Friday, September 28, 2007

An African Phenomenon

Funny story posted by Yahoo! News regarding cell phones and Africa. It's not just an African phenomenon, because it happened when I was in Europe too. Basically, anywhere that there is prepaid cell phone service, people will want to save their money and just beep the other person forcing them to call you back. It's great.

Enjoy!

Phone credit low? Africans go for "beeping"

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - If you are in Sudan it is a 'missed call'. In Ethiopia it is a 'miskin' or a 'pitiful' call. In other parts of Africa it is a case of 'flashing', 'beeping' or in French-speaking areas 'bipage'. Wherever you are, it is one of the fastest-growing phenomena in the continent's booming mobile telephone markets -- and it's a headache for mobile operators who are trying to figure out how to make some money out of it. You beep someone when you call them up on their mobile phone -- setting its display screen briefly flashing -- then hang up half a second later, before they have had a chance to answer. Your friend -- you hope -- sees your name and number on their list of 'Missed Calls' and calls you back at his or her expense. It is a tactic born out of ingenuity and necessity, say analysts who have tracked an explosion in miskin calls by cash-strapped cellphone users from Cape Town to Cairo. "Its roots are as a strategy to save money," said Jonathan Donner, an India-based researcher for Microsoft who is due to publish a paper on "The Rules of Beeping" in the high-brow online Journal of Computer Mediated Communication in October. Donner first came across beeping in Rwanda, then tracked it across the continent and beyond, to south and southeast Asia. Studies quoted in his paper estimate between 20 to more than 30 percent of the calls made in Africa are just split-second flashes -- empty appeals across the cellular network. The beeping boom is being driven by a sharp rise in mobile phone use across the continent. Africa had an estimated 192.5 million mobile phone users in 2006, up from just 25.3 million in 2001, according to figures from the U.N.'s International Telecommunication Union. Customers may have enough money for the one-off purchase of a handset, but very little ready cash to spend on phone cards for the prepaid accounts that dominate the market. Africa's mobile phone companies say the practice has become so widespread they have had to step in to prevent their circuits being swamped by second-long calls. "We have about 355 million calls across the whole network every day," said Faisal Ijaz Khan, chief marketing officer for the Sudanese arm of Kuwaiti mobile phone operator Zain (formerly MTC). "And then there are another 130 million missed calls every day. There are a lot of missed calls in Africa."

'CALL ME BACK'

Zain is responding to the demand by drawing up plans for a "Call-me-back" service in Sudan, letting customers send open requests in the form of a very basic signal to friends for a phone call. The main advantage for the company is that the requests will be diverted from the main network and pushed through using a much cheaper technology (USSD or Unstructured Supplementary Service Data). A handful of similar schemes are springing up across Africa, says Informa principal analyst Devine Kofiloto. "It is widespread. It is a concern for operators in African countries, whose networks become congested depending on the time of day with calls they cannot bill for. "They try to discourage the practice by introducing services where customers can send a limited number of 'call-back' request either free of charge or for a minimum fee." There are plenty of other reasons why mobile operators are keen to cut down on the practice. One is it annoys customers, pestered by repeated missed calls. A second is that 'flashes' eat into one of mobile phone companies' favorite performance indicators -- ARPU or average revenue per user. Miscalls earn very little in themselves - and don't always persuade the target to ring back. Orange Senegal, Kofiloto said, lets customers send a 'Rappelle moi' ('Call me back') when their phone credit drops below $0.10. With Safaricom Kenya, it is a "Flashback 130" (limited to five a day -- and with the admonishment 'Stop Flashing! Ask Nicely'). Vodacom DR Congo's 'Rappelez moi SVP' service costs $0.01 a message.

MORE THAN MONEY

But beeping is not only about money. Donner's 'Rules of Beeping' suggests a social protocol for the practice. "The richer guy pays," he writes. It is acceptable to beep someone if you are short of cash and they are flush with credit. Never beep someone poorer than you.
Never beep someone you are tapping for a favor. You don't want to risk annoying the person you are trying to win over. Never flash your girlfriend, unless you want to look cheap.
"Most beeps are requests to the mobile owner to call back immediately, but can also send a pre-negotiated instrumental message such as pick me up now,' or send a relational sign, such as I'm thinking of you,'" the paper says. It can go even further than that. Cameroonian researchers Victor W.A. Mbarika and Irene Mbarika identified a different kind of beeping-powered relational call in a study for the technology association the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). "Lovers often communicate with text messages or beeping'," said the study. "One party dials another's number and then hangs up. One ring could mean, I am here,' two rings, Call me now.'" And the name they gave this new entry in the beeping lexicon? Borrowing a street slang term for an appeal for sex, they christened it "the booty call."

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

September 13, 2007 - Ramadan Begins

Tomorrow is the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. I’ve Wikipedia searched a short exerpt for your reading pleasure:

“The third pillar of Islam, which is fasting, is practiced during the month of Ramadan. Ramadan is derived from an Arabic word for intense heat and scorched ground. (in Arabic: رمضان, Ramaḍān) – – and it is the ninth month of the Islamic (Hijri) calendar, established in the year 638 CE. It is considered the most venerated, blessed and spiritually-beneficial month of the Islamic year. Prayers, fasting, charity, and self-accountability are especially stressed at this time; religious observances associated with Ramadan are kept throughout the month.

"Ramadan is the month during which the Quran was revealed, providing guidance for the people, clear teachings, and the statute book. Those of you who witness this month shall fast therein. Those who are ill or traveling may substitute the same number of other days. Allah wishes for you convenience, not hardship, that you may fulfill your obligations, and to glorify Allah for guiding you, and to express your appreciation."[2:185]”

Last year Ramadan started shortly after I arrived. With trying to assimilate into Mali, I didn’t give fasting a second chance. I was already losing enough weight due to sickness. So, I’ve survived a whole year here and I’ve decided that I want to step up my acceptance/assimilation process and observing Ramadan is a good way to try that.

Now, here are some differences between a Malian fast and the Sara Rosen fast. Malians will wake up at 4 AM-ish (before sunrise), pray, eat and go back to sleep until they have to start their days. They will continue throughout the day to ingest nothing – this includes saliva. At 6 PM-ish (at sunset/prayer call), iced cold drinks, tea and fried foods will all be ready for the break fast. Malians will drink and eat a little, saving most of their appetite for dinner. Repeat steps 1 through 5 for 30 days.

The Sara Rosen fast will consist of the following. I will wake up around 5:30 everyday to eat breakfast, going back to sleep until at least 8 (I hope!). I will continue throughout the entire day without eating, but I will be drinking water. My abstention from drinking will include juices, sodas and alcohol. Frankly, if I didn’t drink water for one hot Malian day, I would not be well. At the break fast, I will let Malian’s enjoy their cold drinks and fried foods, and I will enjoy whatever fruit is seasonally available. Dinner will definitely be something for me to look forward to every night (recipes during this month are warmly accepted and greatly appreciated!).

As the most spiritually beneficial month of the year, I’m really going to take this opportunity to become more introspective and spiritual. Whether that means taking 10 minutes a day to meditate and reflect on my day or to actually start practicing Yoga, I don’t know yet. But, I need to figure it out, soon!

It’s going to be a tough month, but I think it will be really beneficial to my overall psyche. Updates along the way are certain and a personal thoughts post at the end of the month (after the fete!) is certain also.

Wish me luck!

P.S. I’ve also started a small experiment. It’s obvious that there will be some connection between not eating and losing some inches. So, I’ve already taken my measurements and will continue to do so each week throughout the month to see what the correlation is. Results forthcoming!

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

When the Laughing Cow met Ramadan

Sounds like it could start off as a really funny joke, doesn’t it? Well, it’s not a funny joke – it’s my life.

Around the world there is something called “The Laughing Cow” cheese – here it’s called La Vache Qui Rit (obviously, translated into French). Well, how many of you know my addiction to cheese? Yes, raise your hand now. I mean, if you’re not privy to such info, think of me every time you look at a block of Colby-Jack or Pepperjack. Never pass by the bag of already shredded Mexican 4-Cheese Blend without wanting to put it on a tortilla, microwave it for 20 seconds and then dip it in salsa. But, I digress.

So, La Vache Qui Rit. Did he really laugh? I laughed the first time I saw this cheese and I thought, “Wow, how gross is this?” Cheese that can sit on a shelf for 2 years without going bad – are Twinkies in the recipe? I even tried it once…plain. Just popped it right in my mouth and chewed. Possibly the worst mistake for a cheese addict. If you’re looking for a way to get over cheese, pop a triangle of Vache and you’ll never want dairy again. Needless to say, I swore it off, promising myself that every trip to Bamako would be full of dairy and I could survive like that.

Then September 9, 2007 rolled around – a day that will live in infamy. Someone left some Vache at the bureau in the refrigerator and I had some extra bread. So, I decided, you know what, I’ll try it again. Well, 28 hours and 20 triangles of Vache later (yeah, I slept for about 8 hours), I’ve converted to the love that is highly processed cheese.

Well, this new love couldn’t possibly come at a worse time. Starting on Thursday is the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. A month where fasting is the norm and strictly followed. I thought this meant just no food, but it literally means not swallowing anything (even saliva) between sunrise and sunset. So, what does this have to do with Vache? Well, this year I’ve decided to fast. Of course, like most things, I’m making a modified version of my fast and my teammate Beth accurately coined the term “The Toubab Fast.” Basically, I’m still going to continue to hydrate myself all day because if I don’t, I will most likely die from dehydration (I’m not joking) and no one wants that to happen. It’s in all of our best interests, really. Clearly there will be more to come regarding my month long fast.

So, for now, Vache will stop laughing. Maybe he will cry for me because I can’t enjoy him during the sunlight or maybe he will dance around in joy that I can’t consume every package of processed cheese in the cities of Sevare and Mopti. Who knows. But we can all rest assured that Vache and I will be having daily meetings, most likely at the break fast meal at sunset. How romantic!