In April 2005, current General Catalyst Partner (disclosure) Kevin Colleran replaced Eduardo Severin as Facebook's business development head and sales lead. He was Facebook employee number seven. And eight years ago around this time, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg decided to fly out to New York to meet his new sales head in person at the Virgin Megastore in Union Square. Now the two had never met face to face, and, because in the early days when FB had only room for one profile pic, the above was Colleran's. So Zuck naturally thought that Facebook's first salesperson was the "tough looking black guy" on the right and not the white-looking Irish dude on the left. The former just happened to be rapper 50 Cent, of "In Da Club" and "P.I.M.P." fame, whom Colleran had met through his previous job as a consultant at RCA. According to David Kirkpatrick and our sources, Zuck "looked crestfallen" at the mixup. And the next day, Colleran called up Facebook President Sean Parker and asked, "What's up?" "Well," Parker explained, "the meeting went fine. But we both feel a little weird, because we thought you were African-American." SERIOUSLY. THEY THOUGHT THEIR SALES GUY WAS 50 CENT. What makes this story even better is that 50 Cent KNOWS. Because, after Facebook got big and lucrative, Parker ended up telling him. And, according to sources, 50 Cent was like, "Damn, should have taken the job." As David Beckham likes to say, "Hindsight is a wonderful thing." Oh, and this.

HTC Appoints New U.S. Strategy Chief, Creates “Emerging Devices” Unit To Focus On Innovation And Global Sales

After months of internal turmoil and struggling sales, HTC is trying to reboot its strategy by establishing a new unit to develop "innovative" products and putting its its global sales president back in charge of U.S. operations. In an internal email obtained by WSJ, HTC's CEO Peter Chou announced that President of Global Sales Jason McKenzie is now in charge of HTC America and will also support Chou with global corporate strategy. McKenzie already has experience leading the company's U.S. strategy--he was HTC's president for the America region for about a year before leaving that post to head global sales and marketing in 2011. McKenzie has steered HTC's global sales strategy since last fall. Chou also wrote that HTC's President of North America Mike Woodward "will lead Emerging Devices, a newly established business unit that will focus on innovative new HTC products and global distribution strategies." Its executive reshuffling comes after HTC suffered a brain drain when some of its top talent, including HTC Asia CEO Lennard Hoornik, Senior Vice President of Global Market Greg Fisher, Chief Product Officer Kouji Kodera and Global Communications VP Jason Gordan left the company. The launch of HTC's Emerging Devices unit comes as the struggling Taiwan-based smartphone maker continues to engage in an aggressive makeover of its global strategy and shifts its attention away from the U.S., previously its strongest market, to focus on Europe and Asia instead. HTC has struggled as larger rivals like Samsung grab an increasingly sizable chunk of the Android market. Supply chain issues hindered the sales potential of the HTC One and its other flagship product, the Facebook Home pre-loaded HTC First, suffered from a lackluster reception. "I want to thank these two outstanding leaders for their contributions to the success of the HTC One so far," Chou wrote in his email. "But as you know and would expect, we also need to do more. With the success of the one, we have many new opportunities both to expand current sales as well as to enter new distribution channels with new business model." HTC's Q2 profits were down 82% year-over-year and its shares are currently trading at their lowest price in five years. But Chou tried to reassure employees in his email that HTC's brand recognition is still on the climb. "Among the youth segment, brand awareness is 87%, with 67% of this segment considering HTC a brand 'on the up,'" Chou wrote.

Samsung Mini

First it was the Samsung S4 mini that hit the market and now HTC has followed suit with a smaller, more compact version of the HTC One…hello HTC One Mini.

With the trademark aluminium enclosure, 4.3-inch screen, 16GB of storage and a HTC UltraPixel camera, the HTC One Mini is a less bulky alternative to the HTC One which has a 4.7inch screen, 32/64GB storage and 1.7GHz quad-core CPU. Other features of the mini include a dual-core, 1.4GHz Snapdragon processor, 1GB of DDR2 RAM and 20.7 hours of talk time on GSM.

The HTC One mini is scheduled to come into selected markets from August while a worldwide release is set for September.

The competition in the smartphone market reached an all-time high in the last 2/3 quarters as Blackberry attempted to revamp its devices with the release of the Z10 and Q10 earlier in the year. Samsung was not left out of the race as they drove the tech world to a frenzy with the hype and eventual release of the Samsung S4 and not forgetting the pomp and pageantry that heralded the release of the iphone 5 last year. With Apple set to release its iphone 5s series around the same time the HTC One mini is scheduled to hit stores, it remains to be seen how things will play out for both brands and for the smartphone market in general.

Meanwhile, which is your ideal smartphone? The Blackberry, Apple, Samsung or HTC?

Drool Britannia: Why The UK Anti-Porn Laws Are Ridiculous And It Matters That They’re Overturned

Think of the children! Like clockwork, anti-porn sentiment has broken out again, this time in the UK. PM David Cameron has announced something he is calling "Default On" access to ISP-wide porn filters that will ensure children, adults, and the aged cannot see the unclothed human form in various states of arousal. This Quixotic effort is in fact worse than Quixotic. After all, the only thing Don Quixote hurt was a bunch of windmills. This legislation, on the other hand, could pave the way for vile Internet censorship laws that could change the way the world works. First, let us understand what is going on here. To the general public these laws are mere suggestions unless you're into simulated rape. ISPs have been asked to implement filters that are "default on" which, in Cameron doublespeak, means that they're available only if the customer enables them when creating an account. They're calling this "Active-Choice +." The UK Department of Education had this to say: The prime minister believes that there is much more that we can all do to improve how we communicate the current position on parental internet controls and that there is a need for a simplified message to reassure parents and the public more generally. Without changing what you will be offering (ie active-choice +), the prime minister would like to be able to refer to your solutions are "default-on" as people will have to make a choice not to have the filters (by unticking the box). Can you consider how to include this language (or similar) in the screens that begin the set-up process? For example, "this connection includes family-friendly filters as default [or as standard] - if you do not want to install this protection please un-tick the box" (obviously not intended to be drafting). Would you be able to commit to including "default-on" or similar language both in the set-up screen and public messaging? In short, they're making ISPs offer something they're probably already offering. Four of the main ISPs are already on board although many ISPs offer filtering packages already. This would only codify the process in law. As a parent I'm all for voluntary web filtering simply because I don't want the kids to see violence but it is a cop-out As a talking point, then, filtering the Internet makes plenty of sense to the technical and non-technical alike. In a real sense it is an effort fraught with difficulty and problems. The instant your kid can't search for "breast cancer" is the instant the filter goes off... for good. After this basic bit of filtering, the laws are jacked up to 11. You can also be arrested for possession of "extreme pornography," whatever that means, and the UK The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre will create a blacklist of "abhorrent" internet search terms that will be used to trigger investigations. Finally, the police will create a large database of child pornography for their own use while searching for pedophiles. First, no one can be for the spread of child pornography. That is a given. There are laws on the books in most countries ensuring that you can't view and trade images of children pressed into pornography. This would have little effect on that population except, I suspect, ensuring that some twisted policeman can now browse the constabulary's kiddie porn database with impunity. I also suspect no one in any legal system has any idea what "extreme pornography" really means and this will lead to a rash of "know it when I see it" type prosecutions and will only tangentially put true sickos behind bars while making life hard for honest, legal fetishists. Second, this is pure grandstanding masquerading as a response to outrage and will do little to affect the daily lives of children or adults. ISPs may offer free (or paid) filtering services and the same filters will remain on public Internet access points in libraries and schools (unless the kid is smart enough to bypass those and/or stupid enough to look at porn on a library computer). The call for anti-porn in Iceland, for example petered out even as this one is gaining steam. The astute would also note that this sort of juicy, summertime fist-thumping is great for a slow news month and is excellent fodder for redirecting attention away from Cameron's links to Big Tobacco. It also gives the Daily Mail the opportunity to look relevant as it is the primary media mover in this effort. In short, this makes the UK look stupid. If this is passed, however, I fear that the disease will spread elsewhere. If the UK, that bastion of right living and solid middle class values, lifts walls against the pornographic aggressor, what is to stop the U.S. from doing the same thing? "Stopped Internet Porn" is an excellent title card for any politician's election-year advertising and, even if the laws did nothing to stop anything, the Mr. or Mrs. Public will probably have little understanding of the effects that it will seem, for a time, that Internet porn was stopped. Then they'll check the browser history on the family computer. We have already given governments broad powers to snoop, steal, and ascertain. When you are not using encrypted chat and email sessions you are essentially shouting your private information into the proverbial crowded room. Do our governments need more access to our data? No. Are there far better ways to catch online predators than trusting an ISP to keep your kids safe? Absolutely. The moment I entrust the governing of my children's access to the Internet to the government is the moment I no longer deserve to be a parent.

Its Over! How Funke Akindele’s 413-Day Old Marriage Crashed

…and another celebrity marriage bites the dust.

After days of speculations and rumours, Nollywood actress Funke Akindele  finally broke the silence on the true state of  her marriage over the weekend…its over!

The former Mrs Oloyede released a press statement to that effect through her spokesperson confirming the end of her marriage to Businessman cum Politician Alhaji Kehinde Oloyede Almaroof thereby putting a rest to the various speculations that had made the rounds in the short week since ex-hubby Kehinde Oloyede let out the break-up bombshell via his Facebook page. Funke’s statement had read:

Dear Friends,

On behalf of our client, star actress, Funke Akindele, we want to formally inform you that after due consultation and consideration, she’s now separated from Mr. Kehinde Oloyede as his wife. She hereby urges her fans and all concerned to pray and wish her the best as she moves on in her career. Kindly note that this is the first and only official statement from Funke Akindele on the matter and will be glad if her wish is respected. Thank you.

Sincerely yours,

Ayo Ola- Muhammed,

Principal Consultant

NEECEE Entertainment.

..onto the next one!

Funke Akindele got married to Alhaji Almaroof in what was unarguably one of the biggest weddings of 2012 but the union had been plagued by speculations and controversies from the get-go. Right after Funke Akindele revealed her groom to be none other than popular Oshodi/Isolo businessman, many were stunned that the very eligible bachelorette had chosen to settle for the popular Oshodi businessman who also happens to be the son of the Iyaloja (Mother of the market) of Oshodi market. Fans and industry watchers theorised that Alhaji Oloyede was no social match for the accomplished actress/producer. No sooner had the couple gotten engaged than the stories of his philandering ways began to hit the media with several quarters claiming that he already had a wife and several children from different women, but the smitten Funke would not bulge and she went on to wed him in a high profile wedding.

The former Mr & Mrs Oloyede on their wedding day

When the going was good…

A few months after their wedding, a new chapter unfolded when it was revealed that a Lagos trader, Modinat Nike Dada was seven months pregnant for Alhaji Almaroof. In an interview on the July issue of Genevieve magazine, Funke had defended her husband claiming that a lot of negative comments came from sadists who wanted to run their mouths. In her words:

“My husband has never been married. I am the woman he got married to. I was married properly. A lot of negative comments came from sadists who want to run their mouths. So because I am a Youth Ambassador or a Celebrity, I can’t have my life?

It is my life. If I do things because people want me to, I will end up unhappy. I do what I do because I want to be happy. I would still continue to teach morals and campaign against HIV/AIDS and enlighten the youths. It doesn’t make me bad; that is even if it is, because I can tell you authoritatively that my husband is not married to anyone else.

Yes, he has beautiful children, who are not mine now and we have a cordial relationship, which dates back to even before we got married. ‘So what if he has kids? Is that a disease? That is where my heart is! I had many non-biological children even before I got married. I take them as my own children, pay their bills and help them. I have always loved children. So now that God has given me these ones, what should I do?

Will people be happier if I had married someone who didn’t have children, seem so perfect, put on my make-p and fake smile on the red carpet and start weeping when I get home? And about my in-laws, they are very wonderful and supportive and my parents and siblings as well.”

Funke and her former in-laws

Nollywood heavyweights at the wedding, L-R: Chioma Chukwu-Akpotha, Ini edo, Desmond Elliot and Genevieve Nnaji

However, no matter how desperately Funke defended her marriage, the speculations just won’t stop and it didn’t help that Funke was never spotted with her man on the red carpet. Sources further allege that she had in fact moved out of her matrimonial home about two months ago. But in what can now be termed as the final showdown, Funke’s (ex)hubby stunned the Nigerian entertainment scene when he took to Facebook to announce the end of the 413-day old marriage sending cyberspace into overdrive mode. When asked why he had chosen to make the announcement via Facebook, Alhaji Oloyede allegedly said he did it to ‘get her attention’, a move that caused the rumour mill to go overdrive.

But speaking with blogger/journalist Stella Dimoko, Funke stated that she bore Mr Kehinde Oloyede no ill feelings and that for now, she’s focused on her career. Excerpts:

Funke how do you feel now that your marriage has ended after just a year? You must be going through a hard time right now. People are laughing at you.

…thank you for calling Stella. First of all let me clarify that I have not replied any sms or spoken to anyone on this development before now and neither have I threatened to sue anyone, I do not know who sent out that sms denying that my marriage is over, that was what necessitated me sending out a press release so as not to confuse the public, especially my fans whom I’m so passionate about. I’ve been unable to pick calls due to my busy schedule on set and I needed to settle down before picking any calls, so you called at the right time. I will address this issue now and thereafter face my career and try to concentrate on the things i have on my plate at the moment…Yes my marriage has crashed. Let the people who are laughing at me continue laughing, my job after all is to make people laugh. Let those who are without sins or mistake cast the first stone. Let them continue judging me. God is the overall judge, he is the one I look up to. 

I am shocked Funke. Why the silence all this while why? Why Facebook?

It’s my private life, I know I am a public figure but I am entitled to some privacy at least. What has happened has happened, No one is beyond mistakes. I will take corrections from this and apply where necessary from now on. I bear Mr Kehinde Oloyede no ill feelings.

Funke Akindele joins the growing number of Nollywood actress with failed marriages including Chika Ike, Stella Damasus and Kate Henshaw-Nuttal which leads us to ask, is it the lifestyle or the fact  that they’re in the public eye that leads to the prevalent collapse of marriages in the entertainment industry?

Share your thoughts with us.

The Magic Wand

An idea can turn to dust or magic, depending on the talent that rubs against it.
~William Bernbach

My friend Cath and I were having our weekly phone conversation. "So, how's the magic book coming along?" she asked. "Does J.K. Rowling have anything to fear?"

"Well," I hedged, "it's kind of stalled. Since I've gone back to teaching, I haven't really had the energy to write. I did change the main character's name. Oh, and I worked out a fairly detailed plot line. But as for writing..." My voice trailed off.
For my birthday that year, Cath gave me a beautiful desk set and a package of yellow paper. "This is special paper," she said. "You can only use it to print your book."
I smiled and later printed out the first five chapters of my manuscript. I promised myself I would work on it during the summer break. But the summer came and went with little added to the book and no additional chapters printed.
Five summers passed, but something else always seemed to take priority. I needed the time to de-stress and relax. The house needed painting, a new roof, or a bathroom remodel, and I'd schedule the work for summer when I was around to talk to the workmen. If those excuses didn't work, it was too hot to toil over a keyboard in a house without air conditioning.
During the sixth summer, Cath called with an invitation. "The Harry Potter exhibit is here. Do you want to go? Maybe it will give you the impetus to get back to your book."
Two days later, Cath, her daughter Casey and I spent the morning strolling through scenes and props from the movies. As we exited the exhibit into the gift store featuring Harry Potter memorabilia, Cath said, "I know it's not your birthday for months, but I want you to choose something that will get you back into writing. Casey was so excited when she read your first five chapters, but that was years ago."
I walked around, trying to find the perfect present. Within minutes, I was drawn to the magic wands. I tried one, then a second. When I picked up the third one, the world tilted. Although the logical part of my brain told me it was just overpriced molded plastic, the creative part heard the words: "Magic seeks a willing heart." "This one," I said. "I'll take this one."
For weeks afterward, I'd hold the wand in my hands, letting it work its magic on me. I taped poster-sized sheets of paper on the wall and worked out an intricate plotline. I started a notebook, writing down ideas and bits of dialogue. I bought books on castle construction, medieval customs, and herbal lore. Gradually, the manuscript grew from five chapters to seven and, finally, to thirteen.
September came, and I was back teaching school. Each week, I held the wand less and less as handouts and homework to correct took up my time. Eventually, I placed the wand back in its box and tucked it away in my linen closet. The reality of earning a living took precedence, and I deafened my ears and barricaded my heart against its soft murmurs.
By the time the next summer came, and the ones after it, the magic was muted, and I had lost the thread of the story. Cath hadn't.
"Whatever happened to the book?" she said during one of our weekly phone calls. "You started writing it when Casey was about eleven or twelve. She was really excited when she read the first few chapters. Do you realize she's now twenty-one? At this rate, she'll be able to read it to her own kids."
I sighed, thinking of the magic wand for the first time in years. After our conversation, I dug it out of the linen closet and placed it on my lap as I sat in front of the computer. I opened the box and stared at the lifeless piece of plastic. After a few moments, I ran my fingers along its carved surface, picking out the details of the intertwining vines.
For a second, I could have sworn the wand shimmered. My imagination, I told myself. Or, more likely, my guilt. Still, I cradled the wand in my hands for a few more minutes before carefully placing it back in its box. But this time, rather than hide it, I placed the box on the bookshelf behind my office chair.
The next year was difficult. After two previous occurrences of cancer, my friend Susan was diagnosed with terminal cancer. I spent that summer helping her get her house in order and then sat with her on her last journey. Any thoughts of reviving my book died with her.
The next September, I returned to school, teaching even more hours. But a particularly difficult class had me considering early retirement. "So what are you waiting for?" I asked myself. "Now's your chance to devote yourself to the book. If not now, when?" But thoughts of my puny pension scared me off.
Toward the end of the school year, after a disturbing incident in class one Friday afternoon, I decided I needed a break. Luckily, we were heading into a long weekend. For two days, I simply sat on the couch and read. On the third day, I e-mailed my principal that I needed the rest of the week off. I had barely hit the Send key when I got an idea for the book and scribbled some notes. On the fourth day, I began thinking about reworking the first chapter. On the fifth day, I called my principal and said I wouldn't be coming back for the last six weeks of term. Since she knew how much I had been struggling with the class, she wasn't surprised.
After the phone call, I cleared my desk of all the handouts I had been working on, picked the textbooks off the floor and stuffed them in a cabinet. Then I reached for the wand. My hand hovered over it, not quite steady. I took a few deep breaths. When I picked it up, the wand felt as if it had been made for my hand. Once more, I heard the words: "Magic seeks a willing heart."
I sat there for a few moments, letting ideas for the book wash over me. I figured out how to weave a stubborn subplot into the story. Two additional characters jumped up, begging to be written into the book. I realized I needed to cut out the backstory in chapters 12 and 13 that had ground the action to a halt.
I gently set the wand on my desk, booted up my computer and began to type: Chapter One. Flames danced over Mara's hands...

Jonathan’s wife Loses mum in Rivers road crash

The mother of the wife of President Goodluck Jonathan, Dame Patience, Mrs. Iwarioba, popularly called Sisi, died yesterday in a road crash. The accident occurred at Elele in Rivers State. She was on her way to neighbouring Bayelsa State.
The accident happened around 4 pm, source said, adding that Mrs Iwarioba body was moved to Kpaima Mortuary on Elechi Beach, Mile One, Diobu, Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, around 6 pm, by the self-acclaimed “Speaker” of Rivers House of Assembly, Evans Bipi, accompanied by many policemen.
Bipi, who represents Ogu/Bolo Constituency, is a former aide to the First Lady, who attended his marriage on June 15 at the St. Cyprian’s Anglican Church, Hospital Road, Port Harcourt, shortly after which she buried her grandfather at Okrika, during her 10-day visit to Rivers State.
Dame Patience, an indigene of Okrika, the headquarters of Okrika Local Government Area in Rivers State, in Geneva, Switzerland, according to sources who said she was immediately contacted.
Mrs. Jonathan expressed shock and she felt very bad over her mother’s death, according to a family source, who pleaded not to be named.
Details of the accident were sketchy last night, but a security man at the gate of the Kpaima Mortuary, who declined to give his name, said many armed policemen accompanied a body to the private facility, presuming that the deceased might be a prominent person.
The Rivers Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Dr. Kayode Olagunju, and the Rivers police spokesperson, Mrs. Angela Agabe, could not confirm the incident, stressing that they were yet to get the details from their officers and men at the scene of the accident.
A source said last night that the late Mrs Iwarioba was Mrs Jonathan’s stepmother, but this could not be immediately confirmed.
Source: The nation online