Currently on-going in Nairobi is the much awaited and marketed Pan-Africa Media Conference 2010. The conference is also a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Nation Media Group which has operations throughout East Africa. The conference is running from today (18th March 2010) and will end tomorrow Friday the 19th March 201o.
I’m kind of upset that I could not attend the conference due to work obligations today and the same case tomorrow but I have been online following what is happening there. For me, what has to be a defining moment for social media in Kenya is this excerpt from President Mwai Kibaki’s speech:
“The increased access to mobile phones and the internet has given rise to new media that resonates well with our young population. However even those of us born before the computer age, appreciate the contribution of these new avenues of communication. Indeed, the advent of citizen journalism has become possible because of tools such as SMS, blogs, and social networking websites such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Myspace.â€
What?! Now, this goes to show that social media has “arrived” in the mainstream consciousness when the President is talking about the importance blogs, Facebook and Twitter! Times are certainly a changing!