My Dad Has Ditched the Nation

The means of communication and dissemination of news has changed drastically in the last two years. Most people are using the new media to get daily news they used to get from news papers, radio, and television. I didn’t appreciate this fact until recently.

As far as I can recall, my dad, being in the generation that valued carrying a news paper –it was a sign of class- has been buying the nation news paper. I mean, he has been buying nation news paper since he was employed right after independence. My father prefers the Daily Nation, which he claims to have leveled headed news and political views. Every day as he came home, he would have a copy of the daily news paper that he would read from front page to the last page. But I was shocked recently when he came home without one.

My father came home without the news paper! Well, at first I thought maybe he left it in the office. But when he came home the second day without it, I had to ask. And this is where I knew, my father has ditched the Nation. He talked of internet connection in the office as the management tried to boost the way they do business.

He had learnt to use the Google or gologolo as he would call it. He also gave me his email address and he thought it was the opportune time we closed our private mail box at the post office, which I fervently opposed. As we engaged in politics and other national issues (his favorite subjects), I discovered he had been to wikileaks and other site where he got a lot of information.

After talking and watching him as he excitedly talked about his sources of information, I realized that companies that are still deluded about the impact of the internet access in Kenya are really going to have it rough in coming years. Advertising in the news papers, TV, and radio will no longer be worth the money they are paying. The internet is the new media where people have to learn how to advertise and do business. Having a website is not enough; your online presence is required for your business to reap the benefits on the internet.