6 Things That Can Help You Become an Expert in SEO

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SEO EXPERT
In order to improve the ranking and the value of a website you need to make sure that your website is search engine optimized. By search engine optimization it is meant that its content is attractive enough for major and popular search engines like msn, Google, Yahoo, etc. to put in their first page of results. Also you need the keywords to show the content of your website when searched.

By making your website search engine optimized you will get more in-links and page links for your website and you will also be able to attract a large number of visitors at the same time. There are a few tips which can help people improve their websites.


What is SEO all about?

An SEO expert is someone one who is able to improve the visibility of your site and achieve the top ranking in the search engines. In order to be an Expert in SEO you need to follow certain rules and need to implement them practically. 
So i just mentioned here some of the best SEO strategies, even implemented by Online marketing agencies that will help you in becoming an expert in SEO:

Understanding users prospective:the backbone of any SEO campaign is Keyword research. Therefore it is very important that you understand the users intentions while performing keyword research and selecting a keyword. Selecting a keyword by keeping the target audience in mind will help you in finding the right viewers for your site.

So here are tips i've tested, although i learned them from some SEO Guru and Sites. You can also get many from other sites, but trust me; these are thr basic and best praticed... So lets go...

Use natural tactics: The search engine considers it very important to find a natural diversified link building process that grows slowly and steadily. Following a natural pace will show your commitment and also it would be White hat SEO. If you start building links quickly then the search engine will consider you a spammer and will raise a red flag against you and your website might be penalised.

Content is the King: if you want to excel in SEO remember that content is still considered as the king and is very critical part which cannot be neglected. You have to optimise the content so that the crawlers can find it. But always keep in mind that your content should be powerful enough to attract the visitors.

Strategy Planning: having a proper plan to carry out all the tasks is the most important factor in order to become a successful SEO. If you try performing all the tasks at once then you will land up nowhere. Flooding your site with low quality content and links will lead you in the opposite direction to success.

Long term vision: achieving results for SEO will consume time; if you want overnight results for your site then that is impossible. You need to be patient and plan for a long term success for your site.

Practice over learning: We all know the famous saying “practice makes perfect”, the same principle applies here. Whatever you learn every time put it into practice and one day you will master it. You have lots of books and tutorials available that would guide you in becoming a SEO expert.

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Very Funny: Major SEO War Looms As Konga Buys ‘Jumai’ Domain Name

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Let’s admit this: we’re all at war.

Remember when Dealfish hijacked the word ‘jobberman’ in its Google Adwords campaign and claimed it was not a deliberate attempt or attack on their competition, Jobberman?

And how even Techloy exclusively reported that Rocket Internet has been registering ‘Konga’, its major competitor’s domain names in South Africa (konga.co.za) and Kenya (konga.co.ke) since June 2012?

We’ve just learnt from a tip-off that Konga may now be involved in the SEO war against its major competitor, Jumia, as it has purchased the ‘Jumai’ domain name (jumai.com.ng) — as of January 17, 2013 — which now redirects to Konga.com, and could remain so for the next five years or more.

With both companies having recently been linked with possible merger talks, one could easily think that they’re just fond of each other.

In case you don’t know, ‘jumai’ has been a top search keyword on Google since Jumia was launched last September, and shows up varied key-phrases such as ‘jumai online store’, jumai fashion’ and ‘jumai website’ when users search for the word ‘jumai’, perhaps mistaken it for ‘jumia’.



Some news media sites have not even helped, as newspaper sites likeThe Punch(Nigeria) and Financial Technology Africa have headlines that read: Jumai instead of Jumia, which may have increased the likelihood that users would be searching for ‘jumai’, instead of ‘jumia’.

Or maybe they’ve noticed that ‘jumai’ is now a top search keyword. Heck, yeah, our headline and tags for this post are riding on the back of the keyword too — for SEO and SEM purposes. Why not?

While we’re not sure, Konga may also be using ‘jumai’ as keyword in its Google AdWords campaign, although several searches we did couldn’t reveal Konga’s website on the search results.

But whatever the case, these anti-competitive moves from both companies in recent times may just be what it takes to start a major SEO war in Nigeria which could see companies targeting domain and brand names of its competitors.

Ahhhh ahhhh.. Amazing though!

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More Indonesian Websites Defaced in Protest over Hacker’s Arrest

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Remember when the a couple of weeks ago when the Indonesian president’s website was hackedThe Indonesian cyber crime police unit finally got their man as they arrested hacker, Wildan Yani Ashari a few days ago. But in protest at that arrest, numerous Indonesian websites were also defaced by other local hackers – some sites have still not been restored to their previous state.

Wildan Yani Ashari is an interesting fellow. He works as the caretaker of an internet cafe located in Jember regency, and is a highschool graduate of a vocational school studying architectural engineering. His vocational school also teaches computer skills, and Detik quotes his teachers as saying that the boy did not show exemplary skills during his time in the computer class.

The government seems to want to deter similar hacking activities in the future as Wildan will be charged for a maximum of 12 years imprisonment and a maximum fine of IDR 12 billion (US$ 1.2 million). This for only the defacement of the president’s site. Even before the details of his possible punishment were released, several hackers already showed their support for Wildan after his arrest by hacking sites like the Indonesian Supreme Court’s website,YuhermanLawOffice.com, and TeoStudios.com.ar.



The hacked supreme court website (pictured above) has written statements from hackers, which said that unlike corrupt officials, hackers shouldn’t be arrested. The hackers only tried to show the weakness in the government’s system so that it can be strengthened against possible future threats. It is then stated that the local hackers ask that the government help train their hacking skills as they are prepared to help repel hacking threats from other countries. They are also protesting the stern punishment Wildan is facing right now. The other defaced websites echo that same message by saying that the government should help improve the skills of local hackers, rather than arresting them.

For once I have to side with the local hackers in this case. Yes, what Wildan did was a crime, but it was not a vast one and he did not endanger anyone or steal anything in the process. Even if Wildan is found guilty, I think – as will many web-smart Indonesians – that the punishment is disproportionate.

A few people might think that I’m overreaching here when I use the example of the late internet activist Aaron Swartz, who was potentially facing a disproportionately severe 50 years of jail timefor sharing JSTOR’s digital library of academic journals freely for public use. His aim was not profit, and it was just an act of digital defiance, but still the US government and the FBI hounded him on the case, which ended with Aaron’s suicide last week.

(Sources: Detik #1, #2, Nisan Blog #1, and #2)

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iROKOtv Officially Launches Its Windows Phone App That Lets You Watch Premium Movies Free On Nokia Lumia Devices

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iROKOtv has officially unveiled its Windows Phone app after a deal with Nokia that allows the struggling phone manufacturer’s customers of its Lumia range of smartphones to watch premium Nollywood content for free on the go.

Earlier this week it was reported that, the world’s largest distributor of Nollywood movie content online was about to release its official Windows Phone app in a matter of weeks, along with a special gift: free access to 3-months of iROKOtv+ subscription, exclusive to Nokia Lumia users.

The app which is available on the Windows Phone store features behind-the-scenes films from movie sets, interviews with Nollywood stars and additional news and gossip from the world of entertainment.

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Microsoft Is Announcing ‘Something Big’ In Africa On February 5

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Microsoft Africa

In the spirit of the African proverb which says, “The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is now”, Microsoft says that it is planting new ‘seeds’ now that would transform Africa, starting in 2013 and are looking forward to sharing information about the new ‘seeds’ they’re planting.

At the moment, no official word on what the company could be planning to launch for Africa, but it may be the introduction of an apps, thus competition to get African software developers to build more apps for the Windows Phone 8 OS.

Apparently, Microsoft has been pushing its Windows 8 platform recently, however, the Windows Store with just about 150,000 apps has a large shortage of apps that are available elsewhere for Android, iOS and Blackberry users. Again, there are just a handful of African-based Windows Phone apps such as the yet-to-be-released iROKOtv app and a few bank-related apps.

Yet, an apps competition for African developers isn’t big enough for Microsoft to be unveiling, except if it does come with a twist and since perhaps this is the first time ever that the company would be engaging with African developers with such a contest.

Of course, the company organises its annual Imagine Cup, the world’s most prestigious student technology competition which brings together student innovators from all over the world to build apps and compete for a prize.

And it would be a big move by Microsoft to push for more local useful apps on the Windows Store, even though Apple never had to run a competition for apps developers on its platform which currently boasts over 1 million apps.

That said, it is noteworthy that Google regularly ran Android Developer Challenges (even in Africa) in the early days of Android, and Samsung have also ran similar contests in Africa for Bada, Android and Java apps.

So lets keep our ear to the ground and we would bring you more updates as we know more in the coming days.


(Souce: Techloy)

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Difference Between Chinese Netizens and US Net Users?

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This question originally appeared on Quora, and the answer that follows was provided by Linus Chung, an avid user of Chinese and US internet products; he has lived in China for over three years, and is a former tech/internet VC.

Some of my observations on how Chinese internet users differ from US internet users:Behavior:
* Usage skews more heavily toward instant messaging (IM), entertainment, gaming: Comparing the results of a Chinese (CNNIC) and US internet survey (Pew) will unveil some notable differences. Some of the top usage categories for Chinese internet users are IM (83 percent of Chinese users vs. 46 percent of US users), downloading music (76 percent of Chinese users vs. 37 percent of US users), and playing games (62 percent vs. 36 percent of US users). In contrast, US users tend to use email a lot more (48 percent of Chinese users vs. 91 percent of US users), and tend to use the internet for other productivity reasons more often.
In China, 3 of the 5 largest internet companies by revenue have a large portion of their revenue coming from games (Tencent, Netease, and Shanda), with the other two as search (Baidu) and portal businesses (Sohu). None of the top 5 internet companies in the US are gaming companies (Amazon, Google, eBay, Liberty Interactive, Yahoo). The reason for this difference in usage might largely be explained by demographics (see below).

* Use of mobile Internet more prominent: In China, there are 538 million internet users, but over 1b mobile phone users. Some analysts estimate that the adoption of the internet lags mobile phone adoption by 4-5 years. With this in mind, Chinese users don’t see the mobile phone as something to use to check the internet when they are away from their computer, but many perceive it as their primary device for communications. It’s not surprising then, that mobile internet traffic has grown significantly in the last few years. One of the most popular internet sites Sina Weibo (a Twitter-like product) has seen its mobile share of total traffic go from 40 percent at the beginning of 2011 to over 70 percent.

* Less frequent use of real names on profiles: Chinese users tend to use aliases for their online personas. While this was predominantly the trend in the US over a decade ago (i.e., when AOL Instant Messenger was a dominant internet application), users in the US have become accustomed to using their real names online. Some will argue the reason for the Chinese users’ unwillingness to use real names is that they are afraid of government monitoring. I believe this rationale applies to a small minority. There has recently been talk of new legislation to require users on Chinese internet services to register with their real names. For some services, this has already been the standard practice, and the requirement is to only use real names when registering. Public profiles can still use aliases. I believe for the vast majority of Chinese users, it is a matter of personal preference to use an alias, perhaps a way to express one’s individuality.
There are a number of real name social networks (e.g., Pengyou, RenRen), where the service dictates that the norm is to use one’s real name. However, there are a number of services where users choose to use aliases, and this practice is much more prevalent in China than it is in the US.

Demographics:* Chinese users tend to skew younger: Chinese internet users tend to skew younger, with the average user age being ~25 in China vs. ~42 in the US. This explains a lot when it comes to propensity to use IM and play games vs. email, and the kinds of services companies offer to cater to this audience.

Preferences:* Different willingness to pay: An interesting dynamic exists when it comes to what many Chinese are willing to pay for and what they are not willing to pay for. I’m making generalizations here, but many Chinese are willing to pay extra when it’s for goods that can be outwardly displayed (to show off, to explain it crudely). For goods where there is intrinsic value but is not something that is outwardly displayed, there is generally an unwillingness to pay a premium. In this case, people just want the cheapest thing that gets the job done. So on the one hand, the Chinese love spending money on luxury goods (high end handbags, watches, jewelry), but the cheapest brand of home appliances (washing machines, refrigerators, etc.), which serve useful purposes but are hidden in the privacy of the home, are often the best selling.

This phenomenon carries over to the internet. Chinese users are unwilling to pay for software or games, so piracy is a huge issue. Innovative gaming companies overcame this by allowing users to play the games for free, but they would make money by selling virtual items. Chinese users are far more willing to pay for virtual goods that they can use to show off in the digital world (e.g., special clothes for their avatar) or make them better at an online game (e.g., special weapons). The Chinese pioneered the free-to-play plus virtual goods business model that Zynga and others in the US adopted. Another example is music. Chinese users won’t pay for a song. Instead, they’ll find ways to download it for free. Musicians found a way around this by charging for downloadable ringtones or even ringback tones (when you call someone and instead of ringing you hear a song), which Chinese users are happy to pay for because it is something externally displayed to demonstrate uniqueness.

A popular American news aggregation website versus popular Chinese news portal Sina

* Prefer crowded, cluttered sites: People from the West often look at a typical Chinese website and are taken aback by how crowded the site looks. US users tend to prefer cleaner, simpler websites with less clutter. Just compare Amazon to 360buy and Ebay to Taobao. The layouts and structure may be similar but you’ll find that the Chinese version will cram a lot more into a small space. One reason for this is that the Chinese language is a hassle to type on a computer, and Chinese users prefer to have all the links of things they want to find right there on the home page. They can just click on what they want instead of typing into a search bar. This was especially true in the early days of the internet. Over time, I believe users have just become accustomed to a certain look and feel and prefer not to change. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

This question originally appeared on Quora

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France Takes on Twitter, And Bans The Word 'Hashtag'

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The French don't like how English tech jargon is invading their language, and now France's language police have handcuffed the common Twitter term "hashtag," according to reports.

France's Commission Générale de Terminologie et de Néologie announced this week that all government references to hashtagged words and phrases, word groupings prefixed by the symbol "#," will now use the French term "mot-dièse," The Local reported Wednesday.

The Gallic-flavored replacement for hashtag means "sharp word" and French language authorities have defined it as "a series of characters preceded by the # symbol," according to the English-language news site, which is based in France.

While the use of hashtags on Twitter has helped popularize the term with a wide audience, hashtagging words and phrases didn't actually originate with the micro-blogging service. In fact, using the "#" symbol to label a discussion topic appears to have started on Internet Relay Chat boards sometime in the middle of the last decade, though the practice quickly caught on with Twitter users in the service's early days.

Perhaps predictably, the reaction from French Twitter users has been less than enthusiastic, according to the Huffington Post, which dug up several tweets mocking the new term.

The commission's attempt to scrub a popular English word from the French language is hardly unusual. France has long taken a very aggressive approach to policing the French language and protecting it from unwanted foreign words. More often than not, they are English words that some linguistic purists believe will have a negative impact on "French word formation, phonetics and grammar, not just terminology," as the Huffington Post noted.

But whether such a heavy-handed approach has helped the growth of French or hindered it is debatable. Some critics of institutions like the Commission Générale de Terminologie et de Néologie have argued that over the past few centuries, English in particular has rocketed past French to become the world's lingua franca (ironically enough) because it has no central authority shaping it rather than in spite of that fact.

Whatever the case may be, the tiff over hashtags appears to be about more than just maintaining the purity of the French language. Earlier this week, a French court ordered Twitter to identify the authors of racist, homophobic, and anti-Semitic tweets, with specific examples citing hashtagged terms like #UnBonJuif (a good Jew) and #SiMonFilsEstGay (if my son is gay), and #SiMaFilleRamèneUnNoir (if my daughter brings home a black guy).

The micro-blogging service must comply with the court's ruling "within the framework of its French site," the AFP reported on Thursday.

Later that same day, a Twitter spokesman said it was "currently reviewing the court's decision."


(Source: Pcmag)

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Learn How To Tag Images in Blogger To Drive Traffic..!

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SEO Traffic
It may seem needless but trust me, learning the proper way of Optimizing images in your blog (blogger or wordpress) is a must. Why? Because Google Image search is used widely for finding quality reference images, icons and photos. Even some web designers like me ( lol.. ) always surfs the web for images that could be added to their profiles, desktop, blog posts, projects and etc, not to talk of the percentage of our blog traffic that depends on Image search. Search robots can not read multimedia nor graphic images or flash. Which means an image is meaningless for search spiders if it is not TAGGED. So what is image Tag?

A Tag is simple HTML code that tells search robots what the image is all about. It is the description of image. This Tag is different from the tags that you add to photos in Facebook. Because here you must be selective with your choice of rich keywords. For example, lets look at this HTML Code for an Image below:

<img src="IMAGE LINK" />
By adding this code any where in your templates will display an image. When robots scan your content they look for every detail and when they come across you image HTML code they do not recognize what the image is all about. It can't judge if it is an image on Tech News or Bloging Tips/Tricks. But to let robots index each of your images you must add an "alt" Tag,  This alt Tag was introduced by Google so that images could be well described, categorized and indexed. This Tag tells the robot about the purpose of the image. For Example:
<img src="IMAGE LINK" alt="SEO Tips" />
As you can see in the above code that the yellow highlighted part tells Search engine spiders that the image being displayed is about "SEO Tips" You just need to add two-three short words to describe your image. Thus alt tag is basically a short HTML code i.e. alt=" " and you add the description of image between the inverted commas.

Optimized Image Tags:
 You have to keep the following tips in mind while writing description for your pictures, photos or any image, because
by just adding a alt tag to your image code wont turn your image into an optimized one.. So:

Keep Description limited to 4 words. Even if less than that is better.
Don't write full sentences to describe images. Instead of writing "Best SEO Tips to Optimize Images in Blogspot" Simply Tag it as "Image SEO Tips" or "Optimized Images" or "How To Optimize Images".
Just like not every keyword should be added to Post titles, similarly not every keyword should be added to Image Tags. Brief, Precise and relevant tagged images always score high. Keep it simple as much as possible. Google is smart enough to attach related keywords to your image from your post content.
Always Add an intro image to your posts. I always add an intro image at the start of every post and I tag it sensibly so that the image Tag may clearly synchronize with the post title. Use your best keywords in your intro images.
Do not tag images with senseless words. If the image is a screenshot of an installation process step for instance Photoshop. Then instead of writing as "Click settings" or "Click Next" give it a rich tag like "Photoshop Settings" or "Best Photoshop settings"
Tag the image with normal English words and avoid use of special characters like %, $, #, @,&, -, _ etc. (Mybloggerticks)

How to add alt Tags To Blogger Images?
Whenever you add a photo to your post editor, always switch to "Edit HTML" mode and find the HTML code for the image which will look like this:

<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-s4duV3rFdNU/TraScxE5PoI/AAAAAAAAFVo/ZkfRcPAVpkI/image%25255B30%25255D.png?imgmax=800" ><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-s4duV3rFdNU/TraScxE5PoI/AAAAAAAAFVo/ZkfRcPAVpkI/image%25255B30%25255D.png?imgmax=800" /></a>
Although it's somehow nasty but you just need to identify the HTML code of the image which is the highlighted portion. Add the alt tag just after <img as shown below,
<a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-s4duV3rFdNU/TraScxE5PoI/AAAAAAAAFVo/ZkfRcPAVpkI/image%25255B30%25255D.png?imgmax=800" ><img alt="IMAGE DESCRIPTION" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-s4duV3rFdNU/TraScxE5PoI/AAAAAAAAFVo/ZkfRcPAVpkI/image%25255B30%25255D.png?imgmax=800" /></a>

By doing this, you've turned your images into a traffic driving source, and you can expect fair amount of increase in daily visitors just by adopting the habit of Image Tagging.

Or you still need something to clear off your chest?

Please If you have anything related to image optimization/tag then feel free to leave your says. Waiting folks.....!

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Atlas! Yolo Intel Smartphone Launched in Africa

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Safaricom announced Yolo Smartphone for Africa that will be using the Intel Smartphone platform. Yolo is the first Smartphone to be released in Africapowered by an Intel processor.

Yolo will be an Android device. Yolo is target at the buyers who are price conscious and are buying a Smartphone for the first time. The device though will be priced affordably, it will offer good performance. The entry price of the Yolo smartphonne will be 10,999 Kshs. It will also be offered with a 500 MB of data.

Yolo will be given the Intel’s Smartphone platform that designed for the developing markets. The platform was launched at Consumer Electronics Show that was concluded recently. Yolo will offer fast web browsing and will also have good multimedia features.

Peter Aina, General Manager of Safaricom Business unit said that the new device will offer everything that the Kenyans expect from an affordable Smartphone. Kenya will be the first country in Africa to receive an Intel Smartphone and there is high expectation that it will be received well by the customers.

Aysegul Lideniz, Region Director for Middle East and Africa region said that they have happy to partner with Safaricom to launch the Smartphone for Africa. He said Kenya consumes will enjoy the benefits offered by Intel technology.

Yolo Smartphone will have an Intel Atom Z2420 processor inside with 1.2 GHz speed. It will sport a 3.5 inch touch screen. It will support FM radio and HSPA+. There will be a 5 megapixel Full HD camera and video capturing support with 1080 p is also possible with the camera. It will have advance imaging capabilities with burst mode. Users can take seven pictures in a second with the 5 megapixel quality.

Yolo is also provided with a memory slot for expansion of memory. Global roaming will also be available with the Intel’s XMM 6265 model. The consumers will be provided with added protection and data backup as Yolo can be enabled with McAfee mobile security software.
Yolo Specifications:

  1. Yolo will come with 3.5 inch touch screen display
  2. The device will be powered by Intel Atom Processor Z2420.
  3. Hype Threading Technology
  4. 5 megapixel camera
  5. Supports FM Radio
  6. Micro SD slot for expanding the memory
  7. McAfee mobile security software
  8. HSPA + modem support with Intel 6265 modem that offers global roaming facility

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Gamer In China Murders Two, Burns Down House When Internet Cuts Out

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A gamer in China surnamed Zhao took things to a whole new level when the connection dropped while Zhao was playing a favorite web game at an internet cafe in Renqiu, Hebei. He got angry and sought out the owner of the cafe at his nearby home. The two got into an argument after the owner (surnamed Ren) suggested that Zhao had downloaded a virus that caused the drop, and Zhao began to hit Ren with his fists. Ren, trying to protect himself, brandished a hammer (though he didn’t strike Zhao with it), and Zhao responded by grabbing scissors and stabbing Ren repeatedly. Ren tried to counter with the hammer, but Zhao grabbed it and began smashing him in the head until he fell to the ground, dead. When Ren’s wife came over, Zhao smashed her in the head with a hammer too, also stabbing her with the scissors and a nearby kitchen knife.

Having murdered the couple in their home, Zhao then set the place ablaze and tossed the murder weapons into the fire. It wasn’t until the next morning that Ren and his wife were found, and although the incident happened in December, Zhao wasn’t arrested until this month. Murder is a capital offense in China, and given the fact that Zhao’s was a double murder with no real provocation, he can probably expect a short trial followed by a bullet in the back of his head.

The Chinese gaming news is full of stories about addicted gamers overreacting when their favorite games have been taken away, but clearly,  I personally think Mr. Zhao has crossed the line between “entitled douche” and “total psychopath.”

So If there’s anyone out there who feels like Zhao when bad internet connections take your favorite games away, please, seek help.

(via QQ Games)

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Reviews: Mxit, Africa’s Largest Mobile Social Network

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Mxit is a free online instant messaging application that runs on a number of mobile and computing platforms (about 3,000 mobile handsets). Mxit allows you to chat, play, trade, purchase and exchange goods and video games with “moola” Mxit’s currency. “It is a mobile social network that allow users to send and receive one-on-one text and multimedia messages to and from other users, and in general chat rooms” with support gateways to other instant messaging platforms like AIM, Windows Live Messenger, MSN Messenger, ICQ, Facebook and Google Talk.

Although MXit does not charge for one-on-one messages, mobile operators may charge for data usage. There are also charges for a number of services, including chatrooms.

With it’s over 55 million registered users across 120 countries and nearly 10 million users in South Africa alone, Mxit is Africa’s largest social network and South Africa’s most widely used social media platform surpassing Facebook’s six million users and Twitter’s 1.1 million subscribers, take a look at the infographic below



Mxit was founded 7 years ago by Namibian-born software developer Herman Heunis, since then it has grown from just another instant messaging apps to a full global mobile social network, it was acquired by acquired by South African investment group, World of Avatar in September 2011.

Features
The network allows users to send and receive one-on-one text and multimedia messages to and from other users as well as chat rooms supporting gateways to other instant messaging platforms like AIM, Windows Live Messenger, MSN Messenger, ICQ, Facebook and Google Talk and can run on over 3,000 handsets, it requires Java and internet connectivity via GPRS, CSD, 3G or wifi to run.

There are now versions specifically made for Apple iPhone which can be obtained via the iTunes App Store, Android, BlackBerry OS and Windows Mobile devices as well as Windows client, MXit EVO PC.


Other features include contact list as well as file transfers and photo sharing via a cellphone’s built-in camera and a group chat, called MultiMX. In 2009, Mxit released an open-source plug-in for the libPurple library which allows apps such as Pidgin and Adium which makes of the libPurple library to connect to the network.
Platforms for Mxit

You can install and run Mixit on any of these Platforms:
Android
BlackBerry OS
iOS
Java ME
Linux using Pidgin
Mac OS X using Adium
Microsoft Windows using Pidgin and MXit EVO
Windows Mobile

Take a look at these interesting stats below



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Mashable: 10 Awesome Pranks to Play On Your Facebook Friends

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1. Delete Your Comment After Your Victim Has Answered
Facebook lets you delete comments after you've posted them.

So, make an utterly random comment on one of your victim's posts, wait for his off-topic response and then delete your original remark. This way, your victim will look like he's talking nonsense.

To delete a comment after the fact, simply hover over it until the pencil icon appears, then select "Delete."

Screengrab courtesy of Facebook

2. Make Small, Strange Changes to Your Victim's Photos

Take a tip from Oli Beale's sheer genius. If you have photo editing skills, you can really wind your friends up.

Copy one of your victim's photos, alter it in a slightly odd way -- so that she is recognizable, but doesn't look quite right -- then re-post it. Be sure to tag her.

Repeating this action every time she posts a fresh pic is guaranteed to drive her crazy.

Photo courtesy of Matt Silverman/Nina Frazier/Mashable

3. Create a Fan Page for Your Victim

You could truly baffle someone by creating him a fan page.

Head to your Facebook homepage. Hover over "Pages" on the left-hand side and click "More." Select "Create a Page" at the top-left of the next screen. "Artist, Band or Public Figure" is the best option to select next.

Once your page is complete, be sure to invite all your mutual friends to "Like" it -- but not your victim.

Then, every time he makes a Facebook update, post something to the page in response. For example, if your victim posts a link to something, do the same from the fan page with the comment "Hey guys, [your victim's name] has just linked to this, let's check it out!"

Screengrab courtesy of Facebook

4. Make Your Victim's Posts Invisible

This one requires access to your victim's Facebook account, so if you get five minutes with her computer while she's signed in to Facebook, memorize this for future use.

Click on the padlock icon on the top-right of any of her Facebook screens. Select "See more settings." Click the "Edit" option next to "Who can see your future posts?" Hit the dropdown menu that appears in the pop-up window and go for the "Only me" option.

It will take her ages to work out why she's getting zero "Likes" and comments on her Facebook content.

Screengrab courtesy of Facebook

5. Fool Your Victim Into Thinking You Just Met Their Idol

Find a street style/fan shot of your friend's idol and post it to your wall with a comment about how you just bumped into this famous person. You can embellish it with further commentary about where it was, how nice/nasty that person was, whether you got his or her autograph, etc.

Sit back and wait for your victim to notice. Enjoy the agonized response.

Screengrab courtesy of Facebook, Joan Rivers image courtesy of Tais Melillo

6. Copy Your Victim's Photos

Inspired by this this awesome guy, replicate your victim's photos and post them to your Facebook page.

For maximum effect, start slowly. If your victim posts a pic of herself on a woodland walk, post one of you in the same kind of scenery.

If your victim posts a photo of herself in a white shirt in a bar, post a picture of yourself in a white shirt in a bar.

Gradually build this up until you can replicate as many details of her image (background, dress, pose) as possible to make the images as near copies as you can.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto/Fenne

7. Hack Your Victim's Mobile Access
This is another one that requires a few moments with a signed-in account, but its potential is well worth the risk of getting caught.

Click on the padlock icon on the top-right of any of his Facebook screens. Select "See more settings." From the left-hand menu select "Mobile." Now look toward the bottom of the options and you will see "Post-By-Email Address."

Copy the "randomcharacters@m.facebook.com" address and get the heck out of dodge. You can now update your victim's Facebook profile randomly with bizarre status updates and weird imagery.

Rather than go down the totally obvious frat boy "Frape" route, why not have some fun with some off-the-wall updates?

Obscure poetry quotes work well, as do "vaguebook"-style cries for help.

Screengrab courtesy of Facebook

8. Fool Your Victim With a Bizarre News Event

Got a gullible friend? Got some basic photo editing skillz? Post a screengrab of a kerazy news event that you know your friend will freak out about.

It's been done before with an alien invasion and a zombie attack, but your imagination is the limit.

Carry it out at a time you know your victim will have patchy Internet access (e.g. on his commute, etc.) so he struggles to verifiy the facts.

Even better: Get some friends in on the fun to post similar stories and/or make genuine sounding comments on your post.

BBC screengrab courtesy of BBCscreengrab courtesy of Facebook

9. Randomly Tag Yourself In Irrelevant Photos

This is the simplest prank, but possibly the most annoying.

Randomly -- and repeatedly -- tag yourself in your victim's photos that have no relevance to you.

This will be most effective if you're crashing an "in joke" between your victim and another Facebook user, or if the posted image is solely of your victim at an event you did not attend.

Screengrab courtesy of Facebook

10. Freak Your Victim Out With a Random Link to His or Her Profile Page

Known as the old "Omegle" trick, it's a Facebook quirk that a certain URL, followed by a series of random numbers, will direct your victim to her own Facebook profile (if she's already signed into the service).

It's up to you how you employ this one, but we like the idea of turning it into a "magic trick" for your friends.

Why not get your victim to pick a string of nine random numbers, add it to the end of this URL: "http://facebook.com/profile.php?=" (so for example, "http://facebook.com/profile.php?=119277941"), then watch her sheer amazement as her own profile page loads.

Screengrab courtesy of Facebook

Whether you're after sweet revenge, a fresh online battle or just a little harmless mischief, Facebook is a fertile ground for pranking.

We have gathered 10 devious tricks you can play on your Facebook friends, from freaking them out with photos to fooling them with alternate realities.

Take a look through our suggestions in the gallery above. Please remember, only play such pranks on sturdy souls you're sure can take it — and never use your powers for evil.

(Thumbnail image courtesy of Franco Bouly)

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Anonymous hacks US government site, threatens release of secrets

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Hackers working under the name of the Anonymous hacktivist collective hit a U.S. government website on Saturday, replacing its home page with a 1,340 word text detailing its frustrations with the way the American legal system works and a threat to release "secrets" gathered from U.S. government websites.

The website of the U.S. Sentencing Commission, which establishes sentencing policies for the federal court system, was offline for much of Saturday as a result of the attack.

The site and timing of the attack was not random, according to the message that replaced the home page before it was taken offline.

"Two weeks ago today, a line was crossed," the message read. "Two weeks ago today, Aaron Swartz was killed. Killed because he faced an impossible choice. Killed because he was forced into playing a game he could not win -- a twisted and distorted perversion of justice -- a game where the only winning move was not to play."

Swartz committed suicide in New York on Jan. 11, apparently over an upcoming trial on computer intrusion, wire fraud and data theft charges that carried a maximum penalty of 35 years in jail. The charges stem from allegations that Swartz stole millions of scholarly articles and documents from the JSTOR database with the intention of making them available online at no charge.

His suicide sparked outrage among the hacktivist community, much of which blamed the prosecution of the case and potential penalties he faced as directly contributing to his death.

"This website was chosen due to the symbolic nature of its purpose -- the federal sentencing guidelines which enable prosecutors to cheat citizens of their constitutionally guaranteed right to a fair trial, by a jury of their peers -- the federal sentencing guidelines which are in clear violation of the 8th amendment protection against cruel and unusual punishments," the message on the hacked website read.

The message went on to say that the group had infiltrated numerous U.S. government websites and gathered material it judged would be embarrassing if released.

"We have enough fissile material for multiple warheads. Today we are launching the first of these. Operation Last Resort has begun..."

The message didn't reveal the nature of the "secrets," but the hackers made available on the site a multi-part encrypted file that was said to contain them. It's impossible to determine what's actually in the files, which were named for judges on the U.S. Supreme Court.

The message went on to demand a number of reforms to the U.S. legal system.

(From Computerworld.)

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Beijing Government Releases Official Air Quality Monitoring App

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Just half a year ago, if you wanted to know how dangerous the air was in Beijing, your only real option was the US Embassy’s @BeijingAir twitter feed, and the Chinese government was desperately trying to stop you from reading that. Now, not only is the Beijing government publishing real-time numbers for the air’s PM2.5 (deadly particles) count, it has released a smartphone app so that users can check pollution stats while on the go.

Although there are already a lot of third party smartphone apps out there that are making use of Beijing’s official data and/or the data from the US Embassy’s twitter feed (here’s one, for example). But this app, which was produced by the Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center (BJMEMC), is the first official smartphone app to report air quality data. It is available for both Android and iOS, and can access data from 35 different air quality testing stations around the city that report on the PM2.5 content of the air, as well as five other kinds of pollutants.

So, users can check specific stations manually, the app can also access user locations (on phones that support this feature) so that it can automatically report the air quality data from the test station nearest to the user’s position. 


BJMEMC says that it is aware of the other apps like this on the market, but claims its own app offers more complete and thorough local coverage thanks to the 35 different test stations it accesses.



As you can see from the screens above (from the iPhone app), it’s not the prettiest air quality monitoring application out there, but it does what it is supposed to do, and given that it’s still leaps and bounds ahead of some other official mobile app projects, I’m not inclined to be too critical about it. And having another choice when it comes to air quality apps can only be good news for consumers, so the release of this app seems like something to celebrate. Interested parties can find the iPhone version here and the Android version here (as an apk download).

(From Techinasia, smog image via CBS News)

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A Week of Africa by Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman of Google

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Eric Schmidt,, the former CEO of Google recently visited some cities in the sub-saharan Africa and came up with this, insightful I must say and I hope you’ll find it interesting.

a) the despotic leadership in Africa from the 1970s and 1980 is in decline, replaced by younger and more democratic leaders
b) a huge youth demographic boom is underway, with a majority of the population of 25, or even under 20
c) mobile phones are everywhere, and the Internet in Africa will be primarily a mobile one

Eric Schmidt at Strathmore University in Kenya, talking about the importance of education as a tool to enable young people fix the world’s most pressing needs.

Many of the older problems are still severe, including a lack of electric power, the general trend of rural to urban migration, and pervasive corruption. Every country we visited had an internal security problem, or a significant border problem, and the elites are sheltered from this pervasive concern behind guarded walls, hotels and restaurants with gates and security checks, and ubiquitous guards. I try to imagine what the US would be if we had the types of security problems in Africa.. how would WE deal with such threats?

Connectivity is much more important for security than many analysts think. Societies who are not connected lack opposing viewpoints and are much more subject to easy radicalization. The virtue of having more connectivity is that people will have more choices, and more choices lead a better understanding of the value to go to school, the need to treat women equally, the choice to not demonize others, etc.

Nairobi has emerged as a serious tech hub and may become the African leader. A combination of relatively stable politics, the British legal system, and a benign climate seem to attract a significant share of foreign investment. Incubators are hosting potential solutions to many problems, including connecting M-Pesa (their mobile money solution on simple phones using SMS) with payment systems for local stores. If they manage to get through the upcoming March elections without significant conflict, they will grow quickly.

Rwanda is a jewel with a terrible past. High economic growth and the development of a significant middle class is threatened by the withdrawal of aid due to UN complaints over the Congo. Rwanda feels like Singapore, an island inside of Africa whose small size allows great focus and a dynamic, stable government. A visit to the Genocide Museum in Kigali, and a trip to the Volcanic National Park where eight groups of eight can trek to see the gorillas made famous by Diana Fossey, are well worth it. Gorilla treks are also available through Uganda and the Congo, over the same mountains.

After fifty years of war, South Sudan is the worlds newest country. In a country where every issue is an urgent one, mobile networks can unify a poor country with isolated villages, significant flooding in the rainy season, and the constant threat of attacks from rebels from the north. A courageous group, the Satellite Sentinel project. uses satellite data and other sources to document ethnic cleansing in remote areas of Sudan (the northern Sudan) and serve as a record of the terrible ongoing violence against innocents.


Chad is a poor petro-state, with a long history of conflict and one pipeline and one fiber link. Africa has submarine fiber cables on the west and eastern side. Landlocked countries are at the mercy of their neighbors, and all have learned that competition with multiple fiber connections from differing borders dramatically reduces costs. Chad like some others, has determined that future spectrum should not be auctioned as that only increases the eventual mobile costs and are simply allocating it to a set of competitive carriers. Less than 1% of Chad has electricity.

Nigeria, known as a land of oil corruption and the ubiquitous 419 email scams, is the biggest surprise to a first time visitor. Nigerians are entrepreneurial, stylish, educated, and have the belief that their country can emerge as the next Brazil. With 170 million citizens, and a record breaking eleven years of civilian elected government, the compound growth and the shared memory of real internal conflict almost guarantees their short term success. Future growth of Nigeria should help with its international image problem, as the real story of its success gets out.
Former Google’s CEO visits Nigeria – image courtesy of cp-africa
The emergent model of the African internet is a set of competitive fiber suppliers to the capital, a set of fiber rings owned by local telco’s, and 3G and 4G networks. Some of the countries are late with licensing plans for 3G and 4G, a costly delay for countries that have very little residential broadband. Solar charging can help with the power needs of handsets, but the electricity needs to be more reliable or costly backup systems will be built at each tower. Many of these countries have telecommunications as a major contributor to their GPD (Cote d’Ivory is about 12%) and even Somalia, which we did not visit this time, has a profitable competitive telecommunications industry.. the most profitable legal industry in that country. Some countries are reluctant to turn on the data portion of their telecommunications industry, another costly delay to their future digital commerce, education and entertainment industries.

Many Africans will be last, unfortunately, to be connected to the rest of us. For them, the best short term outcome will be feature phones (inexpensive voice and SMS phones) and a private network of microSD cards that can be traded behind oppressive authorities to get information in and out of trapped, occupied and remote locations. Information is power, and more information means more choices. Documenting abuses, getting pressure from outside to fix real problems, and solving illiteracy are just a few functions of even the most limited of feature phones.

The demographic dividend in Africa of young people is their greatest hope, in my opinion. Today high rates of unemployment show an economy underperforming to its true potential. This new generation expects more, and will use mobile computing to get it. Optimism is appropriate for Africa, as the people we met will do much more with less than we can imagine, and the devices and systems built in the first world will be used in the most creative ways in the emerging new world of Africa.
(From Techtalkafrica.com)

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Orange brings Baidu’s speedy Android browser to Africa, Middle East and Asia

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From thenextweb.com:

Chinese Internet giant Baidu is beginning a big push into emerging markets with the Egyptian launch this week of its Web browser for Android handsets, in partnership with mobile operator Orange.

The exclusive deal will see the two companies collaborate on rolling out a co-branded version of Baidu Browser in countries across Africa, the Middle East and Asia. France Telecom-owned Orange says that it is seeing growth in demand for Android amongst its 80 million customers across these markets – indeed, it reports that demand for Android doubled in Egypt during the second half of 2012 – and this move is designed to cater to increased demand for data services.

Baidu Browser launched in September last year, sporting a speedy new HTML5 and Javascript engine. The new, co-branded version is enhanced to give tight integration with Orange’s network. Data compression is built in, offering between 30 and 90 per cent reduction in data usage. The browser will come with preinstalled bookmarks for Orange and Baidu services, as well as popular third-party attractions like Wikipedia, Facebook and Twitter.



Baidu opened a research center in Singapore last year as it looked to increasingly target markets outside its native China. It has invested heavily in developing services that support languages other than Chinese, with Arabic a particular focus. This makes Egypt a logical first port of call for the new partnership.

Already available in Arabic and English, a French version of the browser is in development. It will be distributed as a pre-installed app on Android devices sold by Orange, and available to existing customers via download.

Baidu Browser is available to customers of Orange’s MobiNil network in Egypt today, and it will be rolled out to more markets during 2013.

Image credit: AFP/Getty Images

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How To Remove Post Dates from WordPress

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You are blogging on WordPress, right? then showing or living your date will make it easier for you to sort through your own posts and keep them organized. It also enables your users to know when a post was written, whether it has become old or outdated. There are also ways, though, that the date can be hindering you and you may not even know it.

This is what you need to consider. A dated blog will appear as just that in search engines. When your post comes up after a search, one of the things that will appear just below the title is the date. You most likely have noticed this when you performed your own searches. So, what is the problem with this? Actually, there is a big problem that could be affecting how many readers you get. The problem is that readers are picky about what they will and will not read on the Internet and they will be extremely picky about the date. In other words, if the date is more than a few months old, the reader will automatically assume that it is outdated and not useful. Your post may be very useful and it may be getting overlooked all because of a little date just on a search result.

As you can see, there is a very good reason to remove the date from your WordPress posts as they appear in search results. You actually have to take several steps to make this happen. If that date gets left anywhere in the post or in the comments or on the post page, then search engines, like Google, will find it. You must remove the date from everywhere. Do you know what everywhere means? Here are some of the places you will need to locate and remove the date from:

The individual post
The comments left on the post
The post groupings

To remove the date from your WordPress themes, the easiest way to actually do this is by using plugin called called WP Post Date Remover. There are no options on the plugin. Just activate it, and it will remove the dates from your posts, homepage, category pages, etc.

A more manual way of doing this is by finding the code for the date function, and removing it. You will want to look for one of these functions:
<?php the_date(); ?> 
<?php the_time(); ?>
Or they may not look exactly as they do above. They may look like this:
<?php the_time('F jS, Y') ?>

These files are the most common where you will probably find the date function:
index.php (maybe home.php)archive.phpcategory.phpsingle.phppage.php
Another manual method of doing this is to go to “Appearance > Editor” in your WordPress admin and add this code to the top of your theme’s functions.php file:

function jl_remove_post_dates() { add_filter('the_date', '__return_false'); add_filter('the_time', '__return_false'); add_filter('the_modified_date', '__return_false'); } add_action('loop_start', 'jl_remove_post_dates');

(The above method requires WordPress 3.0 or above)

if your website still shows post date, you can replace it with this version:
function jl_remove_post_dates() { add_filter('the_date', '__return_false'); add_filter('the_time', '__return_false'); add_filter('the_modified_date', '__return_false'); add_filter('get_the_date', '__return_false'); add_filter('get_the_time', '__return_false'); add_filter('get_the_modified_date', '__return_false'); } add_action('loop_start', 'jl_remove_post_dates');
 Actually, it could very much be to remove post date - if you have not been getting enough readers. By removing the dates, you will find that your site can have much more search engine success.

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A New iOS App Lets You Learn And Share "Yoruba" Language Proverbs

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A new app called ShareYoruba that lets you learn and share Yoruba proverbs has been released on the Apple App Store. In case you don’t know, Yoruba is a native language of the Yoruba tribe in West Africa spoken by about 20 million people.

The ShareYourba App created by Nigerian developer, Mikaila Akeredolu aims to help you learn and retain those age-old Yoruba proverbs that have been passed down through generations and allows you share them via Twitter and Facebook with your friends and family.

The app, currently an iPhone and iPad version and being sold for $0.99 only was released on January 23.

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Google expands its Street View coverage in Israel with images from ‘hundreds’ of new locations

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Google has announced the release of its second wave of Street View images from Israel after the company added 360 degree photography from “hundreds” of new locations in the Middle Eastern country to its Google Maps service.

The first images of Israel emerged last April, which was seven months after Google announced plans to map the country. That decision itself took three months of negotiations with authorities, concerned at the issue of personal data, but now Google is adding to its collection with Street Views photos from hundreds of cities, towns, villages, heritage sites and tourist attractions.

You can now virtually tour the picturesque city of Safed in the North, the coral reef in Eilat in the South, visit the lowest point on earth at the Dead Sea, and wander around the narrow passageways of the old city of Acre.

We’ve added imagery from cities, towns and villages including Ashdod, Ashkelon, Be’er Sheva, Bnei Brak, Eilat, Isfyia, Kfar Qasem, Kiryat Gat, Nazareth, Netanya, Ofakim, Petah Tikva, Rishon LeTsiyon, Sderot, Tira, and many, many more. And stay tuned – we hope to expand coverage to still more of the region’s sites, streets, cities and towns in the future.

Google’s objective with its mapping product is quite simple…cover the world, and it is equally as ambitious with Street View, its program to bring street-level images of cities, towns and beyond to the Web. Due to the vast areas they cover, Street View projects take years to cover countries so the company tends to focus on the largest cities, before expanding out to cover other places. That’s exactly the case for Israel.

Here are some of the new images that standout, starting with the Sea of Galilee, at Tiberias, where Jesus is said to have walked on water.


The Bet She’an National Park, one of the world’s largest archaeological sites.



(Culled from Thenextweb.com)

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Court reprieve for liberal Saudi blogger

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From ITP:

A court in Saudi Arabia has referred the case of a liberal blogger, accused of insulting Islam, back to the lower court, meaning he may not be sentenced to death if found guilty.

Raif Badawi, a co-founder of the website Liberal Saudi Network, was arrested last year accused of apostasy and disobedience. A judge on Tuesday refused to charge Badawi, instead referring the case back to a lower court, BBC News reported.

Badawi was arrested after declaring 7 May 2012 a "day for Saudi liberals" in a bid to encourage open discussion about social and religious issues. The evidence against him reportedly included a Facebook ‘like' on a page for Arab Christmas.

The case highlights a growing disconnect between reformists and conservative authorities in Saudi Arabia. Saudi writer Turki Al Hamad is currently under house arrest after criticising Islamists on Twitter, while blogger Hamza Kashgari was extradited from Malaysia to Saudi Arabia almost a year ago on similar charges.

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Apple Terminates One China Supplier That Had Workers

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The Apple supplier, Guangdong Real Faith Pingzhou Electronics, has been terminated, and the 2013 report points out that it’s also tackling the underlying problem by identifying and notifying authorities of any “third-party labor agent that willfully and illegally recruited young workers.” Indeed, one such agency in Shenzhen was found to have “conspired with families to forge age verification documents and make the workers seem older than they were.” No underage labor was found among final assembly partners, but clearly it’s still an issue lower down the supply chain:
11 facilities were found with underage labor, with a total of 106 active cases and 70 historical cases. In all but one case, the facilities had insufficient controls to verify age or to detect false documentation, but there was no intentional hiring of underage labor.
In such cases, the Cupertino company points out, “We require suppliers to return underage workers to school and finance their education at a school chosen by the family.”
Bonded labor and lost wages

Apple’s newest 37-page report was compiled by the Fair Labor Association (FLA), who also led the involved 393 audits throughout 2012, Apple’s most extensive investigation of its own complex supply chain. It covers 1.5 million workers not just in China but in a total of 14 countries.


Factory workers in Shanghai use the iMac-packed computer room after work.

As for other recurring issues that are prevalent among its Chinese and overseas suppliers, Apple claims to now have:

  • An average of 92 percent compliance on a maximum 60-hour work week for factory-floor workers.
  • Eight facilities were found with “bonded labor” – workers forced to stay due to the seizure of a large cash deposit.
  • Apple got suppliers to return a total of US$6.4 million to workers in 2012 that had been held as a form of bonded labor, or taken as “excessive recruitment fees” to get a job at a plant.
  • 102 facilities did not pay night-shift workers the appropriate pay for legal [public] holidays due to an incorrect interpretation of the law. So $2.3 million worth of past inaccuracies were given back to workers in 2012.

Toxic shock

Apple, which saw iPhone sales double in China in the past year, has also been under fire for safety issues and environmental damage among its suppliers. While “1.32 million workers got workplace safety training in 2012,” no mention is made of issues like the toxic cleaning substance n-hexane, which sickened many workers in 2011. But the report states that “chemical hazard management” was gradually implemented in 2012, and will be ready to be audited this year in readiness for evaluation in Apple’s next annual supplier report.

The full PDF report is here.

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Whaoo! Nairaland Reaches 1 Million Registered Users

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To be honest, the first time i entered the NO. 1 and Top Nigerian Forum known as Nairaland It look like the ugliest web forum in the world, but, as of today, over 1 million people have registered on Nairaland, the largest website in Nigeria after its eight years of existence.

The website founded by Seun Osewa as a forum back in March 2005 has grown to become a leading source of information and entertainment, featuring news, sports, technology, culture, politics, religion, career, business, education and much more.

Even though the website has lacked innovation over the years, instead sticking to its simplistic nature, and only optimised its content for mobile devices last July, it has recorded impressive traffic with over 4 million unique visitors and over 35 million page views as at November 2012, according to Osewa, citing Google Analytics.

But you think that’s all? Hell No, because The website introduced a new paid advertising offer for direct advertisers, a move that was considered by industry observers as being late into the real online advertising game.

The Nigerian Tech Blog(Techloy) says:
Interestingly, the new ad strategy has enabled the website to monetise hugely from its content and audience, helped advertisers to get great exposure and kept the user experience on point.

While the Nairaland forum is, arguably, the first to reach 1 million registered users in Nigeria, there are indications that monthly active users could be around one-fourth of that figure.
This is so because most Nairalanders (as Nairaland users are fondly called) have multiple accounts on the online forum, and most of them don’t bother to login or register but “read the site like a newspaper site and search it with Google”, as Osewa noted in an interview with CP-Africa last March.
Some would argue that the largest online forum in Nigeria has been slow to grow considering Nigeria’s fast growing Internet user base over the past 5 years, now estimated to be about 45 million as at December 2012.
For instance, three years ago, Nairaland had about 400,000 members and when compared with Facebook’s Nigerian user base of about 500, 000 users at the time, but now with over 6 million users, it would seem that Nairaland has a slow growth.

But you're going to get confused if you realize that, after eight years, one million registered users, zero external funding, and millions of naira in revenues, the site hasn’t got an official logo, a registered office or employees, except for its founder and a few freelance moderators.

Techloy says:

While we’re not sure of the site’s future plans, we can only wish that it starts creating meaningful employment for the unemployed youth and further contribute to the country’s economic growth.

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