Like Chapaa » Miscellaneous

Long Live The Queen of Blades!

Kelvin — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 07:07:57 +0000

Well, we are sponsoring a grassroots-level Starcraft tournament.

Voices of Africa

Kelvin — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 13:59:06 +0000

Voices of Africa is an interesting organisation. I got to learn about them at the iHub during the Nairobi Barcamp, 2010. Basically, they aim to bring ICT to the rural areas of Kenya, mainly by building rural internet Kiosks and supporting other organisations that have similar goals. Through this, they hope to give people in the rural areas the same opportunity as we urban folk have to indulge in ICT.

This video is a presentation done by Voices of Africa during Barcamp Nairobi 2010:

I like how she said that when people ask her what people in rural Kenya would do with the internet, she answers: “What do they do without it?”

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2 Things to Think About When Making Your Website

Kelvin — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 05:39:22 +0000

I was look at the visitor stats for this website (www.likechapaa.com) and it surprised me that a good 20% of the people who come here do it on their mobile phones. I always knew that the mobile web was big in Kenya, but I did not think it was big enough to affect my own website so much.

IN a country like ours, making a website universally usable is an important issue and ignoring it may lead to groups of users suffering isolation, rather than enjoying the use of your website. What if Like Chapaa was not available in a mobile-friendly version? Perhaps our visitor numbers would be down 20%. That’s a big and painful loss.

Do you want your own site to be successful? Then you have to think about making it as universally accessible as possible. In Kenya, the easiest way to do this is by:

Publishing a mobile version of your website – Did you know that only about 15% of the world speaks English? I am not sure how many people in Kenya do not understand English but I do know that it is not the first language of nearly everyone in this country. I think it would be a mistake to publish your website and ignore English completely, but it is equally important not to ignore other languages that your target audience may ‘identify’ with better than English. I’d love to see a Sheng or Swa version of Pewa hewa, you?
Publishing your website in more than one language – The number of internet users in Kenya is growing very very fast. The vast majority of people use their mobile phones to access the internet. If you ignore mobile, you may be ignoring at least 20% of the ‘market’. I am sure this is not something that anyone wants to do willingly.

How hard is it to do this?
Fortunately, web design and development technology just keeps growing. The first step would be to find yourself a competent person or organisation to do your website. There are lots of sufficiently qualified people all around you.

The next step would be to ensure that your web developer makes your website using a robust and stable content management system (CMS). Most CMSes have a very simple way to implement a mobile version and additional languages. I recommend WordPress as my CMS of choice.

For web design and development, of course, I recommend Nickel Pro.

What do you think of mobilizing your website and publishing in more than one language?

PS
Like Chapaa is available only in English. We hope to get it translated soon.

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The Four Letter Word That Can Make You and Your Work Irresistible

Kelvin — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 06:55:25 +0000

Love is a four letter word in the business world. It makes us uncomfortable. It is inappropriate and even taboo.

It can also make you and your work irresistible.

Download the ebook: How to be irresistable.

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Earn From Resume Writing

ismah — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 03:32:42 +0000

At some time, it’s better to leave your brain on the loose – right? It’s better to give it the greatest freedom it deserves and it’s then and only then, that it will pick up many ideas – both dirty and fresh. At this point, you don’t need to care what it picks up, you will sort good from bad later on. It is under this principle that My brain picked up as many ideas as it could and when I started separating the good from the bad, I realized I was almost throwing one important idea to the dust bin, so I quickly picked it back, dusted it and decided to research more about it and I realized, wow, you can actually earn from writing professional resumes – God! ever thought of it?

Come on let’s face it, Times are tough, and we’re moving ever deeper into the age of specialization. Employers are demanding to know more about the applicant – their work record, natural talents and personality traits. They want more information upon which to base their interview selections than just the cold facts on the application form. Personnel managers are placing a higher premium on their time, and delegating to others the job of “weeding out” the unqualified applicants from those whose backgrounds and goals come closest to fitting the needs of the company.

To get in to see the person doing the hiring nowadays, the job applicant has to “sell the short-stopper,” and that calls for a professionally written resume. More and more firms are demanding resumes. Prove me wrong on this one. Most of the jobs worth having will require a written resume before even an initial interview is granted. On the other side of the coin is that Probably 80 percent of the people searching for jobs don’t have a resume. Of the 20 percent who do have resumes, many are ineffective; they simply do not adequately present the applicant’s total qualifications. Everyone – with or without a resume – is looking for this key: A professionally written resume, a sales presentation of their qualifications and experience that will get the job for them – the job they want. The job hunters are wound up in their own specialties and problems. They don’t know how, and they don’t have the time – AND they’re willing to pay you to put it all together for them.The demand for this service is growing daily. Here’s a business you can start for virtually nothing, parlay into a million dollar enterprise in less than two years – trust me!

Setting Up a Resume Writing Business
There is no special knowledge, education or experience required. Knowing the general format of a “modern resume,” and the ability to keep yourself up-to-date on new resume formats is the only qualifications you need. There are so many newsletters, websites, blogs and short courses on resume writing, you can consider signing up for some.

You’ll need a computer, professional quality printer. You can begin, with a lower quality printer but “think big” if you’re to survive in any business. You don’t have to book a big office at the city center or so, just start from the comfort of your bedroom.

Invest in a good book on how to write “job-winning” resumes. Select a book or eBook which discusses both the cover letter and the format of the body of the resume. You can also find free articles on the internet. Also study different types of modern resumes. You can check some here, www.bestsampleresume.com

In addition, you probably, at some point, will need a resume writing software that will help you. If you need a free software to get you started you can e-mail me on resumwriter@gmail.com.

Now that you’re set to go, there comes popularizing your services. If you have an e-mail list, you can send this to your subscribers explaining your services in details. You can also print posters and put them in relevant places. The notice boards at Odeon Cinema is a good example. You could also consider running an advert in the local newspapers or websites like Career Point Kenya depending on your advertising budget. Aside, you can print business cards and circulate them around. you can also create your blog and explain your services.

You’re now done. From there, you should start thinking of how to organize interviews with your future clients and establishing competitive prices that will keep you in business.

If you would like to get more tips on resume writing and frequent updates on online resume writing jobs plus other online money making opportunities, send the word, “money” to 4445.

Good luck!

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Lessons learnt while dyeing my hair

Crystal — Sun, 30 May 2010 21:20:42 +0000

For a while now, I’ve been trying to get my hair purple. I’ve dyed it three times, and it ended up blacker than when I started. Aside from being terribly frustrated, I’ve learnt a few lessons for life and business.

1. Always do your research

I went to five or six shops looking for the perfect shade of purple. Turns out shops in Nairobi don’t stock much beyond brown, black, blonde, and grey. Apart from realising that someone should stock strange hair colours – even if it’s only on demand – I discovered that Nakumatt and Uchumi sell half a litre of Ooh yoghurt at 73 bob while Ukwala sells it at 95 shillings. Interesting.

2. Get dizzy-proof

The thing with servicing clients, no pun intended, is that sometimes, you’ll go round in circles and end up right where you started.

The first colour I bought was aubergine, and after several sessions using varying degrees of it, and going through black, red, blue, and several purples, I’ve ended up with plain old aubergine. Come Saturday, I’ll put it on my hair undiluted, and drive my hairdressers off the edge of sanity.

In business, be prepared to spin on the spot with a client, and when you walk past the same signpost for the millionth time and client says ‘that’s exactly what I want!’ do some yoga, smile, and remember that it’s worth it in the end.

3. Failure isn’t always a bad thing

On the assumption that the Saturday dyeing will work, it will have taken me two weeks, four sessions, three thousand shillings, 6 to 7 hours, and six pairs of gloves to get my hair the right colour. But, I now know 3 ways not to dye my hair, and next time, I can do it using 200 bob and one go.

4. Improvise

At one of the shops I went to, they didn’t have purple dye, but they suggested I try powder food colour. I laughed at the idea, but apparently it’s a popular one, and it gives you a much wider colour range. Plus, it’s temporary, so if it doesn’t work out, it’ll be gone in a few weeks.

As a business person, you should always give the client what he wants. But if you don’t have it, sell them a Plan B. Just be sure it’s one that works.

5. Know when to stop tweaking

The thing with artists is we never know when to stop. We always want to put in one more word, take a comma out, change the shade of blue, twist a bit of code, make everything just perfect.

During my multiple sessions, I started out ultra-violet black, which was too dark, so I added some aubergine, which was too light. I put in a bit of food-colour purple … which took me back to black. Very frustrating. If I’d just left it at bright purple, it would have darkened with time.

Good business is like dyeing hair; you get your hands messy, you don’t know what to expect, you use a lot of resources [and water] and your hands get really, really hot.

So remember to have a tank, a long fuse, a borehole, a source of emergency capital and a brilliant assistant, even if that assistant is you.

And always, always, always wear gloves.

Crystal Ading’ is a professional author, editor, rock lover and mother. Her work is available through www.threeceebee.com.

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7 Ways Of Claiming Your Success

ismah — Fri, 28 May 2010 03:48:01 +0000

You will agree with me that this is one of the hardest blocks to pass – just lifting your leg off the ground and getting it done. Most People spend much time mark-timing in the quagmire of excuses. “I will do it tomorrow” or “today I don’t feel like doing it,” becomes the order of the day and before you realize it, a day is gone…a week…month and then years!

One of my friends has been idle for months now after the completion of her Journalism course at the Kenya polytechnic and when I asked her why she’s sleeping on her talent, she was quick to reply, “But I don’t have a camera!” “Then why don’t you start off by giving these media houses news tip-offs or perhaps pitch news ideas to them?” I asked and all she could give was a blank stare though her lips twitched as though she was about to say something. Below are few tips that can help you take off the ground.

1.Discover yourself
Discover the love of your heart. What you enjoy doing. It doesn’t matter whether it’s writing, acting or whatever that could be. You will only go far by doing what you enjoy the most.

2. Become an Expert
Someone once said that to become an expert, You only have to know slightly above the average person. You don’t need to spend years of your life searching for all those degrees, they are not the ones that will make you an expert – after all you won’t face life with all those crowns on your head when your head is empty. There are so many ways of getting enough information about your interest. Say for example you’re interested in fashion, subscribe to all those newsletters, blogs and magazine that talk about fashion. Watch or listen to informative interviews on the same. Talk to people already in the industry, get to know how they come up with different designs and the like.

3. Find Your own way of doing it
Creating “blind competition” won’t land you any where far from disappointments. Rob once said, “there is enough wealth for each and every one in this world all you need to do is to find your own unique way of tapping into your share.” Forcing yourself in another person’s shoe and blaming him if it all fails won’t give you success. Simply because the Mama Sukuma in your hood commands a huge base of customers does not mean you too will do the same automatically if you plant your own kiosk. If sukumawiki is not your thing then don’t even dream of doing it. Similarly if your interest is dancing and every one is doing it, then don’t create that “blind competition” by doing it exactly the same way. Find your own way of doing it that will make you stand out.

4. Make a plan
Words such as “I will one day do this or that” only kill your subconscious. Sit down and get it done. Make your feature plans, where you want to be in five or so years then break it down to what you will be doing daily that will contribute to achievement of your long term goals and make sure you do exactly that. For instance, say you are a writer; using words like I will one day write a novel before I die is not the right track to go. Saying “I want to complete a 60,000-word novel in two months” is a good long term goal but it’s not enough. You have to break it down further in bits that will help you reach your main goal and that could be writing 1000-words a day that will give you 60,000-words in sixty days. Still this is not enough. Make sure you discipline yourself to be writing the 1000-words daily – Hope you’re getting the point.

5. Go against the current
If you are really convinced that your idea is good, don’t listen to people. Most of them are afraid of change. They want to maintain the statusquo and will shoot down anything they think might make you better than them. This is not to say that you should not seek for advice but learn to sample good ideas with the ill-intended ideas.

6. Drop all the Pretenders
I’m sure if you look around you will find yourself surrounded by a bunch of friends – and let me assure you not all are really your friends. Most of them are out to frustrate you from achieving your success and they are determined. They will try all means possible to show you how what you want to try is impossible and if you go a head and prove them wrong, they will still find excuses to prove you faked your way to success; If you did not buy your way to success, then you rolled your pants for the boss! you know such kind of things? These are not the right people to move around with, ditch them and move on. The won’t help you. Find the right people to work with. People who will give you honest opinion.

7. Be ahead of the game
As the time goes, technology grows and so are your clients. Sticking to your old ways of doing things will only leave you behind the game. You clients, however loyal they could be, will not stick to you with your old ways, they will move on; so learn to move along with them. If you are for example in the fashion industry, study the new designs and how you can use the ever growing technology to improve your business. It’s only by this that you will keep your customers hooked to you.

I hope the above tips will help you claim you success. They are not exhausted and would add some if I come across, So good luck.

Photo courtesy of laverrue.

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Overnight Success

Kelvin — Thu, 27 May 2010 05:51:33 +0000

The idea of overnight success is very very seductive. At any one time, it seems there’s always a story of overnight success somewhere. But was it really an overnight success? We want to believe the myth that success is easy to come by. But success in business (and anything else) takes time, energy and hard work—lots of all three.

“Personally, I’ve never met an overnight success. I’ve met people who’ve done something well for a long time and were suddenly discovered. Then everyone assumed they came out of nowhere, that their fame happened overnight.” – Barrie Bergman

But the real truth is that it takes a long time to be an overnight success.

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Simple Plan For Everyone

Kelvin — Wed, 26 May 2010 06:07:46 +0000

I just read an amazing article by Seth Godin. It is a simple pan that anyone and anything can follow on the road to success. Here it is:

The number of people you need to ask for permission keeps going down:
1. Go, make something happen.

2. Do work you’re proud of.

3. Treat people with respect.

4. Make big promises and keep them.

5. Ship it out the door.
When in doubt, see #1.

Well, you heard it…

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The Problem With Web Design

Kelvin — Mon, 17 May 2010 09:03:25 +0000

Ever wondered why perfectly good web designers sometimes produce *finished* (with the client happy and all) web designs that are total abominations?

It is true that some web designers are just not that good but I am convinced that most web designers know what they are doing. Well, I have some experience with web design and you may be surprised to find out the real reason for crappy and downright shameful websites is not the designer. It is the client.

When a client gets his/her hands dirty and starts directing one change after another on the ‘draft’ design, things almost always go from okay, to bad, to worse, and straight into web design hell.

The Oatmeal has a nice article on how this happens: How A Web Design Goes Straight To Hell.

Dear clients, I know you think you are doing the right thing, protecting your interests, etc etc but you have to realise that you are not a web designer! You hired the guy to do a job now let him do it – he/she probably knows what he/she is doing.

Every web design must have a certain “flow” to it so that, well, so that it looks good. Every time you suggest a change, you ruin this flow and the designer has to somehow try to bring it ‘back’.

If the designer was an engineer designing the turbine of a plane, would you have so many suggestions and “fixes”?

If you decide to hire someone, let that person do his job.

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