Somewhere on the street of Lagos, looking around me, I see numerous youths clinging passionately to their communication gadgets, some laughing, while others had a business-like look on their faces, they all had something in common, they were all youths and they were networking, building strong and long lasting relationships that transcends any bias, be it religious, political, or ethnicity based which promises to transcend the bond of brotherhood!
From Facebook to BBM, via Twitter through 2go to Skype and all other social media platforms, youths are engaging each other, networking and building strong lasting relationships.But One individual who has taken social Media usage to a very positive and extremely fruitful level is no other than the one known as Gidi Traffic. In this interview,Gidi Traffic bares it all on how it all started and how he was able to overcome all barriers. Excerpts Below:
1.Who is Gidi Traffic?
GIDITRAFFIC Is just a regular person who became a social worker deciding to help make better the lives of others and contribute positively to the society by creating a service @Gidi_Traffic, an online based service that updates users on traffic, security and general information generated via crowd-sourcing within the city and beyond, to say the least.
2. What inspired you to start Gidi traffic?
Well like i said in previous interviews i have a strong aversion to traffic jams so i guess that set me up on the right track. I ran into traffic one day and i found myself wishing i had gotten prior knowledge on the road status before hitting the road, right there i knew there was a necessary service lacking in the system. So it got me thinking how I could remedy the situation and that's how the idea was born.
3. Is Gidi traffic having an identity crisis ,as u are now more like a human search engine?
GidiTraffic's Mandate is to 'Ease Stress' That has been from the Onset, my twitter bio clearly depicts this it's nothing New or out of the original plan, the word 'Traffic' encompasses it all which is -The Mutual Exchange Of Information-
4. Can you list the notable awards that Gidi Traffic has won so far?
Well GidiTraffic Has gotten a couple of recognitions both Locally and internationally.
From 'Personality Of The Year' To 'Most Informative' and 'Most Creative' Twitter handle of the year, all No-Plaque awards by The Ynaija Birdies.
And on the international scene a huge nomination for 'Life Saving Hero' category In the Shorty Awards which is the Oscars of the social media hosted in New York featuring the best users of the New media content, being nominated in the same category as the FDNY and winning the Vox Populi award was a big one for me. And Most recently the FUTURE AWARDS for the 'Best Use Of New Media' All of which i'm thankful to God for.
5. What feature would make your job easier if added on twitter?
A user friendly video streaming feature I guess.
6. What makes you thick?
Ummm... I Work Out :-) (Pun Intended)
7. Is being faceless a sort of business strategy?
It's Not a business strategy, I'm keen on 'Service Before Self' let my service to the people and not my person speak for itself, a lot of people work to project and promote their person in the sight and hearts of people, i work to project and promote my service to people. my person can not help or affect you as much as my service to you will so that is priority to me, plus I'm quite an eye-candy i wouldn't want that getting in the way :-)
8. Are you getting paid for rendering this service?
No I am not getting paid a dime for rendering this service, everything you see is funded from my personal resources. a lot of people say no one can work so hard and effectively without getting paid for it, I just crack a smirk at that every time. However it's actually quite true to a large extent ,we are all driven and motivated by different goals. The fact that I get messages from people saying 'God bless you GidiTraffic you saved me today, you made my day worthwhile, I found the help I needed etc. seeing the effects and influence GidiTraffic has on the lives of people daily and knowing that I Am indeed affecting the society in a positive way via my services is a very huge payment for me, it's my driving force and the major reason I created GidiTraffic was to affect the lives of people and by doing so positively change our society so that gives me a level of fulfilment.
9. Where do you see yourself in the next ten years?
Oh I'm pretty sure in the mirror, well it's the only place I can actually see myself now isn't it :-)
10. Five things you can't do without?
5 Things?, that would be Oxygen, Carbon IV Oxide, Food, Water and Ofcos Talking to God :-)
11. What does relaxation mean to you?
Well normally it should mean hanging out with friends, taking a dip in the pool, shooting hoops or going to the movies but sadly I don't have that much liberty these days.
12. Who are your role models and how have they motivated you?
Oh my role model would be 'The Brain' from 'pinky and the brain' Animated series.
Sounds funny right? Seeing this is a delusional mouse hell bent on taking over the world.
Well he must have had like a thousand failed attempt at achieving his ultimate goal but he comes up with a different strategy every time, He NEVER Gives up.
13. What do you wish people do more of on twitter?
Utilize their creativity for something more beneficial to the society. Sure twitter is like an online playground basically where people go to unwind and have fun which is one of the reasons why our twitter community is sadly so receptive to absurdities and frivolities. I only wish people would spend more time doing something that would positively affect our society and you don't have to create an account that detects bomb locations to do that, I always say its the little things that count "Each On Help One" It could be as simple as respecting the other tweep "People Should Not Be Judged By The Number Of Followers They Posses But By The Content Of Their Tweets"
14. Your most exciting tweet peep and why?
Oh you are not trying to make me start a war now are you? :-)
15. State the challenges you faced before you started and the battle for acceptability of ur concept
Well it's something that had never been done before so it was quite tough getting people to see the actual picture of how it works but as work was put it, they got a hang of it pretty fast.
I used to drive round town and get into traffic intentionally so I could post reports and ward people off that route. And I remember tweeting "Please Follow Back" at tweeps then to build my follower base for more effectiveness and Ofcos twitter being the way it is some people mistook the courtesy for me begging for followers and a few teased about it.
Source: Porsche Classy blog
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