- Let 2014 to be the year we focus on how to be social not how to do social not about the management, reporting and analytic tools and all that makes us sound smart?
- I know guys who want to know more about social but not from trends published abroad, not from gurus blogging from the west, Europe or India, not from sponsored reports, not from shady stats that make beautiful info graphics but from people locally who understand a thing or two about social media. Let’s have more of meetups, talks and mini conferences to share knowledge and insights.
- I hope to see reports published here with local stats, insights and recent data in 2014. I am not a big fan of these popular international reports and social media trends that don’t seem to make much sense here.
- Am also optimistic there could be a social media major in one local University maybe a few units on new media in some MBA course. There’s need to address the talent shortage & get some form of credentials to this industry.
- In 2014 can we also form a professional body for social media people to add on to that Facebook group, maybe offer certified training to its members, have events? Anyone?
- Can the leading digital agencies blog more often? Share their lessons? Tricks & big hacks? What ideas worked and for who and why? What failed and the lessons? Are we ready for that kind of transparency? Are we there yet? Let’s just not brag about awards we’ve won for our work and showcase the agency culture!
- 2014 will be the year when we see more integrated marketing programs & well executed campaigns in Kenya combining social, mobile, traditional media and experiential.
- The coming year we’ll witness brands out of social media puberty hit their social maturity; they’ll be more specific about where they allocate budgets within social media use fewer channels, do less but bigger campaigns and more targeted social media efforts.
- How about an end to the #SomeoneTellXYZ bullshit?
- I foresee multinationals setting up regional hybrid social media command centers, recruit more in-house social media guys.
- To pause and reflect on where this social media thing is heading the impact & threats and what else we can add to it.
- Let this coming year be the year we tweet things we’d like to read, to publish blogs we’d love to read and share with friends, to share stuff we’d find helpful It’s that simple.
- Can brands post less to listen more and respond timely? Taking a break from social media over the weekend or holiday is unacceptable in 2014. Brands also need to start ‘talking with’ consumers not ‘talking at’.
- Can the president also start engaging netizens? A bit of replies on your tweets, comments on our questions?Make the presidency a lil bit more social?
Monday 16 December 2013
‘Things’ I Hope to See in Kenya: 14 Social Media Predictions for 2014
Social Media in Kenya and why you don’t have to do social in 2014
If
you are reading this probably you’re on MKZ—by default Facebook allows you to
add good looking people you may
know so you’ve probably hit the 5K limit
well done. Depending on the friends you have your newsfeed could
be full of baby photos or some scary stuff
or the good. I assume you’ve also been to YouTube in 2013, seen videos
buffer due to your slow connection and your education, life and professional credentials
are well laid out on LinkedIn. Maybe you’ve heard about Pinterest but you still
don’t get the pin –what- you’re-
interested in on boards-- you create thing. Being the social ninja you are
am sure you’ve clicked on a link that redirected you to something called
SlideShare, Tumblr, this blog, wordpress, Flickr, Vimeo and Google always wants
you to +1 pals to your circles on an island called Google + among other places
you’ve ended up on the internet.
You’ve
been to a few events mingled, seen bigwigs live tweet using
#tags—conference brag post the
nice food you ate the vintage
clothes they wore upload
selfies with the beautiful, good looking & at times famous people on Instagram. And by the way if you check into
some place often you can become a mayor on something called Foursquare it’s very popular with people who visit,
pass by or think about nice places. I don’t use it I love the indoors.
And
there’s Whatsapp. My friends say it’s addictive, very popular with boys because
girls are on it its
top of my New Year wish list J
And
it’s not going to get any better in 2014 because we’ve become slaves to our
gadgets. We walk down the streets heads down, wired earphones on humming, staring into glowing screens
while the world passes by doing the same. And yet we’re convinced that we are
more connected to each other than ever before.
Thanks
to all that some of us must carry chargers almost everywhere to stay plugged in never to miss out on anything WTH.
In
2013 Samsung introduced some range of devices designed for humans your
life’s companion WTF! Mmh does that make owners of older Samsung models
aliens?
Social
media is addictive, a lot more like sex; actually harder to resist than sex;
sadly brands on the other end are still behaving like horny teenagers. 2013 was
the year Kenya’s social media hit puberty
there’s was lot to try out, see how it works, explore and watch as
it grows mistakes were made,
hearts were broken, expectations weren’t met guys were unhappy but vowed to try
again! Above all people still talk about social networking, everyone wants to
get it right some are surprised
that after all it wasn’t their silver bullet.
In
2013 businesses are still struggling to get your attention the proper way,
reach, engage and interact with you in a conversation. Most of them want to achieve
that through ads, give aways, offers, promos, great content in context & cool
sticky ideas or through a customer service team that keyboard ninjas can harass
when there’s nothing else to do.
This
was also the year popular platforms explored better ways of unlocking ads on
mobile by making them engaging less
annoying, more targeted….but how exactly is Facebook’s plan on their video ads
by the way? Would you play one? Isn’t serving ads on Twitter a bit like airing
an ad in the middle of a phone conversation? Seen those YT ads? Those few seconds before
“Skip the Ad” seem like
eternity somehow these
platforms weren’t built to display ads.
If
you work in marketing, PR, Comms, as the influencer in residence at that agency
or freelance as a social media strategist
whatever those people do
you’ve probably done presentations in 2013 with stats and case
studies on why social media is the biggest shift after the agrarian and
industrial revolution. You’ve also shared great social ideas with your boss;
got a go ahead but the finance guys screwed you on the budget and
the accountant asked for a receipt for the Facebook ads J. Stay focused 2014 will
be your big year.
Thanks
to you [the social media guy] your boss now believes in social and understands
what it is & how it works. The agencies now have to pitch in with hard
figures, tight workable ideas with some + ROI & original concepts because
you’ve been to all corners of the internet to tell what they copied or stolen. Your
understanding of all put an end to the colourful but confusing reports full of
buzzwords and vanity metrics from agencies, you’ve also ensured they do real
work and get paid reasonable fees
for that excellent job you now
sit at the table of men when anything digital, social, mobile e.t.c. is on the
agenda.
The
Facebook guy/Intern became a full time social media officer in 2013, some graduate
bloggers now work as social media managers in-house, and influential guys on
social media are cooling their heels as community managers somewhere it was indeed a great year.
Finally
in 2013 more traditional ad, PR and experiential agencies added social to their
offerings just so they don’t miss out on this cake. And some agencies integrated
& there were acquisitions too. Are they making money? Yes! 2014 will be more competitive.
The
lost---unfriendly—not so social brands have led to the rapid growth of digital
and social media agencies in 2013. For that reason social media skills are
highly in demand and the talented social media guy is now a respected well paid
professional.
In
August we had SOMA Awards that recognized & awarded the brands, individuals
and campaigns that hacked social well in 2012-13….did you learn anything about
what sets the winners apart? I don’t know---so you tell me!
Now
back to you the brand manager, the business owner, the guy paying for these services.
Did
social make any business sense to you in 2013? How much did you directly spend
on social media efforts? Are you getting it right? Do you even understand a bit
of this thing yet? If no let 2013 be the year you quit counting your Twitter
followers weekly, Facebook fans you’ve added after those giveaways, hits on
your website and views on your YouTube videos. Leave that to interns to worry
about J
Still
unhappy? PAUSE- Lets thinks about a social or no--social 2014 together
There
are businesses out there making many millions a year in profits that still don’t
care about Twitter, blogs or facebook. Are they all wrong? Would you buy from
them if they started tweeting? Would their revenues double? Will their unhappy
customers return? Will they grow rapidly, outwit the competition? Spend less on
marketing & sales?
I
don’t have all the answers to these questions but I find myself thinking about
them more in between the trending topics, blog posts, viral videos and facebook
updates.
However
one sure thing is people do business with people and that happens through tight
personal relationships, by delivering great customer service, offering
excellent products competitively and it works for them. They’re more successful
than most of those businesses on social media looking out for latest tech wave
to ride on. And yet they’re doing great business. Not tweeting about their
awesomeness doing what really
matters.
If
you’re still not getting this right you don’t have to be on social media in
2014. It’s not for everyone. It doesn’t work
for all of us. Or you could use it to spy on competition, gather some market intelligence,
track conversations, monitor your brands
you don’t need that page. Use that social media time to meet that
angry customer who tweets @you daily, call the guy who thinks you’re a con because
he never got the airtime he won on your page send him a gift. How about you stop
asking for email addresses & instead schedule appointments with fans interested
in your service? Stop hiding behind that page & Twitter handle J
As
the year ends I’m continually amazed by the number of people and the growth of
brands on social media in Kenya. I’m also worried by how we are spending our
time I know collectively we [Kenyans]
are the second most tweeting nation after South Africa yeah
we’re that social. We had our noisy and proud moments on social media, the
social politicians who spent more hours on Twitter campaigns got lesser votes
than their Twitter followers whatever
happened there I can’t blame anyone
Kura ziko kwa ground so
are your customers. In as much as social media places the resources of the
world at our fingertips, some Kenyans on Twitter especially have real trouble
seeing past the ends of their noses to spot the limitless possibilities there’s more to the hating, memes & nudes!
Finally
I am happy we’re getting out of “social
media puberty”---with tough lessons off course so let’s make 2014 count. Merry Christmas and a happy social 2014.
Saturday 14 December 2013
Friends, Family and Fools: Their Role and Impact on Innovation
I'd like to write about the role and impact of family, friends and fools on creativity,
innovation and entrepreneurship.
This is derived out of my experiences and other blogs and essays I read on startups, life, creativity and innovation.
Holstee Manifesto |
So here's my take.
Friends:
These are generally people you know and guys who also
know a great deal about who you are, what you do and what you’re up to.
They are the people you grew up, went to school
together, church, your current and former colleagues, mentors and your peers in
general.
When you’re thinking of starting or expanding chances
are you’ll speak to someone here regarding your big plans. Paul Graham’s
fantastic 2006 article, How to Do What You Love
says What you should not do, I think, is worry about the opinion of anyone
beyond your friends. You shouldn’t worry about prestige. Prestige is the
opinion of the rest of the world. Prestige is especially dangerous to the
ambitious. If you want to make ambitious people waste their time on errands,
the way to do it is to bait the hook with prestige. That’s the recipe for
getting people to give talks, write forewords, serve on committees, be
department heads, and so on. It might be a good rule simply to avoid any
prestigious task. If it didn’t suck, they wouldn’t have had to make it
prestigious.”
Your friends set the benchmark for you, provide some
form of social validation since they are your close network of people, at times
they’ll be your first users, customers, trusted advisors, ambassadors, first
employees or business partners or co-founders. They’ll also invest in you, or
loan you some money when you’re flat broke. They’ll give you shelter when you
can’t pay your rent….if you have a few good ones they’ll always be there J
Robert Krulwich, co-producer of
WNYC’s fantastic Radiolab,
articulates a kind of social connectedness far more meaningful and genuine than
those notions of prestige and peer validation.
“This is the era of Friends in Low Places. The ones you
meet now, who will notice you, challenge you, work with you, and watch your
back. Maybe they will be your strength”
If you can… fall in love, with the work, with people
you work with, with your dreams and their dreams. Whatever it was that got you
to this school, don’t let it go. Whatever kept you here, don’t let that go.
Believe in your friends. Believe that what you and your friends have to say…
that the way you’re saying it — is something new in the world.
The
impact: Your friends offer you psychological support, material
support and a network that generates leads, opportunities and business etc. The
values and morals you share with these friends determine your beliefs and
ethics you’ll uphold. Their appetite for risk determines how far they can
support you materially and still find you sane & ambitious. Their
definition of success and good life may shape your dreams and ambitions. Their
“Need for Change” affects what they
define as “Innovative or Realistic or what can sell”….what is a good business
idea. In short these guys have some sort of validation to make in what you’ll
do or think of doing. They can fuel, spark, nurture, drive or kill your innovativeness
Above all as Austin Kleon wisely put it, “you
are a mashup of what you let into your life. This is your life.
Do what you love, and do it often. If you don’t like something, change it. On doing
what you love, Kleon urges:
Draw the art you want to see, start the business you
want to run, play the music you want to hear, write the books you want to read,
build the products you want to use — do the work you want to see done.
Family:
This is where you were born, bred or raised. Some of us
are lucky to have a close knit family while others do not. Our families share
different beliefs or values that were inculcated in us as we grew up. Depending
on the environment you grew up in, neighbourhood, social class you belong to or
the profession of your folks and close relatives and their economic class then
that determines your chances of success or failure.
In most cases it has always been a case of Go to
School, Get good grades, go to university, get a job, work hard-[get a
promotion] buy a car---get an MBA—proceed on the ladder, a house, get married,
have kids and live happily ever after. However the crazy ones in the family
will not follow this route and chart their own paths to the –happily ever
after.
A significant number of would-be startup founders are
probably dissuaded from doing it by their parents. I'm not going to say you
shouldn't listen to them. Families are entitled to their own traditions,
beliefs and values.
Parents tend to protect their kids from risk without realizing it, also protecting them from rewards.
If your parents want you to be an engineer this could be because it's a prestigious and lucrative career sometimes
because their rich friends are engineers. [4]
But not so lucrative or prestigious as it was when their opinions were formed.
The parents who want you to be a doctor may simply not realize how much things have changed. Would they be that unhappy if you were Steve Jobs instead? According to Paul Graham of Y Combinator the way to deal with your parents' opinions about what you should do is to treat them like feature requests. Even if your only goal is to please them, the way to do that is not simply to give them what they ask for. Instead think about why they're asking for something, and see if there's a better way to give them what they need.
Parents tend to protect their kids from risk without realizing it, also protecting them from rewards.
If your parents want you to be an engineer this could be because it's a prestigious and lucrative career
The parents who want you to be a doctor may simply not realize how much things have changed. Would they be that unhappy if you were Steve Jobs instead? According to Paul Graham of Y Combinator the way to deal with your parents' opinions about what you should do is to treat them like feature requests. Even if your only goal is to please them, the way to do that is not simply to give them what they ask for. Instead think about why they're asking for something, and see if there's a better way to give them what they need.
Their
Impact: The levels of education, upbringing, wealth, social
status and common values & beliefs have some impact on your level of
success. The lessons they frequently shared with us, their mantra and how they brought
us up greatly influences our chances of success.
In some cases your family will join you in your
entrepreneurial ride as partners [You’re your brother is one of your suppliers],
investors [The rich uncle who gave you seed capital], advisors [mum is a
teacher and you’re doing an Edtech startup], professional services [E.g. if
your dad is a lawyer he handles your legal] e.t.c.
The family being the basic unit of our society greatly
impacts our growing up, our success and even the definition of it. Whatever it
is if you have an opportunity to go to school, pursue education. People say the
rich get richer and the poor get poorer. That line has a great deal of truth in
it. The family network of friends, business associates, contacts and
acquaintances can open doors that are valuable when it comes to getting things
done and landing new contracts. Am not tryna say if you come from a poor or an
average family you won’t make it but you might have to work twice as hard and
if you want to be a success at everything here are 10 things you need to stop
doing.
But what if you have a family to support? This one is
real. I wouldn't push anyone with a family to quit a job to start a startup not that it's a bad idea.
What you can do, if you have a family and want to start
a startup, is start a consulting or do a side project on the job you’re in and
you can then gradually turn that into a business. Empirically the chances of
pulling that off in a huge way seem very small. But at least you'll never be
without an income. Just have a plan in place, you got to pay the bills, provide
shelter for family, food and all that the society demands of a parent. Do not
gamble with family, don’t neglect them nor for go your responsibilities the real lesson here is to start
startups when you're young.
The Fools:
These are the guys who believe in you and find you
totally awesome in the early
days. They are the true believers….your early converts….the people you talk to
if you need some help when friends and family cannot assist. They are people
who look up to you and will support you in kind and materially don’t take their support for granted.
They will work for you on little or no salary, lend their skills in developing your
prototype, help you try out different things, lend you a soft loan occasionally,
help you clinch a deal at the place they work. Be scrupulously honest and overt
in your dealings with them, and do not use your position to gain unfair
advantage. It’s good to realize that these fools are rooting for you to
succeed, and so be grateful while accepting their help when offered. You should
also understand the power of favors, and offer and grant them whenever you can.
Most of all, remember that the journey is the reward so
the worst you can do is take advantage of them, shortchange or lie to them
deeply that it hurts. You should treat these people well on the way up to
ensure they make it nicer for you on the way back down.
Wednesday 4 December 2013
What If: The current Tech-startup scene in Kenya
Complete the following
sentence:
What if Mark Zuckerberg was a Kenyan …………
Who would have invested in him in Kenya?
Would the Facebook we know today exist?
Who would be the local Peter Thiel, Sean
Parker??
Who would have been patient enough for 5
years after making the early investment?
Will there be a Sequoia kinda VC fund with local partners?
Now as you think about
that in relation to the current Tech-startup scene in Kenya here are a few
sobering things you need to put into perspective.
We have Konza City coming
up, its many things to different people…popularly called the silicon savannah
but with all honesty we cannot replicate the success of Silicon valley easily. Why?
Silicon Valley has no geographical boundary. It’s an ecosystem made up people,
companies and systems. It’s a way of life, an approach to fixing problems and
making serious money out of it. The valley comprises of universities that
supply the great talent & knowledge, the entrepreneurs who do it all to
work on their ideas, the angel investors who identify and invest in these
daring teams at early stage, the incubators that nurture the talented teams and
brood over their ideas, the mentors that shine the light, the successful
entrepreneurs that share their experiences, lessons, knowledge and tricks, the
media/blogs that expose these people and push their products out to users who
adopt and pay for the products these startups create. When these products
become sound businesses it is the VCs that put in the big money to scale their
operations. That’s what Silicon Valley is to me.
Of-course we have the big
brands that acquire these products or acquihire talented teams. Or screw them
up altogether. It’s competitive. You win or your startup dies.
Now back to Konza; this
noble concept will not save boot-strappers in KE hubs and incubators any time
soon. Well not soon! I have heard someone mention a KE tech bubble, but I
forgot to ask who of the local guys in tech making serious money or well
funded. Not Jumia, not Olx, not Cheki…not apps that win prize money at
hackathons, not poorly developed clones, not fancy sites built from free
themes.
Tell me about people
building serious proprietary software, founders who aren’t running a social
enterprise to monetize on grants and donor funding, the Kenyans who built
something techie-ish and made serious money without funding.
Tell me about the guys who
developed something you use today from their dorm room in campus. Talk to me
about the local entrepreneur, investor, billionaire, celebrity or corporate
honcho turned angel investor in KE tech. As you think of that remind me of the
few locally owned startups with young founders who got adequate funding for
their ideas at early stage.
This is #Kenyaat50, so
after you read and share all the nice features on VB, Mashable or TC always
remember where you’re from. Until fear is gone to talk about our tech ecosystem,
our failures, struggles and lessons we’ll always make minimal strides in
entrenching a successful startup culture in the country.
We have miles to cover
here to get where this needs to be to look sexy as it is elsewhere, and this
requires the persistence and resilience so let’s not rush this or benchmark
ourselves with Silicon Valley. Let us do this our way, make our mistakes,
develop our own case studies and work on our success stories.
To do that we have to make
the decision to be courageous to get the authentic story out there.
Above all Blame no one!
Expect nothing! Play your part! Do something!
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