TechMasai

Images And Videos From Barcamp Abidjan 2010 Which Occured In Côte d’Ivoire

Munashe Gumbonzvanda — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:42:03 +0000

We have not written much about Côte d’Ivoire, but we now have a reason thanks to the Barcamp Abidjan 2010 which occurred from the 5th till the 7th of March.

A few notable speakers took part in the Barcamp, they include

Google
Paul Sika,
Jean Patrick Ehouman
Ameyah Debrah
E-tranzact
VIPnet
Web4Africa,
Gwen Marshall,
Radio Jam,
Israel Yoroba

I personally did not attend Barcamp Abidjan 2010, but to compensate I will share content of people who did.

The pictures are from Akendewa.org and Barcamp Abidjan Facebook Page.

Akendewa the Non-Governmental Organization made Making Barcamp Abidjan videos, which were uploaded to Youtube.

One of which you can watch below.

No related posts.

Nigerian Celebrity Gossip Blogger Uche Eze Is Featured On Oprah

Munashe Gumbonzvanda — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:24:53 +0000

Uche Eze, the founder of Bellanaija a blog which is can be described as a TMZ for Nigeria, was recently featured on Oprah.

She was interviewed via Skype for a show called “Beauty Around the World”

Ms. Eche said the following about the incidence

At the beginning of the year, I was having a conversation with my best friend – we were discussing our aspirations for the year and beyond. I can’t remember the specifics of the earlier part of the conversation but I remember the end. I said something along the lines of “…I really want to be on Oprah!…that’s the ultimate” I remember him saying “Well, you better hurry up because she is retiring her show next year”. So the conversation ended and life went on.

About 2 weeks ago, my friend Molly called. The Oprah team was doing a show on “Beauty Around the World” and she thought I could do something on it. So that was how the whirlwind began. Emails were exchanged, information on Bella Naija, photos were sent, Skype sessions were arranged and so many other things went on. All through this time, I couldn’t talk about it.

Finally, I taped a segment for the Oprah show and on the day, I joined the show via Skype. It was an absolutely surreal yet thrilling experience. I experienced the show being taped live via Skype. Oprah is so charismatic and phenomenal. It is so clear why she is successful. There is no doubt that this is what she was born to do! I am also so honored to have been chosen out of thousands of people to be featured and to speak to O herself!

The show’s theme is “Beauty Around the World” but it’s so much deeper than that. It covers themes of body image and many other things. Jessica Simpson was on the show and she discussed the press scrutiny as per her weight etc…I was never a big fan of Jessica but I connected with her a bit more after seeing her on the show. Lisa Ling taped a segment for Oprah in Asia and finally joined the show via Skype – she discussed the shift in beauty trends and perceptions in China. Throughout the show, there were short clips sent in by various Oprah fans all around the world talking about the beauty secrets and traditions in their countries.

Finally, our segment – I talked about how beauty goes along with brains in Nigeria – as in – a woman should be educated and driven, I talked about Ankara, aso-ebi, the shift in body image, healthy eating, current beauty trends (Brazilian hair, Indian hair etc..LOL) some parts of the segment have to be edited so not sure what will be shown – I was too excited to take note! I then chatted with Oprah on Skype. Her main question was about women’s body image in Nigeria.

I am so grateful for this experience. It’s so hard for me to write anything personal because that is just not me. However, I really hope this encourages any and everyone because no dream or aspiration is beyond actualization. I strongly believe in speaking positive things. I always tell myself “From our lips to God’s ears”.

It’s been a whirlwind! Thank you to everyone who helped me with this! Molade Adejuyigbe (Love u), PJ, the Oprah team, Bola Balogun (you totally rock!), Lanre Tyson (Awesome!), Bimpe Ogunmakin, Colossal, Folake Folarin-Coker and the Tiffany Amber team (the dress I wore for the video and the jacket in my Skype chat are by Tiffany Amber), Vlisco, my mum, dad and sisters, my best friend – BP, my friends, Charles Anudu and the SWIFT Networks team, our BN team, readers and everyone else. God Bless you!

Have a great day everyone and if you are in the United States and Canada, watch Oprah today and let us know what you think!!! -Uche

NaijaLingo Is An Online Dictionary Of Nigerian Pidgin

Munashe Gumbonzvanda — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 06:53:10 +0000

Naijalingo is an online dictionary of Nigerian pidgin founded by two Nigerians. The main idea behind Naijalingo is to provide definitions of Nigerian pidgin or slang terms.

Signing up to NaijaLingo provides you with the ability to actually add and modify content on the platform. Your level of authority is proportional to your contribution/participation.

Members of Naijalingo have rankings like

JJC (Johnny Just Come)

The lowest ranking which is attributed to users that have added between 0-15 words

Oga

The second level in the ranking which is attributed to users that have added between 16-35 words

Chairman

The third level in the ranking,which enables the user the ability to flag words for the administrators to moderate. This rank is attributed to users that have added 36 – 65 words

Chief

This is the last and highest rank. At this rank you the user has the power to delete spam or words that seem incorrect. This rank is attributed to users that have added more than 65 words.

Also You can submit a word at Naijalingo you want defined and they will send you back an e-mail with the definition.

Naijalingo was created by Adimabua Ofunne and Obilo Nwokogba in July 2007 while they were undergraduates at the Rochester Institute of Technology and Cornell University respectively.

Note: A lot of information in this review was borrowed from Wikipedia

Screenshots

An Interview With The Founder Of Microblogging Platform Qiqima, Mr Noel Hwande

Munashe Gumbonzvanda — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:12:49 +0000

Noel Hwande is a tech entreprenuer who founded one of my favourite Southern African start-ups, Qiqima.

Qiqima call to fame is the heavy emphasis they place on SMS and text. This concept is especially attractive since mobile penetration is higher than internet penetration in some areas in the continent.

TechMasai: What is Qiqima and what inspired the project?

Mr. Hwande: Qiqima is a micro blogging platform that is built around mobile communication and promotes interactions in both public and private virtual communities.

When the idea to build Qiqima originated, I had two things in mind. The first was to create a platform that allows Africans to create communities where they can share ideas and information. Secondly, I wanted to make it so that everyone with a mobile phone could interact with those communities and benefit from the information being shared all across the Web. What my team and I finally settled on as a basis was a micro blog – given the overwhelming success of Twitter. It is a perfect model to turn anyone who is limited to a 140-character SMS into a publisher on the World Wide Web.

TechMasai: There are a few microblogging platforms in Southern Africa, not to mention Africa as a whole. What is unique about Qiqima and what niche are you going after?

Mr. Hwande: I think that one of the things that sets us apart is the emphasis we’ve placed on SMS as a means to provide our mobile users almost as many functions as users on the web. For example, users can sign up, create communities, send private messages or start and stop receiving SMS notifications by sending a text message. This is being tested in South Africa but will soon be expanded to other countries in the region. We are also developing a simple mobile application that can be downloaded to many of the more common handsets in Africa and allows people to have even more control over their Qiqima profiles and search through messages, while minimizing network costs.

Qiqima is still in the earliest stages of development, so we’re using this time to listen and learn from our group of core testers. But when all is said and done, I see Qiqima going beyond social networking and becoming a resource network. This is especially true for people who have limited access to technology, but have a need to interact with a variety of virtual communities. We will continue to add or remove features based on community feedback.

Techmasai: What is the Southern Africa tech scene like?

Mr. Hwande: The Southern African tech scene has tremendous promise. This is especially apparent when you look at the rapid advancement of application development in South Africa – the economic leader in the region. There is increasing competition among tech enterprises in Southern Africa, which ultimately encourages all of us to be more creative and add more value for our users. The World Cup is only a few months away and I see this world event as a catalyst for even more growth in the tech community.

TechMasai: The technology scene has a limited growth potential without government support. What incentives could be provided to motivate local leaders to get involved in the sector?

Mr. Hwande: I think as local leaders start to see cost-effective information products that are relevant to governance and improve the lives of average citizen, they will start to pay more attention and allocate more resources to grow technology. A great example of this in my own home country was the telecom, Econet, who fought for many years to set up towers and push cell phone technology. Once people saw the value of mobile communications as something that was not only necessary, but attainable, opportunities opened up for the rest of us.

Techmasai: Africa has a bad image, which limits both growth and investment. What can be done to give a better perspective of Africa?

Mr. Hwande: We need to make sure that blogs like TechMasai, Appfrica, Bandwidth Blog and the White African blog thrive and continue to show off the spirit of entrepreneurship and determination that lives in most Africans that I meet. We, in the African tech community, also have a responsibility to continue striving to build innovative, quality products that allow us to compete on the same playing field as India, China, and the start-ups in the West. I strongly believe that technology has become the great equalizer that offers Africans an opportunity to close the information gap. The barriers to information have never been lower in terms of cost and availability.

Note: To learn more about Qiqima please visit their blog.

iHub The Kenyan Start-up Incubation Centre’s Is Featured On A Local Television Channel Called KTN.

Munashe Gumbonzvanda — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 17:52:23 +0000

The Kenyan media has taken a liking to iHub the Kenyan incubation hub. iHub was featured in a local television channel KTN.

The fact they were profiled is surprising since the Kenyan (African in general) media previously had a policy to not show any local content concerning tech.

Application developers, web designers and other techies in Nairobi now have a place to meet, network and get connected to the right people to further their causes.

The iHub nairobi opened Wednesday evening promising to be the launching pad for great technology ideas from the grassroots. Short, for Innovation Hub, the facility on Nairobi?s Ng?ong Road is open to anybody with an interest in technology and seeks to build partnerships with industry and mentoring.

Standard Group Kenya Youtube channel

Hopefully we are witnessing the start of a trend in continent, whicll will allow local techies to have a platform to share their inventions and ideas on a national level.

Note: The first guy to be interviewed is Erik Hersman from Whiteafrican and Ushahidi. If you know the other people interviewed in the clip, please leave their details in the comments.

March 10th 2010 – Update: The above statement, “Kenyan (African in general) media previously had a policy to not show any local content concerning tech” has drawn some criticism, so I thought it fair to elaborate on the choice of words.

What I was trying to say is that local technology start-ups are not receiving as much media coverage as I would like which would be an incredible ton of media coverage.

Also local Kenyan media companies like KTN are doing a fine job of covering local tech.

I admit it was a bad choice of words.

Complex Obsession Is Documentary On Colorism By African American Film Maker Joy Daily, Released Online

Munashe Gumbonzvanda — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 13:16:16 +0000

According to African American film maker Joy daily, Hip Hop has a complexion obsession. The idea of colorism is that people who are of mixed background; as in with one Caucasian parent are treated better on a social level than people who are not mixed.

The idea has powerful implications since it seems to affect women, and young children. Since the hip hop culture is global it is important for parents worldwide, and especially those in Africa to pay special attention to the images their children are exposed to through the art form.

The documentary is embedded below

On more information concerning Joy Daily, you can visit her website here or Facebook page.

A Skype App Is Available On Nokia Phones Through Download From The Ovi Store

Munashe Gumbonzvanda — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 17:13:09 +0000

A Skype mobile app has made it to the Nokia Ovi store. This will allow anyone to use the popular platform on their mobile devices, of course free of charge.

To recap skype is a service which allows you to make free PC to PC phone calls and also doubles as an IM platform. This new skype app will make die hard skype fan like me, communicate with my skype social network without the use of a computer.

This is also worth celebrating since Nokia is the most popular mobile device in Africa, so more people will be able to use Skype.

The app however is only available on Nokia phones who use Symbian the Nokia mobile operating software.

Yarnable Is A Microblogging Platform In The Making From The Founder Of YRN.ME

Munashe Gumbonzvanda — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 12:18:33 +0000

Ahmad Mukoshy is a Nigerian born serial entrepreneur behind the nifty url shortener we reviewed called YRN.ME. He is now working on a microblogging platform named Yarnable.

Yarnable, founded in mid January, 2010 comes in handy for your real time status updates answering the one simple question “What is happening”.

All topics created by users are neatly organised under related categories such as Sports, Movies, Business and even Technology.

Because privacy setting on social sites is often crucial, you can always set your privacy limit from your profile settings allowing you to block or allow public access to your topics. Simple, you can even host private discussions with your network of friends without thirdparty interference.

This impressive web site is coming out soon, will have the 1st private beta release around1st March 2010.

Yarnable Blog

The great thing about the new wave of Nigerian not to mention African entrepreneurs, who are emerging now is that these guys are taking the route of making custom made services instead of using open source stuff, as was popular a few years back.

Also we are starting to see the emergence of serial entrepreneurs, one of which is Ahmad Mukoshy, another people like Fritz Ekwoge Ekwoge.

To learn more about Yarnable please visit their blog or twitter page.

iHub The Kenyan Incubation Hub Is Being Launched Today

Munashe Gumbonzvanda — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 19:10:06 +0000

iHub the incubation hub based in Kenya was launched today. The team behind the project has worked tirelessly to make iHub a reality, and it seems like it will finally pay of.

The event is being shared with the world online.

You have the option of watching the event online live on Ustream or visiting the Twitter live stream (the official Twitter hashtag is #iHublaunch).

Embedded below is the Ustream live footage from the iHub launch party.

Streaming Video by Ustream.TV

To get more information, you can visit Afrinnovator, a blog run by a Kenyan team who actually are involved with iHub.

Gatorpeeps The Microblogging Platform From Afrigator Is Experiencing A Technical Difficulty

Munashe Gumbonzvanda — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 18:05:07 +0000

Gatorpeeps is one of the many microblogging platforms competing for market share in the African web 2.0 scene.

The popular South African microblogging platform, created by the same people who created Afrigator, is experiencing technical problems. If you try to send a peep, you receive an error message.

The peep is however updated on your status profile.

I use the service regularly, and it is a major turn off to get an error message every time you use the microblogging platform and this has been occurring for over a week now.

The error message is below