Microsoft sees blogging as major web medium

Microsoft has recognised blogging as major medium for web-based communications, says the Lead for Public Relations and Communications at Microsoft Anglophone West Africa, Mrs. Ngozi Ife Anene, reports CHARLES OKOH.

Speaking at the quarterly interactive social media forum, Blogger’s brunch hosted by her company in Lagos, she said the forum is specifically tailored and designed for Nigerian Bloggers, IT savvy social media enthusiasts and Microsoft, to share concepts, tools and experiences on blogging in Nigeria.

She also said social media has become increasingly popular with the growth of social networking as a channel of communications which includes blog posts, sharing of videos, pictures and information, adding that this has been evident by the rapid growth and global popularity of social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and video sharing sites such as YouTube.

“Microsoft recognizes blogging as a major medium for web-based communications and this is one way of bringing the major players together. At our last forum, we had bloggers tweeting and their followers asking questions during the event which were responded to in real time. A practical example of how we use web-based technologies to turn communications into interactive dialogues,” she said.

The highpoints of the Blogger’s brunch were the presentations on Microsoft Windows 7 and the recently released Internet Explorer 9 by Wale Olokodana, Technical Account Manager Microsoft Anglophone West Africa.

“Internet Explorer 9 is designed to be the most trusted browser because it has a robust set of built-in security, privacy, and reliability technologies that keep users safer online”, Olokodana said.

He stated that Internet Explorer 9 takes advantage of the power of modern PC hardware to improve all-around Web browsing performance. It integrates with Windows 7 to deliver a clean visual experience and an increased viewing area, allowing sites to shine, adding that the browser controls are reduced and presented in a way that allows users to see their web content first and foremost.

Microsoft Developer Consultant, Shina Oyedina and Technology Lead, Microsoft Anglophone West Africa, Dele Akinsade, gave detailed presentations on developer tools and showcased Windows 7 phone which will soon be available in the Nigerian market.

Their presentation featured Yalla Apps, a new Windows Phone application which enables developers, especially in the Africa and the Middle East, submit applications.

A notable blogger and Executive Director, Paradigm Initiative Nigeria, Mr. Gbenga Sesan described the forum as exciting.

“New technologies from Microsoft give blogging a new perspective and I am so pleased to be part of this initiative. There are so many great features and applications to work with,” he said.

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