User:Dannyntui/MyCombi.net

MyCombi.net is a Cameroonian social network used by thousands of Cameroonians around the world. According to MyCombi.net "about page", MyCombi.net ‘is an all-purpose tool for communication and finding friends, family members , colleagues , and making new acquaintances  that is used by thousands of Cameroonians around the world daily. We like to call it a "platform of expression"  used by Cameroonians  to reunite with friends, classmates, colleagues, loved ones or to  make new friends, promote businesses, or just plainly for leisure purposes.’

History
MyCombi.net was created by two Cameroonians, Daniel Ntui and Agrius Oleme. The word "combi" is colloquially used in Cameroon to mean  "buddy" or "friend" or "acquaintance" and hence, according to these articles posted on popular Cameroonian news portals , Bonaberi.com and Camer.be , they chose this word, "combi"  so that Cameroonians can relate to it. The site is currently run by the Cameroonian company Combi Group Limited as part of the Combi Technologies division, with headquarters in Yaounde,Cameroon.

Website Philosophy
According to MyCombi.net's creators  and the MyCombi.net about page, MyCombi.net specifically targets the Cameroonian online community and aims to provide a platform where Cameroonians can:


 * keep in touch with or find loved ones, colleagues and friends ;
 * find people with their old classmates;
 * get updated on the latest news and info relating to Cameroon and Cameroonians all around the globe ;
 * search for jobs or other career opportunities in Cameroon or abroad.
 * build and promote individual or business portfolio;
 * set up events and group listings;
 * exchange ideas in the forums;
 * create classified advertisements;
 * play online games or partake in other activities.

Reception by the Cameroonian online community
MyCombi.net is the currently leading social network for Cameroonians according to multiple leading Cameroonian news portals and  online blogs with a user base estimated to be more than 10,000, as of August 8, 2011, with average monthly page impressions of about 230,000.As the first and only major full-scale Cameroonian social network, it has enjoyed a quick growth with a lot of positive reviews from the Cameroonian Internet community.The idea of creating a social network to unite the Cameroonian internet users has been largely praised by Cameroonians. One popular blogger even wrote on his [about MyCombi.net ] (in French) :

"C’est une excellente initiative, qui a surement demandé un travail ardu. Seulement, il ya encore beaucoup à faire afin que ce soit au top, et j’espère que les créateurs sont prêts à continuer dans ce sens. Il ne faut pas s’asseoir sur ses lauriers et se dire que c’est fait, sinon ils fermeront le site dans quelques mois. Je leur souhaite donc bien du courage, et je les félicite pour ce concept!"

- GaelM (Cameroonian blogger)

which translates into English

"'It is an excellent initiative, which also requires a lot of hard work.There's still much work to be done and I hope that the creators are ready to continue in this direction. They should not rest on their laurels and say "it's done!" otherwise they will close down the site after a few months. I also would like to encourage them and I applaud them for them for this concept.'"

Controversies
According to a Cameroonian blogger, identified as GaelM, there have been reports Javascript errors when navigating the site , using older versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer (version <=7 ) and also some older versions of Firefox. These users have been advised to use newer and more mainstream web browsers such as Chrome and Firefox.


 * MyCombi.net team has also been criticized by fans of popular social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, QQ for posting comic strips depicting the MyCombi.net mascot ,The CombiNator, strangling the Twitter bird, and shattering what appears to be a Facebook's logo, while boasting that the technology used by MyCombi.net is more superior than those used by the above mentioned services.
 * Another comic strip was posted on June 10,2011, urging all Cameroonians to migrate into MyCombi.net from popular social network services and failure to do so would result in their accounts on these services to be "CombiNated".

Events
MyCombi.net also announced on their site that they would be sponsoring a Beach party at the Cameroonian coastal city of Kribi from August 7 to August 9, 2011. This event was, among other purposes, to commemorate the official launching of the website in Cameroon.