My name is Bankole, and I can do many things
The iPhone moment — that moment when a new product radically and fundamentally changes the way people perceive the space from thereon.
Six years ago, Apple’s iPhone turned mobile on its head. It delivered the coup de grace to PCs with the iPad three years later. After watching Joshua Topolsky’s hands-on with Glass, I’m convinced that it is finally Google’s turn. Glass truly might be the next inflection point in computing.
Watching onlne videos no doubt make for a more enjoyable internet experience, whether you’re catching up on the news, taking an online course or just checking out Lady Gaga’s latest atrocities on YouTube. With reducing broadband costs, online video has increasingly become an attractive medium for content creators to get their messages out to avid consumers. But unless you’ve got a lightning fast AND uncapped Wi-Fi data connection in your home or office, chances are that you’re always watching your levels of internet data consumption with a wary eye. It’s one thing to watch a YouTube video and be done with it, no problem. But how about if it’s a video you’d like to watch again? That would mean you’d have to go back online all over again. I’ve also found that when your connection is slow, your computer might make so much of an effort to buffer the video that it might end up consuming data twice the size of the video itself. Both scenarios waste precious data.
So how about if you could just download YouTube videos to your computer so that you can view them offline whenever you want? “Is that possible?”, you ask. Certainly! And I’ve got just the tool you need help you maximise your online video experience and your data plan at the same time.
Read the rest of this post on Techloy
Interesting Chris Pirillo video that underscores the fact that in these times the user experience provided by the OS platform is the most important ‘pain point’ that consumers consider when choosing devices.
I tend to agree with him.
[image: Flickr/Stephen Heywood]
In those days my siblings and I used to live for 4 pm. By 3:45 we’d already taken our places in front of the TV screen, avidly watching the test colour bars that told us that NTA 2 Channel 5 was about to begin transmitting. Even when there was no electricity, we still gathered in the living room, our bodies taut with concentration, willing NEPA* to ‘bring the light’ so we could watch cartoons on the approximately 90 minute long Children’s belt. I can still see it vividly, all of us hunched down in front of the TV, but in our hearts and minds we were flying through the air with Superman, leaping over the rooftops of Chicago with Spiderman, chasing villains through the back alleys of Gotham City with Batman. It wasn’t all about adventure though, there were also fun educational shows like Bright Sparks, Magic School Bus, Cro and many more. But I think the show that had the most profound effect on me must have been Sesame Street. Chalk it up to a hyperactive imagination, but it was almost as though I lived there with Oscar the grouch, Elmo, Big Bird, Forgetful Jones, Count Von Count, The Cookie Monster…in fact if you look hard enough at the post’s picture you might just see my small head poking out from somewhere…kidding!
Looking back, I can attribute a lot of what I am now to simple lessons I learnt from back when I lived on Sesame Street. To underscore this, check out these videos from the series.
I was too old for this video at the time, but that didn’t stop me from totally loving it. It’s amazing, the talent and devotion that the producers of these programmes bring to teaching the simplest things.
Though mostly a lesson in classroom decorum, this song taught me to be inquisitive and never be afraid of asking questions in class or anywhere at all. This usually earned me odd looks from classmates who dubbed me oversabi or ‘ITK’ (I Too Know), but I was always the better for it. Okay, maybe I extended the lesson a bit 
Who would believe how easy it is to explain what an octogan is to a kid? See how in this short but powerful video.
Watch the funny two headed monster go beyond shape recognition into abstract logic by fooling around with what they think is a rectangle…
Obviously recent this one, it’s starring Black Eyed Peas’ Will.I.Am. Reaching children via popular pop culture icons is genius strategy, again showing the lengths the programme producers are willing to go to inspire children.
In the real world however, I thoroughly hated going to school where we had to chant the times tables in an annoying monotone, and where the teacher decided to score me 9 over 10 in verbal reasoning because I had decided to spell ‘colour’ as ‘color’. Tell me, being in primary two or so at the time, how was I supposed to know the difference between American and British english?
It’s a good thing I had Sesame Street and similar children’s programming to learn from, watching those shows made up for my relatively unremarkable formal education. If the methods employed by schools in Nigeria are even half as intuitive as the ones in these videos, we wouldn’t be recording these dismal SSCE results. I remember the last (public) secondary school I attended (I attended four in all), I was killing their science students at biology, and without reading too. Between a few years worth of Magic School Bus episodes and a backward curriculum, I was able to give them a proper trouncing. Terrible. I’ll leave the rant about how unscientific our approach to education in Nigeria is for another post. But let me state the obvious. As far as educating the younger generation is concerned, we have a long way to go.
Not everyone gets the chance to live on Sesame Street. Recently I came across two boys who saw Superman on my laptop for the first time in their lives. This in my opinion is a breach of a fundamental human right. The right to know Superman. And sadly this is the case for a disproportionately large number of children who have no access to quality TV programming. I was lucky to have been influenced by these mediums. I hope that sometime very soon, in concert with other interested actors, I can afford others the same opportunity.
*NEPA – National Electric Power Authority
I wish I had time to say more about this video that I just stumbled on, but I figure I’m just gonna let you make up your mind. I’ll say something though…it’s about Africa, it’s about hope, and you’ll enjoy watching it. Here’s a word from it’s creators
This is the second video in Mama Hope’s Stop the Pity, Unlock the Potential Campaign. This video represents a movement about humans and human dignity. With every school we construct, well we dig, orphanage we build, there are faces and names of people who are impacted; Lives that are changed.
Our latest video sets out to show the energy and potential of Africa and the interconnectedness we share. It is only when people are no longer seen through the stereotypes of poverty that we can begin to see we are not so different from each other. When the pity stops, the potential can be unlocked. This means more progress, but it will take all of us. This movement is our first step towards building a global society based on hope and connection. If you agree with us, join our movement and raise awareness! Join us in unlocking potential for a better future.
Worth sharing in my opinion.
Find out more at MamaHope.org
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I daresay that there has never been a time in Nigerian history where Nigerian youth had nearly as much political awareness as they do now. Access to the internet and the social web has brought this heightened sense of national responsibility to the fore, and the youth are finding all kinds of creative ways to express it. Like my friend, Lulu Fadoju, former Sprite Triple Slam contender and voice-over artist in training.
Lulu can (among other things) do rap freestyles. And here’s a video of one from my last trip to UNAD Ekiti, where he talks about the realities of Nigerian politics and where the power to determine the nation’s destiny should reside. His message? Give power to the people.
Don’t mind us amateurs, Seun and I, forming expert guitarists, Lulu’s flow is far more important. And by all means, please share if you feel there’s people out there who need to hear this message.
Image via flickr
So I’m back in Lasgidi, after a few days in Ado Ekiti. I’ve been going back and forth to the place for about two months now, speaking, facilitating events, reliving UNAD student life in general. And it’s been fun, hopping in and out of cramped ‘Akotos’ (the sardine can-like buses that pass for transport), eating noodles ‘cos they’re quick to cook, and oh yes, imparting the ‘wisdom’ I’ve gleaned from my out-of-school-now-in-the-real-world experiences upon fresh-faced jambitos and anxious final years. This is the life *haha*
I’m not exactly fond my what’s supposed to be my Alma Mater, but the five odd years I spent there (strikes exclusive) have been some of the most eventful of my life. I’ve met people and had experiences that I’d never give up for the world…if I had to do it again, I could not imagine doing it any other way.
Speaking of people and experiences, here are some of the guys who made my stay in UNAD worthwhile. These guys, they’re my personal people, and we had a really good time reminiscing, making music, laughing and just being generally silly. We also had just enough presence of mind to capture the fun to share with you too, get ready for the picture and video barrage right after now
Click, click, click, here you go!
Seun Akande and Bankole
Chilling with the strings - Lulu, Demola and Bankole
Chilling with the strings - Vera, Lulu, Demola and Bankole
Us guys - Demola, AY, Bankole, Lulu, Vera and Seun
I know badt guys, haha 
Crazy fun!
Keep UNAD clean!
Yup, I finally found use for my YouTube channel.
Okay everybody, meet the guys, feel our swags!
My friend and former Sprite Triple Slam contender, Lulu Fadoju, can rap. See for yourself. I try to sing too.
Er…Seun and I were kinda going off-key here at first, but more important than the strings were Lulu’s words about politics and where the power of governance should reside – with the people. I recommend.
There’s a lot of silliness in this one, Seun’s a regular clown. And oh, I apologise if you do not understand Yoruba, I just haven’t gotten round to subtitling it yet. But for those who do, you might find a laugh or two in this one.
I know this was a long one, thanks for coming with me this far. I plan to live a long and interesting life, and I believe moments like these are worth saving and sharing. If you found this post interesting, you might also want to consider sharing it with someone else. Till I come your way again, my name is Bankole, and always remember that *insert cliched TV presenter closing lines here*…later folks!
