Social Media seems to be powering just about everything on the web. Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, RSS, Mashups, etc are the engines that run things on the web. They seem to be telling us: “No matter what you do, you’ll need us”.

Yeah, the conversation on today’s web is different. It is social. It is vibrant. It is youthful. It is emergent. It is fun. It is compelling. It is full of insight. And here comes the best part…it is free!

Since I joined the conversation, I’ve been exploring more and more opportunities to make a huge impact. That’s why I’m co-launching a social media lifestyle brand called Sowambe, together with Francis Oghuma, a young and vibrant dude with some of the best PR skills you can ever get.

Our goal is to impact positively in the emerging digital media industry within Africa through a variety of products. At the moment, there’s a lot of talking going on, but there’s no walking the talk.

As a Pan-African social media lifestyle brand, Sowambe showcases social media adopters, talents and celebrities as well as social media-based web platforms in Nigeria and Africa. It also tracks social media trends and provides insights and analysis into the emerging social media industry.

Sowambe is simply an acronym for: Social Web Addicts in Media, Business and Entertainment. In the yoruba language, it means “are you there?”. So we’re asking: Are you there? Are you in the social media space? Are you a social web addict?

Our first product is the Sowambe Magazine featuring celebrities using social media, companies adopting social media, as well as social media news, trends and events around Nigeria and Africa.

The first edition is expected to be published in October 2010. In the meantime, you can pre-subscribe for the magazine by visiting the Sowambe landing page. The first 100 pre-subscriptions will receive FREE copies. You can also follow updates on Twitter and Facebook.

Loy Okezie is Founder of Startups Nigeria