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LEARNING: Some of Joseph’s students working on the project

FACEBOOK has over one million users in the UK but how many of us know the science behind the popular social network?

It was this knowledge that helped its founder, 27-year-old Mark Zuckerberg, leap from introverted computer geek to the world’s youngest billionaire in just four years despite dropping out of Harvard.

Jude Joseph, 42, who posed the question, told The Voice: “Young people spend plenty of time on social media but most of them have no idea how it’s put together.”

The IT consultant, who has lent his expertise to big name organisations such as Reuters, HSBC and Saatchi & Saatchi now wants to inspire young people to not just use sites like Twitter, MySpace and LinkedIn but think about creating their own.

He has set up Productive Action Integrated Youth Development (PAID) earlier this year inviting 20 interested young people to learn skills such as photography, video editing, and designing and building websites using programmes like Photoshop, Dreamweaver and basic HTML.

TALENT

Joseph said he hoped the project would find someone as talented as Facebook’s famous baby-faced president.
“We have an idea at the moment”, he told The Voice. “It is a social network programme which is what people are already familiar with, Twitter, Facebook, that kind of thing. We want the young people who work with us to use their initiative to develop it to the point where they could make money from it.”

EXCITED: Jude Joseph

Based at the Croydon Voluntary Action Resource Centre in south London, the project is self-funded but scheduled to run until November. However it could be extended if more funding is secured.

Joseph said: “It is creative and fun and gives them the opportunity to develop a career from it by gaining work experience through volunteering which can lead to long-term employment.”

He added that the scheme had “all the ingredients that appeal to young people” by incorporating their interests with a chance to contribute something to society.

The Brunel IT graduate who has a Masters in internet and multi-media engineering said it was the type of model the Government should be replicating.

“Programmes such as this provide young people with the skills and experience to become useful members of society. With their focus on such positive activities, they would have no need to riot or loot.”

For more information, contact Joseph Media on 020 8253 1264 or visit www.josephmedia.com