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Genesis of Facebook – Confession of Mark Zuckerberg

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AOL Instant Messenger was a defining part of my childhood. As part of the first generation to grow up with the internet, it helped me understand internet communication intuitively and emotionally in a way that people just a few years older may have only considered intellectually.

Growing up, I lived in a different town from most of the kids I went to school with. I lived in Dobbs Ferry, but went to school in Ardsley — a town small enough it imported students from nearby towns. There was a bridge separating Dobbs Ferry and Ardsley, and every day I took a bus across that bridge to school and back home.

That meant every day after school all of my friends were on the other side of this bridge. A lot of my interaction with them was through AIM. I developed a lot of empathy for the nuances of how people expressed emotions and ideas online, and I became very focused on improving how this worked.

For example, I didn’t like that I had no control of whether AIM told my friends I was active online, because sometimes I just wanted to code without being interrupted unless someone I really wanted to chat with signed on. This may have seemed like a small detail to whoever designed it, but it was my social life and I really felt it. So I hacked together a tool that let me set myself as if I’d been idle for a long time, even if I was actually at my computer. (Because of this, Facebook chat today always lets you turn off your online activity indicator.)

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My friends and I spent a lot of time curating our online identities. We spent hours finding quotes for our AIM profiles that expressed how we felt, and we picked just the right font and color for our messages to signal what we wanted about ourselves. I built a tool that let me send messages with the letters fading between any colors I wanted. It was simple, but it was fun to build and it made my messages look different.

One day my dad saw me using AIM and asked if I could set it up in his office so he could communicate with the other dentists and hygienists. I told him I didn’t think AIM was ideal and since he controlled the network in his office I could make him something better.

I built him a system I called ZuckNet that he used for many years afterwards. In addition to chatting one-on-one, he could broadcast an update to everyone in the office at the same time. It also saved every message you received so you wouldn’t lose them when you closed your chat window, and it queued up messages to be delivered later if a person wasn’t online at the time. Everything was encrypted so sensitive information could be secure. These were all features that solved pain I felt using AIM. ZuckNet improved how the dentists communicated and changed how they worked.

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As a child, many people will tell you that you don’t have the skills or experience to build something that matters. I was certainly told that many times. But these days I wonder if children actually have a unique perspective to build some of the most important things. The world is changing quickly, and only a child has a full emotional understanding of what it’s like to grow up today, with say, mobile phones or AI you’ve been able to talk to your whole conscious life. If you grew up before this, you can intellectually reason about what this might be like, but you can only understand all the emotional nuances and develop a world view based on how it feels if you grew up with it yourself.

I always loved coding. I vividly remember riding home on the bus across that bridge after school thinking to myself that now I had the whole evening to build things on my computer. Fridays were the best, and I remember being even more excited because I had the whole weekend to build things.

Those early projects and experiences had a lot of the seeds of what would become Facebook. Since early on, AIM shaped a deep aesthetic sense that the world works better when we can all connect and share. I’ve lived these ideas since I was a child, and I still believe them deeply today. Thanks for everything, AIM.

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Education

Don Pushes for B.Tech to Empower Polytechnic Graduates

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Dr. Taofeek Abdul-hameed, the Rector of the Federal Polytechnic, Ayede Ogbomoso, in Oyo State, has urged President Bola Tinubu to consider replacing the Higher National Diploma (HND) with a Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) to address educational disparities and benefit indigent students nationwide.

Abdul-Hameed, speaking on behalf of a league of Rectors, during a live radio programme in Ibadan recently, emphasised the need to eliminate the dichotomy between Polytechnic and University education, asserting that both students and lecturers at Polytechnics are equally competent.

He argued that technical skills and entrepreneurship play a crucial role in a nation’s economic development, citing China and the United Arab Emirates as examples.

Highlighting the Polytechnics’ emphasis on practical skills and entrepreneurship, the don stressed the scarcity of white-collar jobs, advocating for equipping students with practical skills for self-employment after graduation.

“The way out is for the president to assent to the bill and cancel the HND to B.Tech programme, or else the disparity will continue. We hope that President Bola Tinubu signs the bill soon since the last administration failed to do so,” Abdul-Hameed remarked.

 

Commending the Federal Government for the approved Student Loan initiative, the Rector emphasised the importance of making education accessible to indigent students.

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He suggested low tuition fees and interest-free loans, asserting that skill acquisition should be an integral part of education to enable students to repay loans through acquired skills.

“As long as students receive loans from their institutions, they should be equipped with skill acquisitions so that they can pay back after 2 years or graduation. I want to believe that 2 years are sufficient for students, and if not, the government can consider renewing or extending the loan period,” Abdul-Hameed concluded.

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Education

KWASU Students Arrested for Allegedly Beating Peer to Death

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Four unidentified undergraduate students of Kwara State University (KWASU), Malete, are facing serious legal consequences after being apprehended for their alleged involvement in the fatal beating of a fellow student.

The tragic incident transpired penultimate week within one of the private hostels located outside the university premises. The assailants reportedly targeted the victim, whose identity remains undisclosed at this time, accusing him of surreptitiously filming them.

According to an account from a student who spoke with Channels Television, the victim succumbed to the severe injuries inflicted during the assault. The motives behind the alleged filming and subsequent attack are yet to be fully understood.

Toun Ejire-Adeyemi, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the Kwara State Police Command, confirmed the distressing event on Friday, stating, “The alleged culprits were four but I cannot confirm their names now. They have been arrested while an investigation is still ongoing over the matter.”

 

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Education

Oyo: Oseni pays WAEC fees of indigent students, begins free JAMB registration

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The lawmaker representing Ibarapa East/Ido federal constituency of Oyo State, Engr. Aderemi Oseni has paid the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) fees for 300 indigent students in the federal constituency.

Oseni, who is also the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) has commenced the collection of data from eligible constituents in fulfillment of its 2024 free JAMB registration programme.

It will be recalled that the lawmaker at the stakeholders meeting and mega empowerment held last year December said under his education support scheme he will be providing free WAEC and JAMB registration for underprivileged students in the constituency

According to him, “Supporting education is crucial for securing the future of our constituency. Initiatives such as scholarships, tuition fee support, and free WAEC and JAMB registration will be introduced to ease the financial burden on students. Ensuring access to quality education is essential for nurturing the next generation of leaders.

“ Therefore, I am proud to announce that, starting in 2024, under the Remi Oseni Education Support Scheme, I will provide free WAEC and JAMB registration for students in the constituency. Additionally, the Remi Oseni Scholarship Award will be offered to less privileged children, ensuring robust support for all students at every level, including scholarships and tuition fee payment”.

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The APC chieftain, in a statement by his media aide, Idowu Ayodele, on Sunday, in Ibadan, noted that he is committed to investing in the future of the younger generation through education and other programmes that will boost their morale in pursuing a worthy future.

It further explained that eligible constituents of Ibarapa East/Ido federal constituency are expected to visit the Remi Oseni Constituency Office Ologuneru, Ibadan with their WAEC/NECO certificates, local government identification certificate (Ibarapa East/Ido local government) to get the free JAMB registration forms to register their data/details.

“It is important to emphasise that recipients of the free JAMB registration must provide clear evidence of residing and having received education in Ibarapa East/Ido Federal Constituency. The registration commenced on Friday, February 2, 2024, and will conclude on Thursday, February 8, 2024. Eligible students are required to visit the constituency office between 9 am and 6 pm,” the statement reiterated.

Oseni, however, reassured the constituents of more dividends of democracy and quality representation.

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