Comments on: iYam.mobi – Africa’s Mobile Directory

By: Francis Oghuma

Francis Oghuma — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 06:52:53 +0000

great product and review!
congrats!

By: LeWebMulticulturel » iYam.mobi : Un produit à découvrir

LeWebMulticulturel » iYam.mobi : Un produit à découvrir — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 10:05:55 +0000

[...] techno afro du moment. C’est simple tout le monde en parle en France (1), au Cameroun (1, 2, 3), en passant par l’Afrique du Sud (1). Et à [...]

By: iYam.mobi - Africa’s Mobile Directory « Africantech’s Blog

iYam.mobi - Africa’s Mobile Directory « Africantech’s Blog — Thu, 07 May 2009 07:30:06 +0000

[...] This was the question posed by Fritz Ekwoge, the enterprising coder behind Kerawa.com (interviewed o… [...]

By: BamendaBabe

BamendaBabe — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 18:10:11 +0000

@Fee
Thanks so much for your response! It put much of my fear to rest. Ah, yes, the non-tech here is rejoicing.

By: Fee

Fee — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 09:49:18 +0000

@BamendaBabe
I believe iYam.mobi will greatly impact African businesses. With a faster and easier means to reach businesses, more transactions are done.

Also, iYam.mobi will easily give you contacts of people/businesses you are interested in. The face-to-face part is dependent on both parties involved.

I also, like you BamendaBabe, prefer face-to-face interactions. That is why I created Kerawa.com, and not a pure online e-commerce site.

I designed iYam.mobi taking into consideration how our African society works. iYam.mobi does not get in the way of crucial face-to-face interactions. So non-techies can rejoice

By: BamendaBabe

BamendaBabe — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 20:55:54 +0000

@Fee and @Churchill
What are your thoughts on the impact of iYam.mobi & will the directory affect crucial face-to-face interactions between Cameroonians?

@Billz
I really enjoy your writing too much, oh! I liked how you highlighted the importance of personal interactions with people in Cameroon. You do this so very eloquently: “Currently, finding a product or service in Cameroon depends on local knowledge, referrals from friends, luck or some combination thereof. For example, searching for a specific laptop model in Douala may involve an exchange of phone calls and text messages with a half dozen well-informed friends.”

In my opinion, nothing can (should) replace this kind of interaction. But I know a directory is useful. I’d probably use it myself, if I had a cell phone and if I had time pressures to find certain products or people, in addition to financial constraints. Thus, I do understand that a mobile directory is efficient and affordable. Still, a directory cannot provide all the insights and advice that friends/contacts could, especially friends familiar with things on the ground.

I am no techie, but I do feel that tech projects and innovations can sometimes be in conflict with a formidable force in Africa. And it is the formidable force of personal relationships and tangible (real life) social interactions, the bonds that make Africa strong despite its many troubles. This force it what makes cell phones popular in Africa, it is all about people and the relationships they wish to sustain. Right? So maybe cell phones are a tech innovation that doesn’t conflict with the varied African social worlds. What do you think? I haven’t been in Africa for quite a while, so I could be wrong.

By: Fee

Fee — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 18:49:45 +0000

Thanks Bill,
The Small Software essay was truly an inspiration in the building of iYam.

Concerning, the lack of pagination in the SMS results, it is actually a feature, not a bug. Might change if lots of people see it useful.

By: mambe nanje churchill

mambe nanje churchill — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 16:21:20 +0000

Bill this is wonderfull and while I had a difficult time testing iyam I think its great and I got some issues which I already addressed to FEE about the service.

By: iYam.mobi - the Mobile Mobile Phone Directory | White African

iYam.mobi - the Mobile Mobile Phone Directory | White African — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 23:01:36 +0000

[...] week he got in touch with me about a new service he created called iYam.mobi, which is in alpha. (Bill Zimmerman is also covering this, as he was part of the testing for the [...]