T.u.M Blog

The Tontoh Dikeh Effect

2012-10-21T05:44:00.000-07:00

POKO

Who is Tonto Dikeh ?! For the past 2 years, to be specific that name seems to make it's way towards my eardrum, but quickly bounces off , because to be frank; the reports about her are always for all the wrong reasons.

Yeah it's that simple if you don't like someone, you can pro-gramme your mind to tune off, whenever gist flies about about that person.
But things got a ~~little~~ ermmm nah.... thinz got absolutely crazy on twitter last week.

Tontoh is a very controversial nollywood actress, who absolutely gives no f**k about what anyone thinks. I saw a preview of her movie 2 weeks ago while i was having a haircut, and it was unbearable ! She kept screaming in every scene of the preview i saw.

I wonder !

So.... she then decides to add singing to the her repertoire. What the HELL ! I thought people will ignore her and just focus on something else interesting just like i did. For pete sake if you don't like her then why do you follow her on twitter ?!

And then on that day she tweets the link and people still go ahead and download the 2 tracks. Why waste your bandwidth ?

I heard her songs got 3 million downloads in two days regardless of the insults from her fans/ haters.
The highest for any song in the whole West Africa.At that point i became interested in making this a case study.

The whole Tontoh charade is basically motivated by branding. She is no Genevieve or Omotola who brand themselves by being posh and all that, so she decides to command attention by being controversial.... in every sense, and i repeat in every sense.

Some 3 million or 2.5 million people obviously don't know what they want, so what ever gets serve to them... they take, which makes it easier for people to make money. Do you disagree with me ? well please prove me wrong, because i can bet Tontoh made a kill off the number of downloads of just this 2 songs

Even Chukwudi Norris is vexed with her !

I haven't and will not listen to the song, i am more interested in the person who suggested the idea for her to sing.

But if she came up with that idea by herself .... then she is not as stupid as people think.There's nothing like negative publicity.

Lets see how it all plays out. All eyes will be on her for a while, ofcourse she will make magazines sell and command huge amounts for any movies role offered to her. Social media is truly an INCREDIBLE tool, use it wisely.

45 Life Lessons, written by a 90 year old

2012-10-01T15:18:00.001-07:00

I come from the eastern part of Nigeria, and our people have this popular quote. It goes like this; What an old man sees while sitting down, a teenager can't see even when he/she climbs a tree.That's why i decided to share the life thoughts of a 90yrs old man, which goes as follows:

1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short not to enjoy it.
4. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and family will.
5. Don’t buy stuff you don’t need.
6. You don’t have to win every argument. Stay true to yourself.
7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.
8. It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for things that matter.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.
12. It’s OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye… But don’t worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful. Clutter weighs you down in many ways.
18. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It’s never too late to be happy. But it’s all up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Overprepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words, ‘In five years, will this matter?’
27. Always choose Life.
28. Forgive but don’t forget.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give Time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.
35. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative — dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d
grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. Accept what you already have, not what you think you need.
42. The best is yet to come…
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.

A Successful Strategy For Your Facebook Biz Page

2012-09-25T23:17:00.001-07:00

Every single day i ask myself, why are certain things just the way they are ? The trivia keeps me in a maze and often the maze i find myself in amazes me.

But so is life ...... a brief analysis of your past can help maintain momentum in the present, since we as humans can be so forgetful.

So what questions do you ask yourself to avoid getting lost in this World ? That's were meditation comes into play.

Lots of small businesses keep springing up these days, a trend i see as an interesting one. People are motivated to engage things they enjoy doing.

After a lot of initial actions taken to kick-start your business, people tend to lose steam, after lack of success is noticed and then another dream goes down the drain. So not cool ! Especially when you discover the reason for the demise of the business. It could be a lack of business plan, lack of awareness for what you have to offer.

It must not always have to do with capital, it more or less the lack of an idea. Based on current observation; the major issue SMes face is getting the word out there about their business.

You feel social media has no place in your business, because you think its for the YOLO generation.

Well..... think again. For those who have embraced the change and have set up a business page facebook, but struggle with is that 50-500 fan segment. It's all in the planning.

Many find it pretty easy to get 40 or 50 likes from their friends, family, associates etc but often they are not interested in the business other than to support their friend or relative.

Stalling fan growth is just a symptom of a bigger problem.
There are three fundamental pillars that make up a successful strategy on Facebook:

Brand: The more a business can articulate and refine who they really are, the better they will be at publishing content on Facebook that makes sense for their business goals.
Audience: The better a business understands their audience, the easier it will be to publish content that they will like, comment on, and share.
Message: Messaging is nothing more then a two-way conversation between a business and their audience. A refined and articulated brand and audience naturally leads to effective messaging (content) that works for both the business and the fans.

It can be tough running your business and managing your presence on social media, that is why you need to make a date with a social media consultant or a social media manager. Anything worth doing is worth doing incredibly well.

Why you need to go harder..... Naija

2012-09-17T17:34:00.000-07:00

They say; regardless of how it goes down life goes on ...... you can either choose to live your life or let your life live you. The world tends to bestow upon every individual a role to play, but you can choose to accept the role or tell the world; go f**k yourself.

Excuse my French, i,m very passionate about being being different , especially in an environment where people thrive on talking more but do less. A couple of months back like 3 months ago to be specific. i came across an article written by an info-tech correspondent, for a popular media company who hinted that Africa especially Nigeria's future potential in the area of on-line business ( social commerce, E-commerce) will be massive. Since everyone is going mobile it was only logical .

President Barrack Obama last month predicted Nigeria to be the next economic success story in the world. Hmmmm seems like a Wash statement right ? but when you take a look at the number American companies currently flying in to the country to set up shop, you better think again they all know something we don't know.

Last weekend... i again stumbled upon a blog post about " How 30 year old Ladi Delano created a billion dollar investment company" .

CEO, Bakrie Delano Africa (Nigeria)

Rick Ross's hustle ain't got nothing on this Fresh Naija Bo$$. Quoting what he said at the end of the article Ladi said " All entrepreneurs suffer periodic ups and downs and running a successful, profitable business isn’t easy. If it was, everybody would be doing it. But this is Africa’s time and the demand levels within our own continent’s domestic economy needs satisfying. This is a huge opportunity for entrepreneurial, hard working individuals.”

Enough said. The people who say there are no opportunities in Nigeria need to look again, and those who say things are hard .... well .... its time to go harder.

What Is Your Mind Focusing On ?

2012-09-13T23:04:00.000-07:00

Today was one of them days that really got me into observing a lot going on, around me or the world. It has become so easy to watch and observe once surrounding mainly because of the emergence of social media. You get to notice the trends that dictate human behaviour.

Katt Williams actually tweeted that " Twitter looks like ESPN, Vogue, weather forcaste channel, and the Jerry springer show depending on whom you're following" After laughing out loud (LoL), it made a whole lot of sense to me.

The nature of my hustle is centered all around social media so.... most times I'm always on-line especially on twitter doing a lot of research, searching for opportunities to market my clients. I have seen a lot bullsh*t during my quest on-line but if there is anything social media has taught me, it is the fact that you must learn how to control you Mind by watching your thoughts and your emotions.

We humans are passionate people we can't help it and so when someone else's belief clashes with your's before you can say "Iphone 5", you start trading words with them. For the past 2 months i always come across weird tweets with links to crazy and bizarre stories. It is the work of some bloggers (like myself) seeking large traffic to their site so they can get people to advertise on their site. Rarely do i see links to info that could be beneficial to people

It sickens me to say the least, because if you really care about your audience you will offer them a sense of sanity, by sharing the problems and the solutions in your content. So much horrible news on their sites that it could mess up some peoples minds. We have to be careful of what we see , read and hear often because your mind absorbs and focuses on it. That's why the violence, the anger and the hate keeps spreading.

I believe there are some good things happening out there !

In life you take take the good with the bad, but you must not focus entirely on the bad, it can make one paranoid. Focus your thoughts on positivity ...... it's the Urbane way to live.

Is Your Culture Your Brand ?

2012-09-10T15:42:00.000-07:00

I came across a certain quote that said "Your culture is your brand" i didn't understand it initially , so i used it as a PM on my blackberry messenger to see people's reaction, and possibly chat with someone about it with. I waited impatiently until finally with great relief, a friend of mine who is an artist pinged me, and after our usual yabbing session , he asked me what the quote on my P.M meant ?

And then in a few seconds i was able to figure it out ! (that's why it's good to have conversation with people) I asked him; what do you know Fela for ?

I've tried copying this stance, just can't seem to get it !

His reply was a bit disjointed ..... he knew the answer but he didn't know how to phrase it, so i had to save him from his misery.

Fela Kuti was bold, stood up for his beliefs , and was never scared of expressing himself. That was his identity, it was a way of life for him, therefore that was his brand. This qualities made him accepted by the world at large which in return made him very influential socially and in today's Naija music.

What makes people powerful and influential in life? Well....there are Six Weapons of Influence namely:

1) Scarcity 2) Likability 3) Consistency

4) Authority 5) Social Proof and 6) Reciprocity.

But how do you influence others in a world with no rules? No hierarchy? There's a seventh weapon of influence that is unique to the Internet and unique to now, suggests Mark W.Schaefer . And that's content. We all have the power to influence one another with the content we share. Fela created musical contents that tilted towards influencing a positive change and he did so passionately.

Social media provides a medium for sharing of contents in various forms. If you want to make your on-line presence influential,

Take a step back to think about the value you can add based on who you are and the expertise or the unique service or solution that only you can provide

Define why you are different than your competition

Design the professional brand and the persona you would like to convey online

Describe “your” experience: What is it that you want people to see or think when they find you in social networks

These pointers will guide you on the kind of contents you will be creating, makes it easier for one to find out what you are passionate about !

4 Regular Fashion Mistakes Men Make

2012-08-29T07:36:00.000-07:00

You know when i see a work of art of this nature on a beach it makes me realize that

Imagination is key
Your passion is what keeps you going , so do what you love.
I need to stop going to elegushi beach at night.

It's trend that i keep following and to be frank i ain't digging it no more. I don't think i have stepped my feet into the waters at that beach to know what it feels like let alone build a sand castle.

We all know fashion is a way of life ! it's a way of telling people who you are without you having to say a word. Basically it's about expressing yourself enough to exert an influence where ever you find yourself.

But a lot of guys make a ~~mistake~~ of.... ermmm, no; they make a lot of ~~mistakes~~, or it can be simply stated that they create a disaster trying to look "hip" so to say.

Here are the common mistakes some dudes make trying to look "Hip"

Confusing A Dress Shirt With A Casual Shirt:

A Typical Casual Shirt

Dress shirts aren't casual shirts; you can tell by the length of the shirt if it is meant to be tucked in or not .

If the length of the shirt reaches your lower thighs ? its a dress shirt bro.

Wearing Shades Indoors

Wearing shades indoors will make it hard for you to notice people making fun of you.

Unless your name is Rasaki the welder or you are an upcoming/ down-coming musician ( even though i still don't get the idea), then you're excused.

Or better still wear the geek glasses and stay .......... OUT-side...... STANDING.

Wearing The Super Skinny Jeans

Like seriously where does your nuts fit in there bro ?! Not everyone is supposed to wear the skinnys. Some are too skinny to wear it while some are too fat to look good in it.

The Ideal Skinny Pants

Wear what suits you ! Obey your style because your body truly deserves it.

Perfume Cloud
The odd thing about wearing too much perfume is that; just like a person who has body odor can't tell he smells , you also cant't tell you have overstepped the spray limit. You might be able to notice the odd looks people give you if you are sharp enough.

Or you could stand close to a 2 year child and if he/she starts coughing like he has asthma, then that is a sure sign for you to turn it down bro.

Lets Save Debbie

2012-08-27T08:05:00.001-07:00

Invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC), sometimes called infiltrating ductal carcinoma, is the most common type of breast cancer. About 80% of all breast cancers are invasive ductal carcinomas. Invasive means that the cancer has “invaded” or spread to the surrounding breast tissues.

Ductal means that the cancer began in the milk ducts, which are the “pipes” that carry milk from the milk-producing lobules to the nipple. All together, “invasive ductal carcinoma” refers to cancer that has broken through the wall of the milk duct and begun to invade the tissues of the breast.

Over time, invasive ductal carcinoma can spread to the lymph nodes and possibly to other areas of the body.

DEBBIE

Idiagbonya Osarere Debby is a medical technician,she lost her father to the cold hands of death on her birthday 1st Aug(3weeks ago). Her mum is a helpless widow currently and,she has been suffering from 4th grade invasive ductal carcinoma cancer of the breast and it is spreading at an alarming rate.

One of the breasts is condemned already and it has moved to the 2nd and her NECK. Thanks to social media efforts are being made for contributions to be arranged,

Debbie (in the middle)

The only source of support she needs is our financial contribution in any form. Spread the word let's save Debbie. Every little contribution means something.

Account Details : Access bank

Account Nos: 0000216933

Account Name: Idiagbonya Osarere.

But i plead with you ladies please go for check up ! The rate at which breast cancer is taking a lot of lives is alarming.

If spotted on time it can be treated. Spread the word "Lets save Debbie" and at the same save ourselves.

How To Adopt Social Media Into Your Business

2012-08-24T14:23:00.000-07:00

So finally Microsoft decides to change its logo design after 25 years by introducing a dash of color in its logo redesign. From reports making the rounds, Microsoft is making this change to possibly create a hype around the line of products it will be launching during the month of October, which includes; Window 8 O.S for P.Cs, phone software for mobile devices. Since consumers are increasingly choosing the tablets over laptops, weakening P.C sales and curbing Windows revenue.

The New Logo

Well..... i hope there's an improvement on the Internet explorer that comes with the window 8, because the one on window 7 is as ineffective as Chamakh in arsenal.

Everything in life is a process, you either watch listen, act and hit the jackpot, or you cut corners and when you fail, start blaming your haters or your people in the village.

The same thing applies to adopting social media into your business, whether you are a small or big organization or even an upcoming musician. Social media adoption does not happen by accident.It is driven by planning, and planning is driven by having the right people in the right positions at the right time. It is very rare that a company or a personality can go all-in on social media without going through a series of stage.

So lets see the stages that are involved in fully turning your business into a fully integrated enterprise:

Stage 1:Grassroots

For instance you have this idea of a good or services you can offer and you believe people will be willing to pay for it. But getting the word out there seems to be a difficult task because of funds available to you for advertisement. Then someone pitches you on the idea of creating a social media platform for your business

You write down a plan, just like the way you wrote a plan for your business. This plan might include starting a twitter account, a facebook page or even a blog. This initial planning document should lay out the goals and metrics for success. Take a campaign oriented approach and tie your social media efforts to a larger marketing campaign, preferably something measurable.

What’s notable in this stage is that efforts are usually driven by your passion, not results, and it can stall out without a connection to solving business problems

Stage 2: Organized

This next stage is when your business starts to get serious. The experimentation is over and social media has grown beyond the initial shiny object syndrome. Various teams across the company or even you yourself, understand the value of social media and can report on metrics that show the benefit, but their efforts still may be soiled.

Activities like listening and engaging have grown beyond just responding to direct mentions of your company on twitter or responding to comments on your blog. This is the point where you hire a community manager to manage your on-line community. Someone with a sense of humor, who is articulate and equally passionate about social media.

Stage 3: Engaged

For your business to be fully "engaged" a Social media manager must be at the center of your company. He/she stays connected to you the owner of the company, your marketing and PR department on a full time basis. But if you run an S.M.E you could hire one on a part time basis.

Social listening is an important part of the company’s information gathering about competitors and the industry,because it now influences you business decisions and enables you to develop product ideas, and strategies for your business, that suites your target audience.

In Conclusion

So now your company is fully integrated, social media reporting now reflects business goals and objectives. It is not just integrated into everything that the company does, but the data and metrics from social media activities are used for business planning purposes.

Now your company has become a true social enterprise !

T.u.M Blog: How To Keep It Simple But Significant (Your Style)

2012-08-22T02:46:00.001-07:00

T.u.M Blog: How To Keep It Simple But Significant (Your Style)

List4Naija.com And The Classified Ad Concept

2012-08-15T17:42:00.000-07:00

Yeah i love playing pranks on people so sue me, you might not find it funny but hell yeah i do. Sarcasm is one of the many talents i love to exhibit, just laughing it off makes me feel better at your expense though.

I always mess around with a close friend of mine, it kind of sucks how it doesn't work like it always does, time to find a new victim ...... e fit be you oh !!!

I was searching for a platform on-line which could help me market any item i want to sell. You know when you are stuck with a gadget or car that you just want to sell off, but you are finding difficult to get the word out for it.

I eventually got a link to a site which provides Classified advertising services that, is a form of advertising which is particularly common in newspapers and on-line and may be sold or distributed free of charge.
For free ? hmmmm sounds pretty interesting to me. This sought of site is called a classified ad site, the advertisements are grouped into categories or classes such as "for sale – telephones", "wanted – office equipments", and "services – plumbing", hence the term "classified".

Classified advertisements are much cheaper than larger display advertisements used by businesses, and are mostly placed by private individuals with single items they wish to sell or buy.There are new sites gradually emerging in Nigeria; like the one i got a link for.


A classified Ad site

List4naija makes it so easy to simply post an ad on their site, all you have to do is click on the post ad option

And then a section pops up for you to register if you are a new user, or, log in if you are already a registered user.

Enter your preferred user name along with your email address and automatically your new password gets sent to your box.

When you login with your new password you get presented with your own dashboard, which is a platform for you to view and monitor your ads that you will be posting in the future. You also have the option of editing your profile if you choose to.


The Dashboard.

From this point, the next step is to post your ads for the electronic gadgets, vehicles or properties you want to get off your hands. Just follow the basic step under the "post an ad" icon at the top corner by the left of your screen.
Feel free to share your experiences after using list4naija to post your classified ads. Thanks.

What Has Become Of Us ?

2012-08-14T18:00:00.000-07:00

Depends on how you look at it.

People say that's the biggest lie in the world, but at the same time people aren't interested, with the way you really feel deep inside. Especially if it's a negative feeling.

They say it's a beautiful lie ! well i call it simply being reasonable, and,
maintaining control of your emotions, because when push comes to shove you are the only person, that you can rely on.
Not everyone wants to hear your sad story, people are occupied with their own issues.

I have noticed that people tend towards believing a beautiful lie than the truth, it sounded kind off surreal to me, till i decided to analyze the trend. It can be simply stated that we find it so hard to tell ourselves the truth, because some of us don't exactly love ourselves. You say nah.... i do love myself and i ask you again really ?
You hesitate to give me an answer and that simply means you absolutely don't, because my asking you again shouldn't have made you hesitate in giving me a sound response.

Why you ask ?

Mind Power

It's all in the mind. What you expressed the second time i asked "if you love yourself ", was an emotional feeling which occured on reflex after you considered all the things that are going wrong in your life.

That's were we get it all wrong, simply change your mindset to the positives, do you have a friend that always complains drop him/her off at the next B.R.T stop asap, if you don't like your present environment then it's time for transfer talks. You are the BOSS.

You need all the sanity you can get in other to develop an urbane mind, clearing out all negative feelings from your mind is a top priority. Your thoughts must come under control and no matter what you face in life show absolutely no fear.

Fear is the enemy of will, will is what makes you take action, fear is what stops you and makes you weak. You must ignore your fears ! when you are afraid you can't act, when you can't act you can't defend, and, when you can't defend ...... your mind dies in silence and that's what leads people into feeling inferior about themselves.

The change begins with us, are you willing to embrace ?

Why Great Content Is King !

2012-08-13T14:52:00.000-07:00

So the Olympic games finally came to an end last night, as usual records were broken, new once were set and then broken. In general the London games was amazing to watch though, except for the certain comments which Carl Lewis made about the Jamaican track athletes team. I guess when he saw Usain Bolt snatch gold medals for the 100, 200 and 400 meters relay, he must have shouted boombaclart, boombaclarter, boombaclartest.

Simply Amazing

Next stop is Brazil who will be hosting both the FIFA world cup and the Olympics in 2014 and 2016 respectively, wow that country must be on some omobabaolowo tinz. Anyways football is back and our usual weekend action returns.... yipeeeee !

Social media is changing the way consumers are making their purchasing decisions. Consumers are less likely to be influenced by brand advertising, and have a higher level of trust in on-line reviews and recommendations. People are also spending increasingly more time researching and evaluating products on-line before making a purchase. Through social media advocacy, which is a gradual process that is propelled by engaging with your target market.

Great content is crucial in engaging with your target market and also some sort of platform is needed for your content to be discovered. Here in Nigeria a lot big of companies actually have a poor presence on social media, and the SME,s embracing it lack the resources or the knowledge on how to go about it in the first place.

Just imagine if you as a local business starter who wants to create awareness for whatever it is you are selling (goods/ services), what do you do ? Go on-line, since most people are always spending more time on their PC or mobile devices than on T.V. And this is were great content comes into play ! Take a look at this video.

Dollarshaveclub captivates its audience with great content by creating such a funny video. It all boils down to your top priority; which is for you to know your brand no matter how small your audience reach is and be very natural to it . Secondly utilize videos, photos and well composed texts to give your content the ultimate packaging for your audience. This guideline especially applies to bloggers (cooperate or personal) .

But if blogging isn't your thing ? simply reach out to a competent blogger who could package a great content for you on a part time, or, full time basis depending on your budget. Consistency in sharing of great content over different social media platforms is needed to engage, with your audience in other to promote social media advocacy for your business. The world is going social, don,t be left out.

4 Shoes Every Man Must Own

2012-08-06T17:52:00.000-07:00

Any Objections ?

Style and personality go hand in hand based on the fact that when you are comfortable with your personality and you don't hesitate to express it You automatically know what to do with your style no matter the budget you have at your disposal.

Your budget shouldn't limit your style creation, it is a necessity and, it is part of what builds up your persona. Just imagine it in your head for a moment, ignore copying someone else's style, maintain tenacity on what you believe your personality will always look flawless in.

It's a mind thing. You visualize how you want to look in your head and bring it into reality. Style is an inside job the confidence you possess dictates how much influence your style will have on the people you meet everyday.

Always dress to kill, we ain't taking no prisoners! Make it your personal mission statement, because it goes a long way in building up your brand's equity.

GBAM !!!

Every look requires a certain footwear for each occasion that keeps your style extremely versatile.

So we shall be taking a look at the shoes that must be in every man's wardrobe. The list contains a realistic or should i say an achievable number, and brings the whole issue in perspective.

Dress Shoes

Example of a dress shoe

Men's dress shoes are most commonly black or brown, but other possible colors Other possible colors include: burgundy, oxblood, and chestnut.
A dress shoe is a shoe to be worn at smart casual or more formal events even though it is typically contrasted to an athletic shoe.
Dress shoes are worn by many as their standard daily shoes, and, for parties, as well as special occasions

Very smart casual (dress shoes)
The Brogue

The brogue concept

The Brogue is a style of low-heeled shoe traditionally characterized by multiple-piece, sturdy leather uppers with decorative perforations (or "brogueing") and serration along the pieces' visible edge. Brogues are suitable for occasions, both social or business.
Most commonly offered as a leather dress shoe, brogues may also come in the form of boots, canvas or leather sneakers or any other shoe type that includes or evokes the multi-piece construction and perforated, serrated edges characteristic of brogues.

3. Loafers/ Moccasins

The slip-ons are typically low, lace-less shoes, which are ideal for a more urban kind of look.

Nowadays it comes in quite a number of colors, basically keeping one unrestricted.

4 Sneakers

More specifically, sneakers refer to footwear made of flexible material, typically featuring a sole made of rubber and an upper part made of leather or canvas. Sneakers were originally sporting apparel, but are today worn much more widely as casual footwear.

So that settles it ! i hope this analysis gives you an idea of how important it is to maintain versatility in your looks?

The Focus On Chithub's Potentials.

2012-08-05T17:59:00.000-07:00

Lightning Bolt

All he needed was 9.63 seconds in London in other to smash his Beijing Olympic record of 9.69 seconds. Usain Bolt is simply an urbane athlete

Canada’s 1996 gold medalist Donovan Bailey, proving to be as good a prognosticator as he was an Olympic performer, had said it was going to take 9.6-something to win, and shrugged off all the negativity surrounding Bolt.

"Somebody is going to have to run a perfect race to beat Usain,” he said. No one else had ever come close to that kind of perfection. Bolt was the only one who knew the way. I can bet my money that Bolt can turn off the lights in his room and hit the sheets before the lights go off. That is what the world recognizes; Super Achievers, Bolt has that in mind delivers 100% and He's personal brand just keeps soaring.

A couple of months back i had to attend a certain function not because it's a hobby of mine, but primarily because of a client. I had to psyche up myself to go because it was a long drive but the small chops made it worthwhile. Anyways before I made my way into the hall i spotted this makeshift stand, you get to see at functions, and the lady manning the station caught my attention ( don't judge me). After introducing her business i got interested because i've got keen interest in business, especially on-line business.

She called the name of her company chithub very catchy name and very easy to remember. Today's focus will on what chithub has to offer.

Basically it an on-line business that provides a secure and reliable E-commerce platform. With Central Bank Of Nigeria trying to promote cashless transactions in the economy, i have started noticing a few E-commerce platforms springing up gradually even though the awareness is still at a premature stage, the future looks promising.

Chithub Services

On-line shopping and selling, reservations, auctions can be performed on this site on your laptop and mobile devices. They have got quite a number of companies operating on their clientèle base, which involves companies who seek for a way to make the products and services known to the populace.

Seems like an ideal way for entrepreneurs to market their goods or services don't you think ? Actually this is the first E-commerce site i have stumbled upon in Nigeria that, offers an affiliate program.

The affiliate program is free and enables members to earn revenue by placing a link or links on their web site or blogs which advertises chithub or specific products on it.

Any sales made to customers who have clicked on those links will earn "you" the affiliate a commission. The standard commission rate is currently 5%.

Check it out and give me your feedback on your observations or experiences you have had with them and, if you have information of on-line business in Nigeria offering an affiliate program please share !

Why You Should Give Sarcasm A Chance

2012-08-02T18:19:00.000-07:00

Actually i started the build up on today's post on something concerning Life's rules. I was halfway through with my write up, should have wrapped it up earlier though but i decided to checkout the Olympic basket ball game between Nigeria and, the U.S.A team, male category. The shocking result i saw in the 1st quarter made me turn off the T.V on impulse..... Damn that was some incredible ass whooping.

I went on twitter to see peoples reaction to the game and also follow the game, since i wasn't brave enough to watch it. And all hell broke loose! I was surprised by how emotional people were getting as D-Tigers were getting pummeled,. Some lady actually tweeted that "she feels ashamed to be a Nigerian" and i was like what a tosser, so if you engage in something and fail at it you will feel ashamed of yourself for trying right ?

It was a shock to see how people were taking this way too personal grow some balls guys! if you feel this way, can you imagine how the players receiving the trashing of their lives will be feeling ! Yes,the Americans had a record win...but D'Tigers also had the highest points scored against USA in any major contest by an African team. I believe that counts for something don't you ?

And then i heard our Ghanian brothers were taunting us. Hahahahaha wait till tomorrow by midday and then we can see who,s talking, i am too lazy to search for my torchlight at the moment. Twitter was crazy with a lot of sarcastic comments flying left right and center, it was truly epic, I literally fell off my bed when some dude tweeted " If Nigerians play with the anger of visa rejection they did win". It was an epic night of laughter. Made me forget about the poor result.

I will not even even bring up the talk about how Kobe and Lebron James were laughing at the D'tigers as they still kept their heads up to see what they could get. All i can say is.... Have you ever seen Lionel Messi score 6 goals against a team and starts laughing at the goal keeper or the entire team ? Go figure. Football still remains the supreme sport to me and kudos to the D'tigers you gave it all you had. I still stay proudly Nigerian no matter what, born and raised in the city of Lasgidi.

Why You should Use Stumbleupon As a Blogging Tool

2012-08-01T19:20:00.001-07:00

That Cape Though !

I love me some super hero movies and cartoons especially the marvel and D.C super heroes. But to be frank i never took D.C seriously, when it comes to rolling out movies unlike Marvel. And then came the dark night series.

Watching batman kick ass with his toys and gadgets looked so cool, i mean that bat mobile though, what a ride .... what chic won't like to ride in a bat mobile ?

I thought it would be cool to be batman till i saw the cost for the bat gear and i was like f**k that, a mill for a mask ?! Na wa oh superman's costume is looking super cheap, the eyeglasses does the job to be frank.

I don't know if you guys have noticed that the most popular super hero characters are all orphans. From superman, to batman to ironman and spiderman. Strange facts to stumble upon i must say.

Speaking about stumbling into things, ever imagined what you would want to do on-line asides your routine social media parapo (group talk) activities and checking your mails.Stumbleupon basically takes care of that problem.

Founded as a dorm room project in 2001, StumbleUpon picked up steam in 2005, was acquired by Ebay in 2007 and spun back out of eBay as a "restart-up" in 2009. In March 2011, the company received 17 million in fresh venture funding and now boasts over 100 employees with offices located in San Francisco, New York and Paris.

So What is Stumbleupon ? : StumbleUpon is a discovery engine (a form of web search engine) that finds and recommends web content to its users. Its features allow users to discover and rate Web pages, photos, and videos that are personalized to their tastes and interests using peer-sourcing and social-networking principles.

It helps you to easily discover new and interesting stuff on the Web. Tell them what you like, and they’ll introduce you to amazing web pages, videos, photos and more that you wouldn’t have found on your own.

My stumbleupon home page

A typical blog model involves:

Driving traffic to your sight
Creating a community
Generating Income

A blogger who is a registered user of StumbleUpon and has the Stumbleupon badge installed on his/her site, on the most average implementation of this technique experiences a lift in traffic in the range of 20- 25% on the blog by StumbleUpon in like two to three months.

Primarily because the users of StumbleUpon who visit your blog will be submitting your article (if it is something they find interesting) to the stumbleupon index, Translation - increase number of unique visitors, page views, brand awareness and social engagement on your site.


Stumbleupon button on mashable.com

The main challenge remains creating an ideal content that fellow stumblers will find interesting enough to submit, therefore content is king. Create an ideal content leveraging on the many articles stumbleupon offers you, and you will be on your way to increasing traffic to your site.

If you have other ideas on how to efficiently utilize stumbleupon efficiently please share.

.

How To Keep It Simple But Significant (Your Style)

2012-07-30T17:47:00.000-07:00

Truth be told this quote is self-explanatory. Your style dictates the level of influence you have on people around, and not just the style or elegance with which you cultivate your looks but also on the manner you go about in your everyday activity.

Your style and your personality is what dictates your class or swag as the world calls it (but i prefer the word class). It is an expression of who you really are especially for those who choose to be stand out, instead of blending in with the crowd.

Some folks refer to the quality in such persons as "over-sabi" well....... i call it opulence !

So when you see such a person he doesn't need to talk too much, his style speaks for him. It is just the urbane way of living.

Embrace your style bro, always go for what you gives you maximum comfort and sets you miles apart from the rest.
So you don't have to speak to much, instead save that energy for action. The main goal is to master the art of keeping simple and significant.

PUSH

An urbane way of life requires the urbane looks which is based on the urbane trends in the present. People we meet everyday always address and rate us based on the way we look. It's only logical to showcase your own style and personality whenever the opportunity presents itself.

The Act Of Giving And Taking In Entrepreneurship

2012-07-28T15:16:00.001-07:00

Where,s he running off to ?!

And the games officially kicked off in London yesterday. I actually missed it though, because i felt it was gonna be the say same old display, like the previous opening ceremonies. Well to be frank i don't remember watching the previous opening ceremonies for the past Olympic games or even the world cup.

It's always takes too long .... I'm always like goshhhhh just get on with it already ! Our naija people never fail to represent as usual especially those dudes who wearing shades by 11 pm in the night. They were coming from a Dbanj concert that is the only logical conclusion, we are still right behind you Team Nigeria.

I love creativity even before i actually understood what it meant, mainly because it portrays one as being original. I held that notion in my head till i bumped into this definition “Creativity is…seeing something that doesn’t exist already. You need to find out how
you can bring it into being, and that way be a playmate with God.” - Michele Shea

It sure does take courage especially when you want to become an Entrepreneur. The absolute belief that people will actually buy into the goods or service you intend to offer takes a while to build on into once mind.

On my blackberry messenger when going through my updates i always notice hilarious display pictures on some of my contact's profile.

Is it Morroco or Osadebe that made this song ?

I was compelled to see more for myself so i went to the site myowndp.com, which seems to be the source for the pictures and saw the many Dps that were available for free download. Different pictures for different moods giving people the chance to express themselves on their BBM profiles.

Very creative and funny pictures i must admit and a catchy name for a site which will make the it stick to your head. But on instinct i began trying to analyze how the income flows in for this on-line business.

Don't blame me it's just a reflex, all thanks to my igbo blood. So obviously the heads behind this on-line enterprise where targeting a potential area, which is the creating a business-page service.

The Myowndp.com Team

Basically an organization, a musical artiste, seeking to build up it's brand equity, depending on your target market could use this service. Because the business page will provide a platform dedicated to your brand where your fans/customers can download display pictures expressing their love for your brand.

People love pictures, they simply offered the pictures for free which lead to increase in traffic unto their site thereby promoting the awareness about business page services, that they can offer to BRANDS. Very creative ... talk about the act of giving and taking.

How Bad Do You Want It ? (Urbane Life)

2012-07-26T19:06:00.000-07:00

You know; i have this friend who should have being on the entire series of the Fast and the Furious. He loves speed, power and balance, i know what you are thinking yeah he drives a BMW ! No matter how much i try to beg him while i am on my knees to just slow down he gives me the Vin Diesel look and says ..... Buckle up.

I can't lie i do enjoy the speed (140 km/hrs to 200) especially when we are rushing somewhere, but i make it clear to him "you've got to pype down bro". I admire the way he goes for what he likes whether it is accepted by people or not, he can't be bothered. He once told me when he pushes a car to the limit and it responds well,
it feels like orgasm to him. Weird right ? what a freak.

Memory is not perfect but it is more accurate than imagination, that's why i love the human mind. A gift to us all from which our thoughts emerge that shapes us into the people we tend to become, by the actions we take. The mind speaks to you, it has all the answers. You don't have to follow the trend entirely you can either improve on it or create a new one depending on your personality and lifestyle.

So far i have seen enough to make me realize that success in any endeavor is driven by passion, by one not being trapped by the dogma, which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Who cares what people think ? if you fail they will criticize you , you succeed hmmmm just wait and watch them knock you off the pedestal they initially put you on.

Follow your passion no matter what people say, its the love for what you do that keeps the passion going and gives you inspired thoughts on how to improve upon your business.

I look at Dj Jimmy Jatt and Olisa Adibua and remember when i used to watch them on T.V in the early 1990s, and i was wondered if they were bothered about what people were thinking i don't think we we would have seen the Jimmy Jatt snapback. or Naija Sings

Because almost everything is all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure these things should just fall away, leaving only what is truly important. Thinking you have something to lose is so irrelevant. Our society is so judgmental. People can talk all day but won't stand up to do a thing, so you have no reason not to follow your heart. Just stay away from such people.

As a matter of fact run as far away from them as possible, for your own sanity and happiness.

A Social Media Lesson From TFAMasterclass

2012-07-25T18:22:00.000-07:00

A picture can say a thousands words "they say" . Well truth be told it sure does and that,s why currently we are so hooked up on visual contents, especially on social media platforms.

This viral trend i must say, motivated Mark Zuckerberg into purchasing Instagram. We just like snapping "photo" especially you ladies, i notice some people have treat their twitter profile like its a blackberry messenger........ true story.

David Meerman Scott. categorically stated why blogging is the key to on-line marketing, quoting him he said "the rules of marketing & PR have changed. Now buyers are finding answers to their problems on-line. They search Google, read on-line portals and news sites and are active on social media like Facebook and Twitter. Your buyers watch YouTube videos, listen to bloggers’ advice and opinions, and visit company websites. Are you reaching them?

The Future Nigeria decide to put together a seminar at Tera culture V.I Lagos on the 25th of July ( yesterday). The event was tagged #TFAMasterclass and was facilitated by flourishing on-line personalities to help unravel the secrets of blogging.

Omojuwa and the HOT Ikeji (facilitators)

Noble Igwe (facilitator) and also Banky W bro i guess !

I couldn't make it to the venue but i was able to follow the live twitter feed series #TFAMasterclass

The very information i had being searching for a while just flowed in which given by Cheta Nwanze, who mentioned that.... 3.17 million Nigerians (people who log on from Nigeria) are on Facebook. 18 million are on Twitter. 4.5 million are active BB users.

You can imagine the potential your business stands if you have a social media manager, who can warm your Brand into hearts of the 4.5 million blackberry users. Just a thought !

Click here for more analysis from the facilitators.

The Color Of A Power Suit

2012-07-24T19:21:00.000-07:00

I laughed out very loud when i came across the picture at first but then i began to imagine, if i should give such a reply to a fellow who confidently wears he's or her tats what will the response be like? I believe it all depends on the mindset of the individual wearing the tattoo, basically it's all about perception of how one See's once self that motivates us to make choices.

Apparently the person who composed this sarcastic writing sees him or herself as a Ferrari, a sophisticated or urbane person so to say. The tattoos is a minor issue when speaking in general, we could apply this concept in other areas of our lives, before making critical decisions.

We continue the lookout on the URBANE trends for men. You have to keep up with the times, look the path, and keep it polished as a hobby ! What other way can you appear suave than to be seen in a SUIT.

Yes you have to suit up ! Every man needs at least one suit that exudes power, prestige and classic refinement. The power suit is a vital component of any man’s wardrobe regardless of his profession because it serves as his modern-day suit of armor.

The ideal color of a suit that makes a person stand out has got to be the Grey suit. A Grey suit is the good way to start a man’s formal wardrobe. With an array of gray hues—from the dark charcoal to the silver light grey suits - gray suits are indispensable classic suits.

Grey suits are like the blacks and navy blues in terms of exerting professionalism. The grey suit gives lesser expense when it comes to selecting the perfect match of shirts and ties. The Grey suit actually has a broader choice of apparel to match with since it fits well with any kind of color and shade that will sure enough give a dramatic effect to the suit.

With regards to the shade of Grey suit, charcoal is a recommended choice for formal wear. And in choosing grey suits it is best to first check on the fit that would accentuate the body.

But the best shade of grey suit that i, can classify as the power suit, has got to be the metallic grey.

Grey is the Color.

If you feel grey suit is not the ideal color for a power please feel free to share your thoughts.

Sales And Deals You Can't Ignore.

2012-07-23T15:12:00.001-07:00

PUSHXCLUSIVE LTD; a luxury shoe line is celebrating it's one year in business. And in recognition of this achievement, they are prepared to offer a 30% discount off their PUSH shoes to their loyal customers.

A fair deal i must say, considering initiative taken to give back to their customers irrespective of the number of years they have being in operation.

Regardless of that reason, i have being monitoring the PUSH brand for quite a while and it's has being a privilege to witness the immense growth in just a year. It's quite astonishing considering the clientèle base they seem to be operating on .

The PUSH Visionary

The PUSH anniversary promo was launched on the 21st of July and will be on till the 31st of July. I got myself a customized pair already.... yeah am that vain sue me !

So go get yours ASAP before the stocks run out, it sure should make an ideal collection for the summer. It comes in various colors and designs for HIM and HER (unisex)

Lady PUSHXCLUSIVE (velvet)

The Lady PUSH (Customized)

To find out more about PUSHXCLUSIVE pay a visit to PUSH fan-page www.facebook.com/pushxclusive
follow on twitter @ipushon , By E-mail

You can also call PUSH hot-line ; 08062292168 to place your orders

Personal Branding And Enterpreneurship; The Connection

2012-07-22T15:10:00.000-07:00

My regular blogging schedule was interrupted by a hacker/ nerd whom i suppose is comfortably chilling in a remote location, sipping on redbull, while he/she invades unsuspecting persons system and wrecks havoc. I try to analyze their minds to see why they take absolute delight in what they do and it seems there appears to be a commonality of "power" for hackers. Apparently they want to show people what they can do and, i at the same time wish they could give me just one opportunity to show them what i can do !

Officially i have a number of people/things on my list that i don't like;

Zombies
Toyota prius
Lagos Danfo drivers and
Hackers.

That's why i got the weapon as you can see to show them what i can do ! Even the THOR of the Avengers can't lift this hammer.

Entrepreneurship takes center stage today since its part of our weekly feature on this blog. It is a topic i find have found very entertaining for a while to say the least and as the years went by i became motivated to into developing an entrepreneurial spirit.

In this country you must hire yourself because work is not just a place you go to, it is what you do, it is what you are.

Therefore it is only logical to engage in something you enjoy doing, you become your business and your business becomes you. In this modern times its all about branding, the more exotic the branding and packaging, the more you can confidently charge.

When it comes to starting and growing a business, there's one kind of equity that can't be measured in naira: which is "brand equity". A strong personal brand that dovetails seamlessly with a business and has the power to turn customers' perception into profits is most important for entrepreneurs who often start businesses with nothing more than an idea and a firm handshake.

The initial self-belief and confidence is the basis of personal branding, taking a step back away from the crowd to see who you really are, to see yourself differently. Its a tough job to engage in because it's not a destination, it;s a lifetime job.

Mr Alder credited with introducing branding as a discipline in Nigeria

Leke Alder blew my mind to bits with the level of personal branding he has engaged in.
As a matter of fact the name LEKE ALDER is a brand !

Why I Love Social Media

2012-07-17T17:10:00.000-07:00

Something strange happened to me while i was taking a shower earlier in the morning, normally i just dash in make it a quick one and blaze out before you can say " Dame Jonathan". But i decided for no reason though to take my time and wash off, the way the HoT ladies in those delta soap T.V advert always do. I just wonder how they do it ? because i got so bored at first, then suddenly a song popped into my head !

It was a blissful moment i must say, nonetheless i ain't attempting that again.

Back to the main focus on this beautiful day which is "social media" that is best understood as a group of new kinds of on-line media, which share certain characteristics;

PARTICIPATION: social media encourages contributions and feedbacks from anyone who is interested.

OPENNESS: most social media services are open to feedback and participation. They encourage voting, comments and sharing of information. Limits to accessing and making use of contents is minimal.

CONVERSATION: whereas traditional media is about “broadcast” (content transmitted or distributed to
an audience) social media is better seen as a two-way conversation.

COMMUNITY: social media allows communities to form quickly and communicate effectively.
Communities share common interests, such as a love of photography, a political issue
or a favourite TV show.

social media thrive on connectedness, making use of links to other sites, resources and people. Thus providing you the means to have incredible access to
information which you seek.

Since we live in an age where fusing technology and information optimizes the way one works, for positive
return of investments.It's only logical to join the social media revolution.

A good way to think about social media is that all of this is actually just about
being human beings. Sharing ideas, cooperating and collaborating to create art,
thinking and commerce, vigorous debate and discourse, finding people who
might be good friends, allies and lovers – it’s what our species has built several
civilizations on. That’s why it is spreading so quickly, not because it’s great shiny,
whizzy new technology, but because it lets us be ourselves – only more so.


Very smart casual (dress shoes)

T.u.M Blog

The Tontoh Dikeh Effect

45 Life Lessons, written by a 90 year old

A Successful Strategy For Your Facebook Biz Page

Why you need to go harder..... Naija

What Is Your Mind Focusing On ?

Is Your Culture Your Brand ?

4 Regular Fashion Mistakes Men Make

Wearing Shades Indoors

Wearing The Super Skinny Jeans

Perfume Cloud

Lets Save Debbie

DEBBIE

How To Adopt Social Media Into Your Business

Stage 1:Grassroots

Stage 2: Organized

Stage 3: Engaged

In Conclusion

T.u.M Blog: How To Keep It Simple But Significant (Your Style)

List4Naija.com And The Classified Ad Concept

What Has Become Of Us ?

Why Great Content Is King !

4 Shoes Every Man Must Own

Dress Shoes

The Brogue

3. Loafers/ Moccasins

4 Sneakers

The Focus On Chithub's Potentials.

Why You Should Give Sarcasm A Chance

Why You should Use Stumbleupon As a Blogging Tool

How To Keep It Simple But Significant (Your Style)

The Act Of Giving And Taking In Entrepreneurship

How Bad Do You Want It ? (Urbane Life)

A Social Media Lesson From TFAMasterclass

The Color Of A Power Suit

Sales And Deals You Can't Ignore.

Personal Branding And Enterpreneurship; The Connection

Why I Love Social Media

PARTICIPATION: social media encourages contributions and feedbacks from anyone who is interested.

e