Social media Ads: For "Privacy" or for "Shopping made Easy"?

Internet has revolutionised delivery of goods and services in this era to an extent that consumers can now buy goods and services from the seller over the internet by visiting different websites which have those products which are needed by customers. These websites are a form of online stores where goods and services are displayed with their corresponding pricing, depending on different e-retailers in a given location.

Businesses set-up online stores and tend to make posts about their products on their social media accounts for their followers, who normally range between hundreds to millions.

In most cases, mere posts on your social media accounts may not be enough to advertise your business due to the fact that a number of your potential customers may not be your followers on your social accounts, hence the only way to go about this is to finance social media Ads to help you reach-out to a larger audience within your locality and beyond borders.

Many of us have seen these uncalled social media Ads which at times tend to be helpful, especially when they’re advertising something which you have been looking for in nearby shops for a while. These Ads at times tend to be annoying especially when they pop up in the middle of an interesting video or even when they show-up at the bottom, in the corner or in between your chats and friend lists on social media accounts. Many of such Ads are so tempting that the packaging itself forces you to play and/or click on them. At times when you remove them from your page as an option provided on it suggests, you may not be in position to answer that stressing question(to many of us); asking us to explain why we took the decision to remove the Ad.

Like most people, I have been patient and adherent to some (if not all) the demands by such Ads on my social accounts until recently when I realised something beyond these Ads. Are they just Ads or one hell of encroaching our own privacy?  

A friend of mine one day went to an electronics shop to buy certain accessories for his phone and luckily, he got something beyond his expectation; indeed the accessories were too good to believe at a price charged. This was his first time to think of buying any accessories for his phone and did not even search anywhere online for what to and not to buy. To his surprise after one day, online Ads started pouring into his social media accounts, advertising the same accessories he had bought with  a similar phone like his; being used as a model phone to display the compatibility of the accessories

To many this may sound senseless but before you judge my argument, I want to tickle your mind. Wouldn’t you be surprised if someone dresses exactly like you whenever you plan to meet them; even if it is a single meeting, you’ll be inquisitive about such a co-instance. Likewise, the accessories which he bought are obviously hardware parts and were from a very local shop but what a co-instance that exactly the same accessories can show-up as Ads in his social media accounts.

In addition to that, I searched for a certain product from one of the online shopping websites but to my surprise as well, every time I browsed for anything, Ads for this product kept on pouring alongside my desired browsed pages. It became so irritating to see that even when opening my emails, in a certain corner there was still this same Ad. Now I ask myself, who/where/how/when do we give our identity to such online marketing websites to access our social media pages so as to show them up always? At times I wonder why the products me and my friends discussed about during a conversation appear on my pages as Ads. You can be my witness if you have ever faced a scenario when a stranger you talked to in the morning at the coffee stall comes in the list of the “people you may know” on Facebook and other social media applications in the evening.

These social media Ads at times appear to be a bunch of suggestions, which to me pose a school of thought that Social media giants offer our identities and personal information through the posts we make about our daily life to Ads running companies; otherwise how comes that many of the Ads running on your pages tend to appear as a well-planned suggestion list, matching most (if not all) your fantasies. For those into make-up or restaurants a lot, you’re likely to see Ads pouring in onto your page in from companies and businesses operating in such fields.

I have no idea whether there is something people should be worried about but my wish would be that an expert in this needs to come out and explain to curious minds before we see an historical bleach of privacy involving any social media giants.  In fact  #MyPrivacyIsMyProperty.   

Eid al Adha

                                                      A stranger on His last Day

   

 I remember where I came from, ooh yeah I do!

Here i am, with no idea on what to do

If you're the one, please tell me what you'd do

Before the clock bell goes like duuuhhh!!!

Time here is night 

But they oppose the dark with light

In the streets, being day or night

You'll still get light

To view your route straight.

Moo moo moo

Baa baa baa

In the neighbourhood I hear these cries

Mixed with sounds of transport means

Those on land and those that fly

For sure here they never rest

It's a new experience that I can't deny.

I am so fatigue and weak

Would you rather give me what to eat?

However much it is, small or huge

Will all be strange

Just like the place

Those surrounding me and what they're doing is all strange

Their voices plus taking my pictures to share with friends.

Ohh! The day is eid al Adha !

The day for the everyone of them to enjoy

Most holly day Allah made for even the poor to enjoy

For its my day to die

Even Eid from the back is die!!

A fact you can't deny

Say it's not; looking direct in my eyes.

The day to sacrifice 

By Allah's Grace

The rich and the poor to share

A spirit of togetherness 

Allah is Great!

Update your memory before it's ruined 

Every year on this day it rains

Flows, mixed with blood

On the streets, here it runs

Who cares about the smell days hereafter?

For only my flesh, will be shared faster

But in the abattoir

The smell is to the committee

To the individuals they appoint

Not to disappoint 

But to deliver on point.

                                              Eid Mubarak 

Maryland Shooting

Please everyone , there has been an annoying situation in Maryland where multiple people are reported to have been shot at The Capital Newspaper in Annapolis , Maryland.
As for us who are not in that place right now, we are with you people , and we're praying that you leave  this place safe and uninjured.Those who have lost their dear ones, its so sad you but please I am with in this moment and always praying for you the entire evening and night.
Those who get this information please inform a friend so that he can also inform another friend to help safe our people who are now in fear with know single idea of what is gonna happen next.
The situation was like that a few moments back ( from Evening Standard (ES))
I love you Maryland , and am with you tonight no matter the distance from you...:)

THE AFRICA OF MY DREAM

                                        In Africa of my Dream

Agriculture as a business:

On one of the lovely Saturday mornings along the humid streets of Dhaka is when I met a wonderful gentleman whom at first we’re both strangers to each other but later as we proceeded with our conversation, we got to know each other. There are some strangers whom you meet and later go ahead to matter in your life; he was one of those to me. I don’t know repeatedly asked me how it feels to be in a foreign country where you can access your local foods but my answering was obviously to cherish such moments. Later I realized that if all Africans who are spread in the entire globe can access at least one kind from each one’s local foods, our agriculture would be a highly marketable commodity with farmers on the continent making sums of money to make these foods reach each and every individual in need of them all over the world. A wise man once said that a dream is that idea which will not allow you to sleep until you fulfill it and to me since that conversation, transforming African agriculture into a business for the people on the continent has been my dream.

The Africa of my dream is where all the abilities of agriculture that the continent has have been fully utilized to create a way through which our people gain wealth, develop and improve their standards of living. It may sound too big to be fulfilled single handily but when I share this dream with you and you share with others, we can collectively transform this great continent into the Africa I have in my dream. 

Agriculture like any other business has got challenges especially on this continent. Unless we find solutions to these challenges, attaining the Africa of my dream through making agriculture a business seems impossible. Ever since I got this dream, I have been looking at some of these challenges, how to go about them and some pilot projects on the continent from where we can start spreading these ideas to the entire continent.  

In my home district Masaka which is part of the central region of Uganda known for banana and coffee product in the country, schools at every beginning of the term were expecting letters from parents asking the head teachers of such schools to consider payment of school dues after harvesting but in the meantime their children should stay in classes. Sometimes it could be so unfortunate that the drought could be so long than expected hence affecting the weight of coffee beans per bag per hectare. This could imply that the price was to be very low per bag and so in the middle of the term; a number of students could drop from schools because their parents have failed to meet the school requirements due to a poor harvest.

This hasn’t been a scenario to coffee farmers in Masaka only, but also to other crop farmers in the country, in East Africa and the entire continent at large. Most of our farmers in the continent are at the mercy of the prevailing weather and when natural hazards and decline in prices of agricultural produce combine, it leaves a miserable time for our farmers. The Africa of my dream is where farmers have accessible and affordable crop insurance. With crop insurance, crop yield and prices of crop produce can be managed to an extent that the damage caused does not affect the farmers so greatly. Some countries of the sub-Saharan region for example Senegal and Gabon in the West, Kenya and Tanzania in the East, Zimbabwe and South Africa in the south have had pilot projects regarding crop insurance but the idea has not been fully implemented in those countries to engage all farmers, and in other countries this idea has not registered any pilot project at all. One of the challenges of this crop insurance project is the land tenure system in Africa but let’s borrow some knowledge from countries like India where it has been implemented. India’s Crop insurance operates on area approach whereby, instead of individual farmers like Mr. Mutebi from Masaka who owns a small farmland, the entire administrative area for example a village, a district or a county is insured and all farmers benefit at once including Mr. Mutebi. The America’s Crop Insurance has a slogan, “Crop insurance keeps America growing” and for sure if this is implemented in the entire continent, the Africa of my dream will have come to reality.  

A number of farmers in my country access credit through commercial banks and in my opinion, most of these banks consider agriculture as a risk venture. This is why I think that governments on the continent should encourage more Farmers’ banks because agriculture is still a backbone to many Economies on the continent. Such banks increase accessibility of credit by farmers, ensuring that farmers get the desired amount of credit and can support farmers in purchasing quality seeds, fertilizers and other agricultural inputs. The fact that these banks are farmers’ minded, they can as well advise farmers regarding climatic changes and market demands of each of their crops.

We always say that union is strength and so should farmers on the continent consider unity through cooperatives. With the assistance from their governments, farmers in each country can start and develop as many cooperatives as the agricultural produce they have. Through such cooperatives, the government’s assisting hand can easily reach out to her farmers especially during credit access, distribution of quality seeds and fertilizers, sensitization and advisory meetings, pesticide distribution, just to mention but a few. In a business you need to know the market dynamics and through cooperatives, farmers can acquire information about the market demands of their produce and how to manage the demand and supply of their produce to the consumers.

 Cooperatives can ensure food security which is a big challenge not only in Africa but also other parts of the world especially those affected by civil wars and natural disasters. Through such cooperatives, Africa can secure the World’s food basket position which makes a part of my great dream about Africa. A farmers’ cooperation in Kenya named Githunguri Dairy Farmers which was started in early 1960s has helped to ensure value addition on milk through their company Fresha Milk Ltd. Other co-operations like for coffee in Ethiopia and Cotton in Mali are doing a wonderful job in those countries. This does not only create more employment opportunities for local people but also helps our countries to reduce on the tendency of exporting unprocessed agricultural products which later come back as highly expensive finished goods in form of cheese, chocolate, café and clothes. 

It is always a pleasure for everyone to live in the life of his or her dream but to me it is only a pleasure when I see how my efforts are leading me towards the life of my dream. For that reason therefore, it is our duty as Africans to make Africa a place for the life of our dream; For God and My Country.

ONE YOUNG WORLD SUMMIT

It is really so so painful and disheartening to learn that you're having no chance to attend One Young World Summit 2018. Really so stressing !!!!!!
You only wish if any other chance was available ;(

Cameroonian Music

This a really very interesting piece of music that i have never fed to my ears for the time i have lived. 

It’s really a great food for your ears and your stressed mind from the the great Continent Africa. If you love music, don’t flick out please, try it out for sure

It is really diverse. Am not from that country but i can as well enjoy and understand it almost up to 90 %. It is more in international languages with few in local languages, given the country’s diverse languages. This means it was made for me and you, all the world to enjoy. 

For those in love to learn french or English, you have the best choice of music. In one song, you find both languages, and connecting with the cool videos, you can really learn than you can predict because learning is coupled with enjoyment and discovering as well as adventure. All in one piece?                C’est  incroyable !!!!!! 

Stephen Hawking is dead !

The dead Hawking is one of the World's most famous astrophysicists. He passed away early today morning at the age of 76.

He was a great scientist but do you know how many awards he won during his active days, let's see through this list.

1. Adams Prize in 1966
2. Eddington Medal in 1975
3. Maxwell Medal and Prize in 1976
4. Heineman Prize in 1976
5. Hughes Medal in 1976
6. Albert Einstein Award 1978
7. RAS Gold Medal in 1985
8. Dirac Medal in 1987
9. Wolf Prize in 1988
10. Prince of  Asturias Award in 1998

Among others, the list is endless for he's been a great scientist.