OoTheNigerian

The iPad is the latest device introduced by Steve Jobs of Apple computers and it is billed to change the computing world forever! This post is about why I am disappointed in the product and why it will not be as successful as the iPod and iPhone were for Apple.

MY DISAPPOINTMENT

The hype around Apple’s Tablet (as it was called then)  was unimaginable and the coverage was deafening! All bloggers turned detective, they investigated the Who Is (record of the owner) of every i whateveryouputhere domain. Someone even suggested Apple owned the trademark of iSlam. Every acquisition Apple made since 1990 was related to the new technology that would be in the Tablet. It was also  said to have been work on for years (Avatar movie kind of talk).  ‘Apple’s Tablet’ was billed as the most important tablet since Moses brought the commandments from mount Sinai! There were almost as many posts complaining about the coverage of Apples Tablet as the the ones doing the covering. I did not bulge, i was not carried away! All that changed was when I read the quote attributed to Steve Jobs

This will be the most important thing I have ever done in my life

A statement like this coming from the man that delivered the iPod and the iPhone, I was determined to be a part of history! I ensured Ii would follow it live. The Twitterverse was feverish, less important things like Obama’s state of the Union address was put aside. Even the Haiti crisis was demoted as the number one Trending topic (a position it held since the earthquake on the 12th).

Then the moment came, first, the name iPad was revealed (with quite muted cheers), then the product! It was obvious people were not ecstatic. When the first feature Steve Jobs talks about in a product is you can change the wallpaper then you know we have a problem. As inferred from Eric Schmidt’s comment when asked about the tablet, the iPad is nothing more than a big iPhone iPod touch at least the iPhone can make calls, has 3G, a camera and much more. The product Steve Jobs revealed though a very cool and useful product, is not groundbreaking or innovative. It is not worth the hype. It is almost in the same magnitude of the leap made from the iPod to the iPod touch. at least the iPod touch can be used for gaming!

I am really disappointed! and I am not the only one

REASONS THE iPAD WILL NOT BE AS SUCCESSFUL AS THE IPOD OR iPHONE.

A summary of my theory is  that this time around, Apple did not catch the competition unawares like it did with the iPod and does not have the first mover advantage it had with the iPhone. I’ll explain below.

1. Lack of ‘basic’ features

My fist reason to why it won’t sell well is there are too many things that the iPad does not have! A camera, USB port, Memory card reader (there are are are expensive propriety adaptors), it does not run flash and much more. I think that is a problem. People keep mentioning that the iPhone had several defects when it was released, but this is way different! The with the iPhone, the competition caught off guard! But right now, there are so many tablets in the market! there is  even one called Juju. and there are more coming. The first mover advantage the iPhone had is non existent. What the iPad has only done is to validate the market for other manufacturers to take it serious. a second point to this first reason is a lot of people who just love Apple will wait for version iPad2 when Apple will make the sought after additions.

2. The closed nature of the iPad.

Apple determines what you can do with your device. For example, Apple has decreed you cannot use flash with your tablet therefore forget about playing Mafia Wars and Farmville on it. Yeah, those videos you see online are run by flash too. You can only watch YouTube only because “there is an app for that”. I guarantee that other slates/tablets in the market will allow you do what ever you want with your device.

3. The Android platform as the iPad ‘killer’.

The awe of the iPhone is/was its usability and interface, i.e the operating system. It made people use phones in ways they never thought possible. It is for this reason people ignored that the first iPhone did not have copy and paste and could not do MMS (and it was a smart phone). People had no other choice so if you wanted a good Smartphone, it had to be the iPhone…until the Android OS came. The Android OS can essentially do what the iPhone OS can do and this is main problem for the iPad. Any good manufacturer can now focus on creating beautiful hardware then go ahead and install the FREE Android OS. Consumers will then be FREE to choose any device in what ever shape while enjoying the. Watch out for HTC entering the tablet/slate market having delivered on the Nexus One remember the iPad is just a bigger iPod touch/IPhone.

A major defence that Apple proponents bring up is the 140,000 apps in the iPhone appstore which can automatically work on the iPad: Apple having this number of Apps is no advantage. If my Pareto analysis is is accurate like it should be, then it is 20% of those apps that account for 80% of the downloads. Those ‘important’ 20% are available in the Android market.

Conclusion

Will the iPad be another Apple TV? No. But it will be no where as successful as the iPhone but more popular than Macbooks. Just as jobs positioned the iPad (a product between the phone and the Computer)

Where will that leave Netbooks? I think they are dead! Steve Jobs says Netbooks are not better at anything and he is right!

Notes:

1. The computer state e.g Apple’s iPad will be a VERY successful product line. But this time around, apple will not dominate the market like it did with the iPod/iPhone
2. I am expecting the iPad to be ‘upgraded’ before it ships.
3. I do not have any idea where the Chrome OS comes in. Netbooks are dead!
4. I am hoping Palm can do something here. The WebOS looks too beautiful and perfect of a slate.

At the start of this year, I listed improving my writing skills as one of my goals of the year. Towards that end, I resolved to write about three blog posts a week. I started on a bright note (about 4 in the first 10 days) then I hit a sudden bump. The reason was not because I ran out of things to write but because my writing was attacked. I submitted my article about the Google vs… China debacle to hacker news and rather than people discuss the merits or demerits of my article, it was my grammar and punctuation that was being discussed. It was highly embarrassing! Someone trying to come to my defence was saying that English might not be my first language. My confidence was hit hard! People who know me will testify that confidence is never a problem for me but this case is different. Such comments get to me only if what is being said. is true and I care about it.

Looking at the criticisms, I have to concede they are true.

The first was grammar: My co founder Joel, always accuses me of writing ‘Nigerian English’ (this is different form pidgin English) because most times, I  write how I speak. With Nigerians, it should not be a problem since it aim of writing and speaking is to communicate, However, with OnePage, my dealings will not be restricted to Nigerians so I must work on improving that.

The second was on flow. In the sense that I was trying to communicate too many things at the same time thereby coming out incoherent. I am used to speaking and thinking at the same time, this gives me several trails of thought. This is a great asset when solving problems or doing a bit of brain storming especially with a person who is knowledgeable about the topic in question. However, the essence of writing is to clarify thoughts and ideas and also enable communication with a variety of people at their own times. Therefore it is not an acceptable way to write to a varied audience. I must improve on that too.

Last year my main problem was unnecessary length and I believe I am working on that successfully.

So the prayer for my writing (blog) this year is for it to have wisdom of Paul Graham’s Essays, the confidence and radical thinking of the guys at 37Signals (in particular, Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson) and the frequency of Seth Godin. Once a while, I hope to add the humour of Paul Carr. Don’t worry, I will not be copying anyone’s style.

I hope I have now tackled my demons *now. If you have any criticism, anything I should do, or books I should read to improve my writing, please send me a mail or make a comment, It will be deeply appreciated.

*in Nigerian English, the ‘now’ will be there.

Google has threatened to pull out of China citing human rights, security breach backed by the government, etc. and it is really a big deal! Below are my thoughts.

In my humble and simplistic view EVERYTHING happening in the world is a big chess game between the US, China, Russia and United Kingdom (hahahaha!! Of course I am kidding about the UK part).

Before now, the King (Super Power) of the world owned the largest weapons, then it moved to energy (Oil).  Now the Internet has changed all that. HE WHO HAS INFORMATION IS KING! In my post talking about Google’s dominance on the Internet, I spoke about governments being a major competition/obstacle for Google because of the amount of information it has on its citizens. You see, Google is an American company based in the US, so there is little you can to to convince me, the Chinese or the Russians that America does not have access to the information (= intelligence). For heavens sake Google parks their private jet in NASA! It is no surprise to me that Google is not the dominant search company in either Russia (Yandex) or China (Baidu).

On a side note, Facebook is not in China too.

So why did Google do it?

There are two schools of thought currently in the blogosphere

1. Human rights issues. They are just living up to their motto “Don’t be evil”.

My thoughts on this point:  Why did they go to China in the first place?  Google had always censored results in China before now I do not think they discovered their ‘conscience’ overnight.

2. Because they are loosing market share they need an excuse to succumb to defeat with their heads held high while getting a bit of positive PR.

As regards to this point, I think it is a ridiculous assertion. Google is not known to be making any loss (The are expected to hit $600M revenue this year) in China, so it makes absolute no sense to leave. Secondly, will be stupid to throw away  the human capital/knowledge (employees)  they have built up over the years  for reason of loosing market share. Moreover they will not burn the bridge with China (which they have effectively done)  if they just want to leave the business of search in China.

So i’ll say neither.

My theory (speculation) is this: Google must have realised that it has been infiltrated by by the Chinese government both form within and outside and must have lost some IP, which will be important in the battle for “organizing the worlds information”. They realize they have much more to loose than gain by operation in China.

So why did the Chinese do it?

Simple! They are now global players and they have to be on top of things. They cannot allow an American company/government have all that intelligence on their people. It will not happen now, it will not happen in future. The Chinese tactic is simple, lure greedy American companies to the country (1.3 billion is one hell of a market opportunity); Give them enough market share (some scores of millions) to allow them satisfy their greed while not compromising national security. At the same time getting enough  knowledge of the IP/Technology they own. It is a win-win deal….for the Chinese.

The only party that might loose from Google pulling out is the US government. Google will make lots of money in other parts of the world (if other governments do not follow suit), The Chinese people do not use Google anyway, and the Chinese government will lure in the next greedy company to take the space vacuum created by Google .

Did I hear you say Bing? (it even sounds Chinese!)

Today is my 27th birthday and I feel too old. Too old not to have made a mark on this world yet.

Let me give a little background to my little rant.

My life’s vision is simple: To inspire a new generation of Nigerian Internet Entrepreneurs through education and mentoring. (It will be revised if the Internet stops being relevant).

For me to fulfil my vision and be a true role model for Nigeria future internet stars, I have to be successful (create value and money) on the Internet. Money made from working in oil companies, banks, telecommunication does not count. I have also believed that this success should come in my 20’s and the reason behind that thought is that it would be easier to convince a 20 year old that he has what it takes to make it now if i did so when i was like him.

This year would make it 17 years since I first got exposed to a computer and 11 years since I first used the Internet. I am feeling a bit sad I didn’t take my chances. I should be making my mark on the web by now.

What about your degrees? They are what took your time… 

I do not know how the world has made people believe that ‘finishing school’ is an achievement on its own. There is no big deal in attending school especially when it has been paid for by someone else. If someone has done something (say a patent, added value to somebody’s life) while going to school then that is different. people never stop learning till they die, so going to school to learn cannot be counted as an achievement.

But  27 is still early…

That is not what people like Chimamanda Adichie, Chinua Achebe  (people do not realise Things Fall Apart was written when he was 27) and the people that have done stuff said. My role models (Zucky, Larry and Sergey, Bill Gates and others) where able to make their mark by the age of 27. I might be arrogant to try to make comparisons with such great people but I refuse to believe ambition is a crime

So what should happen now?…

The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the second best time is NOW! –  African Proverb

I fully understand I cannot turn back the hands of time so it what I do from now that counts. It is why OnePage means a lot to me, it sets the stage for everything I want in life. So I really hope I grab the present and future opportunities.

Things I hope to do before I am 30

• Write a book
• Pioneer a start-up incubator (ala Y Combinator) in Nigeria.
• Start what I call Micro Angel Investing

If I can succeed in these, I will feel very young on my 30th birthday. Who said age is irreversible? So anytime you see me, I need you to put the pressure on me and ask me “how far?”. Believe me , it will help.

Rant over!

Special thanks to my Mum and Dad for bringing me into this interesting world. Without you guys, I might have been somewhere on Pandora. You guys are the bestest parents anyone can wish for. I love you both.

This evening, with a bottle of Budweiser in my hand, I’ll watch the Super Eagles of Nigeria deliver my present through the Pharaohs of Egypt.

Lets go there!

With 6 years behind them, $1bn in revenue, 1000 employees, 350 million users and a valuation of about $10 billion, Facebook won the best Start-ups award at the Crunchies (The Oscars for Internet Companies).

I do not know what a start-up is but I know what isn’t, Facebook.

My understanding of a start-up is exactly what is says, Starting up. i.e a company starting up. The Wikipedia entry defines  a start-up as

a company with a limited operating history. These companies, generally newly created, are in a phase of development and research for markets.

In his acceptance speech at the Crunchies (see from 3:00), Zucky said “we are deeply humbled to be still recognised in the start-up community”. That says he knows him winning the award for a start-up is humorous!

Seriously, if Facebook is still a start-up company what are all the companies that have been given 20 grand just after Y combinator graduation called? Maybe we need a reminder of what a start-up is. The term had been used basically to define Internet companies created in the dot com era as they differentiated themselves from traditional companies as they required basically cranial capital to create and few employees to start out. But since Microsoft and Google were winners in the crunchies, maybe Internet Company = Start-up

Like I sad before, I do not know what an Internet start-up (based on the old definition) is, but I would propose a filter to say the ones that are not. I suggest any company that

• has more than 50 employees OR
• is above 3 years old OR
• has more than one million dollars in cash or revenue

is not a start-up.

To be honest I do not think the word start-up means anything these days. Internet companies are more prevalent that brick and mortar companies so there is nothing special about them. Maybe we should just scrap the word start-up and call it what is should be, an Internet Company.

Congratulations Facebook! for being the best Internet company! You guys are the bomb!

Disclaimer: I love Google!

Now lets move on.

Please understand that this post is not deep or analytical is any way it would be too long. I have assumed previous following of TechCrunch, Mashable, GigaOm and Technology news generally (Who the fuck do I think I am?)

Yesterday, Google launched the Nexus phone to add to the unending list of products and services provided by almighty Google. This is has added to the list of competition (and enemies) Google has created and I am really getting worried for Google. let me go over a list of the major ones I know

Google vs.. Microsoft: These guys are battling over everything but Google is going directly after Microsoft’s cash cows, the Windows operating System (With Chrome OS) and Microsoft Office (With Google Docs)

Google vs.. Apple: Google is going after iTunes which invariably means iPod (with their music search) and more importantly The iPhone (With the Android presently represented by various phones most recently the Nexus One)

Google vs.. Facebook: This is not so straightforward but let me say Google Friend connect is the clear one. Google Wave is looking quite suspicious though.

Google vs.. Mobile Phone companies: With Android, Google might just wipe out Nokia.

Google vs.. Amazon: Google wants to scan as many books as possible and offer them free.they want to democratize

Google vs.. Voice Carriers and Skype: Google Voice is going to break the stronghold telephone companies have on their subscribers by deeply democratizing the phone number

Google vs… Traditional Television (via YouTube): Just take it that YouTube will kill cable television soon

Google vs.. PayPal: Remember Google check out? Well if you don’t you will when you decide to buy the Nexus.

Google vs… Newspapers: I really don’t understand this fight, but just know Rupert Murdoch is not happy with Google.

Google vs.. Governments: This is when things start getting complicated! The amount of information that Google has on citizens of other countries is crazy. Google can actually predict trend of things like flu based on user searches! It the exact reason China is not letting Google get any significant market share. Google earth is another story entirely

Google vs… OnePage: Heard of Google Profile? This last one may seem hilarious but it is the one that might turn out to be the most dangerous. What OnePage represents here is the ordinary little peeps in the basement trying to launch a start-up.

Ill explain all this long talk a bit below.

Google’s “Sand, Sand for Garri”, “mixing  reggae in blues” strategy:

To non Nigerians, this basically means playing the role of a spoiler. You see, Google’s core business is advertising and 95% of all revenues come from it. Therefore, Google is actually making losses on all their ‘spoiler products’. Using their leverage, they have the ability to release products that cause a lot of problems to companies without having to make money. they use the claim of trying to be open as an excuse to level the ground. if Google is really an open company, let them open source the algorithm of their search. Nope, will never happen

Now the stupidly funny thing is that what Google is doing cannot be termed monopoly or unfair. people like Microsoft actually have as many products as Google but are being trounced in market share. Actually In a myopic view, Google is actually helping the average Joe the Plumber. More importantly, Microsoft or any other big company are free to try and play spoiler in Google search business; but you see, no one can make a better search engine than Google.

So what the hell is this post about then?

Google not being unfair to their big competitions does not mean in anyway that all these big companies will try to play fair back or sit and watch as two small boys blow their company into oblivion. Remember what is said about your enemies enemy? Now Imaging if all those other forces come together. The main problem for Google will be when the little guys realize there is little hope for them creating the next billion dollar company without Google coming in and levelling the playing ground. Go and ask Loopt what they feel about Google latitude.

My belief is very soon the big companies and those afraid of Google’s growing power and influence will realise that the best way to challenge Google will by hitting below the belt…BAD PR, dent Google’s image. Once those companies start making the average man afraid of Google’s size, it will be really bad for them. The George bush scare tactic never fail. I am VERY afraid of what will happen if Google pulls the plug on me.

I asked Marissa Mayer about this when I met her at the  CUTEC conference (sorry, i had to mention it again) and she pointed at Twitter as an example of what Google had missed. Meaning that they did not have their hand in every pie and people can still compete easily. I do not think so and I believe people do not think so too.

So what about you, do you think too big? Is Google is strong enough to take on everyone?

For a more interesting analysis of what I have just blabbed on, read Google, Rome and Empire.

When Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab almost blew up the plane in Detroit, I raised an alarm on Facebook (like tens of thousands of other Nigerians) saying Nigeria was in a mess. My friend Sayed chided me for screaming “the sky is falling” saying “how can we be afraid that the 140 million people of Nigeria be thought of as terrorists be cause of one idiot!”. I told him I agreed with him saying Richard Reid the shoe bomber is British and they are not thought of as terrorists too. I explained my reason for the alarm was different, I was thinking about the impact the incident will have on AFRICOM (putting a US base in Nigeria/West Africa) and US having more influence and control in Nigeria.

But we were both wrong!

Two days later, a Nigerian was harassed for spending “too much time” in the toilet. That could be understandable because the incident was still fresh in the minds of everyone. But today, it has been formalized. the BBC reports that:

The US authorities are introducing tougher screening rules for passengers arriving by air from nations deemed to have links with terrorism.

Reports say people flying from Nigeria, Pakistan, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Yemen and Cuba will have pat-down body searches and have carry-on baggage searched.

This is a big shame knowing that this is just the beginning in the harassment and profiling of Nigerians worldwide. Why should the act of one man condemn the whole nation? I would gladly approve of that if it was so in the case of good things. Chimamanda Adiche gave the best ever TED talk titled the danger of a single story, why are we all not ‘condemned’ as being intelligent? The ONLY* case of Nigeria being linked with terrorism had two twists

1. His father reported to the US embassy about 6 weeks before his attempt
2. He boarded the plane to US from Amsterdam NOT Nigeria.

Those two should count for something before we are condemned as a terrorist nation.

My good people of Nigeria, this the time to come together as we are together in this mess. It is not Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba, Bini, Ijaw, Fulani, Tiv,.. etc that are in a mess, it is Nigerians. Under normal circumstances, our president will be interceding for us but in this case our president is said to be missing! What is the way forward? How do we clear this mess before it escalates?

I am just sad.

*The religious and Niger Delta crises in Nigeria is political and not International terrorism. It is no different from the situation in Northern Ireland.

" If you live everyday like it was your last, one day you most certainly will be right"- Unknown, but I heard the quote from Steve Jobs Stanford speech.

Before I begin, I wish to answer the “God forbid”, “Watch what you” say peeps. I do not wish to die yet, same as the one thousand people that have died today. It is just a mindset I wish to live with this year. What of if the year was really the last what would I rather be doing? I rather regret what I did than what I should/could/would have done. It will also help me eliminate the number 1 hindrance FEAR!

Essentially, my new year resolutions will be a list of things I will do less and more off to achieve my major goals of this year

• Get closer with Family
• Be successful with OnePage
• Create a strong network to take the Nigerian Internet Start-up scene to the next level
• Work for a free and fair election in Nigeria come 2011
• Become more productive and effective as a person

I am making it public so if I start to deviate, anyone who has read this can call me to order.

More of…

1. Reading: The target is 2 books a week. I will begin to read more variety of books. history, philosophy
2. Writing: I hope to make at least 4 blog posts a week (OnePage blog and my personal blog). People say the pen is mightier than the Sword… I believe Words are more powerful than anything! The right words will get you anything and writing enables you give out words without interruption.
3. Talk: Yes! Talk! I actually believe I do not talk enough. I hope to improve my speaking skills and be a better debater. I will keep speaking about things I am passionate about. Watch out, I am coming to an ear near you.
4. Doing: I will start doing a lot of things I have planned. no more waiting till I have arrived. KCOB, Warwick Start-ups, Nigerian Start-ups, Nigerian Elections here I come!
5. Exercise: I am the worlds laziest man! This should not be in the category of more because you have to do something first before you do more of it. I will exercise for a minimum of 45 mins 3 times a week.
6. Organization: I hope to do a weekly budget and thorough accounting. I will also be doing a lot of time planning. Google calendar here I come!
7. Care: For my family, customers and people I love. Don’t worry you will know if i give a shit about you when we interact. I will call family and friends more often.
8. Help: I will help more peeps with what I have without hesitation. I will be more generous with my money time and energy.

Less of…

1. The Internet: I promise to be off the Internet for at least 4 hours in the productive part of my day. My vices are Facebook and technology news! Feedly is helping me reduce the dosage of the latter
2. Sleep: I do not pray for insomnia but I wish to sleep a maximum of 5 hours every 24 hours.
3. Helping: Yup, more and less of the same stuff. Sometimes I put too much effort in trying to help people that it starts looking suspicious. I won’t stop trying but I will give up on peeps much faster if they do not show as much enthusiasm in the first meet.
4. Unproductive arguments: Dad, this one is for you. Before I start arguing I will ask a simple question, what will I gain form the outcome of this?
5. Television: of course Football matches are exempted!

If you notice, there is nothing extraordinary about what I put up but believe me If I can do the above, the year will be unbelievably good! all I ask for is will power!

"Will power!" retorted Arkad. "What nonsense. Do you think will power gives a man the strength to lift a burden the camel cannot carry, or to draw a load the oxen cannot budge? Will power is but the unflinching purpose to carry a task you set for yourself to fulfilment. If I set for myself a task, be it ever so trifling, I shall see it through. How else shall I have confidence in myself to do important things? Should I say to myself, ‘For a hundred days as I walk across the bridge into the city, I will pick from the road a pebble and cast it into the stream,’ I would do it. If on the seventh day I passed by without remembering, I would not say to myself, Tomorrow I will cast two pebbles which will do as well.’ Instead, I would retrace my steps and cast the pebble. Nor on the twentieth day would I say to myself, ‘Arkad, this is useless. What does it avail you to cast a pebble every day? Throw in a handful and be done with it.’ No, I would not say that nor do it. When I set a task for myself, I complete it. Therefore, I am careful not to start difficult and impractical tasks, because I love leisure." culled from The Richest man in Babylon

What are your own resolutions?

If you want to know how short this year was, don’t look at Obama’s Inauguration. Can you believe it was in February Chris Brown beat Rihanna?

The year 2009 was interesting in many ways and started on a challenging note… though quite a lot happened this year but some things just stand out… in no order of occurrence or importance, I look back at the  following

In my life:

Graduation: Technically, not graduation (that is on January 20th 2010) but finishing another round of schooling. My project which determines everything almost got messed up at the very last moment. Thank you Dropbox!

Visiting Old Trafford: It is difficult to describe to people that the first time I watched a live match (i do not mean monkey post or  Engineering VS Social Science kind of match in UNIBEN), It was as an Old Trafford VIP. To top it all, we took Tottenham to the cleaners despite going 2 goals down. I cannot thank my man Chuka and Audi enough

Meeting Marissa Mayer: to know what this woman means to me, I have had marissa mayer’s laugh as my text ringtone for 2 years counting. Yes I know I am weird. It was a high moment during this year for me.

Another nephew: My sister gave birth to a lovely boy called Derrick.

Launch48 and VouChaCha:This was the loosing my virginity of my start-up life. In 48 hours, we went form idea to first prototype in creating the first location based coupon service. The long and short of it is that Ben Brown is taking VouChaCha  places and i am part of history on course! If you have an iPhone and you like deals, download the first VouChaCha app called Snaffle

OnePage: This is the most important thing I have done this year. Creating an Internet start-up is the only reason I left Nigeria in the first place. I have previously written of what OnePage means to me. Of course it would not have happened without my right hand man Joel.

Someone special: I met someone special and was quite content. Though it lasted for a short time , it was good while it lasted . I promise you, it wasn’t my fault this time. Nah, you will not be hearing any names.

In the news:

The Nigerian Bank Crisis: A greedy few! unfortunately the rot is still there because people will rather believe that it is a witch hunt!

Yaradua’s illness: It reminded me that Nigerians are FUCKING cowards. A kabal runs our nation and all we do is ‘mind our business’. I am a better coward (still a coward) than most of you, at least I talk about it. The problem of Nigeria is Cowardice, not corruption or bad leadership. If are not cowards we will demand and fight for good leadership which will in turn will give us a less corrupt nation. Power and good roads will be added on to it.

Iran Elections: it was the same same June 12 but the Iranians did not run to their villages in fear of a civil war, the are not waiting for Ahmendinijad’s wife to die so they can shout karma! they are fighting for their votes till this very day!

Tiger Woods: I realized how bitter people are towards other peoples success. Tiger Woods cheated on his wife so he should apologize to us. My God!!

”Nigerian Suicide Bomber”: Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab’s attempt to bomb a plane in US has change more than most people understand. for one, Obama has stopped being a good guy. Secondly, Nigeria(ns) have been Re rebranded by the act of 1 out of 140 million. Though it shouldn’t be, it is. 2010, will be make or break for Nigeria. For one America cannot sit and look idly and allow us mind our business, It is an issue of National security for them which is no small matter.

Michael Jacksons Death: If you really loved him, you would have told him when he was alive. his death made me understand why people commit suicide. Everybody pities a dead man!

Susan Boyle: Lesson learnt- it is never too late!. If you want to feel happy, watch Susan’s Audition

All in all, I thank God for this year!

This was written in a rush so i must have left out some things… what did i forget? What shaped your year?

Tune in for my new year resolutions which will be out tomorrow

Correction: “Concerned Fellow ” a commenter below, has pointed out to me that plagiarism is used for words not design and suggested design theft as more appropriate. I have taken the correction. I will still leave the title as it is though but please note the error.

Normally, my blogpost are long which is because I talk a lot. This time around I will go to the point. This morning, I went to Thisday to read my daily news and noticed the site was down, I suspected they would be doing a revamp just like CNN. I came back tonight to check and say a new site and this shocker. The shamelessly copied the BBC website.

Spot the difference…if you can!

Dear Thisday,

If you must plagiarize do not be popular and do it discreetly. You cannot be one of the most visited websites in Nigeria and brazenly copy one of the most popular sites in the world.

Why I am REALLY pissed

• I attended Warwick and I was hunted with the continuing threat of repercussion from plagiarism.
• I am struggling to revamp Nigeria’s image on the web and have spent a lot of time telling anyone I meet that Nigeria has a lot of talent and we are capable of doing world class stuff. This can set my efforts years back. I assure you there are at least 5 Nigeria based designers I know that would do world-class stuff. If you are from Thisday and you want referrals I can help you out
• You guys can surely do better, aren’t you the guys that do style magazine?

What should be done?

• Pull this disgrace down!
• Sack ok, give a severe warning to whoever is on this project. If it was an outside contract, cancel it immediately, the person has no shame or talent!
If you need local inspiration, look at 234Next or Vanguard.

I am sure you will hear from BBC soon, therefore I expect swift action.

With tough love,

Oo

PS: why did you guys move from .com to .net? what happens to your Page rank of 7 and the years of SEO?

Update: The site is down now, maybe they got the message. I am hoping for something good when it comes back up.

Update 2: It is back up and looks even worse. They even had the nerve to add “© Copyright Thisday Online 2009. All rights reserved.”  Please email simonkolawole@thisdayonline.com and tell him what you think.

Update 3: Thisday’s .com had stopped redirecting to .net. But the .net is still as up to date as the .com. I am still watching and hoping it is temporary.