Social Treasure Hunt: And so the Games began...

Event status: ongoing. 

Event details: you have to see it to believe it. 

How to get there? We're organizing transport for spectators 

to Hell's Gate, on condition that they pay the fares. 

Confirm your interest on 0723272945

Spectator tickoz going at 2k, 

bash beginning 3pm till dawn, at Hell's Gate. 

Ever partied at a game park? Ever taken a game drive? 

Kama sio come join us for this all-inclusive package.

To check the clues on the official facebook page, click here.

See You There

Social Treasure Hunt: Less than 24 hours...

She's seated across me on the 'sina taabu', her edibly divine smooth-skinned physique calling out to me, whispering...wait! Um, wrong blog! Clearly the preceding loss of bearing mitigates my absence from the blogosphere yesterday, right? Surely a man must be excused for exhibiting male tendencies. Anywho, On to the real crux of the issue...loading Social Treasure Hunt....all systems online...live in 5...4...3...2...

In less than 24 hours, at 8am tomorrow to be precise, the clues will start rolling via the the Social Treasure Hunt Kenya MMX Facebook page and #socialtreasurehunt on Twitter. As a last minute precaution, I find it necessary to give you a few details on the Rules and Regulations for the event...you Nairobians tend to go crazy at a party - which, granted, is your prerogative - but let's try keep it within these limits. For the release and waiver form, click here

The clues, as stated above, will start rolling in from 8am tomorrow - Saturday 18th December 2010 - and will be released on an hourly basis. Participants will then clock in at the village sight by 6.00pm for food, refreshments and freshening up for the night show, with Dj Creme holding it down till the early hours of Sunday. A photo hunt is scheduled for Sunday morning, and all participants and spectators alike will have the chance to partake in a game drive as well on Sunday.

After the closing celebration, final results of the contest will be posted, and the Social Treasure Hunt finally revealed.

COMPETITORS ELIGIBILITY
Any person licensed to drive on the roads of Kenya is eligible to be nominated as DRIVER.
The first named driver on the entry form will be responsible for all liabilities and obligations
both before and during the event. The Event organizers have the sole and absolute discretion to impose any penalty for incorrect, fraudulent or un-sporting behavior by any competitor or persons concerned with the entry.

ELIGIBLE VEHICLES

The event is open to any vehicle with 4 or more wheels which must be registered, and insured to
drive on the roads of Kenya, EXCEPT that the following are specifically excluded:-
a. Agricultural prime movers or similar vehicles e.g. Tractors, Combined harvesters
b. Earth moving machines and equipment
c. Plant and machinery for construction works e.g. Folk lifts
The Organizers' decision on the eligibility of any vehicle will be final, with unladen weight of any vehicle ranging between 500 and 3000kg.

DESCRIPTION OF ROUTE
The event will start from the participating group’s point of choice and finish at Hell’s Gate
Naivasha, covering a total distance of approximately 210km, and retracing many of the classical
routes. The participants are meant to follow updates and links offered by the Organizing
committee. Along the route, the participants are to search for 8 relics as updated by the organizing
committee on the social media platforms.

Teams may start with any relic of their choice. The teams will be adjudicated on grounds of route markers, these being uniquely-coloured flags marking the places where teams must go. All Route
relic markers are flags with the logo of the Social Treasure Hunt. Some may mark the place
where the teams must go in order to complete tasks, or may be used to line a course that the
teams must follow in order for them to get to the relic.

Detour
A Detour presents the team with a decision between two tasks, each with its own pros and cons. Teams are given several details about both tasks. Typically, one task is less physically demanding but is tedious or requires some amount of time or thinking to complete, while the other is usually a more physically demanding option. Depending on the team's ability, it may take less time to complete. The decision, on which task to attempt lies solely with the team.

A team may choose to switch tasks as many times as they wish with no penalty other than the time
lost in attempting the tasks and traveling between task locations. Once a team has completed one
if the tasks, they are given the clue to their next location.

Pit Stop
A Pit Stop is where all non-eliminated teams go after checking. Each Pit Stop is a mandatory rest period which allows teams to "eat, and mingle" with each other.

INSURANCE
Competitors will take part entirely at their own risk. The arrangement of Personal Accident Insurance, Comprehensive Vehicle Insurance etc is the responsibility of the Competitor. The organizers will hold entrants responsible for the behaviour of their friends, camping providers, assistants and any other persons who have shared their campsite.

So there you have it...the journey begins in a matter of hours, and while we've said it before, we'll say it again. It's informative, it's competitive, it's fun, it's truly reasonably priced - thanks to our sponsors (just try personal camping at a National park if you don't believe it), it's safe - thanks to KWS and the Kenya Police protection, it's brilliant and truly is and only can be - The Social Treasure Hunt Kenya MMX!

     Kosa uchekwe.

Social Treasure Hunt MMX - It keeps getting better and better...

You've probably heard about it by now. The social event of the year, fittingly slated for the end of the year. The event that will set the standard for the next couple of years on just how Kenyans ought to party. Backed by the Kenya Wildlife Service, National Museums of Kenya and the Music Society of Kenya to name but a few, clearly no other event screams its representation of Kenya and culture as well as the Social Treasure Hunt Kenya MMX.

 

The countdown began after the official launch at the Six Eighty Hotel with several corporates on board to endorse the event, notably Bob Collymore of Safaricom. As this blog hits its 3rd installment, we are less than 55 hours away from the commencement of a one of a kind experience in Kenya, merging a serious agenda - in the way of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals - with Social Media - in the way of Facebook and Twitter - and a pure uninhibited blast.

So what to expect at the event? Apart from the usual all-night raving characteristic of any event you crazy Nairobians partake in, what more do we have to offer? How about a free game drive for all participants and spectators alike? Get to be a tourist yourself, and better yet, all included in the ticket price.

There'll be karaoke as well for those of us who cannot resist a mic when we're drunk. Yes. Mea culpa.There'll be bonfires and of course the cocktail bars and nyamchom will help you keep dawn at bay; in the backdrop, the wildlife - our heritage as Kenyans - kept at bay by ample security from the KWS and police forces. Party in the park...that's about as much as I'll let out for now...you already know that it's a race, hence the need for a bit of mystery as to the direction we'll be dragging attracting you to.

Ticket sales are currently ongoing, and for further details on how to grab yourself one while they still last, contact Dan on +254721936870 or yours truly Ndialala on +254750695235. Peace. For now. Till we let it rip once more tomorrow. And push on to one grand finale to rival all others Kenyan come Saturday!

For further details,see the Social Treasure Hunt Website, join the Social Treasure Hunt Kenya MMX Facebook page, or #socialtreasurehunt on Twitter.  

To read yesterday's blog, click here.

The Social Treasure Hunt: Another Trip to the Bunduz?

‘So you guys are taking Nairobi to the Bunduz? Been there, done that.’

That seems to be the quick-fire response many guys have – or at least the relatively small number I have had the pleasure of talking to – when I approach them with this new concept from Tri-Bloc Ventures Co. Assuming you’re one of them, is it really? Is it just another trip to the Bunduz? Let’s break it down just to be sure. An adventurous odyssey to a relatively remote part of Kenya, with lots of fun activity for the day, food and drinks, performances by various artists for the night with Dj Creme holding it down till dawn...sound a bit familiar?

Well try this on for size: a sprinkling of campsites set on a wide radius of part of a site that is truly Kenya's heritage; an Internet hotspot for guys to load up and socialize online (sending pics and videologs of the day's convival interactions, poking guys on Facebook and tweeting just to keep anyone out there who's not coming for the event updated :); a free game ride for participants and spectators alike come Sunday morning; the chance to network with some of the best minds this country has to offer; and yes, the opportunity to tell EVERYONE someday, that you were there. There when the most innovative and indigenous Kenyan idea came to fruition.

 A treasure hunt. A chance to have fun, team-build and most importantly have the opportunity to walk home with the grand prize. Ok, maybe it's more important just to be there and celebrate Social Media. Oh come on! who are we kidding...it could be you that goes home enriched!

The idea is to party hard, for sure, so there'll be bars and music, and lotsa food courts to everyone's reasonable likings, and filllings; but more than that, it's a chance to do what you do at work when you're supposed to be working; what we do at the beginning of every day, during and at the end of it. What has basically become the norm, on smart phones and other expensive gadgetry as on affordable handsets; and more than that, a celebration of it all. So while your boss may fire scold you for 'cyberslacking', we give you the opportunity to do it like never before, in a village setting with lots of fun people and in a backdrop the likes of which few others can compete with when it comes to being Kenyan.

Ask yourself; yes, you - have you really done this?

So yes. We are taking Nairobi to the Bunduz. But that statement in itself lacks the right interjectory cues, emoticons and expression that being there would actually afford you. So sign up before this train, and a piece of Kenyan history with it, leaves you stranded at the station of "wish-ad-been-there".

 

'Damn man! Mbona sikuishia?' - Do you really wanna be this guy?

For further details,see the Social Treasure Hunt Website, join the Social Treasure Hunt Kenya MMX Facebook page, or #socialtreasurehunt on Twitter.  

To read yesterday's blog, click here.

The Social Treasure Hunt

Citizens of networks the world over will tell you that Information and Communication Technologies have provided limitless possibilities; today, we face a host of previously un-encountered potentialities, not least online marketing, e-commerce and social networking.

It is in the latter aspect that Tri-Bloc Ventures Co. is proud to present you another world’s first: Social Treasure Hunt Kenya 2010, an event slated for December 18^th-19^th, 2010. 

Are you a mystery buff? Did you play Age of Empires and love the experience? Do you use the Facebook Pirate language just to experience a tinge of the treasure thrills as you ‘divvy up the booty to your mateys’? If your answer is yes to any of the above questions, then challenge yourself to participate in the Social Treasure Hunt. This quest will be partaken by teams, drawn from members of the public, on a mission to discover the still hidden wealth in our communities using social media and technology. The enduring purpose of the event will be to enhance the elusive potential of social media and help organizations become social and build sustainable connections.

One does find that the quest to communicate critical and important business ideas clearly can hardly be overemphasized, and neither can the use of Social Networks in business today. Social Treasure Hunt uses Relics, iconic symbols that create topics around unique things Kenyan and at the same time presents some aspects of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, while exploring the capabilities of these scalable technologies. This novel and interactive event is open to anyone and everyone above the age of 18, making no prejudice whatsoever of any participant’s identity. It will take place in the outskirts of Nairobi, with the details being withheld until the event begins – it is, after all, a race for treasure. 

Clues as to how to get to the event site will be exclusively sent through Social Media, notably Facebook and Twitter. It is therefore imperative that participants join the Facebook and Twitter pages.

“Are you a mystery buff? Did you play Age of Empires and love the experience? Do you use the Facebook Pirate language just to experience a tinge of the treasure thrill as you ‘divvy up the booty to your mateys’?”

Come Saturday 18^th December, a remote destination 210km (one-way) from Nairobi will be transformed into a hub of broadcast social conversations, with an evening party lasting till the early hours of Sunday; the hunt will then conclude on 19^th, with a photo hunt in the morning. A game drive is also scheduled for the same morning.

If it sounds mysterious already, it is. You can’t afford to miss it.

Through this daily blog, details will also be released to allow potential participants' understanding and appreciation of this ingenious concept, and improve their chances of performing to their ultimate on Saturday.

---

For further details,see the Social Treasure Hunt Website, join the Social Treasure Hunt Kenya MMX Facebook page, or #socialtreasurehunt on Twitter.  

Loin

Fred Wambugu Maina ©. All rights reserved

|

L'homme sombre. J'étais le premier à arriver, un fait que les archéologues peuvent confirmer. Au milieu de tout le chaos et les privations du milieu, j'ai survécu.

À cause de la dérive des continents, mes bien chers frères et moi ont été séparés. La fatalité les ont emmenés jusqu'au Nord, à l'Est et à l'Ouest. Tout compte fait, nous nous sommes développés dans des manières différentes.

J'ai beau constater ma couleur sombre, j'en suis presque toujours fier. Comme les nuages lourds noirs qui promettent les pluies, je ne promets que la grandeur des générations. Mais ils pensent diversement, me comparent aux singes; comparent ma couleur à tout ce qui est sinistre - le Cachot de Calcutta, la magie noire, la peste noire, la 'Black Maria'...tout ce qui n'est pas pur.

Pour qu'ils développent leur économie lorsqu'ils ont connu la révolution industrielle, mes chers frères blancs m'ont capturé, m'ont forcé à travailler jusqu'à mourir. Un forçat, ma race fut exterminé jusqu'au dernier. N'importe où en histoire noire, y en a une sombre histoire de sombres assassinats.

Leurs canots biens armés m'ont condamné aux Terrains Vagues, mais je l'ai supporté avec courage. Malgré tout. Le fond de la vérité c'est que je n'avais aucune puissance de plus résister.

De là, ma petite enfante, mon Afrique, est tombée dans un désordre épouvantable, un état qui nous distingue même aujourd'hui.

Au risque de tout perdre, je bats leurs abus à foison pour retrouver ma dignité. Ayant déjà eu des expériences qui donnent un coup de massue, mes frères les blancs, les rouges et les jaunes, même avec leur nouveau président noir, assurément ne m'accepteront jamais!

Leur discrimination, leur oppression, augmentent peu à peu, mais purement de puissance en puissance. À autrui toujours tout le mal, ils continuent à dépouiller mes terres, ma vierge Afrique, moins exposée aux maux du monde. Oh toi ma mère, violée! Corrompue! Abusée! Tu reste alors dans un état d'égarement, ton statut délicat, portant un coeur plein de malice, d'avidité; dont les hontes, les scandales, les meurtres...t'extirperai jamais de cette puanteur?

Maître de mon destin...vivant dans des bidonvilles? Pauvre? Je suis l'homme à tout faire, le vieux paillard, voire rien du tout!

Néanmoins je suis le pouce, la race humaine en est la main. Plus éloigné que je sois du reste, sans moi la race humaine ne peut exister. Au moins je reste libre. Invraisemblablement endetté jusqu'au cou, et plus personne ne veuille vraiment s'associer à moi, le tiers monde, mais affranchi.

Demain il fera jour, et on verra ce qu'on nous réserve. À chaque jour suffit sa peine, et l'afrique restera un have de ressources...naturelles et inattendues.

Qui suis-je? Ne m'avez-vous pas déjà vu? Tué? Si, bien sur. Mon noble visage ne vous est pas inconnu. Car je suis l'homme loin, l'homme infâme...l'homme noir.

An Avatar's Cry

Fred Wambugu Maina ©. All rights reserved

|

Darkness. I was the first to arrive. Any blind, deaf and dumb archeologist will attest to that fact. In the middle of all the chaos and trials of my times, I have survived.

Due to the continental drift, however, my dear bright brother and I found ourselves separated. Fate would have him sent North, East and West, to the lands of greener white pastures. Evolution would take over, take its toll, and while mine allegedly stunted, he tells me his development took giant leaps.

For the most part, I am always proud of this darkness. Like the heavy black clouds in the sky suggesting enriching rains to the highlander, I promise the grandeur of generations. At least I believe so, yet find myself questioning this ideal ever so oft. He has compared me to the ape, my complexion to all that is sinister...the black hole of Calcutta, black magic, the black plague, Black Maria...everything that is impure.

To further his conquistador's interests in the Industrial revolution, he came back for me. Captured me. Required, nay, forced me to work to death. A slave, my race exterminated, borne down to the very bone. Black history, thus, is littered with dark histories of bloody murder.

His superior weaponry condemned me to No Man's Land; still I bore it bravely. Despite the tribulations. Truth be told it was less a question of courage, and more one of a resistance thence proven futile.

My little infant, my homeland, was thus plunged into a cycle of irrevocable disorder, her naivety lost in the brothel whose twilight girls still linger distinctly to this day.

At the risk of losing all our camaraderie - or lack thereof - I fight his abuse by means necessary to restore my dignity. Despite my having been traumatized by past experience, he and brothers red and yellow - an old order despite the new black president - seem determined to sit back and watch me writhe in painful oblivion. Matter-of-factly, they aid and abet that vicious circle.

His discrimination, his oppressions, have proven augmentative, rising from strength to strength as he pursues the 'greater good'. He continues to defile my land, the virgin lands of mother Africa, little exposed to the evils of his world. Violated! Corrupted! Abused! Leaving me estranged, delicate to a fault, my heart full of avid malice; no wonder the shame abides, the scandals, the burning rubber and roast smell of death...will I ever rid myself of this pungency?

Master of my own destiny, he teases me. Really? Living in cardboard houses? A tattered existence, barely managing a dollar a day? Really? Am the jack of all trades, the gross drawn you can barely stand, a slave to the poor control of my Master destiny.

The fact however remains that I am the thumb, the human race the hand. Sure am farther away from him, them. But without me that hand can never be truly self-sufficient. At least, he claims, I am free. Free to forever be indebted to him to the nape of my neck. Released from the franchise and into a world that barely makes third best in a crowd of three.

Let's see what tomorrow reserves for me, me and my resources both natural and unexpected. Untested. Who am I? Haven't you seen me before? Killed me dare I add? Of course you know you have, dear brother. My noble face is hardly peculiar to you. For I am the departed man, the prodigal son, the infamous man...the black man.