The Brand Evangelist

As an enhancement of  the existing web platform  – www.nairatweets.net – a crowd sourcing, social engagement   service available to Nigerian Businesses and Twitter Users – Nairatweets has  launched its  Digital Content Store.

The aim of the Store is to provide digital content (music, mobile applications, themes, etc.) for twitter users.  The store will cater for organizations and individuals who are ready to offer their products and services for free or for sale at very affordable prices. The Store will bridge the  gap  between digital content providers and  mobile devices users  for free flow of  relevant and interesting contents, and particularly among Nairatweets users.

Nairatweets Store will help Nigerian Developers and Publishers of Digital Contents to share and spread the use of their apps and even monetize them. Nairatweets Users can use their  Earnings on the  platform to pay for contents from  the Store while  other users can make use other optional payment systems available on the platform.

“Nairatweets  Store will give  Mobile App Developers and Brands  the  opportunity to create engaging  content for the online community and also offer a platform to monetize the content" said Fehintolu Olaogun, a co-Founder at Exolve Technologies Limited.
The store is available on all mobile devices, and allows users to have access to digital content 24/7 and can be accessed by visiting http://www.nairatweets.net/store

About NairaTweets.Net
Nairatweet.net is  Nigeria’s largest Twitter marketing platform; a  Crowd Sourcing, social interaction marketing application helping Advertisers to reach over  500,000 Nigerian Twitter Users with their products and services and the number is still growing. Its approach to marketing is direct and gives real time feedback from its users.
Visit www.nairatweets.net for more details.

The server outage of RIM created a rift in the valley. Many relationships--business and social--are built on BBM or access to the web via a blackberry phones. Except for those on the enterprise service--BES--most of the services on BIS wasn't working in Africa, Middle East and Europe. (Updated The America, US and Canada were eventualy affected too) For those who depend on Blackberry to do their business or connect with friends and family, they must have asked; How long will this last? What other options do I have? Is their any other device that can work as effectively?

I will try to help out with a few answers. The outage is due to the Blackberry (RIM) server servicing EMEA (Europe, MiddleEast and Africa). RIM is working to fix it though. The best answer I have is that RIM and there group of engineers are working on it but do not have a time announced that they would fix it.

What other options do you have?

Most of the services used and preferred by Blackberry users are also available on other devices. Some of the preferred services are Blackberry Messenger (BBM), Social Media integration (Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare and LinkedIn), and Email--although there are those who own a BB just for the social connectivity.

I own a Nokia E7, E71 and 500 currently. I can do all you do on a blackberry except for BBM. But I can do Blackberry kind of messaging with BB users, iphone and Android users by installing Whatsapp. Not as intuitive, but it gets the job done. You may want to pick a Nokia Device running the current Symbian Anna Operating system like; Nokia E6, N8, C7, N8 and some others. The apps are available in the Nokia Store for your use.

Android is another option. It is an Operating system developed by Google, used by Samsung, HTC, Huawei, Sonyericsson, LG and some other phone makers. If you want and Android device you can pick any of the phone makers above. There's the Android market (Application store) where you can get lots of apps for games, social and business. Whatsapp works on Android too. So you can keep in touch the BBM way at least. How much can I get an Android device? Depends on the one you choose. There are low end and high end Android devices. You can get an Android phone from Samsung and LG that's about N29,000.

The last option I want to mention is the Apple option. iPhone is a great device. That can be very simple to use and smart in executing stuffs. If you're new to touch and the Apple platform, you may have a few learnings to do.

One of the beauty of the Blackberry is the data subscription--BIS. Once you pay, you're covered for the month. You don't have that luxury with other Operating system (Androids, Symbian, Windows and iOS). You'd subscribe to a mobile data plan that has a limit. Depending on your need, there are 100mb, 150mb, 500mb, 1Gb, 3Gb, and 5Gb options across all the Nigerian Networks.

The plus you have when subscribing for mobile data plan on non-Blackberry phones is, you can turn your device to hotspot and connect it to other devices that have WiFi like an ipad, your PC or your friends phone. You can share the dat on your Blackberry even if you want to.

Blackberry devices are fine, though it can't suit my own needs for now. The information I shared here can help you in making your decission to switch if you're looking for an alternative.

Are you a Blackberry user? How did you feel when your Blackberry service stopped functioning? I will like to hear from you in the comments.

There is a link between the three group of people above.

Developers are sort out for by startups, especially when they are scalling, startups need tech bloggers and bloggers in their niche to help them spread their message. What has this resulted to?

Some bloggers receive money, are investors in certain startup venture or are related to someone in a startup, but will write about them as if s/he's giving an honest opinion. How can I give an honest opinion, free of bias, if I am investing in a venture? Is it possible? It is the same with if I have been paid or given a gift of a sort.

Example is when Nokia gives me a loaned device to review for two weeks. In the beginning of my post, I stated that is was a loaned device. It is obvious therefore that Nokia is doing promotion of their brand. It is left for the readers after reading the disclosure I stated clearly, to determine if they'd believe what I have shared.

It is however widespread that bloggers receive such gift or have a deep involvement with a startup, brand or venture but never disclose it. They go on to write about it as if the opinion is 100 percent free of bias.

Here is why full disclosure is good. It makes people trust you. However, if they found out that your write-up or opinion is influence by a gift or interest, they may find it hard to trust or believe you in the future.

To protect your image and guard your authenticity, consider stating the involvement and interest you have in a venture, if there is any, when writing about them.

What will you do if you find out that someone you've always trusted wasn't giving you his/her honest opinion on her blog, but rather is influenced by personal interst and gift received? I will like to hear from you in the comment.

****

P.S. Mainwhile, I like @Arington's full disclosure on his new blog, Uncrunched. Louis Gray is another person who does a lot of disclosure on his blog-- louisgray.com. Check him out.

To understand where I am coming from, most university students in Nigeria don't have a personal computer. It's either too expensive or they're not aware of the value (Most access the web on their smartphones).

I never bothered to dig deeper into the understanding of the terms; HDD--Hard Disk Drive, Memory and RAM. I mention them, but deep down, I don't understand what they mean and how it affect me as a new computer owner, back then and now.

I started to frequent mobility.com.ng, hang out with geeks and developers, but still did not probe the meaning of those terms. Then tonight, I read something from guardian.co.uk saying; it is dumb to think that Memory and Storage is the same. Huh? I said to myself. That means I am dumb, no?

I decided I won't stay dumb. I logged on to twitter and tweeted; "What is the difference between MEMORY and STORAGE? Please."

I have wonderful friends on twitter, two people responded with a link, while one person responded with an answer. I realised that, our friends--those we know and who know us--are better resources, than search algorithms.

I should have learned the different between those terms, but I thought it was stress and then not a relevant information. I am glad, I know now, plus it has opened my mind to other information.

What I found out after reading, in my own words:

HDD - Hard Disk Drive is the magenetic device in your computer that stores information parmanently. It is where the operating system and other system files, music, video et'al, are stored. The data in the HDD is preserved even when power is off.

RAM - is simply Memory. It is a temprary storage for information that the computer is using at the moment. Whenever power goes off, any information stored in the RAM--Random Access Memory--is gone. (that's why you lose unsaved numbers and call history when you remove your battery from your phone. Aha! I never knew)

So, I thought to myself, aha! This is the reason we hibernate our computer sometimes. I do hibernate my computer too, but never knew why. Now I know. If power goes of, all the work I am working on that are not saved parmanently in the HDD is lost. But if I hibernate, power doesn't go off, so I would have my current work saved temporarily on the RAM. Ding dong!!!

I am so excited at this discovery. Thanks to Beth Granger, Tobi and Funmi for comming to my rescue on twitter ;-)

That's my little strory. I think it's the way geeks work. They are curious people. They find answers. I may well be on my way of becoming a geek :D

I can build on this knowledge in the future. I have thus learned that; one knowledge opens the door for another. Seek knowledge and beceome wise.

***

If you enjoy my little story, consider sharing it with your friends.