>Chinese company Huawei are to ensure broadband infrastructure in all of our green country within two years. The initiative falls under the government’s ICT Backbone Development Programme. Bloggers, lets keep an eye on this!
I read it here.
>Confused Blogging
>Dear Reader,
I’m back to my first blog name “Rain in Africa” again.
Why? Well, maybe the new name was implemented in a rush. Yeah, without me thinking about consequences of a name change, how it has to be discussed with you. But also its meaning…A new name has to be really good and self explanatory. I guess what I really wanted to do was to finding a name that captures the essence of my blog, something that says “I write about Ghana” (because really, I don’t write much about Africa), then buy a domain so that you will have something like iwriteaboutghana.com – simple and nice.
I have also been contemplating leaving blogger for the more advanced wordpress (org more likely than com), now that I spend so much time blogging and talking about blogging.
So, I am just temporarily going back to “Rain in Africa”, soon I will migrate to something all again different. But the content will be, more or less, the same.
Any questions?
Suggestions also much welcomed, of course.
>Ghanablogging Grande! Report from August Meet-Up
>
Yesterday, at out monthly meet-up we had visitors from Maker Faire Africa, Maneno and some probloggers like WhiteAfrican. All in all about 20 people joined in at Smoothies in Osu.
We learned about Maker Faire Africa which is an initiative to boost African inventions, upscale them or just spread their usability from country to country. They have set up camp at the Kofi Annan IT Center in Accra for the weekend and I’ll be heading over there in a bit.
Also Miquel from the African-inspired blogging platform Maneno (meaning ”words” in Kiswahili) told us about how he came up with the idea after visiting the Kongo where internet is slow and expensive. Maneno is tailored for the subsaharan conditions and seek to invite more Africans to become bloggers. He posed some interesting questions to us.
Internet is quite reliable and not too expensive in Ghana. So would SMS posting be interesting here?
Discussion followed where most ghanablogging members seemed to think mobile solutions could catch on in Ghana. Also Internet – even if available – is largely restricted to the elite in Accra.
Miquel also asked:
What do bloggers in Ghana write about?
We had difficulties summarizing the rich and varied blogosphere in Ghana, but compared to the very different Nigerian blogosphere where blogs serve a more political purpose. IN Ghana we mentioned blogs about lifestyle, current affairs and poetry, but there are many other subjects. Coming up soon on ghanablogging.com will be listing blogs in “categories”, maybe that will help?
Finally, problogger Eric/WhiteAfrican/Afri Gadget talked about blogging as a job. Eric grew up in Kenya and Sudan and studied in the US. He told us how blogging started as a hobby, just like for most of us, and grew, grew and grew. He stressed producing your own content rather than just writing about others work or reposting it. A blog with new content, could be the only place to go for certain type of information! He writes about technology in Africa and when starting the AfriGadget site recently it quickly surpassed his popular personal blog, WhiteAfrican.
Not anybody can be a blogger, he said. You have to be consistent. After 6 months you have to keep posting, your readers will expect it.
Present were Ghanablogging members David Ajao, Samson Ojo, Toke Olagbaju, Nana Kofi Acquah, Nana Yaw Asiedu, Cornelis Rouloph Otoo, Edward Amartey Tagoe , Gameli Adzaho and Emmanuel K. Bensah jr.
and not yet members, but hopefully soon, Nii Ayertey Aryeh and Lora Akati.
Some of the interesting guests were Miquel Hudin of Maneno, Erik Hersman (WhiteAfrican and AfriGadget), Klaas Kuitenbrouwer, William Kamkwamba (lead name at MFA), ‘Tosh’ Hamilton Juma, Nigerian entertainment blogger Chika Okafor and Brian Shih.
And me.
It was the biggest number of bloggers so far convened in Ghana! Thanks to everybody for coming and maybe we should try to invite guests a bit more often?
In the pic: David Ajao, Eric Hersman and Klaas Kuitenbrouwer being nerdy.
>What Do You Do?
>
I recently got the question:
“What Do You Do?” from a reader. (Thanks, Alison!)
“Good question”, I replied.
Because, truth be told, I don’t really know myself. This is by far the most common question people ask you in this modern day and age and when not employed, it is a question I’ve come to dread.
As my goal is getting back into academia, I try to practice writing as much as I only can, sometimes I write for free like here on the blog, sometimes as a freelance writer (most often I link to the Internet version of the publication here on the blog). I have come to really enjoy the journalistic process of pitching an idea, doing research including interviews and then do the write up and admire the result…
But practicing writing will only take you that far, so in March I applied for a PhD position at University of Ghana/Institute of African Studies and I’m hoping to hear from them any day now *crossing fingers*. I want to write about the aspiration to migrate – or not to – among university students in Ghana, an under-researched topic and at the same time a vital part of Ghanaian urban life.
But the lengthy explanations to follow the above stated question might finally be of the past as I recently landed a part time job as a lecturer at Ashesi College University, a liberal arts college with some very interesting goals and values that I earlier posted on here. Appropriately, I will be teaching writing.
Now, what do you do?
Pic: I write.
>Don’t Confuse Urban Africa, The Blog with…
>
…The web store Urban Africa
…The book Urban Africa by Simone and Abouhani (2005)
…The Flickr album Urban Africa which has following overlapping raison d’etre with this blog:
Africa has untold vital urban spaces and a rich legacy of a 2.000 years long history of urbanization. However, in the vast majority of flickr groups related to Africa, nature and wildlife photography are predominant. Africa appears as a rural and ‘exotic’ scenery where humans, animals and landscapes build a more ore less harmonious unity.
Pic of a Bead and Wire Ndebele Radio that can be purchased on the Urban Africa store website.
>Rain in Africa is now Urban Africa
>Today, after more than two years with rich rain falling on this site, I decided to change the name of the blog.
Urban Africa is a more forthright name since anyone immediately can understand what it is about. It is snappier. Also Urban Africa has the advantage of being just two words that do not easily blend and they are easy to spell!
Next step will be moving to wordpress.com, but since they do not allow my tags to move along, I think I need to prepare carefully before I go.
What do you think of the new name?
>Do Something Good on Mandela Day
>
Music-(that-makes-me-happy)-video from the organization working against HIV and Aids which took its name from Mandela’s prison number.
This Saturday, Nelson Mandela turns 91 – you might remember his 90th birthday concert from last year – and urges people to do something good for their communities on this day. Such a nice Mandelaish idea!
Just as Good News South Africa, a website with all the good news from our most southern African country. For a smile every week, subscribe to their newsletter.
So, im going to do something nice too: I CHALLENGE all my blogging friends to write something POSITIVE on Saturday!
>Positive Review
>I have by my fellow blogger Nana Yaw in his poetic blog Anti-Rhytm been mentioned as a “Blogger Beloved”. The kind words he has for my blog follows.
Kajsa is from Sweden, but as Ghanaian as can be. Her sincere life-views will warm the cockles of your heart.
Thank you!
>Are You a Ghanaian Blogger?
>
Then tomorrow, you can join us for this month’s ghanablogging meet-up.
We are now about 30+ bloggers and about 8 or so usually show up for the monthly meetings to discuss blogging technology, writing tips, great posts and how to inspire more Ghanaians to blog. Last time we did our meeting on skype as an experiment! Read some highlights on ghanablogging here. It’s an informal and fun gathering through which I have made many friends.
So if you want to attend, just write me an email and I’ll send over the details! kajsahallberg a t gmail.com
Pic: dont hide behind an avocado plant – come out and play!
>On Ghanaian Internet Cafés
>As I returned home from dinner out (my favorite Indian!) I passed by this Internet café in Tema’s Community 8.
It is nothing special, probably actually a typical Ghanaian one. After paying 1 GHC (75 cents) for two or three hours you sit on uncomfortable chairs in front of old, thick, unportable screens displaying the internet slowly, slowly with frequent freeze-situations. And power-cuts.
Still people are determined to learn about ICT, the Internet and what is out there.
What we go through just to enter the beautiful world online.
Pics taken minutes ago in my hometown.
>I’m Back!
>
Here’s some photograpic evidence of that I am now back in Ghana.
Pic taken yesterday on our terrace, wildly growing garden in back. Husband had prepared a good fish stew with boiled plantain. I had put on my beautiful print dress and pulled out a plastic chair.
So, yeah, I’m back in Ghana and I’m back on the blog.
>Independence Day: A view out of Ghana
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Mango for yellow, canteloupe for green, papaya for red. A star fruit for the star. Happy 52nd birthday Ghana!
This is a communal post for ghanablogging.com