Infinix Mobile sponsors 2015 Kenyan Blog Awards

Nairobi, April 22, 2015: The 2015 Kenyan Blog Awards got another sponsor; Infinix mobile who launched different makes of their phones in the Kenyan market last year to a good reception from the consumers. Aided by intelligent marketing, the company is fast making a name due to their friendly prices for high performing phones. You can get a high end Infinix phone for less than half the cost of competitor brands.

In a statement regarding the sponsorship, here is what the Infinix Marketing Director Mr. Peter Zhou had to say. “We are happy to be the sponsor for the BAKE Kenyan blog awards this year to let more people involved in the exploration of the trend of technology and fashion. We believe BAKE will promote quality content creation with more blogs involved in the future, and we believe “The future is NOW.”

As more people turn to online reviews before they can make a purchasing decision, bloggers are fast becoming a source of unbiased criticism that helps consumers to make choices. Everyone wants advice from someone who has used and tested a product and that way they are almost certain of what step to take.

The mobile phone is one of the fastest growing social tools we use today. With bloggers taking center stage in the awards, this is a massive opportunity for Infinix to showcase their products and show that it has what it takes to be a market changer in the mobile phone market.

Apart from bloggers, the mobile phone market has also had a huge impact on application developers who have used this platform to generate income. The Kenyan youth have realized this opportunity and have been developing a lot of mobile applications, particularly in android enabled phones like Infinix.

We sincerely appreciate Infinix for being one of the sponsors in this year’s Kenyan Blog Awards and we hope that this partnership will go a long way in helping to promote online content creation.

You can help promote Online Content creation by simply voting for your favorite blogs.

How To Succesfully Add Facebook Comment Box/Plugin To Your Blog !

Successfully adding a Facebook comment Box has been a hard nut to crack for many bloggers who lack the technical know how.This is especially so if you are using the new interface blogger template. The code provided at the Facebook Developers page hardly renders thereby proving frustrating to a blogger who desires to incorporate the same into his or her blog. A search online on how to incorporate the code often times yields false starts,queer pages and your just too complicated instructions.

However thanks to the blog: blogofblogger one can get simple but detailed step by step instructions on how to install the Facebook Comment Box Plugin.It goes without say that Facebook is the most popular social network and if people are able to share or comment on your blog post ,then the bloggers article is rapidly spread over a massive friends network.The benefits of having a Facebook Comment Plugin is actually immeasurable and for serious bloggers a must have.Its true that Google wants to compete with their Google Plus (G+) comments initiative but they pale severely in comparison to Facebook.

Social networks have basically pushed traditional blogging to a backseat therefore an intelligent blogger appreciates the need to re invent his blogging by adopting a cross platform blogging technique and that is made easy by Facebook comments.Hence if you are blogging and are hardly on Facebook consider  reinventing your blog ,the benefits are immense

Best African Blog at The World Media Awards

I am  happy to announce that this blog has just been voted as the "Best African Blog" in the World Media Awards website on Saturday 25 February 2012.This especially so due to the post on Nairobi Nights featuring a Kenyan Prostitute that was recently featured on Al Jazeera and other international media outlets.

Among other blog that's won awards at the World Media Awards include:

• Live Tricks- Best Blog Design
• Jason Keaths "Social Fresh" -Best Social Media Blog
• Marie Forleo-BestVideo Blogger
• Allyssa Milano-Best Celebrity Blogger
• Ken Davenport 'The Producers Perspective'-Best Entertainment Blog
• Brian Solis-Best Guest Blogger
• Wonkette-Best Political Blog
• Shangaiist- Best Asian Blog

 It is quite an honor to be reckoned among the Worlds Greatest bloggers by a panel of Jurists from different Countries and this just goes to indicate that the African blogosphere has matured and is a source of credible, informative ,inspiring ,captivating, resourceful ,entertaining ,and newsworthy content! I count the recognition not only as a win and an honour to this blog but to all the creative African bloggers out there and their readership.Continue informing,engaging and influencing your online readership.Thank you all for keeping it locked on this blog!

The Internet Blogger's Awards !

Why YOU Must Participate: The Internet Blogger's Awards(2011)
 (guest post by  "Murray Newlands")



One can find numerous remarkable bloggers and publishers doing excellent work, and those who stand out deserve to have their hard work recognized, relate with each other, and see their readerships grow. That’s why the World Media Awards exist- to recognize and reward great contributions to media from bloggers and publishers.

In my own career, I’ve learned and benefited so much from others that I wanted to help establish some way to give back to an industry I love show appreciation to the up-and-coming leaders. The World Media Awards will culminate in a 1 day event in San Francisco that will celebrate the best in blogging, forums, publishing and media from around the world.

So if you are a first class blogger, why should you enter?
   
1. Get Recognized- You Deserve It

 You put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into making your blog incredible. You understand it and your readers know it. The World Media Awards is a way for you to get authoritative recognition from other bloggers and industry experts. That recognition will help you increase your readership, make fresh collaborative connections, and hopefully have great moments that make all the late nights even more rewarding.
  
2. Meet Other Bloggers Who Care

 Blogging, forums and most other online media is about conversation and interaction, but sometimes it’s easy to end up pecking away behind a screen in your office or home all alone. Meeting other bloggers and publishers keeps the fire lit and the conversation going. When you enter the World Media Awards, you’ll be listed alongside other bloggers and publishers who put the same level of satisfaction, attention and work into making their blog great.
  3. Expose Yourself to New Partners

 If your blog or forum is part of your business, being part of the World Media Awards will increase your exposure by putting your name in front of countless visitors to our site and the award ceremony. That means you can find out who else is doing very good work, strut your own stuff, and expand your network of contacts and collaborators.
  
4. Make Yourself Irresistible to Clients

What helps your chances at winning that next pitch more than extending your network? Telling that network that you just won a World Media Award. Winning an award shines a light on your achievements, and it serves as an example of the commitment, engagement and exacting standards you apply to your work.
   
5. Be Part of the Beginning of Something Big

 Because 2012 is the first year for these awards, you have the one-time benefit to be the inaugural winner and set the standard for the World Media Awards in your category. Getting in on the ground floor of these awards will open doors for you as a blogger and a publisher.

The bottom line is, the World Media Awards will shine a spotlight on the year’s most prosperous bloggers and publishers, and on the businesses and companies that serve and interact with them.

Now is your chance to be one of them.

The sponsors include Growmap, Pace Lattin, VigLink and Trancos.
World Media Award judges include Steve Hall, Sarah Austin, Chang Kim, Julie Wohlberg, Pierre Zarokian, Ivka Adam, Cheryl Contee, Krystyl Baldwin, Adrian Harris, Jeremy Wright, Rob Bloggeries, Dave Duarte, Tanya Alvarez, Dana Oshiro, Tom Foremski, and Judith Lewis. hashtag #wmads on Twitter.
Web Traffic Control and FeedBlitz
My Blog Guest,Murray Newlands is author of How to Make a Blog Book and Online Marketing; a User Guide. He is also founder of the Affiliate Marketing Awards. Born in the UK, he now spends his time in San Francisco and New York. Murray works for Audience Mindshare and consults for Trancos Ins as well as being an advisor for VigLink. Actually he is working on his new book: The Email Marketing Book.

The BOBs Deutsche Welle Blog Awards Winners 2011

Deutsche Welle have just announced the 2011 Best of the Blogs(BOB' s) Awards at their website. Among the Jury Award winners from the African Continent  is the African Blog dubbed "A Tunisian Girl" published by Lina Ben Mhenni a professor at the University of Tunis.In Social Activism a Facebook Page dubbed "We are Khaled Said" created in honor of a young Egyptian man named Khaled Saeed carried the day.Khaled was killed by Egyptian police in unclear circumstances in June 2010 sparking the January 25 revolution in Egypt that saw the ousting of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

This year's Bob Awards saw 90,808 votes cast .Its good to see two items from Africa feature among the notable award winners !Last year the Kenyan site Ushahidi was voted the best Weblog .Congrats to all the new winners.

Nairobian Perspective Blog- Now On Ovi Stores !

To all esteemed readers of the Nairobian Perspective blog. I am pleased to to inform you that you can now find this blog as an Application on Ovi stores.Be updated on the go via your mobile or smart phone. Go to Ovi stores Now ! and download the application ,we will keep you updated on  the latest  African content as it happens.






We optimize  your social media experience !

Kenya's Hottest Celebrity/Entertainment Blog: HotSecretz !

It is undoubtedly Kenya's Hottest Celebrity/Entertainment Blog and that is not an understatement !For the record this is not a sponsored post.The opinions are 100 % mine and legit. HotSecretz  as a blog has acquired the admiration of many online pundits and Kenyan blog readers.The blog is crisp ,attractive, incisive  and authoritative. Many Kenyans frequent it for the latest celebrity information tit bits ,snips, rumors and its elegant photos.

For its appeal, couldn't help but wonder who is behind this great work of digital art.Below is perhaps a first in Kenya - a bloggers fellow  online interview with the brains behind One of Kenya best infotainment blog Grace Kerongo:

So who is Grace Kerongo?

Grace? Well she is a simple girl," inherently shy" – you wouldn’t believe it – but learnt to embrace the extrovert in me.

When did you start blogging and why did you choose that particular niche to cover?

I have always wanted to read about the story behind the story especially on entertainment personalities or just get to know more about them. But never had an avenue till I started working for a teen magazine, The Insyder. Here, I had a valid platform to quench my thirst.  In 2007, the magazine started an online portal to which I contributed to in addition writing for the magazine. I was fascinated. It did not take long for the blog bug to bite. And it did. That is how Hot Secrets was born.

         What are your aspirations, passions with respect to the blog?

I envision a day when every house in Kenya will have a computer. They will need content to read and the more Kenya and African content there will be, the more myself and the blogging community will get the satisfaction of having our efforts appreciated by roping in a wider audience.

What motivated you to put up the blog?

Blogging for me was a chance to inform just one or two curious beings like myself on the inside world of entertainment. Please get this as well, not just the downright dirty laundry, the tears and the scandals but also celebrate the beautiful moments Kenyan personalities go through.

I still endeavour to bring that to the Hot Secrets readers.

There is something about your blog and its visual appeal...any background on photography or website development?

Why Thanks you. No background on both.

I would say it’s all blogger, lol. But I also wanted to provide a portal where the hardcore fans can download the photos for free and keep them, just because... You know!

Back them, when I started bogging, if I googled say for instance Nameless the only photo I got -if any- was a thumbnail sized. Now, things are different. For example, if a German promoter wants to read up on Kenyan artistes and see if he can hire them for his gig, that information is now readily available including their battles, their victories and their endorsements.

Any barbs or bouquets experienced as a result of your blogging?

I have had both. Barbs obviously come when you publish a not so flattering story about a personality and with the vibrant online community; the link is circulated on Twitter, Facebook and on email. But what I purpose to always do is get my information right and accurate, that way you can sleep easy at night.

As for the bouquet, yes, the rewards are immense. The network of contacts built and the trust you get from readers who come online to get information from Hot Secrets is rewarding on it’s own.

Another victory I can celebrate is the fact that corporate Kenya is slowly waking up to the fact that the internet is becoming stronger by the second. Now, I get stuff sent to me for publication on the blog – something that never used to happen back then.

Have you had celebrity feedback/appreciations?

Yes, they do appreciate, especially because some of Hot Secrets readers are in the Diaspora and that is where they also want top built a stronger fan base.

Where do you see your blog two years from now?

Moving from a blog to full-fledged site that provides not only news but other products as well.

Do you feel that Kenyan Celebrity Blogs will ever have the appeal or success such as that of American or British Celebrity bloggers ,the likes of Perez Hilton.

Of  course, who would have ever thought the Prime Minister would go to an theme night event that has young entertainers liked D’Banj and have a ball?

Thing are changing very quickly and those who are moving with the times are going places. Another example, recently Safaricom signed up a number of artistes who will get a good chunk of cash for a period of three years to endorse the telecommunication company. So therefore, once Africa embraces this untapped potential, nothing can stop scrupulous bloggers.

 Currently, I’m a showbiz columnist with The Star Newspaper for the daily column, Word Is…

NB/ The picture with me holding an award was from the Organisers of Chaguo La Teeniez for the Hottest Blog 2009.

There you have it, heard it first here at the award winning blog" A Nairobian Perspective" where we keep it all  Kenyan (.....well atleast sometimes) updating you on the best of African Blogs.

If you are not reading Hotsecretz Blog  you better start now because...."therein lies the secrets that great men have been killed for...beware! "

The 2009 Black Weblog Awards

The nomination period for the 2009 Black Weblog Awards is now officially on. According to the Black Weblog website : the nomination period is open from June 20 – July 25, 2009 whereupon blog owners can submit their sites for the awards in 31 categories as follows:

• Aaron Hawkins Award
• Best Blog Design
• Best Business Blog
• Best Culture Blog
• Best Faith-Based Blog
• Best Food Blog
• Best Gossip Blog
• Best Group Blog
• Best Health & Wellness Blog
• Best Hip Hop Group
• Best Humor Blog
• Best International Blog
• Best LGBT blog
• Best Micro blog(Twitter profiles)
• Best Music Blog
• Best New Blog
• Best Parenting and Family Blog
• Best Personal Blog
• Best Photo Blog
• Best Podcast
• Best Political/News Blog
• Best Sex & Relationships Blog
• Best Science & Technology Blog
• Best Sports & Recreation Blog
• Best Style & Fashion
• Best Teen Blog
• Best Writing in a Blog
• Blog of the Year
• Blog to Watch
  

The Black Weblog Awards has been in existence for the last four years and seeks to reward and recognize exceptional black blogger's both in America and the Diaspora who have excelled in their online blogging activities and who may have remained unrecognized in mainstream blogging.The site boasts participants from over 90 Countries and steadily rising to be one of the Black fraternity's most prestigious online activity event and awards !

To nominate your site please visit:http://bit.ly/14U8Jk

Nairobian Perspective Blog Link on HuffingtonPost !

I was quite honoured to find that my blog "A Nairobians Perspective " is actually listed and linked from the Huffington Post World News Sources blog Links page on Africa. The Huffpost is a news website and aggregated weblog founded by Arrian Huffington and Kenneth Lerer.It offers both news commentary and coverage.The site claims around 3.5 million visitors/hits per month and is estimated at the value of 60 million US Dollars with a yearly revenue of 6 to 10 million dollars!And that's how big that blog is!

Its therefore an honour to note that they view this blog as a worthy resource in its coverage of news, opinion,and analysis in the African region and more so in Nairobi Kenya.It is my sincere hope that with good sponsorship this site will grow big and incoporate as many /divergent views as possible so as to be truly Nairobian from this and other authors so as to rank as nairobi's most relevant unbiased and authoritative online news source .Unfortunately traditional media always caters to the interest of a minority few.Often very relevant and informative news pieces are burried deep under if they are not favourable to the whims and interest of the editors and company policy.Blogging /new media and citizen journalism is changing that!Naiirobian Perspective indeed continues to blaze trail as one of Kenya 's top notch blogs!

Kenya Unlimited Website Down!

One of Kenya's most popular blog aggregator-Kenyaunlimited has been down for the last three days thereby limiting thousands of people interested in local news & information from alternative/citizen media.I have emailed the webmaster to find out whats up and hope that this is the long awaited revamping of that site and no more than that!It is important for us to have an aggreagator linking and aggregating the latest posts from the Kenyan blogosphere..such a platform is an invaluable aid for the transmission and branding of information pertaining to Kenyan News ,tourism, technology, cuisine etc.

For the moment an aggregator like Mashada only lists information from 56 feeds(websites) making it an underdog and less popular because most bloggers would like to gain exposure for their posts.Getting your blog included in Mashada's linkroll is often quite difficult if not impossible resulting in the wesite having limited information.Due to this most people log into KenyaUnlimited to find out the latest news in the Kenyan blogosphere! Unfortuantely they have had to do without it for the short period .In the process some of now have come to appreciate more fully the useful role of Kenya Unlimited website, otherwise one has to depend on their linklist or traditional media to know wassup in Kenya.Sad ain't it not?

UPDATE: Iam duly informed that the aggregator feed is live @ http://kenyaunlimited.com/feed.php Thanks Daudi

Top African Female Bloggers 2008

Afrigator has just put up a list on the top 45 African Female bloggers based on their site monitoring algorithm and the list is as follows :

1.So Close
South Africa Rank: 9
Overall Rank: 10
Blog

2.Urban Sprout
South Africa Rank: 10
Overall Rank: 11
Blog

3.Black Looks
Nigeria Rank: 1
Overall Rank: 14
Blog

4.Kenyan Pundit
Kenya Rank: 2
Overall Rank: 17
Blog

5.Cape Town Daily Photo
South Africa Rank: 19
Overall Rank: 23
Blog

6.Angel’s mind
South Africa Rank: 27
Overall Rank: 34
Blog

7.Ladybrille
South Africa Rank: 30
Overall Rank: 38
Blog

8.Cooksister
South Africa Rank: 31
Overall Rank: 40
Blog

9.Bosom Buddies
South Africa Rank: 39
Overall Rank: 48
Blog

10.Scarlett Lion
Uganda Rank: 1
Overall Rank: 57
Blog

11.Hottest Gossip
South Africa Rank: 48
Overall Rank: 60
Blog

12.Mother City Living
South Africa Rank: 51
Overall Rank: 65
Blog

13.JustB[Coz]
South Africa Rank: 54
Overall Rank: 71
Blog

14.Melissa Attree
South Africa Rank: 60
Overall Rank: 78
Blog

15.Entertainment Blog
South Africa Rank: 63
Overall Rank: 85
Blog

16.Sugar. Spice. And all things nice!
General Rank: 3
Overall Rank: 96
Blog

17.Jackfruity
Uganda Rank: 3
Overall Rank: 98
Blog

18.Africa Expat Wives Club
Kenya Rank: 8
Overall Rank: 108
Blog

19.Anja Merret
South Africa Rank: 74
Overall Rank: 109
Blog

20.Glad to be a Girl
South Africa Rank: 78
Overall Rank: 114
Blog

21.Insight
South Africa Rank: 81
Overall Rank: 117
Blog

22.Inside Candy
South Africa Rank: 82
Overall Rank: 118
Blog

23.FeistyFemale
South Africa Rank: 87
Overall Rank: 124
Blog

24.Through My Own Eyes
South Africa Rank: 88
Overall Rank: 125
Blog

25.Szavanna_blog
South Africa Rank: 94
Overall Rank: 132
Blog

26.Ore’s Notes
Nigeria Rank: 7
Overall Rank: 153
Blog

27.
Tania
South Africa Rank: 106
Overall Rank: 155
Blog

28.Onder die maan en sterre
South Africa Rank: 115
Overall Rank: 165
Blog

29.The Vegan Diet
South Africa Rank: 120
Overall Rank: 174
Blog

30.What An African Woman Thinks
General Rank: 7
Overall Rank: 181
Blog

31.The Adventures of Miss M
South Africa Rank: 153
Overall Rank: 223
Blog

32.Photography by Jeanette
South Africa Rank: 154
Overall Rank: 224
Blog

33.Libby
South Africa Rank: 160
Overall Rank: 234
Blog

34.Vampira’s Life
South Africa Rank: 163
Overall Rank: 239
Blog

35.Michelle Clarke
South Africa Rank: 183
Overall Rank: 269
Blog

36.An Ordinary Life
South Africa Rank: 189
Overall Rank: 278
Blog

37.Hunter of Genius
South Africa Rank: 191
Overall Rank: 281
Blog


38.Deshanta’s World
South Africa Rank: 200
Overall Rank: 292
Blog

39.Helen Zille
South Africa Rank: 202
Overall Rank: 294
Blog

40.Afromusing
Kenya Rank: 21
Overall Rank: 307
Blog

41.Memories, Sentiments, Rants and Raves
Kenya Rank: 22
Overall Rank: 314
Blog

42.Wandering the World
Eqypt Rank: 15
Overall Rank: 323
Blog

43.Mama Etiopia
Ethiopia Rank: 2
Overall Rank: 338
Blog

44.Victoire
South Africa Rank: 238
Overall Rank: 355
Blog

45.My Whorl
South Africa Rank: 239
Overall Rank: 357
Blog


This kind of ranking is important as it will spur African bloggers to better their content and webpage layout in order to meet such lists.From this point i would like to congratulate Kenyan Pundit, African Expat Wives Club, Afromusing and Memories,Sentiments,Rant & Raves for doing Kenya proud!

What the Readers of this Blog Are Saying !

Today i am letting some of the readers of this blog air their viewpoint on this blog as a sign of appreciation for my loyal readers readership....have a nice weekend!

Our Reviews "you provided some great information, your site was very clean and straight forward, i like the topics and how they were organized, very good job...." Jenn yourwizkid.com "I like your blog and your writing. I'm not sure I understand that top graphic, which makes it look like you are an art site or writing a travel blog to Europe. Think about a graphic of someplace in Nairobi, or of yourself, or anything that speaks more to your subject. " Wil spotcoolstuff.com "A really great blog, enjoyed reading through it and the posts on Brittish banks and Large Hadron Collider Beam Controversy were great. Added to favs so I can watch your blog and keep up to date with the bloggers from African nations. well done and good luck." kenny kennymcbride.blogspot.com/ "Truly a Nairobian's Perspective! Interesting indeed. Keep it up!" Allahn Joyce insearch4you.blogspot.com "I love the simplicity of your site. The layout is really relaxing. One of the best I've seen. You have a nice picture at the top that captures readers' attention. How did you get those little tabs at the top? It's very cute!" Baby Loves Pink babylovespink.etsy.com "Thanks. Loved your blog, loved what you are saying about paypal. Your content is good, site navigation is easy and responsive and you fit the category. Keep up the great work, I hope you get paypal soon." Nick nickgrimshawe.ws/adlandpro.html "Hey your blog is pretty good and nice... Keep it up and have a nice time.. visit my blog too...www.monterines.blogspot.com" Nandakumar monterines.blogspot.com "thank you for all this information that you have put together. I have two friends from this part of the world and i have passed your link on to them...i learned some things today...very kewl." Diane blognetawards.com Get your own reviews, free traffic at

Kelele-African Bloggers Conference Website

Its nice to see some of the ingenious Kenyan bloggers and web aps developers organize for an Annual African Bloggers Conference that will basically be owned and run by African bloggers.The first African bloggers conference as can be seen from the banner will be held next year August 13 to 16, 2009.Kelele is an initiative being spearheaded by Kenyans(among other African bloggers and Citizen Journalists) but poised to have a wider African appeal as the conference will be hosted by different African cities on an annual basis.

The idea is noble but when it comes to sponsorship .....there is often a big let down from indeginous African Companies.From practice i have witnessed that mainly foreign companies host or sponsor this events with little input from the locals.I hope this time..it will be different! The corpoartes need to embrance the power of the internet as a powerful medium for communicating vital information.

The Kelele website is live and running at http://www.kelele.org .The concept behind Kelele is captured by the following words at the website:

Kelele is the Kiswahili word for noise. We are organising a gathering of African bloggers in the tradition of historical African societies where everyone has a voice. With too many voices marginalised or simply ignored in Africa society today for a variety of reasons we believe that the internet in general and grassroots media tools such as blogs in particular represent the most powerful way in which to give Africans back their voice. We are gathering to make a powerful, positive, inspirational noise that will be heard across the continent and beyond. KELELE!

May this noble idea reach ultimate fruitition...thanks to the Kelele team.

Extreme Blog Makeover at Izeafest

Does your blog need an extreme makeover!are you still on the traditional pyra labs-blogger themes of the late 1990's or some old wordpress template and feel its time to shape up your blog with the latest designer templates yet you have no iota bit of knowledge of html, xml ,css and other programing languages out there !Need no worry our friends at IZEA Fest have decided to hold an extreme makeover contest!The 3 Winners will their blogs re- designed by re knowned blog experts Matt Blancarte, Scott Allen and Christopher Schmitt, ONLY CATCH ,you must be attending and be registered for the IZEAFEST conference in Orlando ,Florida from 11 to 13 th September, 2008


Personally im playing around with some tempaltes so as to upgrade this blog, one thing i have come to notice that some of the new blogger templates out there are actually SEO optimized and help improve one's Google ranking.I recently came acrross a scroll over blogspot website with a lot of javascript(payperpost, Social sparks and other sponsored programes) but only to be shocked that it had a pagerank of 6 and had only been in existence for five months.Apart from that my content beats it thumbs down, thats why i loathe google's algorithm, it doesnt lay down a level playing field.After i pulled down payperpost and other javascript adverts from my blog, this website has now a pagerank of zero !despite the readership and authoritative backlinks! So i am forced to soon discard this misty look template for a more optimized blog template that i will have generated, perhaps sometime i can award my faithful readers free optimized blogger templates!Its just so interesting the things i have learned through blogging!

Around The Blogosphere:Blog Idols

It's interesting the stuff that goes around the blogosphere.Now that the East and Southern Africa Idols music competition is over with Zimbabwean Eric Moyo having won the competition on 28th July, 2008 at the Bomas of Kenya something new needs to come up and capture your attention...blog idols may just be it if if you maintain a blog.

Surprising the blogging idols competition has been ongoing and is in its third week as we speak!How we know little but thanks

The Competition:

The competition aims at getting the best of the best bloggers around the world and all bloggers are eligible provided that they sign up to Feedburner .The competition focuses on getting the most number of new subcribers for ones blog within a particular period.When one enrolls the number of subcribers for the blog is indexed then the challenge of getting new subscribers to one's content begins.The blog with the most subscribers carries away the grand prize of $3000, or an equivalent of Kenya shillings 189,000/=

The Rules for the BlogIdols Competition are:

1. All participants must activate the Feedburner feed count at the beginning of the competition.
2. Participants will need to send a short email weekly (100-200 words), describing their strategies to gain RSS subscribes, and what they are doing on their blogs.
3. The emails will be published on a weekly basis at http://www.dailyblogtips.com so that readers can follow and understand how participants are competing.
4. Blackhat methods will not be allowed, so bloggers can’t fake stats, try to damage the blog of competitors and so on.
5. Paid promotion will not be allowed, else it would become a “who can spend more” contest.
6. If you have a blog with over 1000 RSS subscribers and will create a brand new one for the competition, you can’t use your established blog to promote the new one
7. All other strategies and techniques are allowed (guest articles, contests, give-aways, controversial articles, free eBooks), so you are free to get creative

Well thats quite a competition and requires quite some amount of strategy, i just wish they had a special category for African blogs, alternatively we can borrow a cue and start our own competition! Any willing sponsors for Afria's blogging Idols Competition?????

Blogging 101-Tips and Tricks For Kenyan Bloggers

I am moved by necessity to write this post more or less because ,after Nairobi barcamp 2008 ,it became openly apparent that most of Kenya's over 700 bloggers are "blogging blind".A term i have coined to denote blogging without any technical know how or basic information on what blogging entails.Indeed due to this is suggested that an exclusive Kenyan bloggercon be organized.I bet it would be the first one in Africa.

There are various issues that few bloggers tend to recognize such as:

1. The importance of Google/Alexa page rank and how to improve it!
2. What content to capture!
3. Plagiarism and or duplication of published material
4. Search Engine Optimization/website optimization(Peperuka has a post and tips on it though there is one myth therein that you loose page rank each time you give out a link thats a fallacy!)
   
5. Keyword Density
6. Link building and Link Baiting
7. Basic HTML and how to insert metadata
8. Which blogging platforms to utilize i.e word press or blogger or typepad etc
9. Blog Aggregation/blogging tools, pagerank checkers!
   
10. Syndicating content
11. Monetization of blogs(Google Adsense or Adwords are not enough, a dollar a month may not be worth it!)
    
12. Legal Liability, "fair use" policy and Defamatory content
    

Its due to these issues that i have put some links above but since the above issues are lengthy once again i will take upon myself the task of regularly updating my readers on this issues especially with respect to the legal bits(there you have it free legal advice) .I'm sure non of the bloggers would like to find themselves facing hefty legal charges and fines for defamatory articles, one can even get arrested or the blog removed from blogger or other platforms!Keep tuned to these blog.Interestingly next month i will have accumulated nine years of experience as a blogger,my first blog being a personal/private one!

USA Favourite !

Seems this blog is a favorite with more USA readers( closely followed by Britons) than Kenyans,just goes to show the strategy im taking while trying my best to monetize the blog !In Africa it seems that there are more Nigerians closely followed by South Africans who frequent this blog and i believe this data as gathered from my geomap can be replicated accross many websites!Im definately thankful for all the readers and well i will definately continue to churn content that has an international appeal from A Nairobian Perspective!

Kenya Blog Awards 2008

There are many notable Kenyan bloggers out there addressing serious issues and churning out useful information that is shaping the face and future of Kenya.However little attention is being paid towards rewarding and recognizing their efforts!

That is the subject of this thread and i hope the corporate industry especially the media fraternity will take the cue from the suggestions herein. The first and only time Kenyan bloggers were recognized and awarded for their efforts was in 2006 under the initiative of kenyaunlimited .The awards featured such categories as most innovative,creative and inspirational blog,best political, most humorous,best new blog,best blog not written in English,most interactive blogger,achievement award(for blogs started before 2005)outstanding membership to the kenyaunlimited blog aggregator website etc.The 2006 kaybee awards seem to have been the first and last thereafter little activity has been undertaken to recognize Kenyan bloggers.



The Kenyan blogosphere is rapidly developing and the bloggers are becoming more ingenious as is the case of blogs such as Mama Mikes,mentalacrobatics, jikomboe ,kumekucha...etc.

Many of us are indebted to the marsgroupkenya especially in its fight against corruption and whistle blowing yet it is sad to see that such efforts are hardly being recognized perhaps because there is no unity or unifying forum for Kenyan bloggers.The best efforts seems to be the Barcamps Kenya which are not limited to the blogosphere as an alternative medium for information and communication.I indeed invite Kenyan bloggers to a venture to recognize Kenyan blogs and i hope the media fraternity will support this initiative!I believe strongly the failure of what would be an annual event the kaybee awards was due to lack of support, a committed and resourceful secretariat,exposure and sponsorship.But that should not necessarily be the end of blog recognition in Kenya while the rest of the world prospers!


I am pleasantly informed to note that the journalistic group Reporters sans frontie`rs have an annual blog awards link here and recognize blogs defending freedom of expression which for the most part have been blogs in the Arab ,Asian and some few African (Egypt and Morocco)countries.Kenyan bloggers you need to arise don't read this blog and shelve the idea kindly contact me we begin something for posterity!

The South African 2008 blog awards are around the corner from 11 to 14 March 2008 .There is much we can borrow a leaf from them !Among the new categories include recognizing the best music blog,best sports blog,best website promoting blog,most controversial blog,best undiscovered blog,best podcast, best travel blog,best photographic blog(we produced Mohamed Amin of Camerapix we can do more!)best cookery blog .Participants and corporate well wishers are invited to contribute in kind towards the awards.The robust South African IT industry supports the events in a wholesome way donating laptops, computers,software ,money etc towards this event.The net effect is that blogging standards, innovation and blog quality in South Africa is rapidly developing and attracting a lot of investment from foreign markets.Same goes for the Nigerian blogosphere which is robust but slowly rising !

I am yet to see a Kenyan fashion blog yet blogging may just be the easiest way for our local fashion designers such as Anne Mc Reath of kikoromeo(fortunate enough to have a website),African Heritage,House of Brides(of Susan Omino),Betty Vanneti of The Wild Ones Creations,Sue Muraya,Rosemary Manyalla of Roma Designs, etc and those who are little known to showcase their works of art to the international fashion industry.A blog is basically a website that allows a user to post information whenever and wherever with little knowledge of web design,programming and development.

Kenyan bloggers should therefore take the cue.This should not be a mere part time activity or a forum for venting but should offer other significant opportunities.The nomination process should be fair and just since corruption seems to be a perennial problem in Kenya! The Kenyan corporate industry especially Google Kenya,Dell Computers,Microsoft East Africa, Wanainchi online,Safaricom,Celtel(K)Limited,Lowe Scanad.. etc should come out and support the Kenyan blog industry.

African Pro Blogging!

Blogging is not just a part time activity but serious business and good bloggers are able to rake in millions!The reality that blogging can be a source of good income is starting to gain ranks in Africa especially in South Africa where a few pro bloggers are starting to emerge!


Blogging as a source of alternative information outlet and business market had its start and genesis in the early nineties with such renowned persons as Justin Hall,Brad Fitzpatrick(publisher of the Live Journal)Jerry Pournelle,Markos Moulitas Z`uniga(Dail Koz) Anna Marie Cox(Wonkette)among other pioneer bloggers getting prominence from their weblogs which often featured political articles.Pro blogging however is a recent phenomenom gaining prominence as from 2001 where certain bloggers have began to generate revenue through affiliate marketing, product review ,endorsements etc.The January 2005 fortune magazine listed some eight bloggers that Business in Europe and the USA cannot afford to ignore including Peter Rojas,Xeni Jordin,Ben Trott,Mena Trott,Jonathan Schwart,Jason Goldman,Robert Scoble and Jason Calacanis .This illustrates the power and pull that effective market oriented blogs can have!

Another story of succes in blogging is illustrated in the Life of Greek born pundit Arriana Huffington( of huffingtonpost) who prior to 2005 was the usual day to day author with an opinion on almost everything.Her blog generates at present a massive three million hits a month and has a full editorial team to match up the consumer expectation.While her previous political background,hollywood associates and high ranking friends definately gave impetus and recognition to her blog,the ulimate success of the blog came fromher adept skills at social marketing.

However making a succes out of blogging is easier said than done!Great skill and strategy is needed since competition in the blogosphere is stiff.Technorati monitors over 12 million blogs and yet hundreds of thousands are being churned daily focusing on different niches.

The blogosphere is awash with numerous articles on how to make it big with bloggers such as johnchow, problogger generating money by boasting on how theyve made money via the web and how their readers can do the same.But the truth lies in the fact that blogs are social tools and the best way of generating traffic is through social networks i.e creating friends,links and ultimately a readership niche.There are no great secrets.Therefore if an african blogger intends to monetize he or she has to develop a localized readership base before they can make it big on the world wide web. Interestingly despite the fact that Africa is so extensive due to inadequate blogger activity most blogger awards have one category for Africa and the Middle East .That in effect details the amount of work African bloggers have to take inorder to gain a distinct recognition for their content.There is at present no notable African Pro blogger that one can easily refer to with a readership base and economic success accross the Continent.

The IT giants Microsoft and Google are constantly involved in technological wars over dominance of the blogosphere since as was experienced in the rathergate scandal ; blogs are a powerful source of influence and they are gaining immense popularity blogs are the next pitch.It therefore stands that the african blogosphere must rapidly expand and develop inorder to establish its presence on the world stage.The south african blogosphere is actually doing tremendously well in this regards! A number of African bloggers are getting due attention internationaly such as aquilaonline which has made it to the top 100,000 ranking on technorati afrigadget adii , cherryflava ,SArocks, vegandiet

There are several start up web companies doing well in South africa blogosphere such as:

1. Afrigator exclusively African blog aggregator founded by South African Mark Stopforth,Stiaan Pretorious among others
2. Amatomu South African blog aggregator
3. Amagama blogging community for wordpress blogs
4. Modelbase online photo portofolio for south african models and photographers
5. Synthasite browser based Ajax website construction tool
6. Blueworld south african based social network
7. Muti South African Social bookmarking site
8. Offerforge south african and US based affiliate ad network

The rest of Africa is yet to catch up with the trend!Make Money online with eBay

How Chinese Take Photos!

JUST FOR LAUGHS OR GAGS!!!!!
I,ve just come accross an interesting and humorous foward that has raised many questions in my mind!How do chinese take photos?anyone has an idea why they prefer this unique and weird photo stances and poses?Questions for research indeed!With the 2008 olympics to be held in Beijing later this year,we shall certainly see exciting posses!Have a fabulous weekend or weekday!





Yap its not just the males but the females too(source best blogs China)