Stories by Olabisi Olaleye

Many people have been practicing journalism over time owing to the internet but several others are now making mega bucks from blogging, which is an internet way of giving out information to the public that attracts advertisers to the sites.

Being a blogger does not need any technical or computer skills,  before it generates income. Although, it takes time, creativity and commitment before the money can come.

There are  five basic steps  to make money blogging. These include starting the blog or website, creating valuable content,building relationships, growing the platform (and branch out) and make money from the blog by choosing appropriate streams of income.

According to a blogger, Simon Ateba, once you have a blog, write. Draw from your expertise and experience and write informative posts and articles about your chosen topic.

“Make your content excellent. In order to make money, you must have visitors, but in order to have visitors, you must have content worth visiting.

Writing and producing content is the time consuming part. It will be a while before you start seeing some income. There is no way around this. There are no shortcuts. We all have to put in our time.

“While you create your content, start building  sincere relationships via social media, commenting on other blogs, forums and the like. Reach out to people in your niche. Find people who could use the information you provide. Get to know them, interact, be friendly and helpful by offering no-strings-attached aspect of your expertise. Building authentic relationships is important for a few reasons because it  will establish a reputation of being trustworthy and generous.

“Your site will be found. People won’t naturally find your site if you don’t put yourself out there.

It’s very possible these relationships will turn into much more than just acquaintances to chat online. These people will likely support you in the future and more than that, they may become fantastic, life-long friends. It is also important to  grow in the knowledge of your craft so the content you produce gets increasingly great. Use your blog to get exposure, build contacts, gain trust and be helpful.

“A lot of people don’t realise that for many bloggers, much of the money they make does not come from their blog directly. A blog is a platform. It’s online property, a digital home. After proving their trustworthiness, bloggers use their blogs as springboards to launch other projects that bring in income, such as ebooks, books, speaking engagement and products.

Ateba added that making money would come after trust has been built.


ICT can accelerate sustainable devt goals –Ericsson

The latest Ericsson sustainability and corporate responsibility report 2015(SCR), revealed that the Information and Communication Technology (ICT), can accelerate sustainable goals.

Ericsson used the United Nations sustainable development goals as a framework for measuring impact in society. The report is  its 23rd that covers three areas: responsible business; energy, environment and climate change; and communication for all.

The report also highlights how Information and Communications Technology (ICT) can enable all 17 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and even has the potential to accelerate their achievement.

Hans Vestberg, President and CEO, Ericsson, says: “The SDGs lay out a clear path to a more sustainable world, and ICT is a powerful lever to make that happen. We intend to build on our momentum from 2015 so everyone can benefit from the opportunities afforded by the Networked Society.”

Responsible business highlights

Conducting business with integrity and transparency is at the heart of Ericsson’s commitment to sustainability and corporate responsibility.

The report shows that 99 percent of active Ericsson employees have acknowledged the company’s Code of Business Ethics. In 2015, the Ericsson Compliance Line – which enables secure reporting of suspected violations – was reinforced to support industry anti-corruption best practices.

Demonstrating its commitment to respecting human rights, Ericsson reported according to the UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights framework for the second year in a row, and continues to be the only ICT company to do so.

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Energy, environment and climate change highlights

According to Ericsson research, ICT solutions can help reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by up to 15 percent by 2030, more than the current carbon footprint of the EU and US combined.

In 2015, Ericsson met the target to offset twice the amount of CO2 from its own carbon footprint with solutions such as smart grids and intelligent transport.

For customers, hardware platforms like the Ericsson Radio System, new software and rural coverage solutions are all designed to help customers optimize energy performance.

Head of Region, Ericsson Sub-Saharan Africa,Fredrik Jejdling,  says: The impact of our sustainable business practices and corporate responsibility initiatives in this region is bearing fruit and we remain inspired to work with our stakeholders to create a positive impact in society. With fully leveraged connectivity, we connect the unconnected, improve livelihood, and help cities become more sustainable, creating value for the continent as a whole.


‘How Nigeria can generate revenue from e-waste’ 

There is no much ado about e -waste any more. It has come to stay . A  global issue and another way of life . In recent times, Nigeria has become a dump ground for most of these used products,with most organisation and the country not knowing what to do about it as against the campaign for going  green.

In the developed countries, most of their unwanted goods that cut across electronics, IT, consumables are recycled. Although, some of such is being practised in the country but some stakeholders said that it could generate mega bucks for the country if well harnessed.

According to Isaac Emore, a stakeholder, electronic waste could also be sold to some companies who manufacture similar items and these would in turn be recycled and given a new face lift  rather than allow them to constitute nuisance in the country.

Emore agreed that the rapid economic growth of emerging markets has led to a rise in the generation of electronic waste (e-waste) over the last decade. The European Environment Agency and United Nations Environment Programme estimate that 40-50 million tons of electrical waste are produced each year worldwide.

Also speaking, to  Managing Director of HP Incorporated for Nigeria, Mrs Ifeanyiwa Afe,HP noted that In Africa,  use of IT has risen exponentially in recent years – up to 20 percent year on year according to IDC – adding to an e-waste stream that includes a wide range of electronic goods such as TVs and refrigerators. The category is increasing three times faster than all other types of domestic waste. Only 5 percent of e-waste in Africa is currently recycled through a formal recycling process; 95 percent is conducted through informal recycling. As part of its commitment to Extended Producer Responsibility, in 2007 HP began developing a programmatic strategy and multi-stakeholder action plan to address the e-waste problem in Africa.

Afe, disclosed that HP has formed an alliance with other OEM’s like Dell, Philips and Microsoft Mobile to tackle this issue, but HP has been at the forefront in driving this by offering technical support to potential partners and working with NESREA to provide the necessary legislative framework to make industries thrive and create sustainable jobs.

HP has already gone further to also identify a partner which will become Nigeria’s first ever licenced e-waste recycler. HP’s broad commitment to reducing the impact of e-waste includes helping to facilitate the right technical, educational and organizational structures to manage e-waste safely and efficiently.

 


Comptia to partner with Babcock, Caleb varsities on IT skills devt 

Mr. Gareth Foulkes-Morris, senior Africa executive, Comptia International, global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) entrepreneurial skills to higher institutions and training institutions will this week visit Babcock and Caleb Universities to collaborate on enhancing the technology skill-sets of undergraduates.

The visit is part of Comptia’s collaborative strategies to help Africa achieve parity with Western and Asian universities and consequently enable university graduates be in a position to surmount the pervasive unemployment syndrome as well as become successful technopreneurs in diverse technology-related fields.

Foulkes-Morris will use the occasion to hold executive sessions with the authorities of the universities. Also part of the benefits of the meeting will be a formal offer to license the institutions as Comptia academies with attendant free technical deliverables to the universities. Likewise, the engagements with the students will serve to  further expose huge technology potentials which are yet untapped by Africa and more importantly Nigerian youths but which when explored, will serve to set them apart and in hot demand in the national as well as international job markets and most importantly empower them to become self- employed as wealth creators. In the same vein, the visit to Babcock University will serve as the icing on the cake by equally extending the technology mentorship sensitization programme to select secondary students from 40 secondary schools in the Lagos Zone. The students will be modeled and motivated to begin to dream of a bright future as wealth creators through leveraging readily available 21st Century Technologies and become world great technopreneurs like, Bill Gates  Micheal Dell, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, Nigerian Phillip Emegwalli that developed the fastest computer, etc,.

CompTIA is the largest IT Certifier and the voice of the global information technology industry. As a non-profit trade association advancing global interests, CompTIA focuses its programs on four (4) main areas, namely Education, Certification, Advocacy and Philanthropy.

Mr Tim Akano, the MD/CEO of New Horizons Nigeria affirmed that the visits by Comptia International is facilitated by New Horizons Nigeria as part of  its Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives for empowerment of Nigerian Youths  and that the visits by top executives from world technologies/OEMs are scheduled in phases as such, other University Partners namely, Bowen, Redeemer, Lead City, Salem, Samuel Adegboyega, Mkar, and Adeleke Universities will soon host their different strategic sessions between May and June 2016.