Imagine getting the chance to learn something new on how to become a better blogger in a fun filled environment, away from the bustling city life, alongside fellow cheetahs?

From the  reputable key speakers to meeting other 113 participants, some of which you only interact online. The inaugural Word Camp Kenya event which took place at Crayfish Camp in the breathtaking Naivasha not only attracted bloggers and techies, but poets and people who have never actually blogged. The Nailab was one of the sponsors alongside reputable online firms in Kenya.

Dealfish Regional Manager Moses Kemibaro set off the presentations in a journey mode, taking us back to 2005 when he registered moseskemibaro.com. As he puts it, nothing came out of the blog. Years later, Moses has been a source of information for the media and companies that would want reviews of products and services and rakes quite a good amount from it and gets invites to conferences. He is listed as Kenya’s second best blogger according to Afrigator and he was kind enough to get his presentation online here we go, download

Francis Waithaka who is a SEO consultant shared on how one can use social media to enhance traffic for their blog. Does your blog have a share button?  Is it user friendly? How fresh is the content? How often do you get to blog and what do you blog? Here is a copy of his presentation

The camp not only drew speakers from the tech community, but also life coaches and people who have been involved in resuscitating dying brands. Njeri Rionge challenged the attendees on how they use their blogs;  do they help generate a good income  worth the time invested or are they vessels that suppress others?

Kelvin Jayanoris from Dukapress, showcased how their product has grown since its inception in 2005 currently has had over 22,000 downloads. Dukapress is an e-commerce system that quickly and easily helps one set up a fully featured online shop to sell digital or physical goods to customers all over the world. Want to make money as a developer in Kenya? Here is some advice from Kelvin and his team.

Day one came to a close with presentations from Angela Oduor from Ushahidi who showcased how wordpress has been integrated into the Ushahidi system for efficient communication.

Come evening and a nature walk was sufficient. You don’t get to see such a remarkable sunset everyday. Later in the evening, the camp took a poetry turn when Wamathai and Njeri Wangare took to the stage and showcased their skills, and perhaps the best one was one touching on how technology has affected our daily life.

Day two and Eric Kotonya from CrossOpen set the ball rolling on how to wordpress can be integrated with other platforms and used to collect data from the public. We all know how corporates have ‘invaded’ the online world to sell and gather feedback on their products and services.

Renowned photojournalist Boniface Mwangi took to the stage and shared on how he uses his photos and blogs to educate the public. The award winning photo-journalist is a TED FELLOW and the founder of Picha Mtaani, a UN-funded initiative that focuses on reconciliation through photographic exhibitions and debate.

One Huston Malande left the crowd in stitches when he got on stage and the projector read “Sina Powerpoint” (I don’t have PowerPoint). Huston is the lead of a branding and web development company and he challenged the participants on the kind of jobs they take on board and how they do these jobs to the satisfaction of their clients.

…and there was a contest for the best blog, which was won by ICT consultants. Read about it here.

Photocredits: Ewamak Designs, posted here.