Items by mtoto wa jirani

mtoto wa jirani

• What About ‘Creating’ Open Data?

  Posted: April 4, 2012, 2:05 am by mtoto wa jirani

  I spent a good part of my afternoon yesterday following the proceedings at the Connected Kenya Summit which is aims to establish a platform for collaboration, capacity building and priority sharing between government and the IT sector with a view of linking and hastening implementation of government IT projects to world class standards.

  One of the sessions, “Knowledge Diffusion & Open Data” focused heavily on the Kenya Open Data Initiative - its challenges and opportunities. The panel for this session was made up of the following people:

  • Cam Cadwell, National Account Manager, Socrata
  • Dr Bitange Ndemo, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information and Communication
  • Dr Katherine Getao, ICT Secretary, Directorate of eGovernment
  • Marisella Ouma, CEO, Copyright Board
  • Chris Finch, World Bank
  • Paul Kukubo – CEO, Kenya ICT Board

  Almost every one of these guys called out techies to make use of the open data portal by creating apps etc.

  Techies reacted naturally: update the data.

  Simple argument: Techies thrive in an environment that’s constantly moving fast with new technologies, new knowledge and new skills. So data that’s dated 2009 is very unappealing to this group.

  That’s the boring stuff. Here’s the exciting part.

  Rather than focus our efforts on asking the Government & other open data stakeholders like the World Bank to update their datasets, why don’t we participate in the open data movement by ‘creating’ open data? Here’s an example: setting up sensors on a public road to monitor and gather traffic data.

  Chris Finch from the World Bank spoke about personal data and its value towards improving people’s lives if strategically mined to do so.

  Why not?

  Why not build an open data portal and apps that aggregate citizen generated data?

  The major value add here is that the data is real time and in that sense timely. This is critical because data made available as quickly as necessary preserves the value of the data – a core principle according to the Open Government Data Principles.

  This also addresses the frustration of ‘old’ data on the existing data platforms.

  Build on this?

• Save Computer Literacy!

  Posted: April 1, 2012, 12:38 am by mtoto wa jirani

  …no, I’m not in one of my slacktivism modes again…at least not yet.

  Photo Credits: toolmantim - CC-BY 2.0

  I read an article on the New York Times this morning - Computer Science for the Rest of Us. It starts off from a common foundation:

  Many professors of computer science say college graduates in every major should understand software fundamentals. They don’t argue that everyone needs to be a skilled programmer. Rather, they seek to teach “computational thinking” — the general concepts programming languages employ.

  I think we all agree on that. What seems to be rousing debate is what exactly are the core elements of ‘Computational Thinking’ and the definitions of computer literacy.

  I particularly have an issue with the following statement from the article.

  “ ‘Literacy’ implies reading and writing, so ‘computer literacy’ suggests that writing programs is a required skill for activity under this name,” says Henry M. Walker, a computer science professor at Grinnell. “However, general citizens may or may not have to write programs to function effectively in this technological age.” He prefers to promote “computer fluency,” attainable without assignments in programming.

  I think this is stereotypical.

  Stereotypical in the sense that the ‘writing’ part of computer literacy has been skewed towards programming yet there are so many other aspects of computing that could count as ‘writing’.

  I just peeked at the Computer Literacy article on Wikipedia (thank God for collective intelligence) and even they have a better understanding of it.

  Computer literacy is defined as the knowledge and ability to use computers and related technology efficiently, with a range of skills covering levels from elementary use to programming and advanced problem solving.

  You see, with computers in general, its both the strategic use and the skills necessary to do so – not one over the other. We shouldn’t want to screw over some guys because they don’t know how to code basing this on the argument that its a ‘necessary’ skill. I don’t think so.

  I’m not going to insist on defining what ‘basic’ and ‘necessary’ skills are with regard to computational thinking and computer science but I do believe we need to have these conversations to avoid benchmarking wrong assumptions to popular stereotypes.

• Rebel with a cause?

  Posted: January 14, 2012, 10:06 pm by mtoto wa jirani

  A little background…

  In 2010 I participated in a workshop organized by Hivos and the Centre for Internet and Society, Bangalore dubbed “My Bubble. My Space, My Voice”. This was part of a series of workshops in three different regions that resulted into a knowledge inquiry into the field of youth, technology and change in a four book collective “Digital AlterNatives with a Cause?”

  Photo Credit: Maureen Agena

  Fast Forward…

  I run digital literacy camps through The Kuyu Project initiative one of which was with a group of girls who created a social network to consolidate the efforts of high school students around community service. I used the Digital AlterNatives with a Cause? Book (download free here) as one of the training tools and we had lots of fun with it.

  The girls found the title of the book “weird” for some reason and made a lot of fun about it. Eventually the idea of the book sunk in their minds and one of the girls, Kasyoka Salim, eventually linked it to my character and beliefs: she called me a “Rebel with a cause!”

  The Link…

  In her own words…

   

  The idea here is the belief that everyone has within themselves the ability to challenge the existing stereotypes and dogmas in pursuit of something they strongly believe in and identify with…and that’s the boring part!

  The exciting part is the undertaking process and its manifestation which make a huge contribution to the strengthening of your character. (I see this everyday in the girls that I mentor…and oh is it a joy to watch!)

  Its a task…that I know experientially  for sure! But for all its worth, count me in!

   

   

• #OccupyTech: Take the money out of tech…and put the impact back in!

  Posted: November 17, 2011, 12:03 pm by mtoto wa jirani

  UPDATE: Really like @NonieMG‘s comment so I’m giving this post an alternative title: “Take the SH out of IT!”

  *****

  The inspiration for this post came from Wangechi Mwangi, a recent high school graduate and founder of AZMA, a social network that aims to consolidate community service efforts among Kenyan high school students.

  Now that that’s out of the way…

  We are caught in a rat race – and if you stop one of the mice and ask them why they are running around in circles, they will not give you a definite answer!

  That’s the culture we’re adopting in the local tech ecosystem…hot on the heels of our American Silicon Valley counterparts. We’re so indulged in activities that we perceive to be crucial to our ideas’ success yet after giving it much thought, we’re really wasting time on unimportant things.

  I’ll give two examples.

  Last week I ran an event at the m:lab called Wireless Wednesday which focused on User Experience research for startups with mobile products. The lead discussant, Franco Papeschi of the World Wide Web Foundation (LOVE these guys!), went on and on about how weird it was that local (and some international) developers didn’t spend at least a morning to ask people to test their app with a real audience and give them feedback. (Kindly note that the test referred to here are in the UX context).

  I had an answer. In my understanding of the dev mindset, most people would rather spend that time chasing after venture capital and as soon as they get it, they’ll pay off some UX professional to do the necessary tests and research and give feedback.

  Notice something flawed about this? Look at it from the flip side. Instead of wasting time and energy seeking venture funding, why doesn’t the developer invest that time in UX tests that will ultimately result into an app/service (whatever) that people will love, use perhaps because it fulfils their needs or solves a problem? Won’t users be more willing to pay for it if this is the case?

  Example two.

  University education is weird!

  I did a Bachelor’s degree in Business Information Technology in college (and I spend every night wishing I had dropped out!) and I do remember one of my lecturers telling me that one core principle of software development was to solve problems – and this was well illustrated using the software development life cycle diagrams. I found the diagrams boring…but I now realize their importance – something that has continually been sacrificed for what people keep chasing after in the rat race.

  While coursework hasn’t changed much, a lot of co-curricular activities supporting coursework has. We’re increasingly seeing universities shifting their focus on their core goal (i.e. research) to looking for grants left right and center.

  I recently attended an event at Strathmore University‘s iLabAfrica where the patron (or whoever he was) went on and on about all the grants they had received in excess of hundreds of millions of shillings. I had one question for him: how many smiles have you put on your beneficiaries faces and does it justify the sum of money you are the chest thumping about?

  Here’s the bottom line.

  Unless you are directly making an impact in someone’s life with you apps and all the hustle around them, you’re really doing nothing meaningful. I’ve said this over and over and over on this blog and in others I contribute to.

  For some reason, no one seems to be listening…yet, none of these seem to know what they are doing.

  I recently had a chat with two people I have a lot of respect for: Jay Bhalla and Phares Kariuki. We went back and forth about how devs have no clue about how venture capital works, business model innovation or even basic pitching skills. That isn’t the striking thing though.

  What shocks me about this is that despite the lack of insight into these and other fields, a number of guys are plunging themselves into the ecosystem! Why would anyone do that!? So far, my answer is simply for the money…and two, coz every other mouse is doing it!

  Get real people!

  Money is driving people in totally wrong directions!

  Sober up and think about it for a second.

  What’s more meaningful and worth your hustle? Money or impact?

• Goal Setting: A Manual for East African Techies

  Posted: October 4, 2011, 9:48 am by mtoto wa jirani

  Last week I had the opportunity to interview Vint Cerf, the “father of the Internet”, at the iHub Synergistic Communities event. Naturally, my questions we’re targeted at Google’s “devotion” to the Internets’ roots as built into the TCP/IP protocol (I think Google is the only firm that has successfully remained true to the Internet’s fundamental founding principles while at the same time still making a hell of a profit – but I guess that’s another blog post on its own).

   

  Vint Cerf

  As the interview continued, Vint mentioned something that caught my attention. Well, its not exactly what he said but how he contextualized it. Vint focused our conversation to his latest passion and current work: building an intergalactic internet infrastructure backbone. He explained the intricacies of how this will work and that’s when the “light bulb” moment hit me!

  Here was a guy looking at the next best thing, not in the short term timeline, but an achievement he hoped would be realized in the next 25 years! There’s only one word that can summarize this and at the same time add a waft of class to it: VISIONARY! What I see in Vint is a guy willing to delay gratitude and short term economically oriented gains for something much greater – and to be honest, very few posses this quality…especially with the current trend in East Africa’s tech circles.

  You see, locally, we’ve perfected the model of consumer -facing apps and tech products whose ultimate goal is the app store. This model has two problems: one, its not sustainable as a business. Off the top of my head I can’t think of any successful business that makes its money purely out of selling apps in various app stores (unless their core business is developing the apps themselves). Secondly, it doesn’t contribute much to innovation. This model fans the furnace that drives the “re-invention wheel”. Lastly, it doesn’t solve problems. Those of us who we’re lucky to have gone through formal university training know that problem solving and meeting people’s needs is a core pillar of software engineering. I know very few apps that we’re coded in two days that do this. A good number of them ride on a “popularity wave” based on technology (as evidenced by the Android platform) among other factors.

  I strongly believe that the East African developer community should start to look towards long term, practical projects and I might add that the core focus be on the back end of the innovation and not necessarily trying to please consumers in order to get them to write you a cheque. Let’s be visionary…like the ones who went before us: Vint Cerf, Tim-Berners Lee, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Larry Page and Sergey Brin. All these guys anticipated a need and moved to fulfill it…not in a week. Most of these guys’ achievements span their entire lifetime.

  Anyone re-thinking their goals yet?

• The (Unfortunate) Role of “Sufuria Economics” in Kenyan Tech Innovation

  Posted: July 24, 2011, 7:21 pm by mtoto wa jirani

  I’ll illustrate this using a recent experience.

  A couple of weeks back I met a developer who was working on an app for the Sub Saharan Android Developer Challenge. It was the last day for submission and this guy was struggling to get his app fine tuned before submission.

  A minute or two later, a couple of his friends walked into the room and they had a discussion that in part led me to write this post. The guy developing the app told his other two buddies about how he hoped to win the cash prize for the Android challenge and what he would do with the money. A lot of it centred on getting popular gadgets etc. To this point, nothing he said really bothered me.

  A little further down the conversation,  the developer made clear his intentions. He went on and on about how he would enter the app in a number of ongoing and upcoming developer competitions with a clear emphasis on winning the grand cash prize or winning gadgets.

  My heart sunk.

  A number of developer types are using their skills to earn a living…and don’t get me wrong – I fully support this. We live in a context where a developer is a “hustler” and writing code is a genuine way of sustaining oneself.

  …and while this is true, most abuse it…and even worse, most sacrifice innovation by doing this.

  What I mean by this is that a great amount of our efforts are spent satisfying our passions instead of pushing the limits as to what we can do with code. If the reverse were true, I strongly believe we would be making solid strides in tech innovation and not re-inventing the wheel as I see most people doing.

  Here’s a different story to illustrate this.

  When Google developed Chrome, it was basically viewed as a challenge to Firefox and came off as re-inventing the wheel. Google then later announced they were going to attach a kernel directly to a browser in a bid to create an operating system of a different kind. Look how that has turned out.

  A couple of years down the line, Google has two flagship devices running Chrome OS that creates a new revenue stream for them and a world of possibilities for innovation in Cloud Computing spheres as well as in various digital domains.

  Had they focused their entire efforts in marketing chrome to”satisfy their passions”, Google would have lost an opportunity that very few had seen.

  Innovation spurs opportunity…including economic opportunity.

  Opportunity does not extend innovation…rather it kills it – and this is the role “sufuria economics” is playing in the local (Kenyan) Tech scene.

  Think about it.

• The problem with Academia…

  Posted: June 29, 2011, 1:55 pm by mtoto wa jirani

  I’m finally done with school…for real. I have absolutely no plans of pursuing any academic achievement beyond my pending Bachelors Degree. And while its very easy to write me off and stop reading this post at this point, I beg your indulgence as to the reason why I’ve made this decision.

  Two words: Academic Inflation.

  Citing Wikipedia:

  Academic inflation is the process of inflation of the minimum job requirement, resulting in an excess of college-educated individuals with lower degrees (associate and bachelor’s degrees) competing for too few jobs that require these degrees and even higher, preferred qualifications (master’s or doctorate degrees). This condition causes an intensified race for higher qualification and education in a society where a bachelor’s degree today is no longer sufficient to gain employment in the same jobs that may have only required a two- or four-year degree in former years. Inflation has occurred in the minimum degree requirements for jobs, to the level of master’s degrees, Ph.D.’s, and post-doctoral, even where advanced degree knowledge is not absolutely necessary to perform the required job.

  …and that’s just half the story.

  Last night I was driving home with my mum and we chatted about my finishing school and future plans. As you probably expect we argued about my decision not to pursue a masters. While academic inflation was my primary reason, I also argued from the point that I’m not the kind of person who would go about looking for a job. I’ve always cherished the ideas and skill sets I have and always determined to make something out of them (and I might add at this point that a job doesn’t qualify).

  Academia is honestly in my opinion biased towards getting people prepared to work in the “real world”. Its aims are to equip students with knowledge and skills that will enable them to tackle the challenges they will come across outside academic circles. To paraphrase it, it makes a lot more sense to have real world success as opposed to handing in homework!

  I’ve got a problem with this.

  Who says that academia is not a part of the “real world”? Are we fencing off students from the challenges they should ideally be tackling? My answer? YES!

  We spend almost 20 years putting kinds in boarding schools and universities teaching them about ideals of the world and setting these ideals as the default standard when in reality, the “real world” is a complete opposite. Proof of this is the fact that most organizations have to train new recruits for almost a year before they can actually begin working tangibly.

  Academia’s biggest problem is the fact that it doesn’t exist together with the real world!

  I will go ahead and propose a solution: self-directed learning!

  I recently cam across Uncollege.org which advocates self-directed learning based on three things; introspection, passionate action and self-motivation (words I rarely hear in academic circles). I believe this is true and I strongly advocate for this. We should focus our learning efforts in the real world rather than hiding behind “academic walled gardens”. This way our learning is practical and realistic with a direct impact on our world.

• Its time to democratize programming!

  Posted: June 16, 2011, 10:55 pm by mtoto wa jirani

  Last week I was playing around with Google App Inventor, a web based tool that allows you to make simple as well as sophisticated apps for Android. It uses ‘blocks’ with cut outs like puzzle pieces and then uses a combination of these blocks to specify the app’s behaviour.

  Sort of like this one:

  It should be pretty easy to figure this one out. Its a simple “answering machine” for SMS’s.

  What really strikes me about this app is not only its simplicity, but the fact that it was built by an English major with no prior programming skills!

  How about that?

  Here is someone who notices a problem or rather a need and without effort, finds a solution using technology…and I believe this person was able to do this because he understood the value of technology and used this value to seek out opportunities for solving this particular problem.

  …and that leads me to think that its about time we ‘democratize’ programming.

  Its about time we lowered the barriers to creating tech based solutions for our needs and problems just as we did for consuming tech based information (Think tablets, Cell Phones, Portable Music Players and related items).

  Quoting the authors of App Inventor;

  Imagine a world where you can transform ideas into prototypes without hiring programmers, where you can make apps that work specifically for you, where you can adapt mobile computing to fit your personal needs.

  I’m calling out to the developers among us and challenging them to take initiatives (such as the afore mentioned) to empower non-programmers to find tech based solutions that suit their personal needs.

  Any seconds?

• Capitalizing on Shared Values in Digital Spaces

  Posted: May 29, 2011, 8:43 pm by mtoto wa jirani

  I recently had the opportunity to meet face to face, for the very first time, with the people I have worked with on The Kuyu Project and StorySpaces for almost a year.

  Deb, Vic and I - The Kuyu Project Core Team

  Deb, Vic and I have worked on various initiatives in different capacities in our organization and we have done this virtually for a little under a year. For many, this is unreal!

  Reflecting on this achievement, I now understand the ‘forces’ that have enabled us to work together virtually with concrete progress and achievements.

  Of course a major ‘force’ is the tools that enable us to communicate and work together. I’ve talked about this in a previous post. Tools such as Email, Productivity Suites, Apps on various platforms etc have enabled us to make solid advancements in our work.

  The less obvious ‘force’ has surprisingly nothing to do with technology…well, at least not directly. I believe that there are shared values in digital spaces that connect people together around various causes and efforts.

  I often study people’s behaviour online and there seems to be some binding values that effect this. Values such as openness, net neutrality, privacy etc. We seem to be more ready to trust people we’ve never met in person when we base our trust on the assumption that these people share the same ‘digital values’ as we do and our every interaction is built on this foundation afterwards.

  In the last year I’ve used this foundation built on shared values to incubate and grow an internet based organization…and this is one of the simpler things.

  Based on my experience, I think we as a global digital community should strive to protect, develop and grow the values we share in digital spaces so as to provide a solid foundation and framework to capitalize on the Internet’s power and resources…people included.

  What do you think?

• A smile is good enough for me!

  Posted: April 28, 2011, 10:21 pm by mtoto wa jirani

  preamble:

  I’ve been going through a tough time lately and figured I needed to re-ignite the passion I had for using technology to effect social change. This post, re-blogged from the Digital Natives website, seemed to help quite a bit.

  So I’m sharing it with you with the hope it helps you out in your low moments.

  ****************

  I’ll be honest with you…I may not fully understand why I chose to teach high school kids how to use social media and all but I do understand the value of it.

  I work with High school students between the ages of 14 and 18 and the one thing about them that provides a common ground is their ideas and their dreams! Most of these students come from the rural parts of Kenya and probably don’t have as much of a chance at life as their colleagues in urban cities…but they still cherish their dreams and ambitions and keep hoping that one day they will live to see their dreams come to fruition.

  Every time I talk to these kids they seem to jump at any opportunity they recognize to advance their causes and ambitions. They recognize that they have the potential to make a change, not only for themselves, but also for those around them…So when they learn about digital tool, their value and the opportunity it accords them, their faces light up with a glow and a wide smile spreads across their faces…

  …and that’s what makes it worth the effort: the smiles on their faces!

  As a digital native with a cause, I am obviously burdened by a number of constraints including bandwidth costs and speeds, funding, privacy and licensing issues…but none of these compare to the satisfaction you get knowing that you have made a difference in someone’s life and because of your effort, your initiative, someone has a better shot at achieving their goals.

  …and for me, that is what change is about: empowering someone to make a difference in their own little corner of the universe! And when they do, they have the same glow, the same smile on their faces they had when they were first empowered.

  I may not exactly know why making a difference is really my business but I know for sure that its something the world urgently needs…and as a digital native, I am empowered to use technology to effect that change in many ways. I will not shy off! Neither will I make excuses for it or apologize to anyone about it. This is my way of making the universe a much better place…this is my bubble, my space, my voice. Someone’s future depends on my activities and I risk that if I fail to fulfill my self adopted responsibilities.

  Some of you may be smiling as you read this and I strongly believe it’s because you recognize and understand the value of being a digital native…with a cause. And because you have seen the smiles and the glow on other people’s faces as you go about your work. And I bet you wouldn’t want to trade that experience for anything!

  In the current state of the world where despair and disbelief are the status quo, we need to appreciate the value of a smile…we need to put a smile on people’s faces.

  …so what are we waiting for?

• Rebranding mtoto wa jirani

  Posted: April 5, 2011, 11:09 pm by mtoto wa jirani

  When I started this blog a little over a year ago, I chose to focus on what I believe is my strength: ideas. My aim with that was to build mindshare and engage others. This of course was based on my personal mission to change the world!

  I’ve grown since.

  I’m still focused on my mission, I’m just taking a slightly different path – starting with my blog. Beginning today, I’ll focus the content of this blog to the topical intersections of technology and its application in social change processes.

  Rather than just publishing news, the content will mostly be based on personal thoughts and opinions on related issues.

  This is just a couple of the many changes coming ahead…and its not only for the digital me.

  My recent work at The Kuyu Project and StorySpaces as well as interactions with different people in the past year through conferences (and hanging out at the *iHub_ ) has led me to focus my efforts on using technology to effect social change.

  So, not only will I change my blog content and tweets, you’ll see a lot more of my efforts beyond the digital. My current projects and new initiatives will be primarily based on this theme.

  I figured this is an appropriate time to ‘re-brand’  seeing as I’m in my last semester at university and for a while now, held one foot in the industry. This is my way of taking one foot out of academia (finally!) and firmly standing ground in the industry.

  For those who are curious about my mobile background, I’m still solid with it but on a slight pause. Will explore more on that front during my internship at the m:lab (hopefully) in July.

   

  …and for those that are curios about the basis of my new found path:

• There’s more to Digital Literacy than just mere skills – The right to digital literacy

  Posted: March 22, 2011, 7:22 pm by mtoto wa jirani

  This post is in response to the Digital Natives Blogathon:

  Rights have been on everyone’s agenda lately. From the political revolutions that shook the Middle East and North Africa which sustained their motivation through an universal appeal to them, to questions of privacy, openness and access to information in the post-wikileaks world, human rights as a political, social and developmental framework for discussion is very much active.

  We want to get your opinions on the subject, in a cre…ative way: On March 21st, on the occasion of the Human rights celebration in South Africa, we are having a blogging marathon, or blogathon. What this means is that all of us at the Digital Natives project and the greater community will be blogging about a single topic, at the same time.

  What a monumental event, young people from across the world, getting together and expressing their views together, as one, in a single united voice. Neat uh?

  The blog topic will be:

  “I believe that _______ should be a right in the digital age”

  You fill in the blank with whatever idea or activity that you think should be upheld as a a human right in the coming years. Play around with concepts, remix rights already established, think of your own rights which should exist, or that will exist according to you in 50 years, 100 years, maybe even 500 years…

  This blog post has been cross posted from here.

  And now, my response…

  ****************************************************************************

  I believe that Digital Literacy should be a right in the digital age.

  Digital Literacy, as perceived by many, scopes the basics of how to use different technologies and digital tools but I would argue that this is just the tip of the iceberg.

  I believe that the ‘digital’ is a mindset and not necessarily a thing. I base this belief on the fact that the ‘digital’ has changed the way we perceive things, the way we carry out different tasks and processes and to a large extent, the way we behave.

  The power that the ‘digital’ yields has consequently led to the establishment of the digital age which in a large part has contributed to the emergence of new ways of doing things.

  The ‘digital’ has placed in the palm of our hands the ability to be a driving force for almost anything we want. We can achieve whatever we want. We can be whatever we want. We can do whatever we choose to do. We can accomplish whatever we will. We are empowered!

  But…are we ALL empowered?

  Are we all on a level playing field now that the ‘digital’ accords each one access to the same tools?

  I would argue the negative.

  The ‘digital’ will always at any one point be 1% of the entire formula. There is the human aspect to it that some get to learn about but at different rates and in different ways at a time.

  Despite this uneven learning, many people may not get the chance to grab a piece of it. A number of people may have access to digital tools and technology but very few will get the opportunity to learn the techniques needed to maximize their investment on digital tools.

  The primary reason for this is because many assume digital literacy to be an automatic thing yet it’s not as common as most believe.

  Digital Literacy skills, the basics of handling digital tools and technology, are not enough to get by in the digital age. Why can’t we go an extra mile to teach people about value rather than just mere skills? This way people are able to realize the potential of digital tools and thus be better placed to maximize it.

  I’m not only pleading for digital literacy skills. I’m pleading for a deeper reach in the scope of digital literacy; one that encompasses not only basic skills but also a mind shift in the way we perceive digital tools.

• Free Mobile Devices! – An Open Letter to African Developers

  Posted: March 2, 2011, 10:03 am by mtoto wa jirani

  I’m a mobile web enthusiast and a major part of my digital lifestyle is based on the mobile web. I’ve pulled unimaginable stunts on a mobile web browser such as configure a BuddyPress installation from scratch on a domain and configuring a Google Maps based mash up. (I’ve been considering documenting these experiences in a book for sometime now. Watch this space!) The thing I’ve noticed with the mobile web is that it is ‘customizable’ in the sense that it provides the opportunity for convenience. The mobile web is a free and open platform. Anyone can build on it in any way for any purpose  and the developer solely remains ‘in charge’ thus according him/her the freedom and rights to do whatever they feel like with the mobile web space.

  Contrast this with ‘tethered devices’. (Term borrowed from Jonathan Zittrain‘s book: ‘The Future of the Internet and How to Stop it’)

  Tethered devices, devices that can’t be easily modified by anyone except their vendors or selected partners, only allow the consumer to use the product in the way specified by the manufacturer. They are many examples; iPhone, Xbox, TiVo. There is no freedom in the use of these technologies. Rarely can you build on them and when building for them, there’s always the occasional terms of service or whatever other rules that are determined by the manufacturer and often without your input.

  I have previously argued how adoption of various technologies is creating a digital divide in Africa. A number of technological advancements including tethered devices not only ‘lock out’ potential users but also lock out potential technological developments simply because they cannot be built upon in an open and participatory way. So, to paint a real world picture, we have a number of technologies coming up at an alarming rate (which is a good thing) but very few people taking them up or building on them (which is a bad thing).

  So how do we solve this problem? Free mobile devices: Avoid the tethered devices and focus on the mobile web.

  Its not a long shot but a sure one nonetheless.

  The mobile web is generative in that it has the capacity to produce unprompted, user-driven change. It is adaptable, easy to master, permission-free, and share-able unlike the tethered technologies. These characteristics of the mobile web allow us to retain the freedom (and the sanity that comes with it) to decide how we use it as opposed to letting a select few manufacturers decide what we can’t do.

  We shouldn’t let ourselves be tied down to a particular way of doing things or a particular kind of logic. This creates an unnecessary chain link fence on the scope of our potential and our reach of adaptation.

   

• Why you should edit your Country’s Wikipedia page

  Posted: February 10, 2011, 12:36 pm by mtoto wa jirani

  It has nothing to do with Wikipedia itself!

  Wikipedia is a great resource contributed by thousands of people who seem to understand the value of consolidating knowledge and sharing it with the world. This is the popular theory.

  I have a different perspective.

  If I was to make an edit to Wikipedia, I would be doing so on the premise that I am a credible knowledge source or I have credible skills in garnering and verifying knowledge. This seems to me to be true for most Wikipedians. However, its the flip side of the coin that makes all the difference.

  Somewhere at the back of someone’s mind, I bet someone’s probably thinking about the impact that his or her edit will make; either in in someone’s life or in some human context. One of these people know that knowledge is power and are determined to give whosoever stumbles on their edits the opportunity to be impacted or to make an impact.

  Think about this in the context of your country’s Wikipedia page.

  People who randomly want to know about your country will see the facts (of course) but as told in the eyes of other people. Your side of the story is left out. You miss out on an opportunity to shape the perspectives of other people and consequently determine the impact it will create.

  …and its not just our country pages!

  For every single topic we hold dear in our hearts, we have a unique opportunity to shape its potential impact simply by clicking a couple of times and editing its Wikipedia entry.

  The action is not important. Its the motive that matters!

  I strongly believe that every single human being is credible enough to edit Wikipedia. Of course we could go through some training or development to improve our skills but the fact remains that we are all credible knowledge sources and our knowledge has the potential to make an impact in people’s lives.

• Digital (Alter)natives: What being a digital native really means

  Posted: December 14, 2010, 10:02 am by mtoto wa jirani

  This post is a position paper that I prepared for the “Digital Natives with a Cause? Thinkathon” that happened in The Hague last week. A number of position papers were written for the event. You can download them from here.

  -*-*-

  There is a growing focus on how different people and groups use and relate to technology. Out of this, a popular discourse on digital natives has arisen.

  The idea behind digital natives is derived from an analogy of a native of a country “for whom the local religion, language, and folkways are natural and indigenous”. This suggests that a person’s natural response to stimuli in their natural environment quantifies them to be a native of that environment. This can be compared to the opposite case of being an immigrant where a person has to adapt to the environment they find themselves in.

  Digital natives therefore can be defined in the scope of their natural behavior and or response in the technological environment that is ever growing in today’s world. This is however not the popular view on this subject.

  Most people view a digital native as a person who was born during the general introduction and implementation of digital technology and to whom the same is a central piece in their daily lifestyle. Many also agree that this group of people have a similar familiarity with technology and that they embrace it as a central part of their daily lives.

  This view derives from it a number of qualities of a digital native which I’d like to focus on in this paper; the most notable one being age. Popular scholarship on digital natives holds that this group of people is mostly young and born in the digital age which refers to the period of time when digital technology was being implemented. A number of scholarships go ahead to specify this period as beginning from 1980.

  A number of arguments have arisen from this assumption including that of people who are familiar with digital technology but were not necessarily born after 1980. This argument has led to the classification of technology users under various categories besides digital natives. Some of these include:

  • digital immigrants – those who are adapting to the present changing technological environment

  • digital pioneers – those who are directly responsible for the general introduction and implementation of digital technology

  • digital outcasts – those who are slow or are unable to adapt to the changing technological environment for one reason or another.

  The argument each of these categories hold are based on the premise that technology use and adoption in the context of digital natives is not necessarily based on a person’s date of birth. Each outlines a number of factors, regardless of age, that reflects how people use and relate to digital technology.

  I agree with those arguments.

  If age was a determining factor, then we would brand everyone born after 1980 a digital native…but that isn’t the case. If anything, there is a larger proportion of this generation that is not familiar with digital tools and technology. If they do, it is to a very small scale and not entirely sustainable in practice.

  There is also the other view of people who are, to a great extent, familiar with digital technology but were born way before the digital age began to take shape. What category do we put these people in if we can’t categorize them as digital natives according to age?

  I believe that being a digital native means that you recognize the value of technology and the opportunity it presents to you in your daily life.

  I hold in my argument the view that being a digital native has to do with personal experiences in using technology and how these experiences define your relationship with technology.

  Many of us have been using technology for a very long time, for various purposes and for various reasons. Personally, I have been using technology since the fourth grade when I opened my first email address. Every interaction I’ve had with technology since has been based on trial and error which has provided a valuable learning experience and a strong foundation for my present use of technology in my daily work and life.

  This learning experience, for me, shed light on a number of issues, techniques, tools and technologies that now form the basis of my present relationship with digital technology.

  An example of an experience I’ve had that has shaped my view of and defined my relationship with digital technology is how I use my mobile phone. My mobile phone has been my primary means of connection to the internet and I’ve always pushed the limits as to what I can do with it. The most memorable experience is when I used the native browser on my mobile phone to set up, configure, customize and manage a BuddyPress site. This experience helped shape the mentality I have about the possibilities and many opportunities that mobile phones have to offer.

  It is out of such experiences that our relationship with technology is defined. I believe that the use of digital tools and technology in itself does not make you a digital native regardless of the work you do, your date of birth or the amount of time you’ve spent embracing these tools.

  I believe all digital natives come to a point in time when they undergo a transformative moment in their lives in which they understand the value of technology; based on their relationship as defined by their experiences with it.

  I think it is important for me to mention here that time has nothing to do with experience. Allow me to illustrate.

  I once met a girl who was very passionate about piloting and had a dream of becoming a pilot one day. In my discourse with the young lady I discovered that she had no idea how to achieve her dream and I offered to help her with it. I used my mobile phone to Google for information that could help her. We were able to find a piloting school near where she lived and all the necessary details about obtaining a license to fly.

  For this young lady, the experience she went through of using digital technologies to search for relevant information is what defined her relationship with technology. I say this because after meeting up with her a few months after this incident; she clearly outlined concrete plans of how she was going to achieve her dream of being a pilot.

  What struck me the most was how she was able to use digital technology to unearth all the information she had. It occurred to me that this young lady had gone through a transformational moment when we first started googling for a piloting school.

  She understood, from that experience, the value of technology in her own context and that defined her relationship with it.

  This young lady did not have to go through a buffer of time to recognize and understand the value of technology in her own life.

  In my field of work this theme keeps recurring from time to time.

  I work with African high school students to teach them how they can use digital technology to effect change in their community and to achieve their objectives. In my country, Kenya, most of these students have a basic of knowledge of technology that comprises mostly of definitions and historical backgrounds. This is majorly because it is outlined in the national education syllabus. We normally conduct digital literacy camps where these kids are made aware of the digital tools available to them and how they can use them to effect social change in their communities and to achieve their own objectives.

  One thing I’ve noticed is that there is a very large gap between the basic inferential knowledge of technology and the experiential knowledge of its value. Very few students are able to make a connection between what they are taught in school and the practical aspect of applying that knowledge. For most, a simple demonstration of basic arithmetic operations on the Google search bar is way beyond the possibilities they are made to understand in their classrooms.

  This ‘gap’ is the determining factor that defines what a digital native is and I believe that it can only be bridged by undergoing a transformational moment that defines the relationship one has with digital technology.

  Besides recognition of value, I’m also of the opinion that digital natives are able to recognize the many opportunities offered to them by technology as a direct result of understanding its value. By this I mean that a digital native has the capacity to seek out and effectively make use of various tools to achieve their own objectives; be it for their own benefit, or for the benefit of their own communities.

  A good example of this is the increasing growth and adoption of the Free and Open Source Software. FOSS, as it is commonly referred to, is based on activities, principles and values of digital natives that some scholarship recognize as being part of the digital native identity. Some of these principles include the value of freedom, tolerance and co-existence, collaboration and innovation, mobilization and participation, cross-cultural production and interventions. The list is possibly endless.

  In Kenya, the growth and popularity of the Ushahidi platform, an open source crisis reporting software, is a testimony to the character of digital natives and their ability to utilize the opportunity technology presents to make a difference in their society. The Ushahidi Platform allows anyone to gather distributed data via SMS, email or web and visualize it on a map or timeline. Its goal is to create the simplest way of aggregating information from the public for use in crisis response.

  Ushahidi was initially built by a group of Kenyan volunteers to map out incidents of violence and visualize the information. The platform in its initial deployment was a mashup of various technologies including Google’s mapping service, SMS aggregation software, open source web development tools and API’s from popular social networks such as Twitter and Facebook.

  I strongly believe that each member of the development team had a previous experience with either of the digital tools that now make up the platform, understood their value and sought out the opportunity in implementing it into the platform. This process of experience, understanding value and seeking out opportunity was instrumental in building the Ushahidi platform from mashup status into fully fledged software.

  And this is just the development team. Considering the 90/10 rule in technology where the technology is the 10% and the human effort the 90%, a lot of low tech and non development related work has gone into making the Ushahidi platform a success. These efforts in my opinion stem from the same process of recognizing the value of technology and seeking out the opportunities in implementing it to achieve some common objective.

  I believe the same is true for a number of open source projects. Most contributors go through the process of understanding the value of technology and seeking out opportunities in implementing technology to solve problems. Solving problems is a fundamental concept in software development.

  From a broader perspective, we begin to see the character of digital natives; the principles and values they uphold and stand for in their daily interactions with digital technology; the value of freedom, tolerance and co-existence, collaboration and innovation, mobilization and participation, cross-cultural production and interventions.

  All these and more are directly responsible for the growth of the open source movement. These values define the norms in the natural environment digital natives are accustomed to; the digital environment.

  In the framework of “digital natives with a cause?” a digital native is able to conceptualize the value of technology and building on this to effect whatever form of change or impact they seek in their context. This creates a framework for effecting social change that merges the use of technology and strategies of translating that use into offline access.

  Thus, the role digital natives play in various causes is not necessarily a hands off approach but more of a facilitative role in that they seek out ways of achieving various objectives using the tools and techniques they are most familiar with: digital technology.

  I strongly believe in the power if digital technology to create an impact in various fields.

  I’m however reserved to the fact that these tools need to be combined with a certain mental frame for a desired impact to be achieved. This mental frame is what I have described in this paper. A digital native with such a mental frame is in the right capacity to create a desired impact in their community.

  Borrowing from a fellow coworker in my field and a good friend, I would like to propose the use of the term “Digital Alternatives” as those who possess the mental frame described in this paper. This group of people is not separate of the broader digital natives category but possibly are a small self actualized niche of people to whom strategic use of technology is a priority as compared to being a part of the digital revolution that currently exists in today’s world.

  I also propose an in depth analysis of the processes of process of experience, understanding value and seeking out opportunity in relation to a digital natives strategic use of technology to achieve their objectives. Attention should be given to the details concerning the values that these people hold both from an individual level and from the greater community of digital natives.

  In doing this I believe that we can develop frameworks for understanding the work of digital natives and perhaps even a model for effectively using digital technologies for the same.

• Why you should think about your mouse clicks as an action that’s changing the world

  Posted: November 7, 2010, 12:18 am by mtoto wa jirani

  Yes, I’m on a “blog roll” this week.

  This post is the result of an activity I participated in at the Digital Natives Workshop in South Africa. It is cross posted from here.

  —

  As a digital native, we all have different “things” we are passionate about and that we choose to get involved in one way or another.

  I’ve believed, for sometime now, that as a digital native, the fundamental way in which we engage in our activities is by clicking…clicking as in a mouse click.
  Think about it for a second. We click, to tweet. We click to update our status. We click to publish a blog post (including this one!) We click to send an email. We click to share photos.

  With every click we are essentially changing the world!

  In my discussions with others I’ve come across a number of other fundamental “processes” that stem from clicking that we digital natives engage in that earn us our name.

  The funny/weird (depends on where you come from) thing about clicking around is that you meet up with many like minded people who are engaged in the same activity you are engaged in and are very zealous about it.

  By clicking, we connect with people.

  We reach out to others by clicking the send button on an email, by clicking on the reply button on Twitter, by clicking the ‘add as a friend’ on Facebook etc.
  By clicking to connect with others, we are essentially coming together to create, achieve, build…and get involved in a whole lot of other things as well. Thinking about it a little deeply, the medium we use to connect, the web, was created by the exact same processes of clicking and connecting.

  The web is based on open standards which are a direct result of people connecting (through clicking) to define what these standards are, how they are maintained and other related parameters. The web is also open and free (as in freedom). Who keeps it this way? More importantly, how do they keep it this way? (I’ll give you a hint: It has everything to do with your mouse.)

  While we connect through clicking, we are also dialoguing. We form Facebook Pages, Google Groups, Flickr Pools, this website…all by a series of clicks. We choose to be a part of a conversation by clicking ‘join’ or ‘create’ or even ‘like’ on a digital platform.

  We choose to dialogue on these platforms by posting updates, by tweeting, by blogging by posting photos etc. We give information that others may not have come across. We give our opinions and share our thoughts and feelings about the things we are passionate about. We talk to others about their own experiences and how we relate to them.

  …and even as we dialogue with others, we create knowledge. We share ideas. We contribute in a large way to the things we are passionate about…and we do this by engaging.

  By engaging, we become involved in creating the shift or the change we want to see in our little bubble, our little space, using our little voice. And the more we keep on doing this along with others, the more we create and sustain an impact in society.

  And this begins to get really exciting as we continue to understand that all this began with a single click!

  By clicking we connect with people and by connecting, we dialogue and by dialoguing, we engage.

  So the next time you click, think of it as an action you are taking to change the world.

• What are we developing? People or Apps?

  Posted: November 7, 2010, 10:38 pm by mtoto wa jirani

  In the last couple of days, I’ve met a number of people who work in the tech and development industries who, like me, are questioning the reasons and motivation behind the growth, use and adoption of tech in development work (or development theory if you will). Quite honestly, I’m not convinced that the motives are the correct ones. The methodology, in my opinion is also flawed to a certain extent.

  The cross breed of tech and development in Africa is stemming a number of awesome advancements and offering great potential and opportunities for advancing humanistic causes and other development agenda’s…and believe me this is a great thing! The only question I have is this: we know of many apps and tech solutions aimed at helping people advance in one way or another. How many actually do?

  Allow me to illustrate my point.

  I met a farmer who’s very keen on technology advancements but isn’t very receptive to the idea of adopting it for his own use. Asked why, he simply argued that none of the developers have spent time on a farm long enough to understand the intricacies of the work therein and those of the larger agricultural industry. Bottom line, the guy will only use an app if the person who built it spent at least 3 months in the farm prior to development.

  He has a very valid point.

  When we make applications, how do we expect them to suit the needs of our target markets…especially when we have no clear clue of what their needs are?

  Another illustration.

  We sometimes make apps and platforms (or even deploy them) but are we really conscience of who we are really helping? Do we want people to populate the app or platform with data and leave it at that? How does that data directly improve their lives? Whether socially, economically or even politically? If it doesn’t, in my opinion, your app is useless, even if it employs the latest technology and hello this is techniques. Remember, its the people who are supposed to benefit from the app, not the app benefit from the people. I believe this is a key issue we need to consider when building apps.

  The fact that Africa is doing well on the tech and development front doesn’t mean that you can jump in and cash in on it. It’s a little more detailed than what shows on the surface.

  My recommendation would be to spend some time with the people and establish what it is they really need and how it can directly impact them in a positive .way.

  What’s your recommendation?

  Tweet

• What are we developing? People or Apps?

  Posted: November 7, 2010, 10:36 pm by mtoto wa jirani

  In the last couple of days, I’ve met a number of people who work in the tech and development industries who, like me, are questioning the reasons and motivation behind the growth, use and adoption of tech in development work (or development theory if you will). Quite honestly, I’m not convinced that the motives are the correct ones. The methodology, in my opinion is also flawed to a certain extent.

  The cross breed of tech and development in Africa is stemming a number of awesome advancements and offering great potential and opportunities for advancing humanistic causes and other development agenda’s…and believe me this is a great thing! The only question I have is this: we know of many apps and tech solutions aimed at helping people advance in one way or another. How many actually do?

  Allow me to illustrate my point.

  I met a farmer who’s very keen on technology advancements but isn’t very receptive to the idea of adopting it for his own use. Asked why, he simply argued that none of the developers have spent time on a farm long enough to understand the intricacies of the work therein and those of the larger agricultural industry. Bottom line, the guy will only use an app if the person who built it spent at least 3 months in the farm prior to development.

  He has a very valid point.

  When we make applications, how do we expect them to suit the needs of our target markets…especially when we have no clear clue of what their needs are?

  Another illustration.

  We sometimes make apps and platforms (or even deploy them) but are we really conscience of who we are really helping? Do we want people to populate the app or platform with data and leave it at that? How does that data directly improve their lives? Whether socially, economically or even politically? If it doesn’t, in my opinion, your app is useless, even if it employs the latest technology and techniques. Remember, its the people who are supposed to benefit from the app, not the app benefit from the people. I believe this is a key issue we need to consider when building apps.

  The fact that Africa is doing well on the tech and development front doesn’t mean that you can jump in and cash in on it. It’s a little more detailed than what shows on the surface.

  My recommendation would be to spend some time with the people and establish what it is they really need and how it can directly impact them in a positive .way.

  What’s your recommendation?

• Digital Natives with a Cause?

  Posted: November 5, 2010, 1:18 pm by mtoto wa jirani

  As I interrupt my normal life schedule…

  Beginning tomorrow, I will participate in a three day international collaborative research effort through the “My Bubble, My Space, My Voice” workshop to be held in Johannesburg, South Africa. The aim of this research effort is basically to develop knowledge frameworks for understanding digital natives and their work in effecting social and political transformation.

  A digital native is basically someone to whom digital technology is a central part of their lifestyle. Thinking about this makes me realize that I’ve been a digital native since the fourth grade when I opened my first email address.

  The thing I’m really interested in getting out of this workshop is understanding how other digital natives across Africa are using mobile technology and related tools to effect change.

  I’m keen on this because we could be staring at a knowledge framework for developing and effecting change “techno-socially”.

  I’ll blog about the event daily (subject to bandwidth availability) and you can follow tweets using #digitalnatives.

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• Robotics and Mechanics: The next frontier in #ICT4D?

  Posted: October 17, 2010, 5:03 pm by mtoto wa jirani

  An observation I’ve made over the last two years in Africa led me to this thought. Quite often we’ve seen in the local newspapers stories about people who used a little mechanical knowledge and software development to come up with ingenius innovations that have great potential in the field they were created for. A couple of examples of these stories include a modified mobile phone which tells a fisherman when his traps have caught something, a boy who built a radio station from scratch by collecting old radio parts and putting them together; and more familiar, the story of William Kamkwamba who built a windmill to provide power to

  A couple of examples of these stories include a modified mobile phone which tells a fisherman when his traps have caught something, a boy who built a radio station from scratch by collecting old radio parts and putting them together; and more familiar, the story of William Kamkwamba who built a windmill from scratch to power a few appliances in their rural home.

  The common denominator in all these stories is that they blended their knowledge of mechanics/robotics and they used it to satisfy a need in their communities or to further advance a development need.

  My thinking and evaluation of these stories leads me to think that there is an existing opportunity for the use of robotics and mechanics to advance development objectives in various fronts. A couple of examples include rural electrification and agriculture. (Imagine what Witricity can do for rural electrification!)

  The only worry I have in mind at the moment is that of  funding such initiatives. The ones that we happen to come across are mostly built from scratch with spare parts and a large amount of curiosity coupled with innovation…and of course the impact is not really large scale and even if it were, it wouldn’t have a fair shot at sustainability.

  Nonetheless, I think #Robotics4D or #Mechanics4D (if you will) are the next frontiers in #ICT4D. If not, I believe we SHOULD make them the next frontier in #ICT4D. My reason here is that it opens up an entirely new platform on which innovation can thrive and new ways of doing things can be developed.

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• Boxed Water!

  Posted: October 15, 2010, 12:17 pm by mtoto wa jirani

  Yes…Boxed Water!

  I believe this is the best idea I’ve come across yet.

  According to the organization behind this initiative:

  About 76% of the Boxed Water container is made from a renewable resource, trees, that when harvested in a responsible, managed, and ethical way serve as an amazing renewable resource that benefits the environment even as it’s renewed. We ship our boxes flat to our filler which is significantly more efficient compared to shipping empty plastic or glass bottles to be filled. The flat, unfilled boxes we can fit on 2 pallets, or roughly 5% of a truckload, would require about 5 truckloads for empty plastic or glass bottles. Our cartons can also be broken down to their original flat state, and are recyclable in some areas.

  This is one AWESOME way of conserving water because if you think about it, responsible use and management of renewable energy such as trees does contribute a great deal to preserving water catchment areas which are the sources of our water. (You may pause to reflect a little on the on going battles to save the Mau complex which plays to host to Kenya’s largest water catchment area.)

  Its such kind of ideas that change the world. (In this case it was more like thinking inside the box to think outside of it).

  Even as bloggers all over the world participate in Blog Action Day 2010 and reflect on the topic of water, not only should we bring to light some the facts, figures etc but we should be able to creatively find sustainable solution to the problems we face regarding water…such as the idea of boxed water!

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• How about REALLY using the world as your office or classroom? [IDEA]

  Posted: October 7, 2010, 11:12 pm by mtoto wa jirani

  Reflecting on my last post gave me an idea I feel I need to share.

  I’m not a big fan of education but I am a HUGE fan of learning…and I believe learning is tied to application. What’s the use of knowing something if you aren’t going to use that knowledge? This is the basis of my idea which I will describe below.

  My idea is to create some sort of open portal on the web for people to collaborate on building content for various courses aimed at applying various kinds of knowledge in real world settings with an aim of creating an impact through it. I’m not talking about recreating courses that are already being offered in various universities across the globe…say ‘biology’ or ‘introduction to computer science and programming’. What I’m advocating for is collaborative learning and practical real world application of knowledge (sort of like “the world is my classroom/office).

  I’ll give an example.

  There’s a lot of talk on the internet about Mobiles for Development. I think it will have a greater impact if we structured a course of sorts to help organize these discussions into projects which have a real world impact…sort of like MIT’s Nextlab program.

  …and we could do this in so many sectors including agriculture, technology, development even specialist courses like photography and the nitty gritty detailed ones like medicine…its possible!

  Real world application of everyday knowledge is not something knew…if you have a day job its a norm…but what if you collaborated with other like minded individuals or groups with a similar passion as yours on a life changing project?

  I remain open minded.

• Quit school…then change the world!

  Posted: October 4, 2010, 9:38 pm by mtoto wa jirani

  I’ve spent about 15 years in a formal education system and to be quite honest, its probably made things worse than it has helped. Don’t get me wrong; education has given me great benefits as reading, writing, communicating etc but thats where it stops. Formal education does little to prepare students for real world, 21st Century challenges.

  Of course I’m not the first person to notice this and there are some great initiatives on the subject. However, I’d like to look at it from a personal experience.

  Most of my learning experience has been about learning content rather than learning skills…and quite honestly I have a problem with this. Content is inferential knowledge. Skills are experiential knowledge and if you ask me, the latter is much more beneficial than the former. I’ll use an example to explain this.

  Consider teaching a programming language say Python for example. If you’re teaching content, the student will only understand the Python programming language. If you’re teaching skills, the student will learn computational thinking which you can apply to any programming language.

  I believe we should focus on teaching skills that can be applied to niche situations rather than teach the content of a niche and lose out on seeing the greater picture.

  One of my favorite talks on the web is that of Steve Jobs on living before you die. He quit school and right after that went on to pick up a couple of courses that taught him skills which he used to build what is now the Macbook and the greater Apple organization.

  I’m not going to quit school (my dad would KILL me and in any case I’m graduating next year) but I have chosen to change my mindset. I would rather learn skills that will help me achieve my life objective (yes, I have one of those).

  Here’s Steve Jobs on “How to live before you die”. Let me know what your thoughts are.

• Websites vs Apps: The Kenyan Mistake (and a proposed solution)

  Posted: October 3, 2010, 5:27 pm by mtoto wa jirani

  If you took some time to study the African tech scene, particularly in Kenya, you would notice a slight problem. (Then again it could be just me but indulge me).

  Tech is booming in Africa, that’s a fact no one can challenge and moreover, growth is a good thing. Uneven growth is a not so good a thing and to be quite honest, I believe we have already embraced it.

  I could be wrong but the way I see it, most “techies” in the Nairobi tech scene seem to be “into” web development mainly using the PHP language…and believe me there’s nothing wrong with that UNTIL that becomes the predominantly growing sector in the industry.

  The risk here is that other sectors of the tech industry may suffer due to lack of innovation or mere interest! Sectors such as robotics, networking and even Business I.T.

  If the trend continues, what we’ll be seeing is a bunch of irrelevant tech solutions such as myriads of websites and web services which cannot be accessed by the majority of internet users seeing as 75% of Kenyans primarily access the internet from their mobile phone!

  Most of what we are seeing right now on the African tech scene are websites and web services. Of course there are a couple of apps here and there but then again with varying mobile platforms and standards its hard and costly to reach the masses using apps.

  The websites vs. apps battle really isn’t a “playable” battle in the African tech scene. My reason for saying this is that the parameters are quite different from those of the developed world. Parameters such as access to technology, usage trends and can go as wide as development issues.

  I have an idea for a solution: Why don’t we focus more on creating a standard platform on which developers can build locally relevant services and/or apps? The platform should take into consideration how the greater African population relates and uses technology and its potential impact on the African people?

  For example, I believe USSD and Voice Apps are a suitable platform for the African market although they may be limited in functionality. In the west, the common platform is a mobile phone operating system. I perceive most of the western people as having access to devices such as the iPhone, Android phones, BlackBerry’s and Windows Mobile all of which have a vast number of dedicated applications and even mobile sites customized for each. Perhaps if we could do the same in Africa, with locally relevant tech solutions, we could achieve a great deal of technological growth in all sectors.

  Technology development and innovation are not about showcasing skills but rather about problem solving. This is another mistake we are making in the tech sector. I personally know a good number of people who are extremely good at programming but they lack the necessary knowledge of problem solving (which, as I have learnt from my university education, is a fundamental principle in software engineering).

• Forging a merger between Mobile Learning and Mobile 2.0

  Posted: September 12, 2010, 6:37 pm by mtoto wa jirani

  Of late I’ve been pretty immersed in M-Learning, Mobile 2.0 and the intersection of both. The main reason for this is because just over a week ago a colleague of mine and I are working on an open source mobile learning platform with a bias towards Mobile 2.0.

  According to MoLeNet, M-Learning or mobile learning can be broadly defined as ‘the exploitation of ubiquitous handheld technologies, together with wireless and mobile phone networks, to facilitate, support, enhance and extend the reach of teaching and learning.

  Mobile 2.0 on the other hand is about leveraging social media with the advantages that come with the special capabilities of mobile devices like cameras and GPS. It is also about being smart by recognizing where we are and showing relevant information catered to that location.

  The intersection of the two will be the focus of this post.

  I’m a believer in learning by doing. I also believe in learning by making mistakes and learning from them. This two forms of learning provide a framework of how we can merge M-Learning with Mobile 2.0.

  You see, the beauty of mobile learning is that it is location aware in that learning happens in the context or environment in which you exist. For example, If I was to learn about basic public health and sanitation, it would make more sense to tailor the content to the reality that exists in my location rather than generalize the topic. This provides the learner with a much more focused syllabus that provides a greater chance of creating a greater positive impact in the targeted environment. It also accords the learner the opportunity to learn practically by applying the knowledge channeled through the M-Learning platform.

  Extending mobile learning through Mobile 2.0 enlarges its opportunity for impact. Learning is only one part of the story. What of creating e.g. through blogs? What of sharing e.g. through Flickr,? What of connecting with like minded people e.g. through Facebook, Twitter? What of collaborating e.g. through Google Docs?

  Adding social media to mobile learning extends the flexibility of learning in any given environment by providing a platform to encourage and sustain innovation.

  Allow me to paint a metal picture of what the intersection of mobile learning and mobile 2.0 will look like. Imagine teaching high school kids how to use social media to create a positive impact in their communities. You would use a mobile learning platform to help them identify the development needs of their local community and practically lead them through a step by step process of how to use various technologies and techniques to achieve their impact. The mobile 2.0 will allow these kids to be practical with their learning and to directly make a difference through this…

  …oh wait! Isn’t The Kuyu Project already doing this?

  =D

• The Digital Divide ‘Within’ African Technology

  Posted: August 23, 2010, 10:29 pm by mtoto wa jirani

  The digital divide refers to the gap between people with effective access to digital and information technology, and those with very limited or no access at all. It includes the imbalance both in physical access to technology and the resources and skills needed to effectively participate as a digital citizen.

  - Courtesy Wikipedia

  I’d like to expand this definition. I will concentrate on the first part.

  Access to digital and information technology is one thing. Adoption is another…and that’s the focus of this post.

  Our daily lives are dotted with bits and pieces of technology such as our mobile phones but very few of us fully exploit the benefits of these tools. The few who do passionately push the limits of the technology they have to create new opportunities for self and others.

  And this is where the risk is.

  One thing I have noted about technology adoption in Kenya is that we are not all on the same plane. Some people are really enthusiastic about technological advancements often adopting it early and pushing its limits. This is not a bad thing. It creates room for growth in the sector. It is however not also a good thing.

  In the real world, the one that doesn’t gawk at computers all day, technology adoption can be pretty slow in certain areas/sectors. I have friends who are almost technophobic simply because of ‘how far behind’ they’ve been left by the early adopters. Here’s a n example: When the late adopters were just beginning to warm up to Facebook, the trailblazers already had their Twitter accounts linked to their Facebook accounts and all the weird @ symbols, confusing jargon like RT and DM and #crazyonewordhashtags were too much to comprehend. They begin to see technological adoption as a steep learning curve as opposed to an opportunity for self advancement.

  I’ve tried convincing a couple of my friends to join Twitter and/or get blogs. I’ve got every excuse including “too many usernames and passwords to remember” to “those are only geek things” and even “huh!?”. The perception here is that those things are only for certain people…and the mistake we make is confirm it to them! i have come across a certain Twitter client which I used once or twice and a little while later I was deregistered and told that it “isn’t for everyone”!

  This is what is creating a digital divide WITHIN African technology. We have access to technology (just check to see if your phone is in your pocket). That isn’t a major issue. Its the adoption of technology and the perception we create and have towards it that CREATES a digital divide.

  I personally believe that addressing issues such as relevance of technology and its impact (both of which I’ve blogged about before) can help bridge this gap. If this is not the case then my prediction is that we will have so much technology but very few people using it…and even in such a case the users will be doing so selectively.

  What’s your opinion?

• You don’t have to be a geek to change the world!

  Posted: July 19, 2010, 5:49 pm by mtoto wa jirani

  I’m a geek.

  Now that that’s settled, let’s go on.

  In the last couple of weeks that I’ve been in Nairobi I’ve met so many people I follow on twitter. Its been one amazing experience. The one thing that I’ve learned about these people is the willingness and openness among my twitterati.

  One thing I noticed about the people I met is that they had some sort of caring or concern for each other. Its not surprising really. You put out a couple of tweets about what your up to and they honestly read them. I learnt this when everyone I met kept on asking the same question: “so, how’s The Kuyu Project?” I wasn’t surprised! The Kuyu Project forms about half of my daily tweet.

  Out of curiosity, I asked someone for the opinion of the different types of “tweeple” on the Kenyan twitterspace. She looked straight at me and said she didn’t like the geeks. Why? “They all have amazing projects aimed at changing the world…and make the rest of us feel like we’re doing nothing!”

  She had a point. WordPress alone is pretty baffling for some. How do we go on to explain how to use open source tools, domains and related stuff?

  Technology in itself can become a barrier if we make it too complicated. It is, however, not an excuse to sit down and learn how to use it.

  Besides the technology, there is a whole lot more to do than “tech stuff”. In fact, the technology is only the 10% of the entire picture. The 90% is as a result of human work. Let me put it this way: technology will not by itself market a campaign. Technology will not put food directly on someone’s plate. Technology will not talk to the hopeless and give them hope. It is a human being’s job to add a personal touch to the impact that technology is making.

  And this is where non-geeks come in. Using the same 90-10 principle, most of the effort is needed on the 90 non geeky percent. The effort put in here is what determines the success of the project. So its not the geeks who are changing the world…you are! Everytime you retweet a post, everytime you share a project with your friends on Facebook, everytime you take a moment to contemplate participating in a project, you are essentially changing the world! As for the geeks, we are only facilitating the force of change in the world!

  The other beautiful thing about getting involved in projects is that you learn…and knowledge is power!  The knowledge you pick up will aid you in advancing your own projects and ideas.

  We all know the famous quote by Mahatma Gandhi: Be the change you want to see in the world. It could be as small as sharing an idea. It all begins with mustard seed. That mustard seed is in you. Its the choice you have to make about getting up and making a change!

• You don’t have to be a geek to change the world!

  Posted: July 19, 2010, 5:49 pm by mtoto wa jirani

  I’m a geek.

  Now that that’s settled, let’s go on.

  In the last couple of weeks that I’ve been in Nairobi I’ve met so many people I follow on twitter. Its been one amazing experience. The one thing that I’ve learned about these people is the willingness and openness among my twitterati.

  One thing I noticed about the people I met is that they had some sort of caring or concern for each other. Its not surprising really. You put out a couple of tweets about what your up to and they honestly read them. I learnt this when everyone I met kept on asking the same question: “so, how’s The Kuyu Project?” I wasn’t surprised! The Kuyu Project forms about half of my daily tweet.

  Out of curiosity, I asked someone for the opinion of the different types of “tweeple” on the Kenyan twitterspace. She looked straight at me and said she didn’t like the geeks. Why? “They all have amazing projects aimed at changing the world…and make the rest of us feel like we’re doing nothing!”

  She had a point. WordPress alone is pretty baffling for some. How do we go on to explain how to use open source tools, domains and related stuff?

  Technology in itself can become a barrier if we make it too complicated. It is, however, not an excuse to sit down and learn how to use it.

  Besides the technology, there is a whole lot more to do than “tech stuff”. In fact, the technology is only the 10% of the entire picture. The 90% is as a result of human work. Let me put it this way: technology will not by itself market a campaign. Technology will not put food directly on someone’s plate. Technology will not talk to the hopeless and give them hope. It is a human being’s job to add a personal touch to the impact that technology is making.

  And this is where non-geeks come in. Using the same 90-10 principle, most of the effort is needed on the 90 non geeky percent. The effort put in here is what determines the success of the project. So its not the geeks who are changing the world…you are! Everytime you retweet a post, everytime you share a project with your friends on Facebook, everytime you take a moment to contemplate participating in a project, you are essentially changing the world! As for the geeks, we are only facilitating the force of change in the world!

  The other beautiful thing about getting involved in projects is that you learn…and knowledge is power!  The knowledge you pick up will aid you in advancing your own projects and ideas.

  We all know the famous quote by Mahatma Gandhi: Be the change you want to see in the world. It could be as small as sharing an idea. It all begins with mustard seed. That mustard seed is in you. Its the choice you have to make about getting up and making a change!

• The future of African Technology is VIRTUAL!

  Posted: July 6, 2010, 10:47 pm by mtoto wa jirani

  Its arguable.

  Most people believe that the future of African technology is mobile. I agree with them. I however want to look at it from a different perspective.

  Most organizations adopt an organizational structure that suits their organizational strategy. If you consider the growth of the industrial revolution, the structures that emerged were pretty much tied to growth objectives. We haven’t moved much from this system: we’ve mostly modified it to enhance the same business objectives of growth maximizing of return on investments.

  Virtual organizations have a different story to tell. Undoubtedly, they too are similarly tied to an organizations objectives, but here is where the difference lies. Most virtual organizations are based on the concept of technology optimism and focus on the impact it has or creates. I’ll expound.

  In Africa, technology themes like ICT4D, Opensource and Crowdsourcing all have a base on using technology to create positive impacts or achieve an objective. A virtual organization would help create a large scale impact in achieving these objectives.

  The reason here is that communication, a fundamentally success key in an organization, is aided by technology which is the basis of the virtual organization. Networks, a vital resource for organizations, are created and sustained through various technologies and concepts like Web 2.0 and social media. Web based collaboration tools are another example of how virtual organizations can be created and sustained.

  For those looking to create large scale positive impacts in Africa, virtual organizations are the way to go. But as expected, it will come with some hurdles.

  The internet seems to be the primary way to organize and run virtual organizations. In Africa, the internet is not as predictable or reliable as you’d expect it to be. I believe that by primarily ensuring that online communications channels are easily accessible and affordable, we will be catalyzing the growth and sustainability of virtual organizations and in turn help out in creating large scale positive impacts across the continent.

• Relevance is still a major issue in African Technology

  Posted: June 25, 2010, 2:20 pm by mtoto wa jirani

  I recently read an article by Stéphane Boyera of the World Wide Web Foundation on making the web more mobile and there’s an interesting quote that has got me thinking:

  …providing internet connectivity to the developing world does not immediately translate into economic or social development. There is a critical gap between internet access and access to usable and useful web content. It is access to, and the ability to make use of, information on health, education and agriculture that impacts socio-economic development, not connectivity alone…

  So the focus here, in my view, is the “usable and useful content”! Allow me to extend this to the applications we use, whether mobile, web based or desktop. Its not enough to create an amazing app with a label that says Made in Africa. We need to go the extra mile and ensure that  its purpose directly translates into a realistic positive impact. Allow me to illustrate:

  If I’m a farmer, I would like to have an application that not only tells me about the current market prices, but also tells me the best available fertilizers, their prices in my currency, and their availability in my locality. It would also help if I could get a review of the various types of fertilizer perhaps, in  a language I understand.

  This sort of information is usable and more importantly mobile in the sense that it is relevant to the farmer at his or her location.

  Relevance is still a major issue in the African tech sector at the moment. What is driving the sector is not the usefulness and usability of the technology we are creating. Rather, its an emotional roller coaster of the current buzz in the African Tech sector. I could be wrong on this but think about it for a second; when was the last time you downloaded an app that was useful and relevant to your position and focus?

  We need to refocus our priorities and put usefulness and usability at the forefront of our tech initiatives. I’m of the opinion that these two factors can lead us to create relevant content and applications.

  What’s your opinion?

• The Kuyu Project: The full details

  Posted: June 22, 2010, 4:25 pm by mtoto wa jirani

  I’m pretty sure you’ve heard of it. I’m just not too sure you know much about it. That’s why I’m doing this post!

  The Past

  The Kuyu project began as an idea that grew out of Digital Literacy camps that I helped organize and conduct in various high schools surrounding the University of Eastern Africa, Baraton campus. I thought that by teaching kids how to use various forms of technology, we could in essence fuel their dreams and ambitions which could one day be the innovations and solutions that would change the African continent. So I blogged about it!

  It didn’t take long before a couple of people responded. One Josef Scarantino (@jscarantino) of African Tech Network emailed me and offered to pick the idea (and this is how I joined the African Tech Network core team). We discussed the rationales and discovered it was quite a feasible project. So Josef, through the African Tech Network, offered to officially pick up the project and sponsor it. African Tech Network then went ahead and took care of the domain and web hosting. (And I would like to add that they are open to sponsoring African Tech projects. Just get in touch with them here).

  I was pretty excited about this so I did another blog post about the progress we were making. This is the point where things got a bit tricky.

  The Present

  We have got to the point where we know exactly what we want to do:

  To teach African high school students how to use various forms of technology so that they can use the same to make a positive impact in their communities

  So we have our mission.

  We also managed to get a minimalist website design done (which will be launched soon at [www.thekuyuproject.org]) and also set up a social media presence on Twitter (@thekuyuproject) and on Facebook as well.

  We have our wiki set up (link to be announced soon).

  We have our logo done (as seen above). It was done by Hal Huffman, the technical advisor to the webstartAfrica Board of Directors and passionate in his work to help African technologists achieve their goals.

  We have received great ideas including using the Open ICDL content on the wiki page which was suggested by @VOA_Crystal (whose passion and drive I admire a lot!). We are still open to ideas and receiving them as they come.

  The Future

  Here’s the next steps I’m planning to take with this project:

  • Set up a management team and an advisory board
  • Forming strategic partnerships with individuals and organizations that want to collaborate on the project
  • Developing crowdsourcing techniques to get content on the wiki
  • Mobilizing the content (either through a game, mobile web version or voice, USSD or SMS app)
  • Promoting the use of the wiki in various institutions and organizations

  This is only a plan and could change based on feedback and new ideas we get.

  The Reason

  I REALLY believe in this:

  By teaching African kids how to use various forms of technology, we are in essence fueling their dreams and ambitions which in the future have the potential to be the solutions and innovations that will change the African continent

  If you share the same belief and you wish to collaborate, partner or contribute, please get in touch with me through the contacts page. Would absolutely love to hear from you.  If you have any ideas, please feel free to post them in the comments so that other may also build upon them.

• Guardian Angels: Adopting young bloggers [IDEA]

  Posted: June 18, 2010, 6:00 pm by mtoto wa jirani

  Last week at BarCamp Nairobi I had the privilege of meeting twitter socialite, @savvykenya and shared a couple of ideas with her. We talked about social media and concentrated on the Kenyan blogosphere and how it impacts the way we see the world.

  Somewhere in the middle of our conversation i drifted off (sorry savvy) to think about the #NairobiDLC project and how I could introduce savvy to the project. An idea came into my mind. I noted how Savvy Kenya’s blog had grown so much in its readership (seeing as how Hall Six almost caused a viral sensation on twitter) . I mentioned this to her and I think out of modesty she tried to play it down…perfect time to let her know of the idea!

  What if we could nurture young bloggers (e.g. high schoolers) to mold their perception of it and start them off in the right direction? This was the starting point of the idea. I suggested to @savvykenya that it would be really cool for her to “adopt” a high school blogger and blog about and teach them about blogging in her niche. @savvykenya blogs about her college experiences and related likes. Wouldn’t it be cool if she “adopted” a young high school kid who wanted to share her high school experiences to the world?

  Later on I thought about this concept and I thought, wouldn’t it be really cool if established bloggers adopt a young blogger in their niche and lead them on?

  For example: a young high school kid who wants to talk about financial matters or business related issues would be “adopted” by @bankelele or @RookieKE. A young child who wants to talk about renewable energy can be adopted by @afromusing. A young child who wants to talk about politics can link up with @kenyanpundit or @kumekuchachris. A young kid who wants to write poetry can hook up with @wamathai or @mshairi (is she still blogging?)

  Wouldn’t it be cool to if YOU as an established blogger adopted a high school blogger in YOUR niche?

  You as an established blogger would then be responsible  to teach these young individuals how to use their blogs as a voice of reason and change (or random fun, depending!)

  To extend the idea a little further we can aggregate all these blogs together on one site and market the site appropriately.

  This idea is what we (@savvykenya and I) would like to call the Guardian Angels! We adopt young bloggers and lead them to become voices of reason and change! (Needs a little refining)

  I’ve been in touch with @savvykenya and she’s accepted to do this project. We have no idea how for now but were pretty sure we’ll get somewhere with it. Any ideas are welcome. You may leave them in the comments below or talk about it on twitter using the hashtag #GuardianAngels.

• BarCamp Nairobi 2010 – Afterthoughts

  Posted: June 15, 2010, 7:37 pm by mtoto wa jirani

  
  

  Over the past weekend I had the opportunity to attend my first BarCamp (despite my efforts to organize one of my own on campus )

  My thoughts on the event are a bit of a rant…I’ve got a good reason to!

  The sessions got to participate in were all high technology sessions with demonstrations of a geo-functional drupal installation (through command prompt…geekEGO!) and google mapping technologies and analytics etc!

  All that was nice but I would call a question on the relevance of the content. Its great that I can use all that technology…but remember, the only technology most Africans have in their hands is a mobile phone. So, If  I can’t chech out all the cool analytics features on my phone, then why bother listening to a talk about it? Or If the only thing I can do with mapping technology on my phone is limited in functionality, then what’s the point? (Phone here is not defined by smartphone)

  I’m a big believer in technology and its potential, but we mustn’t let  it run our emotions to the point that relevance to the immediate community is overshadowed.

  I would recommend that we customize all this “great technology” and make it more relevant to the African context. One way I’d suggest we do this for Africans is my mobilizing content…in the right context (that’s the bit most people don’t get).

  I could be wrong about this…what’s your opinion?

• ICT4D: The Technology Vs The Impact

  Posted: June 8, 2010, 10:38 pm by mtoto wa jirani

  On the issue of ICT4D, I agree with @whiteafrican when he says that “a technology platform or tool is not ICT4D, though it is used by ICT4D practitioners to do their work.”

  However, looking at it from a different angle, our focus of the whole concept is pretty flawed! A couple of weeks ago I met with Crystal Kigoni (@VOA_Crystal) at the launch of Voices of Baraton for Sustainable Development and we talked about this at length.

  The flaw in the picture is that we hype the technology we build so much that we forget the details of the impact we are supposed to create. We like to talk about how good the project is, how great that the idea is from Africa, how the technology created could become the next Google…etc.

  Surprisingly, no one really focuses on the impact and if they bother to highlight it, its majorly talk about how the technology itself created the impact and not how the lives of people have been changed and how that can be sustained!

  This is dangerous for one reason: we may get to a point whereby we are building apps and various technologies so that we can “apply them in Africa” instead of looking at the various development issues, analyzing the needs and ONLY THEN building technology based solutions to cater for those issues and needs.

  We need to rethink the whole ICT4D idea. In my view, if its starting point is the technology, then we’ve lost it. If we focus on the development issues and needs first, we definitely are on the right footing!

• A Plea from African High School Students (PART 1)

  Posted: June 2, 2010, 11:09 pm by mtoto wa jirani

  On 23rd May 2010 I once again had the opportunity to participate in a digital literacy campaign in a high school near campus; St. Joseph’s Chepterit Girls  Secondary School. An excited bunch of kids they are!

  These kids are super bright kids with great ideas and lots of potential! We met the computer students and helped them in their course work (mostly MS Access). I was stunned when I saw the types of computers they used…SUN SOLARIS!

  Much later we joined the rest of the school to give a talk on how they can use technology for their education and to make a positive impact in society.

  During this session I asked the kids to write down on a piece of paper what they wanted to be when they grow up and how technology that they already have (e.g. a mobile phone, a digital camera) can be used to achieve their dream. The results will shock you as much as they shocked me!

  “I would like to be a journalist. Technology will greatly help me as this is where I will send information to the people worldwide, store information in computers, it will also help me get access to the various activities going on everywhere worldwide.”

  “I want to be a Neurosurgeon. Technology helps me to get information on the internet and may help me to know of other things I do not know.”

  “I would like to be a lawyer. I know I can achieve it through the phone but how?”

  “I’m totally obsessed in beauty and I want to be a beauty therapist. I am sure technology will help me advertise my products and services, and get feed backs from my customer. I feel Wow! I want to associate with technology.”

  “I want to have a career that deals with International Affairs in politics and I think as far as I know all that I can do is just Google and get all the information about it. The problem now is how I will do it.”

  “I would like to be a Manager in the future. More specifically, I love Agriculture, Biology and Physics. I believe this can be my door way to be a Managing Director of a Horticultural Company. I really want and I would through your help and the technology.”

  “I want to become an Agricultural Officer especially dealing with crop and livestock production, but I don’t know how to access it.(presumably, the internet)”

  To me, this is more of a plea. These kids understand the potential technology has but they have absolutely no idea of how to harness it!

  I’m not going to beat about the bush! WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING! I’ve already began…

  I am currently planning Digital Literacy Camps in various High schools in Nairobi. My aim with is to find out what these kids know about technology and show them in detail exactly how they can harness its potential. I’ve set up a planning wiki here: [bit.ly]. You can follow the stream on twitter using the #NairobiDLC hash tag.

  Secondly, I’m setting up a digital literacy wiki known as “The Kuyu Project” aimed at teaching African students how they can harness the potential of technology and use it to make a positive impact on society. This idea was born out of a recent blog post which was endorsed and now is sponsored by the African Tech Network.

  If you would like to get involved in any of the following projects kindly get in touch with me through the form on the contacts page.

  I’m placing a big bet on digital literacy for only one reason:

  By teaching these kids how to use various forms of technology, we are in essence fueling their dreams and ambitions which one day may possibly turn out to be the solutions and innovations that propel the African continent and its people to prosperity!

• Digital Literacy Project takes off!

  Posted: May 19, 2010, 9:17 pm by mtoto wa jirani

  I recently blogged about an idea of how we can use the power of wiki’s to come up with some sort of Digital Literacy curriculum which African students across the continent can use to improve their digital skills and more importantly which they can use to make a positive impact in their own lives and communities.

  I’m glad to announce that I have made some headway with this project and in collaboration with the African Tech Network (ATN), have announced the project and we will be launching it very soon. I made the announcement on the ATN blog and if the blog stats and the enrolment on the African Tech Network are anything to go by, I believe we are going to get somewhere with this.

  Discussions on the wiki-based digital literacy website are now on going in the ATN forum page (You will need to sign up for an ATN account). Please feel free to make a contribution which in turn I believe will give an African student somewhere the opportunity to make a positive impact in their lives and communities.

  I say this because by giving these students these resources, we are essentially fueling their dreams, aspirations and ambitions which may one day turn into the solutions and innovations that will change the entire course of the future of this continent!

  Many thanks to @jscarantino and the @AfricanTechNet for the help on this project!

• The Focus of African Technology (as contrasted with the rest of the world)

  Posted: May 13, 2010, 5:28 pm by mtoto wa jirani

  I recently came across an article by @TMSRuge on how Africa’s booming tech space will define the continents future. Aside from the future of African Technology, I began thinking about its scope and focus. The authors emphasis on the mobile phone is what drew my attention.The idea of 450 million youth growing up with a mobile phone in their pockets tells a story of possibilities.

  The age of the connected palm is upon us. Within the next 5 years, the communication device in the hands of most Africans will be virtually indistinguishable from a laptop by functionality.

  Similar to this story is an article in the May 8th Saturday Nation titled ‘Africa truly leads in smart mobile phone use‘. The article by Randall Smith describes the technology atmosphere in the western world as PC -based…allow me to include gadget-based as well.

  With the development of new technology moving faster than the speed of light, there’s a prediction that most of the world will soon be accessing the Internet through mobile devices in a few years. In the US, that’s revolutionary thinking. We’re addicted to our personal computers. But in Kenya and elsewhere in Africa, this is not news. The continent has skipped over America and other countries by being first with mobile advances. Africans are doing things, like sending money to family on cellphones, that is not yet common in the here.

  While it is a great thing that mobile technology is taking to the mainstream of technology in both the western and the developing world, the focus of these developments are fundamentally very different. If you take a look at Randall’s list of apps and compare those to some of the popular African mobile apps, you’ll notice that the difference lies in the purpose of the apps.

  African apps are mostly based on two things; development and solutions. Western apps are more social based (that’s why they say there’s an app for everything). This forms the basis of my argument; Africa’s unique challenges provides raw material for technological advancement in the mobile world in a much stronger way than in the western world.

• Digital literacy: An idea of how we can help kids become tech savvy

  Posted: April 29, 2010, 5:47 pm by mtoto wa jirani

  Its ICT Literacy drive season again!

  I’ve blogged about this event before.  Its basically a couple of Baraton Geeks who go out to secondary schools to teach the kids there how they can use technology in their education and also how they can use it  to impact the society in a positive way.

  This has been a long time passion for me because I believe by teaching kids about the power of technology you are fueling their dreams and ambitions which one day could become the solutions not only to Africa’s problems, but possibly the entire world’s!

  My passion has got me to a point where I want to do something about it…and here’s my idea:

  I’m thinking of creating a wiki-based website using MediaWiki, DokuWiki or wikidot to create a syllabus of sorts that teaches kids how to find their way around the internet giving specific tutorials, best practices, tips and perhaps the resources they need to run their own digital literacy drives in their communities.

  The one thing I hope it should be is ‘versatile’. Digital literacy is not only about computers and the internet. There’s things like photographs, Radio and television, podcasts (though not very practical in rural Africa) etc. I believe there’s a way to include all this in the syllabus so as to give a wide range of ideas and skills to the future African generation. It also gives those with a limited range of options something to do as well.

  My target for this is African secondary students but would also love it if it was implemented in Asia and India!

  I’m really looking forward to working with people on this one. Please send me an email via the contact page. If you’ve got any ideas on this one as well, please share them in the comments.

• How about a National Geographic Information System? [IDEA]

  Posted: April 29, 2010, 1:34 pm by mtoto wa jirani

  This idea came to me while I was doing an assignment for my Principles of Geographical Information Systems class.

  Basically, a Geographical Information System (GIS) is a software used for studying geographical information. Sounds simple? In its definition yes. In its potential, no! A little on that later.

  Essentially, geographic information states what is where. So to create geographic information, we have to record these two elements somehow. They can be captured through many different types of observations, measurements and surveys. Data can be sourced from aerial photography, satellite images, field samples, land surveying, population censuses, global positioning systems (GPS) and government administrative records among others.

  Model of the National GIS

  To be practical, I think a mashup of Ushahidi and Open Street Map would do the trick for a National GIS. My thoughts on this are to hack the Ushahidi engine to allow Open Street Map integration. This would allow users to edit the map with new locations and add and tag new geographical phenomena on the map using categories.

  Apps that support the National GIS

  True, it would take a while to achieve this considering the greater part of it is crowdsourced but that’s where the key to innovation lies. It would be really cool to map the Public Transport Services in the city by using a mobile app of sorts.This is just but an example.

  Other ideas like the recent surge in mobile health apps can be integrated in this system to map out health issues such as spread of diseases, immunization efforts etc.

  Or perhaps we can use apps to map out crime and insecurity?

  How about tourism and wildlife?

  Events?

  Potential

  In the national system, the geography, or location, is used as the common denominator – the link. It has the potential to generate new information on patterns and relationships between multiple sets of geographic information that would otherwise be missed, and to aid in answering more complex questions or decision-making such as ‘Why do patterns exist and what impact might they have?’

  Afterthoughts

  Perhaps we can have the Kenya ICT Board through tandaaKenya and a relevant ministry take this up. Bwana P. Kukubo, over to you.

  If you have any thoughts in regard to this idea, please share them in the coments.

• Non Africans for Africa? A case for cross-cultural innovation

  Posted: April 7, 2010, 4:07 pm by mtoto wa jirani

  Photo by Ben Heine

  A couple of weeks back I was chatting with a couple of tweeps on twitter about a certain conference and the motive behind it. This discussion evolved into and began to centre on the legitimacy of the motive behind such conferences and other cross-cultural innovation initiatives. This is a concern that has been raised elsewhere in the twitterverse with most people going as far as refusing to attend or even support pro-African events that are not held in Africa. For others, organizing such events in Africa is a rip off! Someone argued that most of these conferences charge a lot of money yet that money goes untaxed.

  My first thoughts on this were that you can’t put a value on the ideas and content generated at such gatherings. I have a reason for this: ideas are the core of anything that we see do or have. The thing with ideas is that the environment in which they are raised and nurtured really determines their success and adoption. I will give a specific example.

  The Mobile Web Africa initiative by Matthew Dawes (who is not of African origin) of all amber (UK based organization) is a great idea and here’s my reason why. I am of the opinion that the mobile web is primarily an African thing reason being it has the greatest potential for growth and technological advancement (here’s why ). It’s an idea in the right setting! The equation goes something like this:

  The right idea (e.g. Mobile Web) + The right environment (e.g. Africa) = Success (Potential)

  My second point pertains to the money issue. If I was planning a conference, there are costs that I would incur including venue, event management, marketing, printing etc. By supporting local companies in these processes, I am essentially helping build the local economy. So, in some kinda way, the argument about untaxed revenue from conferences isn’t necessarily an issue. Plus, if the frustrations of many cross-cultural innovators in the country are anything to go by, such moves are likely to discourage people from holding such events and other initiatives.

  Cross-cultural innovation is a good thing in my opinion. There are many wonderful examples such as Crystal Kigoni‘s Voices of Africa which is behind the Rural Internet Kiosk project in East Africa. There’s the iHub and iLab which I expect will be the centre of many cross-cultural initiatives.

  The bottom line is that no one works in a vacuum…not even an entire country! Exposure, in my opinion, is a fundamental principle of innovation and development. We cannot get exposure without letting those who have it, expose it to us; thus, cross-cultural innovation.

  We also can innovate in other countries. How about we export our technological advancement to the other East African countries such as Rwanda. Think of the possibilities! Then again, think of the potential!

• My talk on Mobile Cloud Computing – Africa Gathering Conference Dec 2009 [VIDEO]

  Posted: March 17, 2010, 11:13 am by mtoto wa jirani

  Simeon Oriko – Mobile Cloud Computing from Africa Gathering on Vimeo.

• How Safaricom is preventing technological advancements in Kenya

  Posted: March 8, 2010, 8:20 am by mtoto wa jirani

  WARNING! This is a bit of a rant!

  Last week on Friday I had the pleasure to meet and interact with Safaricom Chief Technology Officer, Mr. John Barorot at the Moi University Technology Students Association expo.

  He gave a long and boring speech about technology and innovation. I didn’t really care much until he made an announcement (sort of) about Safaricom giving student’s in all Universities access to a Safaricom owned server so that they can use the space to develop applications. He went on further to state that once a year Safaricom officials would take a look at some of the projects and perhaps take one in as a Safaricom ‘thing’.

  This announcement raised one question in my mind: If Safaricom is going to open up their infrastructure to student developers, would they give them access to API’s of sorts for some of their products? What motivated my asking this question was the news that Safaricom was becoming developer friendly.

  One Mr. John Barorot took me round in circles and at last came to the conclusion that “because of copyright issues, we are unable to provide an M-Pesa API”. I wasn’t satisfied with his answer so I confronted Mr. Barorot and told him that Safaricom’s thirst for money and business growth is a major stumbling block to technological development in the region. I gave him an example. If Safaricom released an API, the developer community would have made significant technological developments in the mobile money industry! Once again the gentleman beat about the bush and came back to the point of legal issues. Quack! One question I would have loved to ask him is why would Safaricom let ‘legal issues’ be at the mercy of technological advancement! (Sorry if you were expecting me to. Pride issues!)

  I wish Safaricom were more receptive to the thoughts and opinions raised by developers and at least be willing to work out solutions that are geared towards technological advancement rather than their own selfish business interests. Idd Salim, Chief developer of zunguka.com and sembuse.com, writes of a meeting between Safaricom and the developer community that I believe may be a good starting point however I’m not pegging my hopes on it.

  I have requested for a meeting with the senior executive to talk about this and other issues further. No confirmations yet but making significant progress.

• Thinker Vs. Man Thinking

  Posted: March 7, 2010, 6:32 pm by mtoto wa jirani

  This was a note I did in October 2008 and posted it on facebook. You can friend me on facebook here.

  There exist two categories of man: the thinker, and man thinking! The thinker more often than not falls into the traps of the genius because he/she takes in all that the genius says and passes it for truth, understanding and knowledge. This, my friend, is mediocrity!

  Man thinking on the other hand, seeks to validate that which the genius has set forth. By this he/she seeks truth for him/herself rather than accept to be brainwashed by another’s thoughts. Man thinking seeks to create knowledge, rather than submit to mediocre ways and standards.

  How much different would our circumstances be if we chose to be men thinking?

  Genius is often the killer of genius solely for one reason: being a thinker instead of man thinking!

• Mobile Cloud Computing: Interoperable apps [DESIGN]

  Posted: March 4, 2010, 2:36 pm by mtoto wa jirani

  Last year in December I gave a talk about Mobile Cloud Computing at the Africa Gathering conference in Nairobi. This is the slide presentation:

  Mobile Cloud Computing

  View more presentations from Simeon Oriko.

  In this talk I outlined how apps will look like in the mobile cloud paradigm:

  1. Native apps (Lightweight Clients)- These are apps that can be downloaded onto the mobile device, but will still store data and run processing in the cloud
  2. (Mobile) Web apps – These are apps that will be accessed and run through the mobile web on the devices browser.

  I thought about these models of mobile cloud apps and something I mentioned in my presentation came back to me. I gave the example of using one app to buy groceries then moving to another app to pay for them and then using yet another app to have them delivered to your house.

  I call it Interoperable apps. Interoperable apps allow a users data to be shared among them. This is a good thing as well as a scary thing. Good because it provides for flexibility in mobile web use and improves user experience (something that currently pisses of quite a number of folks…myself included!)

  Scary because there are issues surrounding security and regulation especially when dealing with mobile money systems including payment and transfer of cash. This however doesn’t strike me as a brick wall but rather as a challenge that if we choose to work around, we could be realizing the potential of mobile security.

  From an end users point of view, this model allows them to be flexible and offers convenience when using their favourite mobile apps in the cloud.

  What are you’re thoughts on this? Please leave a comment!

  Related posts:

  1. My talk on Mobile Cloud Computing – Africa Gathering Conference Dec 2009 [VIDEO]
  2. The Focus of African Technology (as contrasted with the rest of the world)
  3. How about a National Geographic Information System? [IDEA]

• USHAURI: A Social Media Experiment

  Posted: February 26, 2010, 10:06 am by mtoto wa jirani

  *This is partially inspired by the success of the #twaffic tweet meme by @edObie

  Last year I was privileged to attend and speak at Africa Gathering conference in Nairobi where I met an interesting bunch of people including Mark Kaigwa, David Nahinga and Majala Mlagui.

  At the end of the conference I pulled these guys aside and shared with them an idea that I hope may be the starting point of virally spreading advice and values. I proposed to them the idea of USHAURI**; a conference similar to Africa Gathering whereby people would have the opportunity to answer one question:

  If you had one thing to tell the world today, what would it be?

  The conference idea didn’t work out very well so I’ve decided to turn this into a social experiment. My idea is for people to share answers to this question either as a comment on this post or as a tweet on twitter ending with the tag #ushauri. Perhaps we can use this with other tweet meme’s such as #Idea, #Motivation #Quote.

  My aim with this is to use this meme to encourage the spread of viral values, ideas and advice across various social networking sites and perhaps take a long shot at changing the world virally.

  Please help me out.

  **Ushauri is a Swahili word translated advice

  Related posts:

  1. 21!

• Developing Africa Techno-Socially

  Posted: February 25, 2010, 6:31 am by mtoto wa jirani

  *This is a guest post that I did for the SEACOM blog. You can read it on the SEACOM Blog here.

  The University of Eastern Africa, Baraton (UEAB), through the Baraton Information Technology Students Association (BITSA) hosts an annual Information Technology Week with the aim of sharing knowledge and showcasing projects that are all centered on a single theme. This year’s event took place from 14 to 20 February with the theme “Developing Africa Techno-Socially” and was proudly sponsored by SEACOM.

  SEACOM Senior Vice President Jean Pierre De Lue and SEACOM Mombasa Station Manager Mahmoud Noor attended the event, engaging in discussions regarding Africa’s growth as a continent through technology. One thing came out clearly: Africans thrive on information. By giving people access to information and other resources, we are in essence fueling their potential to achieve their goals. And who knows, their dreams may just be the thing that will boost Africa’s current social, political and economical state.

  Thus, the challenge we now face is how we can give each and every African on the continent access to information. SEACOM is connecting the continent to the rest of the world using fibre optic technology and thus offering access to cheaper broadband. BITSA conducts ICT Literacy drives in various high schools surrounding the UEAB campus. This program teaches secondary school students how to use the internet and online resources for their own benefit and those of others. SEACOM has offered to support this cause.

  I believe a collaboration of such efforts across the continent will lead to the realization of many African dreams and the growth of technology as a fundamental pillar in African development. It’s not only a question of what we do with our technology but what we CAN do with our technology!

  Related posts:

  1. Digital literacy: An idea of how we can help kids become tech savvy
  2. [IDEA]: Giving high school students a future by giving them information

• African Community Working Spaces [TRENDS]

  Posted: February 10, 2010, 11:44 am by mtoto wa jirani

  
  
  

  A post on Afrinnovator.com features four African Community Working Spaces (Coworking);  iHub in Kenya, Appfrica Labs in Uganda, Limbe labs Ventures in Cameroon and Bantalabs in Senegal.

  These spaces are built around the idea of coworking which I believe is causing a highly disruptive shift in working patterns and philosophies.

  Coworking, being a social thing, is based on shared values and a little bit of excitement about what can happen when collaborating with talented individuals in the same space. This is a good thing! Here are my reasons:

  One, Africa has talented people! Thinkers, Technophiles, Philanthropists, Entrepreneurs…Africa has got them all! Most of these people have remarkable ideas and achievements and are willing to share their knowledge and expertise to help others achieve their objectives.

  The flip side of the coin however is a different story. Despite the rich ideas and opportunities our continent has, its pretty hard for some of them to get out either because of lack of knowledge or the lack of established communities to share their views.

  Erik Hersman, founder of the iHub in Nairobi, argues that there exists a technology community in many African cities but this community is disconnected. I believe that African coworking spaces will facilitate regular interaction of coworkers and therefore catalyze innovation and development.

  The other reason why I believe coworking is a good thing for Africa is its potential to shape and reshape African philosophies and values. Coworking can only happen if people share values. It is thus my thinking that we should strive to develop values that focus on developing Africa positively in all scopes. I’ll name a few.

  Think what might come out of collaboration on technology through coworking? We may soon be saying goodbye to a number of African problems and hello to a new world of technological innovations.

  Think again what might come out of collaboration on social entrepreneurship through coworking? We may (finally) be able to achieve social development without wasting time forming groups that only discuss the issue.

  Most importantly, think about the potential we have to shape African values, philosophies and thought processes! It may start out small but online content is not the only viral thing in this world! I believe we can cause a viral spread of change in Africa.

  Related posts:

  1. 21!
  2. USHAURI: A Social Media Experiment

• [IDEA]: Giving high school students a future by giving them information

  Posted: February 8, 2010, 9:47 pm by mtoto wa jirani

  
  
  

  A while back I wrote about the story of an African Girl’s future as a pilot.

  This young girl had dreamed about being a pilot for ages! She had seen airplanes hover in the sky above her head, she had cut out pictures of airplanes form magazines and seen movies and documentaries about them as well.

  Seems she’s on track to get there. Only one problem though…she didn’t know how!

  This girl is just a representation of the situation of thousands of African students who have big dreams but have no clue about how to achieve them.

  In a TED TALK, Kenyan activist Ory Okolloh states that as Africans, where were born and the situations we find ourselves born into pretty much determine the course of our lives. If you think about this in the context of the majority of African students, you get to realize that were losing a lot of potential and ingenuity.

  Sitting around and worrying about it won’t get it fixed!

  My suggestion is we should make use of technology to help give these kids access to information. It doesn’t have to be hardcore stuff. Most of these kids have access to radio’s, television sets, camera’s and mobile phones.

  In most African secondary schools, most of these devices (if not all) are illegal. To a large extent its pretty understandable why, but then again in this day and age, this shouldn’t be the case.

  My idea is that we should integrate the use of these tools into the education curriculum.

  My thinking is if we not only give these kids access to information but allow them to use technology to create information, then we have a shot at helping them achieve what they want to achieve and perhaps, help someone else achieve their goal as well!

  Related posts:

  1. Developing Africa Techno-Socially
  2. How about a National Geographic Information System? [IDEA]

• iHub ideas: Coding/Developer Experience [OPEN THREAD]

  Posted: February 2, 2010, 7:56 am by mtoto wa jirani

  
  
  

  Last week Erik Hersman announced iHub; an innovation hub for techies in Nairobi.

  The iHub is an open space for the technologists, investors, tech companies and hackers in the area. This space is a tech community facility with a focus on young entrepreneurs, web and mobile phone programmers and designers.

  Later on this evening, Skunkworks, a local group of techies, will be meeting to share ideas about the iHub. I’d absolutely love to attend, but unfortunately I’m not in Nairobi. (I need to finish school in a rush!!!)

  I however would like to contribute and that’s why I have chosen to begin this thread. My focus is on the coding/development experience of the user. If the iHub is going to be a success, I believe it should offer its members a satisfactory coding/development experience. Its not an easy thing to do. We all code and develop applications in very different environments e.g. as a student I code better in our programming lab in school than in my room. This isn’t necessarily true for every other student.

  Perhaps if we share ideas on how we individually achieve coding/developer experience, we can create an optimal environment for innovation at the iHub.

  So, what’s your optimal coding/developer experience?

  Related posts:

  1. African Community Working Spaces [TRENDS]

• 21!

  Posted: January 30, 2010, 6:00 am by mtoto wa jirani

  
  
  

  It’s my birthday today!

  I’m not a birthday person…not really. I spend most of my birthday’s either in bed or ducking my friend’s who have purposed to throw me in some fountain or something similar.

  I would have done that again today but this birthday is different!

  21 is a big deal for anyone. Its that point in your life you seriously start considering what you want to do with your life. I’m no different. Since January 1 this year I’ve seriously contemplated what I want to do with the rest of this decade (God willing I live that long). My options pretty much boil down to two things: me or others!

  We’re human; me looks like a pretty good option. Question is, what’s the point!? Does living for oneself help anyone in any way? Yourself included? What’s the use if you gain the whole world and leave the rest “hanging”? Most of the world has this view of life. Look where the world is as a result.

  Doesn’t look like a good option anymore, does it?

  How about the road least travelled? How about serving others? Helping them be all they can be? Teaching them to serve others first before themselves?

  Its pretty interesting how we’re so obsessed with viral videos, viral articles, and viral anything on our various social media platforms. How about viral values? Why not change the world more with our principles? Our values? Our hearts?

  I’m 21! I’m not wasting my peak years on myself. There’s no benefit in that. I choose to exist for others…to help them be all they can be!

  When you champion a cause that you believe is right and that serves the needs of others, you have already won – Noir

  I’m off to celebrate my birthday!

  No related posts.

jirani.wordpress.com

• We’re moving!

  Posted: January 20, 2010, 9:56 am by mtoto wa jirani

  For a while now I’ve been working on a self-hosted blog and I believe its got to a point where I can announce it. Mtoto wa jirani is now moving to http://www.mtotowajirani.com. This blog will be launched on my 21st birthday, January 30th 2010. The focus of the blog will be thoughts and ideas that [...]

• My Mobile Cloud Computing presentation at Africa Gathering Nairobi 2009

  Posted: December 22, 2009, 3:49 pm by mtoto wa jirani

  My Mobile Cloud Computing presentation at Africa Gathering Nairobi 2009

• Africa Gathering Nairobi

  Posted: December 22, 2009, 9:45 am by mtoto wa jirani

  So if you’ve seen me lately, this is what I’ve been jittery and excited about! Africa Gathering is a conference about sharing ideas for positive change in Africa. In their own word’s on their blog… “Africa Gathering provides a space to bring technophiles, thinkers, entrepreneurs, innovators and everybody else together to talk about positive change [...]

• African Development is…

  Posted: December 6, 2009, 7:43 pm by mtoto wa jirani

  I’m just thinking… Last week I visited a childrens’ home in Kapsabet town. It was evening so it was expected to see a couple of the kids playing soccer. Normally I wouldn’t really pay attention to this but something I’ve seen happen before happened again but this time I thought about it differently. These kids [...]

• Story of an African girls’ future as a pilot

  Posted: November 26, 2009, 4:28 pm by mtoto wa jirani

  Sometime back I wrote a post about BITSA and how we do ICT Literacy Drives in high schools around our university. At Kapsabet Girls, I asked a young lady what she wanted to be wqhen she grows up. She replied: “A pilot! Its always been my dream to walk the skies…” She went on and [...]

• The mindset of an IT Guy

  Posted: October 21, 2009, 9:51 am by mtoto wa jirani

  Here’s the beauty of being in a university Information Technology department in this day and age: arguements! Quite disappointingly though is that the basis on which these arguements are made. Rather than sound factual principles, most people would rather argue on the basis of personal bias! Its human to be biased (thanks in part to [...]

• My idea of Kenya’s (and Africa’s) future in Technology

  Posted: August 19, 2009, 5:21 pm by mtoto wa jirani

  If there’s one steadily growing industry in Kenya, its the Information Technology Industry. Any one Kenyan can say such without a single doubt. The evidence is all around. Think of all the web service companies, internet service providers, communication companies and more recently, the launch of the SEACOM fibre optic cable and the soon to [...]

• Technology Evangelism – BITSA Style

  Posted: August 18, 2009, 2:14 pm by mtoto wa jirani

  BITSA, Baraton Information Technology Students’ Association, is the official IT Club at the University of Eastern Africa, Baraton. One of the activities we do is technology evangelism. I first heard of technology evangelism from a colleague who worked with a major software manufacturer as an academic developer evangelist less than a year ago. As a [...]

• Google Code Jam 2009!

  Posted: August 18, 2009, 12:01 pm by mtoto wa jirani

  Google has just announced the Google Code Jam 2009 competition. Google Code Jam is Google’s annual programming competition and it is powered by Google App Engine. Google Code Jam is a coding competition in which professional and student programmers are asked to solve complex algorithmic challenges in a limited amount of time. The contest is [...]

• Taking performance art criticism to the Next Level

  Posted: August 13, 2009, 6:18 pm by mtoto wa jirani

  Kenyans are best known for one thing: Criticism! We absolutely LOVE to criticize everything from politics to culture to art! So, in a cynical as such, The Imagine Company, a league of determined social entrepreneurs, have developed a website that gives artists an opportunity to showcase their talent and provides critics with the opportunity to [...]

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Yet more fish cakes

Guess what ... yeah ... fish cakes.

The end of the fish cakes