In the old days we used to say that a person/event/business wasn’t relevant until it had been featured in The Herald. These days we FIRST turn to the internet when researching or making buying/voting/dating/employing choices.
The age old axiom applies to this – the more positive mentions of a particular person/company that we are researching the more comfort we get from making a decision to support that person/company.
I have taken the 17 candidate names for Ward 7 and am going to display the results for each based on an Internet Search for their names e.g.: https://www.google.com/search?q=”alan+straton”.
The searches I did for each were on Google, then I used a free tool (read ‘kinda accurate’) that monitors mentions called Social Searcher and took two numbers from that – the number of mentions found and the number of positive sentiments reported e.g.: https://www.social-searcher.com/social-buzz/?q5=%22alan%20straton%22. Taking the NUMBER of positive results from each I then plotted each on a table of ‘comfort’.
| Candidate | Social Mentions | Social Positivity |
|---|---|---|
| Alan Straton | 91 | 23 |
| Enrico Gavin Mathews | 5 | 0 |
| Brendon Pegram | 17 | 1 |
| Zeeyana Dastager | 17 | 0 |
| Hayden John Cunningham | 10 | 0 |
| Farook Mohammed | 18 | 0 |
| Tobani Mayekiso | 12 | 0 |
| Denise Peterson | 62 | 4 |
| Clayton Leroy Whitebooi | 12 | 0 |
| Henry Irvan Samuels | 1 | 0 |
| Vernon Marlin Oliphant | 3 | 0 |
| Leshay Annaline Armoed | 2 | 0 |
| Sherlaine Joyce Kriel | 3 | 0 |
| Marco Gustavo Southgate | 3 | 0 |
| Mzwabathembu Promise Mfuleni | 1 | 0 |
| Cowan Even Ethan Johnson | 12 | 0 |
| Louise Britz | 20 | 0 |
Top Three Results in each area (excluding the Outlier – see below):
Google Mentions:
- Alan Straton (AIM) – 24 500
- Farook Mohammed (Al Jama-Ah) – 7 900
- Louise Britz (Vryheidsfront Plus) – 933
Social Searcher Mentions:
- Alan Straton (AIM) – 91
- Louise Britz (Vryheidsfront Plus) – 20
- Farook Mohammed (Al Jama-Ah) – 18
Social Searcher Positive Sentiments:
- Alan Straton (AIM) – 23
- Brendon Pegram (DA) – 1
- No 3rd Place as the rest all had 0 positive sentiments
According to the online world there is a clear winner of Ward 7 in terms of ‘comfort’ and ability to track the candidate down online in Alan Straton from the Abantu Integrity Movement (AIM).
All the results:
Alan Straton – AIM:
- Google Mentions: 24 500
- Social Searcher Mentions: 91
- Social Searcher Positive Sentiments: 23
Enrico Gavin Mathews – ANC:
- Google Mentions: 3
- Social Searcher Mentions: 5
- Social Searcher Positive Sentiments: 0
Brendon Pegram – DA:
- Google Mentions: 8
- Social Searcher Mentions: 17
- Social Searcher Positive Sentiments: 1
Zeeyana Dastager – Africa Restoration Alliance:
- Google Mentions: 5
- Social Searcher Mentions: 17
- Social Searcher Positive Sentiments: 0
Hayden John Cunningham – ACDP:
- Google Mentions: 536
- Social Searcher Mentions: 10
- Social Searcher Positive Sentiments: 0
Farook Mohammed – Al Jama-Ah:
- Google Mentions: 7 900
- Social Searcher Mentions: 18
- Social Searcher Positive Sentiments: 0
Tobani Mayekiso – Azanian People’s Organisation:
- Google Mentions: 7
- Social Searcher Mentions: 12
- Social Searcher Positive Sentiments: 0
Denise Peterson – Congress Of The People: (THIS result was an outlier as there are MANY people in the world named Denise Peterson)
- Google Mentions: 13 200
- Social Searcher Mentions: 62
- Social Searcher Positive Sentiments: 4
Clayton Leroy Whitebooi – Economic Freedom Fighters:
- Google Mentions: 3
- Social Searcher Mentions: 12
- Social Searcher Positive Sentiments: 0
Henry Irvan Samuels – Good:
- Google Mentions: 1
- Social Searcher Mentions: 1
- Social Searcher Positive Sentiments: 0
Vernon Marlin Oliphant – Northern Alliance:
- Google Mentions: 2
- Social Searcher Mentions: 3
- Social Searcher Positive Sentiments: 0
Leshay Annaline Armoed – Patriotic Alliance:
- Google Mentions: 2
- Social Searcher Mentions: 2
- Social Searcher Positive Sentiments: 0
Sherlaine Joyce Kriel – Spectrum National Party:
- Google Mentions: 3
- Social Searcher Mentions: 3
- Social Searcher Positive Sentiments: 0
Marco Gustavo Southgate – The Organic Humanity Movement:
- Google Mentions: 3
- Social Searcher Mentions: 3
- Social Searcher Positive Sentiments: 0
Mzwabathembu Promise Mfuleni – United Democratic Movement:
- Google Mentions: 1
- Social Searcher Mentions: 1
- Social Searcher Positive Sentiments: 0
Cowan Even Ethan Johnson – United Independent Movement:
- Google Mentions: 3
- Social Searcher Mentions: 12
- Social Searcher Positive Sentiments: 0
Louise Britz – Vryheidsfront Plus:
- Google Mentions: 933
- Social Searcher Mentions: 20
- Social Searcher Positive Sentiments: 0
AND, Just for Fun – Khusta Jack – AIM Volunteer in Chief:
- Google Mentions: 3270
- Social Searcher Mentions: 64
- Social Searcher Positive Sentiments: 14
Alan Straton
Latest posts by Alan Straton (see all)
- South African Artist MARTHINUS Releases Debut Single - 6 November 2026
- MARTHINUS Releases Heartfelt Debut ‘i miss us not trying’ - 6 November 2026
- LaserWeeder Hire Runs Laser Units for SA Vegetable Growers - 6 November 2026
- HandPrinter Art Runs Linocut Workshops and Beginner Kits - 6 November 2026
- Feature Equipment Adds AM.CO.ZA Tooling and Laser Spares Shelf - 6 November 2026
