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Michael NiyitegekaMakerere University

mniyitegeka@cit.mak.ac.ug

Michael NiyitegekaMakerere University

mniyitegeka@cit.mak.ac.ug

It’s a game of NUMBERS!• Facebook has more than 600M users• Facebook has more than 400M active users, • 50% of the active users log on to Facebook on a given day, • More than 35M users update their status everyday, • More than 60M status updates are posted everyday,• More than 3billion photos are uploaded on to the site

every month, • More than 5billion pieces of content are shared each week, • More than 3.5M events are created each month, • More than 1.5M businesses have active pages on facebook• More than 257, 420 active users out of Uganda

What is social media?

• Social media are media for social interaction, using highly accessible and scalable publishing techniques

• “A group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, which allows the creation and exchange of user-generated content."

• Businesses also refer to social media as consumer-generated media (CGM).

Power of Social Media in Public Sphere

Government, Business,Media, Personal

People

Government,Media

People

Mass media paradigmSocial media paradigm

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New Media 4 a New World• The World of Traditional Media

• Scarcity Mentality• Hierarchy/ Chain

• Function vs. Design• Tell

• Institutional Control• Contrived

• Time-Delayed• Print, TV, Radio, Person

• Concentration• Brand Loyalty

• Communication Impresses• Buying / Selling

• Rifle? Shotgun? AK47?• Controlled Information

• Corporations Know• Transaction

• *Finis*

• The World of Social Media

• Abundant Mentality• Web/ Cycle• Purpose at Hand• Talk• Consumer Control• Open and Honest• Real-Time• Traditional + Web + Cell

• Fragmented Attention• Self Satisfaction• Communication Engages• Matching• Duck Online, Orchestrating Life• Open Information• Consumers Own• Lovin’ It, ‘n’ Livin’ It• Etc…

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Where are we??Top Ten Website by traffic for Ug.Source Alexa.com 1.Google2.Facebook3.Google.co.ug4.Yahoo!5.Youtube6.Blogger.com7.New Vision8.Windows Live9.Daily Monitor10.BBC Online

WE MUST PUSH CONTENT!!!

Technology is Converging..

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Enabling Factors

• Cost of Access is improving

• Infrastructure is being put in place

• The increasing number of players in the market

• Competent Human Resource

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Why we must take ICT’s Serious

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The Viral Effect…….

Social Media is Business

• Social technology is transforming how business is done - the correlation between the adoption of social capabilities and business success is becoming stronger as organizations are creating value by empowering individuals to engage in people networks.

• In fact, a recent McKinsey & Company study showed 69% of organizations surveyed reported measurable business results from using social technologies. In response, we are seeing the rise of a new business model: the Social Business. [IBM 2011}

Moving on…..My Thoughts

• Schooled Vs Educated• Blackberry holders with post office mentality• Stop the project mentality• Mainstream the internet in our thinking• Having a website no indication that you

understand its potential

Moving on…..My Thoughts

• Focus on function than form –Amazon Kindle• Techno – fear get over it….experiment-

experience• Create your Blue ocean….create your own

competition• You have to be part of the mobile revolution• Internet not just a tool it’s a market place; How

Visible is your brand?• Educate the users

Each one of us has a role to play to realize the full potential of SM and the Internet

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