The Limitless Possibilities Social Media Offers

On September 25^th 2015, I penciled my thought on “Harnessing the Power of Social Media to achieve Corporate/Individual Goals”, and years down the line, it’s not surprising that the social media space  is still very potent in its reach, simplicity and dynamics; thus giving budding and established businesses/talents to thrive. And it is very interesting to see how corporate and individual brands have been built and sustained.

The success story of Nigerians who have leveraged and still leveraging on Social Media to showcase their ingenuity to the world is exceptionally phenomenal and this undoubtedly has brought such talents/brands to national and international recognition.

MarkAngelComedy, Woli Arole, Broda shaggi, Taooma, Woli Agba, DeboMacaroni, Fisayo Fosudo, Maraji, Ikorodu Bois, just to mention but a few; are testimonies of the success stories achieved through the social media. These Nigerian entrepreneurs in the entertainment industry saw and maximized the opportunities that the social media offers. As individuals with great potentials and dreams of greatness, they understood early enough that leveraging on talent hunt shows or the traditional or conventional media to showcase their talents to the world could be daunting and challenging, hence the embrace of social media space for the birthing of their dreams. They saw and still see Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, WhatsApp as veritable platforms for actualizing their dreams, thus creating contents that endeared them to the world.

They did not wait to feature on TV or radio shows or being interviewed by a newspaper or soft sale magazine, but kept faith with the social media platforms for their adventure. And at long last, their efforts yielded the desired results. They rose from social media superstars to real superstars/celebrities. They are now rave of the moment and toast of the conventional media, with endorsement deals from public/corporate organizations as brand ambassadors. What a way to stardom!

Ikorodu Bois on Steve Harvey’s show

Whatever goal you have set to achieve as an individual or a corporate entity, kindly know that the social media space is like the sky. It is big and spacious enough to accommodate you and your dreams. What is essentially required of you is to have a better understanding of how it works, as the various social media space or channels have its peculiarities. The peculiarities of Facebook for instance is different from Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn and WhatsApp. Although they are all powerful channels with similar features, but slightly different in engagement with the audience. This you must understand, as it will help you to navigate through the channels.

It is pertinent to know that as you are present on social media, your presence should be seen and appreciated by the people whom you are connected to and those who are connected to you. The moment you set the ball rolling, you must ensure you sustain the momentum by being consistent with your craft because being consistent with your craft is key to your success story. In the word of Anthony Robbins “it’s not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives. It’s what we do consistently.”

You should also ensure strong connection with your audience. This you can achieve through sustained communication. With this in mind, you have to develop a feedback mechanism that ensures continuous interactions/engagements with your audience. Remember, the contents you dish out and communication sustained via interactions/engagements with your audience are sine qua non to your success, as your continuous relevance hinges on this.

Oby Ezekwesili @obyezeks comment on DeboMacaroni skit on #SexualHarassment

Don’t forget that the social media space is a meeting or convergent place for old and young where conversations are ongoing 24/7. It is in recognition of this fact that makes even individuals and corporate entities that never used it as a ladder to achieve success in the first instance, connect with their audience/market for greater engagements. For these individuals and corporate brands, they believe once connection is lost, reach may be difficult.

Interestingly, the main stream media are not left out in this regard. Apart from using the social media as mechanism for feedback and survey, TV and radio stations now use Twitter, Facebook and YouTube to connect with their audience through live streaming of their programs, thus creating the platform for continuous engagement and connection with their audience who are always on the move. What a way to go!

Nigeria Info FM live stream on YouTube                                          Channels TV live stream on Twitter

Even the political class and their parties now leverage on social media to determine the outcome of elections. This was evident in the Nigeria’s 2015 and 2019 general elections. Governments at all levels now have political appointees who are saddled with the responsibility of managing information and conversations on the social media space. Footballers, entertainers, professionals, artisans, religious originations and SMEs are not left out.

So, irrespective of where you are, who you are and what you do legitimately to earn a living, you can leverage on social media to achieve greater success. Just be deliberate and intentional about it as the world is at your fingertips. No ambiguity with the system. Simply understand how each of the social media space works and maximize it to your advantage. @Ojbest5 understands this. He believes his target markets are on Twitter and has been using Twitter to promote his shoe making business. He is not only making sales, but like golden fish; his excellent crafts caught the attention of Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, the Vice President of Nigeria when he tweeted at him and other notable Nigerians. Below is his tweet to Nigeria’s Vice President and the corresponding reactions.

“Dear @ProfOsinbajo

I am a Nigerian entrepreneur who specializes on the production of quality leather shoes from scratch to finish. I will like to make shoe for you and meet you in person to show case my product to the world. I will be grateful if I get a reply. Please retweet”

For budding talents and brands, the social media space can be your show room. It can serve as your office. You can use it to build your business. You can use it to connect and reach out to your target market. You can use it to achieve your sales target. You can use it to measure your growth. In fact, it’s a world of limitless possibilities. Just sit down and map out strategies on how to navigate through. Be intentional by leveraging on the social media space and it will be a rewarding adventure.

Harnessing the Power of the Social Media for Achieving Corporate/Individual Goals

 The twenty-first century has made life easier and simple; reducing the stress and ambiguity that once characterized our day to day activities. With the aid of the internet and social media platforms, business transactions are now easily facilitated, communication is without borders, research works are done with ease, creativity is easily unleashed and the world has become a global village. Little wonder the world is speedily gravitating towards, and consequently grapping the vast opportunities that the e-world is offering the people. And this undoubtedly, has changed the approach to doing business all over the world. With this in mind, the traditional or conventional approach to doing business is speedily giving way to the electronic approach. This of course, has necessitated the birthing of e-commerce, e-banking and the other social media platforms being used for business communication. And it is interesting to know that the Nigerian business community is not left behind in this new approach of doing business.

The Nigerian businesses that have online presence are not only leveraging for success, but are adding more value for greater satisfaction and maximum return on investment. They innovate for simplicity, greater reach and prompt response to customers’ or clients’ inquiry/query. Worthy of note are the social media platforms now being used as veritable tools for business communication and engagements. Communication on these platforms has gone beyond social interaction into real business conversations.

MTN Nigeria for instance, now uses its @MTN180 twitter handle to offer qualitative, quick and prompt customer service to its teeming customers who may not have the time to visit any of its walk-in centers or customers who may be having the challenge of accessing the online customer care representatives. Now, with just a tweet, answers are being given to customers’ inquiries and solutions are being proffered to customers’ complaints. Beyond this, customers have fun with the gifts rewarding weekly quiz organized to test the customers’ knowledge of MTN products and services. Guaranty Trust Bank, through its twitter handle @gtbank_help, also offers quick and prompt resolution to account issues and enquiries. This does not include the bank’s facebook page that helps reduce the ambiguity that was involved in the opening of bank account. And not until GTBank did it, no one could ever think that a bank account could be opened via the social media platform. Huawei Nigeria is another multi-national company that is leveraging on the social media to penetrate the Nigeria mobile phone market with its brand of smart phones. Every post on its facebook page (Huawei Device Nigeria) is fascinating and stimulating, because each message is carefully worded with the device to be sold in mind. And it is interesting to know that the Huawei brands are gradually, but speedily having good share of the smart phones market.

The message just stresses the features and price of the phone

The message: ‘capture the best pictures even in a dark environment. Have fun today with the Huawei Y3’

       

Indeed, this is a new approach to doing business. A new approach adopted because of the reality of our present world; a reality that anything and everything can be done or achieved online. It is in realization of this that dynamic and innovative organizations are now actively active on the social media, having active instagram handles, facebook pages, twitter handles, linkedin pages, drop box and YouTube accounts. And with these platforms, budding and established businesses can achieve its set goals.

For established businesses, the maximization of the social media platforms will help in the consolidation of its achievements and the opening of new business communication geared towards expansion of clientele base and retainer ship; through sustained patronage. For budding businesses/entrepreneurs, the social media platforms can be used to reach out to several thousands and millions of prospective clients/customers who may find your products/services interesting. Believe me, the social media is a world of limitless opportunities, and until you tweet that business message, post that business message (which can include pictures, videos and audio materials) on your facebook page or through whatsup or blackberry cell broadcast, you can never tell or imagine the people that will be greatly in need of your services/products. Even when you feel your followership on twitter is scanty, you can still leverage on people whose followership is in thousands. Just tweeting @DeleMomodu for instance, four hundred sixty one thousand four hundred (461, 400) people will be exposed to your business. However, you can be blocked if you leverage for wrong reasons. Beyond this, budding businesses/entrepreneurs that are faced with the harsh economy realities of the day can also use the social media platforms as palliative measure to cushioning the effect of their enterprises.

Artisans who are strategic in their business plans can also leverage on the social media for actualization of their business goals. Hairstylists, fashion designers, barbers, plumbers, furniture makers (carpenters) etc. can harness the power of the social media to their advantage. Just imagine a hairstylist with a professional profile on linkedin, advertising for home service for career women and parents who wouldn’t want their kids go to the saloon for reasons best known to them. This may sound vague, but I can assure you that such a hairstylist will have more than what he/she bargains for. I mean by the time the requests for his/her home service starts coming in, it will be so much that he/she won’t be able to cope with them. You think it’s not possible, then give it a trial.

Even a job seeker can get the job he has since longed for, if he can harnesses the power of the social media to his advantage. Take for instance, an ambitious, but yet to be employed trained communicator who consistently packages or produces fifteen or thirty minutes radio or television presentation, uploads it online and directs traffic (by sharing the link with friends and possibly prospective employers) to the site, he will sooner or later secure a job with an established media outfit, either as a radio/television presenter or producer. This is not an exaggeration but a statement of fact; because the world will not create the space you desire for you; you are to create the space for yourself. Given the quality of the camera and voice recorder of that your powerful android phone, you can maximize its potentials for radio/television productions. As a job seeker, please know that there is no organization that is impenetrable. With the social media platforms, you can create the road to your desired career destination. Do you know that even with your understanding and mastery of how business messages can be communicated and sustained via the social media platforms, you can actually be managing the social media platforms of businesses and that of corporate individuals who may be time constrained to do it themselves? Please think about it.

In fact, it will interest you to know that professionals and clergy men/women now use their twitter handles for serious conversational discourse, and it is amazing to know how lives are being impacted by this initiative. Honestly, people eagerly look forward to Leke Adler’s tweets on #Jack&JisLive, Nike Adeyemi’s tweets on #FrmMyHeart and Godman Akinlabi’s tweets on #MrMrsBetterHalf. The beauty of this is that as these people affect lives positively, their brand is getting exposure, and they are better positioned for greater engagements, and opening of new opportunities.

Sincerely speaking, I want you to please know that your business can be taken to the next level if you can creativity harness the power of the social media to your advantage. Just have a better understanding of how it works; creatively apply the knowledge, and you shall be glad you did. Remember, if companies and corporate individuals like MTN Nigeria, GTBank, Huawei Nigeria, Ali Baba, Tolu Ogunlesi, Leke Adler and Stephen Akintayo, just to mention a few; could leverage on the social media platforms for achieving corporate and individuals goals, then be rest assured that it can work for you, and it will work for you!

Don’t Give-up Yet

It was with great enthusiasm you entered into the year 2015. It was even with greater expectations you set out your goals, believing strongly that things will work out according to plans. And with seven months gone by, it appears you are a million miles from actualizing your set goals for the year. Now you are despaired, wondering if you could ever achieve 85% of your goals.

If you ask me, I think you can still achieve the most important and realistic of your set goals for the year 2015. Wondering how this could be? Just a simple step to take. All you have to do is to reappraise your plans and come up with workable and effective strategies that will help in your quest for the actualization of your dreams.

Having done this, take proactive steps towards the realization of your set goals. This time around, don’t leave to chance that things will just happen. Things will not happen if you fail to take positive actions in line with the actualization of your dreams. Remember the Newton first law of motion which states that “every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it”. What this implies is that your renewed effort at achieving your goals will not yield the desired results if you fail to act promptly and accordingly.

In doing this, you automatically stop being passive, because a passive individual is not an action oriented fellow. A passive man would rather wait for things to happen to him before he thinks of taking actions. And it will interest you to know that a passive man does not take initiative that will better his lot on time. A passive man procrastinates and does not take things seriously. As such, he takes with levity issues or matters of serious concern. A passive man is not a visionary and so, lacks the zeal and passion to pursue a noble cause. In all, a passive man does not live for anything. So, to achieve anything of significant value in the months left in the year, you must be action oriented, such that you pursue with vigor your set goals.

Please, don’t be lazy in the pursuit of your dream. It is only in the dictionary of a lazy man that success comes before work. For you to be a success, it is very imperative that you mustn’t be idle. You must be found working. You must work hard and work smartly as well. Please note that in this renewed stride to achieve your set goals; your physical energy must commensurate with your mental strength. If not, there won’t be balance and you will not achieve much. Please note that the strength of your mental capability is a reflection of the quality of your thoughts, and how you are able to process it to actualize your set goals. So, you can’t afford to be mentally lazy, because a mentally lazy individual will always be among the crowd. He will be in the crowd in every spectrum of life. With this in mind, a mentally lazy man will lack the capacity to prioritize his actions, plans and schedules. As such, he won’t be able to think through an idea or a process.

In conclusion, develop the mindset of a champion and you shall win. Defeatist mindset will only stagnate and consequently retrogress your movement towards a fulfilled life. So, put on the attitude of a champion by imbibing the I can do it spirit. With this in mind, you will rise from the ashes of your failed attempts at living your dreams and consequently launched into the realm of accomplished goals and fulfilled desires.

I see you standing tall among the commonwealth of achievers by December, smiling, rejoicing and giving thanks to God for making it happen. I will see you at the top. So, don’t give up yet!

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: STOP IT!

Looking through the complexities of human nature, it is amazing to discover that the heart that claims to care and love an individual; vowing to stand by the other fellow through the light and darkest moments of life, can however turn around and batter and destroy such a fellow.  Seeing from matrimonial vows exchanged by a man and woman when they are getting married, and the prior love and affection they have demonstrated, it will be shocking that such a caring and loving heart can be so callous as to inflecting pains and injuries on the woman he claims to love whenever misunderstanding ensues. As a result of the misunderstanding, men have been seen over time involved in domestic violence. Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, dating abuse, and intimate partner violence (IPV), is a pattern of behavior which involves the abuse by one partner against another in an intimate relationship such as marriage, cohabitation, dating or within the family. Domestic violence can take many forms, including physical aggression or assault such as hitting, kicking, biting, shoving, restraining, slapping, throwing objects, battery,  or threats thereof; sexual abuse; emotional abuse; controlling or domineering; intimidation; stalking; passive/covert abuse (e.g., neglect); and economic deprivation. More importantly, domestic abuse does not simply end at physical violence. Indeed, physical violence often comes at the end of emotional abuse, verbal abuse, financial abuse, isolation and intimidation.  Emotional abuse takes on different kinds of garments – shaming, bringing up past sins, failures and secrets to shame, neglect. It often starts with controlling behavior, which is typically exhibited in the beginning stages of a relationship – control with respect to dressing, whom they could befriend, whom they could speak to on the phone, and when they could see family. In the beginning, jealousy and insecurity are often cast as love and care. 

 

Looking at the global facts of domestic violence it is shocking to know that in some countries; as many as one in three women are beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in their lifetimes,  half of the women who die from homicides are killed by their current or former husbands or partners. For women aged 15 to 44 years, violence is a major cause of death and disability, and more than 130 million girls and women alive today have undergone female genital mutilation. On the basis of data collected from 24,000, women in 10 countries, between 55 per cent and 95 per cent of women who have been physically abused by their partners have never contacted Non-Governmental Organizations, shelters or the police for help. The outcry therefore is that there should be legal frame in which those who have suffered domestic violence that seek justice, and thus be seen as crime against humanity. With this in mind, there should be legislations that will frown at domestic violence and thus condemn it.

 

THE GAINS AND PAINS OF SOCIAL MEDIA

It is very interesting to know that the twenty first century has since shaped the way and manner we communicate and interact as a people, countries, corporate entities and government. Even considering the varieties of communication platforms available to us as twenty century people, our experiences can be said to be mouthwatering, charactering with both the good and the ugly. With this in mind, people of like minds can hookup on the different communication platforms on which their ideas and ideologies can be shared. As such, social media is one of the communication platforms that have shaped our twenty first century communication experience.

 

According to Wikipedia, social media refers to the means of interactions among people in which they create, share, and exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks. Andreas Kaplan and Michael Heinlein define social media as “a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0 and that allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content.”  Furthermore, social media depends on mobile and web-based technologies to create highly interactive platforms through which individuals and communities share, co-create, discuss, and modify user-generated content. It introduces substantial and pervasive changes to communication between organizations, communities, and individuals.

 

Social media differentiates from traditional/industrial media in many aspects such as quality, reach, frequency, usability, immediacy, and permanence. There are many effects that stem from internet usage. According to Nielsen, internet users continue to spend more time with social media sites than any other type of site. At the same time, the total time spent on social media in the U.S. across PC and mobile devices increased by 37 percent to 121 billion minutes in July 2012 compared to 88 billion minutes in July 2011. For content contributors, the benefits of participating in social media have gone beyond simply social sharing to building reputation and bringing in career opportunities and monetary income, as discussed in Tang, Gu, and Whinston (2012).

 

The emergence of Facebook, linkedin.com, delicious.com, youtube.com, twitter.com etc. has since taken communication and human social interactions to the highest level. Besides taken communication to new height, the dynamics of business communication and deals have been tremendously affected too. Via the social media platform, friendship is being made and sustained and business transactions and deals are being sealed. There is no limit to the opportunities the social media provides for its users.  Looking at the advantages of linkedin.com for instance, it is so amazing to discover that it social media platform that gives the opportunity for professionals to meet and interact. As a social media platform, linkedin.com helps its users re-connect by finding past and present colleagues and classmates quickly. With this in mind, LinkedIn makes staying in touch easy and simple. It helps in powering the career of its users through the discovery of inside connections when looking for jobs or new business opportunities. Beyond this, Linkedin.com helps its users to get answers to their questions. It does this by creating a platform for experts to share their experience and well give some piece of advice. In view of this, if you have a question, just ask! How about delicious.com? Delicious.com is a social bookmarking service that allows users to tag, save, manage and share web pages from a centralized source. As regards the emphasis on the power of the community, Delicious.com greatly improves how people discover, remember and share on the Internet. With this in mind, users of delicious.com can do some couple of things at the website. Instead of having different bookmarks on every computer, Delicious.com makes it easy to have a single set of bookmarks kept in sync between all of your computers. Even if you’re not on a computer you own, you can still get to your bookmarks on the Delicious website.

 

 

If your friends use Delicious.com, you can send them interesting bookmarks that they can check out the next time they log in. Of course, they can do the same for you. As you explore the site and find interesting users, you can use your Subscriptions and Network features to keep track of the Delicious tags and users you find most interesting.

 

Apart from linkedin.com and delicious.com, it is interesting to know that the experiences of Facebook and twitter could be very fascinating. Twitter is an online social networking service and micro blogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based messages of up to 140 characters, known as “tweets”. Since its launch, Twitter has become one of the ten most visited websites on the Internet, and has been described as “the SMS of the Internet.”  Unregistered users can read tweets, while registered users can post tweets through the website interface, SMS, or a range of apps for mobile devices. Fcebook.com on the other hand, is the most common and popular social media platform among the youths and teenagers. Based on its offerings and the friendly atmosphere it creates, the younger generation is easily connected and as such share their experiences via pictures, feeds etc. In fact, not only that the younger generation is grabbing the opportunities it offers, corporate entities across the globe have been seen using the Facebook.com platform to reach out to esteemed and loyal customers.

 

In Nigeria for instance, corporate organizations are now using the platform to reach out to their clients/customers by creating pages for their companies and their different brands. Interestingly, the banks in Nigeria have gone has far as using the platform to connect with prospective clients and thus opening accounts for them. Beyond this, their customer services are being carried out on the platform, and by extension; the evaluation of the corporate entity is being carried out as well. GTB for instance is further using the social media platform to strengthening its clientele base via its facebook customer care. As a result, Samsung and other corporate entities in the country have follow suite. In fact, opening the chapter of those in the entertainment industry, sports and those in the political circle will amount to opening an endless line of discussion. However, it is interesting to know that the social media platform is being used to stimulate the interest of the people, and thus charting a new cause for them. So, one cannot forget in a hurry the emergence of President Barrack Obama of the United States of America and his constructive engagements with the American people on twitter and facebook; and the consequent overwhelming support he enjoyed from them during the electioneering period.

 

However, as the advantages of the social media are being sung, it is equally important that one or two ills of the social media platform should be pointed out. Yes! It can’t be disputed that the social media platform has revolutionized both the social and corporate interactions. But still, there are evils that come with it. Talking about the evil that characterizes the social media, what comes to mind is the impersonation that goes on the internet and the consequent crimes being perpetuated by the criminally people across the globe. With this in mind, it imperative that measures should be taken as regards what one does on the internet, and even the kind of communication line being opened on the net. What this implies is that, you should learn to put on thorough crustiny the kind of people whose invitation you accept, the people you chat with and the information you give about yourself.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

It is very disheartening to watch with dismay the power tussle that is tearing apart the oil rich Rivers State in the last couple of days. A power tussle that has reduced the value of human life to nothing, made the hourable members in the state house of assembly to conduct themselves in the most dishourable way, increased the level of insecurity in the state, over-heated the polity, and subvert the office of the governor and disgraced his person. A power tussle that is undermining our democratic values, destroying human dignity, thus giving strength to anarchy, and impunity; and consequently stemming up violence. As the political landscape of the state is being shaped by this power tussle, the question that comes to mind is why is this happening? Why is the political atmosphere of the state being heated up unduly? Why are the political gladiators in the state engaged in this show of shame?
Going by the recent happenings in the state, it is clear that the whole essence of the power tussle is to make the state ungovernable thereby unseat the governor and his men. If that is not the case, how then can a very a little fraction of the state assembly decides to impeach the speaker of the house without making up to the constitutionally required number of hourable members that could embark on the impeachment proceedings against the speaker? Why couldn’t the security personnel intervened on time with the view to preventing the breakdown of law and order in the state assembly? If not that the power tussle is to fraudulently ensure power shift in the state, why was the security details of the governor tampered with, thereby making him vulnerable to security breach? And if all this show of shame is no to undemocratically ensure power shift, why then has the state police commissioner not been acting on the rules of engagement by not being partisan?
With this in mind, it is high time our leaders are told in strong terms to stop portraying this county in bad light before the international community. Nigeria is not a lawless country. It is a country inhabited by good and law abiding citizens, and it is a country managed by laws; and set of rules and regulations. Therefore, the system can’t be watered-down by a few whose interest is to drag in the mud the image of the country through their greed and demonic acts. The Nigerian entity is bigger and stronger than some thugs who call themselves leaders, and thus can’t tolerate their excesses. Government and the citizens of this country should frown at the interest of the undemocratic elements in the county by ensuring that their interest does not override the interest of the general populace.
Meanwhile, in light of the Rivers State crisis, the law should be allowed to take its cause and whoever is found guilty of any crime should be brought to book.
Enough of this show of shame!!!

JIMI AGBAJE

THE MAN – JIMI AGBAJE

Mr. Jimi Agbaje is a pharmacist and the chairman of Epic Pharmaceuticals Ltd. He attended St. Gregory’s College Obalende,Lagosand graduated with a B. Pharm. from theUniversityofIfein June 1978. He had his Internship with the Lagos State Health Management Board. He served with the NNPC Medical Centre inRiversStateand worked in theMilitaryHospital,Lagosas pharmacist in 1980. He was the managing pharmacist of the Ewenla Pharmaceutical Company Ltd from 1981 to 1984.Since then, He has been the Managing Director of Jaykay Pharmacy Ltd.in Lagos.

Mr. Jimi Agbaje has held many public appointments and was on the Panel on Fake and Adulterated Drugs (1989 – 1993); Member, National Drug Formulary and Essential Drugs List Review; Member, Lagos State Hospitals Management Board (1994- 1997); Member, Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (1997 to date). His numerous awards and recognition include: Fellow, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (FPSN); Fellow, West African Post-Graduate College of Pharmacists, (FPC) Pharm). He was the national chairman of the Nigerian Association of General Practice Pharmacists, (1990 – 1993); and the Chairman Pharmaceutical Society ofNigeria(LagosState) 1994 – 1997. He is the director of the Human Edge Ltd., Vigeo Ltd., Director Managed Health Care Services Ltd; Director, Healthnet Ltd, A member of Ikoyi Club.

However, one thing you cannot take away from the former gubernatorial candidate of the Democratic Peoples Alliance (DPA) is his love for partying. Apart from being a political activist, he is also very social and partying is one of the ways through which he catches his fun. The amiable, well respected and prominent politician has been sighted several times at some of the A-class parties in town. And whenever he arrives, he will always make his presence felt at such parties. He usually arrive party venues earlier and is never in a hurry to leave.

But one thing that has earned him so much respect among the youth is the fact that he is always quick to lend a helping hand anytime he is been called upon and playing key roles at such events. He is indeed young at heart.

HIS POPULARITY AND ACCEPTANCE

As a man and politician who understand grassroots development and politics inLagosState, Jimi Agbaje was popular and widely accepted by the people ofLagosState. His popularity and acceptance was undoubtedly aided by his presence in the state, his laudable achievements and the engagement with the people at the grassroots through his town hall meetings which was geared to knowing the people, their needs and the best way to meet those needs. However, as a young man with undivided vision and burning passion for good governance and transformation ofLagosState, Jimi Agbaje enjoyed enormous support from the youths; that happens to the largest voters in the state.

HIS CAMPAIGN STRATEGIES

In the course of his campaign for the number one political seat in LagosStatein the 2007 governorship election, Jimi Agbaje commissioned the first Web 2.0 social networking political site in Africa, http://www.jimiagbaje.com, for his political campaign. Inspired by the recent Web 2.0 campaign web sites launched by United States Presidential candidates like Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, and Barack Obama, the site allows his supporters to create profiles, network, and create their own campaigns on-line. The site has met critical acclaim from all over the world. The website has now been        e-commerce enabled with a mobile phone ring tone download shop. Ring tones can be purchased by texting a special code to a premium short code. Every time a ringtone is bought, a micro donation is made to the campaign.

In addition,  the campaign team used this technology to establish their footing where the Jimi Agbaje strongholds were, and thus used information gathered to plan for the last days of the campaign thereby ensuring the availability and distribution of campaign materials. As such, Jimi Agbaje recently become the world’s first politician to integrate Bluetooth proximity marketing into his campaign by using MobZap Bluetooth Beamers (www.mobzap.com) to rig out several buses that roam Lagos streets everyday, beaming out clips of Jimi’s manifesto and catchy ring tones.

Apart from this, Jimi Agbaje also used the town hall meetings at the grassroots to strengthen his political campaign. As such, he was seen as a truthful, trustworthy and thoughtful politician who really had the interest of the common man at heart, thus became popular and speedily accepted.

HIS ACHIEVEMENT AT THE 2007 GOVERNORSHIP ELECTION IN LAGOS STATE

Contesting for the very first time as governor of Lagos State under the platform of a seemingly unpopular political party in the state, Jimi Agbaje was not a winner of the election but he has successfully chart a new course for political campaign and the engagement of the people; especially those at the grassroots. Coming third at the polls was not encouraging but it was a good trial for a new comer.

HIS DECLINING POPULARITY

After the elections in 2007, the name; Jimi Agbaje is no longer sung by the people. Though he still enjoys good media coverage but his popularity has declined. However, with his eyes on the 2015 governorship elections in the state, I would strongly recommend that the man; Jimi Agbaje and his campaign team should start working on projects that will ensure that the name (Jimi Agbaje) is committed to memory by all and sundry; especially those at the grassroots. Though some still see him as a potential governor, but he still has a lot of job to do if he will land at the  government house in 2015.

Differences between Stumbleupon, Linkedin and Delicious.com

Having had sweet experience on stumbled, linkedin and delicious.com, I discovered that these social websites have some differences; and  these differences are discussed in line with their services/functions.

 StumbleUpon: This website helps you discover and share great websites. As you click Stumble!, we deliver high-quality pages matched to your personal preferences. These pages have been explicitly recommended by your friends or one of 8 million+ other websurfers with interests similar to you. Rating these sites you like () automatically shares them with like-minded people – and helps you discover great sites your friends recommend.

Linkedin.com is difference from the other two websites based on the following functions/services it renders:

1. helps its users re-connect by finding past and present colleagues and classmates quickly. With this in mind, LinkedIn makes staying in touch easy and simple.

2.Linkedin.com also helps in powering the career of its users through the discovery of inside connections when looking for jobs or new business opportunities.

3. Beyond this, Linkedin.com helps its users to get answers to their questions. It does this by creating a platform for experts to share their expericence and well give some piece of advice. In view of this, if you have a question, just ask! 

Delicious.com derives its uniqueness from the services/functions it renders to its userswith the following functions/services.

Delicious.com  is a social bookmarking service that allows users to tag, save, manage and share web pages from a centralized source. As regards the emphasis on the power of the community, Delicious.com greatly improves how people discover, remember and share on the Internet.

With this in mind, users of delicious.com can do some couple of things at the website. Instead of having different bookmarks on every computer, Delicious.com makes it easy to have a single set of bookmarks kept in sync between all of your computers. Even if you’re not on a computer you own, you can still get to your bookmarks on the Delicious website.

If your friends use Delicious.com, you can send them interesting bookmarks that they can check out the next time they log in. Of course, they can do the same for you. As you explore the site and find interesting users, you can use our Subscriptions and Network features to keep track of the Delicious tags and users you find most interesting.

My Experience @ Linkedin.com and Delicious.com

Browesing throug linkedin.com, I discovered that it  is a social network website that that performs the following functions:

1. helps its users re-connect by finding past and present colleagues and classmates quickly. With this in mind, LinkedIn makes staying in touch easy and simple.

2.Linkedin.com also helps in powering the career of its users through the discovery of inside connections when looking for jobs or new business opportunities.

3. Beyond this, Linkedin.com helps its users to get answers to their questions. It does this by creating a platform for experts to share their expericence and well give some piece of advice. In view of this, if you have a question, just ask! 

As for experience at delicious.com, I discovered thatDelicious.com  is a social bookmarking service that allows users to tag, save, manage and share web pages from a centralized source. As regards the emphasis on the power of the community, Delicious.com greatly improves how people discover, remember and share on the Internet.

With this in mind, users of delicious.com can do some couple of things at the website. Instead of having different bookmarks on every computer, Delicious.com makes it easy to have a single set of bookmarks kept in sync between all of your computers. Even if you’re not on a computer you own, you can still get to your bookmarks on the Delicious website.

Further, I discovered that if your friends use Delicious.com, you can send them interesting bookmarks that they can check out the next time they log in. Of course, they can do the same for you. As you explore the site and find interesting users, you can use our Subscriptions and Network features to keep track of the Delicious tags and users you find most interesting.

Students Academic Performance in Relation to their Religious Activities on Campus

Students Academic Performance in Relation to their Religious Activities on Campus