Items by rebecca

Wanjiku's Take...

• Bungee jumping on Vic falls....

  Posted: March 28, 2011, 12:14 am by rebecca

  For many people, when I said I bungee jumped or wanted to, they thought, how crazy can you be? Others thought I had lost it. To some extent yes, coz I remember lacking the words when I called my mum to say I arrived safely. I could not call her before going to the Victoria Falls coz I wasnt sure I would come back safe, its always a gamble.

  Can imagine me explaining to my mum "nyuma kuruga ndaraca-ini handu maikagia mundu ta kigutha" loosely translated to mean I was at the bridge where they catapult you below. Sounds absurd considering that most of our lives are interesting enough and may not need some of the risks.

  However, I had made up my mind, if I was in Livingstone, I wanted to do the bungee and no amount of pressure would make me bark off, thats why I could not tell my mum before hand, am sure she would have talked me out of it or called me every five minutes to know if I was ok.

  Victoria Falls has 100% records, there has been no accidents but there's always a first. I must say that the guys are very good, professional and funny. You start on the slide, which is just the wire from one end to the other....its gives you a taste of what to expect.

  I was determined and there was no turning back; but the free fall feeling is something... by the time I was 110 meters below, I remember thinking, I must be crazy. By the time they throw you up and down.... you feel the stretch on the ankles.

  The funny thing was, I never asked the guys how I was supposed to come up, but I knew I had to....and I finally did.... It was all worth it!

  Was it crazy? Maybe....

  
  

• Turning side, back ways....

  Posted: March 28, 2011, 1:26 pm by rebecca

  You get to experience it all...

  
  
  

• Upward swing

  Posted: March 28, 2011, 1:25 pm by rebecca

  There is this part when they pull you up then throw you down again.... I was thinking the rope will come off... but what could I do? Just enjoy..

  
  
  

• Full stretch....

  Posted: March 28, 2011, 1:20 pm by rebecca

  Its 111 meters and you think... this is it...

  
  
  

• Admitting am crazy

  Posted: March 28, 2011, 1:17 pm by rebecca

  Its only after I saw the rocks that I thought; I am crazy. At this point, I was like oh my God, I am crazy....

  
  
  

• Its upside down

  Posted: March 28, 2011, 1:13 pm by rebecca

  You go head first... perfect upside down..

  
  
  

• Its a free fall....

  Posted: March 28, 2011, 1:11 pm by rebecca

  The free fall is something.....to experience

  
  
  

• 1..2...3...bungee

  Posted: March 28, 2011, 1:08 pm by rebecca

  There was no turning back...

  
  
  

• 1..2....3....

  Posted: March 28, 2011, 1:05 pm by rebecca

  Getting the instructions....look to the horizon and jump as far away as you can....

  
  
  

• At the start line...

  Posted: March 28, 2011, 12:37 pm by rebecca

  The guys getting me ready.....

  
  
  

• At the start line...

  Posted: March 28, 2011, 12:34 pm by rebecca

  First you have to get off the shoes.... or the jump will be very expensive...

  
  
  

• Travel Diary: Bungee jumping at Victoria Falls

  Posted: March 28, 2011, 12:28 pm by rebecca

  What do you say to someone who says they want to go bungee jumping, 111 meters below Victoria Falls bridge?

  
  
  

• Why hold Kenya conference in Bellagio, Italy?

  Posted: March 15, 2011, 2:39 pm by rebecca

  The other day, I saw an press release that The Kenya ICT Board was holding a conference on Kenya's ICT industry attractiveness in Bellagio, Italy.

  I know the Bellagio Forum is high level and attracts the heavy weights in the ICT industry but the first question that came to mind was, why hold a conference about Kenya in Italy? In my folklore, there is a saying that "Mburi ndiendagio ii gichegu" loosely translated to mean that you can not sell a goat that is still in the shed, the buyer needs to see what they are buying and compare with the superlatives that you may be heaping on it.

  In this case, I thought that if the board wanted to demonstrate how the Kenyan industry has grown, the easiest thing was to bring the hot shots here, visit the BPO centers, both large and small and let them pitch idea etc.

  I have no problem when conferences are held in exclusive lodges in Mombasa, because it blocks people from walking in and out but Italy? I thought that was a bit far.

  To understand the matter better, I caught up with Paul Kukubo, CEO of ICT board, and sought to just understand the rationale behind the conference in Italy. It was during the iHub one year anniversary so we didn't get to talk much but I got the gist. (He is also posting very nice tweets and photos from Italy).

  Here are the main points that he shared:

  1. The conference is sponsored by Rockefeller Foundation

  To me this didn't make much sense because if it was an issue of money, the govt has more than enough. I am not convinced that Italy was the only venue that the foundation could fund, am sure they can do it in Kenya too.

  2. Some of those participants may never step into Kenya, because of a combination of reasons

  I understand, Kenya's image may not be the best internationally, blame it on the media but if we know they may never come or make positive influences, why bother? Maybe we need to concentrate on markets that may be open to us. One insider, who owns an outsourcing firm, told me that it may be better to go to company owners and execs directly instead of consultants, who may not have our interests at heart.

  3. It was a perfect opportunity to market Kenya

  I have no doubt about this, but will it yield to business for the BPO industry, coz am sure thats what many of them in the industry are concerned about.

  I am sure that to some, this post demonstrates ignorance and a lack of understanding of the industry but am also aware of people in the BPO industry who have complained that such trips include the same BPO owners over and over again, so if there is any business to be made, then the same BPO owners are set to benefit.

  Is this fair? Yes, No, Maybe.

  
  

• Are bloggers being censored?

  Posted: March 8, 2011, 12:08 pm by rebecca

  The other day I read a post from Idd Salim on why Kenya has or is full of pussy bloggers, depending on how you look at it. My first instinct was to take issue with the naming, why you have to be a pussy blogger just because you cant say things as they are. I thought the title was and still is sexist but thats debate for another day.

  It happened that we had a bloggers meeting shortly after the blog post went up and several bloggers, including Salim, were there. I remember we joked about who could qualify as the so called pussy blogger and it became obvious that bloggers are also being forced to think twice about complaining or writing negative stuff.

  Case one

  You probably know this guy as the most stinging and his language is unparalleled, those days, when blogging was still new, this guy could attract an average of 22 comments per post. You have to know him to know he is the blogger but its not obvious from the blog.

  So, this guy wrote a post against a giant telco, and it happened that the company he works for was abut to get a huge deal with the telco. Apparently, the guys at the telco investigated and knew where the guy worked and they exerted pressure to have the guy apologize or lose his job. He tried to deny that he wasn't the blogger but it was made clear, am sure they searched for the IP and traced it back to him, and being the sharp techie he is, he chose to just apologize. I met him during that meeting and he said "I apologized profusely" and we all laughed.

  Case Two

  The funniest thing is that this was not even in a blog entry, it was a rant on a mailing list, and the guy was forced to retract or you know the consequences. The two companies happened to be doing business together and the complaints meant loss of business. And the writer had to apologize, forget that the discussions were not even public.

  It is very easy to say that bloggers are bad because they do not seek a comment from the other side like journalists do but in some of the cases, the posts are based on personal experiences.

  So, are we likely to see defamation cases against bloggers? My bet is that soon, litigation will be very different and the judicature Act will be amended.

  
  

• Bloggers: the good, the bad, eyeballs and opportunities...

  Posted: March 3, 2011, 12:46 pm by rebecca

  There is a debate that tends to irritate me; are bloggers journalists and should they be taken seriously? In some cases, people hold me lesser because they think am "just a blogger" and others think am not a real journalist because my work is mainly online.

  Usually I dont argue with these perceptions but the other day I was incensed by one exec. It was a lunch for journalists and the PR agency had invited me I think because we have know each other for long. In attendance were journalists who I have known for some time, and we started catching up. The exec said, one would think you are a journo the way you are familiar with these guys. I asked: kwani what am I? He said: you are a blogger. Shock on me, maybe he thought I was only there to enjoy the meal.

  Then there is the debate by mainstream media and the way they vilify bloggers, like it or hate it, they serve a purpose and they have an audience. I think one of the blogs that has evoked the emotions of media houses is media madness they have managed to have all the gossip and truths about media houses. For the longest time, the media has been untouchable and no one could comment on anything but now blogs allow people to be veiled and reveal all they can.

  The blog has its following, I recall there was a post with 250 comments, cant trace it but suffice to say that within the first two hours of posts on the site going up, there are usually 50 comments. Now, imagine how many people read but dont comment.

  I like taking a time out and reading what they have to say, I love it when they say someone was escorted to the lifts by guards, meaning someone was fired at the Nation Media Group. I have never worked at NMG, maybe I can never make the grade but tales of how people were escorted by guards to clear their desks and get off the building were always chilling. I have always wondered, how can an org. that fights for human rights treat its people that way? As I said, I cant make the grade, so allow me to rant on that.

  Then take some of the writers you have online wamathai.com is an example of the writers who are seeking opportunities. How many journalists have that kind of creativity and eloquence demonstrated in some of those articles? Even I can't write some of those, they require time and extensive reading to enrich my vocabulary, which has sort of gone south as I pursue more money making ventures.

  I am not by any chance saying that journalists cant write, look at Bikozulu.wordpress.com he averages 60 comments and his style makes you want to read more and more. Forget that they say you must break the text with photos and make it short to attract more readers, his are longer pieces and still people read and comment.

  There is no doubt that blogs have allowed people to tell tales that they would otherwise not share. Eaxample: nairobinights.co.cc allows the author to share her exploits as a prostitute. The language tells you that this is someone who is well educated and knows her style. At this rate, am sure she will attract clients online and maybe go on to establish an office backed by e-commerce and Mpesa.

  Such are the opportunities blogging can provide!

  So, love or hate, blogging will go on. Maybe it will be the new way to have checks and balances, in the media, government etc....

  
  

• Growing Kenya online content- Music

  Posted: February 16, 2011, 2:16 pm by rebecca

  The other day Linda was telling me how her mum has discovered Youtube, how to search for music and the many things she is enjoying online. The debate came from discussions about her internet connection at home.

  Linda enjoys 1mbps connection at a cost of 6k a month and even though its marketed as a shared connection, when you are out of town you basically enjoy a dedicated connection, maybe not buts closer to that.

  In the discussion we were talking about collateral advantages of having a connection and how at times we think the connection will benefit only one person but ends up benefitting a bunch of other people or at least they discover other online uses.

  The Youtube debate also came up when I was telling a friend to put a connection at home, and he felt that the young women and men in the house were addicted to Youtube and wouldn't use the connection for any educational purposes. My position has always been that people will outgrow and start making real uses with the connection.

  So, I decided to check out Kenyan music and see who is accessing and the numbers are impressive. For instance, I checked out Lois Kim music, which is popular and saw that some of the tracks have 94k views, it may be repeats but that s impressive. Check it here

  Then I checked Kenyan comedy and the numbers were equally impressive. Check it out here

  The bottom line is that if content is to be accessed online, then music is a good indicator compared to stuff like my blog which can be a bit technical and more for tech audiences. But we know many people do not want to be bogged down with DNSSEC, IPv6 and other issues that can make many go to sleep.

  Yes, music is a good indicator, just check out one of Ruth Wamuyu songs, thats a love song, with 275k views, here it is

  Those are just some of the songs I could get or I know are popular, if you know others, share them.

  
  

• Does race determine efficiency?

  Posted: January 13, 2011, 10:13 am by rebecca

  The issue of race and performance or efficiency is a controversial one; we would all like to wish it away and hope that it was never there. There are many times we ask, if that person was white or black, would that be the status quo?

  We would like to believe that the more educated people are, the more they believe in themselves and understand that a company's performance is not determined by the color of the owner.

  In the technology sector, people tend to feel that because technology comes from the west, then it pays for you engage someone from there. In most cases, they get the work then outsource to locals at a fraction of the cost.

  This post was triggered by a friend who was recommending one company over another and the main argument was that the company is owned by whites and therefore performs better than others. My first question was whether she had engaged the other companies in the past and the basis for the argument other than that one is owned by a white and others by locals.

  The debate went into issues of efficiency and perception; I have never hidden that I am not a fan of generalizations because it treats people unfairly and denies others a chance just because one is prejudiced.

  I was offended by the statement but more so because I thought my friend was educated and should have known better thats behind the white or black, the people who do the work are the locals, like me.

  I am not denying that in some cases, people respond better if the person in charge is of their race. For instance, I am told most NGOs like hiring white people because the donors respond better compared to locals. This is different to a corporate setting, where performance and efficiency is the key.

  The saddest thing is that my friend who was vilifying black owned enterprises has plans of setting up shop and I wonder what the feeling would be if I recommended another firm merely because its owned by a white person.

  I wonder whether people have heard about outsourcing and how people who easily get jobs because of their color or connections get them then outsource to other lesser known companies, that have the manpower and efficiency to deliver the results. On the face of it, the job was given to a white but they were not the ones digging trenches by the roadside or chasing paper work at City Hall or other government offices.

  To some, race may have a bearing on performance but I think people should be beyond it, they should know better and give chances for people to get business or not; its as simple as that.

  Yes, some of the prejudices may have been calculated over time but should that always be the case?

  
  

• Should your ISP tell you when to pay less?

  Posted: January 12, 2011, 10:29 am by rebecca

  Yesterday, a friend called me needing help with internet; the office, with about four computers pays shs. 10,000 per month but they can not even access the net. Being an old school person has its advantages and disadvantages.

  Lets just say that I was shocked beyond words when I saw the invoice; the company was paying 10k for 16kbps/32kbps; I did not even know such a link exists, its so 1990's.

  At first I was shocked then I was mad at the Internet Service Provider, why had they not at least told them to upgrade? Why had they not lowered the cost, or at least suggested to the customer that they can get more for less?

  I use 2mbps/2mbps shared service (1:8) and the eight users of desktops and laptops have no complaints, it costs 7k per month and I thought with 10k you should get better service.

  What advise did I give? I told them to change ISPs, I am biased of course but I thought its wrong for the ISP to take advantage of ignorant clients who do not bother to confirm what they were getting.

  This doesn't mean that the company is off the hook; why have they not engaged the ISP to see how the service can get better? I think they should have called to know how the entry of fiber optic cables makes a difference in their lives.

  I know there are so many companies who are paying the same cost they have been paying for the last five years, I think they should wake up ad smell bandwidth and increased competition.

  So, we complain that the cost is high, but there are other gullible ones who continue paying for crappy service and do not bother to ask questions to the ISPs, its sad but am sure there are many out there.

  
  

• Discussing security investment within Kenya govt...

  Posted: January 7, 2011, 4:32 pm by rebecca

  The other day, the Kenya Police website was hacked and it made big news, to me it was not big news because previously, administration police website was hacked and no one seemed to care.

  The debate was more heated on twitter because the hack was dedicated to the Facebook found, I found it funny but did not understand the connection. One of the tweets was from Larry Madowo, tech journalist and business anchor with NTV. Madowo tweeted that in Kenya there were no security experts, something that angered infosec gurus.

  The debate about Madowo's comments was diverted to the security list and after many exchanges of how government has invested or not invested on security, some techies asked one of them to talk to Infocom PS Bitange Ndemo and tell him that there were a few willing to volunteer their services.

  What they didn't know was that Ndemo is already a member of the list and lurks in the background. Am sure Ndemo also knows the amount of money the government has paid to external security contractors to secure the sites or not.

  Read the thread and see where security in Kenya is; what happens to the amount of money allocated to security? Read on..

  The guy who was asked to talk to the PS had this to say...

  "Word of advise, forget about Kenyan government if you want real

  business on Infosec. InterPol cant even entrust kenya-police with

  information, not only on email.

  InfoSec in KE right now is on Banking and Financial institutions,

  International Cooperations and Orgs."

  The response was...

  "You have hit the point n I agree with you 101%. I once tried but got soooo frustrated by the so called E-Ngava thing full of Bcom kids. After I shifted my attention somewhere else I can afford a bottle of champagne on my table....

  Kenyan Govt has played aloof to the need of infosec. Needless to say, they pay Security companies millions and millions of shillings for even highly sensitive installations, yet the work done is very questionable.

  In totality the hacking of the Kenya Police Website is merely a scratch on the surface. I wonder what the ICT Board's take on policies and machineries surrounding Infosec.

  My friend ua talking of ICT BOARD....Thats a dead lot full of corrupt heads...NO apologies..How many times have they given out the so called "..project funds.." to companies..kumbe hizo companies ni zao tu..lol "

  After the thread went on for some time, Ndemo responded

  "It is not true that the Government does not want to use some of the best

  brains in the country.  It is attually difficult to attract the best

  brains to Government at the current salaries considering our level of

  development.  Several adverts in E-Government go without serious

  responses.  We cannot create a special class of salaries since it would

  create discontent in the entire civil service.

  Indeed we somehow use these great brains for many issues including the

  current police problem.  No matter what security you have if you do not

  have honest workers, it is an excercise in futility.  There is an obvious

  breach of trust when someone dishes out the password.  You have seen the

  damage to America when an insider decided to walk out with unauthorized

  data.

  Civilization means that whatever we speak or write about anybody can be

  packed by evidence.  It is therefore appalling to see claims of corruption

  within the ICT Board without substantiation.  We can indeed help this

  country if we point out corruption when we see it.  Similary we must be

  careful in accusing someone if we have no evidence.  The damage we are

  creating by making careless statements is not to the accused but the whole

  country because when you travel out of this country you become Kenya's

  Ambassador. You are as good as the image of your country.  As we fight the

  corruption vice, we also must potray to the world that we are dealing with

  it in an honest and fair manner.  This is because corruption afflicts

  every country.  The difference lies in the speed at which action is taken.

  Larry's statement was regretable because the statement went far and wide

  at the time the entire world has created an image of Kenya as an emerging

  ICT innovation hub.  We should take a moment to think before saying

  something in this borderless world.

  
  
  

• Discussing security investment within Kenya govt...

  Posted: January 7, 2011, 4:32 pm by rebecca

  The other day, the Kenya Police website was hacked and it made big news, to me it was not big news because previously, administration police website was hacked and no one seemed to care.

  The debate was more heated on twitter because the hack was dedicated to the Facebook found, I found it funny but did not understand the connection. One of the tweets was from Larry Madowo, tech journalist and business anchor with NTV. Madowo tweeted that in Kenya there were no security experts, something that angered infosec gurus.

  The debate about Madowo's comments was diverted to the security list and after many exchanges of how government has invested or not invested on security, some techies asked one of them to talk to Infocom PS Bitange Ndemo and tell him that there were a few willing to volunteer their services.

  What they didn't know was that Ndemo is already a member of the list and lurks in the background. Am sure Ndemo also knows the amount of money the government has paid to external security contractors to secure the sites or not.

  Read the thread and see where security in Kenya is; what happens to the amount of money allocated to security? Read on..

  The guy who was asked to talk to the PS had this to say...

  "Word of advise, forget about Kenyan government if you want real

  business on Infosec. InterPol cant even entrust kenya-police with

  information, not only on email.

  InfoSec in KE right now is on Banking and Financial institutions,

  International Cooperations and Orgs."

  The response was...

  "You have hit the point n I agree with you 101%. I once tried but got soooo frustrated by the so called E-Ngava thing full of Bcom kids. After I shifted my attention somewhere else I can afford a bottle of champagne on my table....

  Kenyan Govt has played aloof to the need of infosec. Needless to say, they pay Security companies millions and millions of shillings for even highly sensitive installations, yet the work done is very questionable.

  In totality the hacking of the Kenya Police Website is merely a scratch on the surface. I wonder what the ICT Board's take on policies and machineries surrounding Infosec.

  My friend ua talking of ICT BOARD....Thats a dead lot full of corrupt heads...NO apologies..How many times have they given out the so called "..project funds.." to companies..kumbe hizo companies ni zao tu..lol "

  After the thread went on for some time, Ndemo responded

  "It is not true that the Government does not want to use some of the best

  brains in the country.  It is attually difficult to attract the best

  brains to Government at the current salaries considering our level of

  development.  Several adverts in E-Government go without serious

  responses.  We cannot create a special class of salaries since it would

  create discontent in the entire civil service.

  Indeed we somehow use these great brains for many issues including the

  current police problem.  No matter what security you have if you do not

  have honest workers, it is an excercise in futility.  There is an obvious

  breach of trust when someone dishes out the password.  You have seen the

  damage to America when an insider decided to walk out with unauthorized

  data.

  Civilization means that whatever we speak or write about anybody can be

  packed by evidence.  It is therefore appalling to see claims of corruption

  within the ICT Board without substantiation.  We can indeed help this

  country if we point out corruption when we see it.  Similary we must be

  careful in accusing someone if we have no evidence.  The damage we are

  creating by making careless statements is not to the accused but the whole

  country because when you travel out of this country you become Kenya's

  Ambassador. You are as good as the image of your country.  As we fight the

  corruption vice, we also must potray to the world that we are dealing with

  it in an honest and fair manner.  This is because corruption afflicts

  every country.  The difference lies in the speed at which action is taken.

  Larry's statement was regretable because the statement went far and wide

  at the time the entire world has created an image of Kenya as an emerging

  ICT innovation hub.  We should take a moment to think before saying

  something in this borderless world.

  
  
  

• Satellite vs. fiber debate goes on...

  Posted: November 12, 2010, 9:46 am by rebecca

  Depending on who you talk to, you are likely to have varied opinions on the differences and the role of fiber versus satellite. There was a lot of discussions in East Africa how the entry of fiber will lead to more stable connections and how we will not need satellite anymore.

  Two years later, we are still having problems with up times, fiber being cut in the high seas and a return to satellite for redundancy. I have always maintained that satellite has its place and that is why more birds are being launched every year.

  I sat at a session where two presenters were inclined to satellite and they went on and on how satellite trumps fiber and all. Of course during emergencies and for broadcast services, there is no doubt we need satellite.

  Fiber has few latencies and is more stable but for many of us, getting fiber to the home or to the premise is proving an expensive exercise. For instance, for many fiber owners, they only connect you free if you are within 100 meters of the fiber and if you can guarantee some good business, of course it must make economic sense.

  I think there is a place for every type of technology like fiber helps where wimax doesnt have good coverage or there's vegetation. Satellite will also help in areas with no fiber networks or link to the metro networks.

  One thing you can not take away from fiber is the fact that if freed up the capacity on satellite and allowed it to get low but the desire for back up means satellite capacity will still remain high. For companies that were investing huge sums of money for backhaul and voice services, it was a huge relief and I guess thats why the GSM companies can afford to lower the costs considerably.

  At AfricaCom, most of the products and stands were about fiber optic connectivity; whether at the base station level or NOC optimization, there was no doubt fiber is attracting global business but so is satellite.

  For instance, iDirect, Inc., a satellite-based IP provider, announced that SatLink Communications, a leading provider of transmission solutions for video, audio and data over satellite platforms, fiber and IP, has launched an iDirect Evolution network to enhance its data services. By purchasing a new Evolution satellite hub, SatLink is offering complete service coverage across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

  The announcement proved that companies who had invested heavily in satellite are now diversifying to include services over fiber and meshing the platforms. This has to do with improving reliability and scalability, just in case you get a client in 20 countries and four have no fiber network then the connections can be seamless.

  “Whether we’re supporting a VNO service handling critical data for a government or enterprise client, or a broadcaster transmitting a live HD-video feed of a major event, the quality and integrity of our services is non-negotiable. By implementing an Evolution network, we can enhance bandwidth speeds and throughput, and offer the levels of reliability and security that are critical to our broadcast, government and corporate customers who entrust us with their most valuable assets,” said David Hochner, CEO, SatLink Communications.

  Ends

  
  

• Why has Twitter failed to hit with Kenya's big companies?

  Posted: September 15, 2010, 8:08 pm by rebecca

  Why is twitter not a hit with Kenyan corporates?

  Kenya Airways was one of the first Kenyan companies to open twitter accounts, its account was even verified. Soon, other bigger companies like DSTv realized the benefit of the forum and set up accounts.

  It was nice to see Kenya Airways responding to questions on twitter and doing their usual marketing stuff. DSTv took a bit of a laid back approach but its presence meant that bigger brands were seizing online opportunities.

  But that has changed, Kenya Airways is no longer updating or responding to questions and DSTv preferred to close its Kenya accounts and operate under its South African arm.

  So, what is the problem, why can't big companies sustain their twitter presence? Here are some of the reasons:

  Cost; big companies hire Public Relations agencies to manage their external image, most likely, the cost becomes too much and the company thinks that it can hire an internal communications person to handle the account. In many cases, the communications person has other responsibilities and many not be an expert on engaging through twitter and how to turn online enquiries into sales.

  The idea that people are not online; have you ever written an email asking about a product and the response comes a day or two later? Many companies have not appreciated the rising numbers of online communities. Its even harder to convince the company executives that there are many twitter users that would warrant professional services.

  There is still a notion that more people want to visit offices and make enquiries than online, which is wrong. We can draw parallels from M-Pesa, people do not want to travel distances and wait in queues if the answer is a click away!

  Honesty; what happens when an unhappy customer/client rants on twitter? In the case of Kenya Airways, the guys updating the account would always get to the root and update the person concerned; if the flight was cancelled, they would say and apologize. In some cases, the account was too honest, telling you all the things you know but the management would want to update.

  Many companies see the need to "manage information" which is another word for being economic with the truth or massaging the truth. So, when you respond to an angry or pissed off person on twitter and say that we will do better next time, it might be seen as a sign of weakness, the management would probably like it if you kept quiet or made it look like its the fault of the person complaining, after all, we don't like people who complain.

  There maybe other reasons why giant corporates in Kenya have not embraced twitter but am hoping they will get back to their senses.

  
  

• Why Facebook Zero is getting more people online....

  Posted: September 14, 2010, 8:09 pm by rebecca

  Last year, Facebook announced that it had partnered with MTN to provide Facebook access to mobile phone users at no cost; meaning that even if your phone has no credit, you get to send emails and other stuff via facebook.

  This year, Safaricom announced that Facebook access will be free to its subscribers. The Safaricom portal has been free but I doubt many people were using it.

  For people with internet access or means to access, such an offer doesn't sound attractive, after all, many of us think Facebook has become a bit too much and idlers are there too.

  But think about it, I have received facebook friend requests from poeople who previously did not have an email address and could not text, preferring to call and pass the message. The ideas of interaction and the unsolicited personal information has attracted many people who would want to catch up but cant because of one reason or another.

  Like in my village, many more people are on facebook than you can imagine; they catch up online then meet to laugh at what the other had written as their status message and for those who dont know how to update, it becomes a lesson.

  So, why is Facebook becoming more common apart from the cost issue? It is a perfect forum to catch up and for those who love gossiping or passing on information, it becomes a good market place.

  But apart from that, accessing facebook at no cost is likely to increase the number of people online and the next step will be for people to learn how to leverage on the number of people online to market their goods and services.

  Long before facebook was zero, online dating and singles camping trips had made use of online communities who would love to hook up and enjoy the anonymity provided or just the chance to meet new people.

  So, businesses seem to have developed through facebook but are we likely to see an explosion of businesses making use of facebook as a market forum?

  
  

• CCK reacts to red number urban legend

  Posted: September 1, 2010, 2:04 pm by rebecca

  Yesterday my bro came to me with a funny story of a red number calling which meant that you die at 1 am or something like that. I grilled him how the number would predict my death and he said he was being nice to the sister.

  I laughed and reminded him of the movie one missed call, which had a similar story. He indicated that the story was going on Facebook and I can imagine it has spread very fast. I though it was only him.

  But this morning someone raised the issue on a mailinglist and I wondered whether they were serious. Well, it seems am the only one not clued in because the Communications Commission of Kenya has just issued a statement to that effect.

  I must say I am impressed by the way CCK has been responding to issues nowadays; from managing price wars to determining dominant player status in the telecoms industry, seems they are alert and I think it can only get better.

  It also shows CCK is committed to ensuring the broadcast media exercises caution because it has reacted fast; maybe to cut the fear mongering. Maybe in hot political times, CCK will say that it acts all the times, whether political or otherwise.

  Anyway, here is the press release from CCK....

  The attention of the Commission has been drawn to SMS and email messages that are doing the rounds in the country warning mobile users against receiving calls from unknown or certain listed numbers. The messages further allege that receipt of calls from either the unknown or listed numbers would cause “brain haemorrhage due to high frequency”.

  Upon analysis of the messages, the Commission has established the warnings are a hoax generated by unscrupulous people bent on causing fear and despondency among members of the public. The listed numbers are non-existent as mobile, fixed or international calls. In addition, the alleged haemorrhage due to high frequency has no technical basis whatsoever. The Commission, therefore, wishes to urge the public to ignore these messages and go about their business without any fear. The public is also advised to avoid fuelling the fear by transmitting the said messages to friends and family members either through SMS or email forwarding.

  The Commission also wishes to call on the media, particularly FM stations, to exercise responsibility and avoid fuelling fear and despondency among Kenyans by dwelling on these baseless rumours.

  We further wish to warn the originators of these messages that they are in breach of the law (i.e. Section 29 of the Kenya Communications Act, 1998). The Commission is already in contact with law enforcement agencies to ensure that the perpetrators of this crime are brought to book.

  
  

• ISPs Peering, Interconnection and high internet costs

  Posted: August 18, 2010, 1:25 pm by rebecca

  Last week I attended Africa Peering and Interconnection Forum; it brought together ISPs, content provider and regulators from 20 African countries but the Communications Commission of Kenya was conspicuously missing.

  It is only after attending such meetings that you understand some of the reasons the cost of internet will not drop for the individual, who is probably looking forward to the day we pay $20 per month for limited connectivity.

  First, peering means exchange of content between ISPs at a central point like the Internet Exchange point (IXP). Think of an IXP as a hub in airline terms. Nairobi is the regional hub and most arlines with no connections to the region from Europe usually get their passengers to Nairobi, then they are taken over by KQ or another airline.

  For instance, if you are travelling from Windhoek Namibia to Lome in Togo, you will have to buy a ticket from different airlines or from one airline that goes to Lome, which is likely to give the cheaper option. If you decide to travel SAA then KQ, there is no doubt the ticket might be higher; this is Africa!

  The same principle applies, if your content is hosted abroad and you are in Kinshasa, you have a choice of ISPs that will charge the cost of international connectivity because at some point, the data will leave your ISP network to another, and they have to pay. Assuming that content was hosted locally, it means that cost of international connectivity would be eliminated.

  But the internet costs remain the same whether local or international, so why bother? Thats a question that many people ask and the answer is simple; we do not generate enough content to spur competition in hosting services and lower the costs. Abroad, people can charge lower because maybe the server is in a garage somewhere, under the bed or in a company like Yahoo, that attracts 10 million sites a year, so it can afford to charge 10 dollars and still make money.

  Ever wondered why a ticket to Malawi costs $800 and one to South Africa costs $400 yet it may seem logical that the reverse be the case? Well, it is argued that the Jo'Burg route has more flights and airlines compared to Malawi and therefore more competition. Indeed, if you are going to Lilongwe via Kenya Airways, you might be taken on a round trip of your life but if they attempted that on the Jo'burg route, they may lose the customers.

  Anyway, if the ISPs in the region do not see the need to share content and so long as we continue hosting abroad, the cost will remain high. Of course those are not the only issues, there is licensing and the desire to get a quick return on investment, maybe the period may be made longer.

  There are ways content providers can reduce costs by setting up POPs like in Nigeria and ISPs evolving to be more of regional carriers and reduce backhauling costs like Orange is doing in the region

  There is no doubt that the industry is getting better; maybe most us host 9 out of 10 websites locally but it will probably get to a time when ISPs say that if you access websites that are local, then the cost is low and flat, maybe like they do with on network calls.

  It may look simplistic but we all have a role to play in making internet cheaper. Follow-up piece can address licensing issues and benefits we can expect from having Kenyan Internet Exchange Point, Mombasa Internet Exchange Point and a POP hosted at Internet Solutions in Kenya.

  
  

• Acting Busy at the iHub- photos

  Posted: August 5, 2010, 4:19 pm by rebecca

  There is something about people, internet and their laptops. I think if you want people to become the absolute anti-social, make sure they have internet- at least for the addicts. You almost do not talk to the person seated next, and if you do, then it is an absolute necessity.

  On the referendum day, the iHub was buzzing and there were more laptops than you can think, after all, there was proof that this was going to be a very tech day for the team monitoring via www.uchaguzi.co.ke

  Being at the iHub on the day, you get to help a bit and work at the same time and get to catch up if you find someone you know or if you find the time. Well, I always get time to chit chat in between the emails and calls, if the photo below is anything to go by.

  Thanks to Erik, for alerting me of this photo, I was looking quite busy, on phone, on the laptop and all... but I guess I was just acting busy.

  From bird's eye view, we all look very busy....

  Maybe if I wasn't acting busy I would have been busy playing fusball in the background like people would do once in a while.

  But when I realized the camera was zooming on me, I had to smile, you never know who will see the photo :)

  Thanks to Daudi and Erik for the photos :)

  
  

• Tech at the heart of Kenyan referendum

  Posted: August 4, 2010, 4:15 pm by rebecca

  Its not everyday that Kenyans have the same topic on the Facebook status messages; it must have been special- yes, its about the new constitution.

  It was the day that people took time to update on twitter, whine about the long queues, and report any incidences at the polling station. This made it easier for journalists attending the press conference with the electoral commission to ask questions. I actually heard two issues that were posted on twitter raised with the chair of IIEC, which was good. This means that the mainstream media is paying close attention to discussions on social media.

  I think the best response was the number of volunteers who came to the iHub for the www.uchaguzi.co.ke monitoring exercise. I got to the iHub and I almost thought I was in the wrong place- thank goodness for the few Ushahidi people in; the lesson was that while so much is at stake, people are willing to do anything.

  Uchaguzi is the forum for user generated content and it shows that tech has caught on.

  The referendum may just be a day, but it shows the signs of things to come in the general election, which tends to spread over several days and has its own measure of controversies.

  Uchaguzi team has mapped all the constituencies in Kenya, although there were some challenges with uploading the CSV file and getting the lat/longitudes, it shows that in 2012 the whole thing will be perfected.

  So, if anyone has an issue to raise, whether positive or negative, am sure www.uchaguzi.co.ke is the place to do it.

  Tech power!

  
  

• SME's Award Tech Start-ups To Benefit

  Posted: July 16, 2010, 4:52 pm by rebecca

  Awards are now flowing in, may be the tech start-ups will benefit..... here is the announcement.

  Applications are now being accepted for the 2010 Legatum

  Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship.   With prize money of USD 350,000, the

  2010 Legatum Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship will continue the tradition

  of recognizing and rewarding the very best examples of small and

  medium-sized businesses, and spotlighting the continent¹s most inspiring

  business leaders.

  This year we are looking for online applications from Botswana, Cameroon,

  Cote D¹Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. The application form and more details of the program are available at www.africaawards.com.

  A Grand Prize of USD 100,000 and five runners-up prizes of USD 50,000 each will be awarded at a Gala Awards Banquet taking place in Accra in early

  December 2010.

  Winners will be selected on their ability to operate truly sustainable and

  innovative businesses and demonstrated excellence in:

  €Creating value for owners/shareholders

  €Long-term business strategy

  €Innovative and effective market strategies

  €Leadership, culture and values

  €Investment in their employees

  The competition is open to all businesses that have had a for-profit entity

  in existence for three years or more; located in one of the designated 15

  countries; and with annual revenues of between US$2 ­20 million.

  Applications will close on August 31st, 2010.

  
  

• MTN Fanfest at Highway Africa

  Posted: July 16, 2010, 9:07 am by rebecca

  Its always nice to see old friends and evening functions provide a perfect opportunity; given that parallel sessions may not promote "catching up".

  It was time to catch up with Remmy Nweke and Brenda Zulu; we had a chance to remember the old times

  We were all happy when they announced that food would be served before kick off; it was a better plan compared to waiting till half time or eating when the game was going on.

  Then it was time for testing MTN knowledge and those who were good at it were rewarded

  But not all were lucky; she could not believe that she got the answer wrong and missed the gift pack!

  
  

• SEACOM outage spoils the moment for journalists...

  Posted: July 6, 2010, 2:03 pm by rebecca

  When Guy Berger was telling me about tweetdeck French translation, he probably did not know that it will be hard to even send an email, forget do the blog posts, podcasts and video.

  He was right to make suggestions, given that last year, there was a projector showing all the twitter feeds and given the number of journalists that are here with lots of laptops, you can imagine the amount of social media that would have been in use; it would have been "churnalism".

  An hour after Guy gave me the hint and I was busy sharing with the other, the system became slow; I thought it was because of the many internet users and maybe hardware issues.

  Then it became bad and all journalists became grumpy because they could not get online; only those with local mobile phones could send tweets, which actually took out the fun.

  It was hard to understand how Rhodes University could be down, given its an ISP and is very efficient; by lunch break, we were told that SEACOM was down, which was bad for us.

  SEACOM is great, and am sure when the capacity is up, its great but it would have been nice to see who would have been tweeting more; the new media professors or the students or working journalists.

  The funniest thing was that the MTN stand just outside was working well and they had public laptops, which as you can guess pulled many people. Love it or hate it, MTN saved the day for some of us.

  The SEACOM social media team is very efficient, sent them a tweet asking about the downtimes and they confirmed they had a repeater problem somewhere between Mombasa and Mumbai.

  My next question was why the capacity was not being routed through SAT 3 or TEAMS, I thought they had redundancy, given that TATA is all over. They confirmed that they had no redundancy, but why?

  Anyway, I am sitting here whining but am lucky to have the modem, can you imagine having 600 journalists and the #ha2010 hashtag on twitter is virtually empty? Hard to imagine.

  To answer my questions, today morning I received the following press release from SEACOM and as of lunch time there was no update on this, so take it as the latest.

  "SEACOM has experienced a submarine cable failure resulting in service downtime between Mumbai and Mombasa. Current investigations indicate that a repeater has failed on segment 9 of the SEACOM cable, which is offshore to the north of Mombasa. This unexpected failure affects traffic towards both India and Europe. Traffic within Africa is not affected.

  SEACOM has initiated emergency repair procedures to replace the repeater. Once mobilized, the repair ship is deployed to the location of the fault to pick up the cable. The cable is then brought on board to undergo the repair – the faulty element is replaced with a new repeater - before being put back in the water.

  Whilst the repair process itself will only take a few hours, the overall process may last a minimum of 6-8 days. The actual duration is unpredictable due to external factors such as transit time of the ship, weather conditions and time to locate the cable. For these reasons, the estimated duration of this repair remains uncertain.

  SEACOM in co-operation with its clients, is actively seeking alternatives to restore service whilst the repairs are undertaken. "

  
  

• Journalists, educators, public and private sector meet in Rhodes

  Posted: July 5, 2010, 3:23 pm by rebecca

  Elvira van Noort was very excited to see her former professors at the University of Eutrect; it was great they were here to witness how she has "grown up" and busy training citizen journalism in Grahamstown. I almost went to the table to say hello to the professors; given her excitement.

  Elvira represents many journalists who are meeting at the same venue with their former lecturers attending the World Journalism Educators Congress, a parallel meeting with Highway Africa.

  It is the first time that such a meeting is taking place; so when people complain about the standards of journalism, you can turn to the educators and find out whats going on; at the same time, educators can turn and question journalists on what happened to all the lessons and massive notes given in class.

  For a conference that is usually held in September and had few scholarships given the world cup pricing of everything, Highway Africa is very attended and the interaction with the educators is likely to have positive effects.

  The corporate sector also turned up as usual; MTN, Telkom and Multichoice are here with huge stands. One of the sessions had the corporates and Nozipho January-Bardill from MTN was asked about the stories she thinks journalists should be covered.

  Her answers boiled down to the usual stuff of positive and detailed stories; she gave the example of a BBC documentary on Oliver Tambo and wonders why SABC had not done it. The upshot was that the reason people switch to international channels is mainly because of the depth of reportage.

  For the next three days, there will be interactions and discussions on some of the challenges affecting journalism and the continent. There will be no shifting blame because the journalists, educators, public and private sector are there to defend or expound on the status quo.

  Ends

  
  

• Ghana supporters brace for game of the day!

  Posted: July 2, 2010, 2:07 pm by rebecca

  It is the talk of town, buzzing on twitter, facebook; people just can't stop talking about Ghana and what would happen if it upsets Uruguay: Africa will have won and reached a new football high.

  Everybody is an expert on football now, and hypothesizing on what Ghana should or should not do is common. This morning I took a taxi and the driver could not stop talking, giving me his run down on Ghana and how Michael Essien must be feeling bad that he is not in the team.

  For a guy who can not speak proper English, I must say he was good; he gave me his analysis of what he thinks went wrong with African teams and how Portugal pulled a fast one on Ivory Coast by scoring seven goals against North Korea; meaning that the goal difference would remain far more superior.

  Online, even my American friend, who I never thought had interest is sports beyond basketball, emailed me to say "go black stars". I think its great that Ghana knocked out the US, I guess it raised some awareness.

  At the Nelson Mandela Square in Sandton, fans are gathered chanting and singing while others are blowing the vuvuzelas. It seems people have gone home or their teams are eliminated because the noise is not as much.

  The radio stations have been running analysis from morning and it seems the belief in the Ghana team has gone higher. People are impressed that the team may not have renowned stars like Cameroon or Ivory Coast but is playing as a team, which is vital in the games.

  Whether Ghana wins or loses tonight, there will be no doubt that African hopes were high and that the people who believed in the Black Stars even before the kick off were right.

  Ends

  
  
  

• Brazil's version of vuvizela

  Posted: July 1, 2010, 9:22 pm by rebecca

  The version looks a bit sophisticated compared to the common one that requires lots of energy and skill

  I think they can grow head muscles with the stuff on the head...

  It looks massive- jokes aside...

  
  

• My view of Alexandra suburbs in Jo'burg

  Posted: July 1, 2010, 9:14 pm by rebecca

  Alexandra neighborhood is famous, but unfortunately for the wrong reasons; it was the heartbeat for xenophobic attacks and the soaring crime rate has not helped the image either.

  I have been longing to go to Alex, as its commonly known, because every time I tell my South African friends that Soweto suburbs is probably better than most Kenyan middle class estates, they always advise me to go to Alex, apparently because its worse.

  Many friends have said how they have never or can not step in Alex because of the way the place is infested with criminals and every time I passed by young men and women, I could imagine that they are probably honing their skills by mugging people or doing drugs, which is not exactly alien.

  The idea I had about Alex was something else; maybe rivaled by the American drug and gangster movies and the idea of a crime infested neighborhood, that has been over dramatized in Hollywood.

  I got a chance to visit by accompanying a friend who was going there on official duties; the fact tat I look South African worked in my favor although there was no significant threat that is out of the norm.

  The visit was timely, I know understood the reason why foreigners like the place; and maybe the problem of xenophobia lies somewhere else but demonstrated through killing the hapless neighbors, just because you cant get to the real culprits.

  First, Alex is not a slum by Kenyan standards (because thats what am familiar with) ; they have tarmac roads and if there was a fire, at least the fire engine would access the place; Alex is more like the upper lower class or lower middle class in many countries, if that makes sense.

  So, what people think is appalling, is probably what foreigners are used to and maybe the rent is far cheaper. Plus for some people, they are used to places with no order or no authority e.g if you escaped war or poverty, then you don't mind so much the place and besides for some of the criminal activities to thrive, chaos is vital.

  Am only using the argument to understand why foreigners like the place; although that may not necessarily be the issue.

  The bone of contention is the rising crime rate and the fact that some people dealing drugs are so rich, they are untouchable.

  On my way back, I had a conversation with an old man, who made the issue clearer; he argued that there are some nationalities that are known for dealing drugs, perpetrating criminal activities and getting away with it, just because they have money or power to influence.

  Just like in many communities where people feel frustrated by people or the system they can't reach, they start fighting or killing with whoever is the representation of that figure.

  So, in the old man's opinion, the xenophobic attacks were more to do with frustrations with the system, rather than nationalities. He argued that previously, South Africa was very comfortable with other nationalities but that has since changed.

  That is not to say that its guaranteed that if the issue of crime was sorted, then the animosity will stop; there are no such guarantees but that would be a start.

  Then there is the argument that the animosity is all about jobs that are taken by foreigners. Who is to blame, the employer or employee? None. but the debate is far more complex than that.

  There is not much you can understand by taking to people in an afternoon, but it helps!

  
  

• Of soccer fans and booze

  Posted: June 25, 2010, 4:53 pm by rebecca

  There is something about sports and booze; we see it more in football and rugby but am sure it happens in other sports too.

  But during the world cup, the beer consumption goes up; indeed just before the world cup, i remember pub owners in the match cities saying that they were stocking on beer big time.

  German and British fans top the list; you can imagine how the fans celebrate the team win or loss. At the world cup stadium, fans just get beers, you don't see many holding cans of soda, I guess its not cool.

  You can imagine the beer that will be consumed on sunday when Germany meets Britain. It will be great for the local pubs.

  The funniest was these South Korean fans, a man and woman, who were sharing some booze, which had straws and was carefully packed on the head.

  I think beer is one of the indicators that the fans are spending as they should; that is why the big footballing countries should stay in the draw; the economy will be much better am sure.

  
  

• Vuvuzela haters get on to business

  Posted: June 25, 2010, 4:45 pm by rebecca

  Just when I thought the world was done with the Vuvuzela debate, I receive this press release.

  But it teaches be that companies know how to take advantage of events, I think this company went out its way to manufacture or upgrade one of its products or better still, its just the same only that they have gotten a new marketing tag.

  Either way, its a chance to market, only that it has been overtaken by time because people have moved on. I guess the company execs are not even in South Africa but they sound like they are forever in the thick of things.

  Here it goes...

  Not all TV broadcasters mute irritating vuvuzela shrieks when showing World Cup 2010 matches. New AVS Audio Editor effectively bans the annoying noise with specially developed Vuvuzela Remover filters.

  Online Media Technologies Ltd., the owner of AVS4YOU Project releases today a special edition of AVS Audio Editor with the extra Vuvuzela Remover feature.

  The Vuvuzela Remover feature contains 6 filters adjusted to reject frequencies typical of this African horn. Software engineers designed the algorithm in such a way that it effectively reduces irritating noises up to 99 percent without damaging audio quality.

  The Vuvuzela Remover can be applied in combination with the intelligent Noise Removal filter. You indicate the noise type and save it as a sample. Basing on this sample, AVS Audio Editor 6.1 will automatically search, detect and remove similar disturbances such as horn roars, whistles, hisses, etc. from other audio- and video files.

  “One feels real adrenaline rush while yelling and blaring in the stadium. In a room, where there's not so much space, vuvuzela wheezes become hard to endure. AVS Audio Editor 6.1 deletes excess noises without mercy,” said Tatyana Danilova, PR Manager, Online Media Technologies Ltd.

  
  

• MTN sponsored fan breaks record books

  Posted: June 24, 2010, 8:27 pm by rebecca

  It is the first World Cup in the African continent; was well organized by all standards and most of all, FIFA website broke the record for the most unique hits. On Friday June 25th, another record is set to tumble as Johannesburg resident Thulani Ngcobo, completes his feat of attending the most World Cup matches.

  The current record is 20 matches and Ngcobo is attempting to watch 38, entering the Guinness World Record for the most matches watched at a FIFA World Cup.

  MTN organized a competition last year for the last fan standing and Ngcobo was the lucky winner, to break the record, he will travel more than 17,000 kilometers and watch more than 3420 minutes of football within the month long tournament.

  But how does he make it?

  Well, Ngcobo enjoys helicopter ride and Friday will not be any different, he will watch the first match at Nelspruit then take a chopper to Pretoria, where he will watch the late game.

  “I must be the luckiest football fan at this World Cup and I am so grateful that I am experiencing all of this, because I am absolutely crazy about football. I kept looking around me, to see my girlfriend next to me and the organizers of my prize, to make sure it was real” said Ngcobo.

  After the match tomorrow night, Ngcobo will join officials from MTN and Guinness Book of Records for a press conference and celebrations; its a dream come true for him.

  For Ngcobo, its Ayoba time!

  
  
  

• Zain Kenya finally gets its 3G licence

  Posted: June 24, 2010, 6:09 pm by rebecca

  This is the latest info from the Communications Commission of Kenya.

  ..... its now official, Zain was sharp to wait for the row between Orange and GoK to settle, nice things have come their way....

  The information communication technology sector has experienced tremendous growth in the recent years. With the maturity of the Kenyan communications market, consumers are increasingly demanding access to broadband services. As a result the move to 3G is inevitable particularly for the telecommunication sub-sector.

  3G offers higher data speeds, more security, and more variety of services than the current 2G services. The bandwidth available to 3G devices gives rise to applications not previously available to mobile phone users.

  In view of this, CCK will on Friday 25th June 2010 present Zain Kenya with its 3G License making it the second company in Kenya to offer the service.

  Present at the cheque presentation will be CCK Director General, Charles J.K. Njoroge and Zain Kenya CEO, Rene Meza.

  
  

• What is football? Why get so emotional?

  Posted: June 24, 2010, 2:14 pm by rebecca

  There has been many theories advanced on why football attracts fanatical support; for some, its the game of the poor and middle class, who have all the time to play in open field while the rich are locked in gated communities and high flats playing video games and watching TV. I think the case of Brazil and the rise of most footballers from humble beginnings can reinforce this theory.

  For some, football is the game that unites all religions, its a universal language that people play the best way they know how. Just look at the support on the field and TV audiences.

  For some, football is the game of men and not for sissies although I think rugby players would contents this, given that football players are known to fall down and complain at the slightest touch. The other day somebody commented on twitter that he was surprised Ronaldo did not fall down when he was given a high five after the Portugal game with Ivory Coast.

  For some, football is the game that surpasses all ages, both young and old; it is a time when you can celebrate in a stupid way and your kids, workmates and other folks will not think you are acting immature.

  For some, football transcends gender, both men and women get emotional although Africa is yet to accept that women can be true football supporters and contribute to intelligent football discussions.

  The gender aspect is still an issue; ever wondered why parents take their boys to the stadium and not girls, yet you see youthful women and older ones on the stadium; is it that we are jumping a gap in the support or girls are not interested in football at an early age?

  Anyway, what is football to you?

  
  
  

• Lucky photo journalists

  Posted: June 24, 2010, 12:17 pm by rebecca

  Of all the people who get nice seats, I envy the photo journalists and their huge lenses

  
  
  

• Businesses win with world cup

  Posted: June 23, 2010, 6:23 pm by rebecca

  Its always fascinating when you hear the amount of money companies sponsoring the world cup are spending just to be part of it.

  One can be forgiven for asking whether they recoup their investments. In some cases, you don't have to know the figures; just look at the amount of advertising MTN has paid for in the last six months, look at their fan park, look at the advertising material produced; look at Sony's advertising stands at the Sandton- its big money.

  I had a chance to go to the Sony 3D experience dome and its a worth while experience; Forget that they promise to show game highlights and they end up showing the game for less than two minutes. Its a 15-minute commercial and 13-minutes showcase Sony products in 3D.

  I think Sony is going to recoup its money because it has an audience from several countries, who can then buy the products back in their countries. Even if they will not buy the expensive 3D cameras, am imagining, the other products will be taken up.

  Sony's strategy was very targeted, one stand for the youth, showing the games and other products for the age group, another for the basic who do not know where they belong and the 3D experience for the hi-tech or those who have nowhere to go and are out to kill time.

  MTN has managed to keep the buzz up with its "Ayoba" advertising; which means cool; when I was for the Argentina game, I remember fans shouting Ayoba. They would sing in Spanish then shout Ayoba, making it so catchy.

  Am imagining that for most world cup folks, MTN is the only network and probably the network has sold lots of sim cards and airtime. If not that, even solidifying its continental position is still something.

  That may be a big win for big corporations, but even the smaller businesses have won, hotels, restaurants, shops, and other businesses have all adjusted their prices to be "world Cup prices", the cabs are even worse, its so expensive to travel.

  The shopping malls have these signs that say discounts but when you look at the prices, there is no change if anything the prices are up, but you know there are people who cant buy unless they see the item labelled "on sale".

  Even the hawkers near the stadium, they have hiked prices and when the Vuvuzela complaints were on a high, they were stocking ear plugs and I wondered, who would wear ear plugs in the stadium?

  So, big or small, international or local, businesses are winning big with the World Cup because its Ayoba time!

  
  
  

• Businesses win with world cup

  Posted: June 23, 2010, 6:23 pm by rebecca

  Its always fascinating when you hear the amount of money companies sponsoring the world cup are spending just to be part of it.

  One can be forgiven for asking whether they recoup their investments. In some cases, you don't have to know the figures; just look at the amount of advertising MTN has paid for in the last six months, look at their fan park, look at the advertising material produced; look at Sony's advertising stands at the Sandton- its big money.

  I had a chance to go to the Sony 3D experience dome and its a worth while experience; Forget that they promise to show game highlights and they end up showing the game for less than two minutes. Its a 15-minute commercial and 13-minutes showcase Sony products in 3D.

  I think Sony is going to recoup its money because it has an audience from several countries, who can then buy the products back in their countries. Even if they will not buy the expensive 3D cameras, am imagining, the other products will be taken up.

  Sony's strategy was very targeted, one stand for the youth, showing the games and other products for the age group, another for the basic who do not know where they belong and the 3D experience for the hi-tech or those who have nowhere to go and are out to kill time.

  MTN has managed to keep the buzz up with its "Ayoba" advertising; which means cool; when I was for the Argentina game, I remember fans shouting Ayoba. They would sing in Spanish then shout Ayoba, making it so catchy.

  Am imagining that for most world cup folks, MTN is the only network and probably the network has sold lots of sim cards and airtime. If not that, even solidifying its continental position is still something.

  That may be a big win for big corporations, but even the smaller businesses have won, hotels, restaurants, shops, and other businesses have all adjusted their prices to be "world Cup prices", the cabs are even worse, its so expensive to travel.

  The shopping malls have these signs that say discounts but when you look at the prices, there is no change if anything the prices are up, but you know there are people who cant buy unless they see the item labelled "on sale".

  Even the hawkers near the stadium, they have hiked prices and when the Vuvuzela complaints were on a high, they were stocking ear plugs and I wondered, who would wear ear plugs in the stadium?

  So, big or small, international or local, businesses are winning big with the World Cup because its Ayoba time!

  
  
  

• World Cup Fans Cheer Their Teams in Style

  Posted: June 22, 2010, 1:25 am by rebecca

  The other day I was at Mandela square late in the evening, it was cold and chilly but for the football fans who have braved worse winter weather, I guess it was nothing.

  There were groups of fans, chanting slogans and working hard to outdo each other.

  One corner, Argentina fans were singing their voices hoarse, Brazil was in another corner, Mexico was somewhere in between and Mexico was just there, then there were these two Swiss fans, who had painted themselves red and were only in shorts.

  I guess the fans have different ways of expressing themselves and believe it or not, the stripping helped attract more women to their side; works well huh? In all these chaos, I happened to be standing next to a cute guy, from one of the South American countries; he did not speak much of English but he had a lisp and I made sure he talked and talked, forget that I was not getting half of what he was saying.

  It was a pleasant atmosphere that allowed people to do things they would normally do, talk to strangers and just jump up and down. Vuvuzela or no Vuvuzela, the place can get noisy.

  So, in all the mayhem, I got to know who are the noisiest fans of the day- Argentina- I think they can out-shout the vuvuzela.

  
  

• World Cup Time out: Zulu Xhosa cultural experience

  Posted: June 22, 2010, 6:00 pm by rebecca

  In all my travels, there is one thing I have loved: visiting communities that are similar to mine; seeing them do things or eat food that I can identify with.

  That is why when I got an invitation to a Xhosa/Zulu wedding, I could not miss it for anything; its literally killing two birds with one stone. It was time to witness all those things I have read online.

  It was the wedding of Phangisile Mtshali and Sihlwele Manciya and I was the international guest, she made it sound so exotic!

  The wedding was in Umthatha, about 200 kilometers from East London; this was also an opportunity to remember my history; what I had learnt about the Transkei homelands during the apartheid era; the scenery is great but the twists and turns can pose challenges to unfamiliar drivers.

  In most African traditions, a wedding is a long affair that can take a whole weekend and this was no different; there was a traditional as well as a "white" wedding and it reminded me of how weddings have been commercialized in Kenya and the union between the two families is not a big deal especially if one does not have the money.

  The Ceremony

  In a nutshell, the wedding was at the groom's place and the bride's family came in huge numbers, there is a lot of meat and slaughtering going on, the bride's family comes with their goat, which was part of the Lobola, as their contribution to the whole cooking affair; the two parties must confirm that its one of the goats given as part of the Lobola, lest they bring some skinny emaciated animal with chewy meat.

  The two families have to exchange gifts; the bride buys for the groom's family gifts and vice versa. This, ladies and gentlemen is not a joke; its an expensive exercise and am sure the family regard you in higher esteem than other Makotis if you bought expensive stuff; am sure that is what most in my Kikuyu community would do.

  After all the ceremonies, that is when the bride earns the title "makoti" which means daughter-in law. The whole family embraces the new bride and show her around; assuring her that she is no longer a stranger.

  The food

  Whenever am in South Africa, I love eating Samp, which is a mixture of maize and beans, more like Githeri, only that its done differently. I think the main reason I love it is because the maize is first undressed while our maize is cooked with the crust, which can be rough on the throat on the chewing and swallowing exercise but the Samp is very smooth.

  The meat is very soft, maybe because it is cooked over a long period and the selection trumps our boring wedding dish of overcooked rice, black peas and beef. The setting of the tables can tell you much; but again, I was a visitor, so I was impressed because this was all done in a village and not in a 5-star hotel, so it told me the level of detail that went into it.

  The meat impressed because it was fresh and in plenty, again, in Kenya we are meat lovers and this played into my food loving hands lol! That is the part of the tradition that the old men in my community like, so that they can claim that women and children don't eat this and that part, women don't come to the fire when they are in the barbecue process while in truth, they just want to eat all the best pieces.

  The dancing

  For such a long ceremony, it is important for the crowd to be engaged mainly through ample entertainment. There was a mixture of traditional and modern music, and boy, you have to love it!

  In this ceremony, you have a right to get up and dance if you feel the rhythm is great and if you like, you can grab the person next to you, female or male and you can take the stage, albeit for just a minute.

  I knew it was going to be an interesting day when I saw one lady; the oldest Makoti in the family dancing to the music just before the church ceremony started; minutes later, she was joined in the dance by young girls, who were showing such exuberance of youth, which makes the whole ceremony interesting.

  If I thought the dancing at the church was great, I was wrong! I didn't know that men can swing their waists that well that the dance becomes more sexy! Forget the Congolese dancers, they fade in comparison to the Zulu men, the movement and rhythm to the beats made everyone get on their feet, it doesn't matter whether you are a good dancer or not, just get up and shake it!

  Well, well, enter the bare chested girls; and the whole thing changes, I thought the Zulu dance of throwing up the feet was a boys affair, I was wrong, the girls did it with much vigor and energy, I wonders why they add weight later in life, they don't even need the gym, just keep dancing; its sufficient exercise, but what do I know?

  The dancing went on till after the ceremony at 9 pm, the catering team was so kind to leave the music in as they removed the decor, I imagined that back home, they would have switched off the music so people can go away; no, these guys appreciate entertainment. And yes, the youth were the majority among the last dancers, way after 10 pm.

  The whole dancing affair taught me a knew lesson in engaging with people, its like crowd sourcing entertainment; when the Phangisile and Sihlwele were coming from the photo shoot, and from the change over to evening wear, people kept on dancing, showing off their skills, making sure no one was bored and if you were not on the floor, you were taking pictures.

  In the end, I learnt a vital lesson; these are not shy communities; they are expressive, whether old or young, you all have a stage. It reminded me of how pretentious my society is; its rare to find men and women dancing together freely like they did.

  Making new friends

  This must be the most satisfying part of the ceremony for me, because for all the people I interacted with, we will no longer be strangers; we know that if they are in Nairobi, whether announced or unannounced, they can always say, hey, we met at that wedding!

  For me, I was lucky to have Simangele and Nandi (another Makoti) to translate those things that I didn't understand and answer some of the stupid questions I was asking, which made me fit in even more.

  There were also other people whose names I cant even recall but I remember sharing conversations about president Jacob Zuma and his many wives and how women would have to queue for his attention and why we would all look for a side dish, just like one of the wives did.

  You should have heard the conversation gravitate around how waiting for the turn is bad just in case you are not psyched and whether it is practical for modern men to be polygamous and satisfy all the women.

  Then there was the discussion about the makotis and how some families think that they have found a new "slave" every time there is a new girl in the family which reminded me of the hostilities between mothers and daughters in law back in Kenya. The expectations seem to be common.

  In this era of professional women with careers, manicured nails and designer suits, I think it can be considered unreasonable to expect what traditionally, a woman who was not working was expected to do. In some cases, you find that the families expect too much from the daughters-in law while the women born in that family are just as lazy... er...... committed.

  Finally...

  My advantage is that I can fit in many African communities, they will always look at me as one of their own, until they speak to me, until they realize that I am not aware they are speaking to me.

  For instance; in the evening I joined some people on the fire, and someone was talking to me, he must have been talking for two minutes non-stop before he realized that I had no idea. The fire was hot and I was down memory lane; stepping on the fire stones in a way that would make my grandma throw something between my legs just to alert me that my "shop" was too exposed, that is if I was wearing a skirt.

  The fire became a new meeting place and for the people to share their stories and the alcohol, you should have heard the cheers when the boxes with alcohol were brought in; the excitement! New stories were shared, which made it such a nice evening.

  In the end, it felt more like home away from home and reminded me that people get chances to catch up and learn during these ceremonies.

  
  
  

• Football or not, Nigeria means business

  Posted: June 22, 2010, 1:54 pm by rebecca

  Tonight Nigeria is taking on South Korea but there is no celebration because Nigeria is fading fast from its past... but that doesn't mean that Nigerians will not enjoy and take advantage of the World Cup; if there is no win on the field, then business should win.

  Nigeria is one of Africa's footballing power houses; even when they don't have the best team, they are always expected to perform well, after all, they are one of the richest nations.

  It was fair for us to have legitimate expectations that Nigeria would at least go into the second round. Do better than countries like Slovenia and New zealand. But this has not been the case.

  Forget that Kaita, seen as a rising star, decided to make a fool of himself in a way that he ruled himself out of future games, the team never looked like a shadow of its glorious past, forget represent the likes of Okocha and Oliseh.

  After the red card, Nigerians declared that he was not welcome home; that he should go straight to Belgium where he plies his trade. Some argued that African players do not take their teams seriously, especially those based in Europe.

  While all that was going on, it did not mean that Nigerians living in South Africa and those visiting were in mourning; they are busy talking business. This ensures that even if they lost in the pitch, they don't lose off it.

  By default, I happened to be at the right place when someone was invited for the party before the party and I joined in. Its not bad crashing parties especially when there are no many options.

  So I went to the party, there were mainly Nigerians and Cameroonians and on that day, Cameroon was playing and the people did not look very happy. They were not even impressed when I suggested that Cameroon players were aging; but my defense was that I may not know much because Kenya is good at Marathon; eventually we were friends and talked a lot about African football.

  Back to the party, I was told that it was to showcase Nigerian and Cameroonian businesses and there was a giant stand to show the array of opportunities as well as music to make sure the day was crowned.

  There was so much, I didn't even know that there were Yoruba descendants of Southern Africa. It maybe an avenue for someone to make money but the info was impressive.

  I got chatting with one of the guys preparing barbecue or nyama choma about business prospects in South Africa and he was more optimistic that its better and is improving with time.

  All the eating and drinking was good but I must admit that Nigeria seized the opportunity to market itself as a business destination. We have adverts about tourism in Brazil but I wonder why other African countries did not think of the opportunity to market themselves.

  Imagine if the Kenya Tourism board had even a small table at one of the joints where fan who have tickets and those who don't are gathering; you never know about the prospects.

  You may think Nigeria did not do well on the field but in terms of generating business, I think they beat other countries by using the World Cup to attract some positive attention.

  
  

• Rise of world cup pundits....

  Posted: June 22, 2010, 1:13 pm by rebecca

  The other day, a friend texted me to say that she was sad Nigeria was losing. I don't remember her being a football fan so out of courtesy I said "it's great that Nigeria has such a fan". The reply made me laugh "I am not a football fan, I a m a World Cup fan."

  It reminded me of how this month there will be several people in pubs and restaurants silencing others with their punditry. Some have no clue; others do but they all claim to be experts of sorts.

  Given that matches are played every day, women have no choice but to learn some terms and withstand the two hour torture without the soap operas or movies; after all, it happens once every four years.

  The problem with us women is that even when we know nothing about the team or the game, we want to contribute. In the process, the names are mangled and jumbled and if you ask deeper questions like who is the captain of that team or where does this footballer play, you realize the knowledge is based on quick sand.

  Its not wrong to take a quick lesson and it doesn't mean that all men know about soccer but even in a pub, all I want to do is watch it; don't talk to me or offer your punditry, don't bring funny celebrations or over do it because we are all there to have fun.

  So, we all have our version of overnight pundits and others who don't care but whatever it is; I think people are allowed because it is the world cup!

  
  

• Having a lousy game? blame it on the Vuvuzela

  Posted: June 15, 2010, 4:42 pm by rebecca

  Its always easy for a losing team to find someone or something to blame; thats why I was shocked Robert Green did not blame the Vuvuzela for his howler against USA. Green has taken some beating and he owned up to his mistake, continuing the English weakness in the goalkeeping position.

  The funniest was Patrice Evra, French Captain, who blamed the dull and comma inducing draw on the Vuvuzela. He argued that their feet could not move smoothly because of the deafening noise.

  During the Confederations cup, Xabi Alonso was leading the chorus for those who think the Vuvuzela should be banned, I cant wait to see how Spain will perform and whether the gadget will be banned.

  In all the hulla ballooo, it has sounded like the "Africans" are the ones responsible for all the noise, but look again around the stadium and at least around Sandton, and you will get the idea how the gadget is popular.

  The visiting fans have even learnt the rhythms and are busy blowing it everywhere; it has become the annoying sound we all want to hear, after all its the world cup.

  BBC has indicated that it will cancel the noise with a high tech device or whatever it is; either way, we have been watching South African soccer with all that noise, maybe BBC pundits should learn how to shout like the other pundits.

  My conspiracy theory mind thinks that either way, people will look for something negative just because this world cup is a success and is in Africa!

  
  

• Is the World Cup benefitting the rest of Africa?

  Posted: June 15, 2010, 3:26 pm by rebecca

  When FIFA announced that South Africa will host the 2010 world cup finals, it was instant jubilation for the country and indeed the continent.

  Many countries especially around southern Africa saw it as an opportunity to attract international attention by hosting training camps given the weather is almost similar. This was a legitimate expectation because in 2006, small towns and cities in Europe got lots of attention by hosting teams.

  But as time went on and the rebels in Cabinda decided to attack an African team, it became clear that teams would not be pitching tents in any of the countries, preferring to be based in Europe than Africa; even some African countries had to go to europe because teams could not accept to play practice matches locally.

  Portugal and Brazil did many of us proud by playing games against Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe, I think it was specially nice that Brazil played in Zim, at least they were not scared of Comrade Bob Mugabe. Can you imagine if it was England?

  So, it was clear that the immense benefits would be to South Africa, and all sectors, especially tourism, had invested heavily in ensuring that football fans did not go home after the matches, but proceeded on safari.

  Largely, it may look like other African countries did not benefit much but I think the benefits are there. On my flight from Nairobi to Jozi, there was a huge contigent of Chinese soccer fans, who were in Kenya on Safari and a smaller Swiss fan base, which was in the country for three days (I was eavesdropping on the conversation with SAA crew over Yellow fever certificate).

  I am sure southern Africa countries will get visitors after the world cup and maybe others will venture further north of the Limpopo river to experience what Africa has to offer. Am sure much of the benefits will be felt later; maybe with increase in tourism numbers but some benefits such as marketing the continent as an investment destination will be harder to audit.

  Ends

  
  

• Kenya ICT Board launches $ 4 million local content grant

  Posted: June 2, 2010, 3:45 pm by rebecca

  This is the press release...will comment on it later..

  The Kenya ICT Board is pleased to announce the launch of a Ksh 300 Million grant to promote the development of local digital content and software applications. The process kicked off with a ‘call for proposals’ in today’s Daily Nation newspaper.

  The main purpose of this grant is to propel the emergent lucrative but yet underexploited local content industry to growth. The grant which targets the local content developers including software developers, film, animation, advertising, publishing, gaming and education professionals and all content creators, will provide the funding required for the development of quality applications relevant to the Kenya government and private sector.

  Digital content, a major contributor and driver of economic growth in developed countries, can be broadly categorized as content accessed from electronic devices like personal computers, game consoles, mobile phones and digital TV. The internet offers the most common form of distribution of digital content. Digital content can include anything from internet based marketing, gaming, online education content and services.

  Worldwide, digital content activities are transforming traditional industry structures and business models. Local examples include mobile payment systems like M-Pesa and Pesa Pal and government e-services like online PIN registration. Thus the digital content industry has vast potential as a major contributor to our economy and society through employment creation, capital investment and export earnings, provision of skills and capabilities to traditional as well as new and emerging industry sectors. At the same time it is also significant as a means of expressing Kenya’s unique cultural identity.

  With over 3.4 million users of the internet in Kenya, research indicates that the importance of the internet outstrips those of several key developed countries. Even so, the latent demand for local content is underlined by the fact that surveys show that lack of local content is the main reason many Kenyans shy away from accessing the internet. On the launch of the grant facility, the CEO, Kenya ICT Board Paul Kukubo, commented,

  “We are pleased that we are launching this grant at a time that the ICT industry is growing and access to the internet all over the country has vastly improved. The future for content industry is bright. Talent, creativity and skills are key drivers of competitiveness in the content sector and we expect that this grant will enable Kenyans everywhere to develop world class locally relevant content and get this industry to rapidly match the lucrative opportunities for talented content developers in developed nations.”

  Kenyan content developers have already demonstrated their ability to be innovative, creative and entrepreneurial in their creation of content that is relevant to our people.

  The increase in locally developed software applications, websites, films and animation has been extraordinary over the past few years. However, despite evidence of commercial potential, it is not currently competitive in attracting funds and investment capital. This content grant will give content creators in the country a chance to demonstrate their talent, in both the artistic, social and business environment and propel investor confidence in the sector in the long term.

  Speaking at the press conference, the Deputy CEO, Victor Kyalo commented, “It is important that with the landing of the fiber optic cables that we as a country produce local digital content, not just ‘access’ other peoples content. It is very positive that Kenyans embrace and appreciate ICTs, but more important is that there are more Kenyan made e-Products available in the market.

  We want this grant to motivate the local content creators and software developers to originate, create, and adapt quality content that the country needs .We intend this content grant to be a driver for the long term development of content and recognize that private and public sector need to pool resources to meet the capacity challenges this lucrative sector faces.”

  The Government attaches high priority to addressing skills shortages because of the threat they pose to productivity and economic growth. To address this, the Kenya ICT Board has a number of initiatives purposed to build skills in the ICT sector. Among these are a Centre of Excellence for the BPO sector, an incubation program for software developers and a software certification standard that will give international accreditation and competitiveness to our local developers. Additionally, the board is creating organic growth within the ICT sector by training entrepreneurs (over 1000 already trained) to run digital villages all over the country. All these coupled with the improved infrastructure, has put Kenya in the forefront of potentially explosive growth in the content and software development sub-sector.

  About the grant

  The content grant is divided into two major sections: US$1.5Million for private sector applications and US$2.5M for government applications. The latter will be used to propel the utilization of ICTs to improve government service delivery . The government has in the past few years firmly embraced ICT to become more efficient and responsive in the delivery of its public service - from processing ID cards, driving licenses, registration of companies, revenue collection and currently, the digitization of records at the Ministry of Lands and the judiciary, with more government departments to follow. This is all in line with Kenya’s vision of becoming a globally competitive and prosperous nation with a high quality of life by 2030.

  The private sector grant of US$1.5M is open to firms and individuals to develop applications that would be of benefit to the general public or improve the delivery of existing private sector services.

  The first round of grant allocation will award a maximum of US$ 50,000 per firms and US$ 10,000 for individuals. The Kenya ICT Board expects to make at least one call for application per year over the next three years.

  The content funded by this grant will build capacity within the ICT sector create efficiencies, build social capital, increase utilization of ICTs by local communities and demonstrate to the world, Kenya’s talent for creation of digital content.

  Key dates

  Call for proposals: June 2, 2010

  Deadline for proposals: July 19, 2010

  Successfully grantees announced: 15 August, 2010

  Disbursement of grant money: October 2010

  
  

• Travel Diary: With Kenya Airways

  Posted: June 1, 2010, 3:31 pm by rebecca

  When I heard that KQ had embraced technology, I thought it would make my travel life easier. I had stopped flying Kenya Airways because of overbooking and bumbing me off flights and in the process scuttling my plans and causing me monetary loss; and they didn't care.

  But on some routes, you can't avoid KQ, you are stuck with it and whether you like it or not, I dont think they will change soon, so we have to get on with it.

  There is something painfully wrong about missing a flight, except in some of those acts of nature like the volcanic ash and stuff. When it happens to you, it is understandable to want to yell at the airline staff who in most cases are not to blame but the airline itself.

  Take Kenya Airways, it is well known that KQ has a penchant for over booking and canceling flights. In their effort to make sure that all flights are full, KQ doesn't mind inconveniencing traveller.

  But what I don't understand is why Kenya Airways booked me on an 8.10 flight to Kigali this morning, while there is actually no such flight. I learnt this from a passenger who tried to book the flight a month ago but was told there is no such flight; they were stopping the flight from today. So, a bunch of us who were on the 8.10 flight wondered why we booked it or why KQ has it on their schedule anyway.

  The funniest thing is that at 5.30 am, I got an sms from KQ, just as I was about to leave, telling me that the flight had been cancelled and that I would be on the 10.50 flight.

  So, I religiously came to the airport 2.5 hours before time, even though they say 2 hours before. I am so afraid of KQ overbooking crap that I would do anything to be there on time.

  Getting to the airport am told that we cant get on to the flight because the other people who had not left their telephone contacts were at the airport and filled the flight. So, why dint they just let me come and I would not have been in this mess.

  I was feeling that KQ had finally embraced technology but it has taken it the other way round; it is using technology to punish passengers. Beware; your day will technically be wasted because your plans are disrupted.

  I know Kenya Airways is better than most airlines in Africa and its good to be patriotic but not at the expense of my plans. If it was a natural calamity its ok but human error? KQ can do better.

  THe funniest part is that no one will compensate you, cancel your meetings but even the taxi, you have to haggle KQ to reimburse or give you transport back home.

  Then this KQ rep said we were to get vouchers worth $150 but now it seems they have reneged; we are getting nothing now. Explanation; flight was cancelled, its not overbooking.

  Time wasted!

  
  

• Getting used to slow internet in Accra

  Posted: May 17, 2010, 4:24 pm by rebecca

  Long before Kenya was connected via fiber optic, we were used to the slow internet. We were used to waiting 10 minutes before attaching a file, and we were ok with that.

  I remember this friend who could always whine whenever in Nairobi, complaining about the slow internet and I always suggested that "if you cant get used to it, pay more money or go back to your country."

  But its totally understandable to be frustrated if you are used to the fast internet and you go to a place where sending an email or uploading a blog post is a futile exercise. You can get petulant and thats bad.

  Just ask Henry Addo, a developer at Ushahidi, he thinks that the fast internet in Nairobi and availability of free wifi hotspots has spoilt me. I am getting frustrated with the connectivity at the Kofi Annan center and my hotel connectivity is not good either.

  Henry has made a point of smiling every time, saying that I should get used to it and I cant remember when I last wrote a post that says am happy with the many fiber optic cables in East Africa.

  So, as Ghana waits for Glo or main one cables to land, I think the frustration of Sat-3 will continue.

  That is why we need to be happy that our connectivity woes have eased a bit in Nairobi, you have to come to Accra to appreciate that!

  
  

• Anti-competition regulations to affect ISPS too

  Posted: May 10, 2010, 12:53 pm by rebecca

  Last week, Kenya's ICT community discussions were dominated by the anti-competition rules, published by the Communications Commission a week earlier. The regulations targeted at dominant players in the communications market and their pricing structure.

  Immediately the rules were published, Safaricom jumped to the defense, buying a full page advert condemning the action taken by CCK. The following day, other mobile players ganged up and bought a full page ad, congratulating CCK for leveling the playing field.

  To an ordinary person, it may appear like the regulations were all about Safaricom and the other mobile services market players. But read the regulations and you will get that they go beyond.

  For those who may know the ISP field, there has been complaints about some big companies that own the infrastructure, which they lease to other ISPs, the same giant companies have smaller companies which they use to access the end user market.

  Take for instance KDN, it leases local loop to other smaller ISPs, sells service on Wimax and they also sell the butterfly service to the consumer market. If you are a smaller ISP buying the service from KDN, how will you make money while they access the same consumer market and can sell at a bargain?

  The impression created by the mobile service providers is that interconnection applies to voice services; what about data and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP); we know some ISPs provide free on net VoIP calls but that doesn't help because calling someone in another ISPs is either impossible or too expensive.

  What about ISPs that want to connect to mobile, the way Skype operates? That also has an element of interconnectivity and there must be some rule governing how that will be done.

  Yes, Safaricom may have the most to loose but the way discussions are going reminds me of the Kenya Communications (amendment) act and how the media made it look like the whole act was all about the media.

  If the rules are looked at broadly, we will see that even South Africa, Nigeria, among other countries are facing similar predicaments. If anything, the complaint has always been that the government has not been quick to develop rules; in this case, it seems to have pre-empted the market complaints (read the South African case).

  
  

• Travel Diary, my experience; transexuals, cultures.....language barriers..

  Posted: April 10, 2010, 3:16 pm by rebecca

  There are times when you travel to a new country and you get a culture shock, learn new ways of living and in some cases experience new things that you never know existed. In Africa, people keep saying about African traditions this and that; don't be fooled, the same things you see in hollywood movies, they are in Africa too.

  So, you can understand some of the shocks when the villager in me goes places with narrow mindedness and comes out with an alternative view. Some of the things were alien to me and some are funny experiences due to language barrier.

  Here we go:

  Meeting transexuals in Africa

  When the guy walked into the room, I was attracted, he was handsome and looking hot in locks and was well dressed. It was only that the meeting had already started otherwise I would have whispered to my friend next to me "that guy is hot" as it happens at times.

  But you know that people who come late for meetings at times have the agenda of attracting attention.

  Anyway, after sometime, the handsome guy came to talk to my neighbor, and I was shocked to see her in close range because it was clear that she was a woman, the locks aside. But when I looked again, her chest was flat; I remember wondering; what happened to the chest?

  I worked hard not to stare through out the day but as I came to realize, there are so many people who find themselves with the wrong bodies and the result is hormonal treatment and other ways of rectifying the situation.

  People hate and say all they can, but I like talking to people because you learn a lot, and for people open about their status, they are probably the most open even in some of the topics that we are pretentious about.

  So, you can imagine the village in me and some of the questions that may be considered offensive but you have to ask, but in the end, you learn that people have experiences that can change your narrow world view.

  American food portions

  I was young and naive when I went to the US, we were a group of five, so when we checked in to the hotel, we decided to get some food around the corner. I was with a Nigerian guy, who had been to the US before, so he knew his way around.

  When we went to the Chinese take away joint, I ordered chicken wings and rice. In my mind, the chicken wings are supposed to be a small meal. You can imagine my shock when I went back to the room and realized that I had five huge drumsticks, I thought I had taken the wrong order!

  I called my friend's room and told him how I thought I had taken his order or something like that, because I had no wings, just huge pieces of chicken that looked like a whole chicken.

  He laughed for a minute and then told me "you are so naive".

  There are a couple of other things that I did on that trip that demonstrated my naivety; like it was winter and I went into a cocktail meeting with a jacket and a very small top underneath, that meant I could not take off the jacket because when I was leaving my room, I never thought I would have to take off the jacket. How dense!

  Language barrier; Spanish, French, Arabic

  Its bad that when English speakers visit other countries, they want the others to at least speak some English and give some directions. You will always get some wrong ones who don't care.

  The funniest experience was in Tunis, when I went into a large shopping mall and after walking around, I wanted to use the ladies, but when I got there, there was this Mama who was holding me back, she was mumbling some words but it was in Arabic and French. Others were coming and going in and wondering why the mama was holding on to me, blocking me from entering.

  After some time, the mama showed me a coin, and another tourist told me that I had to pay to get in. she must have seen the confusion on my face. After I paid, we all laughed...

  But the best was the shopping experience in Argentina, for many, any black person is from Brazil so I resulted to saying am Brazilian until I met one Brazilian who spoke in Portuguese and I had to own up.

  Anyway, there was this shop, looked like a family business because it was a grand ma and two teenagers most likely grandkids. No one in the shop spoke English and I could only mutter a few Spanish words apart from Hola.... gracias..

  The grandma was very excited to see me, the kids stayed aside to let the conversation go on....we were haggling and she was showing me stuff and was explaining that I need stuff for my baby sister and brother. The kids were only laughing because it was more gestures and half sentences and she would get me what I need. It was a huge shop and I bought most of my stuff there; forget that communication was more non verbal and full of laughter; especially when we could not get what the other was saying.

  Arab Hospitality

  There is so much that is said about Arab culture and how they treat women; much of it is true but throughout the brief travel in Arab countries, I have experienced a side of hospitality that is hardly spoke about.

  When shopping in the market and demonstrate that you have a few things to buy, you are offered tea, and they will give tea, for as long as you stay there. Even the way they treat you, they are good people.

  The Racist bastards

  One of the toughest things to withstand is racism, I have witnessed it in various ways; some spoken, others not.

  Whether its the airline crew who treat you a certain way just because or the shopkeeper in the west who treats you differently from the person in front of you who was white or tells you to put the money on the counter because God forbid you make contact.

  We like to wish it away but once in a while you experience it and its not cool. Some of it is blown out of proportion, but the best thing is to treat people as individuals, don't assume they will be racist or nice just because they are white or black or in between. Sometimes even black people treat me badly, just because am from another country; the thing is complex.

  Best lesson; treat people as individuals and don't assume anything!

  Strangers who became friends

  Its always nice when you meet someone and you hit it off, whether you start discussing the weather and end up with football, some of those networks can help if you need it in that country.

  In my travels, I have met very good people and we have ended up being very good friends. South Africa is always home because I make several trips there annually and I have people who ensure that I know some of the best places to get entertained. The fact that I look South African has also worked for me, especially when I wander around in some of the places they tell you not to go.

  I am sure there are also people who have visited Kenya and surprised us, like this guy I saw taking Ugali and ketchup...when I asked, was told he was a vegeterian ...and British.

  Someone told me how he hosted two backpackers, where he stays the water is erratic so people shower from basins. After a week, the guy and the chic were asking how to shower from a basin, meaning all that time..... no shower.

  
  

• Governance, democracy and role of media...

  Posted: March 25, 2010, 7:11 pm by rebecca

  Governance, democracy and role of media in promoting development in Africa dominated discussions on the first day of Pan African Media conference.

  Democracy and coverage of politics and less policy development took center stage as politicians and media practioners at the conference traded excuses regarding who is to blame.

  "In many cases, politicians have policy and development issues to discuss but the media always focusses on politics for commercial reasons; because that is what sells newspapers," said Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

  Raila was responding to the question whether politicians are to blame for over reliance on politics and why Kenya is more obscessed with politics compared to the other countries in East Africa.

  The conference was discussing serious issues but there was a moment of laughter when the chief guest President Kibaki acknowledged the role of social media in development, trying his best to show that he was still in touch with tech developments.

  “The advent of citizen journalism has become possible because of tools such as SMS, blogs and social networking websites such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Myspace,” said President Kibaki.

  In his speech, the President challenged the participants to examine how new media can be used to promote democracy, fight against corruption, nepotism, and environmental challenges.

  The Pan African Media Conference was organized jointly with Highway Africa and Africa Media Initiative.

  Nation Media Group founder Aga Khan addressed the conference, talking about freedom of the press and the responsibility that comes with it. He noted that media independence does not mean taking sides with the opposition.

  "Let me sound a word of caution. Freedom, in any area of human activity, does not mean the moral license to abuse that freedom.  It would be a sad thing if the people of

  Africa in the name of freedom, were expected to welcome the worst of media practices, whether they are home-grown or imported," said Khan.

  When Khan started the Nation Media at the age of 24 and at that time, he had no journalism training. But he demonstrated commitment to journalism by announcing plans to establish a new Graduate School of Media and Communications based in East Africa.

  The school, will have its first campus in Nairobi by next year and later be integrated in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences of Aga Khan University to be created in Arusha.

  "The Aga Khan University is planning to establish a new Graduate School of Media and Communications, based in East Africa and dedicated to advancing the excellence of media performance and the strengthening of ethical media practices throughout the developing world," Aga Khan said in his speech.

  The proposed Graduate School of Media will offer a Masters Degree program, serving recent university graduates as well as media owners, managers, and mid-career journalists.

  "This new School will also work on the cutting edge of media technology, embracing especially the new on-line world - its complications and its potentials. The rapid spread of mobile phone technology supports this view - as do recent advances in broadband availability - including the new SEACOM undersea cable development," Khan said in his speech.

  The conference was addressed by President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, ex-Presidents Joachim Chissano of Mozambique and Benjamin Mkapa of Tanzania, and Information and Communications minister Samuel Poghisio.

  
  

• Interesting job offer for developers...

  Posted: March 24, 2010, 8:50 am by rebecca

  A friend of mine sent me this job advert for qualified developers; deadline this Friday..

  Ever thought of moving your office to the beautiful islands of Seychelles?

  We have a one-of-a-life-time opportunity for professionals to join our young and dynamic software team to design and develop world-class software systems for the local and international tourism industry.

  We are a leading Information Technology company in Seychelles with over 20 years of experience in developing and supporting software and other IT solutions to over 300 customers in the banking, offshore, tourism and other sectors of the Seychelles economy.

  .NET Systems Analyst & Software Engineer/Programmer

  Job Summary:

  •Analyze, research, design, develop, test, implement and support computer software applications.

  Requirements:

  •C# and VB.NET Frameworks

  •2 years minimum commercial experience in .NET languages (ASP.NET, .NET XML Web Services and other .NET Integration technologies, .NET LINQ)

  •2 years experience working with SQL databases (MS SQL or others).

  •Experience with Object Oriented Design and concepts.

  •Building reputable technical skill with SOA Application Design and Implementation

  •Degree in Computer Science subject or equivalent.

  •Have strong and proven analytical/problem-solving skill

  •Ability to speak and write English fluently.

  Preference will be given to candidates with the following knowledge and experience in:

  •MS SQL 2005 upwards, .NET framework 3.5, .NET RIA Services, LINQ, Microsoft Visual Studio 2008, Expression Blend, Microsoft Silverlight, WPF, WWF & WCF, SharePoint & MOSS

  Contract: 1 - 2 years

  Package: Work permit, air fares and accommodation provided.

  Salary: All salaries are negotiable and commensurate with work experience and qualifications.

  All applicants must be extremely customer-focused, reliable, professional team players.

  Please mail or email a CV to:HR Department

  VCS (Pty) Limited

  PO Box 1000

  Victoria, Mahé, Seychelles.

  Email to: hr@vcsinet.com

  Tel: +248 676000Fax: +248 324056

  
  

• Got a foreign accent? Kenyan media houses will love you..

  Posted: March 23, 2010, 10:11 am by rebecca

  Desire for foreign accents stymies local content.... forget that some have never tracelled out of the country.

  The desire for hollywood content and media personalities with foreign accents has led to low local content in African media.

  Wachira Waruru, Royal Media Services managing director told the Pan African Media Conference that television stations in Kenya are flooded with foreign content that does not add value to African culture.

  “It is sad to say but our media owners are the biggest obstacles to the development of local content on our screens,” said Waruru, who heads the media house with the highest local television content in Kenya (Citizen TV).

  Regarding appreciation of the local people, Waruru said media houses hope to appear "more sophisticated" employing individuals with foreign accents.

  “We do not need hollywood to survive; let us refocus our energies on developing local content for our viewers and listeners for this is where the future of this industry lies,” he said

  Waruru was speaking at a breakfast session on culture and open doors; other parallel sessions included topics in New Media, reporting change and crisis in Africa and environment, media and Africa's responsibility.

  
  

• Do vernacular stations fan violence?

  Posted: March 23, 2010, 7:32 am by rebecca

  Media regulation and the role of vernacular stations in conflict situations was brought into sharp focus as media practitioners examined their role in conflict situations.

  Joseph Odindo, Nation Media Group editorial director narrated how various vernacular stations were indicted for fanning flames of violence during the post election violence in Kenya.

  "How do you deal with the culture of hate speech? Vernacular radio stations reach the grassroots and are well placed, potent ways of mobilizing the public but what happens when they fan flames?" posed Odindo.

  He also explored options such as regulation and banning of such stations but was quick to add that this is not the sole solution. He argued that participants should find a way to inoculate the insect without resulting to drastic measures such as banning.

  During the height of the violence in Kenya, Odindo was torn between using blood spattered pictures and showing the reality to the public and pushing them not to live in ignorance.

  Mathatha Tsedu, one of South Africa's leading editors spoke about South African media's treatment of Nigerians where Nigerians arrested with crime related issues make headlines yet other criminal activity in the country does not always make headlines.

  "In South Africa, if a Nigerian is arrested with 2 grammes of cocaine, the story makes headlines, but if its South African the story is not a headline; there is a level of targeting foreigners," said Tsedu.

  During the xenophobic attacks in South Africa, Tsedu said the Daily Sun characterized the attacks as "alien attacks" and the paper was considered to have used derogatory statements and issues were raised with ombudsman.

  In the afternoon session, journalists tackled the issue of press freedom, whether having leaders who are holding on to power means that the media in that country is muzzled.

  Ends

  
  

• Why Nation Media Group is setting bad precedent by charging journalists accreditation fees

  Posted: March 17, 2010, 5:14 pm by rebecca

  This week, I received a media invite from the Nation Media group about accreditation for the Pan African Media Conference. They were asking for $150 for journalists to cover the event.

  I read the email again, it was not to participate, but to cover the event, you know, the journalists that come in just for the speeches by the big wigs. Before I could digest the shock, another email came, rectifying the figure to Kshs 2,500 (about $30); but I was still in a shock.

  I was in shock because I know media houses have been against charging journalists to cover events. Think about management/motivational events that many people pay lots of money to attend but journalists get in free.

  I was once asked for advice by someone organizing a management talk on those tips they did not teach you at Harvard Business school and i was against journalists paying a fee just to cover the event.

  So, why is the Nation Media Group asking other media houses to pay in order to cover the event?

  I was with some other tech journalists in the morning and we were joking that because the Nation is so big, they can afford to cover the event on their own, across all the platforms.

  For others, it was a way for the Nation to get all the scoops by ensuring that they cover everything and lock out the others.

  Anyway, I am sure the fee is not that much and other media houses can pay but will it be fair to ask other event organizers to allow journalists in free when other media houses charge accreditation fee?

  By the way, the meeting has allowed some bloggers free, so will this be the first case where social media has trumped mainstream media?

  Read the email sent below...

  RE: PAN AFRICAN MEDIA CONFERENCE JOINTLY ORGANISED BY NATION MEDIA GROUP & AFRICA MEDIA INITIATIVE

  We are pleased to invite you to cover the 2010 Pan African Media Conference in Nairobi, Kenya. The conference with the theme, Media and the African Promise is a collaboration of the Africa Media Initiative and the Nation Media Group and will be held from the 18th-19th March 2010 at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre. The event will reflect on the African media’s past, present and prospects for the future against the challenges of a dynamic globalised environment. The conference has been organised to commemorate Nation Media Group’s 50th Anniversary since the first copy of the Daily Nation rolled off the press.

  This conference will draw attendance from leading media professionals from all over the African continent, speakers representing industry and policy development, as well as academic scholars and thinkers from the global media arena. The forum will encourage contribution and development of robust policy related to the operation and development of media in Africa.

  Participants will explore issues ranging from the advent of citizen journalism where audiences generate and publish news using popular online platforms and new media such as SMS, MMS, MySpace, Facebook, and YouTube, to the role of media and civil society in solving Africa’s challenges, to governance democracy and other perspectives, to the emergence of a global media culture, to reporting change and crisis in Africa, and saving the African environment among others.

  We have a great line-up of speakers including: H.E. Joaquim Alberto Chissano, former President of Mozambique, H.E. John Agyekum Kufuor, President of the Alliance, and former President of Ghana, Dr. Hussein Amin, Professor and former chair of Journalism and Mass Communication at the American University in Cairo, Achim Steiner Acting on the nomination of Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Dr. Mohamed "Mo" Ibrahim, Sudanese-born British mobile communications entrepreneur, Professor Wangari Maathai, winner of the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize and Mr. David Dadge, Director of the International Press Institute(IPI among others.

  We invite you to cover the conference. For purposes of accreditation please send a list of the print, broadcast and photo journalists who will cover the event by Friday 12th March to Wanjiru Waithaka at the conference secretariat (wwaithaka@nation.co.ke). For each journalist we will require two (2) passport size photos, an official letter confirming he or she has been assigned to cover the event by your organization and accreditation fee of USD150 (or Sh10,000) payable in advance.

  Follow-up email

  Dear all,

  With regard to the invitation below please note that the accreditation fee has been reduced to Sh2,500 PER journalist.

  Regards,

  Ends

  
  

• ICANN security concerns may have benefitted all parties

  Posted: March 12, 2010, 10:48 am by rebecca

  For the ICANN local organizing committee, today is a great day, it is the last day of the meeting, which by any standards can be considered a success considering the security video produced by ICANN just before the meeting.

  From December last year, the LOC was involved more in answering security questions, whether the ruling coalition will break and whether the Al Shabab terrorist group will get away from the lucrative piracy along the gulf of Aden to attack KICC. No one denied that there were security concerns but thats a common denominator for many countries, rich or poor.

  In retrospect, I think the whole security debate benefitted Kenya and to some extent the continent. ICANN meetings have geographical rotation and am sure issues of security will come up the next time Africa is meant to host the meeting.

  For Kenya, the successful meeting is vital, given that the Internet Governance Forum will be held in the country next year. If the IGF raises the security issues, Kenya can point to ICANN and the security video, and the success that was achieved.

  To ICANN, the remote participation was good, the online participation matrix was shared before the meeting started and the parallel meetings in the US now look a bit ill advised.

  The 100mb bandwidth at the conference venue was very stable, I did not experience any hitches, even during the opening ceremony, where there were at least 100 laptops on; everyone at ICANN at least carries a laptop but not all were on at the time.

  For the ICANN participants who danced at the Carnivore till 4am, it just shows that they were enjoying the hospitality and the good things that the country has to offer. For those who took the Safaris, that is better than the caged animals out there.

  The meeting was optional for many people but for those in the new gTLD debate, it was important to have the two minutes on the mic in the public forum. Even members of the Government Advisory Committee took the mic, led by Bertrard De La Chapelle from France, who took the 2 minute Mic like 20 times, just to emphasize the importance of public sessions.

  For the ICM guys, the Independent Review Committee and those interested in matters of transparency in ICANN, the .xxx debate was important and their presence is vital, even in the face of security concerns.

  So, the meeting had lessons and successes for everyone; with more than 1000 people picking their conference bags, I think the meeting was a success and offers vital lessons to others holding meetings in Nairobi.

  Ends

  
  

• ICANN President admits security could have been handled better

  Posted: March 11, 2010, 12:03 pm by rebecca

  In the months leading up to the ICANN meeting in Nairobi, majority of discussions and conference calls were dominated by security concerns and emergency meetings with some people wondering whether the meeting will take place or not.

  Eventually some people decided to stay away. Yes, security is a concern but for everyone and no one can blame anyone for choosing safety over risk. Well, I had my opinions about the security debate, which have been expressed in blog posts scattered online.

  However, it was nice to hear an admnission from Rod Beckstrom, ICANN president and CEO that perhaps the whole security debate was not handled well.

  At a meeting with the Government Advisory Committee, Rod said that ICANN is striving to balance transparency and diplomacy and in this case, that balance may not have been well struck.

  He was responding to the statement by Alice Munyua, CCK board, who alluded to the fact that the whole security saga may not have demonstrated respect to the local organizing committee and that the debate was dominated by security and not by serious issues.

  Here is the verbatim GAC speech by Alice:

  We thank the ICANN board and the ICANN community for resolving to get on with the meeting in Kenya despite the challenges and note that the geographic rotation of meeting locations is an important feature unique and special to ICANN.

  However, we need to ask ourselves “what do these ICANN meetings leave behind in the various regions and/or countries?”

  Kenya had ideals regarding the possible domino effect/impact that this meeting would have had in the EA region in terms of understanding ICANN, increased participation in ICANN and understanding of Internet policy and Internet governance generally (as you probably know, Kenya has offered to host the 2011 IGF). But we spent most of the months leading up to the meeting occupied and dealing with the meetings security issues due to the badly handled communication around it.

  And this is not to deny that there were credible fears around the meeting security, particularly when it touches on the world’s common terrorism incidents, but communicating these same fears and efforts being made to ensure everyone's safety could have been handled more diplomatically and respectfully for  Kenya as host country, as a recognition   the hard work by the local organisers and ICANN staff.

  We note that nearly all of the contracted parties (registries, registrars) are missing (physically) and have chosen to have parallel meetings in NY and Washington. What does this say about the ICANN processes? Has ICANN's foundation commitment to the introduction of competition and diversity in the DNS on the decline? If all of the registries and significant majority of registrars are based in North America what does this say? Is there a competition framework? Is it time to begin to explore the possibilities of a global one perhaps?  What will happen to the new gTLD's with registration costs that are prohibitive for most developing countries’?

  Finally, we congratulate ICANN commitment to the principle of transparency, with the very active use of society networking tools, like twitter but we do believe that issues that affect a country's prospects should be handled more sensitively and respectively because they do tend to have an impact on not only  general effectiveness and efficiency of organising these kind of meetings but the  impact is broader than  the

  internet and includes  issues of investment, tourism among others.

  If the intentions, with the various processes including the AOC are to work towards internationalising ICANN, then ICANN must respect diversity and work more towards understanding other perspectives and interests.

  
  

• Expanding debate on domain costs..

  Posted: March 9, 2010, 11:15 pm by rebecca

  In the debate about the challenges of domains in Africa, the issue of cost becomes a major talking point.

  I have been accused of ripping Kenic and their policies on .ke; I pay Ksh 3000 about $ 40 for my domain, which I consider high. Yes. maybe I may be harping on the cost issue a bit but that has been the feeling of many people who have contributed via twitter and other forums.

  So I decided it would be nice to look at the issue from a different lens; that of the administrators, just to understand why they charge the figure.

  I spoke to Michuki Mwangi, the guy who set up Kenic and the first person who I heard saying that cost is not an issue a while a go. Michuki made very compelling arguments.

  Sample this; the mama who sells vegetables at the local kiosk has a mobile phone that cost Ksh 2,500 and spend about Ksh. 500 on credit every month. Why? Because the mama finds value in the mobile phone and the credit spent brings returns.

  Michuki's argument is very clear that if we grow the value added services, then the cost of the domain is not the issue; make it worth the while and people will spend. If local electronic commerce is developed, just like the way mobile phones have grown, people will find it easy and effective to conduct business online and so long as returns are guaranteed, then cost will not be an issue per se.

  Then there is the other side of the coin. Here is a response I got from Francis hook, who was commenting on the topic:

  Lets examine the numbers...according the a recent economic survey, there are about 50,000 businesses in Kenya - all the way from KQ, KCB....to the small scale SMMEs....that's 50,000...assume 5% of internet users (i.e. abt 5 million) want a .co.ke for whatever reason....and 5% is really stretching it...given a good chunk (say 50%) are students/young people/job seekers/etc doing FB, SN, IM, email, etc.... ...anyway, thats 250,000 users. Lets say its 2.5% that is 125,000 plus 50,000 (and again we are assuming even that small chips shop on Ronald Ngala gets a domain...) - 175,000 x US$2 = US$ 350,000 @ ROE 75 = 26.2 million...

  I am sure the debate on domains will go on, Lets hear different scenarios!

  
  

• ICANN: Africa must work hard too...

  Posted: March 8, 2010, 5:41 pm by rebecca

  There are many African governments and citizens who do not understand the role of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.

  For some, ICANN should operate in the bottom later ensuring that we have internet access and that the pipes are faster. Others think that ICANN should be involved in the running of domain registries, which are in shambles and in some cases fighting over petty issues. Others think that ICANN is there to fund them; talk of reliance on aid.

  Of course ICANN has no role in all these things and what it points is that more outreach is needed and maybe ICANN should have an office in Africa.

  But how? According to Rod Beckstrom, 90 percent of ICANN contributions come from North America, so that may be the reason why we have 3 offices in the US and none in Africa.

  That makes sense; if Africa does not contribute anything, how will the office be supported? So, for Africa to be on level terms, then we must also be willing to contribute, but am not sure how when our registry operations are still manual.

  I was chatting with Rafik Dammak, who accuses me of complaining or whining too much but then, what do I do?

  Rafik told me of how the various constituencies within ICANN are always looking for participants but what do you do when they dont contribute to those meetings and in some cases stay outside within the coffee houses instead of meeting rooms?

  Yes, its good to have geographical representations but we also need to start bringing something on the table and contributing to the debate more than we do currently.

  Regarding the financial contributions, I have no words; will leave it for the others.

  Ends

  
  

• After the security farce....first day of ICANN

  Posted: March 8, 2010, 5:08 pm by rebecca

  In the last few weeks, members of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and numbers were fixated on the security issues in Kenya, the threats by Al Shabab was the reason many of the attendees stayed home to participate online.

  But I must say am impressed with the people that turned up, actually I thought it would have been a nice time to pass some controversial stuff because you would have lesser people but alas....many of them came.

  I was starting to feel it for the local organizers with all the preparations with dancers and dinner at Carnivore; its a popular tourist destination and its only fair that ICANN participants taste the goods.

  But the lack of faith in local anything was so salient, in the morning, there was a blackout, every other place at KICC had power except the meeting room, so I asked what was the issue.

  I was told that ICANN insisted that they did not want the generator provided by KICC and they had their own provided by the US embassy in Nairobi. But that generator did not work, and am sure no one said that that was not the fault of KICC.

  It reminded me of the value of local knowledge and the kind of advise you get from the guys on the street.

  Anyway, am happy with the turn out today; it validates so many other things that were said before.

  Ends

  
  

• France Telecom must shape up to challenge big telcos in East Africa

  Posted: March 4, 2010, 7:56 am by rebecca

  I am sure we have all heard how France Telecom plans to dominate the East Africa region. They have bought and operate Orange brand in Kenya, Tanzania, Mauritius and recently Ethiopia.

  The desire to challenge MTN and Vodafone in the region is great but what surprises me is how hard it is to get a comment from anyone from France Telecom. No one seems to know how to get France Telecom representatives in the region.

  Sample this; for the last three weeks, I have been trying to get anyone at France Telecom to comment on an article I want to do. At least I knew Ogilvy PR handles Telkom Kenya, so I thought if I asked for their help, they will lead me to the right person.

  In response, the guys at Ogilvy said they are trying but till now, no response to my emails on whether you can get a France Telecom rep in the region. I was starting to wonder whether its that hard to get France Telecom.

  Then I thought maybe the guy from Ogilvy doesn't want to help me, after all, it is Telkom Kenya who are the clients and not France Telecom International, though I thought they are in the same extended family.

  To cast the net wider, I contacted the corporate communications head at Telkom Kenya to see if I can get some help on that end, after much optimism, nothing has come out of it.

  Now am left wondering; is it that France Telecom does not know that they can decline to comment, or is it that there are no France Telecom reps in the region, or maybe the company likely to operate in a ghostly manner.

  Whatever it is, I think if France telecom is to challenge the domination of other bigger companies, they need to start acting like them, in response to the public, otherwise their silence does not smell like they are contenders.

  I will still continue following up, will share more frustrations....and successes as they come along....

  Ends

  
  

• Why debate on women in tech should digress from normal whining...

  Posted: March 2, 2010, 2:29 pm by rebecca

  The other day I had an interesting discussion with Juliana Rotich about the women's movement and the activism on issues. From the talk, she is not very amused with some of the issues advanced.

  Juliana reminded me one post I always wanted to write; on whether the debate about women needs to be tilted or changed, especially when it comes to tech issues. She feels that women's movement has this feeling of entitlement, especially from men.

  I do also understand that for women in engineering and science courses, affirmative action did not give you the high grades, you had to work hard and measure up, which means that you are not a victim, you have earned it.

  Juliana had a point, I wanted to disagree just to raise the debate a bit but we were in the middle of Ushahidi meeting so I thought I should reflect and write this post.

  I have very high regard for activists on women issues; coming from a village that until about 30 years ago did not appreciate the need of women going to high school, I know that the benefits I enjoy today is a result of activism and awareness by the women of those days.

  That is why I have done my share of coverage of women issues and helped where I can. That is also why I was also excited when I was asked about women's issues in internet governance.

  But I did not strike a very nice cord with the women's issues advocates when I argued that some of the issues are gender neutral and it would indeed raise the debate higher if women were to take up the issues.

  Take for instance the cost of domains, lack of electronic commerce growth, online content etc...these are issues that affect both men and women, but if the women took it up and said...hey we will break more boundaries if domains are cheaper or e-commerce is made easier, people will start discussing such issues, maybe even wondering why they are important to women.

  My argument was that women don't have to be victims anymore; ten years ago, the story was that women don't have access to this and that, men have the power over this and that, this protocol has not been signed among many other issues.

  The growth of mobile in Africa has extinguished many of those myths, women have adopted technology, whether they understand what GSM works or not, they know opportunities in mobile money, they operate call kiosks and some of then charge their phones at a fee...while still at home.

  I am always inspired when I go to my village and see how mobiles have opened opportunities, with mobile money, you can sell credit, send money, pay bills at the convenience of your shamba, you just need to be shown how it works.

  Women are not victims, we take opportunities when presented, and I think the activism now should be on how to identify these opportunities that women can participate in.

  While at the Africa Union Summit in January, I challenged one of the women to raise the debate by challenging RASCOMSATAR-QAF, the owners of RASCOMSTAR-1 satellite to provide bandwidth to women NGOs who are paying lots of money for connectivity, which I think would make many people want in.

  RASCOM-QAF, the consortium, has an engineering fellowship or some training where African engineers are trained to operate the satellites, it would make a lot of sense if the women movement was to advocate for a third of women engineers to be admitted to the program, this am sure would attract even the women who are not interested in women matters.

  RASCOM is owned by 47 African countries and they even have a giant online masters course project with India which I think would benefit many of us in rural areas with no access to some of the facilities.

  Anyway, I was just trying to raise some of the issues in tech that am sure many women would be interested in. And am not sure I got a lot of supporters on that, I was talking to myself.

  My argument still stands, the debate needs to change, am not sure how but am getting tired of same arguments especially when tech presents such opportunities.

  Ends

  
  

• Is there anything like 'Women's issues in Internet Governance'?

  Posted: March 2, 2010, 10:01 am by rebecca

  The other day, a women’s group asked me to outline women’s issues in Internet Governance, based on my experience. Tech issues have always sounded geeky and out of touch for many people so I thought I should be as simple and basic as possible.

  This is what I wrote, and in a separate post, I will tell you why the women’s group did not take me seriously……..

  During the World Summit on Information Society in 2003, delegates were highly polarized over issues of who should govern the internet and its critical resources. Opinions were divided over whether the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) which was under USA’s Department of Commerce should continue managing the internet or the role should be handed over to the ITU, an inter governmental body.

  By the time the second phase of WSIS was held in Tunis in 2005, it was clear that there was need for a body, with no governmental affiliations. After discussions and negotiations, it was agreed that the Internet Governance Forum should be convened, to run from 2006-2010.

  Africa has been largely represented within IGF, although most of the people have no access to affordable ICT. Given the historical imbalances, women have suffered most.

  The IGF addresses issues and policies such as redelegation of African domains, investment in critical internet infrastructure such as Internet Exchange Points, Cyber security, censorship and the extent of government control among other issues.

  In matters technology, women are largely absent; there are few female telecommunications engineers, either because they are not given opportunities or are left out.

  But one of the major issues is the lack of capacity, most of the IG issues relate to technical jargon, which is not simplified enough for people to understand. For instance, policies on Cyber security affect what is accessible online by children, issues of pornography and what the government should do is discussed in cyber security meetings.

  Apart from policies, African governments have not invested in critical infrastructure or have not given it the priority it deserves. Failure to subsidize the cost of hosting and domain names has affected the online market places that women can access and has stifled electronic commerce.

  E-commerce is considered a tool for women especially in areas where women have multiple roles or are not allowed to leave their homes for businesses. With e-commerce, women can buy and sell without any challenges.

  Ends

  
  

• Has your work been plagiarized?

  Posted: March 1, 2010, 6:35 pm by rebecca

  I am sure for many people accessing information online, all you want is knowledge and for some it does not matter how you get it- its just information.

  Some may ask; so what if they picked it from one site and reproduced it on another?

  Well, am usually a bit liberal, I allow people to just pick from my blog so long as they honor the source but a news organization such as www.computerworld.co.ke has its own rules on that.

  So, whats the problem?

  Well, for most news sites, they pride themselves in giving you first-hand information written by their analysts and all that. They pay those analysts to write because they have to make calls this and that.

  So, what happens when one site copy-pastes your work and does not want to admit it, using flimsy excuses to get away with it. If it was just a matter of sharing info, why not just share the link and let people go to that other site?

  For instance; this article on IT News Africa plagiarized my work, but they defended themselves saying that they quoted The Citizen in Tanzania, which first plagiarized the work.

  This is how our email conversations went:

  Rebecca

  Dear Editor,

  I think its rude that you picked from my story and did not care to mention it. While the stuff may have come from Telkom Kenya, I am the only one who talked to Nekessa and the quote in this story http://www.itnewsafrica.com/?p=5552 is similar to this one [www.computerworld.co.ke]

  Unless you have a way to convince me otherwise.......

  From a news organization, I think you ought to do better.

  I need an apology...

  RESPONSE

  Hi Rebecca,

  As per introduction, I am Denisa Oosthuizen, editor at ITNewsAfrica.com. We have used the article from The Citizen as a source, here is the link [thecitizen.co.tz].

  In the future we could use your services directly, should you wish to do so.

  Denisa Oosthuizen

  Online Editor

  MY RESPONSE

  Hi,

  I dont write for Citizen and if your defense is that since Citizen plagiarized then it's ok....don't you find it odd?

  For a long time I thought IT news is a credible site, but just compare the two pieces and my work was not honored

  FOLLOW-UP

  Hi Rebecca,

  Denisa brought this to my attention. As stated in her email, we got the story from The Citizen and gave credit to the source in our story.

  Without prejudice - I have instructed her to add your name as a source.

  I hope you will continue to think highly of us.

  Best Regards

  
A. Wakama
Publisher

  MY RESPONSE

  I find the excuse lame; just because Citizen plagiarized that should make it ok?

  WAKAMA REPLY

  What do you want Madam???

  Just notice the question marks on the question, am not sure whether am supposed to be scared or intimidated, I was wronged, not the other way round, the arrogance just baffled me, I did not get even an apology.

  So, my question still stands, just because Citizen Plagiarized first, does that make it right?

  Ends

  
  

• Guess how old this taxi is?

  Posted: February 12, 2010, 5:43 pm by rebecca

  I got into a taxi and he asked me to guess how long he had it. I could not but it looked aged. He had it for 25 years, and how much does an old one cost? About 300,000 Kenya shillings I told him that in Kenya, I would give him shs 50,000 and even at that time, it would be a huge favor.

  But for some reason, the cars are well maintained, they dont smoke or make lots of noise like some of the junks on our roads, I guess the service is well done.

  
  
  

• New matatu.....old taxis

  Posted: February 12, 2010, 5:33 pm by rebecca

  There was one intriguing thing in Addis, the Matatus looked new while the taxis looked old. Why? When you buy bigger cars meant for public transport, you pay minimal duty; when you buy a personal car, you pay 300% duty.....ouch.....

  So the matatus and buses are fairly better looking than the taxis....

  
  
  

• Just when you think the 'face me' is gone.....

  Posted: February 12, 2010, 5:17 pm by rebecca

  In Gatundu, my home district, we used to have these vans. I recall when I was in high school, you would get into one of these "face me" and stare at the person seated opposite to you until you start thinking you know the person.

  So, we named the vans "ndakuonete ku?" which loosely translates to "where have I seen you?" or in other words "you look familiar"

  I thought the vans were in a museum until I went to Addis, and they overload just like the ones we used to have. I remember as a kid you had to stand and hold on the to the metal pole over your head and as for the people seated, it was hard to know which body belonged to which head.

  It was nice remembering the days....

  
  
  

• The AU is getting new headquarters

  Posted: February 12, 2010, 5:06 pm by rebecca

  I am hoping this will mean no more crazy traffic during the heads of state summit. The building, sponsored by China, will have a hotel, conference and AU offices.

  This is good, but am sure security will force some leaders to insist at staying at the Sheraton.

  
  
  

• The AU is getting new headquarters

  Posted: February 12, 2010, 5:02 pm by rebecca

  I am hoping this will mean no more crazy traffic during the heads of state summit. The building, sponsored by China, will have a hotel, conference and AU offices.

  This is good, but am sure security will force some leaders to insist at staying at the Sheraton.

  
  

• What is the problem at the Kenya ICT Board?

  Posted: February 1, 2010, 6:26 am by rebecca

  When the Kenya ICT Board was set up about two years ago, there was a lot of optimism in the Business Process Outsourcing sector; the board was composed of the "dream team" and who is who in Kenya's marketing.

  The board was tasked with the sole responsibility of marketing Kenya as an outsourcing destination; and many people in the business were hoping that their fortunes will turn around.

  So, it was shocking to me when Nick Nesbitt of KenCall wrote in one of the mailinglists "I have just spent a week in the UK meeting with some of the largest outsourcers in the world.  They have never heard of Kenya as an outsourcing destination.  Very interested now, but completely unaware.  We stopped marketing Kenya as a BPO destination before we had built international recognition and credibility, which raises questions  in these prospects' minds about our commitment as a country to making Kenya an outsourcing destination..."

  Earlier, Gilda Odera, the chair of the Kenya BPO society had commented to a story I was doing on why the industry had not snapped up a $ 7 million subsidy and said that maybe the BPO subsidy could have been handled better.

  When commenting on my questions, Gilda is very brief and its almost hard to guess the real issue. You see once you interview many people, you can almost guess who will say what, and what they mean when they say this. For Gilda to say that there has been no flow of information from the board, it consoled me, it made me believe that am not the only one that the board does not respond to.

  Gilda's response also made me believe there was a problem at the board, no one wants to speak ill about it but for people to talk about failings in marketing and the lack of information, surely there must be something.

  For instance; I wrote to the board asking for names of organizations that had benefitted from the subsidy, I wanted to know whether the subsidy was the real problem with the sector, but no answer. I stuck for a week, trying to convince the board to at least answer the questions, even in part; but nothing.

  In the end I had to forward the same questions to Bitange Ndemo, the PS and he answered by the end of that day. The question I always ask; how comes Ndemo is always accessible to answer the questions and the board does not? Ndemo is good, he is probably the only PS you can send an email and he will respond with answers bet he needs to convert his soldiers... a song I will keep singing.

  Anyway, I also came to realize that am not the only journalist that the board does not respond to; Michael Ouma told me that he even sends texts to the people in the board that he knows, and he gets no responses, so am consoled.

  But why would an agency, tasked with marketing, hug its data or be stingy with information?

  Back to the question of BPOs, Agosta Liko responded to my article saying that maybe what the industry needed was not subsidy, given that the cost of connectivity has come down; maybe they needed customers. And he is right.

  I bumped into Ndemo at an exhibition hall yesterday and he also commented on that piece saying that bandwidth is the last thing on people's minds, they want to have business, because without clients, they cant pay workers even if they had the fastest connectivity in town.

  So, if Ndemo knows this, how comes the board does not know? After all, they are the marketing experts!

  Then there is the question of the digital villages, what happened after launching them with all the pomp and color and promising to revolutinalize Kenya? Two years after, am yet to hear of anything else apart from the one opened in Kangundo.

  Anyway, I have written all that but I am still not sure what is wrong with the ICT board.

  So much promise so little to show!

  
  

• What do old cars in a city say?

  Posted: January 29, 2010, 10:11 pm by rebecca

  That importation of second hand cars is not a very big business.

  Ethiopia has no port, the goods come through Djibouti, Port Sudan and Somaliland.

  Am sure the port of Mombasa will get business if we can sort out road issues.... The great North road is mid way..

  
  
  

• Book Launch: Freedom of Information and Women's rights in Africa

  Posted: January 29, 2010, 7:18 pm by rebecca

  FEMNET, the African Women's Development and Communication Network, has launched a book, examining freedom of information legislation and its role in enhancing women's rights in Africa.

  The book comprises case studies from Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa and Zambia and attempts to show how the lack of legislation on FOI has impeded women's right to demand transparency and good governance.

  Written in a clear and simple language that is easily understood by those who are grounded in tech and those who are not, the book identifies ways women can benefit be demanding greater access to information from the government as well as the public sector.

  Out of all the countries studied, only South Africa has enacted the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) in 2000. The Act is part of more than 800 pieces of legislation since the fall of apartheid, mainly calculated ti address inequities, imbalances and social injustices that had previously existed.

  In the countries profiled, the right to freedom of information was seen more like a domain for the media to demand and not the general population. In this case, women have not lobbied hard to have the FOI laws enacted.

  While identifying the slow legislative mechanisms in most countries, the book identifies ways women can compel their governments to act.

  One legislative glitch which may have hindered the speedy enactment is the constitutional provision on freedom of expression. In this regard, most countries define FOI as part of the wider constitutional guarantees, yet the countries may retain other repressive pieces of legislation.

  For instance, in Kenya, the FOI bill is still pending in parliament; the government claims freedom of expression is well provided in the constitution, yet it maintains the archaic Official Secrets Act, which gives government institutions the discretion to decline information requests.

  The book is an important resource for organizations that want to deepen their knowledge in advocacy and the nexus between women's rights, FOI and development.

  
  
  

• Kenya's Technology in Motion; the innovation hub

  Posted: January 28, 2010, 12:32 pm by rebecca

  In the many years that I have been a tech journalist, I have had a chance to interview and listen to many people, some who have genuine concerns, others whine, while others have raw talent and they do not know the opportunities.

  Others are government officials who say they have opportunities but lack talented techies while others are corporate heads who justify bis spending on international software on the fact that Kenya lacks talent and even where it exists, its isolated and the technical support is wanting.

  In my position, I have always wondered how to link the techies with some of the government or corporate heads and share the benefits. I have also wondered how to share the info and be part of the solution.

  So, when Erik (Hash) told me the idea of the innovation hub I was already bubbling with ideas, I remember telling him how Ndemo one day told me that he has lots of bandwidth and was willing to support techies with it. This is because in the course of one of the many interviews I had mentioned the challenges that techies face.

  Immediately I heard about the idea, I was sold on, I knew I had a chance to contribute in some way. I am sure people will wonder whether am still a journalist or not. The best thing is that IDG, the guys I work for, have no problem at all, provided when there is a big story, I disclose my links, in which case the story will be an opinion piece, where I can inject my inside knowledge and analysis. Like this piece on how Ushahidi has elevated Africa's global tech status.

  The key idea behind iHub is to bring together a larger group of techies under one roof. I believe that if you get enough brilliant people together, they're going to generate a lot of ideas really quickly, and just as quickly weed through them to keep from working on dead ends.

  The idea is to eliminate the problem, sometimes seen today in research for example, where isolated researchers work diligently to solve problems that other researchers have already solved, or perhaps more importantly, that other researchers have shown face insurmountable obstacles and so should be abandoned in favor of other approaches.

  The iHub will therefore be a place for people to share ideas; not steal them, where you can call copyright lawyers to talk to techies about their rights, where we can all learn ways to incorporate companies in cost effective ways, where techies can talk to their mentors and where techies can have video conference links from Silicon Valley or India.

  Techies face a variety of problems; for some, local regulatory environment, for example, is a critical determinant while for others, the availability of venture capital or the presence of a demanding local customer base are key.

  In some cases, the challenges are imagined or are based on rumors from people with no first hand information. In other cases, some of the problems can be sorted through dialogue; for instance, if mobile content providers have a problem with the Ksh 200,000 license fees, maybe a talk with the CCK Director General will help both parties understand each other and maybe reduce the fees.

  While a hub’s initial success can often be fueled by relying primarily on local talent, the importance of attracting, developing, and retaining a vibrant base of world-class talent increases as clusters mature and grow in complexity, which can be absorbed in other government initiatives like Malili Technopolis or Sameer ICT park.

  In short, iHub will nurture the talents and link them with people who have succeeded in techprenuership. After the business grows, the techie will need space and will probably move on, giving space to other upcoming techies.

  To succeed, the industry is key, and that is why we are grateful to those who have volunteered their time to offer technical services at the iHub set up phase and for the equipment donated.

  We shall be open to equipment donations till February 5th (next Friday) and after that we will start the set up.

  If you have good equipment to give, no junk, let us know. If you want to help with the set up, let us know.

  
  

• Why AU heads of state should have ITU, ICANN on the same podium

  Posted: January 26, 2010, 11:48 am by rebecca

  I have been accused of not being patriotic in the past for criticizing some of the steps that Africa takes and the way some of the representatives behave. But I ask myself; should I just follow blindly without asking the questions so that I can be in the good books or be deemed patriotic enough?

  For instance, at the Africa Union meetings, representatives of our governments sit and discuss how ICT is going to accelerate Africa's development while you can just see through it; some of these guys don't care about the stuff. If they did, then they would take the right steps or at least attempt to.

  At the press conference, I listened to the AU secretary say how ITU and World Bank heads are going to address the heads of state summit. Then I asked myself, where is ICANN?

  Yes, Africa has always felt comfortable with ITU because its an inter governmental body, where they can talk to their own kind while ICANN is a body dominated by the private sector. But the roles of ITU and ICANN are complementary!

  How does Africa expect to develop without addressing issues of critical internet infrastructure? How do we develop while most of the domains are not operational or have one issue over the other?

  Yes, the ITU will help by setting the policies and giving funds to governments, something that ICANN doesn't do, at ICANN, each country must make its own networks and get into partnerships with other people in there. There is no funds or donations but if there is a business case, then the country can benefit.

  How can a country use ICT for development while connectivity costs are high? How can the country develop if it has no local content? How can local content develop if you do not have control over your domain? Even if you control the domain and the registry, how can local content develop while it is hosted abroad because the cost of hosting locally is high and affected by power outages? Even if there is the domain and local hosting, there is need to invest in critical infrastructure like the Internet Exchange Points where local ISPs can share and exchange local content (peer).

  Yes, ICANN can not answer or solve all these questions but neither can ITU!

  In the course of my job, I have heard all manner and sorts of allegations on why the governments have not leveraged on the power of ITU. If you hear some of the issues you will be disgusted at the lack of knowledge, ignorance or misinformation over the role of ICANN/ITU in the whole debate.

  I would have loved to see Rod Beckstrom, ICANN CEO and president take the stand at the heads of state summit and address the presidents. Maybe tell them of ICANN's commitment to Africa and that almost all of the problems are local and can only be solved by actions from the higher offices.

  It is unfortunate that when decisions come from above, then they are implemented faster than the ones coming from bottom to top. So it would have been the right thing to do.

  I would have loved to hear what Rwandese president Paul Kagame will say about the fact that .rw is yet to be sorted out, am sure if he directs the relevant people to do what is necessary, it will be done. Kagame is considered the emblem of ICT progress among African heads of state.

  Of course all these will amount to nothing if the public is not educated about locally available resources and why they should promote their domains. Kenya may be far in managing its domain but you can read this post on what is the problem with .ke.

  
  

• Nominated for 2010 bloggies....

  Posted: January 24, 2010, 4:20 pm by rebecca

  Africa top weblog...

  The voting closes on January 30th..... vote here

  
  
  

• AU and data hugging tactics; I got a rude shock

  Posted: January 22, 2010, 6:52 pm by rebecca

  Its always nice to venture out of your comfort zone, that is what I believe, so once in

  a while, I get to do things that I will have to struggle to understand or grasp, just to remind me that I still have a long way to go.

  So, my comfort zone is ICT and all the tech stuff; I am in Addis for the AU meeting on ICT which starts on Monday, Jan 25th. But before then, there are a flurry of meetings at the AU complex in Addis; one of the meetings is a meeting on AU and gender and I attended.

  I used to write on women issues in my early journalistic years but I can not remember why I fell out of love with the whole NGO movement. As a member of the Association of Media Women in Kenya, I covered lots of women stuff but this week, I have been wondering why I fell out of love.

  It did not take long for me to remember; on this first day of the gender meeting, I tried to interview one of the AU gender reps and the way she blew me off, you will never believe it.

  I introduced myself earlier in the day, because she had two presentations and indicated that I would love to talk to her at the end of it and she agreed. She had presentations, and thats all I wanted.

  She will not give me her presentations; even when I said that I wanted to get the facts correct, she refereed me to another NGO member, saying that she understands the jargon better than me.

  The AU is known for data hugging or for being stingy with info (look at the website) but I got my own taste.

  She had brilliant ideas of what the AU is doing to coordinate with the UN resolution this and that, and I just wanted to get it right, quote her right and not give her an opportunity to say she was misquoted.

  She even said that 2010-2020 is going to be a decade for women and there is even a budget and its only fair to get the presentation. Can you imagine if I was asking her to put it on a website? Data hugging at best.

  Its just like coming to an Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) meeting where people are saying.....I think its wrong for GAC to take such stand on the AoC which the gNSO, ccNSO and ALAC have shown the changes so far... and the African ccTLDs are doing better than last year.

  For many people, the statement is just gibberrish or mumble jumble...but to someone in tech and within internet governance circles, they would understand well or get a drift.

  Anyway, I met the other person and explained to her how disappointed I was because Litha heads the gender department at AU and she would have been willing to shed more light or at least share the info.

  The incident reminded me of some accusations I have heard; that some people in the NGO movement like to behave like a "secret society" where everything is shared among them, maybe because they understand the issues better and won't ask elementary questions like me.

  Others point to the fact that some of the NGOs have had the same leaders for long or the leaders revolve around the same NGO circles. I have no facts to support the argument, just throwing words here and there.

  What my first day at the gender meeting taught me is that maybe am better off with my tech circles or the private sector circles.

  But the terms, and resolution this and that.... UN security Council resolution, AU protocol, policy this and that; it made me feel like a first year University student in a philosophy class.

  I bet today I was at my lowest productivity.

  Back to my tech stuff; at least by monday, I will not feel like a fish out of water so much....

  Ends

  
  

• ICANN is important to us; lets understand each other!

  Posted: January 21, 2010, 10:06 am by rebecca

  There is no doubt that Kenya and Africa in general will benefit from holding the ICANN meeting, the region still suffers from elementary problems; from policy makers who understand little about redelegation of domains apart from shouting hard, to the public that has misconceptions about their own Top Level Domains.

  I have been following Africa's challenges and opportunities within ICANN like this post on why Africa should stop whining and an interview with Ann Rachel on ICANN's activities in the region which shows that majority of the work is with us in Africa, even though in a separate post, I address the digital gaps within ICANN

  My position has always been that ICANN has a role to play, and it would help if ICANN understood the region more. With all due respect, I spoke to Rod Beckstrom, ICANN CEO and president, at the meeting in Seoul and it was clear that he needed to understand the region more, what the issues are and the nexus with ICANN.

  I even told Brad White, ICANN media Director that by the time the Nairobi meeting is held, he should discuss with the boss more about the issues or atleast read my interview with Ann Rachel, just to make sure that at the end of it, issues concerning the region with be given prominence.

  Yes, ICANN cant go out of its way but it would help very much that in his usual press conference, which in this case will have many local and regional journalists, (I hope), the CEO can connect our challenges with the opportunities at ICANN and that can only be done if he understands the issues well.

  But there is always time, and we all have a role to play.

  To some extent, the ICANN folks can not help us much in some of the problems, they require policy direction, investment, and consumer education. So, even if the whole government goes to an ICANN meeting, if you have not solved some of those problems, there is little that people can do.

  I recall at the Cairo meeting, the late Ndukwe Kalu, from Nigeria, stood at the public forum and told participants of the problems that Africa was facing and that we needed help. The participants, who are usually busy on their laptops, stopped for a moment, then went back to normal business and no one actually responded to Kalu. Why? Because most of that has very little to do with ICANN; its the government and the IT industry to do 90 per cent of the work.

  Then there is the thorny issue of redelegation of African domains, most African countries have complained, whined and all that, yet the TLDs are still a mess. Why? Because most of them are yet to make meaningful investments in critical infrastructure.

  So, for the meeting to be in Nairobi, I am sure it will raise awareness on some of those issues, the issues that ICANN can help and what it can not. It will also be an opportunity for technical training for Africa's technical managers, for instance, AfTLD will be holding its meeting and training a week before.

  It will also be a networking opportunity, and am sure some of the registry managers from the west, may feel compelled to help in one way or another. After all, they will be our visitors and according to African traditions, we treat visitors well because you just never know when you might need their help.

  Yes, the meeting will have its positives but am in no way saying that the security situation should be ignored. Yes, it is important to me too, I have had my share of insecuruties, and I live with them every day, but life goes on. It is actually very safe at the 5-star hotels, the problems maybe in my neighborhood, where the unemployed youth and wannabe thugs terrorize the residents, you will have none of that because even in my neighborhood, we have security measures in place! But no one can guarantee me that I will not be mugged!

  Yes, I am sure the police force will be on major alert and they will pour more cops on your that you can handle. But taking the meeting to Gigiri at the UN complex is no solution.

  In my Gikuyu language we say "Mbura itekura igwatagia ruhuho" loosely meaning that that if its windy and rainy, then the rain might just not be sufficient and the wind will serve as the excuse.

  In this case, if ICANN does not meet our expectations, because am sure there are expectations, then the security issue may just be an excuse. For instance, if ICANN does not draw the usual 1000 participants, it might say, ohh you know of the security situation in Nairobi bla bla bla....

  Believe me when I say, Nairobi is safe, and people go on with their business as usual. By the time ICANN is held, the issue of the Jamaican muslim cleric might be solved, maybe the government will work out a way to repartriate him.

  So, ICANN is important, but so are we! We are in Kenya, we are not planning to move, people are holding international meetings every day.

  I think I can rest my case!

  
  

• ICANN meeting and security concerns

  Posted: January 20, 2010, 12:10 pm by rebecca

  In March 2008, Nairobi was supposed to host Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) meeting. This is a huge meeting, ICANN uses about $ 2 million for these meetings, am sure you know what it means for the economy.

  But the events that followed the 2007 elections meant that the meeting was cancelled, it was such a shame but that was understandable; after all, you do not want the people who control internet resources to fall into the traps of rival tribal gangs or to be caught in the cross fire.

  After another round of presentations last year, the Kenya delegation led by Kenic and the Communications Commission of Kenya was able to convince the ICANN community that Kenya is safe enough, and they agreed to host the meeting this March.

  We have been busy sweeping the roads and upgrading the hotels just to make sure that the most important ICANN community is happy, but they have never been, and I do not think they will ever be, if you ask me. I have been talking to sources within the organizing committee and ICANN has always had one niggling problem after another.

  Last Friday's fracas with the muslims seems to have tipped the balance; ICANN now is contemplating moving the meeting to another safer city.

  But if you ask me or any other ordinary Kenyan, I think ICANN does not understand the country and how it operates. Since 1998, Kenya has never been secure, according to US and UK embassies, yet its their installations that make us targets.

  For whatever reasons, the country has always been rated poorly security wise, but which city is safe? New York? J' Burg? Cairo? Cassablanca? Am sure this is open to debate.

  I think ICANN has its double standards; if they were truly concerned about the security, the meeting in Seoul would not have taken place; South Korea is always under alert because of North Korea nuclear intentions.

  The meeting in Mexico city would not have gone on, after all every one there is said to carry a gun and the senior executives within ICANN membership were at risk of kidnappings. But the meetings took place.

  So, why all the security farce about Nairobi?

  I would love to point out a similar incident during the 2005 or around there Cricket world cup, where New Zealand forfeited their match with Kenya in Nairobi because of security situation. Sri Lanka agreed to play their match in Nairobi provided they were given top notch security, the government obliged.

  By the time the plane carrying the Sri Lanka cricket team entered the Kenyan air space, they were escorted by helicopter gunships and all the other stuff you see in the movies. But Sri Lanka soon realized that no one was bothered with them; we whipped them and by the time they were going back to the airport, they took taxis and realized that no one cares.

  In short, ICANN should know that they will come, they will hold their meeting, they will go away, and no one will probably remember they were here. How many people know about ICANN and what it does? How many people know that the people present are online millionaires?

  ICANN has made demands that the meeting be moved to the UNEP Complex in Gigiri, and that the government should pay for all the charges bla bla... I think this is a move to alienate themselves from the ordinary kenyans. Getting to Gigiri is hectic let alone getting through the mean UN security staff.

  Trust me, I have had my share of security incidences in Nairobi, but I do not think its worth canceling a meeting.

  From my sources, I am told the government is paying for the gala dinner and all that, in other countries, ICANN has paid for that. So I think this is just a way for ICANN to make their demands and demonstrate their authority.

  I am not saying that security measures should be ignored, but just know that poor security rating means more hardship allowance for the UN and embassy staff, so its in their interest to show Kenya on fire all the time.

  One thing you should know that Kenya is a highly political company, all year round, stupid politics and we the media love it and exalt it, so deal with that. When you come and when you go, we will remain the same, and it does not mean ICANN will change anything, so get over it.

  By the way, most people who will come will be holed up in lavish 5-star hotels where the thugs will not reach. The insecurity problem is for people like us who will have to walk home and deal with the neighborhood thugs.

  The upshot of it is that ICANN should come, hold their meeting, give us the revenue, visit Maasai Mara and all the other areas, and go home. I am sure there will be enough cops guarding everywhere.

  So, insecure or not, I think the meeting should go on. If you guys are not convinced, then you can move the meeting to wherever you want!

  Ends

  
  

• Barclays Bank of Kenya vs. Family Bank, who is fooling me?

  Posted: December 29, 2009, 4:41 pm by rebecca

  There is something always intriguing about banking transactions; there are times when the banks communicate very efficiently, especially when the customer is suspected of fraud.

  But what happens when the bank suspects the other bank of less than transparent activities? They don't care, its none of their business; its between you and you bank. Period!

  Sample this; last year, I got a Barclaycard, which is has helped me in some of those travels at the same time, I gave instructions of direct debit from my account at Family Bank.

  Family bank received instructions of the direct debit and on five random occasions, about shs. 9,500 has left my account to pay my card.

  One problem; the money has never been received on the side of Barclays, card section or otherwise. When I ask Family Bank, the manager says that the money left my account and was transfered to Barclays bank pursuant to the direct debit instructions.

  I raised the issue with Family Bank Sonalux branch manager, Arthur Washe and he was adamant that the money went to Barclays though he could not provide the evidence. I tried to ask for the account and branch the money was transfered to but to no avail.

  To be honest, I feel the manager has treated me so unfairly that I resolved to close that account come the new year. I had opened that account because the previous manager, Francesca, was my friend and I was tempted to ask for her help in determining where the money actually was transfered to; but Washe should give this info.

  I raised the issues with Barclaycard and after supplying statements and explaining the issues to five different customer care agents, nothing doing. Barclays even ditched email and wrote a letter explaining that the direct debit was not activated.

  Again, my question is; if the two banks have a problems tracing where the money is, why will they not talk to each other? Isn't it easier that way? I thought so, it would have made my work easier.

  I wrote so many emails that Cynthia Kweya, a customer care rep at Barclays, decided to shove me from one agent to another and I have to explain over and over again and that is part of the reason I decided to write this post, at least I dont have to explain over and over again.

  To any proper reasoning person, there should be no question, Family bank owes me the duty of care over my money and should explain where every cent was transfered to and which branch. That is what even the lawyers will tell you.

  Just to understand how it goes, I spoke to a friend of mine from the anti banking fraud unit, who told me that an employee at Family bank could have transfered the money to a "suspense" account and from there the money can move anywhere.

  That could be a fact supported by Barclays when they say that the money leaving my account was a fixed amount, and the card amount varies from month to month, which is true.

  In short, Barclays was trying to tell me something fishy is going on at my bank. But they could not say it in so many words; just suggestions that I go back to my manager and try sort it out.

  But when I emailed Arthur, the bank manager and introduced the fraudulent angle, he decided to ignore my emails. I agree that am a small customer who shs. 45,000 means a lot and therefore the manager may feel am wasting time.

  So, am at a loss on what to do but I will ask my lawyer to do a demand letter and hopefully the manager will take his time and tell me where my money is.

  Its so frustrating and I believe banking should not be frustrating and when it is, its a sign that its time to move on, but its not before I get my money. Where I come from there is one rule; thou shalt not leave your money, even the coins. Period.

  Ends

  
  

Blah blah blah

Fish cakes

Alas a fish cake.

Yet more fish cakes

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

The end of the fish cakes