Chitika

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Olakunle Soriyan: Tweeting The Change He Wants To See

Olakunle Soriyan also known as PK is making a revolutionary impact & contribution in our generation through his twitter/facebook page.Daily, great direction happens on his twitter page. His daily tweets will inspire you to achieve the incredible.

Olakunle Soriyan is the
Principal Transformation
Strategist of the
OLAKUNLE SORIYAN
COMPANY ,a Total Life
Management (TLM) and
Nation Building,Training
and Consulting Firm.The
company works with
leaders of various arms
of Government and
NGO's as well as Business
and Institutional leaders
at all levels,using
original,home grown
research and principle
based methodologies.
Soriyan serves on the
Board of various
organisations, and is a
philosopher,Trainer and
Consultant of high
pedigree.The personal
Advisor and coach to
many high-net worth
individuals (HNI) and
organisations, promotes
ORIGINALITY as a critical
pathway to
PURPOSEFULNESS at any
level of development. He
is happily married to his
Immensely Gifted
Wife,Tiwalade; and can
be reached on
pts@olakunlesoriyan.com

You can follow him on twitter @ olakunlesoriyan.

Facepage: Olakunle Soriyan

Website: Olakunlesoriyan.com

Timaya Secured #87m Glo Deal

it’s been reported that singer
‘Timaya has just secured a huge
87 million naira endorsement
deal with GLObacom that would
last a period of two years.

Chinese passenger jet C919 takes on Boeing and Airbus

China announces its first domestically produced commercial jet. Here's what the C919 looks like from the inside
China is taking on the world's only large commercial aircraft producers Boeing and Airbus with its first homegrown passenger jet, the C919.
The C919, built by state-owned enterprise Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac), is a single-aisle commercial liner designed to
compete with the Airbus A320 and the Boeing 737. It was officially unveiled at the Zhuhai air show in south China on November 16.
Orders are already pouring in, Comac claims, with 100 orders from four Chinese domestic airlines Air China, China Southern, China Eastern
and Hainan Airlines, as well as the U.S.-owned GE Capital Aviation Service.
No details on the planes' cost or how many planes each company ordered have been made available, although state media reports that the
estimated market price for the C919 is 20 percent cheaper than its foreign competitors.
The company expects to sell more than 2,000 C919s globally over the next 20 years.
The 156-seater is 17 meters long, 5.6 meters tall and 3.96 meters wide. The fuselage will bear the Comac name but crucial systems on the
inside are produced by Western aviation companies, according to The Age.
The first "9" in the craft's model number stands for “forever,” based on two words' similar pronunciations in Chinese.The “19” refers to the maximum number of 190 seats on the aircraft.
Test flights for the C919 are set for 2014 and the planes will be delivered in 2016.
Comac added that the C919 hopes to cash in on China's domestic demand for planes. Some 4,439 commercial jets are expected to be needed
in China by the year 2029, consituting 14 percent of the world's demand.

Friday, December 17, 2010

Ladybrille Exclusive: Celebrity Blogger Shei Funmi, Ladybrille Man of the Month, Opens Up About Sexual Abuse


“Err. . . I don’t think it is a good idea,” I told him. A heavy silence greeted me on the other end of my phone. I found the situation very awkward. “Have you told your parents?” I asked. “No,” he replied. I had just completed an interview with eighteen year old Celebrity Blogger Shei Funmi, a Nigerian who at the time we were speaking was based in Houston, Texas. My interview was about his blog and the many Hollywood celebrities he frankly ticks off with his Perez Hilton style blogging. I was intrigued that he was Nigerian/African, had not spent much time in the USA, barely a year, yet he was able to gather the attention of many celebrities and even have persons like Lady Gaga following him on Twitter, among many.

Unexpected, was his request to share with the Ladybrille audience the story of being raped, at 10years old, by his male cousin. “Shei, I really don’t think it is a good idea.” I continued with him. “I am not a mother but if I was, I’d hate to discover my child was raped through an online magazine by my Nephew! It would be devastating. You should at the very least tell your parents, your mom?” I pleaded in a very empathetic tone. He remained silent. “Could you at least tell your mom about it?” He after a long silence, agreed but wanted to know once he did, whether I would still publish the story. “Yes, I will,” I responded. This was in February of this year. “When?” he asked.

“I will let you know but it will be consistent with our editorial calendar.” For almost eight months, he checked in periodically to see if it was time. It wasn’t. This December 2010 our Holiday Edition, it is now time to tell the Shei Funmi story.

Many times, when we think about the Holiday and what it embodies i.e giving, we think about giving gifts in the traditional sense. This story is about giving in the non-traditional sense. It is about sharing a story that hopefully creates awareness and breaks the taboo of not discussing sexual crimes/assault committed within African communities. Most importantly, it is about saving a life through sharing Shei’s story.

For many who have been raped, it is often hard to put into words the effects and aftermath of rape to loved ones or anyone who cares to listen. But, common feelings include post traumatic stress disorder, deep anxiety, replaying the assault/rape in thoughts and memories, suicidal thoughts, drug use, promiscuity, deep shame, guilt, depression, depersonalization (hard to have an intimate relationship with the opposite sex), among others. Worse, within Africa and other ethnic communities, rape is a taboo not open to discussion, especially where a male is involved, leaving those assaulted to almost/go crazy from keeping it all in. For females who are raped, often, society blames them. As a result, the crime remains one of the most under-reported.

Shei’s subsequent and recent interview for this feature took place while he was in Lagos, Nigeria. Unfortunately for him and despite telling his family about the abuse, the perpetrator of the crime (his cousin) still regularly visits his home. Please share, help create awareness and possibly save a life.

LADYBRILLEmag.com: Shei, where are you right now?
SheiFunmi: I’m in Nigeria . . . I’m at home.

LADYBRILLEmag.com: How are you feeling at this moment?
SheiFunmi: I feel relieved and at the same time there’s this spot in my heart that feels it needs to heal.

LADYBRILLEmag.com: Tell us about that spot. What is going on?
SheiFunmi: That spot is about forgetting what has happened in the past. I keep having that image in my head over and over again. Unlike before, I start to cry. I get depressed and curse and I feel that spot will heal if he (male cousin) apologizes and feels remorse for what he did.

LADYBRILLEmag.com: Can you forget the past? Move on? Worse case scenario if he never apologizes, what will you do? How do you intend to confront the past so you can move forward?
SheiFunmi: Yes I can (forget the past) but I’ll have to stand up to him, let him know the damage he has done. I think I have to be brave.

LADYBRILLEmag.com: Shei, I am going to take you to that place where it might not be very comfortable; the past because I know you’ve been wanting to share for almost nine months now, your story with the world. Let’s go back to the past. What happened? What happened to that 10year old? Where were you when it happened?

SheiFunmi: I was ten. I always went over to my cousins for the weekend until a weekend came by and it was just one of my cousin that was in the house. We were watching Nigerian movies in the (living) room and all of a sudden (the one cousin in the house) said let us go upstairs to the room. This was in the afternoon. I went upstairs to his room. He began tickling me. I was laughing. Then, he started touching my penis. I asked what he was doing and he said he was playing with me, saying that is how adults play.

He pulled off my shorts, went to his shelf to take lotion and he was rubbing the lotion on my a**. It still didn’t occur to me what was going on. He tried forcing his penis in my a** so I began to scream and cry because it was painful. No one was in the house to come to my aid. After forcing his penis and he couldn’t penetrate, he started jerking off touching my penis.

‎​When he was done, he told me to go and shower in the bathroom and I was still crying. The next morning, my dad came to pick me up and my cousin told me not to mention to anyone that if I tell anyone I’ll die because it is adult secret.

I said, “okay” thinking about death. At the same time, I wanted to tell my parents but they where always fighting so I kept it to myself. My mom would usually take Lexotan (used for anxiety and panic attacks and insomnia) to sleep after the fight or when she’s stressed out and all. I started taking it too. I would sneak into her room and then would take it to calm my nerves down so I could sleep. As time went by, I started buying it myself from the pharmacy. I also bought Benylin with Codine because it got to a point where Lexotan didn’t work for me anymore.

LADYBRILLEmag.com: WOW! (Pauses) Let me understand this. When you say your parents were always fighting, what were they fighting about? Tell us the kind of home you grew up in.
SheiFunmi: I grew up in a polygamous home (Shei’s father married four wives and has a total of nine children) . Even though (my father’s) wives lived in different houses, my dad always caused trouble but I never understood or knew what they were fighting about. I just (would) hear them scream and shout at each other. My dad is somewhat insecure and was always accusing my mother of wrong doings which is not true. I never know the reason why they fight till today. I still don’t know what exactly (they fight about) but it is always from my dad.

LADYBRILLEmag.com: (In an empathetic tone) Let me take you back to the day after the incident. What did you do next?
SheiFunmi: Nothing. I just kept alone to myself in my room and would have my lights off. Then I (began) liking the darkness. The light in my room was always switched off and the only time I used the light is when I wanted to dress up.

LADYBRILLEmag.com: Tell us. How did this unfortunate incident affect you at 10 and how does it affect you now as a 18yr old who is evolving as a man?
SheiFunmi: Wow (it affected me) in a lot of ways. I became a loner. I started to push people away. I started taking excess sleeping pills. I became a drug addict. I did weed and had suicidal thoughts. But the worst of it all was my addiction to sleeping pills.

LADYBRILLEmag.com: What age did these self-destructive habits begin?
SheiFunmi: 12 and above. I did weed at 16 but stopped a few months later because I am asthmatic and have the severe kind. I was always having constant asthma attack.

LADYBRILLEmag.com: You mentioned to me (in our earlier discussions) that you began at some point receiving psycho-therapy. When and how did you come to receive psycho-therapy?
SheiFunmi: Last year, sexual abuse was a topic in college (in the USA). My instructor asked victims to seek help and meet the counselor. I did and I was referred to a rehabilitation center in downtown Houston. I went for 2weeks after school and I made progress.

LADYBRILLEmag.com: I know you are in Nigeria now. Do you intend to seek/get more therapy?
SheiFunmi: (Yes) I intend to seek further help. . .

LADYBRILLemag.com: I can’t even begin to imagine so I will ask directly, how has this affected your sexual identity as a boy and now growing into a man?
SheiFunmi: I grew up dealing with masculinity issues and I felt inferior. People always made fun of me in school (and) called me “diva.” I stopped fighting that at 16 and I developed a big attitude and stopped caring.

LADYBRILLEmag.com: When you say “I grew up dealing with masculinity issues,” what do you mean by that?
SheiFunmi: I acted in ways society considered feminine. I loved doing girl-like things. I used to knit, make beads and I was always conscious of the way I acted, walked and talked so I won’t be called a “fag” or a “diva.” I always wanted to fit in with the guys.

LADYBRILLEmag.com: Did you fit in?
SheiFunmi: No I did not. But, I was accepted the way I was and everyone started showing me love and extending a hand of friendship. But I refused to be friends with (people). The reason why I was accepted was because I stopped caring and I always made (people who attacked) me look stupid and began standing up to them.

LADYBRILLEmag.com: Shei, I know I asked you this back in February. I will ask you again. Why now. Why do you feel the need to tell this story? What are you hoping comes out from this?
SheiFunmi: I see a lot of people out there who think females are the only ones who get molested. It is not true. I also have a friend who committed suicide (recently) from bolting things up and not sharing his pain. Moreover, I’ve seen weird cases of people thinking it is cool to molest someone; and there are a lot of teenagers out there with the same experience even worse than mine.

LADYBRILLEmag.com: I am so sorry to hear about your friend. You are right men go through this too. I was watching Tyler Perry on Oprah say this and of course his experience.
SheiFunmi: Yeah . . .

Shei Funmi Confronts his Cousin, Online

LADYBRILLEmag.com: What next after people read and hear your story?
SheiFunmi: I want to emphasize that parents should pay more attention to their children and take them seriously. They should also know males do get molested and boys going through this experience should seek help and open up.

LADYBRILLEmag.com: I’d like to zoom in on your culture as an African and specifically Nigerian for our audience that are unfamiliar with where you come from. Let’s talk about your parents and the Nigerian society you grew up in as a whole. Your mother now knows. When did you tell her and what was her reaction?
SheiFunmi: She knew, randomly. I cannot recollect what happened that day but I spoke out angrily and she said, “Wow, you have been through a lot and you never told anybody.” That was all but she probably thought I was healed already.

LADYBRILLEmag.com: Did you tell her the details?
SheiFunmi: I told her who. She was shocked because my cousin has that innocent, child of God look but still no action was taken.

LADYBRLLEmag.com: I know it frustrates you seeing your cousin in your own home. What do you think at this point you need to do to confront him?
SheiFunmi: He acts like he didn’t do anything, playing cool and all of that. But, in his head, (I feel) he’s thinking “oh he (Shei) can’t remember. He was a kid then.” And that’s one of the steps to heal, confronting and you let go totally. Letting him know what he did was wrong and who knows how many children he’s (hurt)?

LADYBRILLEmag.com: If he was reading this interview at this moment, what would you say to him?
SheiFunmi: I can remember what he did vividly and it has affected me in a lot of ways but he should be remorseful for his act, not try to act like nothing ever happened.

LADYBRILLEmag.com: Talk to him directly.
SheiFunmi: I remember what you did vividly. The memory of it lingers and it has affected me in so many ways. Stop acting like nothing ever happened and playing cool. Be remorseful for your action.

LADYBRILLEmag.com: Anything else?
SheiFunmi: Nothing more. I just want him to know what he has done and I have not forgotten.

Shei Funmi Looks Towards the Future

LADYBRILLEmag.com: Let’s sort of bring all of this to the present and tie in with the kind of work you do now and sheifunmi.net. What are you working on? Actually, before we do, can you address Nigerian societal attitude towards rape victims, in your experience?
SheiFunmi: The society should see deeply what victims of sexual abuse go through. Just because they look okay on the outside doesn’t mean they are not dying on the inside. [Nigerian] society should also understand that it is not easy to get over experiences like these. For youths who experience this, they should have someone to confide in and talk to. Someone to share their problems with and that can help them heal, preferably a counselor.

LADYBRILLEmag.com: Let me shift gears to a much lighter topic and talk about your projects. You close out December as Ladybrille Man of the Month. What other projects or things do you have going for you and what we should expect?
SheiFunmi: There’s a lot going on right now. . . I am the host for a reality show “Kids Can Sing” starting in December 2010. I am also doing the live feed/stream for MTV Africa Music Awards. [I] am also one of the ambassadors for the Cool to Vote campaign/initiative; and apparently the youngest ambassador.

LADYBRILEmag.com: Excellent. When do the MAMA awards take place again? Are the projects you mentioned inline with what you have going on Sheifunmi.net?
SheiFunmi: The award is in December. The date has not been released and yes it is in line with SheiFunmi. (The date for MAMAs has since been released. It is December 11th, 2010). I am also working on a TV and Radio Show but taking it bit by bit.

LADYBRILLEmag.com: What about Sheifunmi.net, will it continue to make trouble and gossip?
SheiFunmi: Sheifunmi.com & .net is still making trouble and most hated by celebrities. I still gossip and also do celebrity interviews but now I premiere videos and do big time adverts now for companies.

LADYBRILLEmag.com: (Oh boy!) Congrats Shei on your accomplishments. I thank you for sharing your story and hope you find healing in sharing it with us and the world.
SheiFunmi:Thank you.

~Interview by Uduak Oduok (Ladybrille.com)
Courtesy photo/ Photocredit: Obi Somto

The Goal-getters Series: Uche Eze, 2face Idibia, Teju Babyface and Olumide Adewunmi.

THE GOAL GETTERS

“The brave may not live forever- but the cautious do not live at all!”
-Richard Branson.

The Goal getter series is a dairy of successful Nigerians (both home and abroad), who against all odds forges on to break new frontiers and achieve their set goals. It’s a diary of those who win for others; those who inspire change and those who are courageous enough to face the impossible or adversity and remains standing and successful.

It’s a one-stop center for inspiration in this treacherous path called life. In this series, we’ll be profiling some young Nigerians in media and entertainment, who fit our bill. Happy reading…

Uche Eze: The Limit
Breaker

To some- even most, Uchenna Eze is a model of success. On the 1st of July 2006, Uchenna Eze started off BellaNaija under the blogspot.com (www.bellanaija.blogspot.com) as a hobby but today her hardwork and dedication to the blog has made it one of the most popular website in Nigeria, which serves Nigerians and lovers of Nigeria’s fashion and entertainment culture worldwide. The ordinary blog that started as bellanaija.blogspot.com has grown to become bellanaija.com. The blog is built on robust photo gallery and media technologies.

Sometimes in July 2009, Uche quit her 9-5 job in Canada (where BellaNiaja started back in 2006) to pursue BellaNaija and set-up Bainstone Limited, BellaNaija’s parent company, after she relocated to Nigeria.

Earlier this year, the media-savvy BellaNaija owner was featured on most popular talk show in the world (0prah’s Beauty Around the World) and recently on CNN i-List, alond-side President Goodluck Jonathan and Aliko Dangote, during their month-long visit to Nigeria.

This 26 years old owner of a fast growing media company is really an inspiration to many. And with her aspiration to be “Africa’s number one music, style, movie, tv and beauty website”, the sky is her starting point. Keep up the great work! Uche you rock!



Teju Babyface: Small But Mighty
If truth be told- Teju Oyelakin best known by foes and friends as Teju Babyface is a comedian with a difference. Just at the beginning of the second quarter of this year, May 4th 2010 to be precise, he launchad a Tv show called “The Teju Babyface Show” on Silverbird Television. The Teju Babyface late night Show which is styled after The David Letterman Show has become a favorite Tv Show of most Nigerian Tv viewers.

Teju Babyface has chart a new course in the industry with his first class content, outstanding production and mind-blowing show. Since inception, the late night show has been a hub of entertainment with featured guest like Abimbola Fashola, King Sunny Ade, Dele Momodu, 2face Idibai, Professor Pat Utomi just to mention a few. The show is produced by Teju himself and directed by one and only veteran director, Tade Ogidan.

Teju has a way of giving his fans what they want and keep them coming for more. I think that is one of the secrets of successful ventures.

Teju my man, you are worth celebrating! Three gbosa for you! Gbosa! Gbosa!! Gbosa!!!




2face Idibia: Getting Greater by the
day, againt all odds
Who can stop the sun

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Brazil architectNiemeyer opensmuseum at 103

Celebrated Brazilian architect
Oscar Niemeyer has marked his
103rd birthday by opening a
museum of his work.
The Oscar Niemeyer Foundation
outside Rio de Janeiro houses
drawings and models from the
modernist architect's 70-year
career.
Mr Niemeyer designed Brazil's
futuristic capital, Brasilia, as well
as the UN building in New York.
His latest work - the Oscar
Niemeyer cultural centre in Aviles
in northern Spain - also opened
on Wednesday.
"My friends have come to see me,
how nice," Mr Niemeyer told
reporters at the inauguration of
his foundation in the city of
Niteroi, outside Rio de Janeiro.
Designed by Mr Niemeyer himself,
the museum building boasts the
sensuous concrete curves that
define his distinctive modernist
style and have made him one of
the world's most famous
architects.
Niteroi is already home to a
number of classic Niemeyer
buildings, including a
contemporary art museum and a
theatre.
On the same day the Oscar
Niemeyer Foundation was
opened in Brazil, officials in Aviles
in northern Spain opened the
main dome of the Oscar
Niemeyer Cultural Centre, which
he also designed.
The authorities in Aviles hope the
centre will revive the city's
fortunes in the same way the
Gugenheim museum helped
transform the city of Bilbao from
a declining industrial city into a
cultural capital.
Sweeping curves
Mr Niemeyer is most famous for
designing Brasilia, which was
built as a new federal capital for
Brazil in the late 1950s.
His bold futuristic designs made
the new capital a dramatic
statement of confidence in the
future of Brazil, and an icon of
modern architecture.
A student of the French architect
Le Corbusier, he developed a
distinctive style defined by stark
concrete and sweeping curves.
He famously once said the
stylized swoops in his buildings
were inspired by the curves of
Brazilian women.
Mr Niemeyer went on to create
more than 600 buildings around
the world.
Despite recurring illness over the
past year, he is still at work, and
still showing his flair for dramatic
architecture.
Brazil architect
Niemeyer opens
museum at 103
Mr Niemeyer designed Brazil's
futuristic capital, Brasilia, as well
as the UN building in New York.

Iceprince,Mo ’Cheddah, WajeHeadline The FutureAwards NomineesReception forCharity, December19th, 2010

Iceprince, Mo’Cheddah, Waje
headline The Future Awards
Nominees Reception for Charity
December 19
- Get Your Green On!
Fashion Show by Zebra, MAI and
others
The Future Awards has
announced the all-star line-up for
its annual Nominees Reception
for charity.
All the nominees in the 21
categories will be celebrated at
an invitation-only media and VIP
Nominees Reception on Sunday
19 December 2010 – where they
will also be inducted into the elite
The Future Alumni Network. The
event will also be an opportunity
to raise money for Love on the
Streets, an NGO working with
disadvantaged children of the
Dustbin Estate, Lagos.
Performers at the event include
MAMA Best New Act Mo ’Cheddah,
Chydinma, Tiwa Savage, Waje,
Iceprince and Whizkid.
There will also be the annual Get
Your Green On! Fashion show
where some of the awards ’
official clothiers will unveil from
collections themed around green.
This year ’s designers include MAI,
Zebra, House of Nwocha, Sally
Bawa Lagos and iamISIGO. The
event will be anchored by MTV
Base ’s Cynthia Okpala and Tinsel’s
Chris Attoh.
The general public is reminded
that there is a period when
complaints about any nominee
can be made to the Central
Working Committee about the
ages, substance of achievement,
or any claims or any of the
nominees that can be validly
contradicted. The two-week
complaint window closes on
Sunday.
“We certainly have had more
than a few complaints about the
ages of one or two nominees.
We sincerely appreciate those
reactions and the fact that
people feel so strongly about this
awards process confirms to us
that people believe in what we
are doing, ” said Chude Jideonwo,
the awards’ Creative Director.
“Over the years we have had to
withdraw the nominations of a
few nominees who have been
unable to prove their actual ages;
indeed The Future Awards is one
of the very few processes that
actually demands proof of
nominees’ claims.
“However, it is to be noted that
nominees have submitted legal
documents that corroborate the
ages they have given. And unless
complainants are able to direct
us to documents and evidence
that disprove them, we have no
choice but to respect legally
admissible proofs. More than
that, the beauty of this award for
many young Nigerians is to find
that many achievers who have
done so much great work are so
young – and we hope that the
rest will be able to draw
inspiration from these true life
stories of excellence and
achievement. ”
Profiles of all the nominees will
be up on
www.thefuturenigeria.com on
Tuesday, 21 December so
members of the public can
share their stories. Public
voting ends on December 31
2010.

Mark Zuckerberg: TIME MAGAZINE's person the year.


On the afternoon of Nov. 16,
2010, Mark Zuckerberg was
leading a meeting in the
Aquarium, one of Facebook's
conference rooms, so named
because it's in the middle of a
huge work space and has glass
walls on three sides so
everybody can see in. Conference
rooms are a big deal at Facebook
because they're the only places
anybody has any privacy at all,
even the bare minimum of
privacy the Aquarium gets you.
Otherwise the space is open
plan: no cubicles, no offices, no
walls, just a rolling tundra of
office furniture. Sheryl Sandberg,
Facebook's COO, who used to be
Lawrence Summers' chief of staff
at the Treasury Department,
doesn't have an office.
Zuckerberg, Facebook's CEO and
co-founder and presiding
visionary, doesn't have an office.
The team was going over the
launch of Facebook's revamped
Messages service, which had
happened the day before and
gone off without a hitch or
rather without more than the
usual number of hitches.
Zuckerberg kept the meeting on
track, pushing briskly through
his points — no notes or
whiteboard, just talking with his
hands — but the tone was
relaxed. Much has been made of
Zuckerberg's legendarily
awkward social manner, but in a
room like this, he's the Silicon
Valley equivalent of George
Plimpton. He bantered with
Andrew "Boz" Bosworth, a
director of engineering who ran
the project. (Boz was
Zuckerberg's instructor in a
course on artificial intelligence
when they were at Harvard. He
says his future boss didn't do
very well. Though, in fairness,
Zuckerberg did invent Facebook
that semester.) Apart from a
journalist sitting in the corner, no
one in the room looked over 30,
and apart from the journalist's
public relations escort, it was
boys only.
(See pictures inside Mark
Zuckerberg's inner circle.)
The door opened, and a
distinguished-looking gray-
haired man burst in — it's the
only way to describe his entrance
— trailed by a couple of deputies.
He was both the oldest person in
the room by 20 years and the
only one wearing a suit. He was
in the building, he explained with
the delighted air of a man about
to secure ironclad bragging
rights forever, and he just had to
stop in and introduce himself to
Zuckerberg: Robert Mueller,
director of the FBI, pleased to
meet you.
They shook hands and chatted
about nothing for a couple of
minutes, and then Mueller left.
There was a giddy silence while
everybody just looked at one
another as if to say, What the hell
just happened?
It's a fair question. Almost seven
years ago, in February 2004,
when Zuckerberg was a 19-year-
old sophomore at Harvard, he
started a Web service from his
dorm. It was called
Thefacebook.com, and it was
billed as "an online directory that
connects people through social
networks at colleges." This year,
Facebook — now minus the the
— added its 550 millionth
member. One out of every dozen
people on the planet has a
Facebook account. They speak 75
languages and collectively lavish
more than 700 billion minutes on
Facebook every month. Last
month the site accounted for 1
out of 4 American page views. Its
membership is currently growing
at a rate of about 700,000
people a day.
(See a Zuckerberg family photo
album.)
What just happened? In less than
seven years, Zuckerberg wired
together a twelfth of humanity
into a single network, thereby
creating a social entity almost
twice as large as the U.S. If
Facebook were a country it
would be the third largest,
behind only China and India. It
started out as a lark, a diversion,
but it has turned into something
real, something that has changed
the way human beings relate to
one another on a species-wide
scale. We are now running our
social lives through a for-profit
network that, on paper at least,
has made Zuckerberg a
billionaire six times over.
Facebook has merged with the
social fabric of American life, and
not just American but human life:
nearly half of all Americans have
a Facebook account, but 70% of
Facebook users live outside the
U.S. It's a permanent fact of our
global social reality. We have
entered the Facebook age, and
Mark Zuckerberg is the man who
brought us here.
(See pictures of Facebook's
overseas offices.)
Zuckerberg is part of the last
generation of human beings
who will remember life before
the Internet, though only just. He
was born in 1984 and grew up
in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., the son of a
dentist — Painless Dr. Z's slogan
was, and is, "We cater to
cowards." Mark has three sisters,
the eldest of whom, Randi, is
now Facebook's head of
consumer marketing and social-
good initiatives. It was a
supportive household that
produced confident children. The
young Mark was "strong-willed
and relentless," according to his
father Ed. "For some kids, their
questions could be answered
with a simple yes or no," he says.
"For Mark, if he asked for
something, yes by itself would
work, but no required much
more. If you were going to say
no to him, you had better be
prepared with a strong
argument backed by facts,
experiences, logic, reasons. We
envisioned him becoming a
lawyer one day, with a near
100% success rate of convincing
juries."

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Urban Dice Designs hosts“ Creative Focus” Exhibition –29th December 2010

Urban Dice Designs, an interior
design and home accessories
company, brings to you a unique
blend of Fashion, Lifestyle,
Creativity and Charity with an
exhibition tagged “Creative
Focus“.
This effort at showcasing and
highlighting upcoming creative
talent and growing creative
businesses in Nigeria will feature
eclectic items from Jini (fashion
designer), Ada-Esi (fabric
producer), J.Melo (fashion
designer and actor) and Lolavita
Hair (brand of hair extensions
and hair straighteners). Other
partners include Hairven (hair
products), Adanna’s Collection
(costume, jewelry and
accessories), Left Eye’s Signature
(painter/artist) and Hottieculture
(male/female jewelry).
Plan to be a part of this event as
10% of the proceeds will be
donated to Facing Africa (FA) a
charity organisation that takes
care of children with Noma, also
known as cancrum oris or
gangrenous stomatitis, a
gangrenous disease leading to
tissue destruction of the face,
especially the mouth and cheek.
The organization is currently
rehabilitating the Noma hospital
in Sokoto, Nigeria. Enjoy loads of
comfort as you shop and give
back to society!
Here are further details on the
event:
Date: Wednesday 29 December
2010
Time: 4PM to 11:30PM
Venue: Golden Gate, 25B Glover
Road, Ikoyi, Lagos
___________________________________________________________________________________________

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Mariam Ilaka,Nigerian Designer toWatch

Mariam Ilaka is the newest
designer in town to watch. A
Nigerian trained in Italy, Ilaka
creates well constructed clothes
with design details that flatter
the shape of almost all women.
Her latest collection keeps color
palettes very simple but injects
excitement with exquisite design
details

Monday, December 13, 2010

MI sells new album, MI2distribution rights for N20million

For the first time, a Nigerian
artiste came clean on the
financial value of his album. "This
is not to prove any point, it's only
to inspire someone that we are
doing this. Mr Abhu can you step
up please" said M.I with that into,
CEO Abhu ventures, a strong
force in the Alaba 'conglomerate'
presented a N20million cheque
to M.I in exchange for
distribution rights to his MI2
through out West Africa. -
Vanguard Newspapers

Sunday, December 12, 2010

2Face, P-Square,Mo ’Cheddah, Sasha,Liquideep, Fally Ipupa& Eminem win big atthe 2010 MTV AfricaMusic Awards

Congolese artist Fally Ipupa, and
Nigeria’s 2Face led the winners
at the third edition of the MTV
Africa Music Awards with Airtel
(MAMA), each taking home two
trophies at the music awards
ceremony at the Eko Expo Hall,
Lagos on 11 December 2010.
Nominated in four separate
categories, Fally Ipupa scored
wins for Best Video (“Sexy
Dance”) and Best Francophone
act while 2Face, a former MAMA
winner from 2009, picked up
trophies for Artist of the Year
and Best Male.
Cabo Snoop notched up a music
first for Angola by becoming the
first ever Angolan winner at
MAMA 2010, taking home the
prize for Best Lusophone act. The
inaugural Best Anglophone
award went to Kenyan Gospel
breakthrough artist Daddy Owen
– the first time a gospel artist has
won a MAMA.
Song of the Year was won by
South African pop/R&B outfit
Liquideep for their hauntingly
lovely ‘Fairytale’. New MAMA
award category Best
Performance was won by Big
Nuz, the South African house trio
making waves all over the
continent.
Nigerian vocalist Sasha scored
Nigeria’s first ever win in the
Best Female category after
Kenyan dominance over the last
two years. Nigerian R&B duo P-
Square (Nigeria) added yet
another MAMA trophy to their
awards cabinet – taking home
Best Group for the third year
running! Rising Nigerian star Mo
Cheddah notched up her first
win in the hotly contested
Brand:New category which
recognises rising stars tipped by
MTV for success.