You can now submit entries for the 2016 Etisalat Prize for Innovation

“Innovation is in our DNA” and with those words, Matthew Willsher, Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria’s most innovative telecommunications company, Etisalat announced call for entries for the 2016 Etisalat Prize for Innovation. According to him, the Prize is not only a reflection of the character of Etisalat in promoting and nurturing talent, but also a proof of the brand’s commitment to supporting innovative ideas.

Etisalat Prize for Innovation is awarded in two categories: Most Innovative Product/Service category which is worth ₦5,000,000 and Most Innovative Idea category worth ₦2,000,000. Both winners and the top 10 finalists will receive training at the Enterprise Development Centre of the Pan Atlantic University, Lagos.

Supporting and promoting innovation is something that comes naturally to Etisalat. Since inception, its core business strategy has been based on innovation and this can be seen in all the products and services launched on its network.

As the Nigerian telecoms market witnesses the increasing migration of smartphones and mobile broadband networks, the 2016 edition of the Etisalat Prize for Innovation aims to extend the conversation on the revolutionary impact of innovation and technology as it addresses social challenges in the country.

To submit entries, visit prizeforinnovation.etisalat.com.ng. Entry closes after September 9. 2016 and winners will be announced in November 2016.

Google Duo Finally Available For Download On Google Play Store

Google announced the launch of a video call app at the Google IO 2016 named Google Duo. This app is now available for download and I am already using it. Google Duo is another way Google answers to Apple's Facetime. This app makes face-to-face call with android smartphones and can also make video calls from android to iPhones too as this app is available to iPhone users.

Duo's unique feature is Knock Knock, which gives you a preview of who is calling by firing up the camera on the other end of the line. If you're initiating the call, you'll see a little notice that says your video is visible, which means the other person can see what you're doing right at that moment in real time. Android users can see Knock Knock regardless of whether Duo is opened or not (like on the lock screen). On the iPhone though, you'll only see it if you're in the app. Otherwise, you'll just get a little notification saying someone's calling you. Google's rationale for this is that Knock Knock already gets you smiling before the call starts. Of course, that's assuming you actually like/want to speak to the other person who is on the other line.

You can go and download this app now on play store for android users. Click here to download.

Setting Up Your Google Duo App

After downloading setting up your Google Duo is very easy.

=> Launch the app and click on I AGREE

=> You will be asked to input your mobile number and a verification code will be sent to you.

Wooohooo! After performing the above steps you are ready to use Google Duo. I hope you enjoy this app. Don't leave your feedback in the comment box if you are already using this app.

Adsterra - Another Google Adsense Alternative

Bloggers and webmasters are always looking for new ways to monetize their blogs. Display advertising is one of the most effective ways to make money from your blog if you are getting quality traffic. An example is Google Adsense which is one of the highest paying means of monetization used by bloggers these days but getting your Google adsense application approved seems to be a high hurdle to cross for some bloggers so they seek for other alternatives. I will be sharing with you in this post another Google adsense alternative "Adsterra".

Adsterra Network is a display advertising network that serves optimized ads across their network to their publisher. With their advanced technology, Adsterra can show ads that relates best with with their audience based on their geographic locations and previous advertising results. Adsterra offers publishers a wide range of ad formats ranging from pushups, pop-unders, banners and mobile ads.

Adsterra is partnered with GeoEdge a premium verification software for insuring ad security and ensure ads are served at all time. Adsterra pay on a CPM and CPC basis. To start making money with Adsterra  you will need to start serving their ads on your site. This is very simple all you need do is follow the steps given below.

Steps:

1. Sign up for for a publishers account on Adsterra's Website

2. Create an ad unit

3. Place the Ad code on your blog and start serving ads.

So if you don't have a means of monetizing your website or blog or got disapproved by google adsense, you can give Adsterra a try and start earning more on your website.

Create A Custom Email For Free Now With Zoho Mail

For a while now, Google has stopped its free Google apps for work service that allows users register free custom email with their domain name and required you to subscribe to their Business edition starting at $5 per month per user. Even Microsoft put a stop on their free service and started charging for custom email addresses with your own domain name. But the good thing is, Google Apps and Microsoft Outlook are not the only ones that offer such services.

Zoho is one of the best and leading service which provides free email hosting with top-notch service and reliability. Zoho offers you a custom Email hosting service for free for one domain with ten user accounts. So, if you are looking for a free and professional email hosting with reliable service and support, then Zoho would be a good choice as it comes with all the bells and whistles you will ever need.

To create a custom email for your domain name with zoho mail simply follow the steps given below.

1. Go to Zohomail.com

2. Click on Pricing, this will take you to their pricing page then pick a particular package (You can use the free package which allows you use one domain with 10 users account.)

3. Then click sign up

4. This will initiate a domain set up process. Enter your domain name and click add domain.

5. Now fill in your details like Name, contact email address etc

6. After completing sign up process you will need to verify domain ownership. Zoho will provide you instructions on how to do this depending on your domain registrar.

After verifying your domain  you have to configure the email delivery. To do that follow the steps given below.

1. Log in to your domain registrars website.

2. Launch the 'DNS Manager'/ 'Domain Management Page'/ 'DNS Control Panel' for your account, which lists all the domains you have registered.

3. Locate the option which specifies 'MX Records'/ 'Email Servers'/ 'Email Settings' (Consult the help pages of your provider or get support from the registrar).

4. If you have any existing entries, remove those entries.

5. Locate the option to add new record and select that then enter the records as shown in the image below.

6. Select 'Save Zone File' or 'Save' or 'Add Records' to save the changes.

After completing the above steps you must have successfully created and set up a custom email with Zoho mail to work for you.

USSD Code To Check Your Mobile Number For All Networks

Checking your phone number isn’t an issue for some people, but for some of us who probably have more than 1 mobile number remembering them can be one big issue. I have fallen in situations where I will be required to provide my phone number for one or two reasons but i am not able to remember it.

In this post, i will be teaching with you how to check your mobile number on all networks in Nigeria by dialing a simple USSD code.

How To Check Your Mobile Number

1. For Airtel Nigeria

To check and know your mobile phone number on Airtel, dial *121#

Follow the onscreen instruction, Select 1, and send for My Account option.

On the next screen that comes up, select 1 and send as My Number option.

Your phone number will be displayed to you on the screen. You can write it out and save somewhere.

2. For MTN Nigeria

Dial *123# and follow onscreen process that follows. Respond with option 1, then send to select My tools option. Then select option 5 in My Tools to request My Number. This will display your phone number on the screen.

3. For GLO

Dial *135*8# and your number displays on your screen or dial 1244 to listen it.

4. For Etisalat

Simply dial *248# and your number will be displayed.

The codes above will help you successfully check your mobile number and save you from some embarrassing situations where you forget your number.

Negative Effects Of Using Microsoft Word To Compose Blog Posts

Recently, i had problems with my blog. I noticed i had just one post appearing on my blog's homepage when i had set it to show 10 posts on my homepage. I went back to my blog layout settings and checked it but it was still set to 10 posts. I noticed this problem after publishing a post i had composed with microsoft word. Now the question is what could the problem be?

You might also like: The New Jumia Market Affiliate Program Pays You N300 Per Affiliate You Refer.

Microsoft word generates some very mysterious and complex HTML "MsoNormal". This HTML affects the blogs pagination. This is why you notice some big blogs with lots of articles suffer from segmentation. This mysterious HTML could also cause the blog to load slowly both in blogspot and wordpress blogs.

So if you have have been copy-pasting from ms word to your blog i will advice you stop using it. Notepad is a preferable text editor which you can use to compose your blog posts and paste it to your blog. But still if you like using microsoft word you can use (CTRL+Shift+V) to paste content to your blog without the "MsoNormal" formatting.

The New Jumia Market Affiliate Program Pays You Per Affiliate You Refer

Today i present to you the new and hottest way to earn money online, Jumia market affiliate program!!!!

This affiliate program allows you to refer buyers to buy products or services after which you get a percentage off the price of that product or service. Explaining further, you as the person referring become the 'affiliate' while the percentage got off the price of the goods and services becomes your 'commission' for bringing in the buyer. If you are wondering which affiliate program to use in Nigeria, Jumia Market Affiliate Program is one of the best options at the moment.

What is amazing about this affiliate program?
=> This new affiliate program will pay you ₦500 when you sign up
=> Pay you ₦300 per affiliate you refer
=> Pay you flat commission for each sale through your link

How To Join Jumia Market Affiliate Program
To join Jumia market affiliate program and become an affiliate partner all you need to do is go to Jumia market affiliate website and sign up. Click Here to Sign up.

Whether you are new into the game, or you are already making money from it, here are some tips to help you can maximize your profits from your Jumia Market affiliate account: Be of Help:
1. Use Banners
2. Do Reviews
3. Use Deep Links Carefully
4. Use Word of Mouth
5. Shorten and Customize Your Links

So why not hurry and Join Now!

How To Redirect 1and1 Domain To Blogger Blog

Of recent i have been receiving emails and request from blogger and webmasters on how they can park their 1and1 domain to their blogger blogs. Although i wouldn't recommend 1and1 to my clients or other bloggers because of the reviews i have about them but you can decide what is best for you. If you have bought a domain from 1and1 and don't know how to park it to your blog then this post is for you.

Steps: 
1. Login to Blogger, go to Settings > Publishing > Blog Address. Click on Add a Custom Domain Name.

2. Add Custom Domain Name, add in your new domain name www.your-domain.com and click save.

3. You should now get an error message. This error shows you the details you need to properly set up your new domain so keep this page open for the next step. The first CNAME is the same for everyone. The second is a specific CNAME for your blog.

4. Login to your 1and1 control panel, scroll down until you see the heading “Domains” and click Domain Centre.

5. Click the checkbox beside your domain and select Domain Settings > Edit DNS Settings.

6. Under Basic DNS Settings choose 1&1 name servers, under Advanced DNS Settings choose Other IP address and in the space for IPv4 Address enter 216.239.32.21 and save.

7. Go back to Domain Overview Dashboard, click Add Domain > Create Subdomain. Enter the first Name/Host/Label field from Blogger, which is www

8. Click on the subdomain and click DNS Settings. Under Advanced DNS Settings choose CNAME and enter the first Destination/Target/Points To from Blogger, which is ghs.google.com

9. Go back to Domain Overview Dashboard, click Add Domain > Create Subdomain. Enter the second Name/Host/Label field from Blogger, which is unique to you and will look like 00AA0AAAAA

10. Click on the subdomain and click DNS Settings. Under Advanced DNS Settings choose CNAME and enter the second Destination/Target/Points To from Blogger, which is unique to you and will look like gv-a0aaaa0aaaaaa.dv.googlehosted.com

11. On your domain settings for your custom domain you should now see the URL you bought and two subdomains.

12. Go back onto Blogger > Settings > Publishing > Blog Address and enter your domain name and hit save. This time there shouldn’t be an error. Make sure to tick the option of redirecting from domain-name.com to www.your-domain.com.

After performing the above steps you should have successfully parked your 1and1 domain to your blog.

How To Create An e-Commerce Section On Your Blogger Blog

It is no doubt that the major problem faced by bloggers using blogspot platform is the inability for them to perform most of the actions people on wordpress can perform with the use of plugins. If you are going to even perform some of such actions on blogspot you need implement some codes. I recently installed an e-commerce section on my blogger blog and my customers get to pay directly into my paypal account. In this tutorial, i will be teaching you how to install an e-commerce section to your blogspot blog. and get payments directly to your paypal account.

Requirements: Paypal account & Email account

Steps:

=> Go to Powr.io and sign up

=> After signing up your dashboard should look exactly like the above image. This is where you will be managing your products from.

=> Click on Create New

=> A pop up box should appear with many options, choose e-commerce.

=> Now edit your shop by adding your products.

=> When adding your products you would be told to input your paypal email so you an directly receive payments to your paypal account.

=> After adding your products you are now to integrate it into your blog. Don't worry this is very easy.

=> You will be provided with an html code after creating your shop. It is this html code you will be adding to your blog.

=> Go to your blogger blog and create a new page. You can name it "Shop" or pick any other suitable name.

=> Now navigate away from the compose part and pick html and paste the html code you were provided with after creating your shop then click publish and you are good to go.

After performing the above steps you must have successfully integrated an e-commerce section to your blog. You can also add the html code to you sidebar using the html/javascript gadget option.

I hope this tutorial helps you successfully integrate a shop to your blogspot blog. Don't forget to share your feedback using the comment section. Also share this tutorial with your friends because sharing is caring.

How To Use IFTTT To Auto Post Your Blog Post To Your Social Media Account

IFTTT is a tool that allows you create simple if this then that actions by creating a recipe. All you need to do is create a recipe then think of an action you want to perform, trigger it and your action is automatically performed. With IFTTT you can set your blog posts to automatically be posted to all your social media account once you publish a new update. I have been using IFTTT for 2 years now and this tool is amazing and beyond expectation.

How To Use IFTTT To Auto Post To Your Social Media Account

1. Sign in to your IFTTT account if you dont have one you can create one HERE

2. After successfully signing in click on create recepie

3. Click on "this"

4. Choose a trigger. This is where you pick the blog you want to post from if its a blogger blog or a wordpress blog.

5. After choosing a trigger then you have to create the trigger. Click on create trigger

6. Click on "that" then choose where you want to auto post to. Either to Facebook, Twitter, etc.

7. Add Ingredients to you recipe. This option allows you to edit how you want the posts you are sharing to appear. You can add post title, post url, post image & other available ingredients which you choose to add.

8. Click on Create action.

Now you have successfully set IFTTT to auto post for you.

Note: To chose to auto post to another social media account you will have to create another recipe.

Don't forget to give us a feedback through your comments and also share this tutorial with your friends.

How To Set up a Shop Section On Your Facebook Page

Facebook now allows its users to create an e-commmerce store on their Facebook page. If you follow up with brand like Jumia on Facebook you will notice they have a shop section on their Facebook page.

Jumia Facebook Page

The good news about Facebook shop is that it is available to all Facebook page owners. If you would like to take your products online then Facebook shop is not a bad idea.

How To Get Started With Facebook Page Shop

1: Go to Your Facebook page if you dont have one then you can create one

2: Click the Add Shop Section Link On Your Facebook Page

Clicking the Add Shop Section link brings up a prompt explaining what this section will allow you to do. Click the Add Shop Section button to continue.

3: Choose The Currency You Use

This option allows you pick the currency that will be shown when you add price to items in your shop.

4: Add Products To Your Shop

Now you’re good to go. Your Facebook page shop has been setup. You can now add products to your shop. To do this, click the Add Products button.

Note:

• You must have one image for each product.
• The image must be a real image of the product, not a graphical representation, illustration, or icon of the product.
• The description should pertain to the product only and be easily digestible, making use of short sentences and bullet points.
• The description cannot contain HTML, phone numbers, email addresses, long titles, excessive punctuation, all letters capitalized or in lowercase, book or movie spoilers, or external links.

This feature is another exciting way that Facebook will help grow your businesses. You can try it out today and don't forget to give your feedback.

Infinix Hot S: Full Specs, Price and Review!

The Infinix Hot S X521 is an awesome smartphone from Infinix. This is the first smartphone from infinix to feature a fingerprint sensor as well as Android 6.0 Marshmallow out of the box. The Infinix Hot S seems to oppose the Infinix philosophy of ‘bigger is better’ as the phone with its 5.2-inch display is the most compact phone the company has built for a while.

Desigm & Display:
Infinix Hot S is the most compact phone from Infinix since the launch of the Hot 2 almost a year ago.

Infinix Hot S features a 5.2-inch display with 1080 x 1920 pixels resolution.

Infinix Hot S looks premium with curves on the edges, metal frame, and is available in rose gold, gold, black, silver, and blue.

The Cameras:

This device features 13 megapixels camera on the back with dual LED flash and on the front is an 8 megapixels wide-angle camera with a soft LED flash which is a good one for selfie lovers.

Hardware & Software:
The Infinix Hot S is powered by a 64-bit Kirin 650 SoC, where the processor offers 8-cores and will clock at up to 1.5GHz. This device comes in two variants, one offering a 16GB storage and 2GB of RAM and the other with 32GB storage and 3GB of RAM.

It’s good news that any of the two variant has an extendable storage up to 128GB using a microSD card. The Infinix Hot S runs on Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) out of the box.


The Infinix X521 also known as the Infinix Hot S features a fingerprint sensor at the back, just below the camera. This enables you unlock your phone or setup some actions. It’s necessary we know what the battery capacity of the Infinix Hot S looks like. This devices comes with a 3000 mAh battery and is expected to offer 4G LTE.

Pricing & Availability:
Infinix Hot S is now available in Nigeria. You can buy the smartphone at online stores Nigeria. Infinix Hot S Price in Nigeria is sold at 45,500 Naira on Jumia Online Store.

Infinix Hot S Specs:
Here are the specs of the Infinix Hot S X521:

General Features
Platform: Android 6 (Marshmallow)
Processor: 64-bit, 1.5GHz octa-core Processor (MediaTek MTK6753)
GPU: –
Memory: 2GB RAM or 3GB RAM
Colours: Rose gold, Gold, Black, Silver, Blue
Dimension: –
Weight: –
SIM Type: Micro SIM
SIM Count: Dual-SIM, Dual Standby

Display Features:
Display Size: 5.2 inches, 1280 x 720 pixels (424 PPI), IPS display
Display Features: 720 x 1280 pixels, 267 pixels per inch (PPI), IPS Capacitive Touchscreen with upto 16 million colours.

CAMERA
Primary Camera: 13-megapixel autofocus camera with dual LED flash
Secondary Camera: 8-megapixel camera with Flash light
Other Cam Features: Autofocus, HDR, Panorama

MEMORY DETAILS
Internal Memory: 16 GB / 32 GB
Card Slot: Yes, MicroSD upto 128GB

OTHER DEVICE DETAILS
Battery: 3,000 mAh
Data: 2G, 3G and 4G LTE Supported
SIM: Dual Micro SIM
WLAN: Yes, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, WIFI hotspot, Wi-Fi direct
Bluetooth: Yes, Version 4.0
USB: micro USB v2.0; OTG
Sensors: Fingerprint Scanner, Accelerometer, Proximity
Price Sold: 45,500Naira - Buy Now from Jumia

Reasons Why Your Blog And Google Adsense Pageviews May Differ

Recently, i got a question on Facebook from one of my blog readers complaining of the discrepancies between his blog pageviews and google adsense pageviews. If you are also experiencing same thing just relax as there is no cause for alarm.

This difference may be caused by some of the factors stated below.

1. Javascript Not Enabled On Your Visitors Browser:

Firs thing you need to know is Google ads are served using javascript codes and most browser don't have javascript enabled on them so anyone accessing your website on such browser will not have Google ads on your blog served to them so there is no how Google adsense will count it as a pageview for you although your blog will count it.

2. Use of Adblocker by Visitors:

Secondly, some of your visitors access your blog with adblockers enabled on their browser. The primary aim of adblocker is to disable ads not to show on a website when accessing it. So when a visitor visits your website with adblocker enabled on his browser your Google ads wont be displayed to such visitor and hence Google adsense won't credit it as a pageview.

3. Spam Visits:

Stats may also differ because adsense filter out many visit that it thinks they are spam.

There are also some other reasons while both stats will differ but this are the 3 major reasons. If you have other ideas you can share with us through your comments.