; the Oprah’s School BLOG is going to be THE place for news about Oprah’s School.”

Oprah’s School BLOG is a not-for-profit initiative to publicize and promote Oprah Winfrey’s Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa also known as: “Oprah’s School”. Visit the BLOG here: http://www.oprahsschool.com

Robin Smith, [email protected]