Archive | September, 2009

The 4th Estate Podcast on Citizen Journalism in Uganda

24 Sep

Yesterday (Wednesday 23rd Sept 09), I had the privilege of being interviewed by Shevonne Hunt, the producer of a radio show in Sydney, Australia called The Fourth Estate. She was doing a piece on Citizen Journalism during the Uganda riots and Rebekah Heacock [ Jackfruity ] told her about my tweets, so we got in touch. Rebekah and I are featured in the Citizen Journalism segment [ around the 20th minute. ].

The podcast was published today, and you can access it here: http://www.2ser.com/programs/shows/thefourthestate [ Click "Show Episodes" at the bottom and select the 25th September podcast. ]

Hope I did all of you justice!

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Offtopic:

We must not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we began and to know the place for the first time.
- T.S. Elliot

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BHH Today

24 Sep

Uganda Blogger's Happy Hour - 24th September 2009

Uganda Blogger's Happy Hour - 24th September 2009

Another belated announcement. BHH is today.

Please copy the banner above and re-post the announcement. BlogSpirit is being moody, so I may not be able to put it up in time.

We’ll see you there!

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Rogue FM: Grace Nakimera – Kawonawo.

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Offtopic:

Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.
- Lance Armstrong

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Ugandan Riots – Citizen journalism comes of age

16 Sep

If there is one thing that we have learnt from the Buganda riots over the past weekend, it is this:

In a country where the mainstream media is at the mercy of its government, or is oblivious to what’s going on, or does not have the tools or facilities to report real-time, 24 hours a day, during a crisis, there is a serious need for unhindered, unfiltered, on-the-ground citizen journalism.

During the worst parts of the riots, there was a massive media blackout, and TV and radio stations were courting irrelevance. I could not believe that at a time when a country was burning itself to the ground, most TV stations were showing music videos, foreign news and Spanish soaps.

Some of us decided to fill in the gaps by tweeting and sharing what we were seeing and experience on the ground, and the steady Twitter stream [ #Kampala ] helped keep the world informed. Our simple and humble attempts did a much better job of providing realtime news updates than the mainstream media could. Tumwijuke [ Twitter - Blog ] and Uganda Talks [ Twitter - Blog ] especially did a fantastic job of verifying rumours and provide the in-depth journalistic expertise that citizen journalism often lacks. Rhino gave us some fantastic photos, and the Ugandan blogsphere shared their views and opinions as events unfolded. Tucked away in a tiny room at UTL, coding furiously, The 27th Comrade gave us the tools to tweet free of charge, via uganda telecom [ Twitter ].

It was scary, it was fun, it was deadly, it was beautiful. (more…)

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Kampala riots, Saturday Morning update

12 Sep

It’s 8:45 AM, and we’ve had one of the quietest nights in ages. No blaring music from nearby discos, the Munaku stage/trading center closed early, and most importantly, no gunshots.

Kabaka cancels visit to Kayunga

Last night, late news on WBS, NTV, NBS and UBC broke news that the Kabaka had called off his visit to Kayunga, citing a need to end the violence. Reports were confirmed by Tumwijuke (blogs as Ugandan Insomniac ) via Twitter, Daniel Kalinaki (blogs as Daniel Kalinaki) , a journalist with one of the media houses briefly mentioned it. In the mainstream media, the Observer had an article running last evening, The Monitor and New Vision also confirm it.

So what does this mean?

I would like to believe that a majority of the pro-Buganda rioters listen to the Kabaka and Mengo in general. I believe that this means there will be calm for a while (as witnessed by yesterday’s peaceful night), as everyone awaits further communication from the Government and Mengo.

I also believe that it is too early to say life is back to normal. It’s a very delicate standoff, and any wrong move by either side could spark off fresh (and possibly worse) violence.

As always, we can only hold our breath and wait.

Citizen Reporting

A few of us have been reporting whatever news we can lay our hands on. See my previous post for details. For now, the quickest way to get realtime information is to be on Twitter and BlogSpirit;

Follow @UgInsomniac, @dailymonitor, @UgandaTalks, @mugumya, @UgandaTalks, @appfrica for details.

Use the #Kampala and #Uganda. hashtags on twitter to get updates.

Many Ugandan bloggers have shared their personal experiences and perspectives. See what they’re saying on Node Six BlogSpirit.

Although most Ugandan bloggers have been locked up in their homes without internet access, I think there should be some blogging activity today.

There’s also a Flickr group that was started by @citizenuganda. I’ve uploaded a few photos from Day 1 of the riots that Rhino generously allowed me to share. Please join and post whatever photos you can.

Otherwise, right now, the most scintillating thing on TV is a rerun of The Teletubbies.

Viva Uganda!

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Uganda Riots – Photos from yesterday

11 Sep

These photos are from yesterday (10th September 2009), courtsey of Rhino, a Ugandan blogger who has generously allowed me to re-post these from his Facebook album.


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Kampala Riots, an update

11 Sep

A lot of you are arriving here from Google searches and tweets concerning the Uganda Riots. Here are a few updates:

Twitter:

Right now, where I stay, Kasubi/Munaku is quiet after a morning of Mambas (armoured vehicles), Military Police clashing with rioters and bullets being fired.

I’ve been updating my twitter account since yesterday. I put up and archive on my previous post, but you can visit the full feed on my Twitter account (@solomonking). I’m updating as fast as I can get the news, but things have quieted down here. Follow me on @solomonking on twitter for updates.

Also, follow @UgInsomniac, @dailymonitor, @UgandaTalks, @mugumya, @UgandaTalks, @appfrica for details.

Use the #Kampala and #Uganda. hashtags on twitter to get updates

Blogging, Youtube, etc:

Many Ugandan bloggers have shared their personal experiences and perspectives. See what they’re saying on Node Six BlogSpirit.

The Independent give a brief insight into the origins of the riots and NTV Kenya has Youtube footage of some scenes from the riots.

Update: The Independent website is down. Server overload most likely.

That’s it.

Will update later.

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tweeting realtime, Kampala Riots, my side of Uganda

11 Sep

I stay in Kasubi/Munaku, and for some reason, a part of the Buganda/Government violence has settled this side of town.

For those of you not following me on Twitter ( http://twitter.com/solomonking ), These are my tweets.

***

1. There’s a mamba (armoured truck) in the hood!4 minutes ago from txt

2. Whoa. Back in Munaku gunshots getting much louder and more frequent. Must be at Kasubi. 17 minutes ago from txt

3. Geez this sneaking around obscure roads and paths on a boda boda is so surreal. 22 minutes ago from txt

4. Okay, heading into office to check on things and pick up my laptop / internet connection. 32 minutes ago from txt

5. Crowd of angry youth coming our way wielding rocks and bars. Need to find a safe spot. 39 minutes ago from txt

6. Damn. I hate not having a camera!! about 1 hour ago from txt

7. Sadly, can’t respond to any tweet replies. Tweeter doesn’t send tweets to our phones. about 1 hour ago from txt

8. Road from Kasubi to Munaku blocked by burning tires and debris. Funny thing is there are no visible protestors around, so who’s doing al … about 1 hour ago from txt

9. Unverified Rumour has it some government vehicles have been burnt a little further from Kasubi, a place called Lugalama Masanafu. about 1 hour ago from txt

10. Wow. Waking up to the music of bullets and tear gas canisters. Guys are running straight into our compound. about 2 hours ago from txt

11. CBS (Buganda’s radio station) closed for inciting violence. about 11 hours ago from txt

12. Riots were sparked off by the police blocking the Buganda prime minister from visiting a minority tribe. about 11 hours ago from txt

13. Whoa! More gunshots!about 11 hours ago from txt

14. UBC says they’ll be screening the President’s State address soon. about 11 hours ago from txt

15. Okay, it looks like things have settled down. No need for me to stick around here. about 11 hours ago from txt

16. FYI: My place is near the Buganda Royal tombs ( Kasubi ), so some part of the chaos for some reason has ended here. about 11 hours ago from txt

17. Standing near our taxi stage, it’s 8pm and people are crossing over with their hands up. Fire in the middle of the road. about 11 hours ago from txt

18. Network congestion preventing realtime updates. about 11 hours ago from txt

19. One guy to another: they’re not touching you guys (old corporates), they’re whipping us youth. about 11 hours ago from txt

20. Our entire neighbourhood is surrounded by gunfire and police whipping guys. about 11 hours ago from txt

21. Demonstrators carrying a dead body with them coming from Namirembe to Nakulabye. about 11 hours ago from txt

22. This is insane. There is no way to get home! It’s like the chaos settled on our route. Damn. about 11 hours ago from txt

23. Okay. We’re like running for our lives. about 11 hours ago from txt

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On Design Kingdom – Leo Burnett, “When to take my name off the door”

10 Sep

If I had to choose the two greatest speeches I’ve been priviledged to read, it would be a tie between Steve Jobs’ Stanford Commencement Speech and Leo Burnett’s “When to take my name off the door” speech.

I have talked about Steve Jobs’ speech before, but had always forgotten to talk about Leo Burnett.

This morning I was going through Facebook and saw a friend’s status message that had another great quote by Leo Burnett, and I remembered that I badly needed to share this speech.

However, since it’s more pertinent to creatives/designers/advertising agencies, I posted it over at Design Kingdom. But I would recommend you read it, even if you’re not in the creative/advertising industry. He may be talking to advertising agencies, but the wisdom applies to all facets of life (in context, of course).

Enjoy.

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Offtopic:

“I have always taken the attitude that no account is a ‘problem account’ but that all accounts have important problems attached to them – that you can waste more time and burn up more nervous energy by fighting a problem than by taking a positive attitude and solving it.” - Leo Burnett

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