This blog is rolling into its second year since when I started it. That's great. I know many blogs out there which started at the same time but are practically dead right now.

Taking Stock

How has been the year really? Well, this one is the most interesting; the "How to Create a Microblog Using Buddypress" post, which I posted early this year was the most popular post on this blog for some months this year. That comes with this reality; that it is the post that brought in the most traffic to this site. The funny thing is that I had been postponing posting the entry from last year ;-|. Then the "Tweeting on the Nokia X2-01?" post overtook the Buddypress post around November in popularity (thanks to this blog's Indian audience). ;-)

The microblogging communities on the other hand, have not been inactive albeit local guys are not really into them [why?]. And they get some traffic from searches for StatusNet according to the Alexa ranking too.

Happy Holidays

To close off this year, let's get into the Christmas holiday groove. Enjoy your Christmas but be cautious. And lets not forget the religious background of this season. Merry Christmas.

Permalink

Blogging is tough, especially if you do not have the writer's streak. I am not saying that one can't learn how to be a prolific writer. I am actually pointing to to those who write occasionally or erratically. Their output is usually low. Some not only have fewer posts but heir posts may be very short. So what do we have in the long run? A neglected blog. Publishing new articles on a regular basis is almost a requirement in the blogosphere. It's a fact that a blog's homepage design - where the latest post is always at the top of the page - can expose a blogger's activity quite easily, without even the user digging into the site's archives.
On the other hand, microblogging does not require as much input from the user in terms of the time spent on thinking of what to post. You can simply post anything, even non-sensical posts such as:



ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.


Idle babble occupies a sizable proportion of all posts on Twitter. Disclaimer: Microblogging cannot replace blogging. But it does help whenever you get the writer's block. Furthermore, no single person can generate a good article every hour of their working days :-).

Permalink

I came to learn about this app from an article on The Next Web. Quite interesting. If you got one really heavy Twitter "followee" like @YESUmob, well, this is the app you need. Actually, using it does not shut out such subscriptions from your stream. What Shuush does is that it "promotes" (lacked a better word here) your least active subscriptions. You know those tweeps you follow who tweet very little. With Shuush, tweets from these tweeps get to be prominently displayed on your timeline. :-)

How do you pronounce this?

Like the typical African I am, I'll pronounce it as "SH-OO-SH" just like the literal pronunciation of "Shish" from Tahidi High. But that may be wrong really. Let us try some deduction here. Taking the English word "hush" which is clearly related to silencing someone, then we can place its pronunciation as "SH-HUSH". Right?

Permalink

UPDATE: StatusNet Cloud Service is now running on the latest release of the script, 1.0beta. One new change that they have introduced into the service is that no free, public, microblogging communities can be created. See this post on the forums. Did I just tweet about it?


This is just a continuation of the previous post on the improvements on the StatusNet microblogging script.

Themes/Templates

In so many cases be it Internetware apps or any other kind of app, form has equal importance to the substance of the program/script. A site's or an app's appearance can make or break the attraction of users.
Previous releases of the script had 7 pre-installed themes: Pigeon Thoughts, Biz, Identica, Mozillaca, default, Cloudy and hack3r themes. But starting from the 0.9.6 release, 6 more themes have added: Clean, Cleaner, Rebase, Victorian, Mnml & Shiny themes. These new themes are much more crisp and glossy than some of the older pre-installed themes. As proof of the "wow-factor" these new templates have, check out the Mannconnect microblog with the Shiny theme. Cool, isn't it?
Oops, I almost forgot this. The navigation bars have also been updated too. There are some new additions to the navigation bars: the "Home" link/tab that points to a user's private timeline and the "Private" link/tab that points to a user's profile. The "Public" link/tab points to the public timeline's page.

Mobile Layout

The mobile Web is the in thing nowadays.Websites, more so social networking sites, that cannot be viewed from mobile devices are losing a critical portion of Internet users. The StatusNet devs have now included an option to convert a microblog's layout to a layout that is "mobile-friendly" - if I can say that. With a simple click on a link, you can change a StatusNet microblog's layout to its mobile layout. Just click on the "Switch to Mobile Layout" link that is right at the footer section of the site and you'll have your site on every iPod, mobile phone.... Good day!

Permalink

StatusNet, the open source microblogging script is rolling on and every release some tweaks that are worth a mention. Hopefully, if the devs behind the script continue with this trend , who knows, may be the script would be the WordPress.com of the microblogging world. Since the 0.9.2 release (that is when I started using the script), some changes have been made to the script: the current release is 0.9.9. These changes are noticeable even on the cloud service offered by the StatusNet company. Each release is quietly slipped into the service and only a regular user of the service can and will notice these changes.
The technical discussions of the changes that have been implemented can really put off the less technical persons amongst us. Additionally, some of the changes may be passed off in one general statement under such subjects as "New Themes Introduced!" and this may not help to bring them into light. I'll only focus on the most notable changes here without getting into the technicalities of the changes in the code running under the hood. You can get the latest updates on the script's development on the StatusNet blog.

Private Timelines

If you have ever used a StatusNet-powered site like Nairobi-stique, you must be aware of the feed of all posts of you (the user), and your subscriptions on the site. If you are a member of a group, you'll also see the stream of messages/notices by other group members in this timeline. This is your private timeline. The Public Timeline, on the other hand, streams all the posts of all the users on the site. This feature is similar to the "Home" page once you log into Twitter.
In the older releases, you could access this timeline right from your profile even without logging into the site. But with the current release, you can only view this stream when you log into the site. This is via the link, "Home", that has been added to the navigation bar. In the previous releases, you could access this timeline through the "You and Friends" tab/link on the navigation bar. You can also access this timeline by clicking on the site's log when you log into the site: in previous releases clicking on the site logo pointed to site's homepage only, so, this is one little change too!.

Groups Management

This is one area where important improvements have been made especially when it comes to administration. Groups are the major feature that distinguish StatusNet sites from Twitter. In the older releases, the super-admin had to dig in right into the site's structure just to delete a group, but with the latest release, starting from 0.9.6 , the super-admin can easily delete any group by clicking the "Delete" button right next to the group's name.

Accounts Settings

This is one change that can go unnoticed really, since it is very rare that any user ever changes their account information (an exception: if you always change your avatar, this may not be the case).If you go to your account's settings page (click on the "Settings" link on the navigation bar), you'll actually see 3 little buttons with the options for deleting, deactivating and recovering your account. These buttons were not there in the older releases of the script.

Permalink

Another digression from all the blogging on microblogging! But still this article has some sprinkling of social media trends here and there. Read on, buddy. Christian radio seems to be one tough business. Even though 80% of Kenyans say that they are Christians, very few ever follow up on issues to do with their faith. Now, what proportion of these group can be said to be loyal fans of Christian radio stations? I believe it is just a very small group. I know many do not even know any of the popular Christian radio presenters. More so, do they care a hoot about what is aired on the stations really?
I am one big fan of a particular Christian station that is really into CCM bandwagon. I was getting a little bit concerned of the high turnover of presenters on the station. Why were many of the presenters not staying for longer periods there? Presently, stations alone do not hog the limelight alone because of the coverage or their enticing programs. Presenters too, are working on their fame/careers. Check this out. Even as media houses have Facebook pages and Twitter profiles, their presenters have these social media accounts too. Christian radio stations have not been left behind in this. So, our presenters can get their fans/followers aside from their employer(s). Now just imagine if the presenter leaves one media house for another. I believe there is a slight negative impact on the stations audience. May be some of the station's fans would switch to the other station. Assuming Christian radio stations have very small audiences , then if a presenter leaves such a station the number of fans might decline.
And where do these stations get their financial support from? If they are affiliated to a particular denomination or church, they can easily get support through monies from tithes and offerings. OK, some churches do have some commercial interests that can bring in some revenue, so, well, it might not be solely through the 10 percent or the 20 bob coins we place in the offering baskets every Sunday. But if you look around you'll notice that some of the stations depend on donations from well wishers. And what about their workforce- read presenters? May be some employ members of their church or members of the clergy to play these roles so as to cut costs(?). Since media houses, like web publishers, earn their money from advertising, you wonder how much do Christian radio stations earn from the few adverts they run.
In short, Christian radio seems it ain't a cash-minting business in any way. If you want to start one, you'll have to get into it to further the Lord's Kingdom rather than to make money. I hope you remember that gospel station that was converted by its owners into a reggae station after only being on air for a few months.
P.S: I wonder what Christians would think if @SafaricomLtd were to run a Kenya Live (Kenya Live's Facebook Page) advert on any of the local Christian radio stations here yet it has some secular catz on its lineup. :-|

Permalink

Who is using this? Its adverts are everywhere. The "hook" of the adverts is in the part where they stress on the updating of Twitter and Facebook using it. And its price is quite good. The adverts actually show a phone with a red exterior but who cares about the outer color. Additionally, the phone has Email (OVI mail to be specific), FM radio, Camera, Music Player and Memory Card support. And this reminds me of the C3 that was being advertised some time early this year. The C3 is a bit dearer than the X201. Sounds sweet, hmmmm.

Permalink

It's now around 2 weeks after this incident. Old news is still news, aye. A tragic end to one illustrious tack career. A record-breaker, a famous runner with riches to boot. That was Samuel Wanjiru Kamau. If we were to adopt a moral standpoint and analyse his life, well, he could as well have to make bones for all his deeds. But there is one thing we can't deny: he was extraordinary. At 24, he was way ahead of his age-mates. The assault charges that were brought on him early this year gave the BBC something to report about. That was proof enough that he wasn't just another runner from Kenya. And after his death, #SamuelWanjiru became the trending topic on Twitter. R.I.P.

Permalink

Starting from the 3.0.0 release, Wordpress MU and the single-blog variants have now been merged. Remember the post on how to create a BuddyPress site? I did the installation on a single-user blog then. One reason why I did not try it on the MU variant required some modifications to the server's configuration. It was something on the lines of editing the .htaccess file (can anyone remind me?). I hope this technical requirement is now done with. With its famous five-minute install process, you can create your own microblog quite easily. Try it (and may be inform about it, ;-)).
Check out the Wordpress MU site. Things have changed now.

Permalink

Who cares about retweetability? I do. What about you? Can retweetability be a measure of one's influence on any microblogging site?  Anyway. What's retweeting in the first place? Retweeting is just a way of repeating another microblogger's post on Twitter. With a simple "RT @username message" syntax or a simple click on the RT "button" you can repeat anyone's post; and that message will appear on your personal timeline. Twitip does give a a formula (?) for retweeting in a way.
So what makes a post retweetable? Here are some 3 observations that I have made:

1. Post quality. How informative is the post? Does it help in starting or even building an online conversation in that microblogging site? I can only link to the article on the the effect of informative posts here.
2. Reputation. A good name is better than riches really. If it's not Solomon who said that then you have every right to correct me. Popular persons, bloggers, celebrities have great influence on their followers. And many of their tweets end up being retweeted by their followers.
3. @Replies. I've noticed that mentions of another person in a post can cause them to retweet such a post. Is it the "mention" psychology at work here??? May be.

P.S: And what's this info about the Retweetability Index. :-|

Permalink

Kenya Tweets released a report on the activity of Kenyans on Twitter around Oct-Nov 2010. It provided some very wonderful insights. For example, one of them was that Kenyans follow more than they are followed. Anyway, that is an analysis we will carry out another day. This article is closely linked to the aspect of following/subscribing. Have you noticed that whoever you follow on any microblogging site will end up following you in return? But there are some who even after follow them will never reciprocate or will take time doing so. It can be a little annoying to learn that the person continuously updates their profile without showing any interest in your "follow". Here is why some may never subscribe to your updates:

1. You are a business. (Can this be a reason?) Your profile image is your business logo. Microblogging is bent towards inter-personal relationships. Some microbloggers may not follow businesses since they are scared that you might flood their streams with company updates, promotional messages and the like.
2. You do not have profile image. The default avatars used on certain microblogging sites are not attractive in any way. So why do you still have one while your account is now 3 months old on the site? Upload your photo today. It sure does help in increasing your followers since they get to see the person behind that account.
3. The ring in your name. Can you follow a person whose username is "ma1k55"? Trust OSS developers to conjure up such usernames for their microblogging profiles?
4. Your interests do not match with theirs. Show me your updates and I will tell you what interests you. If your updates point to a person interested in say American soccer, do you expect a person working in an NGO in a 3rd World country to follow you back? :-(
5. You both update your profiles at different times. This one isn't really a strong reason as to why microblogger B may not follow you. However, it does have an influence for those who are following many people. If they cannot see an @reply in their stream from you then they might take time subscribing to you.
6. Your updates look spammy. No need of an explanation on this one.
7. Going, going, gone! You stopped posting some 2 months ago. So, what is the worth of subscribing to an inactive account?
8. They are grappling with a heavy stream. Sorry, they can't add another person into their network.

Permalink

There is only one social network right now that puts a cap on the number of friends one can have. And that is the The Personal Network stroke Path. Based on Dunbar's research results, the guys behind it have put a limit of 50 friends for each user. And who are these guys? Dave Morin, once an executive at Facebook, and Shawn Fanning, cofounder of Napster. This gives credence to a view that I had that even though one can have hundreds to thousands of friends/followers on a social network, there is usually a small group that one particularly listens to or follows keenly. Here is how Dave Morin puts it:
"You usually have about five people whom you trust most, 20 whom you consider your BFF's (what's this, anyone?) and about 50 or so who are your personal network."

P.S: Did I hear one scientist say on BBC radio that man's evolutionary limit of their friendship networks is 150 people? May be Morin and Fanning aren't that off the mark in trying this out.

P.P.S: You can read the site's blog here.

Permalink

On the previous post, I outlined how you can set up a microblogging site using Buddypress. Note that I didn't specify on what Wordpress variant, as in Wordpress MU or the single user version. Well, since I installed the plugin on the single user site I see no problem if used on your personal blog (wrong?).
But here is one thread from the Buddypress Forums that is....: Installing Buddypress. And the jury is out.

Permalink

You should forgive me for this. This long entry was supposed to posted last year but due to procrastination...
If you really don't want to muck around with renting virtual private servers so as to run a powerful microblogging script, you can cheaply and easily create a microblogging service using Buddypress . Buddypress is a Wordpress plugin which you can easily install to your Wordpress blog to create a microblog. Twitteronia (service unavailable) is one such instance using this plugin.

Installing Wordpress

The first thing we should do is to install Wordpress. Hope you've got your domain name and hosting ready at this point! Now:

1. Download all the files that are required: the latest Wordpress release, Buddypress zip files or tarball, and Buddypress theme files.
2. Decompress the Wordpress zip file or tarball and upload the folder to your server.
3. Login into cPanel (I'm assuming your host is using cPanel). Go to "MySQL Databases".
4. Now let us create a database.Go to "Create Database". Give a name to your database plus a secure password. Click "Create" to create your database.
5. Go to "Create User" and create a user for this database. Ensure that this database user has all the privileges of accessing the database.
6. Now let us edit this file: the "wp-config.php" file that is in the Wordpress folder you just uploaded. Mind you, you'll be using a text editor here (Notepad++is my favorite). You can also use cPanel's File Manager application that has a text editor to do this.
7. To edit the "wp-config.php" file, involves answering 3 secret questions and also inserting your database username, database name and password. Do just that and save your changes. (UPDATE: If you are using Notepad++ to edit this file, you'll have to edit the file on your computer first before uploading to your server).
8. Let us turn to installing your script. Point your browser to the installer script. This should bring up a form where you'll have to fill in the name of your blog, your admin name and admin password. Click on the "Create" button. The installer will now connect to the database that you created and create tables and then populated it with data.
9. You have now successfully created your Wordpress blog. Hurray! Celebrate. You can now start posting, changing its themes and toying around with its widgets but....

Hey! Weren't we out to create a microblog in the first place. Oops, there is still some work to be done.

For the creation of your Wordpress database, you can use PHPMyAdmin too. Simply go to PHPMyAdmin. This will bring up the homepage listing all the databases on your account. Go to "Create Database". Chooser a name for your Wordpress database and then create it. You don't need to touch the other selection lists on this page. Now your new Wordpress database will be added to the others on your account.

Installing Buddypress

You are just close to having your own microblog.

1. Upload the Buddypress zip files to the "plugins" folder in the Wordpress folder.
2. Go to your administration's panel. Under the "Plugins" section, your Buddypress plugin should be available. Click on "Activate". Wordpress will first unzip the file and then activate it. To bypass this, just unzip your Buddypress download on your computer and then upload it to the "plugins" folder. If you go to the "Plugins" section, Buddypress should be available. Activate it. This is quicker than the previous step.
3. Unzip your Buddypress themes locally and then upload them to the "themes" folder in the Wordpress folder. Now go to the "Appearance" section in your Wordpress administration panel. Activate the theme that you want.
4. Visit your blog. OMG, it just looks like a microblogging site.... with your blog's name on it. Now you can post status updates. To post entire blog posts you'll have to go back to your admin section and create an entry. Woo hoo!

The beautiful thing about this plugin is that has got cool themes related to it. If you just don't like the default theme or if you want to clone Facebook's theme, take a look at the Fishbook and FaceLook themes. Above all, you can use this plugin to create a microblog on shared hosting. Cheap, isn't it? For those who would love to bring in their friends into the site for some action...

Wordpress MU

...Wordpress MU is just the script for you. With this script, you can let in more users onto the site with only a single installation. Couple that with the Buddypress plugin and we'll be talking of an online microblogging service like these 10 sites..

Permalink