Interactive ad: Johannesburg Zoo: BG: The Tweeting Honey Badger

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Top 6: July 17th 2013

Looking for an ingenious way to build its digital presence the Johannesburg Zoo has handed over its social media account to 'someone' who knows the Zoo inside out. BG, a honey badger residing in the Zoo (and its mascot) has taken on the responsibility.How is this possible? Well, it’s largely due to his high-tech enclosure, cleverly devised by award-winning digital agency in the Draftfcb group, South Africa , HelloComputer. The system developed and installed by Hellocomputer comprises motion-triggered, animal-friendly sensors installed at several places in the spacious enclosure and connected wirelessly to an on-site base station located outside the enclosure. The base station is itself connected to the agency’s server, which hosts a database of pre-written tweets. As BG moves around his camp, he trips the sensors which then send relevant tweets. If he is munching at his food bowl, he’ll be sure to trigger a food-related tweet, for example.You can follow BG at @zootweetslive or #tweetingbadger.