Thus Spaketh Idd Salim

The fibre is here. Actually it was here, the NO-fibre camp cut it, it was restored by the YES-fibre team etc… etc… And the beat goes on. I was adviced not to blog today and I am pissed off by some idiotic fellas I had an unfortunate fate of entering into a business deal with (details withheld as Google will index them). No Wonder I am slowly contemplating employment (*seriously*). BUT, the mind-boggling nature of the potential for Google  in today’s East Africa (Read: Kenya) is colossal and I hate going to bed with something colossal in my pan… errr…. my chest. So I have to get it out.

The greed to do everything, anything and everyone hard and deep has Seen Safaricom tap into only 1/10th of its population with the Internet service. Self-consoling marketers will argue that most of the Devices in Kenya are NOT Internet-ready, but you just need to  see the crazy figures on the net about device-ids of FB Pokers from Kenya and EA to see that this can’t be further from the sad truth.

Sovaya is a Local Internet company that had/has the ability to deliver this solution. Why they are not doing it City-wide is as complex as writing the Dijkstra’s Algorithm PoC code in VB, but that is where we are.

This opens up space for a serious, big, bold and service-before-profit, no-nonsense company like Google to come and show the local players (read: jokers) how it is done.

Serious and Afforfable Wifi for Business and Home use

This model would have the following (direct and indirect) benefits to google:

• Massive Direct sales for the Nexus One .
• New radio-station trivia and social experiments based on GeoCaching.
• Development of MANY and SENSIBLE Android apps for the local market – Believe me, Kenyans CAN code like crazy!
• Unprecedented Experiences like LBA, LBS, Localization based on Wifi Tower ID and GPS Location powered by GoogleMaps.
• GoogleCheckOut would oust/complement Mpesa as it would be agnostic. If Google were to get to bed with Saf, then EVERYONE would be on Mpesa. Else, Everyone, would be on GcO standalone.
• Helping local artists, farmers and small-scale vendors by leveraging platforms like KeleleMobile, MaduQa, SMSoko etc to help then sell digital content to the Masses without seeing the MNOs eat over 60% of their per-sale profits.

Google has a chance to be the darling of 120m people and has that market Space open for the Nexus and other GoogleApps.

Back to Code.

This poem is about the unending trials and tribulations of a Kenyan Coder.

Monday: Wake up at 5am all psyched up and ready to start this new lucrative project,

Turn on the PC and fire up netbeans and start apache, glassfish and googletalk,

A mail pops up and a client is calling me for a quick 10k job in westlands,

Because my pocket is empty, i run to westlands for the all-day 10k job and the lucrative project stalls.

And so, today, yet again, I will postpone my success…

Tuesday: wake up all fired up. Today I will debug that piece of Java code,

I disconnect the net and shut down all other distractions, even my phone.

BUT, the electricity company decide to also disconnect the power, ohh my god!

I should be all panicky and angry, but I decide to remain hopeful and bold,

Power comes back at noon, and by then it is hot, and no longer cold-code time,

And so, today, yet again, I will postpone my success…

Wednesday: I pick up my call at 5, there are some investors in town who want to see us,

Sometimes it is Safaricon who want a demo of my system and cant stop calling us,

We spend on cabs and lunches and waste coding time hosting the same old vibe,

Our success Project delays because of useless meetings and countless proposals for other solutions,

And so, today, yet again, I will postpone my success…

Going Forward: In the midst of all the hassle and bustle, I decide to watch news,

Mr Politician lectures the clapping crowds on how they bring them development,

And how the government is there to help the vijana kupata kazi,

I laugh and go to bed, thanking God for knowing better,

And so, tomorrow, never again, will I postpone my success…

The time is now.