Monthly Archive for March, 2010

The “5C’s” for a successful web site.

Published on March 28, 2010 in Uncategorized. 12 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , .

I hear it all the time – people complaining that their web sites are not delivering the results they expected. Usually, this is after they have spent thousands or even millions of shillings and are not seeing an iota of the massive returns they had hoped for. So, what went wrong?! More often than not, its not what went wrong but rather their web sites we’re broken from the time they went live. By saying that these web sites are broken I mean that they do not conform to five key principles that are needed for a web site to succeed. I call these the “5C’s” for a successful web site.

The first C for a successful web site is content. Content is the very thing that keeps people coming back to a web site, time and again. It is not just the amount of content that matters but also how frequently it is updated and whether its relevant to the targeted audiences. In addition, content is not just limited to text but rather also includes video, audio and other forms of content for download. The funny thing is that most businesses do have lots of content but they don’t put it on their web sites, or they don’t have it online in the right quantity, or quality.

The second C is for commerce. A business web site has to have a commercial focus if it is to be successful. This can be by driving direct sales online through e-commerce or could be lead generation that eventually leads to offline sales via a sales force or call center. This means that a web site has to be built with this focus in mind so that users are explicitly or implicitly channeled to a sales oriented action. One of the emerging ways of doing this is having real-time live chat on your web site to help customers and prospects make a buying decision. Its also about ensuring you invest in internet marketing to increase the visibility of your web site.

The third C is for community. Today, its almost a no-brainer that your web site needs to be about more than your corporate profile and offerings. Successful web sites have features or extensions that encourage a sense of community. These features can be a blog, discussions forums, opinion polls and online surveys. They can also be links to social media such as Facebook fan pages, Twitter profiles, YouTube channels and LinkedIn groups. Ultimately, its about engaging customers and prospects in an interactive manner where they “belong” to your web site.

The fourth C is for context. Context is basis upon which your web site  is relevant or not to your target audiences. If your web site is not contextually relevant whether its for product information or media downloads then it will not succeed. The easiest way to ensure that context is achieved on a web site is to ask the users what they would like to see on the web site. From this point of view, email feedback forms and even social media can provide low-cost and effective user feedback channels.

The fifth and final C is for continuity. More often than not, web sites go live but are not maintained or managed for continuity. What I mean in this respect, for instance, has the very real prospect of a web site being hacked at any given time been considered? The consequence of such an action could be loss of business and trust, especially where services such as e-commerce are concerned. Yes, continuity is exceptionally important for a successful web site which means regular backups, up-to-date back-end applications, secure hosting and proactive monitoring need to be the order of the day.

Now that Kenya’s “Makmende” is global, who owns the brand?

Published on March 27, 2010 in Uncategorized. 3 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , .

What a week its been! Kenya and the world have been flooded by the Makmende phenomenon. The first Kenyan super hero as seen in the “ha-he” music video by Kenyan boy band “Just A Band”. Makmende has taken on a life of his own, quite literally. People all over the web are buzzing about Makmende including the Wall Street Journal. He has almost 20,000 fans on his Facebook page and so far almost 600 twitter followers (although Makmende follows no one!).

What I find even more interesting is that digital artists have gone to work and started making user generated images that depict Makmende in all sorts of funny and interesting “super hero” situations. Take for instance the one where he is re-worked as Leonidas leading his 300 Spartans from the movie of the same name or the iconic Obama “Hope” image re-worked with Makmende’s likeness and, not to mention, the GQ and Esquire Magazine front covers. It really is a huge and notable Makmende movement out there that Kenya and the world have taken to with so much gusto.

So, here is the next big question. Makmende has obviously become a fad and may even go so much further to become a venerable Kenyan entertainment brand. But, who exactly “owns” brand Makmende? I can already hear the printing machines going off this weekend and t-shirts as well as other Makmende merchandise hitting the streets of Nairobi by next week – this is going to happen for sure! (that’s if it hasn’t happened already). Meanwhile, Just A Band, who created brand Makmende may not see a cent from their creation if they do not secure copyrights right away (I certainly hope they have already started!). Most importantly, they should have at least signed some sort of agreement with the character who plays Makmende in their video to have exclusive rights.

Going forward, seeing that Makmende has pioneered the concept of internet viral marketing in Kenya on a global scale, the next thing I would like to see is how the brand is managed and how it can be monetized to the benefit of the brand creators – Just A Band. It may already be too late but time will tell.

I see huge prospects for Kenyan brands to partner with brand Makmende in commercials and other promotional initiatives. There certainly is potential and it will be exciting to see which brave Kenyan brands ride this wave for commercial gain. Personally, I have (already) made gains from Makmende through the post I made earlier this week that saw this blog featured on the Wall Street Journal and hit almost 20,000 visits (so far) this month. Makmende is definitely delivering super hero results to all who mention him! (But don’t tell him I said that!).

Kenya ICT Board to host “Connected Government” meeting.

Published on March 25, 2010 in Uncategorized. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , .

The Kenya ICT Board in partnership with listed telecoms operator Safaricom will host the Connected Government Summit from the 29th of March to 1st April 2010 at Leisure Lodge Resort in Diani. The Connected Government Summit, the brainchild of the Kenya ICT Board in consultation with industry players and key government decision makers, aims to establish a platform for collaboration, building capacity and sharing priorities between the government and the IT sector with a view to linking and hastening implementation of government IT projects to world-class standards.

Speaking about the Summit Paul Kukubo, CEO, Kenya ICT Board commented: “The Board created the Connected Government Summit to establish a platform upon which the government and the private sector come together to deliberate on key priority areas and identify areas for partnership that will deliver services to the public in a harmonious and timely manner. We expect this to be a successful event particularly in regards to speaking to the role that shared services plays in Kenya Vision 2030.”

Mr.Kukubo reiterated that in the backdrop of the gazetted regulations governing public private partnerships (PPPs), there were opportunities for government to work closely with private sector to implement key projects to help Kenya attain the goals of the Kenya Vision 2030 – especially to create wealth and employment for Kenyans while delivering better services to citizens.

“We have invited and confirmed that several key Permanent Secretaries, Members of Parliament, and other senior government officials will be attending this important event. We are committed to delivering results for Kenyans – better services through the adoption of ICT. We want to thank all our sponsors, Safaricom, Oracle, NetApp, and Microsoft for their generous sponsorship which has helped to make this Summit possible,” says Mr. Kukubo.

Some of the key ICT projects the Kenya ICT Board is facilitating with remarkable success include digitization of records at Ministry of Lands, Company Registry and the Judiciary. Some of these will be showcased during the Summit and best practice shared across ministries.

Speaking during the launch of the summit, Safaricom CEO Michael Joseph said: “As a major player in Kenya’s fixed and mobile data market, Safaricom recognizes the government’s position as a key buyer and catalyst of demand for ICT and data products, which is why we are partnering with the Kenya ICT Board as the lead sponsor for this meeting,” said Safaricom CEO Michael Joseph.

He added: “Data products and services, if strategically deployed, can be used as an efficient and cost-effective tool for better delivery of public services. Safaricom has the products and services and backed by a wide customer base, is willing and ready to partner with government in this quest.”

Mr Joseph hoped the workshop would help forge sustained dialogue between the public and private sectors in the ICT and data space, which is key to coming up with optimal solutions for customers and citizens. Already, he noted, a majority of the estimated 3.5 million Internet users in Kenya access the internet through Safaricom services.

With increased use of the internet among Kenyans on the back of recent improvements in the country’s data infrastructure, the opportunity for providing government services online is tremendous. The theme for Connected Government 2010 this year is: Shared services to drive down cost to citizens.

About Connected Government:

Connected Government Summit has three main objectives. The first is to build capacity of the senior government officials in the implementation of ICT projects towards their transformed public services provision. The second, to increase the understanding of the participants of shared services, managed services and Public Private Partnership rules as well as their potential for supporting transformation in ICT projects. Lastly, the Connected Government Summit aims to provide a platform for the senior government officials to network with each other and to form lasting fruitful relationships for future partnerships with the various companies represented there.

About Kenya ICT Board:

The Kenya ICT Board was established by HE President Mwai Kibaki, as a state corporation under the State Corporations Act Cap. 446 on 19th February 2007.

The Kenya ICT Board’s mission is to champion and actively enable Kenya to adopt and exploit ICT, through promotion of partnerships, investments and infrastructure growth for socio economic enrichment. Its vision is that Kenya becomes a top ten global ICT hub by 2030. Visit www.ict.go.ke

About Safaricom:

Formed at the turn of the decade as part of the liberalization of Kenya’s telecoms sector through a joint venture between Vodafone of the UK and the government of Kenya, Safaricom has firmly established its credentials as a regional leader, spawning a virtual telecoms revolution in Kenya. In 2008, it successfully listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange through a landmark initial public offering (IPO) and actively trades on the commercials counter. Growing from its cradle in mobile voice services, Safaricom has evolved into a total telecoms company. Safaricom, which has a subscriber base of over 15 million, offers all telecoms services under one roof: mobile and fixed voice and data services on a variety of platforms: Kenya’s widest and only 3G network; a growing fibre optic cable footprint and WIMAX technology. For more details please go to: http://www.safaricom.co.ke/

Program Thematic Areas:

Shared Services in government: What success will look like – case studies
Government anchor ICT projects: What we are doing and how far we have come
Breaking down the ‘Silo’ in Government : How can technology help
The role of local innovation
Managing data in Government
E-Commerce: Payment gateways and solutions
Smart Technology to deliver better citizen services

PARTNERS INVOLVED

The primary partners of the initiative are Safaricom and Kenya ICT Board.
Other partners include Oracle, Microsoft, NetApp and Seven Seas Technologies.

Other than sponsorships, the partners will be bringing together experts in the various subjects to facilitate conversations about the topics to be covered at the workshops. Additionally, government officials will present some of the key ICT projects that are transformational in nature.

Nokia OVI Meetup at Blancos.

Published on March 25, 2010 in Uncategorized. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , , , , , , .

Here is a link to some photos I took at last night’s Nokia OVI meetup at Blancos in Hurlingham, Nairobi. The event was organized to bring together the media and technology bloggers to better understand the various and very interesting applications and services that are available on Nokia’s OVI platform. As I quickly learned, there are many things I did not know you could do on OVI using my phone so I do plan to start doing so as soon as possible! You can view the pictures from the meetup here>

Is Makmende Kenya’s first “viral” Internet sensation?

Published on March 23, 2010 in Uncategorized. 26 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

Something amazing is afoot! I am not sure when it started but its certainly gone viral by the time I am writing about it. Its exciting, hilarious and even serious stuff, all at the same time. What am I talking about? Unless you’ve been offline for the better part of two weeks its Kenya’s first viral Internet sensation, and his name is Makmende! Yes. Makmende is something to smile about! He is Kenya’s first super hero and boy does he rock! He lives more or less online and a look at his web site www.makmende.com will certainly crack you up! Until last week, I had never heard of the now famous Makmende. A detailed “expose” on Makmende can be found on the popular Archer blog here> Whatever the case is, Kenya has its first viral Internet hit – the man, the super hero, Makmende! Check out this cool Makmende video below:

Loopnet – Free Internet comes to Kenya.

Published on March 22, 2010 in Uncategorized. 16 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , .

If you have a WIFI enabled phone or computer in Nairobi, you probably have seen at one point or another over the last few months a network called Loopnet that offers free internet access. I had planned to write here about Loopnet over a month ago but they had not yet officially “launched” at the time (in fact, they don’t seem to have a web site yet although they are advertising in a certain supermarket chain). Loopnet is apparently being “powered” by Kenya Data Networks (KDN) from what I have heard.

I have used Loopnet on one occasion on Mombasa road but in most other locations in Nairobi it does not seem to work (strange?). However, when it does, its actually free internet access with one caveat – you get ads displayed at the top of your web browser. I think Loopnet is an excellent idea and it represents some innovation in terms of the traditional Internet Service Provider (ISP) business models of billing for usage on either an unlimited monthly basis or on a data capped basis.

My impression is that Loopnet is just getting started and they need to extend their service to many of Nairobi’s suburbs where Internet usage is bound to be very high. I also expect the service will largely appeal to the home user and not necessarily the business user who would want a reliable and fast Internet service, all the time.

I’m keen to see how many users Loopnet will have on their service once its fully operational in most of Nairobi (and the rest of Kenya?) as this would be key to attracting advertisers to sustain their services. In addition, as it always seems to be the case, other ISPs’ in the marketplace are bound to experiment with the ad-driven model for free Internet as well – so only time will tell how it fairs. Meanwhile, enjoy free Internet on Loopnet!

Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) filing more taxes online.

Published on March 18, 2010 in Uncategorized. 8 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

In the newspapers this week is a fairly prominent ad promoting the fact that a good number of taxes can now be filed online with the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA). Last year in July 2009 I had written an article about the announcement from KRA that they would launching their Integrated Tax Management System (ITMS) online to let a few taxes be filed online. It looks like since then the a whole gamut of taxes can now be done online as follows:

  • Monthly VAT Returns.
  • Withholding Tax Returns.
  • Individual Income Tax Returns for Residents.
  • Individual Income Tax Returns for Non-Residents.
  • Withholding Income Tax Returns.
  • Land Rent Returns.
  • Sugar Development Levy Returns.
  • Turnover Tax Returns.
  • Standards Returns.
  • Returns for VAT on Imported Services.

President Kibaki Praises Social Media at Conference.

Published on March 18, 2010 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Currently on-going in Nairobi is the much awaited and marketed Pan-Africa Media Conference 2010. The conference is also a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Nation Media Group which has operations throughout East Africa. The conference is running from today (18th March 2010) and will end tomorrow Friday the 19th March 201o.

I’m kind of upset that I could not attend the conference due to work obligations today and the same case tomorrow but I have been online following what is happening there. For me, what has to be a defining moment for social media in Kenya is this excerpt from President Mwai Kibaki’s speech:

“The increased access to mobile phones and the internet has given rise to new media that resonates well with our young population.  However even those of us born before the computer age, appreciate the contribution of these new avenues of communication.  Indeed, the advent of citizen journalism has become possible because of tools such as SMS, blogs, and social networking websites such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Myspace.”

What?! Now, this goes to show that social media has “arrived” in the mainstream consciousness when the President is talking about the importance blogs, Facebook and Twitter! Times are certainly a changing!

Nokia Research Centre Africa (NRC-Africa) research insights and milestones.

Published on March 16, 2010 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , .

The Nokia Research Center Africa (NRC-Africa) is part of the global Nokia Research Centers which we’re founded in 1986 as part of Nokia’s corporate research unit to drive Nokia’s position as a technology thought leader. NRC-Africa was unveiled in Kenya in 2008 to carry out research. Locally, NRC–Africa has worked with universities and NGOs to carry out research meant to solve local problems, and help Nokia better understand the needs of its customers. NRC-Africa is part of seven research centers globally.

Earlier this morning, Nokia’s Jussi Impio, Mokeira Masita-Mwangi and Dorothy Ooko made a presentation on what NRC-Africa has achieved to-date. Initially, the focus for NRC-Africa was citizen journalism which was the first step in East Africa. NRC-Africa started with 5 researchers and today there are 18 researchers at NRC-Africa. NRC-Africa studies people in low income communities in sub-saharan africa. NRC-Africa aims to develop services and devices to best suit the  needs of African users. NRC-Africa Does field research in and with communities over the long term.

NRC-Africa also does concept design and prototyping with local teams from universities in Kenya – therefore, development happens locally. Field trials and further development happens in the field to ensure the solutions and applications meet the needs of the target users. NRC-Africa’s goals include a new approach to total cost of ownership (TCO) and business models. NRC-Africa focuses on services and devices which can spark and accelerate the growth of the grassroots economy and active citizenship in Africa. Ultimately, NRC-Africa looks to ensure economical and socio-cultural sustainability throughout Africa via Nokia’s offerings.

The two focus areas for NRC-Africa are largely within micro-economics for micro entrepreneurs and trade, informal banking, mobile payment, mobile banking and lowering the total cost of ownership (TCO), and,  social media for access, relevance of content, trust, control of content, medium and interactivity (creation and consumption of content). Mobiles already play a vital role in socio-economic development in Africa – but what if they we’re designed to do so from inception?

Incidentally, 90% of all jobs in Sub-Saharan Africa are in micro entrepreneurship. According to NRC-Africa, there are (potentially) lots of opportunities in (mobile) social media for micro entrepreneurs. As a result, Self help groups are a big focus for NRC-Africa especially with low income groups.  70% of the population in Sub Saharan Groups are in self-help groups. Individuals in Africa can be part of 2 or 3 self help groups at the same time which leads to social capital being shared across the groups.

NRC-Africa has a project called “Young Africa” – the average age of project participants is 18 years old and hence its heavily youth focused. Young Africa aims to understand the role of communications, ICT and mobile technology in providing tools and opportunities for youth empowerment. NRC-Africa’s first project at inception was “JAMMS” which was focused on the music industry in informal African settlements. A key driver for this project was that there are over 10 million musicians in informal African settlements.

Another NRC-Africa project is family planning where they are carrying out a study to better understand the socio-cultural factors in population growth as well as developing acceptable and effective mobile tools for family planning. An interesting aspect about NRC-Africa is that it works closely with the University of Nairobi and the University of Stanford for research work.

NRC-Africa also has a project to build sustainable businesses in the knowledge economy where they work with Infodev, the Finnish Foreign Ministry and the World Bank. This project aims to develop an African Research and Development (R&D) ecosystem through innovations centers. Looking forward, NRC-Africa is planning to roll out projects and research for solutions in anti-corruption, m-governance, citizen journalism, deforestation. Going forward, research findings from NRC-Africa will be published and shared to the general public. Here are photos from today’s event and below is a video from NRC-Africa:

Social Media Redefines Brand Engagement.

Published on March 15, 2010 in Uncategorized. 2 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , .

This is an article I wrote that was published in this week’s East African Newspaper. You can read it here or the full unedited version below:

Shh…listen…your customers and prospects are talking about your brand. Can you hear them? Its happening right now, even as you read these words. They don’t care whether you like it or not but they are saying exactly and brutally what they think of your brand, both good and bad. The thing is, if your not paying attention, your brand could be getting battered without you even knowing it. Its a well-known fact that people are more influenced by the opinion of your brand from a happy or irate customer than any amount of marketing or public relations you can afford to spend money on will. And thats the funny thing about social media, it really does redefine the rules of brand engagement, even right here in East Africa.

Its shocking how many venerable East African brands are being discussed both positively and negatively through social media such as Blogs, Facebook and Twitter. These conversations are increasingly important to the reputation of our brands as they are being carried out on web sites that are some of the most popular Internet destinations in the region. The fact that Twitter and Facebook for instance are used by a majority of Internet users in East Africa means that brands need to pay attention to these conversations on an on-going basis. The traditional routes of market research, public relations and marketing are no longer sufficient to maintaining brand leadership in this day and age.

For more or less the first time in history, social media has empowered the customer in a manner never before possible. Their voices can be heard by millions whereas before they we’re simply ignored since brands more or less communicated in monologue. Social media demands a dialogue with the customer for a brand to maintain its market position. Therefore, it is for this very reason that social media is an extremely powerful marketing and customer service opportunity that can grow brands efficiently. This is known as inbound marketing where social media is used in an interactive manner to grow business and improve service delivery unlike one-way and significantly more expensive traditional media.

However, the thing about social media is that since its dialogue-driven, brands must spend time simply listening to what is being said about them before engaging in conversations. The listening helps the brand understand the tone and character of the conversations going on before formulating a strategy for engagement. Once this is done, the brand can then start engaging in dialogue in the most appropriate manner possible. In East Africa, for instance, Kenya Airways have turned to social media in a very progressive manner. They have a popular Facebook Fan Page and even use Twitter for regular flight updates. They also have a YouTube channel where they upload all their video content for all to see. Another popular East African brand that is using social media is Bata who regularly update their Facebook Fan Page and are highly interactive on their Twitter communications.

Unfortunately, Kenya Airways and Bata are just a couple of the few East African brands who are using social media to strategically enhance their marketing and customer service. There are so many more brands in East Africa that really need to start using social media as aggressively as they use more traditional media today. The best part about social media is that its free or nearly free to use and so really its more a question of investing in resources rather than money to make it work for the brand. Its also early days so there is alot of experimenting required on social media but there are emerging practices that work all over on the Internet.

Global brands that have managed use social media as cornerstones of their branding strategies include Coca Cola, Starbucks, and Dell. Coca Cola has actually reduced its focus on building their own brand-focussed web sites and they are now using social media more intensively instead. Starbucks use social media to improve their menu offerings and market special offers at their restaurants. Dell use social media to generate sales for their products by running special offers that are earning them millions of dollars every month. So, indeed, social media can make our East African brands more successful on a global basis.