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• October 22, 2009
• 19:48

  bite size chunks of information

   » ‎ Kikuyumoja's realm

  Tags:  bloggerhausen  

  A few years ago, I used to write longer e-mails. Some recipients would appreciate it, others probably didn’t – but only my sister had the guts to directly tell me: “I don’t have the time to read your novels”.

  She, being a lawyer by profession, likes it short and precise. Why waste more words on a story if you can say it with a few words?

  Twitter taught me a similar approach – 140 characters may be enough for some basic messages and thr r sm hu hv lrnt hw 2 abbrev. cntnt 2 fit in2 a msg.

  And this isn’t even about the length of messages, but rather about how 2 keep things short – and thus interesting?

  I’ve experienced this myself while replying to customers or else writing to those who are known for receiving lots of e-mails per day. The moment I started keeping it very short, they instantly replied. This especially works with überwomen who like to handle their job, the kids na kadhalika at once. Another great way to receive a reply from such a person is to give her fixed options:

  Am I prejudiced?

  [ ] yes
  [ ] no
  [ ] maybe

  Seriously, the shorter your question, the earlier you’ll receive an answer. Keep it short & simple.

  Tell me, with the load of information out there in newspapers and your rss feed reader, which one do you actually read? The shorter ones? Would you just scan headlines and maybe also only read the teaser?

  Am asking because my fiancée just told me that her 11-12 yrs old pupils in school do neither know the difference between China and Japan, nor that Tokyo (Metropolis) is the capital of Japan. “You can not expect them to know this”, she was told her by her boss. Which obviously changes all your plans while preparing lecturing material.

  Kids do know a lot of other – sometimes useless – stuff these days. And what they don’t know, or what isn’t shown on TV or YouTube, will be searchable via Google. “Knowledge” as such has never been more accessible.

  So…knowledge or information on one hand, and on the other hand the way we communicate. These very same kids have grown up with SMS, MMS, the telephone, video replies on YouTube, instant messsengers and collaborative Google documents.

  Speed and instant communication matter these days, fame and/or followers, accessible knowledge 24/7/365, fast typing abilities, answers to questions. The journey way we communicate is the destination.

  I am sure you’ve meanwhile all heard about Google Wave and how it will revolutionize the internet and the way we communicate. Well it may achieve this change, either now or within the next three years (see: Twitter breakthrough/acceptance in mainstream German media). But I keep on coming back to the initial question: is this the way we really want to communicate with each other? That is: typing short instant messages into our (mobile) devices and replying directly on point to a question.

  A really good example for the attention deficit a lot of people are suffering from (I think it all started with MTV-styled cuts on tv) seems to be the Google Wave Developer Preview video which is over 80 minutes long. That’s 80 minutes of geeks talking about a new technology. Would you watch it?

  Since 80 minutes are a damn long time for most presentations, there are various short versions of the Google Wave video available online that sum up all the differences between normal e-mail communication and the Google Wave approach.

  Something similar applies to blog posts. With communication tools like Twitter all around, I feel that ppl not only minimize the time they’ve previously spent on blogs, but also stop reading those with longer blog posts. Not because their content isn’t that interesting – but a) because of other, competing online content (on the feed reader) and b) because it takes time to read all this stuff here.

  What I am really afraid of and my reason for this blog post is that we will lose a feeling for the poetry between the lines and our ability to spend time on longer articles – just because communication as such is so much more different nowadays and somehow also unconsciously changes the way we read.

  Could this scenario be true?

  
  

  

• 16:40

  IRB 7's George: Kenya in tough pool

   » ‎ Rugby in Kenya
  IRB 7's George: Kenya in tough pool

• 13:37

  History of the Nation that liked to talk...

   » ‎ Diary of a gay Kenyan
  Continued from here:
  
  Friends and foes, that was the season when few tongues stopped wagging. But please don’t mention land-grabbers because secretly many in that crowd - deep in their hearts - knew that given the chance they would grab even more. They talked themselves hoarse about the curse of homosexuality that had befallen faraway lands where proud sons and daughters of Kenya were prepared to be humiliated to be given permission to remain saying they had nowhere else to call home.
  
  Some in the crowd went on a fast over those evil faggots, praying and talking in tongues wishing they be exterminated. Others fasted because they still had nothing to eat but they were now told they also needed to fast. After some time this storm also came to pass and the crowd dispersed, talking proudly about how they had stamped out the only sin from their land which would now remain pure forever.
  
  When they returned jubilantly to their homes, it dawned on them that nothing much had changed while they’d been busy talking. Those who had been poor now risked starvation, those who had been rich were now wealthy beyond dreams, while those who had been sad were still denied justice.
  
  It was said that the reason some of these Kenyans liked talking all the time without stopping was they believed that their debates would be heard by a God who would then make them a better People. So they continued talking, perhaps because they were also afraid of what they would hear if they only stopped to listen….

  
  

• 11:58

  The FLAP Bag Project at Pop!Tech

   » ‎ White African

  Tags:  Africa  

  If you follow AfriGadget, you’ll know that this summer I spent some time testing some new bags made by combining flexible solar panels from the people at Portable Light with the top-notch bags made by Timbuk2 in Ghana and Kenya over the summer. The whole initiative was put together by Pop!Tech, and it’s called the FLAP (Flexible Light and Power) bag.

  

  The FLAP bag is still very much in its testing phase. What I was doing was alpha level, today more people are getting access to the bag and will help with beta testing in more places. This is good. It means that the team behind the project are not just rushing something to market to take advantage of the buzz, but are really trying to get it right.

  Some of the suggestions from the African users can be found in the Fast Company article I wrote last week, but there are more coming in too, from South America and an Indian reservation in the US.

  A few suggestions from African users

  • The American-style Timbuk2 bags were generally thought of as too large
  • Electronics need to be put into a more rugged case to survive the beatings that they’ll take in Africa
  • People wondered if there was a way to hide, or cover, the solar panels to disguise what the bag was – for security reasons
  • There was a general feeling that there was more use for portable light and power in rural settings rather than urban
  • The ability to remove the solar components from the bag was genius
  • The tailors wanted to make their own designs, and wanted access to cheap components to experiment with, and then sell

  Testing, Local Relevancy & a Challenge

  

  One of the most compelling things that happened on the trip was my interaction with tailors. I would give them a bag, but also give them the raw components and challenge them to make a bag of their own design, using local materials that they thought would be right for them, or right to sell in their market.

  The bag above is my favorite customized bag design, it’s a smallish backpack that was made by Stephen Omollo in Nairobi. There are others though (see them here), and these creations serve as an indicator of the desire to own the technology. To make the technology relevant to specific local needs.

  What this left me with was a nagging thought – that I was the wrong person to do this testing project. Sure, AfriGadget connections make me and the other editors a likely vector to do this, but that It was Timbuk2 that needed to be out in Africa with us. (I’m letting Portable Light off the hook, because I know they already do this)

  Luckily, I’m here at Pop!Tech with the team from Timbuk2 and the team from Portable Light. I’m inviting them out to Kenya to actually get on the ground with these tailors and people who understand the pulse and cultural usage norms of the clients that they serve locally. With a little luck, we’ll get even further with the project, seeing a true partnership across two continents.

  A big thank you goes out to my colleague Henry Addo in Ghana and David Ngigi in Kenya for their help with both videography and the interviews.

  

• 9:37

  Harare South to Harare North

   » ‎ Black Looks
  Last Saturday I listened to a reading of Harare North by Brian Chikwava [winner of the 2004 Caine Prize] and was hooked after the first sentence. This is bad timing, I have too much to do to be reading novels but I cant help myself and keep snatching 10 minutes here and [...]

• 8:06

  Should men be kept away from the delivery room?

   » ‎ STONE COLD HAVEN

  A debate has been raging this past week in the UK, about the role of men in the delivery room during childbirth. A renowned obstetrician Michel Odent has suggested that men should be kept well away from delivery rooms as they add little value to the process of childbirth.

  Odent, a veteran who has overseen more than 15,000 deliveries in over 50 years says:

  ”I am more and more convinced that the participation of the father is one of the main reasons for long and difficult labours. A labouring woman needs to be protected against any stimulation of the thinking part of her brain - the neocortex - for labour to proceed with any
  degree of ease. She needs to be in a private world where she doesn’t have to think or talk.

  Yet, motivated by a desire to ‘share the experience’, the man asks questions and offers words of reassurance and advice, denying his partner the quiet mind that she needs. The father’s release of the stress hormone adrenaline as he watches his partner labour causes her anxiety, and prevents her from
  Relaxing. No matter how much he tries to smile and appear relaxed, he cannot help but feel anxious. And the release of adrenaline is contagious.”

  You see, my first encounter with the trauma of childbirth happened nowhere near a delivery room. Matter of fact, it happened at a social gathering while I attended some sort of party, I forget what the party was for, but I remember that I arrived late and was talked into having some dinner first before joining with the rough and tumble of the bash if you will.

  The food was being served upstairs in the restaurant area and I ended up on the same table as a good friend of mine Bella, who had given birth less than 3 weeks earlier and was cuddling her little bundle of joy. While waiting for my food, I did what everyone who came through did – congratulated Bella, cuddled the baby myself and sang goo gaa songs as if the baby gave a fuck who I was. I of course questioned Bella about the father of the child coz’ this child was too cute to belong to her husband. I know him well, and G is one ugly son of a bitch.

  Speaking of which, I really get cheezed off about how pretentious people can be. How many times have you heard people go all soft kneed and gooey and lying to a mother that her new born is a cute little thing, yet it’s all plain to see how ugly the sprog is. What happened to the good ole days when people were brave enough to call things for what they are? What happened to saying congratulations, but with a cautionary “lakini dude this baby is goddamn ugly, why lie”. But I digress.

  As I tucked into my dish, more and more usual suspects came through to see the new baby. Unfortunately for me, many of them were young mothers who were keen to discuss more than just the baby. How was it? (as in the delivery) Was it as bad as the first? How badly did you tear?

  I was very comfortable with how obscene these girls could get as we had been clubbing buddies for a long long time and very few things surprised any of us, or at least that’s what I thought. And believe me, this group of girls could be both vulgar and breath-taking in the same respect. I remember one of them once telling a dude who fancied her in the club not to bother if he was only going to survive one shot at an orgasm. If he wasn’t going to make her cum at least thrice, he should just cut his losses and run. And it was said with a nonchalant coldness it would unsettle any warm blooded male with a dick hard enough to cut diamonds.

  Naturally, I made what I thought was a stealth move to relocate to another part of the room as clearly, the graphic conversation and description of childbirth was not conducive conversation for the meal. I was quickly ordered to sit the fuck down and listen to their tales, and I suspect the girls were enjoying watching me squirm as much as they were enjoying their conversation. I didn’t even realise at what point this banter turned into an indictment of the male species as I was blamed for all the happy go lucky men who just enjoy the orgasmic pleasure of sex and want little to do with the consequences. The least I could do was to sit and listen to the consequences of our orgasmic pleasure.

  Of course I severely protested and insisted that they should blame their husbands and boyfriends seated downstairs, beer in hand and screaming at the football on the big screens. But that wasn’t going to cut any mustard. Calling my girlfriend at the time to bail me out was as useless as expecting the men downstairs to even attempt to venture into this conversation. I had to listen to every graphic detail from how Bella coped with the excruciating pain to the extent of her vaginal tears and how she was sown up by the midwife – and all this while having my rice and chicken. To tell you the truth, eating rice and chicken has never been the same for me any more.

  Thinking of this debate about fathers in delivery rooms does make you wonder though. Will it all fall apart if we’re not there? I know for a fact, that many of my peers who are still back home won’t go anywhere near a delivery room. The best they’ll do is probably wait for the phone call to confirm whether it’s a girl or a boy, pop in to see mother and baby and then head off to the pub to celebrate with their mates.

  I know it used to be like that in the 60s and 70’s, but the bra burning brigades of the 70s saw to it that some “bonding” was forthcoming and before long, men attending deliveries of their kids became more common than microwaves in the average household – at least in the western world. A good proportion even film the whole delivery and keep the video tape in the household collection alongside 101 Dalmatians, Chuck Norris’s Delta Force and that Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

  Let’s face it. Despite the perceived bonding and closeness and the out of this world human experience that a couple can get from the man being present during the delivery, childbirth is a painful, stressful, unpleasant and traumatic experience. No amount of rose tinted “having my hubby around to support and share the experience” will change that fact.

  Experiencing the birth of a child will definitely change a man. The question is whether it will change them enough to appreciate what their partner has just gone through enough to strengthen their relationship; or whether it traumatizes them to the point where they have a problem even looking at the business end of their partner’s femininity with the same enthusiasm that they used to do.

  There are documented stories of men who have attended childbirth, and have been so traumatized that they have subsequently walked away never to be seen again by their partner.
  Related Articles:

  None Found

• 6:31

  Kikuyuz, Kikuyuz, Kikuyuz....lol

   » ‎ The Abantu View
   Got this hilarious joke via friend facebook friend Eveleen Maina and thought i'd share this joke.... and Kikuyuz some more...... There was once a Kikuyu man called Mwangi who was involved in a car accident. At the hospital, when he awoke, he called for the nurse to tell him what had happened to him. "I'm very sorry, sir, but you were involved in a very bad car crash". "Car

• 4:23

  On the Ibrahim Prize for African Leadership

   » ‎ Kenyan Pundit

  Tags:  Africa  

  Dear Mo Ibrahim,

  If you were to ask me, I’d just scrap the prize altogether.

  There’s been a lot of debate in the past week about the Prize Committee’s decision not to award a prize this year.   From those who feel that this says a lot about the dire state of leadership in Africa, to those wondering why Kufuor the former president of Ghana didn’t qualify for the prize and what this means as far as the idea that the prize is meant to serve as an incentive.

  And lets not forget the brouhaha about the governance index and how (whether?) to “Africanize” it.   My two cents, while I’m at it, why not feed it to the Nepad African Peer Review Mechanism?   It’s still slow but most countries are cooperating, there’s a whole infrastructure supporting it, and there’s that slight advantage of you know – the data being compiled in places that are not Cambridge, Massachusetts and Washington DC.

  But I digress.

  As far as the motivations behind the prize, you have written:

  I have faced some criticism, with people suggesting I am trying to bribe leaders to do their jobs, and therefore patronising them, to others asking me why I have not spent the money on bed nets and boreholes. The critics are failing to take into account how central governance and leadership are for Africa’s development. In addition, western leaders have a future after their time in office – they can sit on the boards of companies, take up speaking engagements or write memoirs. But what do decent, hard-working African leaders have to look forward to once they retire? This is part of the importance of our prize. It provides African leaders with the option of continuing a life in public service.

  I don’t get how the prize enhances governance and leadership in Africa – the problem is that most African leaders today are thieving, corrupt, buffoons who spend their time in office lining up their pockets so deep that the Ibrahim prize is chump change and that issues of legacy are irrelevant (see e.g. “I have no regrets”Moi),  but I do get the part that decent leaders need a plan B – post retirement…although the fact is that most of them are voting themselves very nice “exit” packages anyway (see Mozambique, Ghana) .   But, rather than rewarding African leaders for doing what they should be doing as a matter of course, why not set up a fund where e.g. if they want to build a library, or write a book, or set up a business – they have to apply for the money.   So they have a plan B, it’s just not automatic.

  Better still.   Just shift the foundation’s focus away from things that have a minimal impact on the future of African leadership…I mean the index and the prize are just as about as impractical you can get if you are serious about changing the face of African leadership…if you ask me.

  What should you be doing then you ask?

  Well, any organization that is trying to do any serious work around leadership in Africa has make young people the core of any programming.   Otherwise you haven’t looked the demographics of Africa yet and seriously thought about the implications.   Convincing the Mugabe’s of the world to step down, is only part of the problem – you have to ask who is replacing the old guard?  Is there a pipeline?  Are the replacements different?  Or are they just a younger, hungrier, more cynical version of the same (see Kenya’s parliament today).

  I see that your foundation does offer scholarships to rising leaders, that’s a good start.   But if the intention is to grow leaders at home, I would offer scholarships to enable students to attend local institutions as well.

  And scholarships are so inside the box.

  How about a fund for young Africans who are running for office – they have to come up with a plan, sign a commitment to good governance, and commit to being open with their campaign and if they get elected with their voting records in Parliament, public declarations etc….sound a bit crazy?  Maybe.  But in comparison to a index of democracy…hhhm.

  Or if that’s too political – a travel fund/scholarship for young Africans to travel within Africa and spend a month or 6 months or a year – living in a different country, doing community service, writing a book, taking pictures…whatever – the underlying idea being that they would have the opportunity to get to know their own continent, to expand their worldview in a different way, to network with their fellow Africans, and to start building cross-border relationships which are critical to the future of the continent (think trade, ease of travel, etc.).  Really, the AU shouldn’t be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of opportunities for Africans to engage meaningfully.

  Or, if that’s too wish wishy – an Africa corps then – sort of like a peace corps for Africans by Africans – open to those in Africa or the diaspora.

  You get the point.   The Mo Ibrahim foundation needs to jazz it up and be more disruptive, if you are really serious about more Mandelas, and not Mobutus.

  Regards,

  Ory

  *KP readers, what you do differently?  Indulge me please.

• 2:20

  Nairobi Marathon (Standard Chartered) 2009 -Running Tips

   » ‎ A Nairobian's Perspective !
  
  The stage is all set for one of the greatest annual races on Earth: the Standard Chartered Nairobi Marathon 2009 set to take place on 25 October, 2009 .Today happens to be the last day to register to participate.The Nairobi Marathon race now in its seventh year began in 2003 and has proved to be the launching pad for an international career for many local athletes .The race has quickly taken its place as one of the Worlds favorite marathon race due to Kenya's reputation as a leading athletic sports nation especially in the long distance races. The race attracts many international sports personalities and is particularly grueling at an altitude of 5,000 feet above sea level .
  
  What perhaps makes this race great is that the money raised from the marathon is always used or philanthropic and charitable purposes including aiding the under privileged in society  in need of eye care that is in-affordable or inaccessible to them.  For more information on the Nairobi marathon please visit the website at  www.nairobimarathon.com.
  
  
  
  Marathon Running Tips:
  For effective marathon tips on how to run effectively  i recommend the following websites:
  

  1. Runners world: This is for newbie tips especially if this is your first marathon to run.
  2. Foothealthcare.com: The site contains top 10 tips for running your best marathon.
  3. Running. about.com: Another leading resource on running featuring tips on half marathon, first marathon, training schedules, distance running etc

  Of course the tips recommended by the above sites must also be coupled with expert advice from your physician or personal trainer to prevent fatalities or complications that accrue due to strenuous exercise.If you are a participant all the best .
  
  For supplements ,bariatric bars, diet shakes , kay naturals meal replacement bars please visit: Kays Natural Protein Chips site.

  
  

  

• 2:04

  LIFE CYCLE FUNDS THAT SIMPLIFY RETIREMENT

   » ‎ Kenyantykoon's Blog
  Yesterday, I did a post on asset allocation funds. In the post I gave two examples of these types of fund; the balanced mutual fund which I linked to and the life cycle fund which I didn’t link to. So I decided to make a post on this fund today. The life cycle fund is a [...]

• 2:03

  This is how intelligent people DO IT!

   » ‎ Media Madness
  KTN is not lacking in intelligent people…the kind that make intelligent decisions like go see parents of Chege,  the Kenyan guy who got married to another Kenyan man in the UK. Who are these people you ask? It’s none other than Mohammed Ali and Evelyn Wambui. You know what, it’s pretty traumatic for most parents when their kids come [...]
• 1:58

  Woishe si you just take him back…

   » ‎ Media Madness
  Word is Louis Otieno is seeking a comeback to Citizen!! He has been in several meeting with Sk Macharia…in case you forgot Louis joined K24 two weeks back so that he could take advantage of the millions UNDP was offering in advertising fees…but SHOCK horror! He has realized K24 doesn’t have the numbers UNDP want…plus K24 is [...]
• 1:53

  SPOTTED!!

   » ‎ Media Madness
  Koome on K-street – it was around 5.30 jioni but dude had his STUNNERS ON! Also spotted was Standard Group’s Vincent Ochieng on Wabera Street…even though I was a little high on the smoothie I was sipping on I could still tell that those jeans he had on were a little tight for a MAN [...]