Thursday 5 November 2015

From 'feeling fat' to Twitter hearts: 5 most hated social media changes

angry social media

Dislike!!

People don't like change. And when the change involves their social media profiles, they outright hate it.

Whenever the likes of Facebook and Twitter come up with a new feature, a backlash follows.
Users are angry and confused. They start petitions and call for the changes to be reversed. Step-by-step guides of how to get rid of the new feature emerge.
And then, a few days later, they get used to it. Here are some of the most despised changes to remember:
Facebook messenger

facebook messenger website standalone
Facebook introduced the standalone messenger app in 2014, as part of its plan to become a mobile communication player -- the same plan that saw the social network spend $22 billion buying the messaging app WhatsApp.
A lot of users really hated the move. The Facebook Messenger received over 50,000 negative reviews on iTunes, and the company was forced to issue a statement debunking some of the myths about the feature.
The Twitter heart
twitter heart
Twitter ditched its stars and favorites for hearts and likes on Tuesday. The company said it adopted the change to make itself easier for newbies to understand and use Twitter.
But users don't seem to like the change too much. Tens of thousands criticized the move, pushing #TwitterHeart into trending topics.
facebook feeling fat
"Feeling fat" emoji
When Facebook decided to roll out a "feeling fat" emoticon that users could post as part of a status update, it sparked a huge backlash.
More than 16,700 people signed a petition demanding Facebook take the emoticon down. They said it is making fun of people who might suffer from eating disorders.
Facebook got rid of it just a couple of days later.
Google Buzz

google buzz 2010
Google's attempt to launch a microblogging element to its Gmail service was a massive flop. It was launched in May 2010, and killed off only 20 months later.
Facebook news feed
facebook 2006



When Facebook rolled out its newsfeed feature in 2006, more than 740,000 of its users joined a group called "Students Against Facebook News Feed." They were concerned about privacy and didn't like the idea of everyone being able to track their Facebook activities.
Facebook recognized the problem, rolled back on some of the features, and strengthened its privacy protection settings.
CNNMoney (London) November 4, 2015: 12:58 PM ET

Monday 2 November 2015

MTN bows to pressure, agrees to pay N1.04trn fine

While pleading for staggered payment model, MTN has finally bowed to pressure as it has accepted to pay the N1.04 trillion fine slammed on it last week by the telecoms regulatory authority, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
Accordingly, the telecoms operator was fine for violating its directive on SIM deactivation.
This follows series of meeting held between MTN management team from South Africa and Nigeria with the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.
The telecoms operator which has largest subscriber base in Nigeria, it was gathered, may have agreed to pay the fine to sustain the interest of its telecoms business.
Industry sources who confirmed the new arrangement, disclosed that the federal government is already yielding to the plea, which according to him, was part of the agreement reached at the series of meeting held at the weekend in Nigeria.
“There have been series of meeting at the Presidency between the Vice President Osinbajo and MTN team both from South Africa and the Nigerian arm. MTN wanted a waiver considering their level of investments in the country, but government did not buy the idea of waiver. Instead, I think there will be concession, but certainly not a waiver. At the conclusion of the meeting, the MTN people negotiated on how to stagger the payment. The Presidency is even angry because MTN was a signatory to the regulation, but they are failing to comply with rules.”, the source added.
It would be recalled that NCC had said that MTN would not escape the fine, owing to the enormity of its implication to national security.
Although NCC had hinted that the issue is being handled by the federal government, the telecoms authority also noted that MTN would risk withdrawal of its licence if its fails to comply with the fine.
Even with the widespread calls for the intervention of the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), on the N1.04 trillion fine, Chief Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), had last week called on the NSA not to intervene in the matter, adding that NCC regulation must take its course.
NCC said it had consistently engaged Mobile Network Operators, (MNOs) to strictly adhere to the regulations and its business rules in the registration of their subscribers.
Following several engagements, the Commission had confirmed various cases of violations of the regulations and sanctioned appropriately.
Vanguardnewsonline.

“I did it because I didn't have a choice" Story of a Self-Made woman



They say the secret of men, or in this case a woman, is in their stories. Read Chinwe's story and see if you can share yours too…
"I had thought that being a graduate would mean all my worries were over, but to my surprise it was as though jobs were running from me. Just when I was about to give up, an old friend recommended me for a job; to replace her colleague who was going on leave. I was hungry to make it, and determined to prove to people that I could be something after all. My employers saw it in me - the career drive that can send an innocent lady to do anything possible - and that’s how I felt.


Now it dawns on me that although I had risen in my career, I feel like I've fallen so low.
I didn’t have a choice- it was either that… or nothing. “You have to go the extra mile to get more out of life”, my boss used to tell me. Other times he would say “sacrifices are part of business… prove to me you are worthy of this promotion; that you can do anything, no matter what it takes, to get what you want.”

He never cared about the repercussions as he saw us as tools that can be sent out and used all because of an extra client in his pocket. I simply couldn’t see it, as I was blinded by pressure and the desire to prove myself.  Sometimes I would return home with tears in my eyes, unable to let people know what I went through to get to where I was. That’s how my life has been. I had to grow, I had to be relevant, I had to do it because I didn’t have a choice.”

That’s all she said before she was overcome with tears- you wouldn’t need a soothsayer to tell you sexual harassment is more prevalent than you can possibly imagine. Chinwe’s story echoes the experiences of several others who are taken advantage of at work just because they are women and are desperate.

This why the SBA Group is organising a conference titled Sexual Harassment in Sales; seeking to answer the question - “Is the Nigerian Business Environments Conducive for Nigerian Female Professionals?
With renowned Keynote Speaker FolukeDaramola, who is a top filmmaker and activist and founder of 'Passion Against Rape in Africa' (PARA), a PAN World Global rape foundation aimed at fighting rape in Africa andPanellists carefully selected from the professional and business sectors, the conference would be one of it’s kind.

The conference is planned as a forum for discussions with professional women, providing them a platform to interact and share their experiences and survival tactics in a very demanding world. Another objective is to provide support for vulnerable female professionals. It would be an excellent networking opportunity for all delegates.
Participation fee is NGN10,000 (Ten Thousand Naira).

If you’re ready to join the cause, let’s hear your story and contribution… Don’t underestimate what it can do!
Contact
SegunAkande: 07036695005
Joseph Edgar 08051000195
Twitter: @Shconference

Facebook: Sexual Harassment Conference

Julius Agwu Opens A Christian Night Club In Lagos

 Julius-Agwu (1)
 
“It’s God’s calling. God spoke to me do it. We have unbelievers going to clubs, popping champagne and all that, so we want to have a club where believers can hangout too and pop nonalcoholic drinks.  It’s basically an assignment from God. The club is located at Lekki and we are taking it everywhere. God also told me to raise young ambassadors that will fight his battle” he said.
He also told NET he is now on a mission to bring people back to Christ. Hear him,
 
I was recently declared dead. I realized that I actually died but God brought me back. He is giving me a second chance and people rarely get this opportunity of having a second chance.
 
“He saved my life and I have decided to dedicate my life to him. I have a Christian group now called CEO, Christian Entertainers Outreach through which we will bring back many people who devil has taken away” he said.

Friday 30 October 2015

Nigerian Army releases photographs of 100 wanted Boko Haram terrorists

100 wanted Boko Haram terrorists
The Nigerian Army has released photographs of 100 top suspected Boko Haram terrorists it declared wanted on Wednesday.
The Army Spokesperson, Sani Usman, a colonel, said the release of the photographs of the suspected terrorists was to enable the public to assist with information on the suspects.
“The military is therefore asking members of the public with information about any of them to report to security agents,” Mr. Usman said.
The Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, had on Wednesday in Maiduguri, Borno State capital, launched the circulation of large posters carrying photographs of wanted Boko Haram terrorists including the supposed leader of the insurgents, Abubakar Shekau.
The large posters, with inscription written in various languages of Nigeria, also had phone numbers which the public could easily call or text to indicate which of the characters in the numbered photographs they know or have information of.
The photo posters was launched as part of the counter terrorism material packaged by the Directorate of Army Public Relations.
Mr. Usman had said Wednesday that most of the faces on the poster were those of kingpins of Boko Haram still at large.
He said “members of the public that have any credible information on any of the wanted terrorists should call any of the phone numbers printed on the posters. Mr. Usman said the information given would be treated discreetly and professionally.

Monday 26 October 2015

PRINCE ADEYEYE OGUNWUSI IS NEW OONI OF IFE

A new Ooni of Ife has emerged. He is Prince Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi.
Ogunwusi is of the Giesi Ruling House.
The appointment of the new Ooni was contained in a statement late on Sunday by the Secretary to the Osun State Government, Alhaji Moshood Olalekan Adeoti.
The appointment was ratified by the Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola.
Adeoti said in the statement: “This choice follows the completion of the due process by the kingmakers and the communication of their decision to the Government.”
Ogunwusi succeeds Oba Okunade Sijuwade who died on July.
Until his appointment wasannounced by Aregbesola, Prince Adeyeye Ogunwusi from the Ile Opa family compound has been involved in real estate, manufacturing and finance.
lagostoday.org

Thursday 22 October 2015

Why Education Should Top Development Agenda

preschool graduates
A few people would dispute the importance of education in our lives and those of our children. For good reasons, in virtually all industrialised countries, education is compulsory for everybody for at least 10 years.
In developing countries, however, 780 million women and men remain illiterate. Moreover, about 60 million children of school age are not at school.
Yet, instead of making a concerted global effort to bring all children to school, less than four per cent of official development assistance funds basic education. Over the past seven years, UNESCO and UNICEF report a decline in basic education.
Many think education is an aspect of social development that comes as a by-product of economic growth. This is wrong. Education is an absolutely necessary precondition of economic development.
Bill Clinton’s famous mantra, “It’s the economy, stupid!”, may be a useful slogan for an election campaign, but it is misleading in setting the priorities for sustainable development. It’s not primarily the economy, nor money, that makes the world go round and determines progress in human well-being. Much more important than the content of people’s wallets is the content in their heads. And what is in our heads is formed and enhanced by education which, in turn, helps fill the wallets, improves health, improves society and the quality of institutions, strengthens resilience at all levels and even makes people happier.
I could discuss the ample scientific statistical analysis to prove the transformative role of education in development. But more convincing may be historical success stories.
Finland was one of the poorest corners of Europe in the late 19th century. In 1868-1869 it suffered the last great famine in Europe not induced by political events. Almost half of the children died in this hopelessly underdeveloped and poorly educated economy based on subsistence agriculture.
After that tragedy, the Lutheran Church, supported by the government, launched a radical education campaign: young people could marry only after they passed a literacy test. The number of elementary school teachers increased by a factor of 10 over just three decades and by the beginning of the 20th century, all young men and women in Finland had basic education. In 1906, Finland was the first country in Europe to grant women the right to vote and the subsequent economic development, based primarily on human capital, made Finland one of the world’s leaders in technology, innovation and, as a result, competitiveness.
In the early 1960s, Mauritius was a textbook case of a country stuck in the vicious circle of high-population growth, poverty and environmental destruction. Following the advice of scientists such as James Meade, the government launched a (strictly voluntary) family planning programme together with a huge push on female education. This led to rapid fertility decline plus economic growth, first through the textile industry based on semi-skilled female workers, then in upmarket tourism and more recently in banking and high-tech information technology. Mauritius is the only such success story in sub-Saharan Africa. The country managed to escape the vicious circle of poverty and underdevelopment through investment in human capital.
Japan, Singapore, South Korea and finally China have similar stories but the timing is different. The Chinese experience shows that such success is not confined to remote and tiny island or city states. The highly elitist appreciation of education in Confucian tradition became transformative for the country once it was combined with the (originally) protestant approach of a broad-based education. Again, these countries built their stunning success stories primarily on improvements in human capital and without significant raw materials or international assistance. Economic growth followed the education expansion.
There is little doubt about the cause and effect between education and human well-being. Neurological research shows that every learning experience builds new synapses making our brains physiologically different for the rest of our lives. Education expands the personal planning horizon and leads to more rational decisions and less fatalism. It clearly empowers people to access more information, contextualise it and make conclusions that are more conducive to personal and societal well-being.
Well-educated people are better at adopting good habits such as physical exercise, safe sex or quitting smoking. Education has many other effects on health from lowering child mortality to postponing disability and cognitive decline in old age, besides the commonly cited effects on income and employment. There is even the surprising finding that education makes people happier despite the fact of making them more aware of potential problems. Unsurprisingly, universal education reduces vulnerability to natural disasters and helps people adapt to climate change.
About a decade ago, I discussed some of this evidence with the Nobel laureate, Gary Becker. He said: “Well, when I think about it, I cannot think of anything for which I rather would be less educated than more educated.”
Now, we need to educate the economists and policymakers to make it a much higher priority in the development agenda.
Wolfgang Lutz is Founding Director, Wittgenstein Centre for Demography and Global Human Capital
Culled from WEF Agenda blog