Standard Bank turns tweets into stationery with Tweet Machine campaign

Standard Bank to launch first of its kind social campaign on Twitter to show that inspiring and positive tweets can be turned into tangible educational tools with the help of 3D printing and laser cutters.

For every action there’s an equal and opposite reaction. Some call it the concept of cause and effect. Others would term it reaping what you sow. At Standard Bank we like to say that #GoodFollowsGood.

Everything we do in life sets in motion a chain of events. Our actions today have a ripple effect that influences our individual and collective futures. This is why we at Standard Bank choose to use our business decisions to promote positive change on our continent, and indeed the world. To demonstrate the impact of our philosophy we are launching our Tweet Machine campaign to show that positive actions and words can be transformed into tangible outcomes that have a lasting impact on people’s lives.

From August to October, Standard Bank will launch the Tweet Machine, a mobile industrial container that acts as a factory of sorts by linking the global reach of social media to 3D printers and laser cutters, which will produce 1000 set square and ruler kits for grade 6 learners. This is the first installation in the world to turn tweets into educational tools.

The idea will be to kick-start a positive impact initiative on social media by encouraging South Africans to tweet about something positive using the #GoodFollowsGood hashtag. Standard Bank will then facilitate the forward payment of this positivity by transforming these tweets into stationery sets for learners that are part of the Standard Bank Tutuwa-BRIDGE School Programme. The five-year partnership with Tutuwa-BRIDGE seeks to support schools in improving learner outcomes. Both learners and school performance will be monitored to ensure that the impact is effective and long-lasting.

The technology powering the Tweet Machine is a customised Python programming script on a master computer to scrape Twitter and other social media channels like Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn for posts using the #GoodFollowsGood hashtag. The social media posts will be fed to a special micro-controller unit called a Raspberry Pi, which will send the appropriate print commands to the 3D printers and laser cutters housed inside the Standard Bank Tweet Machine.

“Our goal is to use the power of social media to illustrate that everything you do sets something in motion. The Tweet Machine activation is a live demonstration of positive words having a positive impact, while at the same time creating tangible education tools to benefit young learners,” said Katlego Mahleka, Senior Manager, Brand at Standard Bank Group.

The public will be able to view and contribute to the stationery by posting on social media and feeding directly into the printers and laser cutters as they work. The activations will be held at a two venues in Johannesburg: Melrose Arch Square (30 August - 2 September) and Singularity U Summit (15-18 October).

The lasting impact of this activation will continue into the future, as two of the three 3D printers will be donated to an all-female black cooperative made up of dependants of South African military veterans. Thanks to an upskilling programme conducted by our Business Development Service Provider, Human Capital Learning Solutions (HCLS), in partnership with the Vaal University of Technology (VUT) and the Standard Bank Enterprise Development team, the cooperate will use the 3D printers to establish an innovation and education centre called InfoTech Café, which will provide IT services to the Sedibeng community. The InfoTech Café will leverage the 3D printers to enable young entrepreneurs and engineers to prototype design concepts for the purpose of making proposals to potential investors. In addition, the centre will provide assistance to learners with school projects; printing solutions for small business and community events; and small business services including Companies and Intellectual Properties Commission (CIPC) registrations, business planning, marketing collateral design, as well as Information Technology (IT) training. The remaining printer will be given to the Standard Bank Incubator to help small businesses develop concept prototypes.

Standard Bank’s #GoodFollowsGood initiative forms part of our on-going ambition to be more than just a bank to our customers and the communities we serve. By opting to do the right business, the right way, we can positively influence society. When we fund an education, a life is changed.

As a bank, we understand that there is more to what we do than just finance. We directly impact people’s lives. Whether it’s in skills development, infrastructure, or education, we believe that any investment we make should have a positive impact on both current and future generations. Africa has enormous potential and we are committed to moving her forward by driving inclusive economic growth, developing and implementing better ways of doing business, and supporting economic integration and development across the continent.