The Googlization of Everything- Good or Bad for Books?

Recently, I enrolled for a course, Understanding Media by Understanding Google on Coursera andmy first assignment was to put up a write up. less than 350 words, explaining whether the digitization of books is good or bad. This is what I thought: 

The golden age of books “…was slow to take shape, suddenly glorious...”[1] but certainly not over. Perhaps the age of glamorous bookstores and museum-sized commercial libraries – built on rigid capitalist business models – is but, “quickly over”[2]. [What happened was that] the nature of the product expanded.”[3] This paradigm shift, has not just affected news, or newspapers or books. It has affected everything. Digital media explosion is changing the panorama and how we do things.
Thing is, the rules have changed. Today, “customers are in charge”[4]. People are eager to delve in to the new world of advanced technology, and their needs are increasing by the day. Digitizing books by google is good, because this means that a book sat in a New York or Milano Library but relevant for a researcher in Colombo, can now be available for rent or purchase within minutes. Thus, “instead of an economy based on scarcity, today’s is based on abundance”[5].
It is however, bad for Unions (who are said to 'dig holes' in the pocket of authors unnecessarily) and large bookstores – which have initially caused a dry up of local ‘indie’ libraries – as this affects their business models. With advanced technology and the interconnectivity that it affords, “people can find each other anywhere and coalesce around you or against you”[6]. And it is these people whom it has coalesced against, that Eric Thomas was referring to, when he said, “We’ve never been able to see what the Internet adds, we can only see what it subtracts”[7]. “It’s [perhaps then] tragic that the Internet hasn’t destroyed our tendency to paint with such a broad brush”[8].

[1] Warsh, D. "The Golden Age of Newspapers: A Short History," 8/12/2013, http://www.economicprincipals.com/issues/2013.08.12/1528.html

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

Where's His Dream Gone?

I have a brother
Gone away with the winds -
Jos, where he tickled the skies
And dwelled between warm jaws.

We - the house and I will loathe
And curse his luck, his fate
For with lofty dreams they yoked him
And ushered him like a sheep.

Don't they slay on mountains high,
Sheep for wanton sacrifice, worship?
His blood mingled with a multitude
Dreams, nightmares, fantasies.
As they merried between boulders.

Sadly, when his blood let go,
His identity went with it in the wind;
Didn't you see the whirlwind above the hills?
Stirred by the wrench from beneath?

A thousand rains are now lined,
Father sky will blot the trace
Then his blood will cry
From beneath the soil where his dream went.

JOS

Dear Jos, of three scars whipped...
I heard, tore into your back again.
My darling, who'll save thee?

WHAT DO BABIES DREAM OF?

What do babies dream...
Of? lily petaled valleys
And flowing cisterns that water them?
Of streams that in ensemble,
Sing to the forests, and
Calms the pupae that spins the silk?
Of a land plush in panorama
Cast in front of a sinking sun,
Red, tired and a reminder that life's in a circle?

What do babies dream of?

OUTSOURCING NIGERIA'S YOUTH

I recently signed up for the Budget 2014 Jam with the Minister for Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, an attempt to get young people involved in the budget process of the Federation. It is an all inclusive virtual interaction. I wrote up a post, which I intended young people to deliberate on. Kindly find the post beneath. I hope you will find time to sign up, and join in the discussion. It is about Nigeria, outsourcing its youth, amidst youth bulge and increasing competition for limited jobs.

"Nigeria has an abundance of youth. In fact, based on the recent UN Youth report, which highlighted youth bulge and a lacking strategy by governments in Africa to come with the sudden rise in youthful population amidst dwindling jobs, amount hugely to restiveness and conflict in Africa.

However, while lots of Africa countries suffer from a seemingly educational gap between the older generation and the youth as regards modern realities and paradigm shifts, Nigeria has taken the lead in the opposite direction. Our educational institutions might not be the best around, but some youth manage to get decent enough education to compete averagely with their international peers. Most recently, private hands have taken the issue in their hands, and even though a part of government budget is still assigned to scholarships, private sector funding in seeking overseas education for Nigeria's young population is massive.

By private sector, I mean parents, guardians, corporate sponsorships, and massive remittances that in 2012, accounted for more than Foreign Direct Investment, in AID trickling in to Africa. Today, Nigerians seek education all over the world, to stay abreast with the ever increasing competition for millennial jobs, and jobs of the future.

However, the growing gaps in neighbors, mean that they continue to suffer conflict, and these conflicts will threaten the peace and sovereignty of Nigeria. In years past, there has been a Corps Programme for professionals to live and work in selected countries in Africa. While I will argue that these professionals are best needed back in Nigeria to support in nation building now that there is massive inroads with infrastructural development, I support a programme where Nigerian youth are encouraged to take up short term job opportunities in other countries, in selected sectors, including education, development, medical services, transport and maintenance, manufacturing, etc; as are required in building the skills and regional understanding of the Nigerian youth.

While work abroad experiences have been proven to contribute massively in developing managerial and leadership skills of young people including their adaptability to new cultural and work environments and understanding how to manage culture shocks, the experiences become massive once these youth return home to Nigeria, where the experience they have gained, help them fit in seamlessly in to vital sectors of the economy, including social enterprise.

Like the internship positions with the various international organizations like the International Financial Corporation, ECOWAS, African Development Bank, etc, I believe developing a Youth Work Abroad Scheme will provide a means for young Nigerians to have a first travel experience, understand culture shock, and adapt to increasing changes in the atmosphere and demands of the work place."

Follow the thread here

BRITISH COUNCIL BRINGS EDUCATION UK EXHIBITIONS 2014 TO ABUJA

Recently, I was contacted by an advertising company to run a Twitter campaign for the British Council's Education UK’s #BCcreateyourfuture exhibition which held in Abuja, Nigeria on Wednesday 19th February at the Transcorp Hilton. I was identified as an online influencer in the greater Abuja area, and it was indeed a humbling experience, as I worked together with mentors, friends and top industry professionals.

It was as interesting a campaign, as it was daunting to deliver, as I also had the opportunity to learn about the education offerings available from atleast 161 institutions in the United Kingdom. Education UK is the British Council’s official website for international students who are interested in a UK education. In 2012, the website received two million unique visitors worldwide. The British Council’s Education UK team connects international students with UK education. Annually, they run exhibitions which results in admissions, scholarships and a platform for would-be students to know everything they need about opportunities in the UK.

Here is a custom timeline widget of the Twitter campaign.

Tweets about "#BCcreateyourfuture from:kolokennethk"

It was great working together with top brands in making this a success, and I'm particularly grateful to Blossom Nnodim, who worked with me directly in Abuja, as usual, like a boss, a friend and mentor.

I'd Cry You A River

I want to call your name -

To scream it forth from my depths. 

But you've placed a curse to my lips, a spell to silence!

So I scream through my eyes;

Wet at the corners.

I groan your name with thumping heartbeats

I'd cry you a river, what do I care? 

My demons are here again anyways; 

But this once, have time chanced me to love thee

ABUJA (8)

And the clouds have covered the skyline

Like migrant lovers; 

Ready to piss on Abuja's fertility.

A KISS IN YOUR SLEEP

My demons are here again
I'm cursed to watch you sleep
Depths of your slumber
Brings me wallow in stares
Thy long lithe frame
Wont for wrappers
Of my bossom's cusps of warmth
The calm of your face
Tells of the air of peace
As I crave a kiss in your sleep

OFFLINE GOES ONLINE – SOCIAL MEDIA FOR SOCIAL GOOD

Kolo Kenneth Kadiri (@KoloKennethK)

Social media has sacked regimes and governments; it has taken a product to the corners of the world, in a phenomenal way that conventional media could never anticipate. Social media is helping to break barriers, and helping to create new job patterns of the future. Wherever you look, offline is going online. But before the latest technology boom, people like Melinda Gates would have to fly to the problem to help find a solution. Mrs. Gates tells www.entrepreneur.com of when she first visited India and realized the people there shared the same dreams of other people in the world but lacked the resources and infrastructure to achieve them. Trying to help these people was time-consuming, as often the initiatives would take longer to implement than the trip.

Times have changed. While Gates does continue travel to developing countries under the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, she, along with others, are also using technology to make a difference. In the early days of Twitter and Facebook, many nonprofits opted to have one person—or a small team of staff members—manage their social-media communications. But as the number of social networks has grown and more people have started using them, it’s a good idea to take advantage of the wealth of options and ditch your centralized strategy. In fact, it is downright impractical, according to Allyson Kapin and Amy Sample Ward, co-authors of Social Change Anytime, Everywhere: How to Implement Online Multichannel Strategies to Spark Advocacy, Raise Money, and Engage Your Community. Ms. Kapin and Ms. Ward say charities that share online-communications responsibilities are more likely to reach more people and build deeper relationships with their supporters through social networks.

It's obvious the rise of social media has allowed for more conversations, interactions and sharing between people. But it doesn't need to just be centered around Miley Cyrus's 'Twerking-gate', Ifeoluwa Ojukutu’s false life or “Oga at the top” videos. Now social entrepreneurs are able to use social media to instigate change. One example is charity: water's birthday campaign, where people can ask friends to donate to clean water, instead of giving them a gift. Products, applications and services that entrepreneurs are developing are being utilized across locations. One example Gates laid out was a mobile app used by people in Nairobi, which allows experts all over the world to talk to entrepreneurial farmers in developing countries on how to best harvest crops or best practices for planting vegetables.

Somewhere in Abuja, Nigeria; Blossom Nnodim and her team at #AdoptATweep™ – Abuja’s foremost and largest offline gathering are strategizing on how to enlarge their event offering – from the number of cycle events, to size of audience, curricula ­– and their list of sponsors and collaborators. Their idea is to create a hub where online conversations bring real-life benefits to netizens, who overtime realize they belong to the same tribes. In 2013, they curated Mashable’s Social Good Summit in Abuja, being one of the few independent organizations to concurrently hold the event which was hosted across the world by UNDP. Their idea of social media is quite unique, as the strongly encourage offline to go online, then come back offline, because they say when conversations completely remain online, it encourages people to live near impossible lives. But returning offline, help people to return back to earth, and realize that where the impact is most needed, is offline, than online; social media thus, remain only a tool/platform for easy, speedy and articulate interaction for the right action for change.

In September of 2012, I traveled 3 hours from Jos to attend the 3^rd edition of #AdoptATweep. It felt very awesome to be applauded to have to come from that far, to learn how to do more online. By April 2013, I was now living in Abuja, and was a speaker at the 2^nd Edition of 2013, giving a testimonial of how much #AdoptATweep had impacted my life, as an online marketer and virtual brand manager. By June, I had joined the team, and we were rehearsing and shooting the #AdoptATweep video. In December 2013, I was announced the Operations Lead for #AdoptATweep in 2014. Though it has been a meteoric rise for me, it’s been a passionate journey for me – a youth networker, seeking for innovative ways to band together people of same ideological tribes. We surely can no longer take for granted, the ability of people to migrate from physical cultural tribes to online ideological tribes. From providing a platform for Yusuf Leinge (www.yusufleinge.com) to tell his story of advocating increases interest in education, to young entrepreneurs meeting investors, partners and venture capitalists at gatherings like #AdoptATweep, going online has never been taken so seriously.

Culled from http://www.customernewsng.com/2014/01/offline-goes-online-social-media-for_9.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter