More by user: B4nafter

Created: 10th Dec 2008
Modified: 5th Feb 2009

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I write two main blogs: White African is my personal blog where I write about high-tech mobile and web technology change in Africa. AfriGadget is a team blog I started a couple years ago, where we talk about low-tech ingenuity and microentrepreneurs in Africa.

On WhiteAfrican.com, I like to write about technology and give my thoughts on how it is impacting, and can change, Africa. I wrote a paper on mobile connectivity in Africa, that I still think someone should do something about. Overall, this blog is a place where I throw ideas out and hope that they will influence others in some small way. The African blogging community has been very welcoming and I’ve been particularly grateful for the Kenyan Bloggers Webring (KBW), which has a fantastic group of bloggers in it.Interesting Factoids:

• Most commented post: Schools Rugby in Kenya (yes, I went to Rift Valley Academy)
• My favorite post: The Dark Continent: It’s Still Dark
• Visited by people from 1200 different cities per month
• More visitors from Nairobi than anywhere else
• Approximately 44% use Firefox to browse (you make me proud)
• The most searched for terms that people find me by are “White African” and “The Dark Continent”. Go figure…

I’m a web technology professional - my specialties are in:

• Web Strategy - This is where I figure out what the long-term goals are and how to get there. Usually I wear my consulting hat for this under my company Zungu. Recently I put Zungu on the sideline as I turned to focus on Ushahidi full-time. It’s a platform, originally started in Kenya during the post-election fallout in Jan. 2008, to gather information from the public via mobile phones and the web - especially useful during crisis situations.
• Web Application Development - This is where I work with incredibly talented programmers and/or designers to create a website that “does something”.
  Ushahidi - crowdsourcing crisis information
  eppraisal.com - Free real estate valuations in the US

Contrary to popular belief, I am not from South Africa. My name is Erik Hersman and grew up in Kenya and Sudan. I’m one of those guys who’s much more “at home” in Africa, though I currently reside in the US. I’m happily married and have 3 beautiful little girls that keep me on my toes (I’m already buying a shotgun to hang above my mantle as a warning to all the little boys out there).

Hash
I’ve been writing under the pseudonym “hash” for over a while now, and have no plans of changing that. I originally wrote under that name because I didn’t want people to know who I was. Then I came to the realization that I don’t really care if people know who I am, but have continued it anyway. Yes, it makes no sense.

Things I like:
web strategy, technology development in africa, application development, rugby, nba basketball, FSU, kenya, RVA, sudan, family, camping, soccer, referee, blogging, reading, strategy, philosophy, faith, friends, ethiopian food, travel