Truemessenger app launches globally to make SMS smarter by blocking spam

True Software, the company behind the popular Truecaller and Truedialler apps, has just launched a new application called Truemessenger, which hopes to do for SMS what Truecaller does for calls: remove spam.

The app, which was launched on the Play Store today and available worldwide, is a free mobile app that aims to make SMS smarter and contain less spam simply by verifying the identity of those who send you SMS messages, allowing you to mark specific senders as a spammer in your contact list.

With the app, you can switch between two tabs — inbox and spam — allowing you to easily mark senders as spam so you won’t see messages from them again in your inbox.

Alan Mamedi, CEO & Co-founder of Truecaller says:

“With Truemessenger’s global rollout, we’re bringing you the combined power of our global community with information from your own personal networks so you’ll never again have to worry about anonymous numbers”.

No doubt, the Truemessenger app is a huge step in the right direction towards curbing the number of spam messages we receive on our mobile phones on a daily basis.

It would be interesting to know how this new app could impact on the small and medium businesses that rely on short code services to promote their offerings via mobile SMS.

Smartphone giants lose 15,000 jobs to cheap phones

The world’s smartphone manufacturing giants are losing their lustre, leading to a steady stream of job cuts in previously-prestigious mobile units.

The most recent high-profile cuts occurred last week, when HTC and Lenovo each reported less than stellar earnings reports. HTC, after reporting a loss that exceeded analyst estimates five-fold (and caused its market valuation to fall below its cash assets), told investors it would cut fifteen percent of its workforce, amounting to over 2,000 jobs.

Lenovo, meanwhile, announced that it would reduce its workforce by 3,200 people, and cut its non-manufacturing headcount by 10 per cent. The company didn’t specify which specific jobs were at risk, but it pointed to flagging global PC sales, along with the need to streamline its mobile phone unit, as its key goals for the coming year. The company’s net profits were down 51 per cent year-on-year, and its Motorola handset division saw shipments plummet 31 per cent of 5.9 million units.

Those are only the latest in a string of layoffs to hit the industry. Quartz calculates that top manufacturers have cut about 15,000 jobs, mostly from their mobile divisions, in 2015 alone.

In July, Microsoft revealed it would cut 7,600 jobs from its phone business, a large part of which was culled from its acquisition of Nokia’s handset division. Microsoft has stated outright that device sales will no longer be the core of the phone division’s business, and it will focus on selling software (like Office) and services (like OneDrive) to consumers and businesses.

Back in February, Sony announced it would remove 2,100 jobs from its mobile communications unit, the branch responsible for its Xperia handset line. The unit’s net loss widened from $12.8 million in June 2014 to $184.4 million a year later. The company is now investing more deeply in its components business, which is generating more profit.

Your business needs mobile live streaming

Mobile live streaming is not new. Ustream, a popular live streaming app has a mobile version. But, with these new content creation tools, instead of streaming to a webpage or website, the video stream is consumed where it is created – on mobile.

And according to current marketing statistics, mobile is where we spend most of our time searching and sharing content. So, how should you be using these tools to grow your business, which mobile live streaming app should you choose?

Depending on your goals and how you want to engage with your audience you definitely may find one app more suitable than the other. Do not assume they are all the same. Each of the three mentioned here about have advantages and disadvantages. Honestly, I would suggest test driving each of them! Like buying a new car, test-drive these apps for ease of use, engagement, and content playback.

Live streaming with Meerkat

Meerkat made its debut at the 2015 South Southwest Conference. It is content is live-only meaning Meerkat doesn’t save it. However, you can save your video to your phone. Once you began streaming all your Twitter followers will see a tweet about it in their timeline.

If your followers have the app, they will also receive push notifications. While watching they can comment, like, and retweet any stream to their followers in real time. That helps increase your Meerkat score which adds an element of gaming to the app.

One major advantage to Meerkat over the others is that you can schedule your streams in advance and tweet that info to your followers. One major disadvantage is that everything you do on Meerkat becomes a tweet to your followers. So each time you comment, like, and of course, retweet your followers will see it. Speaking of comments or chatting, with Meerkat you can conveniently scroll through them if you they appear quicker than you can read them.

You should know too, that if you’re really interactive on Meerkat, every action you take on the app is tweeted. That can be a bit annoying for your followers if you clog up their timelines.

Live streaming with Periscope

Admittedly, Periscope has become my new ‘fav’. It’s Twitter’s baby, meaning it’s fully integrated with the social platform. But, unlike Meerkat every interaction isn’t broadcast to your Twitter feed.   But like the other apps, when you start “scoping” your Twitter followers are notified via a tweet with the link to your individual stream.

Once you stop streaming you have the option of allowing it to replay on Periscope for 24 hours. So during and after your stream viewers can share the content via Twitter, and send you hearts to express how much they like it. However, you can’t scroll through comments as with Meerkat, nor can you scroll through the replay. And with Periscope chats and hearts can often crowd the screen, but with a swipe those elements can be removed.

One big plus with Periscope versus Meerkat is that Periscope also gives you more viewer insights. After your stream, the app provides a list of users that viewed the replay, how long your stream was viewed, and a retention rate. For those that want hard numbers on viewer counts and engagement you get something to report.

How to use mobile live streaming for business

Audiences and customers now expect to get responses to their tweets and fan page messages as soon as possible. So as an arm of customer service, the real-time engagement provided by these live streaming apps can be very useful for your business. Here’s how:

Get customer feedback. Stop hiding behind websites and contact us forms and really talk with your customers about their likes and dislikes concerning your business. Think of it as having an instant focus group eager to provide you their opinions and insights in real time.

Show the process. You don’t have to give away trade secrets, but allowing customers to really see how much work goes into creating your product or delivering your service can go a long way into building not only trust, but also authority. Trust and authority leads to sales.

Share company and industry news. Yes, people do like to hear good news and especially when its coming straight from the horses’s mouth! Make your major announcement to the audience that supports your business. Don’t wait for the news cameras, become your own media outlet and ask your followers to share aka spread the word.

Conduct creative contests and giveaways. Because these apps tie so well into Twitter, incorporate hashtags, engagement, and live streaming to get your customers and audiences to take some action to win prizes and help your generate some buzz.

5 Best Websites to Sell Your Old Gadgets

Nothing Last forever especially electronics. Gadgets  are playing an important role in everyone’s life but with  technology  getting better and more advanced, gadget are too are getting updated with new features. We desire for the most  updated gadgets to make our life easier.

Selling old gadget is not as tough as you might  think.  Classified Bangalore helps  you in selling your old gadgets. People usually think classified advertisement  as newspaper ads  but today, the word is connected to web world. Classified ads are usually cheaper. You can post items you want to sell, and wait for  people to call you up. Choosing the right site to sell old gadgets can give you benefits like, no shipping charge.

5 best places to sell your old gadgets are:

• Olx – is a popular website which has rippled and created waves in the Indian market. One can place free ads on this website by displaying the visual images of their gadgets. On all counts visual  images tend to attract more responses . One can also mention the specifications of the device also with their contact numbers. This will encourage a wide response from the customers.

• Quikr–  Success  is achieved when your product reaches to the audience. Advertisement plays  an important role in  selling your product. Your classified ad shows up in Quikr search engine. Quickr has thousands of  visitors each day and if you post your ad on the site it will surely sell.

• Ebay – it takes little time for a fresher  to sell items on ebay. But before that one needs to create an account in order to buy or sell a product. Ebay is the world’s largest online auction sites. This site is perfect for you to sell your  old gadgets which has been rolling inside your drawer for years. You need to understand the guidelines in ebay in order to sell your product. Factors which you need to know are product description,  a good clear photo of the item you want to see, a fee for selling, formatting and  payment details. You need to have a good history of transaction  for your items to sell. The customer usually checks the history  before proceeding.

• Craigslist– classified website for buying , locating and selling items. Anything and every possible item which  you wish to check out, you can locate in  craigslist. The advantage of this website is that it encourages responses from Indians as well as the international markets to the maximum.

• Clickindia– It is completely free and doesn’t require   any amount to  post ads. It is a very simple site and  takes a second to  create and post an ad. One can keep track of their ad.

It is better to sell old gadgets rather than throwing  it in the waste . So why not make a little more extra income and sell off those old gadgets online. You never know, your trash can be someone’s treasure.

5 Simple Tips to Save Money When Shopping Online

Most internet users often have the need to shop online at one point in time though this is not something everyone of us does. For online shoppers who buy stuffs on the internet all the time, there are certain tips to follow to save some extra cash. Although these tips probably won’t work for all kinds of shopping you do online, there are still cases where you’re gonna be able to save some money if you can apply them wisely.

Below are 5 good ways to save money when shopping online:

1. Buy in bulk

This is probably the easiest tip which we don’t follow most of the time. Buying on the internet in bulk is a good way to save money because most of the time, online stores often offer discount for bulk purchase. What I mean is that if an item is sold at $5, you may be asked to pay just $12 if you’re buying 3 of such item at once. It’s also the same in domain registration  and hosting account purchase. The longer the duration of your registration, the cheaper the price you have to pay.

2. Use Coupon Codes

Okay, I know this is common but the point is how often do you use it? Coupons are meant to make you buy at a cheaper rate and by all means, I normally search for coupons before making any purchase online. I’ve got lots of coupon codes sites bookmarked on my browser and believe me, they do come in handy. I was planning to start a website for a client last week and Bigrock promo codes saved me 30% off what I should’ve paid.

3. Fill your Cart and Leave

One thing I noticed about online stores is that they have the tendency to keep customers and in a bid to do this, they would reach out to you when they notice they’re about to lose one. When shopping, a trick that often works for me is actually trying to buy stuffs, registering on the site with my regular email, filling the cart with what I intend to but and then stop there. I won’t bother to make any payment and in about two days or more, I should receive an email from the store asking me to come and finish my purchase at a discounted price.

Of course this doesn’t work all the time but it’s worth tying if what you’re buying is not needed urgently.

4. Take Advantage of Promos

You don’t need to be told this as common sense lets you know that all the promotions offered by these online stores is a great way to save some money. There are times when promotions can get you what you need for free or at a discount of up to 50% .

5. Use Rebate Sites

Rebate sites  lets you but at cheaper rates from online stores they work with. You get cash back on all your purchases and good examples are MrRebates.com and FatWallet.com.

These are tips I think should help you save some money while shopping online. Is there some other methods you personally use not listed here?

My Early Blogging Mistakes

1. I Valued  Quantity Over Quality

When I started blogging, I made sure I wrote a post every single day, and the most annoying part of this was they were all poorly written articles. Though I gathered a little traffic around, but I could not convert the visitors into loyal readers with this strategy. Blogging is not about how many articles you have on your blog, it is about how many of your articles out there add value to peoples lives.

Opinion: If you can write quality articles even once a week, you’ll be amazed at how much traffic and readership you can gain, I tried this recently on one of my blogs and it sure has proven to be worth trying.

2. I Was Not Social

Everyone is on one social network or the other these days, so you can realize social networks are simply where you can gain huge exposure and readership for your blog, but then I never realized this earlier. I had publish my post and forget it in my archives thinking everyone was gonna find them. Well, I realized the power of Facebook and LinkedIn groups lately, also another great social media tool that helped me in driving traffic to my blog is Twitter hash tags, it is a great strategy and works for both the big fishes and newbies in the blogosphere who have found it.

Opinion: If you can leverage the power of social media networks such as Facebook, twitter and LinkedIn for a start, it would be such a shock to you on what amount of traffic you’ve missed out from.

3. I Never Promoted My Blog Posts

There are several ways to promote your blog posts even beyond the social media as a blogger and these should never be overlooked. I never promoted my articles then, I only published them and forgot about them, but I recently realized some cool ways that work in blog promotion if you wish to build a successful blog. Some of the ways include

Opinion: Blog post promotion is the only key to new traffic and more money in blogging, apply the above mentioned tips and you won’t regret you did.

4. Not Having An Email List

I realized that the money was in the list lately, forget what you read every where saying that email list building no longer works. I sure does and  mean every bit of it. If you wish to gain targeted and return traffic to your blog, then build a list. Not only would you gain traffic from them, you can also promote your products your subscribers and get faster ROI because the people now trust whatever you say.

Opinion: Email list is a great tools to get you repeated and targeted traffic and has been working wonders for me on my blog.

5. Writing About Everything

Sometimes wonder how I was able to merge different niches into one blog and still cope with that in my early blogging days. I wrote virtually about everything ranging from Education news, jokes, technology tips, blogging and lots more in one blog, when I came to realize the loss this had caused me, it was too late and had cost me my traffic.

Opinion: Writing everything on one blog would confuse your readers and make them have no other option than to leave your blog for niche specific blogs.

Conclusion

If you can avoid these mistakes I made earlier, you would be sure of building a successful blog in a few months from now. There are lots of things that can help to succeed as a blogger such as experimenting. I recently put up a 30-days self blogging challenge on my blog which was aimed at publishing 2 blog articles everyday for 30 days and this has worked greatly in improving my traffic. Come up with new ideas and experiment on your blog, you’ll find out what works and what does not, then improve the ones that work and you won’t regret you did.

To your blogging success, Happy Blogging.

4 Tools needed to Succeed as a Blogger

To become a successful blogger goes beyond merely doing the ordinary, it’s indeed great work and most often, the fast running does not always win the race but that doesn’t count in blog-o-sphere; aggressive bloggers seems to have quality traffic which in no time can reduce their blog’s Alexa Rank and start to bring some cool money from direct advertiser’s but how do both aggressive bloggers and successful blogger succeeds in this world of blogging?
Below are the 4 Dangerous tools used by most successful bloggers to succeed in blogosphere.
1. Quality content : There is no doubt about this that content is the king, writing quality content always will proof to your readers that you are an expert in your niche, it doesn’t matter whether your niche is highly competitive or not. Chances are that, that there are lot of things that have not been discussed in your niche which can give you a fly over, over your competitors and not until you spy your competitors keyword before you can write an epic content.
Writers were not created, they are self-made. Making proper research on what to write will give you a better idea on what you are to write about and don’t be in haste to hit the publish button, quality content must be at least 75% error free and the content of the message must be communicable.
2. Promotion: Blog post promotion is one of the most important aspect of blogging, thousands of quality content does not guarantee you a thousand visits per day but a hundred of quality content can generate a thousand unique visitor with proper promotion.
There are many ways you can promote your blog posts, some of which are; social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, etc.; blogging communities like  Bizsugar, BlogEngage etc.; twitter retweet sites some of which are Justretweet, tweetlow, and also using the big G + (Google plus) will definitely increase your blog traffic and as time goes on, your blog Alexa Rank should start decreasing (the lower the Alexa rank,  the higher the traffic).
3. Traffic: Blog traffic is subject to blog promotion, blog traffic depend solely on your blog promotion techniques or strategy. Promoting your blog post in a reasonable way will in return increase your blog traffic and that is the day dream of every bloggers which is not easy to accomplish for a start but as time pass the dream will begin to come through with blog promotion.
Total number of blog post is not a depending variable for blog traffic but blog traffic is subject to blog promotion and that is the reason why this is discussed after blog promotion for easy understanding.
4. Backlink: Backlinks are the links that link-back to either your blog homepage or to a post URL on your blog.
Earning backlink takes diverse ways but as a blogger, legal way must be followed in gaining quality backlink so as to escape from Google Panda update.
Some of the legal ways to earn backlink as a blogger from my own end (since am writing from experience and instincts) are guest blogging, commenting, forum participation, directories, blogging communities etc.
Conclusion: Following the points above one after the other will definitely guarantee your success in blogosphere in due time.

Naira Rises Against Dollar

After the victory of the All Progressives Congress candidate General Muhammadu Buhari in the presidential poll, the naira has begun to stabilize.
It appreciated by 7% to 211 against the United States dollar on the parallel market.
Nigeria’s currency, which sold for 228 against the dollar before the poll, rose to 211 on Wednesday, Bureau de Change operators said.
Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, the acting president of the Association of Bureau de Change Operators of Nigeria, said he expected the naira to rise further.
He said: “I think the trend will continue. The naira may appreciate from 211 to something below 197 currently at the interbank market.”
Foreign exchange traders said the demand for dollars had subsided compared to what happened before the presidential poll.
Kunle Ezun, a currency analyst at Ecobank Nigeria, stated that the market had been trading around the general elections and Buhari’s person.
He said: “The market has been trading around sentiments and emotions, this is why the naira is appreciating; nothing has really changed in the fundamentals. There was high demand for the dollar before the election because some people predicted post-election violence. Now, the game is over and there is no violence. So, the demand for the greenback is abating.
“The market is also trading around the sentiment that Buhari will fight corruption, strengthen institutions and eliminate wastages. But after his inauguration, the market will trade around the fundamentals like the oil price, external reserves and others.”
The naira-dollar exchange rate has yet to witness any change on the interbank market.
On Wednesday, the local currency closed at 197 to the dollar, a level it had traded at since February after the Central Bank of Nigeria pegged the rate following a de facto devaluation.
It should be noted that in his presidential promises Gen Buhari, on Monday, March 23, said he would ensure that the naira was equal to the dollar in value, if voted into office.
The naira has mostly traded in a range of 198 to 200 per dollar since mid-February when the central bank scrapped twice-weekly foreign-exchange auctions at which the naira was sold to banks at a subsidised rate in a band that varied a maximum of 5% on either side of 168.

Gunmen Cause Mayhem In Rivers

Mayhem was unleased by unknown gunmen on Friday night in Obrikom, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni local government area of Rivers state, killing a former local government chairman, Christopher Adube, and his two children.
Before leaving, the gunmen also shot and killed two people who were with the former chairman at his residence.
The incident, which was said to have happened at about 8.30pm, caused panic within Obrikom and its neighbouring community. Adube was also described as a traditional ruler.
The Punch gathered that the gunmen first shot at the second son and the first daughter of the former chairman before killing him (Adube), who is a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress in the area.
Speaking in a telephone interview with Saturday Punch, the state deputy chairman of the APC, Prince Peter Odiche, disclosed that Adube’s driver was also not spared by the unknown gunmen, who shot and killed him at close range.
Odiche, who is an native of Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni LGA, added that the residence of the State House of Assembly candidate for the APC in the area, Vincent Ogbuagu, was torched by suspected arsonists.
“I learnt they (unknown gunmen) killed Hon. Christopher Adube, his second son and his first daughter, his driver and two other persons that visited him (Adube). “The incident happened this evening at about 8.30pm. The house of the APC House of Assembly candidate for ONELGA, Hon. Vincent Ogbuagu was burnt,” Odiche stressed.
He explained that the ugly incident, which occurred barely a week before the governorship and House of Assembly elections, was aimed at intimidating APC members and supporters.
The state APC deputy chairman blamed the Peoples Democratic Party in ONELGA for the development, saying, “The PDP in ONELGA is trying to do everything to stop us (APC) from coming out to vote. They want to scare us.”
The state police public relations officer, Ahmad Mohammad, admitted that he was yet to know what happened in the area.
Reacting, the state PDP publicity secretary, Samuel Nwanosike, said the APC was playing politics with security matters.
Nwanosike said, “If the APC chieftain is accusing the PDP in ONELGA for an incident that just occurred, then the police should interrogate him (APC chieftain). The PDP in ONELGA is not violent. So, the police should be allowed to do their investigation.
“The APC should stop politicising security matters, especially when it involves human lives. I will not make further comment until the police conclude their investigation.”

Documents Signed To Impeach Fayose Revealed

A plot to impeach the Ekiti state governor, Ayodele Fayose, has thickened following revelations that at least 18 members of the Ekiti State House of Assembly have agreed to begin investigations into allegations of grave misconduct against the governor.

Governor Ayodele Fayose

Sahara Reporters has obtained documents accusing Fayose of various acts of gross misconduct, a first step to his possible impeachment by the lawmakers.
In June 2014, Fayose, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), decisively won the governorship of Ekiti state after defeating the then incumbent Governor Kayode Fayemi of the All Progressives Congress (APC) throughout the state.
However, a major shadow was cast over the PDP candidate’s victory when an audiotape in which several PDP politicians, including the then minister of state for defence, Musiliu Obanikoro, the minister for police affairs, Jelili Adesiyan, a former senator Iyiola Omisore, and Fayose, ordered Brigadier General Aliyu Momoh to use soldiers to intimidate and arrest APC members in a scheme to guarantee victory for the PDP governorship candidate.
READ ALSO: Tony Blair Praises Nigeria’s Conduct Of Polls
One of the legislators in Ekiti state told a correspondent, “We are going to look at the allegations against Governor Ayodele Fayose in a responsible manner and make our decision in line with the rule of law and the overall interest of the people of the state.”
Asked to comment on the timing of the impeachment plot, a week after the APC’s presidential candidate won last weekend’s presidential election, the legislator said the assembly was already working on the issue before the elections of March 28. “I can assure you that this is not a case of partisan witch-hunt,” the lawmaker said. He added, “We are approaching the investigation with an open mind. No conclusions can be reached without a thorough investigation.”
If the case ends up in Fayose’s impeachment, he would become the first Nigerian governor to be impeached twice. He was impeached in October 2006 during his first run as governor of the state.

How to Hide Tweets Of People You Follow Without Unfollowing Them

On Monday, Twitter announced the introduction of a new account feature called MUTE, to people who use Twitter iPhone and Android apps and twitter.com; a change I personally have been waiting for.


Mute is a feature that allows you to hide a user’s Tweets from your timeline without you having to unfollow them. When you mute a user on Twitter, their content will no longer be visible to you on your Timeline. Unlike blocking, the person can still follow you, interact with your tweets and can still send your direct messages.

How To Mute a Twitter user on Twitter.com:

Muting from a Tweet:

    ==> From a Tweet, click More at the bottom of the Tweet.
    ==> Click Mute.

Muting from a profile:
    ==> Go to the profile page of the person you wish to mute.
    ==> Click the gear icon  on their profile page. This brings up a drop-down actions menu.
    ==> Select Mute from the options listed.

Once you’ve muted a user on the web, you will see a confirmation banner. If you made a mistake, you can click Undo to unmute a user right away.

How To mute a Twitter user via Twitter iOS and Android Apps

Muting from a Tweet:

    ==> Tap a Tweet from the user you’d like to mute.
    ==> Tap the the three dots at the bottom-right corner of the tweet.
    ==> Tap "Mute..." and confirm.
Muting from a profile:
    ==> Visit the profile page of the user you wish to mute.
    ==> Tap the gear icon.
    ==> Tap Mute and confirm.
When you visit the profile of a user you have muted, you will see the red mute icon. You can click on the red mute icon to unmute the user.
NB:  When you mute a user, their previous Tweets will still be displayed; only Tweets from the point you muted them will be hidden. @ replies and @ mentions from muted users you follow will still appear in your Notifications tab.

Twitter Trends Explained

Twitter then lists the current top 10 topics on your Twitter home and discover pages as "Trends List". Topics break into the Trends list when the volume of Tweets about that topic at a given moment dramatically increases. The Trends list captures the hottest emerging topics, not just what’s most popular.

According to a blog post by Twitter, sometimes a topic doesn’t break into the Trends list because its popularity isn’t as widespread as people believe. And, sometimes, popular terms don’t make the Trends list because the velocity of conversation isn’t increasing quickly enough, relative to the baseline level of conversation happening on an average day.

Trends are determined by a Twitter algorithm that identifies topics that are popular now, rather than topics that have been popular for a while or on a daily basis, to help you discover the hottest emerging topics of discussion on Twitter that matter most to you.

Some Trends have # sign before the word or phrase. This is called a hashtag and is included specifically in Tweets to mark them as relating to a topic, so that people can follow the conversation in search.

When signed into your account on the web, Trends will be tailored for you based on your location and who you follow. You can choose to Keep tailored trends based on your location or choose a nearby location or search locations.

Clicking any of the Trends takes you to the Twitter search results for that Trend. You'll see all Tweets including that phrase or hashtag.  If you want to participate in a trend, just post a Tweet including the exact word or phrase as it appears in the Trends list (with the hashtag, if you see one). Due to the large number of users tweeting about these specific Trends, you may not always be able to find your particular Tweet in search, but your followers will always see your Tweets.

Bill Gates in turmoil as teenagers challenge him with groudbreaking questions

Every week in the heart of Nima, a slum in the Ghanaian capital of Accra, families congregate at a local mosque. When the time comes, young girls say goodbye to their loved ones and part ways, filing up concrete steps leading up to the floor above.

There, inside a large room dotted with brown tables, rows of flashing computer screens await for them.

"When the parents are praying [downstairs], we are teaching the girls upstairs," explains tech entrepreneur Regina Agyare, who comes here every week to teach local teens how to code.

Agyare's first visit to see the girls -- students at education project Achievers Ghana -- was in January 2014. This was supposed to be a one-off seminar as part of her mentorship initiative "Tech Needs Girls" -- however, the students proved quite a draw.

"I fell in love with them, so I decided to set up a coding club and started having regular sessions," says Agyare, founder of software development company Soronko Solutions.

More importantly, continues Agyare, it offered the opportunity to show "the community the value of educating girls."

Breaking down social barriers

A predominantly Muslim area in a largely Christian nation, Nima has one of the densest populations in Accra. Agyare says life is often challenging for many local girls, with some growing up without ever leaving the community.

"Girls were being forced to marry early; [denied] their right to go to school. Most of their dreams and aspirations were limited to just what was around them.

"I was shocked... I thought we had progressed as a nation. I thought we had gone past that."

Amadu Mohammad

This, in part, was why Agyare lent her support to Achievers Ghana.

Set up by local Amadu Mohammad, the non-profit organization supports 250 girls between the age of six and 18, priming them for formal education through extracurricular classes in reading, math, poetry and information technology. Its goal is to break through social barriers and provide Nima with a generation of female role models, and so the group provides school funding to help the girls shape their own future.

The project was bequeathed its classroom above the mosque it shares a building with, and Agyare says the two work closely together. Achievers Ghana met initial resistance from local conservatives, but when the mosque's chief imam Sheik Hussein Abdul Rahman championed Mohammad's vision, few maintained their reservations.

Now, with parents paying a nominal fee towards the running of the organization, it is in everyone's interest that the girls succeed.

Nurturing the voice of the next generation

Fourteen months after her first visit, Agyare's coding class is well established. She has set up a mentor scheme as part of "Tech Needs Girls," recruiting and training women at university to act as role models for her younger students in Nima.

In each class, around 50 girls are taught HTML and run a blog called "Slum Voices".

"I definitely feel [technology] has given them more of a voice," Agyare says. "I feel like it's allowed them to express themselves and interact with others... for them, it's important to be heard."

Some girls had never used a computer before the classes began, but Agyare's even-handed approach has brought all her students up to the same standard. Agyare insists that "we don't leave anyone behind."

To that end, a few young male faces have found their way into her classroom.

This was an accidental revelation, according to Agyare. She details the story of one affronted boy.

"He wrote that he didn't like it when he saw girls learning about computers... it was difficult [for him] to see girls being empowered; he wasn't used to that."

Agyare realized that by integrating genders in her classroom she could begin to confront gender expectations.

For many boys the role of a girl is "to be their wife," Agyare explains, "and she needs to be taken care of." However, by running mixed classes boys from an early age "can learn to see a woman as a contributing person [within society]."

Long term goals

Now the hope is that many of the young students will be able to go to university -- and Achievers Ghana is working on a scholarship program to make the prospect attainable.

Agyare says the goal is not to turn every girl into software developers but to enable them to "use technology in whatever field they find themselves."

She adds: "It would be great if we had some girls that decided to go on and study computer science, but really it's about helping them reach their full potential ... and bring change to the community."

2015 Smart luggage is here: 7 ground-breaking travel accessories

What do you get when you combine a suitcase with the latest digital technology?

Smart luggage.

What can smart bags do that your usual luggage can't?

All sorts of cool stuff, according to discoveries made at this year's Travel Goods Showcasein Las Vegas.

In many cases, smart luggage links to your mobile phone via an app, which manages most of the bag's features.

For instance, you can unlock your bags remotely with your phone or track them wherever and however far they may get away from you.

In some cases, high-tech features are built right into the bag.

For example, you can use your suitcase to recharge mobile devices or to get a party started -- several feature speakers that transform a suitcase into a boom box.

The examples below prove innovative travel accessories can combine brains and beauty in one package.

Planet Traveler SpaceCase 1

The people who developed The Planet Traveler SpaceCase 1 say it'll be the most technologically advanced suitcase available when it goes on the market in November.

Features include a biometric lock that opens with a fingerprint, global tracking, a Bluetooth speaker and lithium power pack.

A digital scale sensor is based in the wheels, so you don't actually have to lift the case to weigh it.

A downloadable app controls all features and is designed to serve as a PTA -- personal travel assistant.

When it hits the market later this year, Planet Traveler SpaceCase 1 will cost $700 for a full-size bag and $600 for the carry-on.

Andiamo iQ

The Andiamo iQ has its own USB battery charger.

The Andiamo iQ is expected to hit the market this fall.

Among its many smart features are a USB battery charger, removable mobile power pack, remote lock and unlock function, digital scale and an anti-theft system that alerts you via your mobile when the case moves 30 meters away from you.

Available only in carry-on size, the Andiamo iQ will be priced at $599.

LugLoc

If the only smart feature you want is the ability to track your bag, save some money and buy a LugLoc.

All you have to do is purchase the tracking gizmo, which combines GSM and Bluetooth technology, for $70 and put it in your suitcase.

Then, download a $7 app, which comes with five free traces.

With a tap on the app, a map will appear showing the location of your suitcase, regardless of where in the world it is.

If it's in close range, maybe at the baggage carousel, the Bluetooth will kick in and let you know your luggage awaits.

Samsonite GeoTrakR

Another option is to buy a suitcase with the locator already integrated.

The Samsonite GeoTrakR, coming this summer, has built-in LugLoc technology that allows owners to track a piece of luggage's location anytime, anywhere.

Like LugLoc itself, the device shuts off in flight and doesn't interfere with avionics.

Samsonite will offer both carry-on and full-size options, ranging from $280 to $400.

A Samsonite GeoTrakR includes 30 free traces for the first year.

Benga 2S Duo 2

Transformation is a popular trend in travel goods this year.

It's easy to see why the Benga 2S Duo 2 was voted one of the most innovative products at this year's Travel Goods Showcase.

It's two suitcases for the price of one.

The Benga 2S transforms from one four-wheeled hard-shell suitcase into two two-wheeled rollers, each sporting one hard side and one soft side.

Each separate bag has its own retractable telescopic hand and a TSA-compliant lock.

As one piece, it fits most carry-on specs.

There's always the option of checking in half and carrying on half.

Expected for summer release, the price tag will be in the range of $400.

The LeTrav Convertible Carrying Case.

LeTrav Convertible Carrying Case

The LeTrav Convertible Carrying Case takes you from the bike path to the boardroom.

It easily converts from an elegant leather briefcase into a water-resistant backpack.

Amazingly, no matter which inside pocket you put items, contents remain intact and easy to access even after the conversion.

LeTrav cases range from $359 (made with ballistic nylon and leather trim) to a fully tricked out high-end leather briefcase for $895.

TAB Seatback Pocket Organizer

WALTER + RAY's TAB Seatback Pocket Organizer helps save passengers from having to deal with nasty airplane seatback pockets, which unbeknownst to many are one of thegermiest areas of an airplane.

The TAB Organizer solves that problem by tucking right into the pocket.

Designed in both zip sleeve and messenger bag style, the organizer contains six device-sized spaces to hold all your gadgets while inflight.

There's also a magnetic flap that folds over the outside of the pocket so you don't forget the TAB upon deplaning.

Harnessing the power of crowd funding, WALTER + RAY raised $17,000 on Kickstarter to fund development of the accessory.

It costs $50 to $150, depending on the material.