22454 items (0 unread) in 200 feeds
Google has announced in a blog post that its street view maps system is now available in Botswana. That makes Botswana the second country after South Africa to have the street view.
Despite concerns of privacy in Europe and America, Google is still pushing its street view project in countries like the ones in Africa with very weak privacy legislations. Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Greece have all expressed concern with Street View. With street view, Google cars will start driving around the country collecting images which are then processed and then uploaded onto Google maps.
The images stitched together, allows Google maps users to view and navigate 360 degree street-level imagery of streets and sites. Concerns have been raised in situations where Google upload details like car registrations numbers of estate residents onto Google maps. Sometime the street view cams have captured people in intimate positions in their bedrooms.
Google has agreed to blur out people’s faces, license plate numbers, as well as lower the height of the Street View camera to ensure it doesn’t become a “peeping Tom”.
Google has indicated that “Street View driving in Botswana will primarily be focused on the major urban areas of Gaborone and Francistown. Some of the country’s stunning destinations and wildlife reserves will also be photographed, with our cars set to drive around Chobe National Park, Moremi Game Reserve, Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, and the Nxai salt pans.”
Street View is a Google Maps feature launched in 2007 and already available in more than 30 countries around the world. It is also available in Google Earth and on Google Maps for Mobile.
PIC
Gameloft third installment, Modern Combat 3: Fallen Nation which cost $6.99 on other stores is free to download on Samsung Apps . Modern Cobat 3 is one of the best first-person shooters game you will find around
The Modern Combat 3 is named “Fallen Nation” because America is under attack. The bad guys are KPR (Korea, Pakistan and Russia), who have declared war on America and invaded US cities, already destroying Chicago.
Look for it on the Samsung App store and enjoy
The other day I was forced to use Airtel sim card for sometime. Unfortunately I found out that I had no idea on how to access or buy the Airtel bundles for my phone. Yeah.. that is why I have done this post. Airtel Internet Bundles 101 as a future reminder just in case:
Prepaid internet bundlesUnlimited prepaid internet plan
Unlimited postpaid plan (24 hrs)
Unlimited postpaid plan (nights & weekends)
Postpaid internet bundles
Pay as you go Plan
Many people do not understand that settling back in a country like Kenya from an extended stay in a developed country like the USA is hard work and can turn into a career of sorts.
One of the hardest experiences my family and I had to bear was relocating to the USA for a one-year leadership development programme and returning home. The erroneous assumption we made is that this process comprised only minor hitches that we could overcome within weeks of arrival on either continent.
I wouldnt be surprised to have most off Nokia phones bearing the same physical design and also sharing hardware specs. Here is one off the rumour mill bakery. A Nokia 801 according to Smartphone Geeks. According to their “reliable sources”, it features a 4 inch AMOLED Clear Black screen, 640 by 360 pix resolution, 1.4GHz processor and 512 RAM, a 12megapixel Autofocus camera with dual-LED flash, 1080p video recording and the Lumia like polycarbonate cover. But if am not wrong there was a rumour sometime earlier that Nokia N8′s predecessor will be a 16mp camera phone, but ofcourse these things can change, so we will just have to wait and see if this rumour will have some better backing. Eldar Murtazin’s confirming of Nokia devices has come to face critiszm of them actually turning out to be true, I would believe it if it were a Samsung Device he were confirming. But either way, if it were true and it were also true its the last Symbian^3 phone then it would only be easy to expect it to launch on Nokia Carla, which has already leaked snapshots.
Nokia Launches 700, 701 and 600 Symbian Belle smar...Nokia just launched three smartphones in Hong Kong, dubbing them mass market phones. The three phone...
Tweeties for symbian Anna/Belle on Nokia StoreI have noted once and again that there are very few twitter clients on Nokia store that could match ...
Nokia 500, the new Symbian 1Ghz smartphoneNokia announced the first symbian anna 1Ghz smartphone globally. Promises to be cheap with all the s...
Nokia Social for Symbian Belle updated to V1.4.481The Nokia twitter client Social Networking, previously Ovi by Nokia has an update for the Belle devi...
Payuka is an Android mobile App which connect football fans to over 70 top flight league and tournament matches worldwide. Payuka app, the best football app I have seen around is a creation of Tandaza Technologies Limited. Through the app you get the latest scores of the top flight league and tournament matches to your mobile phone.
Payuka enable the users to engage in an active social conversation with other fans anytime, anywhere on the Payuka App. Payuka among others give you all the latest real time scores. Within the app you can share your thoughts and comments while watching the game in real time. All the game conversations are in one place and you can also get your facts right by looking at the league table standings, past results and the fixtures.
I like the fact that if you already have Facebook or Twitter account, then you don’t need to open a new account with payuka app. You can use either Twitter or Facebook account to login straight away making the entry level easy.
The app loads pretty fast and the application is supported for Android Versions 2.1 and above
When running the app for the first time, it prompts the user to select the league/s. From there there are over 70 leagues to choose from. In the process of using the app and you are bored with your choices then there is a button which allows the users to go back and add more or remove the existing leagues. The only downside being that Kenyan league is still not yet represented.
Africa Content
My favorite part of this app is that you can get Live updates for current ongoing African Cup of Nations. Good stuff. But as with the Kenyan League, there is a problem with all African leagues except for the Egypt Premier league and South Africa league. The issue of getting the live feeds from the African leagues is a challenge for the Payuka app developers. I hope the African Leagues can upgrade and start giving live feeds so that such great app can show African football content. It is sad affair if we all can tell live scores for Japan Premier League but can’t tell the ones from our neighbors Uganda or Tanzania.
Available Leagues
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Belarus
Belgium
Brazil
Bulgaria
Chile
China
Colombia
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Ecuador
Egypt
England
Estonia
Finland
France
Georgia
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Israel
Italy
Japan
Korea
Latvia
Lithuania
Mexico
Netherlands
Norway
Paraguay
Peru
Poland
Portugal
Republic of Ireland
Romania
Russia
Saudi Arabia
Scotland
Serbia
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Africa
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
Uruguay
USA
Venezuela
Wales
If you have an android phone go to Android Market and look for Payuka app.

US President Barack Obama’s grandmother, Mama Sarah Obama, sustained bruises during a road accident at Otonglo on the Kisumu-Busia highway at the weekend.
The accident, which took place on Saturday around 9pm, is reported to have occurred after the driver lost control of the vehicle she was in while trying to overtake another.
According to a witness, Mr Dennis Owuor, some residents rushed to the scene after hearing a loud bang at night.
About 5 years ago, investment clubs were all the range in Kenya. Even I was a member of one. Inspired by the Transcentury story, everyone wanted to join in an investment club, and to “become a millionaire”. However, few clubs have been successful, and it seems today fewer young people are part of investment clubs. I however remain an advocate of Investment Clubs for several reasons:
There are other benefits of being part of an investment club; socialisation, a great opportunity to develop leadership skills and many others not enumerated in this post. Are you a member of an investment club? If yes, has your club helped you meet your investment objectives? If not, why aren’t you a member of an investment club?
Look out for the next post on dangers of being part of an investment club.
Washington, DC - Kenya has called on the US to support, without reservation, the proposed motion in the UN Security Council seeking international support for enjoining Kenya forces with African Union Forces in Somalia (AMISOM).
While addressing Kenyans at the Kenya embassy in Washington, D.C Friday, the speaker of the national assembly Hon. Kenneth Marende acknowledged that US has reservations about some areas and language of the resolution, but said the US owed unconditional support to Kenya on the Somalia issue.

Hon Peter Kenneth, the MP for Gatanga constituency, an Assistant Minister in the Ministry of State for Planning, National Development and Vision 2030 and a 2012 Kenya presidential candidate, will be visiting Baltimore, Maryland on Sunday, February 12, 2012 and will be addressing Kenyans at All Nations Gospel Church, 9600 Pulaski Park Drive, Suite 115, Baltimore, MD 21220 at 4pm.
All are invited.

Death has occurred of Mr Julius Githinji at the Presbyterian Hospital in Plano after a short illness. Mr. Githinji worked with the Red Cross in Dallas, TX as a Mobile Unit Assistant.
He was uncle to Mike and Martin Muturi and brother in law to Nancy Kinyua and Margaret Wangechi of Dallas, TX.
Mr. Githinji was admitted in hospital on January 4th 2012 after complaining of back pain. After examination, 2 tumors were found in his back and immediate surgery was performed.
![]() |
The gloatpost on www.direxer.com attributed to themystery ‘Indonesian’ hacker who reportedly defaced 103 Government of Kenyawebsites. |
Nokia CEO, Stephen Elop, is expected in Nairobi this week in a meeting to engage with developers among other assignments. Invites to the event were previously being handled through an Eventbrite posting but was immediately pulled down without warning. Now Nokia has been sending invited to developers discretely, we hear.
It is not clear what other assignments Stephen Elop might have in the country but I am sure that it is not that developer meet-up only. Apart from the courtesy calls on senior government officials we will see, I am sure that Elop will be engaging with business leaders and other techies as Nokia engages in PR overdrive after the rumoured high-profile resignations locally.
More: If Nokia Valued the African Consumer, Why Launch Dumb Phones Here
Meanwhile Nokia has fought resignations of its former GM for East and Southern Africa, Ken Oyolla, and given him a global position based in London. Ken has confirmed that he has been appointed the Global Head of Market Activation for Mobile Phones. It seems that Ken is already in London to take up the position.
Ken previously scheduled to resign from Nokia GM for East and Southern Africa position. He was rumoured to be thinking of moving to a competition locally. As the only African General Manager, Nokia was not going to let him go easily lest they be accused of many things. Our post on Ken’s impending resignation draw lots of interest from Nokia with one senior Nokia East and Southern Africa over-heard at a high-profile event complaining how “the Tech Mtaa article drew the interest of Senior Nokia Executives.”
It would be interesting to see if Stephen Elop would ever launch a smartphone in Africa and not those dumb phones we see everyday. The PR people behind Stephen Elop’s visit need not be so secretive and cagey if at all they want honest participation from Kenyan developers.


A security guard pointing a gun at your chest may not be a perk of first-class travel in the West, but it’s all part of the service on Pakistan’s gleaming Business Express.
Thirteen carriages have been lovingly restored into a sleek sleeper to ply the 1,200 kilometres between Pakistan’s two biggest cities, Lahore and Karachi, on an 18-hour journey that once used to take upwards of 30 hours.
Presided over by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, perhaps keen to front a good-news story as he faces contempt charges, and waved off by excited crowds it is Pakistan’s most luxurious and expensive train.
For 5,000 rupees one way ($55), or 9,000 rupees return, passengers are waited on by a bevy of attentive stewards, as they settle down to watch films on flat-screen TVs or power up laptops.
Afternoon tea and piping hot dinner — courtesy of chefs at five-star hotels are borne into cabins as uniformed guards carrying rifles in the corridors are a reminder of a country troubled by kidnappings, Taliban and Al-Qaeda violence.
Then as night falls, stewards come round with crisp bed linen to turn slightly hard green bunks into inviting beds.
It’s all part of a first private investment of millions of rupees in the ailing state railways, billed as the last hope of preventing a much-loved relic of British rule from falling into ruin.
Corruption, mismanagement and neglect have driven Pakistan Railways to the brink. Since Gilani’s government took power in 2008, the group has retired 104 of 204 trains in a country larger than Britain and Germany combined.
It relies on handouts of $2.8 million a month just to pay salaries and pensions, and faces expected losses of $390 million in the current fiscal year.
But the new train pulled away five minutes early and customers boarded from a brand-new business lounge at Lahore station. Decorated in tinsel, the engine then ground to a halt 10 minutes later to pick up more passengers.

Mariyam Imran, a strikingly beautiful young advisor for cosmetics firm L’Oreal, is delighted. A frequent traveller and terrified by a recent emergency landing on increasingly precarious state airline PIA, she is an avid convert.
“It’s beautiful. It’s relaxing, compared to the trains before. I’m so happy and very comfortable. The staff are good. It’s a marvellous train,” the 22-year-old young mother told AFP.
Travelling with her businessman husband, three-year-old daughter and sister-in-law they are heading to Karachi for a short break before returning to host a Valentine’s Day party at home in Lahore on February 14.
“I hate PIA. Oh my God, that emergency landing. Compared to the plane, this train is best. The service is very good.”
Gilani congratulated staff on what he called a “deluxe” and “state of the art” service that would serve as a trail blazer for future private-public partnerships capable of turning around Pakistan’s depressed economy.
“It’s a big, big initiative from the private sector, which we have welcomed with open arms,” Arif Azim, the chairman of Pakistan Railways, told AFP.
Years of decline saw customers flock to airlines and luxury coaches.
Azim hopes that if the Business Express, and a similar service to be rolled out on February 20 between Lahore, the textiles centre of Faizalabad and Karachi, are a success then investors will sink millions more into saving the railways.
“The sky’s the limit because we’re in a pretty bad shape. We need a totally new fleet. 75 percent of our wagons can be described as vintage,” he said.

Just a few minutes ago I wrote about some teaser Nokia has updated on their Facebook page about availability of a white Lumia 800. I then proceeded to the Nokia products page and was positively surprised to find that its available for sale later this month. And Nokia have already announced it. The 3.7-inch AMOLED ClearBlack curved display phone with a 1.4 GHz processor, hardware acceleration and a graphics processor will be start shipping on February 13th, a white Valentine’s treat. See Below the Gallery of photos.
A white Lumia 800, not a bad thingNokia has just showed a teaser on their Facebook page that is a clear teaser of a white Lumia 800 co...
Nokia Lumia 800, 710 in detailNokia announced 6 new devices earlier today at Nokia world event. These were 4 series 40 devices the...
Nokia Announces 3.5 inch NFC enabled Nokia 603Nokia announced Nokia 603 at an event in Istanbul earlier today. The most recent Symbian Belle produ...
White Samsung Galaxy S II in KoreaSamsung has announced a limited edition white Samsung Galaxy S II for their Korean consumers. This s...

Controversial musician Avril who recently released a new single Kitu Kimoja, is excited about the upcoming launch of the second series of MTV Staying Alive drama Shuga.
Avril, who plays a musician in Shuga: Love, Sex, Money, says the role that forced her to play two characters – namely Miss B’have the performer and Belinda the girl – was shockingly similar to her as a person.
The 25-year-old musician’s character depicted the plight of dating a two-timing gentlemen, and the risks of contracting HIV/Aids in the process.
“Miss B’have doesn’t know that Leo (Nick Mutuma) is in a relationship when they start dating, and in the process drama unfolds,” she says in an interview.
“It was an emotional rollercoaster,” she told Capital Lifestyle, as her role made her develop feelings for her friend and co-star Nick.
There are steamy scenes between Nick and Avril in the production, and the singer says she’s lucky she doesn’t have a boyfriend to answer to when the mini-film is released on February 10.
She confesses that her role and its development were therapeutic for her, because she actually saw herself in Miss B’have and Belinda’s characters.
It is Avril’s first time on the silver screen and the second time Shuga is being shot due to its successful uptake in the first season. Shuga is a project intended to create awareness among the youth on harmful sexual practices that can lead them to contracting the killer virus.
Avril admits that acting in the series refreshed her memory on AIDS and she recently took a test to know her status.
“Mimi nimejipanga,” she says.
Watch the Shuga: Love, Sex, Money trailer here.
Nokia has just showed a teaser on their Facebook page that is a clear teaser of a white Lumia 800 coming. Well, it looks like they listened to critics about the previous teaser about a pink Lumia 800. A white one aint bad after-all, I would use it, though I prefer dark colours on phones. The sequence of the shots show existing phone colours, cyan, magenta and black with their matching nail polish colours, so its beyond anyone’s guess that they have plans to release a white one.
Hold up! They have also updated the colour availability list to include white on the product page, so yes! Its official!
White Samsung Galaxy S II in KoreaSamsung has announced a limited edition white Samsung Galaxy S II for their Korean consumers. This s...
Nokia Lumia 800 in picturesNokia world is happening and I have captured some screenshots of the currently announcing Nokia Lumi...
Nokia Lumia is now available for purchase, but onl...Nokia Lumia 800 is now available for purchase, albeit on contract only. For those who have been dyin...
Nokia Lumia 800, 710 in detailNokia announced 6 new devices earlier today at Nokia world event. These were 4 series 40 devices the...
Kate recently blogged about needing and wanting ordinary folks to come and visit. You know barbers, chefs, mechanics, and supermodels instead of professional preachers, those who want to convert Africa, and doctrine enforcers. I agree, though I appreciate good preachers, or rather good lecturers.
The world needs Jesus, but not Halo Jesus.
Halo Jesus is only interested in pointing out what's wrong with us. He's the one peddling Hosana and Hillsong music and encouraging us to read the bible everyday, or else.
Kenya's got plenty of halos. What we need is Dirty Hands Jesus.
The Jesus who smells like armpits and doesn't know what a pulpit is. The Jesus that we pass up on the street because he stinks and looks homeless instead of Halo Jesus who demands we fall down and worship at his squeaky clean feet.
We need visitors who don't mind hanging out with folks who wear their lack of morals instead of undergarments. We need visitors who can distribute food without tracts. We need visitors who can buy condoms. We need visitors who can sit next to a Rastafarian smoking weed and actually listen to his conspiracy theories. We need visitors who can sip a good whiskey into the wee hours of the night talking about how awesome Captain Pickard was.
Come to think of it those are the same type of donors we need as well.
Insterested? The best way to share the love of God is by being that love.

Different talents are emerging especially in showbiz but the problem is
[<a href="http://storify.com/jgmbugua/nairobi-data-journalism-boot-camp" target="_blank">View the story "Nairobi Data Journalism boot camp" on Storify</a>]



We always read about international artist who indulge into drugs and even others die due to the effects.MJ was one of them who died because

JACKAL NEWS – Sony-signed Nigerian singer-cum-political activist Nneka Egbuna brought her politically-charged hip-hop tunes to Nairobi over the weekend, attracting excited revellers but disappointing others.
Nokia CEO, Stephen Elop, is expected in Nairobi…
More:
Nokia CEO in Nairobi to Engage with Kenyan Developers this Week
“United in Support for Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting”
February 6, 2012
By Chargé d’Affaires Lee Brudvig
This week, the U.S. government stands in solidarity with people around the world and here in Kenya who are observing the ninth annual International Zero Tolerance Day to eradicate Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C). Zero Tolerance Day fosters awareness of the harmful effects of female genital mutilation/cutting and renews the call for communities to abandon this inhumane practice. It is estimated that 100 to 140 million women around the world have undergone this procedure, and three million girls in Africa, including many in Kenya, are at risk every year. In the United States, the procedure also takes place among some immigrant communities, and we have worked with health and legal professionals to sensitize practitioners about the negative consequences of FGM/C.
FGM/C refers to a procedure involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia. It is a practice that occurs across cultures and religions, although in fact no religion mandates the procedure. The practice is often performed employing no anesthesia and often using such instruments as broken glass, tin lids, scissors, unsterilized razors or surgical blades. In Kenya, while surgeons still hold sway, they are increasingly joined by traditional birth attendants, especially in cases where a woman needs to be cut during birth. Some medical personnel also perform the procedure, often motivated by relatively high fees paid for the operation. In addition to causing intense pain and psychological trauma, FGM/C carries with it severe short and long-term health risks, including hemorrhaging, infection, increased risk of HIV transmission, birth complications, and even death.
FGM/C is a practice deeply rooted in beliefs about women’s sexuality, and involves a rite of passage into adulthood that has extremely negative consequences on the health and overall mental well-being of women and girls around the world. It is a practice that hinders women’s access to equality and violates the rights and dignity of women and girls. Some people still defend this practice as part of a cultural or religious tradition. But as U.S Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has reiterated, violence toward women and girls is not cultural. It is criminal.
Around the world, community-based approaches involving women and men, girls and boys, religious leaders, and all members of society are proving to be the only lasting solutions. In fact, community advocates have found that when men come to understand the physical and psychological trauma of FGM/C, they often become the most effective activists for eradication, including fathers who unequivocally refuse to allow their daughters to be subjected to the procedure.
Communities must act collectively to abandon the practice, so that girls and their families who opt out do not become social outcasts. Communities working together to abandon FGM/C can ensure stronger, healthier futures for girls, young women, and their families.
Last year, Kenya enacted the Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act, which provides for up to seven years in jail or a fine of 500,000 Kenya shillings ($5,882) for anyone who commits FGM. As part of our commitment to help Kenya end this harmful practice, the U.S. government is partnering with Kenyan community-based organizations that focus on addressing sexual and gender based violence, including FGM/C, through integrated services. The U.S. Agency for International Development is helping train circumcisers and traditional birth attendants on the negative effects of FGM and its relation to HIV/AIDS, incorporating anti-FGM topics as a key issue of discussion in community radio messages and in all life skills trainings, and working with religious leaders to disseminate anti-FGM messages to communities through mosques and other social forums in Marsabit Central, Garba Tula, Isiolo and Merti Districts.
The U.S. government is proud to support women and men around the world who denounce this harmful practice and seek to abolish it. It is exciting to see communities here in Kenya and around the world standing up together against FGM/C to overturn deeply entrenched social norms that are not only harmful to women and girls, but also to our communities and societies. We all have an obligation to work together for the equality, well-being, and prosperity of Kenyan citizens of all tribes, ethnic groups, religions, and of both sexes – male and female.
Kenyan mobile tech startup MFarm, launched at the first IPO48 contest in Nairobi in October 2010 by the all-girl tech team of Jamila, Sue and Linda. The 48 hour “idea-to-business” contest pit them against more than a dozen other contenders and they came out top winning £10,000 from Kresten Buch and HumanIPO.
In 20122, MFarm was a finalist at Pivot25 (now PivotEast)
Their product? A mobile-based solution that gives farmers across Kenya daily commodity pricing, and getting access to market and suppliers through group buying and selling:
1. Daily Market price information
2. Group Buying by farmers
3. Group Selling by farmers through the SMS & web
They’ve now been selected as finalists for The Unreasonable Institute, and as Afrinnovator’s been witness to their success from their conception over a weekend to the milestones they’ve achieved in their incubation at the m:Lab East Africa we’re proud to share in their success.
The Unreasonable Institute is one of the world’s foremost impact accelerators, supporting high-impact entrepreneurs through a process of selection to pick 25 of them from across the globe for their remarkable program. MFarm are among these finalists. Their challenge like all other finalists of the program is to raise $10,000 within 50 days with the minimum amount that be sent in being $10!
To support them (and we encourage you to!) you can do it through The Unreasonable Institute Marketplace or Kenya’s revolutionary mobile money service, M-Pesa below:
Share your comments and wishes to them by tweeting them or by giving your message below in the comments.

JACKAL NEWS - The ouster of Albert Gachiri from Nation Media Group (NMG) was just a matter of time. Gachiri, master of bizarre, sharp wit and humorous TV sign-offs, was guilty of committing several ''crimes'' like his former funny counterpart at KTN Boni Odinga.
A new study to be published has found out that it might be easier to resist alcohol and cigarettes but not a tweet. The findings are by a team of researchers from Chicago University’s Booth Business School who used BlackBerrys to gauge the willpower of 205 people aged between 18 and 85 in and around the German city of Würtzburg.
The findings will soon be published in the journal Psychological Science.
The participants were signalled seven times each day over a period 14 hours in the day. The routine was repeated for exactly one week. the team gathered 10,558 responses and 7,827 of those were “desire episodes” responses.
Read more

With only a lead and a bass guitarist to back her up, Nigerian singer Nneka Egbuna let her voice carry to the audience in an entertaining round of music on Saturday night. Using melody not too far from the original tracks, Nneka performed a special acoustic session of about eight of her hits songs from her latest two albums.
Nneka crept onto the stage with tie and dye pants, a grey t-shirt and a fading blue jean jacket. She shushed the crowds when they started to cheer her and immediately got down to business.
The 31-year-old made every effort to take away from herself and have fans focus on her music. She sang Shining Star, Do You Love Me Now, VIP, and My Home, among several others, after telling the crowd that she hoped they could “take in her message.”

Happy fans at Nneka concert
The event was mostly without incident; a drunken man who removed his shirt on the front row was quickly coerced by others in the audience to put it back on and some revellers were forced to cling fast to their spots because it was a case of you move you lose.
A cool 30 minutes or so before the concert was due to officially begin at 8pm, the venue (Treehouse) was well on its way to being packed. The bars were jammed as revellers stocked up to limit their movement once the music began.

Dan Chizi performs
As always, his KBA number plate track got the crowd’s attention and they showed their appreciation by singing with him and laughing at the all the right moments.
When Nneka was done, chants from the crowd forced her to perform a last track – her very popular Heartbeat.

“That acoustic display was amazing. Nneka has an amazing voice. In fact, I think she should have more acoustic music on her albums,” said one concert-goer.
Nneka left Nairobi for Kigali on Sunday and ends a tour of the region in Zanzibar where she has a number of performances at the Sauti za Busara festival.
Government Spokesman Alfred Mutua attended the concert, as did TV show host Patricia Amira, musician Kaz, TV presenter Edith Kimani, saxophonist Chris Bittok, fashion designer Jeffrey Kimathi and director Wanuri Kahiu among others.

Designer Kimathi transfixed as Nneka sings
On Saturday as I was peeling an onion to make supper I realized the onion had an intact root running all the way through the middle of the onion. Usually I leave such onions for whoever cooks after me and move on to a better onion. WOW! I thought to myself I have avoidance issues!
How does the onion point to avoidance issues? Well, I leave the onion till someone else uses it and that takes care of the pesky onion or someone just handles it for me.
So many of us have avoidance issues without even realizing it.
I don’t even know where to start this sermon! Yes I said sermon because am about to preach and I’m not even asking for sadaka (offering).
Have you ever had an issue that disturbed you for so long yet you did not bring it up or confront parties involved just to continue living on that fake cloud nine?… You have avoidance issues!! Did you by chance see a mysterious text without intending to and you never asked about it?… you have avoidance issues!! Did you overhear something that gave you a huge gaping hole in your stomach and still you kept quiet about it?… you have avoidance issues!!
I totally understand why one would want to bury an issue or turn a blind eye on something that caused you discomfort but how does that help? I would rather be called nosy, nagging but have peace of mind. I happen to be a believer in leaving things as they are because I know that nothing can be kept a secret for very long but how long would I have to wait when just a question could ease all my fears and put my mind to rest?
Avoidance is not just when it comes to love. You may be putting off calling your best friend because you had a huge fight, you haven’t apologized and are hoping s/he will forget ( fat chance).
You may be putting off going to school to get your grades just because you’re afraid you might have failed or you might not be starting that business because you’re afraid of failure and you can’t stand it if it doesn’t work out.
Well, quit it and put yourself out there. Whats the worst that could happen right?
There is a heat in the stomach that comes with not knowing exactly what is going on; a feeling of doom not quite like nervousness but much much worse and the anticipation of doom that lurks around the corner just from voicing your concern, however, this is no reason to keep quiet and hurt alone. I would rather find out now and whatever the outcome deal with it NOW.
Read more from the author HERE

He is one of the best rappers in Kenya and belongs to both Ukoo Flani and Head Bangaz entertainment. Here is his own biography from himself.

Some good news for the players and playettes. On the 11th Volar,

Two of the key regional players in the mobile web development space have committed to support the Mobile Web East Africa conference in Nairobi. iHub and m:lab East Africa have pledged their support for the East African event for mobile developers and entrepreneurs.
The two have emerged as the leading institutions for the incubation of entrepreneurs, research and development of mobile web applications.
The conference comes at a time when Kenya’s prominence in web and mobile development is on the rise globally. Several innovation and incubation centers have opened their doors to young developers and entrepreneurs while more companies are now developing or deploying customized web-mobile apps to support operations.
Mobile Web East Africa will focus on facilitating the growth of the mobile ecosystem in the region through interaction and relationship building.
“The conference is bound to bring together key stakeholder contributing to the growth of the mobile web and related economic platforms in the region,” said John Kieti, manager of m:lab East Africa.
“It is complementary to the work we are doing at m:lab East Africa to help nurture mobile entrepreneurship so it was an easy decision to formally support the conference.”
Mobile Web East Africa, organized by All Amber, will have interactive round table sessions and has attracted acclaimed local and international mobile-web strategists.
Hamilton Juma, Manager of *iHub said the conference will help foster the growth of the ecosystem.
“iHub is really pleased to be linking up with All Amber on Mobile Web East Africa 2012. It’s a fantastic event, so we’re glad to be a part of it and to have some of our members demonstrating their work.”
The event will be held at the Southern Sun Mayfair hotel in Nairobi on 22nd and 23rd February 2012. Due to the interactive roundtable seating format, attendance is limited to 140 people; the venue is already over 2/3 full so early booking is highly recommended. Registrations can be made at www.mobileeastafrica.com and start-up companies and application developers are eligible for a 50% discount on attendance.
iHub and m:lab East Africa joins other partners that have pledged their support for the conference including CapitalFM which will be live streaming the event.

Two of the key regional players in the mobile web development space have committed to support the Mobile Web East Africa conference in Nairobi. iHub and m:lab East Africa have pledged their support for the East African event for mobile developers and entrepreneurs.
The two have emerged as the leading institutions for the incubation of entrepreneurs, research and development of mobile web applications.
The conference comes at a time when Kenya’s prominence in web and mobile development is on the rise globally. Several innovation and incubation centers have opened their doors to young developers and entrepreneurs while more companies are now developing or deploying customized web-mobile apps to support operations.
Mobile Web East Africa will focus on facilitating the growth of the mobile ecosystem in the region through interaction and relationship building.
“The conference is bound to bring together key stakeholder contributing to the growth of the mobile web and related economic platforms in the region,” said John Kieti, manager of m:lab East Africa.
“It is complementary to the work we are doing at m:lab East Africa to help nurture mobile entrepreneurship so it was an easy decision to formally support the conference.”
Mobile Web East Africa, organized by All Amber, will have interactive round table sessions and has attracted acclaimed local and international mobile-web strategists.
Hamilton Juma, Manager of *iHub said the conference will help foster the growth of the ecosystem.
“iHub is really pleased to be linking up with All Amber on Mobile Web East Africa 2012. It’s a fantastic event, so we’re glad to be a part of it and to have some of our members demonstrating their work.”
The event will be held at the Southern Sun Mayfair hotel in Nairobi on 22nd and 23rd February 2012. Due to the interactive roundtable seating format, attendance is limited to 140 people; the venue is already over 2/3 full so early booking is highly recommended. Registrations can be made at www.mobileeastafrica.com and start-up companies and application developers are eligible for a 50% discount on attendance.
iHub and m:lab East Africa joins other partners that have pledged their support for the conference including CapitalFM which will be live streaming the event.
When you build your website, or when you launch an online business, a problem that you may have not anticipated becomes apparent. Where do you get content to put in your new website? We all know that good compelling content is what makes or breaks a site, right? So where can you get it?
1. Steal it
This is easy. Just Google any random topic and you will find thousands of places where you can steal from. Copy-paste and you’re done. Easy peasy. Except it does not work and is a little stupid in this day and age.
Sadly, it is worth noting that a significant number of clients who I have worked with before think this is what they need.
2. User-generated content
The idea here is that you hope people will come to your website and entertain themselves while at the same time filling your website with content. This approach has worked for many websites out there but it probably will not work for you. Sawa?
Sturgeon’s Law says that 90% of everything is garbage. This is even more true when you try to deal with user generated content.
Traditionally in Kenya, sites that depend on user generated content do not fair well at all. This is how zuqka died despite being backed by a whole lot of money. Mgangagenge expounds on this:
…UGC needs 24-hour surveillance of user behaviour to monitor usage trends, offensive content, and most of all, SPAM. Once you neglect a UGC site, it either degenerates into a flame war a la mashada, a porn site a la KenyanList/eastafricantube, or a SPAM farm a la Zuqka.
3. Mass Semi-Amateur Content
You know www.e-how.com? This is their content generation strategy of choice. Basically what you do is pay an army of underpaid freelancers to write articles for your website in mass. Learn more.
Of course the quality of content will be higher than user generated content but I personally do not feel that the difference in quality is very pronounced. I would not recommend this for your website.
Besides, Google is clamping down hard on this. Be warned.
4. Using Talented Expert Writers
In theory, this sounds really good. You can hire expert “artists” to write beautiful stuff, polishing every little bit to perfection. If you can do this consistently, your site will be known for its quality, well researched content. I would recommend this, but I feel it may be too expensive for almost everybody. I am tempted to call this the “New York Times” (NYT) approach.
Speaking of which, have you had a look at the NYT financial performance lately? If the NYT brand cannot make this method work, what makes you think it will be sustainable for your relatively small brand? Pole.
5. Scalable Content Creation
If you are going to be able to generate content that is high quality yet affordable and which advances your business goals then you will have to get creative.
A while back Ok Cupid published an article titled “How Your Race Affects The Messages You Get“. Please have a look at that article again – they received thousands of comments and no doubt many other websites talked about it.
Ok Cupid did something very smart. They used a kawaida user survey to publish an interesting, easily consumable, easily share-able piece of content. Brilliant! And you know what? Ok Cupid can do this over and over again because they already have the tools in place. All they need to do is come at it from a different angle and be the at the top of the social news sites again.
What’s the lesson here?
As a business you should strive to collect (or to be privy to) unique information. In almost every business imaginable, you can collect unique information and with just a bit of creativity whip it into amazing content for your website.
Are you a wedding planner? Whats the most comment color themes at your weddings?; Do you sell spare parts? What item breaks down the most? How can people take care of it better?; Do you sell cakes? Why not share unique recipes? What is bought most often? etc etc
The idea is that if you run any business, stuff that you do every day can be turned into simple and interesting content for your website.
If you have not yet started collection interesting data, you can start analyzing existing data. The recent Open Data movement should get you started! Keep in mind that anyone else can do this, though, so use it as a temporary solution while you build your own unique stuff.
Similar Posts:

Photo courtesy of Goethe Institute
If all our young musicians told stories of their homeland with the passion portrayed by Nneka Egbuna, we would definitely have a powerful revolution. Kenyan world musicians have done it for a while, but lately, they seem to have given up, or lost the passion along the way.
There’s so much to complain about, so many toes to step on, so many controversial topics to tackle: Robert Ouko’s assassination, the gruesome murder of Father Kaiser, the Goldenberg scandal, Anglo Leasing, Molo clashes, Post Election Violence, the desperate situation of the internally displaced persons… Through music, now we know so much about Soweto, how much does the world know about Kibera, Africa’s largest slum? Are these not disturbing enough to sing about?
Sure, some have grouped up and compiled a few arrangements to save face. Apart from Wainaina’s, can anyone sing any of these songs from the tip of their tongue? No. Remember back then when Eric’s mic was cut off while performing Nchi ya Kitu Kidogo? Some toes were stepped on. That incident made the song even bigger. The search for fame has led many to produce countless studio recordings with zero content; bangin’ beats, danceable tunes, some outrageously funny ones, and it’s all good creativity. But enough already!
It’s unfortunate that many upcoming artists are unaware that these ‘boring’ conscious songs could be the easiest route to fame. How many politicians have let us down? Our Members of Parliament, among the highest paid in the world, play politics while their constituents are housed in tents. And we’re about to go to the ballot box again. I think that’s urgent right there.
Yet, when we get right down to it, you don’t really have to be a controversial singer to create a lasting name. And you definitely don’t have to create a hit song. All you need to do is to be the voice of the people. If the people are hungry, we should sing about it. If the people feel unsafe, we should shout about it. If the people have to endure some injustice, we should scream about it.
Watching Nneka live in action was quite an experience. She sat most of the time…who does that? She doesn’t have the best voice, but gosh was it powerful! It was a scratchy, husky tone that made you listen. And if you listened, you felt the pain along with her. She would close her eyes and get lost in her music. Someone next to me thought the singer was high on something…
Nneka grew up in Warri, the source of Nigeria’s oil. At 18, she moved to Germany to escape the injustices she faced on a daily basis. Unable to stay quiet, Nneka returned to her homeland and has made a name as a budding female Fela, as she uses music to tell the world about the good and the bad in Nigeria.
I urge more of our musicians to be the voice of reason; to be more fearless and passionate about the plight of the people. That’s our role in society. Let doctors heal, engineers build, pastors preach, but as musicians, it is our duty to be the voice of the people and learn from Nneka who said, “If there were no pain in the world, I wouldn’t sing.”
Words: Mufu Luvai
Photo courtesy of Goethe Institute

A memorial service was held at Red Cross Court in the Norwegian capital over the weekend in honour of Stella Mwangi's father who was killed in a hit-and-run incident mid last week.
Distraught family members, friends and well wishers filled the hall as they bade farewell to 54 year old Jeff Mwangi Kwirikia. Police finally caught the driver of the sedan that knocked Jeff off his bike, a 39 year old man, who turned himself in and admitted to being involved.
Leading Norwegian newspaper, VG reported yesterday that the family was going through a tough time with coming to terms with the fact that their father was gone.
Read related article on how Jeff's death was reported here >>

I know what you're thinking... ati this isn't a Kenyan thing. Well, we would be a disgrace to music if we did not honor and give our respect to this great legend (plus I'm a die

![]() |
| Myself with Bob Collymore |
![]() |
| with Ben Lyon and Dylan Higgins |
Samsung had teased early last week about an upcoming Galaxy Note Superbowl Ad, and its finally out on youtube. So if you havent seen it yet, see the kind of creativity juices they have popped over the weekend. In the video they try to show that freedom from queues has been achieved since the next big thing is here Again! They did something similar with the Galaxy S II.
Another feature that is apparently the selling point of the Galaxy Note is the Stylus that would make creatives feel like its a soft option for mobile creativity, and the 5.3 inch screen that gives the much more than a phone-small tablet feel. The ad tagged Thing Called Love clearly aims at bringing the fun out of the advertisement rather than the usual technical aspect.
See why the Samsung Galaxy Note should be in your ...Would you call this a tablet or a smartphone? Samsung has unveiled the commercial for Samsung Galaxy...
Samsung teases again with Galaxy Note adRemember these faces? The Queue? Samsung is at it again with a superbowl ad teaser. The next big thi...
My first Hands-on With Samsung Galaxy Note [Video]I had the chance to touch and interact with Samsung Galaxy Note. Even compare it with other Galaxy d...
Samsung Galaxy S II and Galaxy Note getting Androi...Samsung Galaxy S II and Samsung Galaxy Note are among the Samsung smartphones to get Android 4.0 Ice...
Kenyan mobile tech startup MFarm, launched at the first IPO48 contest in Nairobi in October 2010 by the all-girl tech team of Jamila, Sue and Linda. The 48 hour “idea-to-business” contest pit them..
See original article:
MFarm Makes Unreasonable Institute Finals: How You Can Help

If you think you've got what it takes and are definitely destined for fame, then the moment you have been waiting for has finally arrived.

You thought after 'sunshine'with Nameless and 'my reason' featuring Cannibal she will relax and enjoy the success of her music, no you are mistaken.

Remember when I told you about the super cinematographer last week set to take Kenyan videos to the next level, well,

There is no drinking game that beats a sip every time you hear this phrase- men are dogs! However, I will tell you what I think- I think women make dogs out of men. When you repeatedly call me a dog, I might start believing you and actually bark. If you treat me like one, I will say ‘to hell with this being a good man, I might as well be a dog.”
It is an art of the womenfolk-making dogs out of good men. Of course we agree that there is a good number of naturally made dogs. But there are ways women treat men that will make them better dogs than what we even believe them to be. Womenfolk hone this ‘dogness’.
Case scenario: He is a good guy. He treats her well. He never forgets her birthday. He is always on the phone checking up on her. But she doesn’t like it. He is too good. He is suffocating her. Good is too boring. She needs a man that brings a certain flare in the relationship. Someone who will make her cry, but have amazing make-up sex with her thereafter. She prefers someone who will repeatedly keep her on toes. The good guy is too dull and predictable. Too loving. However, if he tries to be the bad boy, he becomes a dog! Men are such dogs!
Case scenario: a man spots an object of desire in one of those groups of women that flock together like sheep. He walks up to her, offers to buy her a drink and maybe get a conversation going. This he does in the most civilised of ways. She will look at him. Size him up. From his shoes to his haircut. Then she will laugh, or sneer.
It doesn’t matter how many points he scores. She just wants to humiliate a brother. Frustrated and humiliated, he will walk back to his chair, look out for a willing female, then chipsfunga her. What a dog! That’s what they will say when they spot him leaving. Men can be such dogs!
Case scenario: you want to go for diner. He has no money. He has borrowed from all his friends in the past few months to please you. You still need more. This particular day, he asks politely if you can go Dutch. Such a dog! Can’t treat a woman well!
If you were to ask many men, or if they were brave enough to speak about it, they would tell you how much everything is always about the woman. There is nothing that hones a dog better than being ignored-always doing things for other people. It erodes the feeling of self-worth. He is there to pleasure the woman. To bark all night and keep vigil while the queen sleeps peacefully.
Men would tell you that Valentine’s Day is always for the woman. The wedding Day is always for the woman. His birthday can be forgotten but the woman’s cannot be. They would tell you that phone calls are made to the woman, and if she finds time in her busy schedule to call you, then you are a lucky one.
It is sickening, and shameful how many women will sit back and relax, enjoying the boat ride paddled tirelessly by the man. A man who is always a dog if he falls short.
As much as we want to believe that manliness is based on some sort of hardiness, he too has a heart you know? He has feelings as well. He likes to be surprised, not just with a new lingerie in the bedroom, but with new shoes as well. Something that is his and his alone
It is unfortunate that this selfishness embroidered deep within us does no good than to make men dogs. It is like him being with you is doing him and the rest of humanfolk a favour. She will sit down and watch you propel this relationship. Any action she will give is lipservice in form of commentaries on how you are doing this, this, this and that wrong! You are doing it all wrong! You are always doing it wrong! Such a dog!

For all those that don't have a valentine, have no fear... Jesus loves you. The love will even be greater at this wonderful event titled

Dubbed 'All That Jazz', Aaron 'Krucial' Rimbui presents this wonderful musical event to all the Jazz lovers this 9Th of February. Nothing sounds sweeter than the sound of
Well that's according to a tweet by one of the twins. Peter Okoye said in his tweet 'On set shooting the video 'Chop my money' featuring Akon'. The twins have been working hard to hit the international scene and even get a record deal with an American label. There were unconfirmed rumors that they had been signed by Konvict Music, a record label owned by Akon. But so far nothing tangible has come off them.
He is the best and if not his among the best hype man MC in Kenya and also a musician.He loves dancing

Born in Congo but raised in Kenya, Alicios, beautiful and melodious,
The Kokomaster is ruling the waves and is attracting big concerts. D'banj whose gone international has been selected to perform alongside British superstars in a concert dubbed Hackney Weekend. Hackney Weekend is one of UK's biggest music events, happening June this year and featuring top UK music acts. And our own Koko Master has been listed and confirmed to be on the concert.The G.O.O.D records signed act will be flying Africa's flag high....The organisers of the BAFTA film awards in Britain have unveiled Miss Piggy as one of the show’s hosts, promising spiky questions for Hollywood luminaries George Clooney and Brad Pitt.
The glamorous pink star of “The Muppets” will be the red carpet host of the British Academy Film Awards 2012 on Sunday, the organisers said Monday.
She is honing her flirting skills as she prepares to meet Best Actor nominees Clooney, Pitt, Michael Fassbender, Gary Oldman and “The Artist” star Jean Dujardin at the Royal Opera House in London.
“Imagine the likes of Clooney, Dujardin, Fassbender, Oldman and Pitt achieving the very pinnacle of their careers by getting a chance to speak with the one and only moi — Miss Piggy,” she said.
“Naturally, I will be asking questions that only moi would dare to ask.”
The bejewelled pig even challenged “The Descendants” star Clooney — who is currently dating former wrestler Stacy Keibler — to a bout on the red carpet.
Miss Piggy declared: “I don’t wrestle girlfriends. However, if George wants to wrestle, bring it on. Best two out of three falls? Winner gets a dinner?”

Hot on the heels of his about to be announced 'Kama Sio Sisi' tour, Juliani spent the better part of his weekend with a 'new buddie' of his, Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore.

He is a renown gospel musician who likes sensitizing the masses on issues happening in our society in his lyrics. He is involved in projects that lifts the life`s

This past weekend was not short of high octane drama when one of the country's leading television stations made a grave error.




At last the Dance-hall Ambassador is back in the 254. Listeners of Homeboyz Radio 91.1 FM had been wondering what had happened to their 'favourite' radio show host.

2008 MTV Africa Music Award winner Wahu is back in the limelight with a BRAND NEW VIDEO for the Valentine season but with a twist.
It’s 11.08pm as I write this. Two things happened today. One. I called a this guest writer-in-waiting this morning and said, “Michael, is my 2,000 words ready for posting tomorrow morning?” Michael, a lawyer, blogger and TV writer (which makes him a busy cat) said he wasn’t finished.
“You’ve had two weeks man, how many words have you banged already?” I asked. He said he was struggling getting 1,000 words going. I said, fine; send me what you have by 4pm. And he did send something, only I didn’t go gaga about it. So I told him I wasn’t going to run it because it needed some work on it. How about we give it another shot, Mike, I’m sure you can nail it, I said. He called me an ass and said, fine, he will give it another shot.
The second thing that happened was that I sat down and quickly wrote something to replace the guest post that never took off. It was a short story. It’s a story about this guy who buys a leatherjacket from one of those mitumba guys in Jamia Mosque and then finds a picture in the pocket of this jacket. It’s a picture of a Caucasian girl with buckteeth and a black West African looking chap with a bad hairstyle and a toothpick between his lips. In the picture they are have gleefully pressed their cheeks together. At the back of this dog-eared picture reads:
“It’s Chloe, the one from the furniture place.”
Anyway, the guy who finds this picture in the jacket really goes nuts about it. Who are these people? Are they foreigners? And what is Chloe doing with the Uche Onyebadi? Hell, who works in the furniture place, Chloe or Uche? Whose jacket was it anyway, Chloe’s or Uche’s? Because Chloe looked the kind to wear a masculine jacket.
Anyway, so this guy keeps this picture in wallet, next to a picture of his niece and over time he really gives it a think, which means the picture evokes more questions than answers. Then he loses his wallet. It’s nicked at a Dan Chizi Aceda’s concert. He moans the loss of his national ID more than he moans the money and cards and what else was in that wallet. Time passes. He changes jobs. He meets new people. He grows a beard. Life happens.
Two years later, he goes to his niece’s birthday party. It’s a kiddie party with parents and kids mucking around in the garden. There is a clown. And a horse. Anyway, who does he see milling over at the spit with a toothpick sticking out his mouth? Yes, the bloke from the picture! I swear, that’s who he sees! He’s unmistakable; the toothpick and the lousy head of hair. He can’t believe his eyes, it’s surreal! So he asks the hostess – his sister-in-law- who the chap by the steak was and she looks over and says, “Oh, Chloe. That’s a friend of ours. Why? ”
Anyway, I really go to the races with this tale. Really take off with it. After two hours – and some 1,500 words later – I stop and go to the balcony and pretend I’m having a cigarette break. I love doing that; take a break and pretend I’m having a quick smoke in the night. You know, watch smoke curl into the dark night like ink in water. Makes me feel all grown up and all
Anyway, I go back inside and sit at my computer again and read the story again, slowly. It seems sick. It seems a bit off kilter, a mind of someone who is a bit cloudy. It feels like I wrote it as I curled in bed with my thumb stuck in my mouth. So I shelved it.
I’m going to bed.

Much as there are speculations that the local music industry is experiencing overwhelming influence from the western culture, the local artistes are proving this to be wrong each day.

Kenyan music is one of the most diverse in Africa. It is growing in a fast rate with many upcoming artists. However, there seems to be a malignant cancer that is threatening to kill it-piracy. Musicians are unable to earn out of their labor. We have unscrupulous business people who have dedicated their time to bring the industry to its knees. People no longer buy original CDS, instead they just copy music from their friends.

I think Kenyan music industry has grown over the past few years and is now taking over. The previous years in the early 1999 I can say people did not value Kenyan Music that much but come the past few years it has grown and many upcoming artist have become celebrities.

The first few years have seen the Kenyan music industry move a notch high. The music industry is one industry that is on the run with the aim of meeting international standards. There are new artists who are coming up daily with different tunes and rhythms. This is the right path which this industry is taking. Unlike in the past when this music was centered on specific themes, we are seeing artists who are coming up to champion different ideas. We have seen music that s ranging from patriotic to gospel. This is the right path to toe if at all we are to meet the international standards. The idea of variety should be encouraged.

Until a new anti-homosexuality bill caused a wave of homophobia in Uganda, John and Paul could hold hands in the streets of the capital Kampala and kiss in night clubs.
Then the nightmare started — people began insulting and then assaulting them, and then they had to run away to Kenya. The couple have been in Nairobi since May of last year.
Like other lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, they came to this urban jungle seeking anonymity, explained the official running a programme that looks after these refugees.
A friend alerted me to the fact that I had been adversely mentioned in a column by Rasna Warah (DN, January 23).
The tone of the entire piece was in several respects seeded with unjustified conclusions.
Ms Warah started by recounting a vitriolic response from some Kenyan in Pennsylvania.
The riled responder apparently called upon fire and brimstone to consume her for something she had written. I have no idea what it was.
Koech, not his real name is a man who loves politics. I came to know him in around 2002 when I was publishing Eastern Africa Magazine, the days of ‘Moi must go.’ He was a very trusted lieutenant during Moi’s regime, a man who helped Moi invest in Britain.
I like to have a chat with this man who knows Moi men in and out. What we found out early in our meetings is that we had same common ground on taste of exotic African food, Ethiopian Ijera.
Recently, Johnny and I were chatting in the car on the way to town and the topic of interns and volunteers came up.
Oftentimes when a person considers going to Africa, I think he or she might feel they have to be super religious, be a Doctor, or be a 'world changer.' I can remember a lady visiting saying she didn't feel qualified to be on a mission trip to Africa because she was just a hair dresser. Let me tell you, that was years ago, but she was one of the most refreshing guests we ever had. She gave us much needed new looks which perked up our spirits!
During Johnny's and my discussion, we came to the conclusion that we really could use 'normal folks' like hairdressers, farmers, landscapers, and even just people who can organize clothes or cook!
Often times, visitors imagine themselves doing roles that are not that realistic. We NEED help. Practical help. It may not be glamorous, but it is a need to be filled nonetheless.
Do you have what it takes?
If you feel under qualified, then you are probably the perfect person to volunteer.

JACKAL NEWS – Jackal News can reveal that NTV editors Emmanuel Juma and Joe Ageyo called sacked journalist Albert Gachiri, instructed him announce the dead of former defence minister Njenga Karume, then abandoned him when it became clear that the information was a fluke, sources have said.
Speaker: Roger B. Dannenberg, Associate Research Professor at the Schools of Computer Science, Art, and Music | Carnegie Mellon University
Roger’s research work in music and technology has earned him three patents. On Monday February 6, he will speak about his experience in using software engineering to create products that make music more accessible and interactive.
Tech on Music will also feature Kenyan musicians speaking about their experience and use of technology and, of course, Kenya’s best in a lively jam session.
Who should attend?
Related posts:
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
DESIGN + SOCIAL ENTERPRISE: Process and Possibilities
Saturday, Feb 11th 2012
9am – Noon
iHub
Open to thinkers, students, designers, technologists, entrepreneurs; Social Innovators who are working on projects that effect the tech/ creative community in Africa.
African Digital Art are pleased to announce their first event of the year. We are working in collaboration with Design for Social Innovation to present to you this absolutely essential workshop for any designer, technologist, innovator, mover and shaker. Our special guest Cheryl Heller, Chair of MFA Design for Social Innovation program and Board Chair of Pop Tech will be running a workshop that will transform how you think about your agency, business, or project.
Workshop:While money, technology and innovation are often considered more glamorous and therefore more important, communication is the single most critical factor in the success of any endeavor.
Communication design transforms an idea into a vision, defines how it’s different, explains why it will work, and engages people in helping make it a reality. It’s what keeps your vision alive, whether you are in the room explaining it to someone, or they are thinking about it in places far from where you’ve ever been or will ever go.
In this interactive workshop, we will experience the fundamentals of communication design, applied to the initiatives of participants. Come find out about the essential principles of communication design that you can’t succeed without.
If social innovation is our relationship with purpose, design is the means and the method to make that purpose manifest.
Register Here: http://adadsi.eventbrite.com/Related posts:
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
Cross posted from the white african blog

This weekend the iHub Advisory Board met with the managers (Tosh and Jessica) to discuss the future direction of the space and what our focus should be for the coming year. The meeting was facilitated by my friend Peter Durand of Alphachimp Studios, who is in town as a part of the PopTech Lab.
The iHub Advisory Boards is made up of 5 people who come from the Nairobi tech community, and represent the community when important, or difficult, decisions have to be made. They are:
Our overall focus has always been that we should look to serve the tech community first, and that everything else would come from that foundation. As we stepped back to look at what’s happened in the last (almost) 2 years, we tried to identify what worked and where there gaps were.

We first worked through the a “business model canvas”, putting our minds together to find out if we all saw the iHub in the same way, and if what we were doing was what we should be doing. As you can see in the diagram above, we tried to list out all of our partners and community members, then map how we add and receive value from each of them.
A key point of discussion was how do we add value to not just the 250 green members who can come in and use the space, but also the serve the needs of the other 6,000 white members in the “virtual” community. We’ll have more thoughts and announcements on this over weeks and months ahead.
Going Deeper by Improving Freelancer SkillsWe delved deeper into this, separating the types of individuals between the startup types vs the freelance types. One of the biggest gaps we’ve found is that there are many freelancers, some of whom are working on a startup on the side, but need the funds from their freelance activities to pay the rent.
Our questions became:
In order to do freelance work, you often times have to team up with others who offer the skills that you lack. We’ve noticed that we’re primarily developers at the iHub, with some designers sprinkled in, but don’t have enough project managers or quality assurance types. So, our first order of business is to make sure we’re letting the people with these other skill sets know that they’re welcome to be a part of the iHub community too.
A gap that our sector has in Kenya is that companies who want to get a software project done don’t necessarily want to go with just any freelancer. We’ve discussed for some time the way the iHub brand can be used as a vector to find freelancers, but we’ve shied away from doing anything more than connecting people through the job board or through referrals.
The iHub is now looking into doing the following (and for this, we need some community feedback and help).
If you think you have the skills necessary to be on the initial shortlist for paid project work, and are a member of the iHub, let me or Tosh know as we think through this process. We’re looking for 5-10 people to explore this new area with us. Specifically, we’re also looking for a leader with great project management experience.
What YOU DoAs we stated at the beginning, the iHub is about doers not talkers.
Our final takeaway was on communication by the green members on what they’re doing. To this end, we’ll be putting together a schedule for each of the 250 green members to do a 5-minute presentation, followed by a 5-min Q&A. There will always be a quorum of the iHub Advisory Board present, as they’re the ones who make the final decision on who gets and retains membership. It will also be in front of the other community members who would like to attend so that there is a better understanding in the community of what each of us do.

We’ll subscribe a very tight template, likely 15 slides that automatically progress, much like Pecha Kucha (or Ignite talks). You won’t be required to give up competitive details, this is more for you to give us an overview of what you’re working on, how the iHub is helping with that, and where the gaps are that you need assistance.
Look for more details on this in the near future, and be ready to sign-up for one of the slots. If you don’t do a presentation, you will lose your green membership.
Final ThoughtsThe iHub has been operational for 1.5 years and we’re about to celebrate our 2 year anniversary in March. This cushion of almost 2 years has allowed us to do a lot of experimentation, and we’re still in the process of gathering feedback from the community to get a better understanding of how the iHub is doing and what we can do better.
As that information comes in, we’ll do what we always do, and that is double down on what works and throw out what doesn’t. It would help us greatly if you take part in this feedback process, run by Hilda Moraa out of the iHub Research arm.
Finally, a HUGE thank you to everyone who makes the iHub possible!
Related posts:
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Time is ripe for Kenyan musicians to review their music style if they are to shine in the global market.

They say music is the mind and soul of a society; the breath by which character and semblance emanate from any being and the lifeline that keeps the culture of a society vibrant and progressive. It happens to be this very same soul that evokes the pulses and emotions that affect the very same creators as well as listeners.

Have you ever listened to Kenyan music? How is it? Personally I find it interesting, fun to listen to and above all everyone not only in Kenya but also in East Africa as a whole can relate to it.

MANY OF KENYAN MISICIANS LACK ORIGINALITY, MORE SO THOSE WHO ARE NOT CATEGORIED UNDER GOSPEL- RAPPER AND THE LIKES. THEY TEND TO COPY THE LIKES OF 50 CESTS AND THE NOT SO FAMOUS (ANY MORE) JA RULE. I SAY THEY SHOULD COME UP WITH THEIR OWN STYLES OF RAPPING.

Its fascinating how dynamic music can turn to be. Some years ago many peolple were most interested in hip hop,slow jams,reggae and the sort but as time went by,many musicians are coming up with local gospel twisted in form of reggae and hip hip hops. Perhaps the traditional way of doing it it form local instruments is fading away and so its getting twisted so as to entice listeners and to increase sales. Many musicians seem to be more interested in local gospel music,perhaps its because its selling more than the other forms of music.

...Le2 designs originates from the word gugulethu which is the middle name of the founder, given nkuna (28). lethu (le2) means 'ours' and gugu means 'pride.' given founded le2 designs in 2007...le2 designs specialises in felt making and creates colourful, quirky products such as handbags, hats, scarves and jewelry. given is also involved with artist proof studio, where he facilitates outreach programmes to young artists. he also did a programme in 2007 to train 25 people in felting skills and he manages the monthly zasekhaya craft market in newtown, johannesburg.
Image courtesy of africacreative
All Africa Business Leaders Awards from CNBC Africa is open for nominations in the following categories; business leader of the year, young business leader of the year, businesswoman of the year, entrepreneur of the year, and lifetime achievement award.
Cartier Women’s Initiative award targets female entrepreneurs engaged in creative for profit initiatives and prizes may be up to $20,000 per year.
The IDS Knowledge Services Open Application Programming Interface has technical grants of up to £3,000 in two categories - plug-ins and innovations. Details here.
Mobile East Africa: returns to Nairobi on February 22 and 23. When the event was last here two years ago, it was an eye opener on the presence mobile advertising, mobile learning, smart phones sales, social media potential, gaming, and software standards.
Persephone Miel Fellowship from the Pulitzer Center & Internews, is designed to help media professionals (journalists, writers, photographers, radio producers, filmmakers; as well as free-lancers and media professionals) outside of the United States do the kind of reporting they've always wanted to do, and comes with a travel grant, payments and distribution arrangment.
Pivot East: Entries are open for this year’s edition of Pivot East (previously known as Pivot25) scheduled for June in Nairobi. Categories this year include financial services, business & resource management, entertainment , mobile society and utilities and the competition is open to companies and individuals in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan and Somalia.
The Poptech social innovation fellowship is now open.
TEDxPreparations are also on for the next edition of TEDxNairobi.
The present day concern raised by the Kenyan Diaspora concerning the upcoming general elections seeking to exercise their constitutional right to vote is a reasonable plea. Just like all Nations world over, the people of Kenya are forward looking, seeking for social, political, and economic progress within the realms of a shared vision and common citizenry.
A 100-year-old granny from Scotland believes that her Nintendo DS is keeping her brain in good working order. She even says that she is starting to loose her memory but whenever she consistently use the gaming console, she regains her memory and becomes more alert.
On a video posted on YouTube, Kathleen Connell jokingly quips that she doesn’t feel anywhere over 80. She describes the console as “great” and “absolutely super.”
Click here to view the embedded video.
Kathleen is constantly using the device, pausing once in a while to make herself some tea. She says that she retires to bed at around 10pm when her brain get a bit tired.
Kathleen tried the popular Brain Trainer game and “scored just 64″. That is impressive for those who know her age but she is not happy with her score. She also enjoys playing Scrabble, My Word Coach, Art Academy and Family Fortunes.
Kathleen’s confession confirms the claim by University of California researchers that there is a connection between activities that stimulate the brain and diseases marked by dementia and memory loss. Of course we will not assume that handheld and mind games only will keep diseases away.
Kathleen told the Daily Telegraph in a video interview;
“I can’t speak highly enough of this Nintendo. It’s helped to keep my brain as active as possible in my old age.”
Samsung has already shipped 0ne million Galaxy Note phones globally and in the local market of South Korea they have sold 700,000 Galaxy Note Devices. This is the phone that reviews and analysts havent yet fixed a category to since its larger than all smartphones and smaller than usual tablets at 5.3 inches. Apparently the device is winning because of the Stylus Pen selling point that gives it the notes taking edge. See a recent survey of readiness of mobile phone users to write on a smartphone. Study was carried on 5000 smartphone users in 10 countries and was conducted online by Snap Surveys, a member of the UK Market Research Society (MRS), theAmerican Marketing Association (AMA), and the Marketing Research Association (MRA), in partnership with panel providers in international markets.

The Galaxy Note is expected to Launch in the US very soon and in Kenya its launching this month. The US launch is excpected to trigger the rise of numbers of unit sales.
Galaxy Note users to get Personalized Engraving in...Samsung Galaxy Note purchasers in South Korea will get a chance to have their phablets (that’s...
My first Hands-on With Samsung Galaxy Note [Video]I had the chance to touch and interact with Samsung Galaxy Note. Even compare it with other Galaxy d...
Samsung Galaxy S II and Galaxy Note getting Androi...Samsung Galaxy S II and Samsung Galaxy Note are among the Samsung smartphones to get Android 4.0 Ice...
See why the Samsung Galaxy Note should be in your ...Would you call this a tablet or a smartphone? Samsung has unveiled the commercial for Samsung Galaxy...
This weekend the iHub Advisory Board met with the managers (Tosh and Jessica) to discuss the future direction of the space and what our focus should be for the coming year. The meeting was facilitated by my friend Peter Durand of Alphachimp Studios, who is in town as a part of the PopTech Lab.
The iHub Advisory Boards is made up of 5 people who come from the Nairobi tech community, and represent the community when important, or difficult, decisions have to be made. They are:
Our overall focus has always been that we should look to serve the tech community first, and that everything else would come from that foundation. As we stepped back to look at what’s happened in the last (almost) 2 years, we tried to identify what worked and where there gaps were.
We first worked through the a “business model canvas”, putting our minds together to find out if we all saw the iHub in the same way, and if what we were doing was what we should be doing. As you can see in the diagram above, we tried to list out all of our partners and community members, then map how we add and receive value from each of them.
A key point of discussion was how do we add value to not just the 250 green members who can come in and use the space, but also the serve the needs of the other 6,000 white members in the “virtual” community. We’ll have more thoughts and announcements on this over weeks and months ahead.
Going Deeper by Improving Freelancer SkillsWe delved deeper into this, separating the types of individuals between the startup types vs the freelance types. One of the biggest gaps we’ve found is that there are many freelancers, some of whom are working on a startup on the side, but need the funds from their freelance activities to pay the rent.
Our questions became:
In order to do freelance work, you often times have to team up with others who offer the skills that you lack. We’ve noticed that we’re primarily developers at the iHub, with some designers sprinkled in, but don’t have enough project managers or quality assurance types. So, our first order of business is to make sure we’re letting the people with these other skill sets know that they’re welcome to be a part of the iHub community too.
A gap that our sector has in Kenya is that companies who want to get a software project done don’t necessarily want to go with just any freelancer. We’ve discussed for some time the way the iHub brand can be used as a vector to find freelancers, but we’ve shied away from doing anything more than connecting people through the job board or through referrals.
The iHub is now looking into doing the following (and for this, we need some community feedback and help).
If you think you have the skills necessary to be on the initial shortlist for paid project work, and are a member of the iHub, let me or Tosh know as we think through this process. We’re looking for 5-10 people to explore this new area with us. Specifically, we’re also looking for a leader with great project management experience.
What YOU DoAs we stated at the beginning, the iHub is about doers not talkers.
Our final takeaway was on communication by the green members on what they’re doing. To this end, we’ll be putting together a schedule for each of the 250 green members to do a 5-minute presentation, followed by a 5-min Q&A. There will always be a quorum of the iHub Advisory Board present, as they’re the ones who make the final decision on who gets and retains membership. It will also be in front of the other community members who would like to attend so that there is a better understanding in the community of what each of us do.
We’ll subscribe a very tight template, likely 15 slides that automatically progress, much like Pecha Kucha (or Ignite talks). You won’t be required to give up competitive details, this is more for you to give us an overview of what you’re working on, how the iHub is helping with that, and where the gaps are that you need assistance.
Look for more details on this in the near future, and be ready to sign-up for one of the slots. If you don’t do a presentation, you will lose your green membership.
Final ThoughtsThe iHub has been operational for 1.5 years and we’re about to celebrate our 2 year anniversary in March. This cushion of almost 2 years has allowed us to do a lot of experimentation, and we’re still in the process of gathering feedback from the community to get a better understanding of how the iHub is doing and what we can do better.
As that information comes in, we’ll do what we always do, and that is double down on what works and throw out what doesn’t. It would help us greatly if you take part in this feedback process, run by Hilda Moraa out of the iHub Research arm.
Finally, a HUGE thank you to everyone who makes the iHub possible!

Kenyan music on the recent past has moved to a level most of the people who started it never thought it would.
Look at the like the young talent like Camp Mulla those guys are making Kenyans proud and that is indication that Kenyan music has indeed gone places.

Over the years Kenyan music has been much of circular music which was blended on Kapuka, hip hop and many other genres of music. The gospel genre was a bit in the dark in the 90s. This has changed in the recent past with gospel music taking the center stage in the Kenyan music industry.

As our music scene continues growing in leaps and bounds its just right for one to reminisce and look at how far we have come since the days of Hardstone, Five Alive,Or The Legendary Kalamashaka. More than a decade after this pioneers set the stage for kenyan music the industry is basically at a stage where you can actually make a living from it.
Upto early 90s we used to listen to foreign music and even our clubs used to play those music.Our own musicians used to sing old school music which was only refferd to as out dated by the youths who are the majority in kenya.

Kenyan music has gone through great changes with time and the changes are so diverse, you just wouldn’t know what to expect. There is a lot of influence from the western countries and artists are always trying to ape what the rest of the world is doing. We have lost the original African touch that was our trademark and with this fading nature we can only wait to see what the future holds for our entertainment industry.

The world of music is doing great as each comes new in the world, but that’s not the case on Kenyan music. Every day an artist in the country must enter a studio hoping and believing that his or her music will make it in the charts or possibly the internationals awards.

STOCKHOLM, Sweden — Nobel Peace Prize officials were facing a formal inquiry over accusations they have drifted away from the prize's original selection criteria by choosing such winners as President Barack Obama, as the nomination deadline for the 2012 awards closed Wednesday.
The investigation comes after persistent complaints by a Norwegian peace researcher that the original purpose of the prize was to diminish the role of military power in international relations.
If the Stockholm County Administrative Board, which supervises foundations in Sweden's capital, finds that prize founder Alfred Nobel's will is not being honored, it has the authority to suspend award decisions going back three years - though that would be unlikely and unprecedented, said Mikael Wiman, a legal expert working for the county.
Obama won in 2009, Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo won in 2010, and last year the award was split between Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberian activist Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karman of Yemen.
For this year's award, Russian human rights activist Svetlana Gannushkina, jailed former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and Cuban rights activists Oswaldo Paya and Yoani Sanchez are among the candidates who have been publicly announced by those who nominated them.
The secretive prize committee doesn't discuss nominations - which have to be postmarked by Feb. 1 to be valid - but stresses that being nominated doesn't say anything about a candidate's chances.
Fredrik Heffermehl, a prominent researcher and critic of the selection process, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that "Nobel called it a prize for the champions of peace."
"And it's indisputable that he had in mind the peace movement, i.e. the active development of international law and institutions, a new global order where nations safely can drop national armaments," he said
Especially after World War II, the prize committee, which is appointed by the Norwegian Parliament, has widened the scope of the prize to include environmental, humanitarian and other efforts, he said.
For example, in 2007 the prize went to climate activist Al Gore and the U.N.'s panel on climate change, and in 2009 the committee cited Obama for "extraordinary efforts" to boost international diplomacy.
"Do you see Obama as a promoter of abolishing the military as a tool of international affairs?" Heffermehl asked rhetorically.
Nobel, a Swedish industrialist and inventor, gave only vague guidelines for the peace prize in his 1895 will, saying it should honor "work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses."
Nobel said the peace prize should be awarded by a Norwegian committee, and the other Nobel Prizes by committees in Sweden. The two Scandinavian nations were in a union at the time.
Geir Lundestad, the nonvoting secretary of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, dismissed Heffermehl's claims.
"Fighting climate change is definitely closely related to fraternity between nations. It even concerns the survival of some states," he told AP.
Still, the County Administrative Board decided to sent a letter to the Stockholm-based Nobel Foundation, which manages the prize assets, requesting a formal response to the allegations.
"We have no basis to suggest that they haven't managed it properly. But we want to investigate it," Wiman said.
"The prize committee must always adjust its rules to today's society," he said. "But peace work has to be at the core - it can't deviate too much from that," Wiman said.
The peace prize and the Nobel awards in chemistry, physics, medicine, literature and economics are always handed out Dec. 10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death.
Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2012/02/01/2136202/nobel-peace-prize-jury-under-investigation.html#RSS=untracked#storylink=cpy

The shilling rose against the dollar on Friday due to subdued demand and tight market liquidity.
Commercial banks quoted the shilling at 83.90 after gaining from 84.20 at the opening of trade on Friday morning.
The shilling had lost to trade at 84.20 from 83.85 on Thursday evening after the energy sector and manufacturing took advantage of favourable rates to buy dollars.
Traders said that the shilling could gain if the tightening of market liquidity continues.
"There is no sufficient demand to weaken the shilling given the prevailing high interest rates," said Kennedy Butiko, the head of trading at Bank of Africa.
The Central Bank has kept of out of the market in the better part of this week after persistent interventions in the previous weeks.
The average interbank rates increased to 23 per cent from 22 per cent the previous weak.
The current congestion problems at the port of Mombasa is reportedly hampering tea exports delaying foreign exchange earnings that expected to provide support for the shilling.
The Central Bank is banking on a strong shilling to contain inflation and eventually provide room to lower interest rates.
The CBK left its base lending rates at 18 per cent after inflation figures dropped by a small margin from 18.72 per cent to 18.31 due to a slight reduction in oil prices.
The onset of a dry spell is also expected to add another dimension to inflation as vegetable and milk prices start to rise increasing food inflation.
High returns on government paper are also expected to attract dollars that could help to put the shilling on the gaining path.
At least 26 people are dead following a grisly road accident that occurred on Friday night on the busy Kisumu-Kakamega highway at the Mamboleo black spot.
The accident involving two Nissan matatus and a lorry ferrying sugar from a local factory only left one survivor, who was rushed to New Nyanza General hospital in critical condition but later succumbed to the injuries.
Witnesses say that the two matatus, heading to Kakamega, had stopped at a police road block for a routine inspection by traffic officers' when a lorry from the opposite direction lost control and rammed into them.
"The lorry driver flashed the head lights several times signaling that all was not well but the vehicles at the road block failed to give way and it rammed into them," said a witness.
The impact of the collision threw off the two matatus from the road killing all passengers on board.
Two motorcyclists who were on the queue for inspection also perished in the accident.
However the fate of the lorry driver, his turn boy together with the two traffic officers, who were manning the road block, could not be immediately established.
Nyanza provincial Deputy Police boss Larry Kieng, who led officers in the rescue mission, said the confirmed number of those who had perished was 25.
"So far 25 bodies had been taken to the New Nyanza provincial hospital mortuary and we fear other bodies are still within the vicinity. With darkness we might have left some bodies," he said.
The scene of the accident, in the outskirts of Kisumu city, was littered with body parts and valuables belonging to the passengers.
Bodies with missing heads, limbs and other body parts were scattered all over the place.
Kenya Red Cross Society officials, who rushed to the scene, had a hectic time pulling out the bodies from the wreckage as local residents barred police officers from accessing the scene.
Police were at some point forced to use teargas to drive away angry residents, who blamed them for the accident saying they used the road block to extort money from motorists.
The accident also caused a heavy traffic snarl up along the busy road.
The mangled vehicles were towed to Kondele police station as police launched investigations into the accident that left locals in shock.
Mamboleo area has been a black spot claiming several lives in the recent past with most notably the death of musician Owino Misiani six years ago who died at the same police road block.
As February came and brought with it reality checks for many of us to settle firmly into the new year, infoDev and Nokia’s IdeasProject launched the m2Work online challenge. It is a challenge that might drastically change the state of affairs with respect to micro-work. The challenge is backed by funding and support from UKaid and the government of Finland.
Micro-work implies knowledge work being transferred over to the internet. It is about short, simple tasks that a company or a more economically endowed individual outsources for a small fee, mostly over the internet to workers particularly in the third world. Examples of tasks that have easily rendered themselves for delivery as micro-work are :-
Examples of micro-work may also include some not so noble assignments such as signing up as a bogus fan of a consumer brand on Facebook or some other social-networking site.
A 2011 report commissioned by infoDev titled Knowledge Map of the Virtual Economy, assessed the development potential of micro-work. The report noted a fairly prominent example of micro-work and virtual economies in the third-party gaming services industry. According to the report, an estimated 100,000 young, low-skilled workers in countries such as China and Vietnam earned their primary income by harvesting virtual resources and providing player-for-hire services in popular online games such as World of Warcraft. The report observed further that the gross revenues of this third-party gaming services industry were approximately $3.0 billion in 2009, most of which was captured in the developing countries where these services were produced. interestingly that compared to the global coffee market, on which many developing countries are highly dependent, being worth over $70 billion—but only $5.5 billion was captured by the developing countries that produced the coffee beans.
In the recent past, micro-work distribution platforms such as Samasource, txteagle and Mobileworks have sprung up with much success, attracting significant investments charitable foundations and venture capital firms. With ubiquity of mobile phones, improving mobile networks infrastructure and growing levels of education in East Africa, much potential lies in creating socially and economically relevant innovations around micro-work. More specifically there is potential for creation of mobile innovations that facilitate serving, executing and paying for micro-work. Currently, micro-workers need access to computers, which are expensive and require relatively expensive infrastructure. If more micro-work could be channelled and completed through the millions of mobile phone handsets in the hands of East Africans, that would imply creation of more such jobs.
The above prospect is why infoDev wants local entrepreneurs, developers and creatives to submit their ideas before April 2, 2012 for a mobile micro-work application that has market potential and can have a meaningful impact. The ideas needs to tackle existing problems or needs that can be addressed by micro-work. Ideas may be submitted alone or as part of a team. The regional tech and entrepreneurship community is also invited to be a part of discussions on other ideas from the m2Work community.
infoDev, a global partnership program in the World Bank, will be using its vast network of Mobile Applications Labs (mLabs) and business incubators to help tech entrepreneurs every step of the way, from a seed-stage idea to a thriving start-up that creates sustainable jobs. The m2Work challenge wants to fuel the race for the best ideas, and to spark a goal-oriented, global discussion about mobile micro-work.
With individual cash prizes of up to US$20,000, organizers of the challenge will be assembling a high-profile jury consisting of representatives of Nokia, the World Bank, academia, the micro-work industry and the wider technology investment sector, who will select the prize winners. They will judge all submissions based on the criteria of potential development impact, innovativeness, feasibility and clarity of presentation.
Six finalists, who will receive coaching before a final pitching event, will be announced at the end of April. The grand prize will be awarded later in the year.
For more information, visit m2Work’s official website, www.ideasproject.com/m2Work
Contact person: Nicolas Friederici (infoDev / World Bank), email: nfriederici@worldbank.org
Related posts:
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

The IRB has confirmed the pool draw for round 5 of the HSBC Sevens World Series, the USA Sevens in Las Vegas, USA on 10-12 February 2012.
The draw was made live on television before the Cup final of the Hertz Sevens in Wellington, the fourth round of the 2011/12 season, won by New Zealand.
As Wellington Sevens champions, New Zealand top pool A at the Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas. They face a tough trio of matches against former Series champions Samoa, trans-Tasman rivals Australia and Japan.
The hackers group Anonymous, scored a major victory on the F.B.I last month when they listed to a call between the law enforcers and their British counterparts, Scotland Yard. The group then posted the16-minute recording of the call on the Web on Friday and crowned it with a tweet:
NYT is quoting an F.B.I Source indicating that the group did not hack any of the agency’s systems but gained access to an email which was sent to more than 36 US, UK, France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands and Swedish security agents indicating when the conference call would be made. The email was sent on Jan. 13 and one of the foreign police official is suspected to have forwarded the notification to a private account. The forward to private account was then intercepted by Anonymous.
Anonymous later took responsibility for hacking the web site of a law firm that had represented a US Marines soldier, Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, who was accused of leading a group of Marines responsible for Haditha killings in 2005. The group promised to make public what was in the mails and faxes obtained during the hack.

After securing a morale boosting Bowl victory at Wellington Sevens on Saturday, Kenya will be going flat out for main Cup performance at Las Vegas next weekend.
Kenya, who for the second time downed Australia 12-7 in the tight Bowl final, are up against Wellington bronze medallists England as well as Scotland, whom they outclassed 17-7 in Bowl quarter-final. Others in Pool D are minnows Brazil in the Las Vegas leg of the IRB circuit.

Kenyans received Sh75.7 billion in remittances from abroad last year, but experts warn that if not managed properly, such income could end up harming the country’s economy.
Studies conducted over the last five years indicate that in certain circumstances remittances can have a degenerative effect on economies of developing countries.
“Generally, remittances are very good. However, they do have the potential of increasing the poverty gap,” said University of Nairobi economist Joy Kiiru.

The world of music is doing great as each comes new in the world, but that’s not the case on Kenyan music. Every day an artist in the country must enter a studio hoping and believing that his or her music will make it in the charts or possibly the internationals awards.
It was all excitement when Daniel Adongo younger brother to (Leon Adongo who plays for the Kenya 7s team ) joined the Vodacom Bulls late last year. Lakini if you look at the kind of training his going through, you realize how hard you have to train to get to the top.

Kenyan music has to some extent grown in terms of marketing and distribution. Technology has also impacted on Kenyan music in that nowadays with the use of YouTube one can market Music through online.

Kenyan music has been in the past and in the present an influence to many youths.Much of the originality is no so much concentrated on but some artists try their best to outsmart themselves by being original.So far so good for our artists for their contribution in creating jobs and in helping Kenya achieve its millenium development goals.In recent artists have made a milestone in the leading music industry.

Finally the Kenya 7s team is showing signs of recovery after beating Australia 12-7 to lift the Bowl title in Wellington, New Zealand. Mitch AKA Modjo can now breathe a sigh of relief after all the bashing Kenyans have given him following the dismal performance of the team in their previous outings.
I reckon this team with coach Modjo are going to go far. Its boiling under and it is only a matter of time before they upset the big boys.
{youtube}v65CIRNJfX0(/youtube}

The Kenyan Music scene has evolved so much in the last decade; from the Kalamashaka of the 90’s to the new age crop of musicians like Eco Didda, Avril, Juliani, Suati soul just to mention a few. It has evolved more so on the gospel scene as so many musicians of last year got fame through gospel music.

Music is the food to the soul, everybody loves music. Music in Kenya started sometime back when people knew only of the “genge” genre of music with few named artists. As time went by, some artists started growing interest in hip-hop in which is not well appreciated in Kenya today. The reason why I say this is because it does not receive enough airplay in our radio and television stations.

Kenya is is country that has been blessed with a variety ofmusicians who have been rated the among most vibrant , in the East Africa’s entertainment industry.

JACKAL NEWS – Hopelessly overrated Pulse Magazine editor, Charles Otieno abused security guards and Kenya police officers guarding Chris Kirubi’s International Life House after they requested him to stop obstructing the entire Mama Ngina Street, Jackal News witnessed the incident that puts the whole Standard Group to shame.
PocketMoni is the brand name of eTranzact Mobile Money service and is being proclaimed to be the first truly operational mobile commerce application that is multi-network capable with the ability to interface seamlessly with third party payment schemes.
The service in line with international standards is secured utilizing 3DES encryption technology. In addition a PIN is required for every transaction. PocketMoni customers can securely, conveniently and cost-effectively send money to family and friends.
PocketMoni is the brand name of eTranzact Mobile Money service and is being proclaimed to be the first truly operational mobile commerce application that is multi-network capable with the ability to interface seamlessly with third party payment schemes.
The service in line with international standards is secured utilizing 3DES encryption technology. In addition a PIN is required for every transaction. PocketMoni customers can securely, conveniently and cost-effectively send money to family and friends.
I remember when I was employed – I use to hate it. I have always thought of myself as a free bird who must not be tethered to one place or one job. And so I dreamt. I dreamt of the day I would be free of employment. So when someone told me to try out freelancing, I jumped on the idea.
Who wouldn’t want to live the easy life as a freelancer? Think about it. No 8-5 hours, no workplace politics. Just you working at home or from Java and closing deals on the phone. Sounds nice, eh? Except it’s not.
From my experience freelancers typically work way more hours than you’d think.
Rob Walling put it best in his manifesto “The Micropreneur Manifesto“:
With freelance work, you essentially trade your one boss for many—except now they’re called clients. And they don’t pay for health care or vacation days, or worry about your job satisfaction. Some won’t even feel obligated to pay you for the work you’ve done.
So as you dream of leaving your job, be careful not to get stuck in a new rat-race. What you should work towards is becoming a business owner (as opposed to becoming “self-employed”). That is, putting structures in place that will ensure that you are not the one-man behind the whole show. Hire freelancers/employees. Do not become your own slave.
Similar Posts:

Kenya’s military incursion into Somali in response to the Al-Shabab militants’ menace in Kenya was but an overdue foregone conclusion. It is an open secret that the Al-Shabab have tested Kenya’s patience and stretched her serenity too thin and it was only a matter of time before the conflict came to the fore. So when the opportunity arose, triggered by the senseless and shameful abduction of a wheelchair bound elderly French tourist woman, Kenya struck, the moment couldn’t have been opportune.
Kenya’s territorial integrity and her standing among nations was at stake, the abuses from her neighbors who returned brutality for kindness was becoming an unbearable national nuisance. Now that we are in it, does Kenya have the intestinal fortitude to see this thing through? Only time will tell but if the history of the conflict in the war ravaged lawless nation in East Africa is anything to go by, Kenya must be ready to hang in for the long haul and pursue this to its logical conclusion, vanquishing Al Shabab and restoring a functional government.
A tall order indeed but one worth the cost otherwise this war will boomerang on Kenya with much worse and severe consequences. For two decades now, Somali has been without a functional government and most outside attempts to restore order, including those of the United States, have failed miserably. Any semblance of governance in Somali has drawn more conflict among the fiercely divided clans whose fault line is between the Islamist militants and the Provisional government whose very existence Kenya helped broker. Now that Nairobi has waded into the fray, taking direct aim at Al-Shabab militias who are known to work with al Qaeda, the conflict clearly assumes new meaning.
No country or government worth its salt can just sit idly by and watch helplessly as its citizens are terrorized in the manner Al-Shabab has. On the other hand the The Transitional Federal Government (TFG) would be more than happy to see Kenyan troops wipe out the insurgents, but are they willing to cede control of some of their territory as Kenya pacifies the upheavals?
The coordination of the military action among the Kenyan troops and Somali soldiers as they join African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) are a testament to the unity of purpose, if only temporarily, between the two governments. The message is loud and clear, “Al Shabab, time is up.”
Kenya’s economy depends largely on tourism and Al Shabab’s attacks and kidnappings of tourists within her territories threaten her very existence. “Kenya is particularly now becoming more robust because the actions of the group are having a massive impact on the tourist industry,” Said Atta Asamoah from the Institute for Security Studies in Nairobi.
Atta added that Kenya depends a lot on tourism and cannot afford to be seen as a weak link that is not in control of its territorial integrity to the extent that tourists do not have the security they need to enjoy their presence in the country.
The question that remains is whether direct military action will help or hurt the general security situation. Whereas Al-Shabab is by no means an easy adversary as their success within Somalia shows, they are certainly believed to be weaker following the devastating blows inflicted on their umbrella terror group, Al-Qaida. The killing of Osama Bin Laden and some of his most trusted lieutenants around the world including Somali itself whether the master mind of the 1998 Kenya and Tanzania bombings was recently killed must certainly have weakened their resolve and capacity to withstand sustained onslaught from a disciplined military such as Kenya’s.
Kenya and her coalition partners now must demonstrate endurance to get the job done, at all costs. Nevertheless, some argue that Kenya might not be willing or able to do so especially after the statement by the Foreign affairs assistant minister Richard Onyonka who in a nutshell told Al Shabab and the world that Kenya will negotiate with them the terms of surrender! That is a message that spells
weakness and lack of commitment and the Kenyan government would be wise to refrain from sideshows and focus on the job at hand.
As noted by a Kenyan blogger, Al-Shabab is not a formal organization that can be traced and tracked down swiftly. They can easily melt within the civilian population rendering it a vexatious exercise to neutralize them, not to mention they have no rules of engagement. “The risk is that the group begins to activate sleepers within Kenya and operate within Kenyan territory,” Asamoah said. “This is going to be a dangerous time.”
On the other hand Kenya Military has to follow the rules of engagement as any other military and their first concern is not to attack civilian population. But how do you tell who is Shabab and who is not. How do you pick the enemy out of the population? A similar problem faced by United States when they invaded Iraq.
Consequently, we are now beginning to pay a high price because of psychological war. Groups like Shabab thrive on instilling fear in the hearts of their opponents. And by proclaiming retaliatory resolve against our Country, they have effectively shaken our core workings, right from our socio-economic lives down to very own personal lives.
But along with that vigilance comes the threat of persecution or reprisals against ethnic Somalis in Kenya , says Patrick Smith, Africa specialist at the London-based newsletter Africa Confidential. “(Kenyan Somalis) will feel rather vulnerable because they will be associated with the Al-Shabab,” he said. “That could cause internal problems within Kenya .”

Aspiring presidential candidates have raised billions of shillings ahead of what promises to be the most expensive race in Kenya’s history.
The head of communication for Mr Raphael Tuju’s 2012 campaign said he had raised nearly Sh3 billion.
Mr Tuju was also planning to order three helicopters in the first phase of his campaign strategy to complement his Tuju 2012 Bus, said Mr Zach Mutuma.
Another candidate, Mr Peter Kenneth, is said to have raised Sh2.5 billion for his bid.
A Samsung ad that was airing on Israeli cable TV station Hot TV to promote the Galaxy Tab 10.1 has triggered a tough reaction from the Iranian Government. The advert meant for the Israeli audience but with part detail shot in Iran rubbed Iranian officials the wrong way. Here is the post from Iranian Presstv detailing the events that happened.
Head of Majlis Energy Committee Arsalan Fat’hipour said the double-urgency plan, aimed at imposing a complete ban on buying all Samsung products, would make the company regret making the insulting teaser.
South Korea’s giant manufacturer of electronic devices and home appliances produced a teaser shortly after the assassination of the Iranian scientist Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan by Mossad agents in Tehran, in which Iran had been depicted as a primitive society.
The clip also implies that Israel is powerful enough to easily destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities or assassinate the country’s nuclear scientists.
The Iranian lawmaker added that forgetting the high volume of its trade with Iran, the company has produced the teaser to curry favor with Israel.
Fat’hipour said Samsung’s apology to the Iranian nation, though necessary, would not be enough and that the company must be held accountable for producing the teaser.
Meanwhile, Samsung’s Dubai office has issued a statement condemning the production of the teaser by the company’s Israel office.
Samsung’s public relations official in Tehran, Elaheh Taheri, told reporters on Thursday the clip had nothing to do with the South Korean company and that it had been produced by an Israeli cable TV station, Hot.
According to The Telegraph, two thirds of the tweets on twitter are boring thats two thirds of the 200 million tweets churned out daily. That’s roughly 130 million tweets. This is a study done with 1500 twitter users(usually called tweeps) and the analysis was on 43.738 tweets from 21,000 twitter accounts. The study was done jointly by researchers at Carnegie Mellon, the Georgia Institute of Technology and MIT found that most people are only interested in about a third of the tweets they read — the rest are either instantly ignored or disliked.
The main cause of negative feel is hash tags, updates on day to day routines and general negative tweets. Well, according to the research, the most hated tweets are the private conversations between two individuals discuss private issues piblicly, a situation that users feel wouldnt really concern them and fill their timeline.
Foursquare checkins also account for the tweets generating the negative feel among users. Twitter users get bored with the everyday routines of celebrities. The I-am-eating-pizza-that-has-21-inch-aluminium-rims tweets are generally unwanted. Beyond that, it was noted that twitter users like self promoting tweets, so go ahead and feel good about yourself in the timeline.
IMG Credit: perforce.com
Kenyatweets website relaunching on the weekend, bi...If you are a Kenyan tweep of those times (one that has masticated enough salt) you definately know K...
Twitter speaks, Safaricom #Katia her with 5 bob wi...Its not hard to follow a conversation bearing sentiments on a brand. From yesterday we have had a c...
Twitter photo sharing now available for all usersYou now need not use an external client to share an image on twitter. Twitter toyed with the idea of...
Nokia Siemens Networks study reveals Kenya’s poten...Kenya has seen remarkable growth in the telecoms sector and has taken a position as a “testing groun...
Apple started this! In the same country against Samsung. Motorola has been on Apple’s case for some time now and this is their victory. A court in Mannheim, Germany ruled that iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 cannot be sold in online stores in Germany and must be pulled of from the online stores. The ruling also applies to any other 3G capable devices like iPads Apple sells. But fortunately for the Cupertino Giants, iPhone 4S isnt touched by the ruling, but iPhone 5 and iPad 3 might not be safe.
So the cause of the trouble is Apple’s push email service, see here is part of the rulingfrom the Foss patents blog:
This morning, Judge Andreas Voss of the Mannheim Regional Court pronounced a decision on a German Motorola Mobility lawsuit against Apple Sales International, Apple’s Ireland-based European sales organization. Motorola won a permanent injunction against the push email service of Apple’s iCloud (and its predecessor, MobileMe) and any devices that can access it. Note that even though today’s decision enjoins Apple’s European distribution arm, the scope of the injunction is not Europe-wide: the Irish entity has to respect it as far as the German market is concerned (for example, it’s the contractual partner of customers buying Apple products from Apple’s German online store).
Apple has already gone ahead and removed all the said devices on sale from their on-line stores. As of now Apple is still able to sell in their offline stores, but Motorola is still on their neck and might get another ruling off the Mannheim judge for the same to apply to any selling of the Apple products that touch on Patents that Moto owns.
Here is where we say what goes around….
Apple iPhone 4S Siri Ruby hack Plugin“Siri” Apple iPhone 4S app which can only be used commercially only in Canada and USA is under hack....
Samsung Gets iPhone 4S by the balls during Austral...Tough world out there, right? Samsung has a shop only a few metres away from the Sydney Apple store....
Samsung Dominates iPhoneSamsung Company only entered the Smartphone market in earnest last year, but its sales have skyrocke...
Samsung banned from selling Samsung Galaxy S, S II...Samsung now has it rough. The nightmare is real, and they wont be selling Samsung Galaxy S, Samsung ...

An opinion poll released on Friday shows that 73 percent of Kenyans are dissatisfied with the conformation of charges against four individuals by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.
The Smart Octopus Research Company conducted the study between January 27 and 29 against the backdrop of the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber II’s decision to confirm the charges against Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, Eldoret North MP William Ruto, immediate former Civil Service boss Francis Muthaura and radio presenter Joshua arap Sang.

The City Council of Nairobi is considering relaxing its by-laws to allow commercial sex workers work freely in the Kenyan capital.
Nairobi Mayor George Aladwa said on Friday that the council was working to harmonise by-laws with provisions of the new Constitution before allowing commercial sex workers to operate without restraint.
“We want to look at what the Constitution says about commercial sex work in the country. We will also look at the by-laws so that we help the commercial sex workers,” Aladwa said.
Majority of Kenyans voted over whelming in favor of the new constitution. It is disturbing and annoying to note that our legislators - the so-called parliamentarians are using delaying tactics to promulgate the new constitution in its entirety.
This attitude is a clear betrayal of the electorates’ trust in these people.
Mediocrities always get elected to Parliament that is a fact of life the world over.
Future politicians who come on the political scene with promises, likewise play the same game against the masses.
Nokia global head Stephen Elop will be in the country next week in what will be a first. No CEO of the Finnish giant has been here before. This comes at a time when the handset vendor has downgraded its regional hub in Nairobi into a sales office moving other responsibilities to Jo'Burg.

The Hilton nairobi is the place to be this Monday
The late Jaramogi Oginga Odinga
