Hello guys, Haven't rested since I submitted my mobile apps for the MTN app developer competition. I've been working on Ask Africa, a social platform for questions and answers about Africa.

Details:

Link: https://gcdc2013-askafrica.appspot.com

Ask Africa is a social platform for discussing, asking and answering questions about Africa on your PC or mobile device.

It uses the google+ API to make access easy to anyone, anywhere. Simply click the sign in with google button and grant access to the app.

Once you sign in, you can ask, edit, share and answer questions in various categories relevant to the continent.

Additionally, you can add geo-tags to your questions as well as ask and answer questions anonymously.

Want some more? You can answer questions using images, google maps and youtube videos. Just type in the relevant link when answering the question, submit and see the magic happen.

Join Ask Africa today and share some knowledge!

Video:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTVBxAwlFwM

Technologies Used:

Appengine for PHP

Google+ sign in API

Youtube embed API

Google maps Embed API

love it! was actually thinking of something like this for naija (http://shaf2kstudios.com/sample/ask/) but i never spent enough time on it. would love to work with you on it if you are in need of another developer.

@shaf2k: The workload is definitely too much for one programmer (my back hurts so much right now not to talk of the mental fatigue due to lack of sleep). I'm looking to add programmers and ui designers to the founding team (funday Africa - some of our apps: http://funday.imgur.com) but it all depends on our apps winning in their respective competitions as it would provide both validity/relevance to the apps as well as funding for scaling and future projects.

lol i know the feeling. let me know you can check out some of my work here http://www.shaf2kstudios.com

Las Gidi Tunes looks awesome! Some thoughts - Maybe u should somehow center the player interface to create a player-centered ui or provide a banner that indicates that the mobile app is of a similar design with the player. The current app advertisement banner (to download on google play) is not inviting is it is and relies too much on users wanting a mobile app beforehand. Basically, showcase more of the experience they can expect from the mobile app. A pix can make some difference instead of just the google play icon.

But everything is probably the way they are due to certain considerations I may have missed. Would love to know more about the current UI thought process.

i felt the centered player had been overdone and wanted to create something different. there have been many iterations and i feel like the more it changes it may alienate people who are used to the ui as it is. but there is a somewhat centered version that i've toyed with at http://www.lasgiditunes.com/live.php which is somewhat based off music.twitter.com. But in general i get my ui inspirations from everywhere on the web.

cool ui, but I was talking about the player gadget somewhat maintaining its current look and feel which is akin to what you present on mobile, although on further consideration, it might require some serious changes which might even include use of some image sprites to create a seamless experience with the music icons if u choose to have them surround the gadget.

Are you planning on working on the automarket site in future? We're still researching a better business model for secondhand.com.ng and we'll be taking down the site and changing the design (ending alpha test phase). Haven't figured out what it'll be yet. I'll let the business model and focus dictate the changes we make when we get to it.

hey dude , i have something beta than thing .. i just need someone good in yaml , !! am sure we can win with my web app , it 100% i js need a yaml guy to work with !!!

@dwittyC0der: lolz. We'll let the judges decide on that. What problems are you having with your yaml?

seriously no Jokes !!! u tried sha but that thing doesnt fit any catera they want unless if them jes pass u sha or maybe u get the prize from airtel ...

gameaddict: @dwittyC0der: lolz. We'll let the judges decide on that. What problems are you having with your yaml?

Really? Explain how you arrived at your conclusion. I'd welcome a constructive criticism of the app/platform.

What is ur platform solving ?? .. Q& Answer ? how will that solve any problem bro ... am not saying u are doing bad stuff , but it doesnt solve any problem !!!

gameaddict: Really? Explain how you arrived at your conclusion. I'd welcome a constructive criticism of the app/platform.

Lovely.

First off, having a question means you require an answer to a problem. Creating a platform to enable people find answers to problems especially in Africa is irrelevant in your opinion? Unless you're willing to state that Africans have no questions especially in relation to problems arising from the socio-economic paradigm that exists here, I think we can safely move on to the next paragraph.

Where do you go to learn/gain knowledge about startups, African politics, real People, etc right now? twitter, news sites and forums right? You can't ask your own questions socially on news site. On most social media sites, you'll get short form answers and comment systems are limited. On forums, you might be lucky but what forum serves all of Africa right now? We're lucky that Nairaland has the userbase that it has but what about the rest of Africa?

Now with a dedicated site, the situation is different. There's a reason sites like Quora exist. Its always amazing to read well structured answers to well structured questions on an app dedicated to that. And Quora is awesome right now because you get to read answers from real entrepreneurs and business leaders. Imagine asking a question about a company and getting an answer from an insider. Does anything like that exist in Africa? Its not rhetorical. Answer.

More Questions. Is there a knowledge divide in Africa? Can Q and A platforms dedicated to Africa help to bridge this divide. YES.

And finally, Ask Africa is not only awesome for its focus on African questions. its even more awesome given that it creates opportunities for Africans from different countries to ask about and solve problems via awesome tools.

For example, a question is currently up on the site:

What industries will create the most opportunities around Africa in the nearest future?

Questions like this, when answered by nationals with different perspectives can help entrepreneurs chose relevant paths to success:

Add your view to the question and tell me how you feel: https://gcdc2013-askafrica.appspot.com/r/business/answers/12

Ok bro i hear u are u on pc ?? u fit help me with my yaml problem ? my web app is coded with codeigniter sha !! can u help ??

gameaddict: Lovely.

First off, having a question means you require an answer to a problem. Creating a platform to enable people find answers to problems especially in Africa is irrelevant in your opinion? Unless you're willing to state that Africans have no questions especially in relation to problems arising from the socio-economic paradigm that exists here, I think we can safely move on to the next paragraph.

Where do you go to learn/gain knowledge about startups, African politics, real People, etc right now? twitter, news sites and forums right? You can't ask your own questions socially on news site. On most social media sites, you'll get short form answers and comment systems are limited. On forums, you might be lucky but what forum serves all of Africa right now? We're lucky that Nairaland has the userbase that it has but what about the rest of Africa?

Now with a dedicated site, the situation is different. There's a reason sites like Quora exist. Its always amazing to read well structured answers to well structured questions on an app dedicated to that. And Quora is awesome right now because you get to read answers from real entrepreneurs and business leaders. Imagine asking a question about a company and getting an answer from an insider. Does anything like that exist in Africa? Its not rhetorical. Answer.

More Questions. Is there a knowledge divide in Africa? Can Q and A platforms dedicated to Africa help to bridge this divide. YES.

And finally, Ask Africa is not only awesome for its focus on African questions. its even more awesome given that it creates opportunities for Africans from different countries to ask about and solve problems via awesome tools.

For example, a question is currently up on the site:

What industries will create the most opportunities around Africa in the nearest future?

Questions like this, when answered by nationals with different perspectives can help entrepreneurs chose relevant paths to success:

Add your view to the question and tell me how you feel: https://gcdc2013-askafrica.appspot.com/r/business/answers/12

Post it and tell me the problem, I'll see if I can help. This is my first time on Appengine and I had some problems too, especially with some minor differences between yaml interpretation on the live site and on localhost. You can also check the code used for wordpress on app engine and I can post mine if you want.

Hope you've submitted yours sha. Submission is closed o.

I no submit anything jare cause yaml give me problem bro if u win no forget me ooo /// see this http://wittytom.com/tsk/ see the interface lasan that is what am planning to submit !! the inteface mad gan and it a task managment thing that is for freelancers or any peeps !!

gameaddict: Post it and tell me the problem, I'll see if I can help. This is my first time on Appengine and I had some problems too, especially with some minor differences between yaml interpretation on the live site and on localhost. You can also check the code used for wordpress on app engine and I can post mine if you want.

Hope you've submitted yours sha. Submission is closed o.

Wow! You should have created a thread and asked for help earlier.

check i did oooooooooooooooo but na foolish niggas dey here with no braing !! na php dem know all

gameaddict: Wow! You should have created a thread and asked for help earlier.

sorry men, I solved most of the problems I got via help from the #gcdc & #gcdc2013 hashtag pages on google+ and some via stackexchange. Did you follow the hashtag?

Yes man .. are u on skype ??

gameaddict: sorry men, I solved most of the problems I got via help from the #gcdc & #gcdc2013 hashtag pages on google+ and some via stackexchange. Did you follow the hashtag?

@gameaddict I like it. I also like the business (outside of the competition). If you don't win the competition (hopefully you do) are you still going to push the idea? I think @Gidi_Traffic has stumbled onto something big with their traffic/issues Q and A twitter feed but right now its manual and difficult to follow and search. If you can plug this into twitter and somehow be able to sort, search and contribute the Q and A feeds it can be a multi-million naira idea.

Gameaddict well done Bro, I pray you win, and come to think of it, why hasn't this thread made front page? Is it that nairaland doesn't have best interest of developers and programmers at heart?

@dwittyc0der: nope, my webcam is faulty. Contact me via mail or twitter: x | x

@BetaQuick: Thanks for the advice, this your name itself is excellent (get the product out quickly). I hope to push the idea as far as I can and I hope I can win so that I'll be able to invite new co-founders to handle crucial areas of the idea. Big plans require effort.

Here's my mail and twitter handle if you want to discuss ideas: x | x

@DharkPoet: Thanks a lot and Amen!

Edit: Please guys, help me by signing in and asking questions. Lets get more activities on the app.

Someone just added an awesome question anonymously to the startups section: Where are the VCs in Africa? Anyone have solid names of VCs looking to invest?

Read my answer: https://gcdc2013-askafrica.appspot.com/r/startups/answers/20

PS: If you're here, you rock! Brilliant question.

Double post

gameaddict, I'm impressed, well done. I feel your pain about working alone...it could be frustrating at times.

@Urine: Thanks.

@Everyone: Great news! Eghosa Omoigui (EchoVC) just provided an answer to the VC question via twitter (and as per twitter limitations, is in short form/not detailed). Check the second answer on https://gcdc2013-askafrica.appspot.com/r/startups/answers/20 for more info.

Hopefully, very soon, more detailed and interactive answers will be posted directly to Ask Africa!

Keep the questions coming, lets share some knowledge!

@gameaddict great answers to the questions about VC. I think this is a small example of how Q/A is served very well connection to the twitter platform.

@BetaQuick: Thanks. I'll send u a dm for advice on an idea for the twitter integration.

Hello guys! VC4Africa have also added an answer: https://gcdc2013-askafrica.appspot.com/r/startups/answers/20

Great news! Ask Africa has proceeded to the semi-final stage of the competition!

Join Ask Africa today and share some knowledge! https://gcdc2013-askafrica.appspot.com