Today, bloggers around the world are celebrating Blog Day 2008 - a day dedicated to getting to know other bloggers from other countries and areas of interest. All over the world, bloggers will recommend 5 blogs to their blog visitors.
So as part of this year’s Blog Day, I am recommending 5 Nigerian blogs that I read and find interesting. You can tell us your opinion about these blogs.
Classmates-ng.com is a new social networking site that will help you find your old friends and schoolmates. The site was launched on beta testing since May 20 2008 and now has a database of cities, schools, universities, as well as users.
The site allows you to send messages to those you lost contact with and possibly arrange meeting them. You can also add your school, if you can’t find it on the list. To register, you need to:
1. Choose the region and country you studied in from the list.
2. Choose your primary school or secondary school, and
3. Fill in the form.
With classmates-ng.com, you can search for classmates, groupmates, former colleagues, find friends, communicate with them by mails, view their photos, organize meetings, setup ‘watches’ to alert you when someone registers.
It seems that some telecoms firms in Nigeria can’t hold on to their brand name and build that brand to compete with other telecoms companies like MTN Nigeria and Globacom Nigeria. Just recently, Celtel Nigeria changed its name to Zain Nigeria as a result of a rebranding effort by the Zain Group.
Now, as a result of its new strategy which will place it on a leading role in the telecom industry in Nigeria, Reliance Telecommunication Limited (Reltel Wireless), has changed its name to ZOOM Mobile and acquired a 0707 GSM line which comprises an additional 10 million lines from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
Mr. Ken Aigbinode, Executive Vice-Chairman, ZOOM Mobile , said the 0707 lines would drive the ZOOM brand and that all the company’s products and services would continue to bear Reltel until the launching of the ZOOM mobile has been actualised.
Visafone, the newest mobile phone company that is wholly Nigerian-owned has been voted the Best Telecom Brand in Nigeria at the 2008 edition of the Nigeria Telecom Awards.
Visafone unveiled its brand and services less than 6 months ago on February 22, 2008 and became the first telecoms company in Nigeria to roll out commercial operations in 12 states and over 40 cities from day one. It has since spread its coverage areas to 17 states and over 150 cities and is set to garner an unprecedented 1 million subscribers in less than 6 months of operations.
The company has also unveiled a new and innovative product that extends its value added services to its subscribers. The product, called the RC Data Pay, allows data users (internet subscribers) on the Visafone network to recharge or pay for internet subscriptions through their handsets, using recharge cards. The service can be used from any Visafone phone handset on any tariff plan, and the data subscription is automatically updated within seconds at the dial of a short code if the subscriber has sufficient balance.
This article was culled from Kingnetkk’s blog which was recently started to provide entrepreneurship advice to blogs, startups and businesses from Nigeria. I’m featuring this article on this blog to provide useful advice to wannabe entrepreneurs in Nigeria.
Starting a Small Business
Starting a small business requires determination, motivation, and know-how. Here’s a list of available resources to provide you with the know-how to have a successful small business startup.
1. Identify Your Business Opportunity
Choosing what kind of business to start can be an immobilizing task when confronted with the multitude of opportunities. Here at About, we have identified the hottest business opportunities to give you a few ideas. It’s important to determine where your passions lie and to understand your entrepreneurial personality type. So you think you have found the one business opportunity that will bring you freedom, fame, and plenty of profits? Does it meet the 8 simple rules?
2. Build a Business Plan
For the majority of start-ups, a business plan allows you to gain a better understanding of your industry structure, competitive landscape, and the capital requirements of starting a small business. If business planning is beneficial, why do so few startups use business planning? Learn the critical steps to writing a business plan.
