Harry You raise pertinent issues. What you allude to is known as Runaway Capitalism <https://hbr.org/2012/01/runaway-capitalism> - As in the pursuit of Return on Equity as a measure of Value Creation above all else. Things are changing however. We are now seeing Major Corporates and Governments worldwide stepping back and tampering this destructive form of Capitalism. Governments are starting to measure their citizens Gross National Happiness <http://www.grossnationalhappiness.com/articles/> ( a term coined by the King of Bhutan in the early '70s) and Corporates are embracing 'Doing Well by Doing Good' <http://www.mckinsey.com/industries/social-sector/our-insights/doing-well-by-doing-good-a-leaders-guide> Ethos. Ultimately this world will be better off by embracing this new thinking. Ultimately those who don't will be dealt with by the customer because customers are now demanding not only better services and experiences but that companies also be responsible corporate citizens. *Ali Hussein* *Principal* *Hussein & Associates* Tel: +254 713 601113 Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim> 13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing, Chiromo Road, Westlands, Nairobi, Kenya. Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the organizations that I work with. On Wed, Jan 4, 2017 at 5:50 PM, Harry Delano via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:

Quite insightful indeed. Borrowing from your experience, it's evidently a truism that we have lived with ever since we got inducted into the capitalist world, that it's got a savagery side to it‎. The biggest financial muscle always would have it's way and literally crush anything in its path. That's "Darwinism". Capitalism can be Savage and ruthless, for instance to those hapless old taxi drivers, whose only mistake was to find themselves on the wrong side of technology. Until then they were earning a decent honest living doing what they do best. "Disruptists" have an uncanny way of capturing the imagination of their audience, take the example of the US President Elect who has a penchant to govern and communicate on Twitter, and he's making serious strides, all this while because everyone is tuned in. Well that was just an aside . But it brings me to the second, most important part of the equation of ruthless capitalism. The "audience " aka "consumer" who actually feeds the "beast" till it threatens to grow into an uncontrolled monster. There's a decent chance it could come back to bite the hand that fed it., will it..?

Meanwhile, while uptake of all good tech out here is good on the basis of willing-buyer willing‎-seller, on the other hand the economics don't work in our favour. Take the example of a local corporate that exports abt $170,000 p.a, just to consume external cloud email and ancillary services.

Do we have local alternatives..? Yes, pretty much we do..

Harry

*From: *James Kagwe *Sent: *Wednesday, January 4, 2017 17:12 *To: *KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions *Cc: *Harry Delano *Subject: *Re: [kictanet] Zuckerberg appears to admit Facebook is a media company

The reason why companies are conducting business that traverses many classical sectors /industries is advent of new technology and technological innovations. Disruptive technologies are affecting the big and the small industries. Constraining some of these companies would be killing innovations. After being away from Nairobi city for some time and upon visiting recently I noticed that almost all the yellow line cabs are gone. Some of the old men that used to operate these cabs cannot even operate a smart phone or the taxi apps.The few that are remaining do not seem to be getting any business. The yellow cabs at JKIA and Mombasa airport are also basically out of business as a result of sticking to old ways of doing business. The classical method of categorizing businesses will increasingly become redundant. Another bitter reality is that old methods of regulating different sectors cannot work anymore. The distinction between companies in different sectors is also becoming dimmer. If you come close home what sector would you consider Safaricom to be? Telecom?, Financials?, Transport /logistics?...The list is endless. Some of the regulatory bodies will undergo major metamorphosis or disappear altogether after being rendered irrevant.

Regards, James

On Jan 4, 2017 4:35 PM, "Harry Delano via kictanet" < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:

Ali,

Agreed, yes.. it's a whole new disruptive technological age we live in. And yes, taking up key competences that span across 5/10 disciplines could suffice‎. But when you spread yourself too thin wearing up to as many as 20 different 'hats' all at ago, you become " a jack of all trades, but a master of only a few".. unfortunately what has become the new norm in the true capitalist fashion is the ferocious appetite backed by huge financial muscle to eat off into the smaller upcoming innovators' cake or gobble them up to edge them out of the way or stem off potential competition.. rings a bell..? Scary part is some upcoming technologies are bought off by big players just to literally "kill" or stifle them off.. So there's the good and there's the utter bad, either angle you look at it.. hence we need a strong muscled regulator..

Harry *From: *Ali Hussein *Sent: *Wednesday, January 4, 2017 13:02 *To: *Harry Delano *Cc: *Ali Hussein via kictanet *Subject: *Re: [kictanet] Zuckerberg appears to admit Facebook is a media company

Harry

That's the beast we must tame. The pigeon holing oneself to an industry and missing huge opportunities. There's a new meaning of *Focus* in today's hyper changing world.

*Ali Hussein* *Principal* *Hussein & Associates* +254 0713 601113

Twitter: @AliHKassim

Skype: abu-jomo

LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim

"Discovery consists in seeing what everyone else has seen and thinking what no one else has thought". ~ Albert Szent-Györgyi

Sent from my iPad

On 4 Jan 2017, at 12:06 PM, Harry Delano <harry26001@gmail.com> wrote:

Ali,

They'd best pass off as a "jack of all trades"..aka "identity crisis"..

Little surprise none of the ceo's can with pin point accuracy define or place themselves exactly where they belong ..

Harry

*From: *Ali Hussein via kictanet *Sent: *Wednesday, January 4, 2017 11:27 *To: *Harry Delano *Reply To: *KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions *Cc: *Ali Hussein *Subject: *Re: [kictanet] Zuckerberg appears to admit Facebook is a media company

If it walks like a duck, sounds like a duck and swims like a duck... :-)

In today's complicated world however, where whole industries have been disrupted its more difficult to pigeon hole a company into an industry.. The loose definition is usually taken from the business model of companies - Say if more than 50% of your revenue comes from advertising space on your platform then you are a media company; from Software and Hardware then you are an IT/Technology Company; from voice calls/data a telco company etc.

This however is the traditional definition hence why I'd agree with Zuckerberg in his assertions that whilst Facebook is a media company it's simply not a traditional media company.

So if we look at the local context I'd like to pose some questions:-

1. Which industry is Safaricom in? Media? Telecommunications? Banking? Entertainment?

2. How about Equity Bank? Telco, Banking?

3. Wananchi? Media? Telecommunications? Content disruption?

*Ali Hussein* *Principal* *Hussein & Associates* +254 0713 601113

Twitter: @AliHKassim

Skype: abu-jomo

LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim

"Discovery consists in seeing what everyone else has seen and thinking what no one else has thought". ~ Albert Szent-Györgyi

Sent from my iPad

On 4 Jan 2017, at 10:15 AM, Mildred Achoch via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:

Happy new year everyone,

This may be of interest:

"Facebook’s chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, appears to have finally conceded that the social network is a media company, just not a “traditional media company”."

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/dec/22/mark-zuck erberg-appears-to-finally-admit-facebook-is-a-media-company

Regards, Mildred Achoch.

Check out the Rock 'n' roll film festival, Kenya TV Channel! http://kenyarockfilmfestivaljournal.blogspot.com

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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.

KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.