Selecting an accounting software (or a spouse)

"A company selecting an accounting software is akin to an individual choosing a spouse. One wants a faithful (accurate) helpmate who grows with him/her (capable of being scaled up). One wants someone he/she can treasure through sickness (financial loss) and in health (profitable growth). One wants the candidate to be capable of intimacy (keep confidences), yet be open to recognising his/her faults (an audit function to find and fix errors). And most importantly, one wants the relationship to be long-lasting without the need for expensive and debilitating upgrades."   ~ Jones (2002)

Google Faculty Development Workshop -- Day 3

Did Google save the best for last? I don't think so because all the days have been great.
The final day saw participants taken through Google Apps for Education: Calender, Gmail, Google docs. A hands on session on Google+ was also held and that had a lot of engagement as the interaction between the presenter and participants was great.
Baris, a software engineer at Google also had a cool session where he took participants through a typical software design approach used by Googlers. Participants finally decided to build an app to help solve traffic problems in Accra and indeed, in Ghana.
Another brainstorming session was held after the programm when a numberof folks stayed behind for about fifteen minutes after closure, to talk with Baris about malaria and help him understand issues on the ground so as to be well informed to build an infrastructure that can mitigate the harm caused by mosquitoes, and prevent them from 'invading' the rooms of their 'potential victims'.

Baris with some participants discussing malaria

It was a great event and the knowledge base has been really dense.
I do hope to be here next year, and fully help advance the mission of Google in making technology an integral part in education.
Related articles:

• Google Faculty Development Workshop -- Day 2
• Google Faculty Development Workshop -- Day 1

Use simple tools to create complex applications: think locally, impact globally

The much anticipated Google Ghana Conference took place last week, on the 19th & 20th March at the Alisa hotel in Accra – yours truly was present – as always.(smiles)

This year’s event did justice to my expectations: cool, knowledgeable presenters; relaxed atmosphere fostering partnerships and enhancing opportunities; great entrepreneurial discussions.

The first day saw Googlers giving presentations on technologies/topics such as HTML5, Google App Engine, Google+, User Experience among others. My personal highlight of the day was during the Site Clinic track where the website of techsonetGH (under construction) was ‘diagnosed’ by Luisella. It was an eye-opener into ways I could become a better webmaster. The topic for the panel discussion was, “Can Ghana have a software company with 100+ developers?” In all, participants believed it was possible but would require skills development, hard work, dedication, and of course investment.

The cultural environment of Google as alluded in the keynote address of the day was experienced personally in my interactions with Googlers present at the event. These guys are cool! (wink) Ideas indeed do come from everywhere…

Day 2 was nothing short of exciting. It was great listening to entrepreneurs and business enthusiasts discuss ideas and share experiences. One fact that stood out is that, your ideas can best be explained by you in detail, nobody cares about your idea – sharing therefore is key.
During the track on Adsense, I really got to see how Africans get a ‘third eye’ when it comes to matters involving money. Some participants really wanted to know how to track their revenue online. (still laughing)

Julia’s presentation on Google+ APIs also saw eyes rolling and heads nodding. The fact that individuals without smart phones and data enabled devices could still enjoy Google + is simply genius. The hangout feature was simply awesome as a number of participants saw it as their replacement of Skype. I also found out – as did other participants that you can actually monetize on Youtube!

I can’t end without talking about the great photographs taken by RQV Photo Studio. The dude is amazing.

In all, the event was a great success and boy did I have me some fun. I’m already looking forward to next year’s event.

ICT-related Reality Show?

For the past 5 years and over, 'reality shows' have become a main feature on Ghanaian television stations -- and enjoy massive patronage from the general public.
These reality shows, which are aimed at unearthing talents are mostly directed towards one industry -- the music industry. A few of them have targeted the football, business, comedy, and recently, body building.
I really don't have a problem with these reality shows, I only wish there was one geared towards ICT. This would go a long way of unearthing potentials in individuals which would further aid in the development of the burgeoning computer software industry in the country.
Recently, Google had a doodling competition for children in Ghana. The winners had their doodles displayed on the Google Ghana search page! I was thrilled and prayed for a day a reality show related to ICT would be organised in Ghana -- maybe by me -- when I can afford to. :-)
A cue to be taken is from Estonia -- the home of Skype -- and Garage48, which is a two-day workshop for computer programmers, who organise themselves into groups, and come out with a product at the end of the workshop. A workshop of this sort was organised in Accra early this year, and some innovative products were created.
To really develop and believe in our ICT infrastructure, I believe we need to empower ourselves an especially the youth, not just in the arts, but also in the sciences.

Am I ready?

A lot of young CS grads in Ghana – myself inclusive – hope to have their own start-ups after school. Others just want to be employed so they earn some income. The job market, however, is very competitive and the barrier of entry for start-ups is pretty daunting.

The real barrier in my opinion is the fact that most of us want to be perfect before we start our own enterprises or even bid for projects. How do you become perfect without practice?

I remember instances where I did get some projects to work on. I was scared of failure because I thought I was not ready. Guess what, as I started to work on the project, my skills sharpened and I gained new insight into Software Development.

Then comes the next fun-killer, (some) organizations not trusting in the abilities and skills of their young interns/employees, when they design software in-house. These organizations do not even test the software to ascertain its good and bad parts. They only want to buy software they feel is complete and professional – from well established vendors. Sometimes, these ‘so-called’ professional software do not even meet the requirements of the organizations!

This attitude dampens the spirit of these young, enthusiastic interns who literally ‘kill’ themselves to develop something.

It’s about time we start believing in our own folks’ abilities and inculcate the habit of testing in-house software so we get the right software to meet our requirements.

To my fellow yet-to-be developers/entrepreneurs, let’s not be afraid to be ‘thrown into the pool’. With determination and self-belief, we would stay afloat and conquer.

Let’s do it.