Most people in Kenya are waiting with bated breath for the final arrival of the SEACOM fiber optic cable. The main day is this Thursday, July 23rd.

For most of us, we want to see whether friday will be different; whether the internet speeds in the office or at home will improve; whether the cost will be different next month.

Kenyans we are known to be optimist, which is very good, makes sure we absorb the shock very well and even when we are misled, we look at the brighter side and hope that things will improve anyway.

I recall seeing a question sent to SEACOM on twitter about what preparations that have been made with other ISPs in terms of routers and other gadgetry that an entity would need to switch to fiber and the answer was; that is a question for the ISP.

And that is very true because SEACOM is high up there and has nothing to do with the final delivery. So if you are still on your crappy satellite next year, do not say that SEACOM is here or TEAMS is there, just compel your ISP to do the needful.

For some reason I thought SEACOM would work with ISPs in ensuring that we can receive the service as soon as possible for instance, Wimax radio manufacturers enter into agreements with big telcos to supply radios at subsidized rates, which can then be supplied to customers in the chain to ensure efficient services.

So, I was expecting an answer like; we are working with this manufacturer to make sure that switches and whatever else will be available at affordable rates to ensure smooth switch over. Anyway, as they say, its the business of your ISP. But again, maybe am thinking more of my small time ISP, not the big boys.

I have also been wondering about the pricing; we are told it will be open access but the other day I read some news from South Africa that SEACOM will have the same pricing with SAT 3 in West Africa.

This made me wonder, if SAT 3 did not make a difference in West Africa with this pricing structure, what makes us think that SEACOM will do it for us?

I think am a bit pessimistic here but am hoping next week I will be writing more positive stuff.

I think am liking this...

Juliana and Rebecca

Originally uploaded by Maneno.org

Then there is this one posted by Elia.

Today am just going thro Flickr after such a long time.

I just saw this photo fro Oso's Flickr, I liked it and I thought it should be on the blog too...

This was in Budapest last year.

It is strange how people; relatives and friends no longer meet as much as they used to. Weddings are no longer places to meet old friends, they have become family affairs.

Burials become more of a must, because if you don't turn up, people are going to wonder what kind of friend or family member you are. In our traditions, attending burials of family members and friends has sort of been mandatory. Not that the person will rise or fail to go six feet under because you did not turn up but its considered a measure of respect.

So, when Solo died, it was a time for friends and relatives to meet, he was a great guy, a friend who was not scared of telling us off especially when we start acting up.

He was a telecommunications pioneer in Kenya, I met this techie who told me that in 1997, Solo was probably one of the few Kenyan techies who could configure PABX and make it work perfectly.

For me, he challenged me, when I won a $ 6000 award from Ford Foundation New York when I was 21, he guided me through the motions, how to invest, make savings and to survive in the US when I went for the fellowship.

Yes he was a great guy and role model.

That is why we were shocked to learn about his death in a tragic car accident, and as usual, everyone gathered in his house during the period.

The gathering of women was probably one of the best I have been in the past. There were all working women, who are juggling their careers and families. People who are facing the same c challenges like me.

Then it came the part where those who are single, married, divorced and unlucky in marriage share their experiences. We say why we are not married and the others say why it is good or not nice to get married.

The best was when this powerful woman, a teacher who has a masters, a role model and a mother shared her experience about this guy who she was married to, and he would come home at 10pm and demand that he wants to take Ugali and Sukuma Wiki and chicken, and she would go to the shamba at night, and make the food. We were all like; how? Forget that the guy would accompany her to the shamba at night but it was not right.

Anyway, the older women and the younger married women get to share their ideas and the younger women share theirs too. It is a synergy that technology can not give us.

What we shared that night can not be exchanged via chat, website or even talking on the phone. It is a treasure of our traditional customs that unfortunately is dying off. Now when we want to talk to our role models in the village or elsewhere, we have no time to sit down and talk, we say, I will call or email you.

When people die, we just send money via mobile phones as contributions, when our grand parents summon us, we label them as nagging and backward. Yet for them, our money and accomplishments are the least of their interests, they are just interested in the time that you have for cjit chat.

I am not saying that talking to people will solve all the problems, but it will show that we are not alone; that other people are experiencing similar challenges. It is that which technology will not give us, the valuable time to improve as people.

Maybe many of us are failing to get married or marriages have failed on flimsy grounds, maybe if we heard some of the experiences, we would learn to deal with some of the issues.

Our strength in oral traditions is unsurpassed; for instance, there was a former classmate who was hessitating about his boyfriend's proposal; she thought she was too tough or they would not cope. Then a former teacher and a friend posed the question; do you want a guy who will hold your hand at the labor ward and cook for you after giving birth or a guy who thinks cooking is backward and he is better drinking with frineds and he will never know when you go into labor?

She did not need to give the answer, she just needed to think beyond the patying phase and think beyond the fun and into seriousness.

Anyway, we can read all we can and become all tech savvy but there is no doubt there is something in our oral traditions that technology can not give us.

Maybe it is good once in a while to go back to our roots.

Maybe I will make time to sit with my grandma and listen to her tantrums once in a while and share with her my challenges, which dont compare anyway.

Ends

There is no doubt that Twitter is a global phenomenon; influencing politics and entertainment. To think that the company is only two years old, its truly inspiring.

For people who love live updates and with access to the internet, this is an awesome tool. For those in South Africa where the mobile device interface is active; am sure they are beyond happy.

But what about other countries where the internet has remained a dream? Where promises of true broadband have just been a disappointment? Where operators or companies are yet to see the need of delivering twitter updates to mobile phones? Maybe its just a case of making a business out of it.

I was happy to participate in a twitterthon championed by Computer Aid the other day. The drive was to raise the level of computer donations to Africa. The event achieved its objectives.

The most disturbing thing was that a friend of mine (I would like to think that way), wrote to me complaining that the computers are being dumped to Africa and that kind of thing. I wondered, whether that was the debate, as to whether the computers are being dumped or not, that is the responsibility of our governments to ensure that the machines are of higher standards. Kenya has imposed a 25% tax, Uganda, Zambia have banned but Rwanda is still receiving. After talking to several people in the rural areas who have been conned about the new computer schemes only to learn that they were refurbs, I like to steer clear of the debate and let the people decide. For instance; I talked to the principle at Kigari teachers college in Kenya about why they buy refurbs and she was in praise of the computer performance.

In Canada, the schools use refurbished computers, makes you wonder, how many rural schools or hospitals would be happy with that refurb. I guess the point is that the manufacturers should be made to open up recycling centers like they do in the west, then all the comps will be there.

Anyway, I digressed too much, the debate was about twitter.

How then can twitter be used to reach more people in Africa? It has to come with increased connectivity and increased awareness, that its not a tool for spreading rumors and malice but a constructive tool. You can imagine the power of twitter in a crisis situation like in Kenya last year with the post election violence.

The best thing about twitter is that you can share your thoughts, whether professional or just personal issues- it is the new way of people keeping in touch!

These are just random thoughts....

The other day one journalist asked me why I blog. It was funny because he was asking why I had not updated my blog. So my answer was; why do you visit my blog?

It was a valid question, which I never thought about. Since then, I have been wondering why I blog.

I blog in exercise of my freedom of expression; here no one can limit what I say, whether it toes the party line or not; its my opinion and it remains that way.

I blog because I love pointing out issues; mostly the ones that are not going right, just like most journalists.

I blog because it is a chance for me to vent my frustrations.

I blog because it is the only way people can learn more about various issues; not structured by the media or held down by requirements of editorial correctness.

I blog because technology is one of those boring issues that is tough for us to write about.

But most of all, I blog because I love writing!

I can go on and on...

It is considered automatic that Africa lags behind all other continents in technology adoption. So, whenever there is an international meeting African representatives find a story to tell; the digital divide.

It has become so bad that leaders just fail to do the right things and just blame it on the digital divide. The government heads fail to adopt technology and blame it on the digital divide.

Some Africa representatives attend meetings and instead of striking collaborative deals to benefit their countries; they are busy shopping or just filling numbers in the meeting rooms. And when you ask, they blame it on the digital divide.

I recall there was this guy who represented his country at the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) meetings for three years, and during the time, he did not share any outcome or notes from the meeting with technology forums.

It was embarrassing that at one point, a senior government officer attended one of the technology related meetings and had no clue that hi country was represented within ICANN.

The representative had just been attending meetings and not even sharing with the tech community or government officers on the recommendations and outcomes of such meetings.

What would you call that? The digital divide?

There is no doubt that there exists a gap between developing countries and developed countries within ICANN.

This gap is specifically manifested when it comes to Africa delegates, they hardly contribute meaningfully to the public forums. ICANN deals with the names and numbers, the technical aspects but Africa is still grappling with elementary issues such as access and policy issues.

For instance; when the business group is discussing issues of e-commerce and the amount of information that should be availed online or whether the security agents should be given such information, how does someone with no e-commerce in their country contribute to the debate?

But does that mean that Africa has no place in international technology meetings? Why then does Africa fail to take advantage of some of the opportunities?

At a recent technology conference, Maua Daftari,Tanzania's Deputy Minister in charge of science and technology expressed her fear that if the Conficker worm hits Africa, it might wipe out the few steps made.

What was confusing was that I did not hear her say what Tanzania is doing to promote use of open source technology, if the the reliance on Microsoft products poses the danger she was quoting.

In some cases, innovative youth ventures have been stifled by uninformed officers heading important government heads.

I recall last year, I had an interview with Laban Mwangi, one of Kenya's most progressive and innovative techie. He shared his frustrations in trying to convince mobile phone companies in Kenya to adopt his point of sale gadget by selling to him airtime in wholesale, which he can then sell to traders in remote areas through his gadget. The idea was shared with the power and lighting company among other important service providers.

With the gadget, Mwangi wanted people to sell airtime from any company, pay water and electricity bills among other services. His attempts did not bear much fruit then.

You can imagine my shock when I entered one of the corner shops in London earlier this year and found that they use Mwangi's concept.

So, Mwangi failed to get them to adopt his technology but do not be shocked if a few years down the line, you hear that one company has been awarded a huge contract to supply what Mwangi would have supplied at a fraction. If we adopted that technology last year; we would have been far by now.

So, it is clear that Africa's appreciation of young techie minds is lacking, technocrats have specialized in attending meetings and their technology vision is blurred and most of all; we have mastered the art of whining.

We should just get the solutions and stop that digital divide song, how come Africa does not talk of the digital divide when it comes to military hardware and other state-of-the art warfare gadgets?

How comes African militaries have one of the highest budgets and are quick to adopt latest technology? Does that mean there is no digital divide in military terms?

I think Africa should just stop whining and act!

Ever wondered whether the websites allowing yo buy or sell via Mpesa ever work? Well, I wondered the same and decided to try out. I decided to access the Sovaya wireless and was asked the payment mode for the internet airtime.

Mpesa was the easiest for me, so was asked to send money to 0715 592168 and wait for confirmation, that is before I can surf using the credit bought. For starters, I decided to buy a shs. 100 voucher, just to test whether it will work.

The Mpesa went through without any hitches, only that I waited for 30 minutes with no response from the Sovaya side; either a text telling me that I could use the credit or saying it bounced, or a web message allowing me to surf.

So I decided to call the customer care number given, but the person who received the call could not even get my number, it took two minutes for the person to take my number so that they can get back to me.

I always get irritated when someone gives you poor service then on top of that they waste your credit because they just can get what you are saying. You repeat the number five times....first to allow them pick a pen....then the number,....and on and on...

Anyway, maybe the service is not so much in demand or not in use thats why...

My curiosity made me lose my 100 bob...

The other day I met Tom Osanjo, a former colleague and friend, and we got into a discussion about the rights that a writer retains.

The issue we were debating was whether journalists retain any rights to the material they publish. There are two schools of thought; there are those who think that once you have written, thats it, the rights shift to the publisher.

Another school of thought holds that the journalist holds the rights and if the publisher wants to use the story or photo again, then they must pay again or something like that.

James, winner of the CNN sports journalist of the year in 2007 gave us his experience; how the organizers of the CNN awards made him sign an agreement that allowed then to redistribute the pictures.

James' argument was that if the rights are retained by the media house, then CNN would have asked the media house for permission to use. That supported the argument that the rights are retained by the writer.

That argument seemed to have preempted a debate that I would have a week later.

Today I found myself weathering a storm in a tea cup.

Sometimes last year, I participated in online discussions about the fiber optic cable and so many other attendant issues. Some of the issues were very technical while others were social-economic.

In writing an article, I went to some old drafts of the daily summaries that I had done and used the material that was summarized for the final report.

The agreement with the organizers was that I still retained rights to the material and was free to use the material so long as it was advancing the wider goals of the ICT sector.

As a journalist, the right to use materials is of paramount importance. The organization and the author did not have any problem. Nevertheless, the article rightly credited the author and the organization.

Forget about my incident, the question I asked was; what happens in those cases when somebody asks you to do a speech on their behalf, do you still retain the rights to the contents of the speech or not?

It got me thinking...... I think I still retain the rights but if someone paid me to do the speech, then the rights go to them.

But still....I think there is much to be debated...