Folks I Hope You Understand Facebook's New Database Marketing Strategies

Those of you on Facebook and other social networking sites must have noticed that Facebook, like Yahoo!, Google and Bing, has recently been asking you to provide more details about yourself.

Facebook now wants you to provide such additional information as your schools of attendance, your city of birth, your city of residence, and current employment.

The company also seeks information about your preferences in music, movies, TV shows and games. Facebook is also interested in your religious identity (even though its founder is an atheist). They also want to know your relationship status, whether you like men or women, and all those social tidbits. Of course they want you to disclose as much of your general activities as possible. What’s more, Facebook wants you to divulge your political party or political views, your favorite quotes, books, etc. Of course, Facebook has your birthday and sex even though you may have chosen not to make it public.

Do you imagine for a moment that Facebook is accumulating all this information simply to enable "your friends" on Facebook to have a richer mental portrait of you?

Well, it's not about you or your friends. It's all about dollars -- advertising dollars. Just hold on right here. I'll return to the dollars in a second.

You'll also notice that Facebook's new platform has a wider and more conspicuous space for ads than before. If you haven't noticed, then, look at the column on the right hand side of your profile page. You'll see the ads. And you'll see that the ads are informed by the information you have provided. Again, you'll notice that the ads column is wider and more conspicuous than before. The ads appear just below the "People You May Know" block, which suggests two possible "friends" for you. Now, you'll see the "Sponsored" ads below. This arrangement is not random by any means. A great visual gimmick is at play. The "People You May Know" block visually diffuses the fact that you are being seduced to stray into the marketplace - the money column - featuring the ads. The new platform was smartly designed to draw your eyes to the ads without you knowing what has just happened. And it works

In fact, when I studied the new Facebook platform and juxtaposed it to the former platform, I couldn't help but respect Facebook's marketing ingenuity.

Anyway, you better know that the reason Facebook is collecting all that extra information from you is to build up their database for marketing purposes. Which brings me back to that matter about advertising dollars.

Facebook is on an aggressive monetization mission. It's seeking to compete more vigorously against Google, which it considers its chief rival, for advertising dollars. On its part, Google views Facebook as a real threat to its advertising dollars goldmine. Facebook has a long way to go yet in its rivalry with Google. Google currently rakes in about $32 billion annually in advertising income whereas Facebook still manages to earn just about $1 billion annually, even with its nearly 600 million users worldwide.

So, here is the thing: The data that you provide to Facebook will enable the company's computer algorithms to point more relevant ads at your profile pages, and to encourage you to click on the ads so they can make money. Most of those ads are pay-per-click – which means that Facebook gets paid only when you click on the ads. Those ads are Facebook's bread and butter. That's where the company hopes to make billions of dollars in additional revenues. That’s why Facebook wants to know everything about you.

Targeted advertising is not happening only on the Internet. New technologies are being developed to direct more relevant (targeted) ads to your TV screen. With more sophisticated data warehousing and analytical technologies, you’ll soon be seeing different ads on your TV from what your neighbor who is watching the same TV station, at the same time, sees on his/her screen.

Anyway, there's actually nothing wrong with Facebook asking you for everything about your life. After all, you signed up for their "free" service and people are having fun providing the information anyway. Nor is it wrong for Facebook to use the information you willingly provided to make money.

But it helps – it’s wise – for you to know the nature of the game going on.

ManageEngine's Server & Application Performance Monitoring Software

ManageEngine Applications Manager is offering software that would help businesses ensure high availability and performance for their business applications.

 

The hope of the availability and performance monitoring program is to ensure that enterprises' servers and applications have high uptime. According to the makers, the application performance management capability includes server monitoring, application server monitoring, database monitoring, web services monitoring, virtualization monitoring, cloud monitoring and an array of other application management capability that will help IT administrators manage their resources. The software is avilable for a 30-day trial at ManageEngine's Web site.

Nigeria - A High Tech Savvy Country

Nigeria is a West African country that has a stupendous endowment of natural resources and intellectual power. With a population of more than 150 million – Nigeria recently surpassed Bangladesh to become the 7th most populous country on earth. 


Nigeria’s intellectuals, both at home and in the diaspora, have marked their presence all over the world. They have excelled in physics, mathematics, medicine, engineering, computer technology and other imperative areas of modern human endeavor. 

Granted, Nigeria has some serious social and economic challenges. But none of Nigeria’s socio-economic challenges is actually unique to it. 

While it will be foolhardy for me to make any excuses for Nigeria, I must nonetheless note here, that the well-publicized problems of corruption, fraud, threats of terrorism, political and religious rigidities as well as beleaguered economic machineries are ubiquitous. Even the United States, Russia, China, Japan, India and other talk-of-the-town nations have their fair share of these ills of humanity. To illustrate, data by Infobase Limited, a California-based database and geospatial data company indicates that the US, the UK, Germany, France, Russia, Japan, South Africa, Canada, Italy and India all have higher authenticated crimes rates than Nigeria. Another database provided by data360 – another California-based database company – containing UN’s global crime trends covering several years, did not show a disproportionate reason for worry for those interested in exploring Nigeria. The top 40 most worrisome countries, included Swaziland, Columbia, South Africa, Jamaica, Guatemala, Russia, Mexico, Paraguay, Belarus, Lithuania, Estonia, Ukraine, Thailand, Philippines, Barbados, Argentina, Poland, the USA, India, Germany, England, France, Portugal, Canada, Australia, Spain, Switzerland, Greece, Saudi Arabia, Japan and Pakistan (in that order).

No! Not Nigeria. Some critics might be surprised that Nigeria was not there. But indeed, Nigeria was not there.

Therefore, no one should allow any real or perceived shortcomings of Nigeria to hoodwink him or her into losing sight of the enormous potentials that Nigeria offers. Nigeria is emerging global economy. Those who recognize this, and get in early, and contribute to the good of the country will stand to benefit.
 
This begs the question: How does one reach Nigeria and harness the potentials of its people?
 
There are many profound ways in which the world can benefit from the energy and enterprise of Nigerians. Nigerians have embraced technology more rapidly and more intensely than most other developing countries. Internet and mobile devices – which are the main drivers of today’s economic performances, have permeated the Nigerian society. Nigeria’s cities and its suburban towns are heavily connected to the global information superhighway. Nigerians of all cadres are online – the rich, the man, the woman, the poor, the educated, the not-so-educated; everyone. In fact, even elderly local women in Nigeria – living in the vast countryside are now connected, with their handsets often tied to their wrappers as they go to the market or their farms.

Here are the statistics showing Nigeria’s connectivity:

Internet Usage

Nigeria, has over 44 million active Internet users, and ranks 10th in the world, according to data from Internet World Statistics. See the graph below:

Nigeria ranks 10th in the world in internet usage; and by far, surpasses other populous developing countries such as Indonesia (population 237,556,363 with 30 million internet users), Mexico (population 112,336,538 with 27 million internet users) and Philippines (population 95,000,000 with 27 million internet users). Pakistan, which has a population of 176,603,000, has less than 20 million internet users.

Mobile Phone Subscription

Nigeria has over 91 million mobile subscribers, and also ranks 10th in the world, according to aggregated data from CTIA-The Wireless Association® - an international organization of the wireless communications industry, the Hong Kong Government’s Office of the Telecommunications Authority, the Industry Statistics-Subscriber Data by the Nigerian Telecommunication Commission, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) based in Geneva, Switzerland, and more.

Only China, India, the United States, Russia, Brazil, Indonesia, Japan, Germany and Pakistan have more mobile phone subscribers than Nigeria.

Given these high numbers of hi-tech adoption by Nigeria, as shown above, there is no doubt that many global companies and investors will do well for themselves as soon as they “discover” and explore Nigeria.
 

The smart companies will begin to find that they can actually profit by locating many operational bases in Nigeria and by linking them to their other hubs, through technology. These companies will save money due to reduced costs of labor, physical plant, insurance and taxes. Yes, they’ll save money, even over the operational bases they may already have, or may be contemplating to establish in India, China, Malaysia, Mexico, South Africa and Egypt. Yes, they’ll find that Nigeria is truly a land of economic opportunities. They’ll be baffled by the amazing returns they’ll rake in, just like they were bamboozled when they discovered China and India, and started investing heavily in those countries. These intelligent global investors, who were originally ridiculed upon moving into China and India – countries that were discounted as impoverished third world nations – are now making huge fortunes from the get-up-and-go disposition of the two Asian tigers that are now somewhat stagnating. 

And now this: Nigeria is the African tiger. Nigeria is still waiting for the smartest, world-shattering and most alert global entrepreneurs who must now look outside Asia and South America for greener pastures. 

Nigeria also offers tremendous opportunities for those that want to expand their global market.
 

The most recent economic data, from an unclassified CIA database, shows that the commercial value of Nigeria to the international community is very significant to the prosperity of many global companies, prospective global investors, and ultimately, to the development of the economies of various nations.

The CIA data implies that with Nigeria’s estimated population of over 150 million people, and again, the 7th in the world (and the 8th most populous country just a few months ago), the nation has a lot of potential customers for businesses that are serious with international commerce.
 

What’s more? With an estimated GDP (purchasing power parity) of $353.2 billion in 2009, Nigeria ranks 2nd in Africa (behind South Africa, ahead of Egypt) and 33rd in the world. Although the nation’s GDP real growth rate, which was estimated at 3.8% in 2009, showed constant decline within the previous five years, indications are that the aggressive policies of the current administration would likely raise the GDP in 2 years.

What all these boil down to is that if you into global business, Nigeria can help produce and deliver your products and services, and Nigeria can help buy and use them.

The most effective way anyone can reach and rally the Nigerian people in this information era is through ingenious Web and mobile technologies. After all, many goods and services are now being delivered wirelessly. These technologies offer businesses effective tools to build a large and strong workforce or customer base. They also offer both Nigerian and foreign public officials or international organizations effective tools to build large and strong grassroots movements, or to expand and solidify their grassroots support. 

But there’s a problem that must be tackled head-on.

It is apparent that while the massive adoption of high technologies by Nigerians have its blessings to the country and the international community, it also presents significant challenges to peace loving citizens of Nigeria and the world. 

Perhaps the most critical aspect of Nigeria's hi-tech usage is its national security implications. Terrorists and other terrible people have also discovered the Internet and wireless communications.

The Internet and other hi-tech systems truly have significant ramifications on the security of Nigeria at a time when these systems are routinely deployed to make contacts, recruit and mobilize networks of radicals and troublemakers around the world. There is no wonder why the United States of America and many other countries are now investing heavily in understanding and monitoring the reach, uses and power of the new and ever dynamic Internet and mobile technologies. 

Dr. Linton Wells, a distinguished research professor at the National Defense University in Washington, DC, sums up the national security challenges posed by the internet and other high technologies:

"This is not just techie-geeky stuff, but serious stuff with national security ramifications."

 
Indeed, in a globalized environment, Nigeria and other peace-loving nations and organizations must work closely together, with mutual respect for each other, to ensure that international criminals are effectively monitored, so as not to undermine the blessings and opportunities bestowed upon modern society, by modern high technologies to facilitate international commerce and peace.

* Mr. Nwankama Nwankama is an information technology strategist. He is a Nigerian, and resident in Maryland, USA..

Africa's Leadership Problems

I read Mr. Godsway Yaw Sappor's article published in GhanaWeb with great interest. It was entitled: The Failure Of African Leadership, Cause Of Africa's Problems

Africa has 10% of the world's oil and gas deposits, and according to Mr. Sappor, Africa also has 50% of the world's gold, most of the world's diamonds and chromium, 90% of the cobalt, 40% of the world's potential hydroelectric power, 65% of the manganese, millions of acres of untilled farmland, as well as other natural resources.

It's disappointing to note that in spite of Africa's natural wealth, it is home to the world's most impoverished and abused people.

Mr. Sappor, further observed that many African leaders are quick to blame Africa's continued struggles on the legacy of colonialism. Others accuse its neo-colonial dimension, and some others pose culture, climate and bio-geographic factors as the explanation to the reasons of Africa's myriad problems.

It is true that colonialism and Western imperialism did not leave, and has not left any African country in good shape, but Africa must look internally and stop blaming outside powers for their own internal failures and lack of leadership. In fact, many African leaders have treated their brothers and sisters a lot worse than the colonial masters, and many are playing into the hands of their current foreign masters.

I urge African leaders to look internally at the failures in the leadership they have offered Africans and stop blaming outsiders.

AFRICA! Unity Might be the Solution!

In spite of all the criticisms about him, or mistakes he may have made, there's one thing I admire about Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi -- his pan-Africanism. He has been calling for a united African nation for decades.

Some might argue that I support a united Africa since I am Nigerian, and since it is likely that Nigeria, being the most populous African country, will dominate. The truth about my reasons cannot be farther. In fact, Nigeria's tradeoffs in pursuit of a united Africa, will be enormous.

Back to Gaddafi. He has argued that an African unity government is the only way Africa can develop cohesively and consistently, and without interference by outside powers. However, many African leaders and technocrats have resisted the idea of a united Africa. They say it will encroach on their sovereignty. Some of these African leaders and elites say they cannot be expected to cede sovereignty to any African bloc just decades after they wrested it away from their colonial masters.

Other people have doubted the practicality of a unity African government. Incidentally, some of the biggest skeptics have not even given fair consideration to the idea. Rather, they have hastily dismissed it as an unrealistic dream.

Some others have said that the idea of Africa as a single nation is dead since it hasn't happened, after decades of speeches, discussions and arguments. They cite the difficulties and disappointments experienced within Arab nationalist movements, especially the collapse of the United Arab Republic (UAR) that President Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt formed with Syria, and which Iraq was said to have considered joining. The cynics also cite the demise of the United Arab States (UAS), a short-lived confederation of the United Arab Republic (UAR), and North Yemen.

A few other people (mainly non-Africans) have accused Colonel Gadaffi of being a power-hungry man who wants to rule the whole of Africa. But, this might be a very disingenuous supposition on the part of these critics. While, like other politicians, Gadaffi may want to hold on to power for as long as possible, he has not given any indication that he wants to rule the whole of Africa. In actual fact, there may be other Africans that may clamor for him to lead. And by the way, Colonel Gadaffi is not the only African that is seriously committed to pan-African movement. I have included a list of forty-six other major pan-Africanists in the later part of this article. They cannot be accused of being motivated by a quest for personal political power. The fact is that many pan-Africanists do not have personal political ambitions. Therefore, it would be wrong to accuse Colonel Gadaffi or other pan-Africanists as power-hungry barons.

I submit to everyone that the idea of a single African nation is very essential, very workable and that is not dead. If anything at all, Africa can learn from the mistakes of the UAR and UAS movements, and the disillusionment their failures caused pan-Arabists. This would be necessary so as to craft better strategies for the African cause. So, I submit that the idea of a united Africa will not die until it is realized.

One can only imagine the level of progress Africa would have made by now if the various nation states had united (even if they had just confederated) and pulled their resources together.

Despite all the the negativities, Colonel Gadaffi's ideas of this single African state have been supported by many Africans owing to his extraordinary reputation, tenacity and pragmatism in parts of the continent.

One of his supporters, Maliviwe Bata stated on July 29, 2010:

"On Africa in unity, this dream will one day soon be a reality. The skeptics will swallow their tongues."

Maliviwe Bata's belief in Brother Leader Colonel Gaddafi's ideas of a single African state is not isolated. In fact, there are calls for improved ties between the single Africa bloc and South American countries. Johan Pieterse, another supporter of Brother Leader Gaddafi, and who also supports closer African/South American cooperation, added on September 27, 2009;

"... I think it's innovative and a step towards self-empowerment. I'm tired of rich nations buying all the economic rights to natural resources of the poorer countries. I'm convinced that EU and US policies are designed to keep them (the US and EU) in a position of power and economic strength."

Hundreds of millions of Africans, including Africans in the diaspora, share Maliviwe's and Pieterse's beliefs in the pragmatism of Brother Leader Gaddafi's ideas. As a matter of fact, mathematical projections show that there could be 300 million - 500 million Africans who believe in Colonel Gaddafi's ideas and regard him as their hero. Indeed, his words and ideas are well treasured by a majority of Africans (and quite a sizable part of the international community including the United States, Canada, Europe, South America and Asia).

I urge African nations to seriously consider forming a unity government.

And, I'll say that a united Africa is critical and very realistic.

Great Potentials!

Africa is endowed with enormous natural resources. The region accounts for nearly 10% of the entire oil and gas reserves in the World. It also accounts for a sizable percentage of deposits of diamonds, gold, iron, cobalt, uranium, copper, bauxite, silver, petroleum, woods and tropical fruits.

Africa has lots of its natural resources undiscovered or barely tapped.

The geography of Africa comprises of vast waters and lands that abound with sea creatures, wild life and arable lands. Africa contains many of lakes and rivers, allowing for small fishing industry for the natives. The deep rivers of Africa have significant hydroelectric value. The Atlantic and Indian Oceans allow further enterprises such as large scale fishing mining and offshore oil drilling. Its coastlines are teeming with fish and other sea life.

Without imported pollution and dangerous greenhouse gases emanating from Western and Asian nations, African nations will have the most serene environments in the world. But, with more unity and greater power, Africa can resist such imported pollution.

Africa is the second largest continent. With a population of 1 billion people, only China and India have more population than Africa. As a single nation, it would be the third largest country.

But the diversity and richness in Africa has neither translated to commensurate prosperity nor strength. Africans are too fractured. They fail to realize that there is great strength in numbers, and continue a downward spiral as a result of disunity.

Africans are still beholden to their colonial masters who created arbitrary maps on them. And, Africa's neo-colonial masters are still mapping out how Africa should be divided and exploited.

To understand what the West might have in mind for Africa, one needs go no further than some recorded words about the thoughts of America and Britain about our Arab brothers and sisters.

Daniel Yergin's masterpiece called "The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money and Power", written in 1991 recalled the words of American President Franklin D. Roosevelt as he addressed a British Ambassador in 1944.

Here's what the American president told the Briton:

"Persian oil …is yours. We share the oil of Iraq and Kuwait. As for Saudi Arabian oil, it’s ours."

Obviously, there were no Arabs; no Persians, no Iraqis, no Kuwaitis and no Saudi Arabians in that meeting that decided who was going to own their oil. Logically, there would be no Africans in a meeting on the allocation of their land and resources among the world powers. Maybe after the decision has been made overseas, African leaders would be manipulated, intimidated or enticed into helping to implement the schemes. No doubt, a more united Africa will preclude such an insult on a great people and give them more say over how foreign nations can participate in tapping their resources.

A fragmented Africa plays into the hands of those seeking to dominate it perpetually.

Of course, divide-and-rule strategies have been classical strategies to maintain stronghold on a people. The colonial masters craftily employed divide-and-rule strategies and it worked very well for them. Conversely, they amalgamated tiny disparate entities to foment internal discord so they can maintain their central powers while the subjects -- Africans quarreled among themselves.

But it's a shame that Africans have not been able to extricate themselves from the dubious divide-and-rule legacy of the colonial masters. Consequently, African countries and some of their leaders have continued to undermine each other. By contrast, the European Union (EU), the United States of America (USA), the Organization of American States (OAS), the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) are all cooperating more closely to preserve their interests than the African Union (AU) (and the Arab League) are doing.

In Africa, the leaders and certain elements of the society are actually perpetuating divisiveness to preserve their narrow interests. This internal rancor has also been fueled by some Western powers that have installed or sustained tyrannic dictators in Africa, in order to emasculate the people and keep the oil, gold and diamonds flowing yonder.

The effect of Africa's decentralization is that, in spite of the formation of the African Union, African countries still cannot resolve such serious matters as backwardness, hunger, disease, religious and ethnic conflicts.

Africa - Maybe, It's Time to Seriously Consider Colonel Gaddafi's Ideas
(Please note that this blog was written before the disturbances in Libya)


Various African statesmen and influential personalities from around the World have advocated the transformation of Africa into a single federation or at a minimum, a confederation, with a single currency, and one all-African army.

The most energetic of these statesmen has been Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi.

Continued at WordPress

Server & Application Performance Monitoring Software

ManageEngine Applications Manager is offering software that would help businesses ensure high availability and performance for their business applications.

 

The hope of the availability and performance monitoring program is to ensure that enterprises' servers and applications have high uptime. According to the makers, the application performance management capability includes server monitoring, application server monitoring, database monitoring, web services monitoring, virtualization monitoring, cloud monitoring and an array of other application management capability that will help IT administrators manage their resources. The software is avilable for a 30-day trial at ManageEngine's Web site.

What's Your Week Like?

Without God, our week would be: 

• Sinday
• Mournday
• Tearsday
• Wasteday
• Thirstday
• Fightday
• Shartterday

Seven days without God makes one WEAK.

Awesome! I got this from Pastor Faith Bankole.

DISCLAIMER

If an Eckankar banner appears after this blog, please understand that it's a Google ad, which I cannot remove. I do not subscribe to or recommend Eckankar to anybody. 

What's Your Business DNA?

Your business identity must consistently be clear to customers. In other words, your company must have a distinctive "DNA" that completely separates you from all of your competitors. Moreover, your individuality so established, must be very clear to your customers and potential customers.
 
If in all candidness, you find out that nothing truly sets you apart currently in the eyes of your customers and potential customers (supported by hard data), then you must create one and let it be seen.
 
Let your firm ask itself some important questions:

1. Why should a potential customer choose you and not your competition?
2. Why should your customer stay with you and not switch to your competitor?
3. Why should some other firms' customers switch to your firm and not stick with their current providers?

Let's face it, most of the time, your products are the same as the competitor's down the street or with a similar web site. Your services are virtually the same. There's no much difference in your prices. Your hours are basically the same. And, if you run a brick and mortar business, your staff members are from the same community. So, what makes you different? Also, you may be wondering how your company can gain or continue to gain market share. To this end, your marketing and sales people may be seeking a better understanding of customers - their preferences and propensities - to maximize the profitability and longevity of valued relationships in spite of the business sharks with whom you continuously have to contend with.

Even though it is becoming increasingly harder to differentiate within almost all industries today, your general target should be to better manage your customers through the introduction of reliable systems, processes and procedures that clearly put you far apart from your rivals with pivots from three areas:

1. Your service standards
2. Your strategic leadership prowess
3. Your competitive intelligence capabilities

Your strategies must truly be guided by a well-instituted, abundantly erudite and highly ethical intelligence process.

The Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI)



It's really important to understand that system administrators can manage a system remotely even in the absence of an operating system or of the system management software, or even if the monitored system is powered off but connected to a power source. That can be done through IPMI.

In fact, I was exited to stumble on a Wiki article on IPMI via Facebook and I couldn't help replicating it here.

The Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) specification is an Intel led standard which defines a set of common interfaces to a computer system which system administrators can use to monitor system health and manage the system. More than two hundred companies support IPMI. Dell, HP, Intel Corporation and NEC Corporation announced IPMI v1.0 on 1998-09-16, v1.5 on 2001-03-01, and v2.0 on 2004-02-14.

The technology is now considered a de-facto standard.

IPMI Functionality

An IPMI sub-system operates independently of the operating system and allows administrators to manage a system remotely even in the absence of an operating system or of the system management software, or even if the monitored system is powered off but connected to a power source. IPMI can also function after the operating system has started, and exposes management data and structures to the system management software. IPMI prescribes only the structure and format of the interfaces as a standard, while detailed implementations may vary.

An implementation of IPMI version 1.5 can send out alerts via a direct serial connection or via a side-band local area network (LAN) connection to a remote client. The side-band LAN connection utilizes the board Network Interface Controller (NIC). This solution is less expensive than a dedicated LAN connection but also has limited bandwidth. Systems compliant with IPMI version 2.0 can also send alerts via serial over LAN. System administrators can then use IPMI messaging to query platform status, to review hardware logs, or to issue other requests from a remote console through the same connections. The standard also defines an alerting mechanism for the system to send a simple network management protocol (SNMP) platform event trap (PET).

Competitive Intelligence - You Can't Escape It

It's quite regrettable that some business executives are still quick to dismiss Competitive Intelligence (CI), even in this highly sophisticated 21st century. They're missing the boat by dismissing competitive intelligence while some of their smartest competitors may be hammering them using competitive intelligence.


It's simply due to lack of knowledge on the part of the executives. I'm very sorry that I must say it so bluntly about these top executives, but it's their ignorance, mediocrity and lack of sophistication. Nothing more. Each time I deal with this issue, considering my experience and frustration with those that are supposed to know better, I can feel the surge of adrenaline in me.
 


 

Like the big old tall ostrich, some executives think they can escape reality by hiding from it!

Indeed, there're business executives that are putting their heads in the sand like an ostrich does when she is faced with a challenging situation. These business executives refuse to confront or acknowledge the magnitude of the predicament they face in this ferociously competitive era. 


 

They're making themselves believe that Competitive Intelligence is not happening while their competitors are killing them with it. In fact, such executives who are in denial are their competitors' dreams come true. 

The same executives that are dismissing competitive intelligence are the same ones, whose potential customers are quickly dismissing their offerings - without adequate knowledge - and the executives can't figure out why they're not retaining as many customers as they would like to; or why they're not acquiring as many new customers as they would like to. Other such non-intelligence-active executives keep wondering why they can't maximize the profitability and longevity of some valued relationships - be it high-impact strategic partnerships or high yield clients or investors - to the extent they would like to. 

At the same time, the business executives that have understood and applied CI are hammering their competition; beating them very decisively; and are dominating the competitive landscape in their various market areas - year after year. They're driving higher performance than their peers. 

Smart executives in the leading firms are heeding the time-tested military leadership principle espoused by Winston Churchill former British Prime Minister:


 "No matter how enmeshed a commander becomes in the elaboration of his own thoughts, it is sometimes necessary to take the enemy into account."
 

But CI is not easy. 

Don't think it's an easy way out for business executives that are not willing or able to excel in other leadership areas. It requires more than ordinary business brains and acumen. It's not being crafty, being guile-laden or without a conscience or principles. It's not spying or the James Bond movie-type thrillers. It's not being unethical, being magical or being a psychic. Rather, it's doing business smarter and with greater finesse - and simply doing business more intelligently, using fact, data rather than intuition or raw guts.


 

To be continued.

The Mighty Way Some Christians Talk and Act

Some Christians speak mighty things.

They seem to have the power to read and judge the heart of another Christian. They tend to speak for God about whether the other person is really saved or not; whether the person is a true believer or not; and whether, in fact, the person is worshipping Him - that is: the God Almighty, in spirit and in truth.

Some of these Christians, obviously with all honesty in their heart, do not seem to see any possibility that someone who is not a full member of their denomination, or someone who disagrees with them in any way or someone with whom they disagree (even if the person is a member of their church), could be a true Heaven-bound born-again child of God. These Christians also seem to be more gifted than others in knowing who is a hypocrite and who is a true believer.

They spend a lot of time observing and pointing out the discrepancies in the beliefs and/or lives of other professed Christians.

In the days Christ was here physically, He decried the attitude of the Jews and the Pharisees in particular, who prided themselves with the fact God had revealed the light unto them. As the "chosen nation" they looked down upon other nations who were still in darkness. They despised and dismissed those nations as Gentiles -- heathens.

Today, we understand that God chose the Jews as a means to bring the ultimate light of His salvation unto the world through Jesus Christ. We cherish the marvelous light and grace we have freely received through Jesus Christ, our Lord. The problem is that many Christians seem to see themselves as having received more light than others, and they may have taken some kind of pride in it. The tendency is to feel or act holier or doing better than others in the Christian race.

Yet, no Christian ever openly admits that he or she probably has a "holier than thou" or "I know better than you" attitude towards another person or group of persons - Christian or non-Christian. Nor is it easy to find a Christian who readily admits that that he or she feels that he or she is better than other Christians - or professed Christians.

But that's exactly what many of their words and actions portray.

Their words exude a certain level of conceit with their supposedly sound Christian standing -- and with the amount "grace" they have received. Some pray to God to help the other so-called Christians or sinners to come to believe the truth as they see it, i.e., what they themselves believe in. They might pray to God to move mightily on the other people's heart to start acting or worshipping the way they think the other people should act and worship as Christians.

In point of fact, most Christians in many churches do not believe that they could have any doctrinal error at all. Rather, they see other professed Christians (even sometimes people of the same denomination with the slightest differences from their faith) as not being true Christians or as being counterfeit Christians who are spreading or living the lies of false religion.

They abhor such people.

They regard them as the enemies of the true Gospel of Christ and avoid them like plague (wondering what light should have to do with darkness). For them to show any form of tolerance or kindness to such people becomes a great Christian accomplishment on their part -- a saintly action they think they have performed -- and action that may warrant testifying to, at a Church gathering. Normally, they would only be willing to accept the "fake Christians" when they - that is, the "false worshippers" are ready for "the truth."

Many Christians even have more tolerance for non-Christians than they do for those they perceive as fake Christians who have clung to erroneous beliefs or systems of worship.

Some enjoy; are eager to; take pride in; or are quick to point out the false teachings of other churches. In fact, they earnestly search for those false teachings in order to attack (or most likely in their minds, in order to seek to correct) the erroneous teachings or beliefs of the other groups. When they are engaged in a discussion (that usually becomes an argument - or sometimes a vicious, fierce contest), they present very good cases like a good lawyer presents in a courtroom as to why the other people are wrong; why the other people are not true Christians -- and why they cannot enter the kingdom of God unless they turn from their false beliefs. Eager to prove their point, or to win the contest in a more decisive way next time, they read the Bible hard and look for, or wait for opportunities for more debates where they'll show they are right. They may call it witnessing.

Let no one get the wrong message here. I am not suggesting that everybody is right about God and the Bible no matter the belief the person holds. Not at all. Christianity is not an anything-goes affair. Therefore, we should never approach God's Word with a liberal attitude.

What I am decrying here is spiritual pride, which is still a challenge for me, along with my other sins. I'll continue to pray to God for help in this matter, and will cherish the prayers of those who understand our battle with our inherent sinfulness.

God has led out His ways in the Bible. And, every single soul is precious in His sight. We are so precious to Him that Jesus Christ left His divinity in heaven, and came down here to assume our sinful position. He eventually laid down His life for us in the most excruciating and humiliating manner. He did that to pay the price of our sin, to remove the shackles of sin from us and to make it possible for us to live in eternal bliss with Him. The salvation of a single soul was that serious for God. Now that he is gone to prepare that heavenly place for us, the Holy Sprit abides with us, as we seek Him. He leads us through our tumultuous passage through this evil world. And, He teaches us all things.

For us, the gospel is a matter of life and death -- eternal life and eternal death for that matter. Our relationship with God is the most serious thing about our entire being both today and in the next ten trillion years. As such, it is right, and indeed, it is commanded, that we study the teachings of the Bible closely so as to know what we believe, to live a Christ-like life and to be able to defend what we believe. We are commanded to search into "the deep things of God" so far as they are revealed in Scripture (1 Corinthians 2:10).

It is right to reach out to others with the knowledge that we have received and to seek to correct others when they err. To do this is to be a true apostle and a witness for Christ. That's the great commission. But it must be done with Godly humility. The sole goal should be to win a soul for Christ. Our purpose should never be to deride anyone or to impress others by representing ourselves as Bible experts.

To appear to be the definitive authority on the Word of God ought to be a scary role for anyone to assume. Wherein, there exists an unfortunate problem in the Christian community, whereby a certain pride is mingled with the consideration of Bible truth. As such, many people feel defeated and humiliated if they cannot present themselves capable of explaining every portion of Scripture to others. It's too degrading to them not to prove that they understand all the inspired Words of God. Consequently, when they present strong arguments about a doctrine, they feel it's ungodly or hardening of the heart for the hearers or readers not to totally trust and accept their analyses - being that the other people ought to know and respect them as powerful and well-learned men and women of God.

As ministers, pastors, elders, good, baptized church members, who have been in the faith for decades and probably labored and won many souls for Christ, some Christians feel a great sense of accomplishment and expect a certain level of respect and recognition when they speak or write about the Word of God. Truly, these brothers and sisters may have deeply studied the Word of God and their books may be top-sellers. As a result, they may be unwilling to seek and wait patiently until God shall see it fit to reveal to them, any possible truth which they might have missed and may have probably preached to others over the years. Worse, many of these powerful Christians cannot fathom being in a position to learn from others, especially those they may consider as weak in the faith. When they hear a sermon, they're more interested in assessing how well the preacher performs, and not what they can learn from that preacher's discourse - except maybe, a new, powerful preaching style.

Although they may call themselves students of the Bible to appear humble to others, they may actually consider themselves teachers of the Bible.

The Bible warns he that thinks he stands to be careful, lest he falls. It's better to surrender to God in honest humility, so that He will lead.

Some Conclusions

Anything that is close to spiritual pride is really dangerous.

While Christian teaching, rebuke and correction, borne out of true Christ-like love and humility, are essential tasks of the great commission, some ordinary Christians have wondered why there seems to be many in the fold, who seem to have assumed the role of ultimate arbiters of Christian truth, assessors of piousness and judges for Christ.

They develop and publicize yardsticks and checkmarks for others to use in determining who should be declared a Christian and who should not.

The utterance of some these Christians appear to be, sometimes, too overreaching and exude an authority that is easy to be seen as more of conceit than heavenly assurance.

The following Web sites might directly or indirectly address or illustrate the matter of some Christians judging other Christians (or professed Christians) with mannerisms which might be highly disturbing to some ordinary Christians:

Counterfeit Christianity "a Christian outreach to those trapped in cult groups" by Lorri MacGregoreb. This Web site declares the Seventh-day Adventist Church, along with Islam, Buddhism, Eckankar, the Rosicrusian Order (Armoc), Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons as false Christianity or outright cults.

The isms of Legalism by J. James Albert - shows how some Christians view (or treat) other Christians that differ from them.

Is Obedience Legalism? by Amazing Facts Prophecy Seminar - addresses the issue of some Christians declaring that any attempt to obey God's law amounts to legalism.

Obedience vs. Legalism by Simon Schrock - shows how some Christians might condemn other Christians, who are following Gods commandments as they believe.

The Cult Awareness Information Center - "switching the light since 1995" and lists "both cults & isms."

DISCLAIMER

If an Eckankar banner appears after this blog, please understand that it's a Google ad, which I cannot remove. I do not subscribe to or recommend Eckankar to anybody. 

Nigeria's High Tech Savvy

Nigeria, a country of over 150 million people with widespread social and economic challenges, in the midst of stupendous amounts of natural resources, is an enigma. I'll leave the discussion of the country's political and economic woes for another day, but there are things enterprising citizens of the World can benefit from Nigerians.

Nigerians are hi-tech savvy. They use the Internet and mobile devices very heavily. Even millions of elderly local women in the villages are now connected, with their handsets tied to their wrappers as they go to the market or their farms.

Here are the statistics:

• Nigeria (with over 45 million active Internet users) ranks 10th in the World, according to Internet World Statistics published by Miniwatts Marketing Group. 
• Nigeria (with over 76 million mobile subscribers) ranks 16th in the World, according to International Telecommunication Union 2009, Mobile cellular, subscriptions per 100 people, 2009, International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Geneva, Switzerland, viewed 28th January, 2010.

With such high numbers of hi-tech adoption above, there is no doubt that the most effective way anyone can rally the Nigerian people in this information era is through ingenious Web and mobile technologies. Through these technologies, businesses and public officials can build a large and strong grassroots movement, or expand and solidify their grassroots support or customer base.