Tuesday April 1, 2014

The solutions offered by the Google Africa Connected success stories competition finalists are viable in all developing societies. Adopt them. (Part 3) 

Sitawa Wafula is an influential blogger on mental health in Kenya and East Africa. She has used Google Blogger to establish her award winning blog as a source of reference for people looking for support and information on the topic. Sitawa aspires to build a resource center where people that have mental health issues can gain access to information online and all the help they need to manage their conditions.

With a mobile phone that can access the internet, one is able to reach voluminous information about anything from health to music. The constraints that limited the amount of information people could access for example distance to a library, out-dated resource centers and language barriers have been eliminated by the internet. The sharing of information from one source to many others is also much simpler with the internet.

Top Kenyan poet Sitawa Wafula. She is among the ten finalists from across the African continent in Google's Africa Connected competition.

Bloggers like Sitawa provide people with an alternative source of information after doing some research and singling out what is most important. More and more people are going online for news, information and entertainment that they think meets their needs. Information on the internet is as general as one would want and at the same time with one’s effort, a user can get the very specific information they are looking for. More of subject specific blogs like Sitawa’s have to be encouraged among university students who comprise the largest group of people who use the internet on a daily basis.

I propose that it’s made mandatory that each and every university student as from third year has a personal blog where they post their experiences about what they are studying. This will cultivate a culture of writing and research among the students. Information exchange is also easier and more enjoyable via the internet. By the time these students are graduating, a competition should be held to award the best among these blogs. Meanwhile, you can read about the Bloggers Association of Kenya (BAKE) awards 2014 nominees here.

Nqobizitha Mlilo is an animator and film maker in Harare. He runs a studio called Nafuna TV and uses YouTube to distribute his animation and video content online to reach his targeted audience. By doing this he is able to give people in his home country and those beyond an alternative form of entertainment not found on traditional channels.

Nqobizitha Mlilo. He is a visual effects artist and a graphic novelist too.

The film industry has over the years maintained the image and prestige of high life and tonnes of money for those who successfully pursue their dreams in it. From producers to actors, the benefits of a successful career here are grand. With just one year and two months left before the global deadline for migration to digital TV signals, there is now, more than ever, need for TV content in all multimedia forms. Soon there will calls for creation of animated content only for specific TV stations and even online TV channels.

The internet is the easiest platform for content creators to share their works and seek more ideas on how to develop their next projects. It is the largest and easiest meeting point for the most creative people and the largest reservoir of the best multimedia and art works ever produced. Even better, with the growth of online transactions where content can be sold to buyers digitally, business is easier and more convenient.

The internet is the new market place in the global village. There is more traffic into the internet by consumers who want to remain updated on the latest goods and services  in the market. Artists and content creators have to do research and determine the various avenues through which they can benefit from the internet. There are trillions of web pages with “how to _______” titles that can greatly assist interested people on how to do various things. Basic skills on animation, music production, playing musical instruments and dance routines for example can be learnt on the internet. There are also many tips and advice on how to nurture a hobby from just a pass time activity to a money generating venture. As Nqobizitha has experienced, with a good internet marketing strategy, one can never go wrong.