Sorry folks been real busy..posting resumes this evening stay tuned !

Ait the day has finally come !! I can see the usual trash on this forum have made their presence known. This series of articles is intended for
up coming Nigerian on-line entrepreneurs on WHY INTERNET STARTUPS FAIL, they say the best way to learn at times is to learn form the mistakes of other people.

Todays article is focused on a failed social network platform called infobiznetwork.com...from what I have been able to gather it is run a self proclaimed WEBMASTER who goes by the username databoy247 on this forum. Since its launch in 2005 it has not been able to even have 10 members and its a forum template (arent webmasters able to build their own forums from scratch )

The following paragraphs highlight the numerous areas that were the reasons for the inevitable failure of infobiznetwork.com;

1. Poor Execution
Crisp execution—rather than a clever idea—is vital to the success of new businesses. It stands to reason, therefore, that poor execution is the downfall of most startups that go bust in this country. There are several ways to avoid execution failure. First, you should conduct an HONEST evaluation of your skills and only pursue opportunities that are aligned with your strengths. It's always wise to surround yourself with TALENTED people who aren't afraid to speak up when you're headed off a cliff. In Nigeria, sadly that isnt the case what you actually see amongst these lot is that once the person has learnt HTML on w3schools or learnt how to install a forum template they think they know it all. Self delusion is a serious disease amongst these self proclaimed Nigerian webmasters...

More to come....

whogohost.com !! They are the best in the country

@databoy247 sorry one more thing..yes I do have an attitude problem !but its more a less a case of allergic reaction that I have towards these HACKS on this forum that delude themselves !

One more day to go !!

@larion sorry for the late reply..been busy with work. Ait just to correct your misconception. I wasnt defeated ...if you actually read the entire thread on why Nigerian Webmaster Suck..I posted a website I had just finished and when the OP saw it she was impressed..then thats when these daft lot started to talk utter nonsense.

Yea I might admit I did get get a bit childish with some of my remarks (couldnt be helped when your talking with donkeys) .. but in the end I did prove that I am one of those who are actually GOOD at what they do.

Secondly, I aint backing off ...these lot are hacks and thats the plain truth and as long as I am on this forum I will always turn on the heat ! Notice how they've been silent for a while ..at least there are now a couple of good threads going on without these egotistical lot opening their big mouth.

Will take on board some of what you've just said, but I aint backing off..not in this lifetime...in fact im just getting WARMED UP !! I dont just sit in the shadows and allows nonsense to happen around me mate! You should borrow a leaf out of my book and challenge them OPENLY instead of harbouring secret beef (who is being childish now ??).

As part of my series on HOW NOT TO START AN INTERNET COMPANY 101,I'm going to be doing a series of articles on infobiznetwork.com; a failed Nigerian internet startup. The first article is due out this friday..

@D-sense Look it aint an argument. Any web/UI designer that worth his/her salt starts with a wireframe. Its design 101 ! Thats why we have really poor quality web designers in this country , they just jump into the coding aspect without doing a detailed mockup/wireframe. When in reality designing the wireframe forms 40-50% of the total design work.

Here are my current favourites:
http://nikebetterworld.com/
http://www.nike.com/jumpman23/aj2012/

Currently working on trying to recreate the effect for an ongoing project of mine:
www.alphagames.com.ng

@xterra2 Please expantiate a bit more on how it is limited? I am currently using it and I havent found any limitations so far.

Ait for native based apps you use PhoneGap, using web based languages such as HTML5, CSS3 and Javascript you can actually build your app with these langauges in conjunction with the PhoneGap api. The PhoneGap api allows you to have access to native mobile functions such as GPS, camera and even call settings. The beauty about PhoneGap is that once you finished building the app , you then compile the code on their cloud platform (its free), when your compiling you can actually choose which platform you want to deploy your app; be it IOS,Android or Blackberry.

uve got phonegap that you can use to build mobile apps for just about any mobile platform with just HTMl and Javascript. If it is web based ur best bet would be JqueryMobile

http://www.adobe.com/products/fireworks.html, you can download the trial version for free, If u need d full version I suggest u vist dem boiz dat sell software and they will definitely hook u up.

nope, its not the same, an example would be Adobe FireWorks, its usually in the same installation package as Dreamweaver.

@callydon Spikes_C has said it all, basically you design the entire site in a graphic editing tool, it actually looks like like the real thing,the only difference is that you cant click on anything.

@callydon First of all you need to walk before you can run. DO NOT, I repeat do not jump into HTML and CSS (these are the core languages that you need for designing web sites or web apps). Learn about the concept of wireframes or design concepts. What this entails is actually designing the website in a graphic editing tool such as Indesign or Fireworks and then once you're comfortable with your design you can start using HTML and CSS to start building . So in essence a wireframe is a blueprint which you use for designing and developing web sites/apps.

Another benefit of using wireframes is that you can show your clients as a proof of concept, and any changes that need to be made can easily be made before you even start the development phase.

Please do not make the mistake that most self styled Nigerian web/app designers make, which is jumping straight into the coding part without using a wireframe, it shows in their end product as they always produce low quality work.

This should help:
http://mashable.com/2011/04/18/qr-code-design-tips/

No worries bro, its not open because they havent started it yet, they are just about concluding the planning phase.

My advice would be to hold off on getting in touch with the equity firms. First of all register the incubator hub as a legal entity under CAC, put together a team of developers, then build and deploy a solution. Once you've done all these then you can start seeking for investments.

Instead of even targeting the equity firms, I would suggest you have a go at NITDA,they are actually in the process of setting software incubation hubs through out the country. I actually know the person in charge of this particular project as I have an ongoing project with this particular department. So when you're ready you can contact with me and we take it from there.

For those of you that can remember the cheat for Street Fighter Turbo on supernes i.e up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, b, a, enter. It seems that the same cheat has found its way into Google Docs, simple open any google word doc, carry out the cheat mentioned above and see what happens !

@vladimiros Ur welcome, howz the idea of starting an incubator hub coming along ? I kind of interested..

I think you need to do a bit of research , ever heard of co-creation Hub : http://www.cchubnigeria.com/.I like your spirit ..keep it up !!

lordZOUGA: how exactly was this knowledge helpful?

Perhaps you have something constructive to add...

Explanation for Magic #1:

In windows the folder name and the special system variables share the same interface, so when you create a folder with a system variable name it will consider that folder already exist!!

These special system variables are available irrespective of path. You cannot create a folder with these names also:
CON, NUL, COM1, COM2, COM3, LPT1, LPT2, LPT3,COM1 to COM9 and LPT1 to LPT9....,PRN. CON means console, COM1 means serial port 1, LPT1 means parallel port 1


Explanation for Magic #2:

"The rand "virus": or how to insert dummy text into a document "

Like jokes, urban legends, and virus hoaxes, tips about Word's little-used or undocumented features periodically makes their way around the Internet, occasioning a wave of postings in Word newsgroups. One of these is =rand(), which is sometimes represented as an Easter egg, sometimes feared as a possible virus. It is neither. It is a Word function (undocumented in the online Help but documented in the Microsoft Knowledge Base) that can be useful in certain circumstances.

The rand function
The Microsoft Knowledge Base article "How to Insert Sample Text into a Document in Word [212251]" explains the use and syntax of the function:

Microsoft Word allows you to quickly insert sample text into a document. To do this, type =rand() in the document where you want the text to appear, and then press ENTER.

The inserted text is that hardy perennial: "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog," which contains every letter in the English alphabet.

By default, the sample text contains three paragraphs, each containing five sentences. You can control how many paragraphs and sentences appear by adding numbers inside the parentheses, for instance:

=rand(3,4)

The first number is the number of paragraphs, and the second the number of sentences per paragraph. If you omit the second number, you get five sentences in each paragraph. So, for example:

=rand(3,4)

inserts three, four-sentence paragraphs, while:

=rand(10)

inserts ten, five-sentence paragraphs.

The maximum number for either parameter is 200 and may be lower depending on the number of paragraphs and sentences specified. For instance, if you specify 200 paragraphs, then the maximum number of sentences per paragraph you can specify is 99:

=rand(200, 99)

If you specify 200 sentences per paragraph, then the maximum number of paragraphs you can specify is 99.

Admittedly, this function serves a useful purpose for filling a page when you're designing a template and want to see how it will look with text in it. It's also easy to see how users can be alarmed and fear this is a virus when someone suggests they try "=rand(200,99)," which quickly blows up into a giant document! (Incidentally, part of the instructions in some versions is to "Make sure there is a space between = and rand and a space between rand and (200,99)." This actually makes no difference: the function works equally well with and without spaces.)



Explanation for Magic #3:


Bush hid the facts is the common name for a bug present in all versions of Microsoft Notepad in Windows 2000 and Windows XP, which misinterpret a file in Windows-1252 or similar encoding such as UTF-16.

While "Bush hid the facts" is the sentence that is most commonly presented on the Internet, it does not exclusively occur with that phrase. The bug can be triggered by many sentences, including those that follow a particular structure: first word with an even number of letters (2 or more) and all other words with odd number of letters (3 or more). E.g. first word with 4 letters, two or more words with 3 letters, one word with 5 letters. Some phrases that will trigger this oddity are: "Bill can not dance", "John has the parts", "Iraq can own bases", "This app can break", "Feel the new power", "Matrix can not lie", "Chad ate the cakes" or even longer phrases like "Einstein's thought regarding mathematics motivated Dhilung Kirat thinkin mathematics wonderfully amazing languagez". Though, these conditions are not sufficient: for example, the string "busx hix thx factx" displays correctly.

The bug occurs when such a string is entered into Notepad (with no other characters) and then saved as a text file. Upon reloading the file into Notepad, the text will be replaced with nine Chinese characters, or squares if the language pack has not been installed. To retrieve the original text, bring up the "Open a file" dialog box, select the file, select "ANSI" in the "Encoding" list box, and click Open.


Discovery:

The bug appeared for the first time in Windows 2000 but was not discovered immediately. It was discovered in early 2004 [1] and has since risen in popularity on the Internet.

Clearing the content by selecting, cutting and then repasting the text does not prevent reproduction as long as it is carefully done.

Notepad misinterprets the encoding of the file when it is re-opened. If the file is originally saved as "Unicode" rather than "ANSI" the text displays correctly.

Older versions of Notepad such as those that came with Windows 95, 98 or ME do not include Unicode support so the error does not occur.

Notepad2 (by Florian Balmer) also exhibits this strange behaviour.

Explaination:

What you see isn't what you typed. This is an easter egg. Or maybe even Microsoft's programmers hate Bush. That's what we knew.

But the truth is that all 4-3-3-5 strings work. So if you type "this app can break". The same results. It appears to be bug from Microsoft which has been fixed in Vista. Here is someone from JCXP.net forum explanation:

Whenever we open a text file in notepad, it determines whether the text is ASCII or Unicode.. But actually there is no way in the world to exactly determine whether the text is ASCII or Unicode.. There is a function called IsTextUnicode in windows API.. The function does some tests on the text based on statistical data.. This is what MSDN says about the function..

"The function uses various statistical and deterministic methods to make its determination.. These tests are not foolproof. The statistical tests assume certain amounts of variation between low and high bytes in a string, and some ASCII strings can slip through. For example, if lpBuffer points to the ASCII string 0×41, 0×0A, 0×0D, 0×1D (Anr^Z), the string passes the IS_TEXT_UNICODE_STATISTICS test, though failure would be preferable."


source: http://www.gaiaonline.com/guilds/viewtopic.php?t=14942747

Nice work !! I may have some thing for you..shoot me an email: d.isa@plus36.com.ng, so that we can discuss further

The guy (databoy247) is disillusional..they both are actually