Hi All
I hope you like the all-new Sunwords.com. We have given it a fresh new look and feel, and added modern features. These include video clips, easy links to social networks and sharing sites, better site navigation, and many more. You will also find an attractive version automatically renders when you visit the site using your mobile device.
We hope you enjoy the new experience. Feedback appreciated.
Related posts:
Previous post: Why an open-plan office is a modern necessity
Next post: Why what I think about the constitution doesn’t matter
Sunny Bindra's most hilarious articles in the Sunday Nation are now collected together. Read 'The Peculiar Kenyan' for Sunny's unique take on Kenyanness - a celebration of what makes us peculiar. Click here to read more about it
CROWN YOUR CUSTOMER is a short, punchy polemic by Sunny Bindra about the state of customer service in Kenya, and what to do about it. Click here to read more about it
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Sunny,
The first time the website loaded (mobile version) I thought I might have typed the wrong URL and was immediately intrigued by the easy to navigate pages. The new design is awesome! The fact that I can share your articles with my Facebook and Twitter friends can only be described by one word- cool.
Regards,
Kiptanui,
The Bindraholic.
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Delighted that the Bindraholic approves!
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Hi sunny
Like the new fresh clean look and the sharing tools are great. i also see the feedback section automatically recognises my name and email address too! i do miss the warm and “earthy” colours of the old site though, guess i had just got used to them.
Regards
Farai
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Farai:
I liked the earthy tones too! But everything must change. It was time for a new look and new features.
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Talk about leading from the front!
For someone who’s always encouraging CEO’s and their wannabe’ successors (myself included) to continuously “up their game” , you have clearly set a good example with the re-design of this website.
Not that the old earth-tone look was bad, but this one’s better – Like graduating from a Mercedes to a Maybach! Both Luxury Marquees, but in different leagues. Without a doubt, this new look is absolutely FANTABOLOUS (Fantastic + Fabulous).
Regards,
Mbogo,
Sunny’s E-Stalker!
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Mbogo:
And now the e-stalker has spoken!
Ahsante
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Very Good! I also like the idea of ‘The Peculiar Kenyan!’
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Sunny,
The site is refreshing. I love the fact that I can share easily on other social networks. About last year I wrote to ask you to join twitter and you said you wont and don’t feel the Impact it has. Am still inviting you to Join it now that you have links of twitter and facebook on your site.
Regards
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Boss!
I opened the website, found myself putting on a bikini, slathering on oodles of sun tan lotion and just sitting back and relaxing! Not only is it warm and relaxed navigating through this beautiful landscape, but I didn’t want to leave either (perhaps the fact that the sun-tan lotion also melted onto the mythical beach chair causing my skin to excruciatingly get stuck may have played a part!). This is simply one of the most well arranged and informative web sites I have ever visited. This crowned customer is peculiarly proud to be associated with you!
Carol the-fastest-forwarding-graduate of 2009
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Carol:
Now, only my fastest-forwarder could have written a post quite like that…!
Delighted you like it.
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Hi Sunny, I always read your articles in the newspaper. A friend of mine alerted me to look at your site. I would say, I am impressed. It is simple, easy to navigate and colours blending. Simply it is minimalistic. Minimal design is where the net is moving.
I liked your articles too. They are real life applications, not some theoretical business ideas.
I also write online at http://www.arimifoods.com. and http://www.changeyourt.com. You have hooked me, I will be a regular reader.
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Sunny,
Popped by just to say I much admire your writing.
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I love the new look! Very simplistic and pretty (hope that’s a correct adjective to use).
Why aren’t you on Twitter Sunny?
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Kellie:
Not on Twitter. I can’t think of anything to say in 140 characters!
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Hi Sunny,
I really wanted to show my appreciation at the new look website. It’s got a good Web 2.0 look and appeal to it, and the ability to share it on social media channels makes it even more appealing.
One thing, and I have learnt this from you. It’s important to share your opinion on something.
I wanted to share my opinion on your books. Firstly, as a world-class demanding citizen of Kenya, I will not buy your books. I say this because the design and layout of the books is substandard to say the least. The typography is out of sorts, the colours clash so much they actually hurt my eyes!
I’m saying this with full respect for the work you have done for years, but I think it’s important to impart the fact that there are quality conscious customers in Kenya, just as you always say, and we will not accept badly designed books(at least I won’t). The content could be great (I’m sure it is, infact), but the design needs some serious work to be done.
I hope you get what I tried to say.
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A Khan:
Thanks for your candid comments. Perhaps some background from me.
My first book, Crown Your Customer, was published by Storymoja when it had just set up in business. I have supported this bold young publisher because of my belief in the written word, and the lamentable lack of a reading culture in Kenya. Storymoja’s aim was to put that right by producing very readable, concise and affordable books.
So I contributed my first book to this cause. Naturally, given the publisher’s lack of budget and experience, in design terms it could have been much better. Your pain about the quality of the cover design is as nothing compared to mine – this was my first book, after all. However, much as we want to be world-class right here in Kenya, sometimes we have to start with small steps and accept a lower standard for the time being – provided the direction is right. So I have no regrets about that book being the way it is. Certainly it has sold thousands of copies and found its way into many hands, and affected many businesses large and small.
My second book with Storymoja is The Peculiar Kenyan (not yet released). Here we have paid a great deal more attention to design, and I got personally involved in getting it right (though that is not really my role). I think the ‘Peculiar’ cover – bold and colour-themed – is a huge improvement, and I am surprised to think you are rejecting that one too.
If you are, then perhaps we have an irreconcilable difference in taste. You must, of course, follow your own standards and keep your money in your wallet if you are not happy. But don’t let that stop you consuming the contents.
Thanks for your views – appreciated.
What do others think?
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There is nothing wrong at all with starting with small steps, but what’s the point of starting with steps that are leading to a wrong place? (as you said)
I applaud your commitment to supporting small businesses, but again what’s the point in giving them our custom if we are getting a substandard service/product? But it’s still great that you expected them to buck up, and yes, the new book is a HUGE improvement from the previous.
There is nothing in this world (at least I think so), that can beat the content that you create. My displeasure towards the design aspect of your books does not mean I will let it discourage me from buying your books. I will still buy them, there’s nothing wrong with the content, but coming from a design background I know that in order to compete, for lack of a better word, for the reader’s attention is a herculean task. And a pleasant layout, design, and print quality goes a long way in pulling in a larger audience.
For instance, if the Government of Kenya were to change the typography on all its offices, no matter where, to a more elegant one, I think it would go a long way to enhance not just the appeal of the offices but also the image it projects. I mean right now just looking at the outside of any police station, for instance, makes me shudder to think how they would be treating their ‘customers’.
This study by the Software Usability Research Laboratory at Wichita State University sheds light on this. Researchers analyzed 20 commonly used fonts by asking more than 500 people what images the fonts projected. For example, the study found the best font for projecting flexibility is Kristen, assertiveness is Impact, practicality is Georgia and creativity is Gigi. But there are two sides to a coin (or font): Kristen also projects instability and rebelliousness; Impact connotes rudeness and unattractiveness; and Gigi suggests impracticality and passivity. That’s just an excerpt from a research paper.
All I am saying is this, the font for the title of The Peculiar Kenyan quite simply does not match up to the standards set by yourself, on your website. I’m not saying it has to be the same font as your website, no. Your website can be looked at by anyone in the world, and I can bet you that no one can guess where in the world the website is coming from, quite simply because it matches up to world-standards.
Lest assured, I KNOW what you write, and I love it. A poor choice of font is not going to stop me from buying your book
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A Khan:
Your points are noted. I am also quite fussy about fonts and imagery – but I still have no idea why The Peculiar Kenyan’s font causes you such grief!
We agree to disagree…
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