ldquo;In the 1920s O G S Crawford invented aerial archaeology, one of many services this eccentric Marxist misanthrope performed for the study of antiquity.rdquo;

- Jonathan Meades: Link

Bloody Old Britain: O G S Crawford and the Archaeology of Modern Life

By Kitty Hauser

Granta Books, 286pp

Amazon: Link

ldquo;Future archaeologists will perhaps excavate the ruined factories of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries when the radiation effects of Atom bombs have died away.rdquo;

- O. G. S. Crawford, from Archaeology in the Field (1953)

O. G. S. Crawford @ Wikipedia: Link.

~ Karl Jones

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ldquo;In the 1920s O G S Crawford invented aerial archaeology, one of many services this eccentric Marxist misanthrope performed for the study of antiquity.rdquo;


- Jonathan Meades: Link

Bloody Old Britain: O G S Crawford and the Archaeology of Modern Life

By Kitty Hauser

Granta Books, 286pp

Amazon: Link

ldquo;Future archaeologists will perhaps excavate the ruined factories of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries when the radiation effects of Atom bombs have died away.rdquo;


- O. G. S. Crawford, from Archaeology in the Field (1953)

O. G. S. Crawford @ Wikipedia: Link.

~ Karl Jones

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copy; karl_g_jones for Babel, 03:38 PM. |

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ldquo;In the 1920s O G S Crawford invented aerial archaeology, one of many services this eccentric Marxist misanthrope performed for the study of antiquity.rdquo;

- Jonathan Meades: Link

Bloody Old Britain: O G S Crawford and the Archaeology of Modern Life

By Kitty Hauser

Granta Books, 286pp

Amazon: Link

ldquo;Future archaeologists will perhaps excavate the ruined factories of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries when the radiation effects of Atom bombs have died away.rdquo;

- O. G. S. Crawford, from Archaeology in the Field (1953)

O. G. S. Crawford @ Wikipedia: Link.

~ Karl Jones

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Online forums are becoming more and more popular in Nigeria especially with the success of Nairaland. Nairaland.com has been around since 2003 and has grown to become the hottest web destination for topical and societal issues that concern everyone.

With almost 400,000 members, Nairaland is competing with Facebook’s Nigerian user base which is currently about 500, 000.

But some of these online forums have not been able to manage their communities with an Online Reputation Management (ORM) system; or have not built their community around social media tools and Web 2.0 technologies. In fact, I rarely use them, except perhaps for NigeriaVillageSquare.com

Personally, I find most of these online forums, especially the ones built under the vBulletin and SMF softwares that don’t have social media functions, sub-standard compared to what online forums around the world have become as a result of the social media revolution.

Generally, an online forum that wants to adopt web 2.0 tools and technologies should critically access and determine the web needs of its target audience. For example, if the target audience are people who just come around to find the latest gist, but hardly spend time on the site, then you may not need to bother about Web 2.0.

On the other hand, if your audience are web-savvy (i.e. they understand what it means to interact, discuss and network within an online forum), then you should critically consider investing some time and money in Web 2.0 tools and technologies for your site.

Below are 7 tips on how to turn your online forum into a social media community.

Adopt a Social Networking Approach

Social Networking is simply the major buzzword. Every Web 2.0 site on the web space seems to be adopting a social networking angle to their business. When your forum members can interact and network with other members and building networks through such relationships.

Allow Users Create Blogs

Blogs are more likely to get people’s attention, since they display information in a more organized way. Thus, for an online forum, users can write blogs on any topic and could be used to publish jobs, announcements, news, events, etc.

Use Social Media Applications

Social media sites such as Digg, Sturvs, Delicious, Muti, Technorati, Facebook, Twitter, etc are very useful Web 2.0 tools that could be integrated into online forums. Thus, content could move around the web space faster and easier when these tools are used effectively.

Create a Facebook/Twitter Page

Facebook is a great tool to build your online forum’s reputation and attract more fans and visits. A Twitter account will also do the magic.

RSS Feeds

Feeds have become a very popular Web 2.0 application that syndicates information into a reader for easy access. It is gradually replacing the email newsletters and can be accessed through Google Reader amongst others. Thus, an integration of post feeds and comments feeds will be a good fit.

Mobile Alerts

These days, you can do virtually everything with mobile phones. An online forum that applies mobile 2.0 applications to inform users of the hottest news and announcements will be a hit.

Create a Rating System

To build successful online forums or communities that promote high-value conversations, there should be a post and comment rating system that rewards quality contributions to the community. Users’ comments can be rated to encourage meaningful conversations in the community.

Final thoughts

I personally think that if these tips are applied in Nigerian online forums, there’ll be more meaningful participation, online collaboration and community engagement. Besides, it will encourage companies that want to target the online forum’s audience to advertise their products and brand.

Photo via: ApolloMediaBlog

It didn’t come as a surprise to me that Zenith Bank Plc has adopted social media tools for communication, since the bank has been known for their leadership status in the deployment of Information and Communications Technology.

Last year, Zenith Bank emerged, for the sixth time, the best overall winner of the 2008 edition of the Web Jurist Award conducted by Phillips Consulting. The Award which rates bank websites in Nigeria based on clear-cut criteria including; Content, Performance, Functionality, Technicality, Aesthetics, and E-financial services was instituted in 2001 and has ever since, been won by Zenith Bank in 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2006 in addition to the latest edition.

Zenith Bank  has become the first bank in Nigeria to adopt Twitter as a tool for online communication. Their Twitter page looks new with only 10 updates since June 25, but has already attracted 114 followers and following 760, as at the time of writing this post.

Most of the tweets to date have simply directed users to their website pages as well as news around the bank from online newspapers and some great business and success quotes from world renowned achievers. Perhaps, they’ll soon be adding updates about their products and services, but I’m wondering if they would use the Twitter page to interact with their customers and answer their questions.

My guess is that Zenith Bank has developed a social media policy and strategy before venturing into twittering.  If not, then, they’ll need one. But, I’m not sure if a Zenith Bank employee has been doing the twittering, as it may as well be someone who admires Zenith Bank and decides to write updates about the bank. Besides, Zenith Bank has not officially announced they have a Twitter page on their website.

Whatever the case, I think it will help Zenith Bank to reinforce its brand on the web and better position it as one of the foremost banks in Nigeria that has embraced the social web. It’ll be interesting to see more banks and companies in Nigeria get involved with social media channels to interact with their customers.

Read my post on top 5 ways companies can use Twitter for their business.

You’ve probably heard this several times, but I’m going to say it again:

If you are considering setting up a business, you need to develop a business plan.

But, I’m going to add this (so quote me if you like):

It is not a must to write up a business plan when you’re starting up. The most important thing is to have an idea and a vision from the start.

After you have launched your business startup with some seed capital (either from your job salary, personal savings or from friends and family), you can start developing a business plan in order to seek funding or sponsorship from angel investors or venture capital firms, as the case may be.

If you don’t know how to develop a business plan, perhaps this article will help you in planning your business from startup to stardom.

Here are 7 strategic steps to developing a winning business plan.

1. Research

You need to understand the various sections required in a business plan, the purpose of the various sections, as well as the objectives of the plan. These sections will include: Executive Summary, Mission, Strategy, Market Pain & Solutions, Market Opportunities, Management Team, Boards and Advisors, Achievements & Assets, Customers and/or Partners, Competition, Technology & IP, Business Model, Financial Projections, Fund Raising, and other information.

2. Decide

As much as the ‘idea’ of your business startup is important, the operational and logistical requirements are equally critical. You need to know how to choose the right partner(s), decide who will make up your board of directors and advisors, as well as whether you will operate as sole-owner, partnership or limited company.

Before you decide, you can get the help of a local accountant, business consultant or lawyer. Equally, issues such as VAT obligations, trade marks, employment contracts, etc should be well explained and understood.

3. Define

Before developing a business plan, clearly define the benefits of your business startup to consumers, users, clients, etc. Define your business model, solution strategy, marketing strategy and market competition.

4. Manage

Even if you’re not good with figures, you should strive to have a good understanding of ‘the numbers’ that will impact your business. Here are a few of them: Start-up Costs, Break-even point, Cash flow analysis & forecast for 1 – 3 years, Funding requirements and Balance sheet reports. Your accountant or business consultant should be able to help you with these things.

5. Obtain

Here, you need to obtain industry analysis of other business startups or companies that are into your kind of business or offering your type of service. You need to undertake a detailed market research to help you understand your target market.

6. Search

I’ll assume you know what SEO means (i.e. Search Engine Optimization) and how it plays a huge role in your business startup visibility on the web. So before choosing a URL or domain/startup name, find out the terms and keywords related to your business or service that are most heavily searched on the Internet. Simply go to: http://www.google.com/keywords and look for terms that relate to your business. Trust me, it will help you to identify your competitors.

7. Assess

It is always difficult to predict the level of demand for your products or services. However, it is recommended to use conservative estimates (or assumptions) on likely demand and to use proxies where data is hard to come by.

Instead of claiming that there are no comparative figures available, you should use proxies to determine demand estimates even when the idea is innovative or unique. For example, if your site’s user base eventually becomes lower than you predicted at the beginning of your venture, you may fail to generate enough revenue to cover the large cost base that you’ve incurred.

My hope is that you’ve benefited from this article. In the future, I’ll be sharing tips on how to write a winning business plan.

Photo via flickr by ksgirl

A few years ago, an ex-Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, said

…the Nigerian government has worked out to invest 600 million US dollars (about 100 billion Naira) to establish the Abuja Technology Village modelled after the United States Silicon Valley…the hi-tech village would cover an area of 650 hectares near Lugbe on Airport Road… [and] the government would provide a seed fund amounting to 5 billion naira (about 38 million dollars) for the provision of infrastructure in the village.

This raises several questions:

Could this mean that Nigeria was really planning to build her own Silicon Valley on a 650 hectare land, located in a suburb of Nigeria’s Capital City, Abuja?

Could 100 Billion Naira be used to create a Silicon Valley in Nigeria? What are the factors to consider before creating a Silicon Valley in Nigeria? What the heck is Silicon Valley?

What Silicon Valley Is

Silicon Valley has been described as “a special habitat for innovation and entrepreneurship, consisting of dense, flexible networks and relationships among entrepreneurs, investors, university researchers, consultants, skilled employees… connecting people to ideas.”

Simply put, Silicon Valley is a Startup Hub, where business and technology startups and companies as well as Venture Capital firms are located with easy access to research centre, consultants, entrepreneurs and skilled employees.

What Silicon Valley Is Not

Silicon Valley is not a technology village made up of state-of-the-art infrastructure built on a massive hectare of land located in a suburb of a capital city. That’s not how Silicon Valley in the United States happened. Silicon Valley was created, not built.

According to Paul Graham,

The organic way to [create Silicon Valley] is to establish a first-rate university in a place where rich people want to live. That’s how Silicon Valley happened. [Note: parentheses added]

He continues:

For the price of a football stadium, any town that was decent to live in could make itself one of the biggest startup hubs in the world. What’s more, it wouldn’t take very long. You could probably do it in five years during the term of one mayor (or governor).

And it would get easier over time, because the more startups you had in town, the less it would take to get new ones to move there. By the time you had a thousand startups in town…they’d be opening local offices. Then you’d really be in good shape. You’d have started a self-sustaining chain reaction like the one that drives the Valley.

…The exciting thing is, all you need are the people. If you could attract a critical mass of nerds and investors to live somewhere, you could reproduce Silicon Valley.

Read more on How to Create a Silicon Valley by Paul Graham

What’s More?

According to an article written by Andrew Isaacs, Executive Director, Management of Technology Program, University of California, Berkeley,

In Silicon Valley, there were many contributing factors: A) gradual development of the Venture Capital industry, B) gradual improvement in local universities, C) gradual influx of technically strong labor, D) gradual growth in government investment in R&D.

Given all of these, could 100 Billion Naira be used to create a Silicon Valley in Nigeria? I doubt.

According to Chief Leo Stan Ekeh, Chairman/CEO of Zinox Technologies, one of the key factors for economic growth is a huge investment in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in order to adopt a “Knowledge Economy”.

He suggests that a minimum investment of 150 Billion Naira to provide subsidised computers and free Internet access to all Nigerians would encourage skills acquisition and make Nigeria become a great outsourcing centre just like India.

I tend to agree with Leo and here are my own suggestions on how to create a “technology” Startup Hub in Nigeria.

5 Key Factors to Consider When Creating a Startup Hub in Nigeria

1. Power & Infrastructure

By that, I don’t mean power supply through generators. I mean through electric power or solar energy. However, with the current target of 6000 Megawatts by December 2009, the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) is not the way to go. If we go by these targets, we’ll probably be waiting for the next 50 years.

Therefore, any city that wants to create a startup hub should consider investing in alternative sources of energy such as solar power. It would require a huge investment of capital, but on the long run, the economic benefits will be realised.

2. Venture Capital Industry

A Venture Capital industry should be made up of incubators, angel investors, as well as high net-worth or wealthy individuals who are interested in startups and can provide funding for a stake in these startups. Also, huge technology companies could play a major role in the development of the venture capital industry.

Venture Capital firms will need to have a physical presence in the potential startup hub, in order to encourage entrepreneurs to move to such cities to develop their businesses further.

3. Universities

Any city that wants to create a startup hub must have a University or Universities that focus on Science & Technology, Research & Development, and Business Entrepreneurship with adequate infrastructure and a renowned academia.

Existing local Universities and Business Schools will have to integrate course modules in graphic arts & design, software development and web & mobile applications development, amongst others, in order to attract the kind of people that would drive a startup hub.

4. Knowledge Economy

Here’s where Leo’s suggestion holds true. A “Knowledge Economy” will naturally give birth to a new generation of technology-savvy entrepreneurs with a rare business culture – one that can only be found in Silicon Valley.

More so, Nigerians living in the Diaspora (UK, US, Canada, and other parts of the world), will need to return home to contribute to this development of a ‘knowledge economy’, especially with their skills and expertise. That way, we’ll have been able to reverse the ‘brain drain’.

Additionally, ICT and telecoms companies will have to engage student entrepreneurs with competitions that could set them up to starting their own companies, even from their University hostels. Remember, Mark Zuckerberg started Facebook while in college. Today, Facebook is worth about $3.7 billion.

5. Research & Development

There should be continued investment in research and development as it relates to the latest technology innovations that would support the growth of the Startup industry.

Here, the state or federal governments could take the initiative and set up fully equipped Institutes for Technology, Research and Development in strategic cities where startups could be located.

My final thoughts

Today, Internet companies such as Google have become one of the largest employers of labour in the U.S and have generated huge chunks of revenue that has successfully driven the U.S economy.

For example, Google’s revenue for 2008 stood at $4.22 billion, after subtracting commissions paid to its ad partners, despite the ugly economic recession. The Internet search giant was named the best company to work for in 2008, according to Fortune. Google is indeed a Goliath Startup!

Early this week, UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown announced that the government would invest £150m in high growth technology businesses. The UK Innovation Investment Fund will then focus on growing small businesses, start-ups and spin-outs in the digital, life sciences, clean tech and advanced manufacturing sectors.

The questions are:

Should Nigeria keep looking up to these economies for support? Shouldn’t Nigeria develop its own economy like that of these countries? Can Nigeria become one of the top 20 economies in the world by the year 2020?

Here’s my proposition:

If great attention is focused on developing Nigeria’s “Knowledge Economy” over the next 5 years, it would greatly impact on the development of Startup Hubs and the overall economy in the country.

If this is achieved within the next 5 years, we’ll be seeing the emergence of prototype companies like Google, Yahoo! and eBay after 10 years or so. The process will be “gradual”, as it were, and may take up to 20 years to actually replicate the success of the Silicon Valley in San Francisco, California.

Photo via flickr by roy.luck