I will take you to the Beach and Buy you Fish

"When we grow up and make money, I will take you to the beach and buy you FISH" said Kate(not real names). My high school sweetheart. We wrote &  exchanged lots of mail and I am certain I still have them stored somewhere in my high school archives.

There was a teacher who used to do part-time teaching at both our schools(Kate's & I). So, every time mail was delivered from Bweranyangi to the information prefect (Newton Baguma), I was sure that her letter was amongst the mail. Newton beat me to that post by 4votes by the way. 

During the last the month of my HSC level, the last I could have about my friend was a letter that clearly narrated how I had been such a nice friend and destined for great things in this world. "You are such an adorable friend, God will bless you in all your deeds and you are destined for great things in this world. I will miss you." read part of the letter. I kept it to-date and promised myself to look for my friend.

For all the things we had ever talked about I wonder why the FISH thing kept clicking in my mind. The imagination of that fascinated me. Did she promise me that because she imagined it could be the best thing for us that could not be availed then until we grew and made money? or It would be one way to ask me keep the friendship until we met again and got the social fun to ourselves eating FISH at the beach inclusive?

Six(6) years down the road, I get a request on Facebook, View profile I clicked. Familiar face, I accepted request. Thank you Facebook. Thank you Facebook and Thank you Social Network.

Even before the Internet, social networking existed. Its true that social networking is when a person uses already existing contacts to meet old friends,  new people as potential social or business links. Such links, in turn, will help expand future connections. Small and local businesses can even do this simply by attending community events or participating in trade shows. Am glad that the Ugandan corporate generation is taking this trend especially in attending community events.

I realize that it is not always about how you leave each other but what you leave in each while you leave. The promised FISH has kept me thinking about a person for all these years and led to finding the ever good friend of mine.

Til next time..!!

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Is that all that social media can be?

In the communication context, when someone mentions "MEDIA", the 1st thought is radio, newspaper and TV. When someone mentions "SOCIAL MEDIA",  the 1st thought is Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc. BUT... Is that all that social media can be? 

Media comes from the English word medium, a way through which one can communicate with the other in form of letters, posters, emails, public meetings, etc. There is also mass media whereby you communicate with a large number of people, it includes TV, News, internet etc. Today, social media is often understood as a group of new kinds of online media, which share relative characteristics. These are mostly web-based and mobile technologies(means) that are used to turn communication into interactive dialogue. The characteristics are; participation, openness, conversation, community and connectedness. So, in this sense the basic forms of social media are social networks like facebook, wikis like wikipedia, podcasts like Apple iTunes, content communities like Flickr, del.icio.us, Youtube  and micro-blogging. A best example of micro-blogging is Twitter. 

“A good way to think about social media is that all of this is actually just about being human beings. Sharing ideas, cooperating and collaborating to create art, thinking and commerce, vigorous debate and discourse, finding people who might be good friends, allies and lovers – it’s what our species that has built several civilisations on. That’s why social media is spreading so quickly, not because it’s great shiny, whizzy new technology, but because it lets us be ourselves.” (Antony Mayfield. 2008, What is Social Media?

From all the above, do we see the in-thing of social media as a recent discovery or an evolution of means of communication over time? If we are to go back to the African Tradition, on a social note, people used to interact in the most perfect way. This would include elders telling stories around a fire place, traditional dances to celebrate harvest, birth of a child or arrival of a long gone son of the soil. People really shared much during that time especially in-terms of personality and living an exemplary life. Putting that aside, when it came to communication there were use of drums played for different purposes or occurrences. For example in the kiganda culture the sagal’ agalamidde drum was played if a prominent person would be visiting a village or to inform the community that he would be visiting. In most communities, they played drums to inform the community about a death, birth of a child, local brewing of alcohol etc. But then in relation to social media today it is had to differentiate which one was a DM(twitter message), email, SMS, blog, tweet. Much as communities then were able to differentiate what each type drumming the message or information it passed on.

It is from this I tend to understand that actually social media is not a recent discovery but something that has evolved over time dating way back during the times of the African traditional society. People then sang to communicate each other, they danced to communicate to each other and please note they did not dance to earn money like today. If I am to remember when we were still young, during the Christmas season there used to be a choir which would move house to house singing Christmas hymns to pass on a message that Christ is born. But all that has gone away and the best we get the these days is a Christmas song shared on Youtube, a poem shared on facebook, a picture of baby Jesus born uploaded and shared on Flickr.

Yes, social media has evolved but we should not forget that it is much more than web based tools and materials shared to communicate to each other. Much as Chameleon, GNL, Mun G, or Angella Kalule of the Katitiki fame sing for money, there is much information shared through that and so much more.

‘Til next time...!!

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Rudimentary Technology Vs Modern Technology

It's 1836hrs and am still thinking about my stint yesterday at on of the car garages in Kisekka market down town Kampala.

Like any other normal day, I started it with the usual Kampala traffic jam and drove to one of the offices on Entebbe road. I parked somewhere behind Talenta house and entered the office. One hour later, I found the car clumped by people claiming to be Multiplex officials. "Officer, this car defaulted parking fees on 20th April, 2011." one of the officials claimed. As we argued, I realized that one of the tyres which had a clump was flat and after threatening to open a case against these guys, they quickly removed the clump and offered to meet the expenses of repairing my tyre. Quickly I headed to the tyre center. At the tyre center, the mechanic tells me the shock absorber is faulty. He quickly convinced me to drive down to Kisekka to for a replacement.

Reaching Kisekka market, the attention diverted from my faulty car to the kind of technology deployed at different points in the market. From the rudimentary technology of hitting the hell out of gadget to be loose to the modern state of the art technology of assembling and disassembling gadgets.

But later, this mechanic tried to remove the tyre and he realised there was nut which he had no spanner to remove it. Immediately he thought about a chizzel and hammer to cut the nut off the screw. On the second hammer, he broke thE wheel stud and the nut stayed their. I wondered couldn't this guy think about any other means?

He then suggested we go the people who do welding to burn off the stud and the nut. I lost one stud off the wheel. From such an experience, I wondered why didn't I run to city oil tyre center and have my tyre done and set off for my journey early. Going to Kisekka wasted alot of my time.

You could argue that kisekka is cheaper but I think the time wasted while there covers up for the money thought to be "SAVED."

I appreciate the works in Kisekka but if they could only think of upgrading their technology then life would be easy and Kisekka market would be the biggest and modern motor repair village in East Africa if not Africa.

Til next time.!!!

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A day out with a Radio & Television Technician!

Happy mid-month to you all.

Yes! The silence was due to increased work load on my desk and more sites to monitor. During the past week my home theater system got a fault. I sat down all sad with no clue on where I would take it for repair. I have the warranty cards but the thought of transporting it back to Kampala just made my hope for my darling to recover fade the more.

Two days after the half death of my darling home theater system as I walked out of my apartment, I bumped into my neighbor. "I miss the ABBA music that I have been waking to up these days what happened?" she asked. "My system got a fault and I don't know where to take it for repair" I sadly replied. She quickly told me about a technician around the trading center who repair all kinds of electronics. "This guy is the one who fixes all my gadgets once they are faulty." she emphasized.

I went back inside the house and packed my system ready to go to the techinician. She helped me with her car so I could transport it easily to the place. With her directions to the place I got there. There I was all panting to get my system into this guy's kafunda. "Officer nakwakyiira(Officer you are welcome)" he said.

After presenting him with my faulty system I started to look around his workshop. I saw a range of devices from flash disks to flat irons. etc the list is endless. In this town, this technician repairs computers, mobile phones, radios, sub-hoofer systems, DVD players, flat irons, keyboards, motorcycle wiring systems, plus many other things I could not even easily identify.

After seeing all this, my question was, How on earth is this guys able to have knowledge to get all these devices fixed?. I was so worried for my device. I decided to cancel all my plans and see how this guy would fix my system. 

One, he looked so unsettled attending to several things at once, opening all sorts devices and fixing spares with so much energy. My heart started to pump faster, I was so worried it would be the last time to see my darling. "Officer, I don't want to waste much of your time, please leave me with your contact I will call you when your system is fixed." He humbly suggested. I said I would not leave until my device is repaired.

He did repair it. I it was clear he was not sure of the fault but it got fixed. 

Me: What is the Fee? I asked as I packed it again. 

Techinician: 55,000/= only.

Me: For what expenses?

Technician: Your system is big sir it took alot of my space here.

Me: I told him I will only give 20,000/= for your service after all you did not install any spare. Did you?

Techician: You can give me want sir but that is I my fee.

I paid and left but I really want to know which technical school trains students to be experts in fixing all these devices or else this technician is just conning people of their small savings me inclusive.

Til next time.!!!

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Zipping and Unzipping: How could I have known?

Today 11:33am, I was reading from Collins D. Mugume's blog and I remembered something that I need to share. Like earlier mentioned by Albert Mucunguzi in one of his blogs, the year 1999 was a year most of us got to know that some of the things actually existed and were of some interest.

That year in Ntare School I think Computers had just been brought to the school and some of us really wanted to have a feel of the TV and deck(VCR) like devices which displayed somethings we did not understand. I hope  the use of the word we will be accepted by all who get the matter in this story. Am talking to you Albert!

Albert Mucunguzi, Josh Twin, Timothy Matsiko, Matthew Rubatsimbira, Samson(residing in Africa House), Davis Arinaitwe, Sam Kacungira, Osbert Twikirize, Micheal Babigumira and Patrick Amwiine were some of the few common figures in that tiny room. I remember we would crowd at the entrance of that room but Albert and Josh had the best skills of being inside first even if they were at the back of the group crowded at the 1 meter wide entrance. Their struggles are evident today, one of the young ICT Entrepreneurs that we have in Uganda today. Well done Ms Mwebaza Winfred you did a job.

So, One day(It must have been a Saturday) I sat down to use one of the computers. I clicked, clicked and clicked in an effort to explore and see any interesting thing I could find. I right-clicked on a  folder and saw an option "Zip Folder".

Please take note of the word "ZIP". On seeing zip, I was trying to relate that zip with the zipper on our jackets. Ha ha ha ha!!! I went ahead and selected the option, off it went zipping the folder. It must have been a big folder coz it showed a slow progress of zipping and in the due course, Ms Mwebaza appeared. She took time to see what was going on the screen."Who has done that?" she asked. All eyes went my in my direction.

"Do you know what you are doing?"

"What is Zipping?"

"Do you understand what you are doing?"

No answer was given to any of those questions. The worse was yet to come. She asked me get up and ordered me out of the Computer Room. I was red carded. "I should never see you here anymore" she emphasized as I marched out.

From that time I learnt that it was not good to just click anything without learning what it could do. The expulsion from the Computer Room created a lapse in my interaction with computer.

One year down the road, during my form four vacation I attended a computer class and the first question I asked was the meaning of zipping. I got the explanation. The tutor also advised me to always read and use the help section of any application that I would ever use. The following week I did not go back for computer class. I have learnt almost all the computer I know through reading tutorials and help sections of applications.

Surprisingly, I was in University for 3years but there is no single tutor or lecturer who ever stood to advise us to use the help sections. Maureen Agena is witness to this. The tutors for some programming courses may be advised to use tutorials.

My question is! Are the help sections of applications relevant to usage of an application or not necessary to most us who love clicking to see what will happen. "Kuteera Omukishaka kureeba ekiraarugemu"

See you all after the Cranes Win!!!!

We Gooo We Go!!!

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