Cyberschuulnews 374

Google Vs Facebook: It’s like the Rumble in the Jungle All Over Again
by
Abi Bilesanmi
 

An eminent American once said: 

‘You’re in the midst of a war: a battle between the limits of a crowd seeking the surrender of your dreams, and the power of your true vision to create and contribute. It is a fight between those who will tell you what you cannot do and that part of you that knows/and has always known/ that we are more than our environment; and that a dream, backed by an unrelenting will to attain it, is truly reality with an imminent arrival’ 

Indeed. How apt. 

In case you had not notice there is a battle of epic proportions going on out there. And before you say anything it is not the customary struggle between unequally matched sides which usually end with heavy casualties. This is like a heavy weight championship of the world bout
 

We are going to write about it anyway for two reasons. Primarily  because it has the industry salivating on who will win what looks like a perpetual battle between two giants of technology and secondly we need to chronicle events like this which are often known but little-understood as we can ill-afford to let history like this be lost in the fog of time.
 

Forget the battle of yesteryears between Microsoft and Apple, today there rages a battle between Google one of the biggest, ‘baddest’ and most innovative outfits in corporate history, only been at around for about 11 years and built with one purpose –  ‘to search’ but lately appears have added ‘to destroy’ – (their competitors that is).
 

 Facebook - launched in February 2004, the largest social network on the web with more than 350 million users, around 50% of which log on daily and 35 million users who update their status each day really show what a force it is and has been gaining market share, and more significantly a supportive user base. Since they are Google’s biggest competitor in financial muscle and reach, Facebook it is fair to say, has got wind of the plan and equally fair to say  they are sending their troops in to the battle for supremacy’ with “Let’s get ‘em!” ringing in their ears
 

Strange though when you think that one of the big questions in the summer of 2007 was  Google would buy Facebook with talk  that not only was there was an offer on the table, but that Facebook was seriously considering it. At the time,   money was not the stumbling block as Google was willing to pay whatever it took, but the impact an acquisition of Facebook will pose on their $900 million agreement with MySpace which, was yet to be formally executed and was increasingly a source of downstream traffic to Google.com, the search engine.

But a lot has happened since those hazy summer days. Relations have become frosty, deteriorated and taken an increasingly hostile turn as it usually does when the romantic advances are rejected and one party usually feels jilted. Well as they say life changes, love changes and sometimes best friends become strangers.
 

In July 2009, two years after ‘flirting’, the indication that ‘love was no longer in the air’ came with Google announcing international launch of ‘Friend Connect’ which allows publishers to integrate a Google login with their website, thus letting their visitors comment using their Google ID in direct competition with ‘Facebook Connect’ with which users can post comments using their Facebook account.
 

And as if that was not enough, about a fortnight ago Google again moved onto Facebook’s turf announcing another challenger Google Buzz which looks unhealthily similar to the blue giant of social networking but with the added features that can incorporate feeds from external applications – such as Twitter, Picasa and Flickr as well as location-based features such as the ability to tag and update a location.
 

Will this encourage a sizeable percentage of Facebook’s 400m subscribers to switch? No one really knows and a prediction will be based on the presumption of Google’s end game. Only time will tell. Perhaps Google is doing this simply because it can. Events indicate Google, by continually encroaching on Facebook’s path, is declaring war. Having had its advances rejected, and since we are indeed talking about epic fights, Google is perhaps like Muhammad Ali satisfied to see the big bad George Foreman in that epic fight 35 years ago in Kinshasa hit the deck without landing that last punch. Facebook, like the George, disheveled, shrunk and fraction of the colossus it used to be.
 

Who will win this epic battle is unknown and unknowable from this point. Facebook looks like it is on the ropes but so was Muhammad Ali when he fought George Foreman who was a formidable and almost invincible at the time, but was laid on his back after wearing himself out after five gruelling rounds. The lesson there being aggression is not necessarily always a demonstration of might.
 

Those who have lived long enough know history has a funny way of repeating itself but then again perhaps Google Buzz needs to allow users to see their friends Facebook updates…I think not. This mother of fights is bound to go on for quite a while.

CyberschuulNews 358

ICT in Nigeria: A Proposed Direction of Travel
by
Abi Bilesanmi

From a plethora of communiqués, symposiums, data and all conceivable indices and indication, mobile telephony as a platform of development and social change is largely incontestable. How so? You may ask but the facts speak for themselves. The African mobile market is fastest growing in the world with 17 percent of Sub-Saharan population owning mobile phones. We have also reported on a host of initiatives to extend ICT revolution to broadband for Internet users. The fact that currently, less than 1 percent of Africans have access to high-speed Internet also speaks for itself.

When we ask the questions like ‘Is the web your window to the world?’ or ‘Are you struggling to connect?’ What kind of response will we get?

Without being patronising, telephony is not telecommunication but an integral part. With the advent of high speed broadband internet and its capacity to make a difference to people's daily lives, we can not rest on our laurels for we are a long way from the ‘technological promise land’

The internet is not helping most business owners expand and make links; or students study for qualifications online as educational institutions are not connected; or tourist operators attract visitors; or musicians promote their music online; or farmers grow crops and their market?

The facts are still that in Nigeria, not enough of us are connected. Those who are, feel held back by slow download speeds and expensive costs  

Political leadership (or lack of) on this issue has been well documented and so there is no mileage in ‘flogging that dead horse.’ The Telecoms industry is doing a considerable amount but because it, more than any other sector, know the cost of not embarking on this ‘ICT revolution’, it must double its efforts by putting forward a range of measures to enhance the value of ICT to the populace. The industry need to educate the Government that, like it is the case in other developed nations, it ought to run some of the country's largest computer systems. It needs to expand the political leadership’s imagination (should not have to… but hey) and enlighten them that these systems are an essential element in the delivery of public services, be it helping people into jobs or storing digital x-rays. Hundreds of thousands of public servants can use their desktop computers to work far more efficiently than we could ever dream.

The industry’s short term goal is to transform the value it offers both its members and other key communities by introducing a wide range of new qualifications, products and services designed to do this.

One such measure is to open ‘Academies’ of computing, expanding nationally. It should start a new networking group, launching a new national website and job site. It needs to fine-tune its qualifications by adding "Chartered Institute for IT" to its portfolio. This is nothing new  as individual and private organizations like The Cyberschuul in Lagos is already doing this but there needs to be a national rollout programme. Institutions like these represent a reservoir of expertise and could represent a good template for training as well as learning

This ‘reorganization’ would be in anticipation that the changes will help it to address the main issues that face the ICT industry which include the digital divide, information vulnerability, poor information management, the conspicuous absence of worthy IT projects, IT skills shortages and a lack of clear career paths for IT professionals.

It should aim to extend its international reach, by securing proper accreditation so that its qualifications are recognized and graduates are competent enough to meet demand for IT personnel particularly at home but also abroad.  The industry should seek to establish better and deeper working relationships with domestic and international organizations that can help deliver services and qualifications to IT professionals.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is a major user of energy and natural resources. As technological innovation gathers pace and computers and accessories quickly become obsolete, we have to think about the use and disposal of computers, servers and printers (simply because we will be unable to get parts for them.) This has to happen in a sustainable way and not have a negative impact on the environment. We have already heard about the green shoots of ‘green IT’ when Reime West Africa in its presentation at the Co-location of Telecommunications Infrastructure forum back in May focused on Green Telecom as a means of to reducing and fuel consumption, eliminating waste and generally improve energy management through better, smarter and greener technology. This needs to be adopted nationwide with further accreditation and incentives for green IT practitioners. 

It will be naïve as it would churlish to think that this would take place outside the context of existing woeful infrastructure, and dire economic circumstances which are the responsibilities of the government – responsibilities which they have not discharged with any veracity. The industry is already doing its fair share, but the responsibility to make the case, in no uncertain terms, that the ability to process, share and manage information will determine the success of society and its ability to face up to future challenges.

The reality is that we need a high-performing ICT education system, ICT literate policies, a respected and well-supported ICT profession and a population with the skills and the opportunities to be active and informed citizens. If the industry says this loud enough, often enough and for long enough, the government and indeed the people will have no choice but sit up and take notice

CyberschuulNews 356

ICT needs to extend to the Health Sector in Africa
by
Abi Bilesanmi

It has become customary to report about ICT simply in terms of business and economic development. In so doing, we play down the significant role it plays in all our lives and its impact on the health sector is often ignored. In public health, information management and communication processes are pivotal and are facilitated or limited by the availability of information and communication technology. In addition, beyond the formal health sector, ICT acts as a mediator in the ability of particularly impoverished communities to access services and engage with and demand a health sector that responds to their priorities and needs, is importantly influenced by wider information and communication processes.

This week the GridTalk project launches its 8th GridBriefing at the Enabling Grids for E-sciencE (EGEE) conference in Barcelona. The report covers how information and communication technologies (ICTs), are used in the health and biomedical sectors of European research. EGEE has supported this research community since the project's birth and it is the second largest user group after physics research.

In recent times there has been increased dissemination about the need of the grid technologies in public health, explaining that the needs of the grid for disease control and public health issues is tremendous for several reasons. Back in June, the Centre for Diseases Control CDC in its session on Global Public Health Grid, gave a lecture about the actions it needs to take. It highlighted the requirement of effective data storage and speed for transmitting and accessing of already existing huge volumes of patients and medical data which will make the sourcing of data for research and for public health information easier.

This latest GridBriefing gives an overview of the impact grid research has had in this area, as well as discussing the challenges which arise when using grids for eHealth covering topics of key interest to the grid computing community, providing timely summaries of policy-oriented reports. There were contributions from experts working on projects from medical imaging to grid-based paediatrics, neuroscience offering an insight into how grids are helping to shape the future of healthcare.

Going by the number of Africans, particularly Nigerians, who are medical practitioners and the technological innovation in medicine, it is imperative there is an organisation and a regulatory framework that fosters partnership between researchers, practitioners and patients. It should assist health projects access vital resources and expertise. Part of the remit of such organisation and projects will be to demonstrate the results of their work. It should aim to establish an e-Infrastructure that will provide medical practitioners with the most advanced ICT to help defeat a wide range of degenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's and cancer. This will also potentially allow for the effectiveness of potential drugs to be tested rather than waiting years for a patient's condition to worsen.

Radiotherapy is one of the most important tools for treating cancer. It involves firing X-rays at the tumour while minimising damage to surrounding healthy tissue and organs. To make sure treatment is as effective as possible, physicians use computer simulations to strike a balance between the length of the treatment and the accuracy of the dose. On doctors' desktop computers, these computational resources to help speed up this process and optimise the treatments.

No doubt ICT will offer many advantages to the health community, one of the biggest being its ability to combine data from various sources quickly and securely. This could be of great benefit to doctors not giving them access to a storehouse of medical imaging data to help them identify and treat a variety of illnesses or particularly unusual conditions that they may not see every day. But the sensitivity of this data however, means that there should be a framework that adheres to secure data protection protocols.

Given the widespread affliction of Malaria, HIV/Aids and other immuno- degenerative diseases, Africa needs an organisation that provides computing support infrastructure for the health sector. This will engender a partnership with medical researchers world-wide to develop a knowledge map that considers the current state of and major gaps in knowledge related to the role of ICT in the health sector in Africa; manage an online consultation in relation to the knowledge map to tap into the experience and ideas of a broad range of practitioners; Write a framework paper which identifies key issues and opportunities relating to the role of ICT in health, and identifies key lessons and recommendations for action.

ICT would not just make us economically developed, through initiatives that will reinforce public health data management, thus allowing lower cost solutions to some of the major healthcare problems, disease control and epidemic mapping, it will lengthen and improve our lives.

CyberschuulNews 353

If India’s future is bright, then so should ours
by
Abi Bilesanmi

India is the world's largest democracy. We are the world largest black democracy. Since gaining independence 62 years ago, its economy has come a long way and it remains one of the fastest growing in the world. Since we gained independence almost 50 years ago, our economy once the largest in Africa, is in decline. Recent elections in India marked another milestone for the country, creating some economic and political stability after months of uncertainty. Elections in Nigeria is a different proposition exemplified by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who recently talking to an audience of activists in Abuja, drew a parallel between political corruption in Nigeria and George W Bush's contested election win in Florida in 2000. India's election was the largest in world history with 420 million voters, ours was 'business as usual' - tales of missing ballot boxes, inflated voter counts and even of voters being shot at polling stations.

Back in 1991 India embarked on a program of free market reforms, moving away from the Soviet-style, centrally planned economy. These reforms were led by the finance minister Manmohan Singh, well regarded for his pro business instincts, who subsequently became Prime Minister. His reforms have arguably led to the Indian economy quadrupling in size in the last 20 years.

India euphoric rise economically is a clear demonstration that there is link between democracy (of which elections is an integral part) and economic development. The Indian market has reacted positively to the outcome of the elections shooting up 17% triggering an automatic shutdown. This is largely because the government won with a larger than expected majority, giving them a strong voice over the other coalitions. This in turn should help them push through new policies quickly. Now that the euphoria has subsided it can revert back to focusing on India's future growth prospects.
India is now in a position to push forward the reforms India needs to keep its expansion plans on track. It can, at its own pace, increase the voting rights of foreign investors in banks, making these more attractive for overseas investors. Additionally, there are plans to privatise some of the state-run companies which should encourage them to streamline and improve efficiency - something we are unable to do successfully (see NITEL).

Like Nigeria, there is little doubt that India still requires significant domestic investment. Power, roads, ports, airports, housing (there is a supply shortfall of over 30 million homes) and urban infrastructure are massively undersupplied. But economic advancement has meant that the government can plan to spend $500 billion over the next five years on these areas which should be a key driver of growth. Our total GDP, according to 2007 figures, is a mere $127.95bn.

India is not immune to external events like the global credit crunch which initially led to a flight of foreign capital out of the country as investors became risk averse. However their banking system is arguably more robust. A cloud on the horizon could be the oil price as India is a huge importer of oil which is where Nigeria could possibly have the upper hand. But to mitigate any potential crisis, India has begun a charm offensive The Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, announced duty-free access to Indian markets for the world’s 50 “least developed countries”, 34 of which are in Africa, as part of a package of measures designed to highlight New Delhi's commitment to deepening relations with the continent. Inaugurating the first India-Africa Forum, a two-day summit in New Delhi in April this year he declared India’s intent to become “a close partner in Africa’s resurgence” and called for a “new architecture” in relations. The first step came with the signature of an Africa-India Framework for Co-operation and a “Delhi Declaration”.


There is a multitude of reasons we believe the future is so bright for India some demographic (60% of the population is of working age and this is likely to rise leading to greater productivity and less of a pension drain on public finances) others economic (currently, economic growth is predicted to be in the region of 5-6% and the flow of foreign investment is strengthening Indian rupee having depreciated 19% relative to the US dollar in 2008). The lesson we have to learn is that after under-performing most of Asia last year, the Indian market has leapt to life in recent months with the Bombay Sensex Index up 60% in the last six months (Source: Lipper, 9/12/08 to 9/06/09). Though this is not an indication of future performance but in the short term, the market looks fully valued with the long term growth story remains compelling. India's business climate is likely to improve rapidly and private investment should accelerate as a direct consequence of the election victory. It also provides a stable government for the next five years. This means reforms will be pushed through more smoothly and the implications for the stock market should be extremely positive.
This is a lesson we must learn and replicate. If it works for India, it surely can work for us.



CyberschuulNews 352


Can the Digital economy lift us out of crisis?
by
Abi Bilesanmi
In Titi Omo-Ettu's lecture 'Politics and reality of telephone subscriber registration in emerging markets', he highlighted the success of mobile telephony from a socio-political and economic perspective, based on the subscription figures as well as being at the centre of the efficacy of the new social media as a news distribution tool and its usefulness as an agent of political change. He articulated challenges and made recommendation of a shift in cultural attitudes which elevate ICT to a level where it is perceived as a public good. In addition to the merits of improved accountability and governance, there is an overwhelming case for economic development.

If we still need to ask the question 'what is in this digital economy for us?' The answer is that the digital economy has tremendous potential to generate huge revenues across all sectors. The big challenge is to turn this advantage into sustainable growth and create new jobs. It is therefore incumbent on governments to show leadership by adopting coordinated policies that dismantle existing barriers to new services. They should seize the opportunity of a new generation of Nigerians who will soon be calling the shots in the African market place. These young people are intensive internet users and are also highly demanding consumers. To release the economic potential of this sector of the populace - the 'internet cafe natives', we must make access to ICT and digital content an easy and universal.

With Seacom international cable fully operational from July 2009, the fibre project due in 2010 and France Telecoms LION project that will connect various of the Indian Ocean islands to mainland East African countries, we see ample evidence that in that part of Africa the digital sector has made strong progress with more Africans now regularly using the internet, many of them via a high-speed connection making South and East Africa a true and emerging force in broadband internet. With the proliferation of mobile telephony and digital technology in parts of Africa, we can ill afford to be left behind. The digital economy can advance even further as a generation of "digitally savvy" young Nigerians becomes a strong market driver for growth and innovation. Building on the potential of the digital economy is essential for Africa's sustainable recovery from the economic crisis simply because of the scope for development. Today we need to ask the public what future strategy the governments should adopt to make the digital economy run at full speed.

Where is the link between the digital economy and economic advancement? People of working age are the most active internet users. They will regularly use advanced services to create and share online content almost on a daily basis. By extension they will have more advanced internet skills than the rest of the population. They will download or view online content like videos or music. And even if they begrudge paying for these services, many of them will do so compared to the rest of the population and many will pay more for offers of better service and quality. As a result, internet use will soar as these "digital natives" begin their professional lives, increasingly shaping and dominating market trends. As traditional business models stall, companies will have to offer services attractive to the next generation of users. It is therefore incumbent on legislators that they create the right conditions to facilitate access to new online content while also ensuring remuneration for the creators.

The Blueprint

Indonesia (a country of similar geographical size and population) embarked on a preparatory Assistance Project on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for Human Development. This is a one-year project aimed at forming a broad-based national partnership, develop a national strategy for using ICT for human development, especially poverty reduction and convert the national strategy into future projects. The project is focusing on future initiatives that serve the poor directly with information required to improve their lives by most appropriate technology. Examples include the promotion of radio backed by strong information service in rural communities, farmer access to the Internet for national and international market information, and web-based eco-tourism promotion for remote villages. Its achievements include a national dialogue and strategy on ICT for human development and poverty reduction; a programme document to implement the strategy and short term pilot projects.

While those in the industry bemoan the nation's leadership on its snail's pace (or ignorance to be precise) in getting to grips with the revolution of ICT that appears to be passing the nation by, one is forced to make a comparative analysis with what is going on in another emerging market - Malaysia. In 1994, a National IT Council (NITC) was established. Though we have the National Information Technology Development Agency, the Malaysian equivalent is chaired by its President Mahathir and made up primarily of government ministers and a number of top company executives. This indicates the government is taking a lead on the objectives of enhancing the development and utilization of ICT as a strategic technology for national development. While in Nigeria it appears there is a power struggle between the government and players in the telecoms industry (e.g. the sale of NITEL or not), in Malaysia the telecoms industry acts as a think-tank at the highest level and advising the government on matters pertaining to the development of ICT.

This essay recommends that upcoming challenges for digital economy should be raised in a public consultation launched by a Commission as the first step towards a new ICT strategy which the Commission should aim to present within a reasonable timeframe within a context of establishing the role and potential of the digital economy for economic modernisation and in generating sustainable growth and jobs by delving into the potential benefits of developing high speed broadband Internet infrastructures and outline plans for best stimulating the demand side of digital economy.
What is the proof of the sustainability of a digital economy in the face of an economic downturn? Well there are several signs that the IT job market in the UK is beginning to improve, with fewer high profile, large scale lay-offs and more job market surveys producing reasons to be positive. Figures for the second quarter of the year, while still painful, show the number of IT jobs on offer is increasing and The Chartered Institute of Personnel and KPMG say in their quarterly report that IT vacancies are set to increase in the third quarter as IT is no longer seen in the majority of companies as a service that can be cut - it is recognised as a way to reduce costs and provide businesses with a competitive advantage.

There is an overwhelming sense that other emerging markets have stolen a march on the ICT/Digital revolution and it is 'catch up' time. The digital economy is here and here to stay. Ready or not



CyberschuulNews 351

Welcome to the Future. No sleepwalking
by
Abi Bilesanmi

Barely had we settled with the predominant role of information and communication technologies - the exchange of information and data as the basis of human development and rebalancing the distribution of power within societies and among nations, the game appears to have moved on. The current information revolution (IR) has morphed into new bodies of knowledge such as Megatronics Engineering, Bioinformatics, and Nano-technology.

As far back as 1994, Professor Leonard Adleman at the University of Southern California was looking at DNA computing, commonly called biomolecular computing then an emerging field that used DNA and biochemistry instead of silicon-based electronics. The original objective was to use biomolecules to beat electronic computers at solving large complex problems. Indeed there was skepticism about biomolecular computing surpassing electronic computers but 10 years later, researchers showed a DNA computer so small that roughly a trillion of them could fit into a microlitre (a millionth of a litre) and since then they have shown off new computational systems that make use of enzymes that naturally occur in a living cell.

Shapes of DNA have been used to enhance the production of circuits for next-generation computer chips. Researchers reporting in Nature Nanotechnology have now shown how to get engineered DNA to self-organise on silicon. The arrangement or ‘origami’ can be designed to serve as a scaffold for electronic components just six billionths of a metre apart. Making chips with components closer together leads to smaller devices and faster computers - about eight times better than the current industry produces.

DNA that had hitherto been used to do simple number crunching are now used to effectively solve classic logic conundrums with strands of DNA designed to give off a green light corresponding to "yes". In nanotechnology, researchers are already working on programs which bridge the gap between a computer programming language and DNA computing code. The talk is of computers that can diagnose and treat cancers autonomously. Using more sophisticated biochemistry, they are able to implement simple logic programs, which are more akin to the way people program electronic computers.

The purpose of highlighting these advancements in computer technology is that it serves a riposte to those who argue that regardless of the fact that the telecoms industry stands out as a beacon and a symbol of hope that at least something (or some thing) can work in Nigeria, despite operators, regulators, vendors and even network users all agree to the fact that Nigeria is a real market for the telecoms business and because we live in a country where years of savage military rule that has pillaged the country, we should place some sort of moratorium on development. Whilst there may be arguments in favour of this view, the technology industry (of which telecoms is an integral part) industry is one that uniquely lives or dies by results - results which are specific, measurable and visible. If these results in Nigeria are as described i.e. specific, measurable and visible, then we should them from the roof top with pride. We should encourage, amplify support for the industry and use it as a vehicle and a blueprint for other industries.

Besides we have no choice. Technology is like a conveyor belt better still a rolling juggernaut. If you can not keep up, you are fresh out of luck. You simply can not stop the wheels of innovation and progress or indeed jump off just because you can not cope with its speed neither can it nor should it wait for us to get our act together. I share the sentiments that our infrastructure, governance and economy do not indicate we are an emerging market in the broader sense but telecommunications has proved the exception to the norm and that is no small measure down to the dynamism and hard work of those in the industry.

The point is that when educating a smarter planet, its systems that may need schooling. From a telecoms perspective, it appears that the people are already signed up. Carping is not exactly what is needed right now because while we carp about what the fuss about third generation network is, in Europe the EU and operators are pouring money into fourth generation broadband technology which is a hundred times faster. We have got to shape up or ship out

CyberschuulNews 350

The Rise and Rise of Twitter

by

Abi Bilesanmi

In this technological age you may be surprised to find out not everyone is overjoyed. For this group of malcontents the enormous strides made in information exchange between peoples, its role in the realm of politics by this I am particularly referring to the role of social network sites in Barak Obama's historical presidential victory or indeed the infamous Iranian presidential elections of 12 June, is peripheral verging on irrelevant. For these modern day Luddites at a time when we are asking whether social networks are a force driving socio-political change or whether they pose a challenge to more established media as an effective means of disseminating information, their focus seem to lie elsewhere.

You know you are on to a winner when criticism emanates from established religion. Where such criticisms arise, you are almost guaranteed victory based on the illogicality, inflexibility and the dogma of your opponents. And so true to form, in the UK Archbishop Vincent Nichols - the Archbishop of Westminster, the head of the Catholic Church in England - in an interview with The Sunday Telegraph while decrying the loss of loyalty and the rise of individualism in British society which he said threatened to undermine communities (on which he happened to be right), decided to take a swipe at social network sites such as Facebook and MySpace as 'encouraging teenagers to view friendship as a "commodity" and are leading them to suicide'. He said the sites are leading teenagers to build "transient relationships" which leave them unable to cope when their social networks collapse. He said the internet and mobile phones were "dehumanising" community life and blamed social network sites for leaving children with impoverished friendships.

It is typical of religious ideologues to not just rail against things they do not understand, but to also throw the baby out with the bath water. The background to the Archbishop's swipe at social networking sites was the death of 15-year-old schoolgirl who took a fatal overdose of painkillers after being bullied on Bebo, another networking site. The Archbishop argues we are losing social skills, the human interaction skills, how to read a person's mood, to read their body language, how to be patient until the moment is right to make or press a point -

To argue as the Archbishop does that while social networking sites can improve communication, they do not build rounded communities, is to completely miss the point. Social network sites will not substitute but augment and complement social associations that people have family, school, work etc. Why let facts get in the way of a good rant? The fact that Facebook has more than a million developers and entrepreneurs from more than 180 countries; that every month, more than 70% of Facebook users engage with Platform applications; that more than 200 applications have more than one million monthly active users; or that more than 15,000 websites, devices and applications have implemented Facebook Connect since its general availability in December 2008. That the death of a 15 year old, tragic as it is, throws the impact of social networking sites into some kind of aberration, is laughable. It is a clear indication the Archbishop refuses to see social network sites beyond the individual. There is evidence to support that businesses in the US and the UK are using social media to build awareness and relationships between them and their respective markets. These businesses see social media as an ideal resource to further their brand in a meaningful, high-reach and low-cost manner.  They use tools such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and employee blogs and tweets to build awareness and affinity with the market.  

Contrary to the assertions of the Archbishop, we have a global social media platform for community building, collaboration and knowledge sharing.  This internal platform has resulted in the huge development of organic brand building, which has taken their newfound voices and confidence as spokespeople to the external social network airwaves.  

The Archbishop may not be on his own but the pace of technological pace carries own unabated regardless. In their annual ranking, Business 2.0 has compiled an unabashedly subjective list of people which they aptly named  '50 Who Matter Now' where they list people trends, and ideas that are transforming the world of business, they ranked In this illustrious list are Gina Bianchini CEO, Ning - a site which lets users create their own mini communities, complete with customisable layouts, profiles, blogs, videos, and ads branded the most exciting thing in social networking right now - 48; Evan Williams CEO Twitter - the site which gives each user a webpage, where short text updates (known as "tweets") can be posted to the site via IM, SMS, or blogging tools; and Mark Zuckerberg Founder and CEO, Facebook who at 19-year-old Harvard student when he launched a social-networking site called Facebook for the in-the-know college crowd. Three years later Facebook was the sixth most visited site on the Internet, with some 24 million active users and enough clout to turn down a reported billion-dollar buyout offer from Yahoo ranked 34.

Again contrary to the Archbishop's premonition of doom, Twitter CEO Evan Williams in recent BBC interview revealed that London is the top Twitter-using city in the world with the UK second to the US in Twitter use in terms of user numbers. Williams refutes the Archbishop claim that Twitter creates a false sense of community. He says "It's not false, it allows people to communicate and is no less false than using the phone." And as for the challenge Twitter poses to journalism, Williams says  "It's not necessarily journalism - certainly not in the classic case. But it does enable people to report news and events as they are happening. And often from the ground.’

"As we just saw in Iran, people on the streets reporting what was going on. It was newsworthy content that people were tweeting. There's also a lot of commentary about what is going on. But it doesn't take the place of journalists or new because you still need analysis, you still need verification of this information - but it adds another layer to the information ecosystem"

On the criticism by the Archbishop, Williams says 'It's kinda silly, "Anyone who says that isn't really familiar with the service because it's about humans connecting with each other. And often in ways that other ways couldn't have. It's the opposite of de-humanising."

When asked if Twitter just a fad, Williams replied: "The only reason Twitter could be a fad is if someone else comes along and does it better."

Indeed

CyberschuulNews 348

Competition. The Catalyst for Growth in East Africa's Telecoms
by
Abi Bilesanmi  

­The notion of introducing competition in any industry, particularly in the developing world, has often been met with skepticism. This is because it customarily involved the government selling its stake in such industries often bought to foreign firms who subsequently become a monopoly because of economies of scale and financial muscle. However this notion is reported to have been turned on its head in the telecoms industry in East Africa. The leading markets in the region - Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania with 10million subscribers, have all been test beds for competition and are adjudged to be the most liberal on the continent. 

Tanzania and Uganda have pooled resources in what is known as a unified licensing framework. This has encouraged operators to offer mobile broadband to their subscribers who are now several hundred thousand in number in each country and who now access the internet via their mobile phone. Opening up these market (Tanzania has issued seven mobile licenses and Uganda has issued six) with a multitude of operators has brought about in increased investment and marketing spend and this in turn has benefited consumers as the cost of owning and using a mobile phone has fallen 

Data gathered for a new report from Balancing Act - another source for information on the telecoms, internet and audio-visual media industries in Africa - reveal there have been a fall in mobile charges, opening the market to a wider number of users. In Kenya, for example, the cost of calls to other subscribers halved and the cost of sending SMS text messages to subscribers on another network fell by a fifth between the third quarter of 2007 and the final quarter of 2008.

In the less populous and more affluent Indian Ocean Islands of Seychelles, Mauritius, Mayotte and Djibouti which are renowned tourist destinations the effect of this liberalisation is more pronounced. With The Seacom international cable operational from 23 July 2009, the EASSy the fibre project due in 2010 and France Telecoms LION project that will connect various of the Indian Ocean islands into these new international cable awaiting approval, the mainland East African countries currently connected by satellite will see a large increase in international bandwidth used as prices come down his cheaper bandwidth price should lead to cheaper Internet prices for consumers.

 The sun is truly rising in the East

Telecommunications: The rise and rise of India
by
Abi Bilesanmi

In the face of a global economic downturn the telecommunications industry remains relentless in harnessing the power and opportunities of information technology to drive productivity in anticipation of future economic growth via h the 3G and WiMAX spectrum auction. With the objective of providing an opportunity for telecoms experts - infrastructure, broadband solution and value added services providers, telecom operators- and investors to exchange views on a host of issues concerning the industry and opportunities for further growth, The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) under it’s Expert Communications Convergence Committee and in conjunction with India's Department of Telecommunications, Government of India held an annual Summit the “5th ASSOCHAM GLOBAL TELECOM SUMMIT” on Thursday 23rd & Friday 24th July, 2009 in New Delhi.

The Minister of State for Communication & Information Technology Shri Sachin Pilot, in attendance of big name partners such as Cisco, Intel, Ericsson inaugurated the Summit- with a lecture on “Boradband for Digital Democracy and Inclusive Growth” in which he said he hoped that the benefit of voice and broadband connectivity will be available on mobile handheld devices. The availability of these technologies, he argued will offer the convenience of mobility with rich multi media content of the internet.. He attributed this rapid growth to various proactive policies initiated by the Government with the active contribution of the industry India has become the second largest wireless network in the world after China with over 4.25 million mobile connections and huge growth in the sector had made India one of the most sought after telecom manufacturing destinations. Its rapid rise in mobile technology exemplifies blue-sky thinking matched with practical policies on the ground. Its Department of Telecommunication (DOT) has been able to provide state-of-the-art world-class infrastructure at globally competitive tariffs.

The telecoms industry has collaborated in the efforts of reducing the digital divide by extending connectivity to the unconnected areas thus improving accessibility to its citizenry. The result is that the teledensity which was merely 5% five years ago has now reached about 40%. Such increased accessibility in a population of 450million people implies phenomenal growth not just in Indian telecom industry sector but with ripple effect extending to the entire Indian economy of the country -something Titi Omo-Ettu in his July 14 essay 'Politics and reality of telephone subscriber registration in emerging markets' advocated should be replicated in Nigeria.

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