Tag Archive for: UX

It’s Dangerous To Let Your Kid sit On A stranger’s Lap On A Bus

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It's Dangerous To Let Your Kid sit On Someone's Lap On A Bus

By fiifi DZANSI

A woman boards a bus with a baby strap to her back and pulls her six-year-old boy along.
She sits, unwraps her baby from the cloth behind and places her on her lap.

The boy doesn’t have a seat. He has to stand in front of his mom.

A stranger offers to make the boy sit on his lap.

Why?

Kids of that age are unofficially not allowed to have their own seats on a bus. They either sit on someone’s lap or stand through the journey.

It’s become our culture. Don’t ask me where it came from.

We feel kids under six or so should not take a seat. It’s free when they stand or sit on someone’s lap. They are too small to occupy a space. They don’t deserve it. Seats are reserved for adults only.

This practice hurts children both physically and emotionally.

The stranger offering their lap as seat may be a psycho who could take advantage of the situation to touch your kid inappropriately. And that could result in more grievous acts. At such a tender age, many kids wouldn’t understand such lewd behaviour.

It may haunt them in their adulthood.

I once heard a story of a man. He continually violated a girl who used to sit on his lap on a bus.

A stranger may be carrying a contagious disease such as TB, Sarcoptic mange, Leprosy, COVID etc. and transfer it to your kid. This, in turn, would spread through your family. Pray it has a cure, though. Otherwise, it may be an illness your kid has to manage for the rest of their life.

Other times too, some parents allow strangers on a bus to feed their kids. It’s unhealthy.

Parenting doesn’t come cheap. I know. Paying your kid’s transportation is can be expensive, especially if you have more kids. But it comes with the whole package. Your responsibility as a parent includes protecting your young ones from predators.

Children deserve to have a seat on a bus. It’s dignifying and civil. They’re not just a bunch of load you haul along, but humans whose futures are in the making.

Also, when you allow your kid to take a seat, you’re training them to learn independence – that they don’t have to depend on others all the time. It’s a sign they’re no longer babies.

Children are the most vulnerable in society. Easy targets for the bad guys. So as a parent, you need to teach them not to trust strangers and scream bloody murder when someone touches certain parts of their body.

I’m not being paranoid. This is a real issue you must not brush aside.

Buses are more economical, and not every parent can afford ride-hailing services or taxis.

If you don’t own a car, transportation fare has to be part of your family budget.

Twitter Needs To Change As Jack Steps Down As CEO

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Twitter Needs To Change As Jack Steps Down As CEO

By fiifi DZANSI

Twitter CTO Parag Agrawal takes over as CEO as Jack Dorsey steps down from the position.

Jack Dorsey has been criticised for running the social media platform halfheartedly. When Donald Trump’s account got suspended on Twitter, Jack was reportedly chilling on a private island somewhere.

In recent years, Twitter has fallen behind some of its peers, such as Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat. Despite the tremendous power Twitter holds – the sort that helped toppled governments – some reports say they also struggle to make a profit.

I joined Twitter over 9 years ago and witnessed the lows and highs of the platform.

Twitter Was My Second Home

Firstly, Twitter was my hideout, where I mostly learned about design and got links to some of the most gripping articles ever written. I fell in love with the minimal design and the power of hashtags. Quickly, I talked my friends into joining. 

Secondly, Twitter wasn’t a platform for sharing trivial matters like the texture of your hair or how it feels to have a big backside. Such stuff and nonsense belong to Facebook or elsewhere. Twitter was all about the news, what’s currently happening.

Lastly, Twitter instantly connected me to professionals I admired.

Twitter is losing it now.

They bought the micro-video sharing site Vine and soon exterminated it in 2019. The same happened to Periscope. In their attempt to stay hip, they counterfeited ‘Status’ and named it Fleets. That idea, though, couldn’t fly high enough. 

Unhesitatingly, they cast it to the dogs. Next comes Spaces, a live audio conversation feature where users can host events and discuss matters. 

I love this for its clearness and audio-only feature. It’s easy on our internet data. My hope is that it stays longer than its predecessor, Fleets.

Two things must change on the platform immediately.

Twitter Has Become A Haven For Trolls

Annoying and surprising as it may sound, the platform allows hate and dehumanising speech, insults, and bullying to roam with impunity.

Yes, there’s freedom of speech to protect in the 21st century. But that freedom has a limit and comes with responsibility. 

Management is obviously finding it almost impossible to tackle these issues. Some celebrities have chosen to stay off it.

Non-celebrities, especially in Ghana, have found a more convenient way of receiving the coveted blue badge on Twitter. 

It’s that simple. 

Start trolling celebrities or famous people. Say the most disgusting and hilarious things about them. Annoy them so much they feel uncomfortable and reply. People love to stand by and watch such tweets as entertainment. 

In time, you’ll rack up an astronomical amount of

followers and become an influencer. At this point, Twitter considers you a public figure and verifies you when you ask them to. Lastly, stop trolling and keep your account clean.

Twitter needs to tackle this problem head-on by severely punishing or banishing these good-for-nothings from their space. I know the owners feel they’re doing their best in this regard. But their best is far from what we expect.

Twitter must verify accounts that have a positive impact on humanity. Not just those with massive followers.

But why can’t they verify people who decide to register with their passports and sign to adhere to their rules?

Twitter Trends Are Annoying

Do you wrinkle your brow before checking the trends?

For me, yes. I hesitate to tap on trends because I don’t know the sort of worms I’d be exposed

to. 

Some names, when they trend, it’s all about nudity,

scandals, sex or porn. You dare not touch them if you want to avoid any nightmare.

When many people talk about a particular subject or word, it takes up a seat among the trends. It’s faulty thinking, however, that because a majority care about a topic, then I will too.

Often I don’t. Because it regularly contains hate speech, tweets that incite anger and divide people.

I should be able to choose topics that trend on my TL. I’m interested in tech, design and sustainability. Those are the stuff I want to see. Not insults of the president or mockery of football players trying to get over a loss. 

Put that power in my hands and make the algorithm robust enough to sweep away the hatefulness quickly.

TV Series Ruin Fascinating Stories

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TV Series Ruin Fascinating Stories

By fiifi Dzansi

Tv series are made to run longer than movies and keep viewers at the edge of their seats.
What makes these visual creations a success is mostly suspense.

There’s always something delightful to look forward to.

I usually don’t get past the first season.
I feel the juice dries out by the end of season one.

As writers try to build on a story when it must end, the plot keeps twisting and turning and characters shillyshallying like clueless tourists not knowing where to go next.

Usually, viewers, after watching a tv series that losses integrity, feel robbed of their time.

Eventually, when a story ends, we know it. Giving it another life makes matters worse.

Keep the plot intense and conclude when viewers ask for more.

Quality Fades

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By fiifi DZANSI

Product quality wanes after some years.

A new company’s focus is quality.

This stage is dedicated to crafting a good name and seeking customers.

Owners invest resources experimenting and putting something breathtaking on the shelves.

Customers at this time, too, require something different and fresh.

Queues would form at the door every morning before the shop welcomes visitors.

When a business is young, it has nothing to lose compared to titanic corporations, so it’s more natural to try something new and pump up the quality.

Immediately they grow beyond the neighbourhood, small businesses realise they can’t maintain such high quality at the same price.

Also, resources may not be available to sustain such ambitions.

Then, they cut down on the quality.

After buying products that lasted a decade – consumers soon have to buy newly improved stuff each quarter of the year.

Quality becomes a choice.

It fades when no longer a priority.

Emojis Are A Fake Emotion

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Emojis Are A Fake Emotion

By fiifi DZANSI

Emojis.

These little graphic icons on our devices have gained much popularity over the years.

Smart devices made them famous.

We use them in our day-to-day conversations.

But do they help us express our individual emotions?

While they may be cute and save us from using a whole bunch of words trying to convey our feelings, they lack the dynamism embedded in our faces.

They all look the same. The way I smile is not quite the way you do it. My immense set of teeth show more than yours.

In a face-to-face conversation, it’s entirely impossible to fake a smile.

But emojis help us to forge it.

Someone sends you a laughing emoji with tears in response to your jokes.

Yet, in truth, her teeth are clenched.

Sometimes, emojis only communicate what we wish we felt.

I don’t Buy From Celebrities

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By fiifi DZANSI

Do you buy what celebrities sell to you?

Celebrities have an influence.
Crowds gravitate towards them.

And with their power, they may be successful at selling products.

A brand hands a celeb a product to show to her fans to tell them it’s the best and that they need it.

And the fans are supposed to get crazy over it and start buying.

But wait.

This celeb is paid to sell.
That’s not the brand she uses.
And on top of that, she has no idea if that’s what her fans need.

Moreover, I don’t use what celebs use unless it seriously meets my needs and pocket.

Also, these rich and famous guys have money to throw away and don’t have my interest at heart.
It’s a business to reel in more cash to flaunt.

They may not necessarily have a knack to spot quality, decent products.

I don’t buy from celebrities.

If I need something, I contact my peers to recommend it, and I read reviews of user feedbacks from others.

Digital Gold

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Digital Gold

By fiifi DZANSI

Data is the digital gold for tech companies.

With our data, they can track all our activities.

These tech companies know us so much that they’ve become like a god above watching down on his creation.

Tech companies flourish on selling data to a third party and accumulate millions of dollars at the end of the year.

The bait is to throw in a free app and encourage people to use it at no charge.

And because the majority of us like free stuff, we are quick to hop on. 

We hand over our privacy to them on a platter.

Eventually, we pay for ‘free’ apps with our valuable data, digital gold.

Absolute Security

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Absolute security lock

By fiifi DZANSI

Billions of dollars are invested in security each year.

The sad reality, however, is that absolute security keeps on eluding us.

Most secured locks in the world cannot give your home total safety.
Someone has figured out how to go past the locks.

Criminals gradually learn how to sneak past CCTV and guard dogs undetected.

Digital tools also fall prey to theft almost immediately after a security update is released.

It’s become so because invading people’s privacy and taking what is concealed has become a profession
enriching people around the world.

Your valuables are intact because professional thieves have not turned their attention to you. It’s not because of the amount of money you’ve invested in your security.

Only that which dwells in our minds is utterly secured. No technology can take that away from us.

Over-reliance On Apps

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Over-reliance On Apps

By fiifi DZANSI

Apps have become part of our daily lives. Their popularity increased with the smart device boom in recent years.

They make life so effortless and productive.

But they have limitations. 

Sometimes, apps can have an outage like what happened to Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. 

Most of the apps depend on internet connectivity. 

When the internet goes down, they become unreliable. 

In addition, we need to keep our smart devices alive by charging them. 

And the most disturbing downside is that they are vulnerable to hackers.

This is why we need alternatives, like reading printed books. With books, we don’t need electricity to charge them or the internet to read.

We must use old ways of doing things side by side with the digital world. 

Power Outage Rocks Facebook

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power outage rocks Facebook

By fiifi DZANSI

Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp are down. 

Thousands the world over cannot access these platforms. People have to spend more time on other social media sites like Twitter. 

Ironically, Facebook had to admit this failure on Twitter.

There are two lessons we can all learn.

We don’t own whatever content we post on social media.

Owners of these platforms are the sole owners of the stuff we put there. And that’s how they make money. An outage like this means we can’t access our content.

If you rely solely on social media to do business, you’ll lose money.

It’s, therefore, necessary for a business to have its own websites where it can have total control over the content it produces.

Be a marketer, not a social media influencer.

We also learn that social media has limitations. It may lose power in the coming future. And if that happens, people have to go elsewhere to sell.

Learn marketing the traditional way. So that you can become a marketer who adapts well to different media.

Remember, email, telephone conversations, face-to-face meetings are all alive and kicking.