JT Interview with Alemayehu Gemeda of Ethio Tube and Google Ethiopia
Jimma Times
Talented Ethiopian Programmer Alemayehu Gemeda is the founder of ETHIO TUBE - Broadcast Ethiopia, a video sharing website that has become one of the most famous places for Ethiopians online. In addition, He led a team to establish Amharic version of GOOGLE Ethiopia (also contains some translations in Afaan Oromo) that is currently viewed by everyone online in Ethiopia. The 26 years old Alemayehu Gemeda, a graduate student in Computer Science who also worked in ESAI, currently manages Ethio Tube and the Google "Ethiopic Translation" team.
Jimma Times: Congratulations on the one year anniversary of your Ethio Tube. When did you become interested in computers?
Alemayehu Gemeda: Thank you. I'd also like to thank Jimma Times for giving me this opportunity. When did i become interested in computers? Well, i'm going to have to go back to my final high school years at the Menelik II. If i recall correctly, that was the time AAU's Faculty of Technology introduced a brand new field - Computer Engineering. Mind you, at the time, i had never touched a computer. For some mysterious reasons, i was very much excited to hear the news. A few years later, i had a chance to move to Austria, which i eventually did to study Computer Science.
Jimma Times: What motivated you to establish this in the first place?
Alemayehu Gemeda: As you might recall EthioTube (http://www.ethiotube.net ) was established by the end of February, 2008. EthioTube was born when two young Ethiopians, my good friend Muktar Mohammed and my self, saw lack of interactive social network which is uniquely Ethiopian. We wanted to create a place Ethiopians can call their home whenever they look for videos related to their country. So, basically the whole idea is this: there is no need to knock every cyber door to find the video you want; it's all in one place - EthioTube.NET.
JT: Are you planning to introduce new features on Ethio Tube?
AG: Yes, we frequently add new features to EthioTube. For example, we will soon introduce a brand new video player, which is going to have much more functions than the one we currently use. Right from the new player, users would be able to email their friends. Some of the other features soon to be added are: rotating thumbnails, EthioTube in Amharic, and many more exciting features.
JT: When will the Embedding feature in Ethio Tube become available again so websites can play it on their pages instead of URL linking?
AG: We actually do have embedding feature; we've simply disabled it temporally for technical reasons. Right now, we are focusing more on building our user base. We believe we are successfully doing that. As we go, we will enhance our resources which will enable us to reinstate the embedding feature.
JT: YOU TUBE's success was that it allowed people to directly interact, instead of just posting videos of events. Can ETHIO TUBE replicate that to bring more viewers or what is it planning to do so?
AG: That's defiantly our goal. As you rightly pointed out, currently, EthioTube users are simply sharing videos with each other. We want this kind of communication to grow to a much higher level. We thought we should initiate this kind of interaction, which is to hold an EthioTube Contest in partnership with other Ethiopian organizations. We are finalizing the plan. Once we are done, we'll make an announcement. I'm sure people are going to love it.
JT: Between Ethio Tube and Google Ethiopia, which one are you more proud of?
AG: Well, it's really hard to compare both. Google Ethiopia is a community-based project, in which i take part. But the collaborative effort is defiantly something to be proud of. As for EthioTube, my partner Muktar Mohammed, whom i met in my involvement in ESAi, and i believe our project is not yet where we want it to be. We are of course both proud of our achievements so far, but you can expect more from us.
JT: You were also part of the webteam behind the online development of the Ethiopian Students Association International (ESAI) for some years. What have been some of ESAI's achievements?
AG: As i mentioned earlier, ESAi is the place where i met EthioTube's co-founder and co-owner Muktar Mohammed. ESAi is a place where one of the brightest young Ethiopians meet. I believe it has a great potential to achieve something extraordinary. Some of the achievements so far: ESAi helps young Ethiopians through study groups and leadership training; ESAi has provided Ethiopian Universities with Massachusetts Institute of Technology's course materials; Google Amharic - Ethiopic Translation was formed by three individuals who happen to be members of ESAi; and recently, ESAi has successfully held Literature Contest for High School students in Ethiopia.
JT: How about the Ethiopic GMAIL ?
AG: That's not really in our hands. Google frequently adds new languages into Gmail. They have their own cycle. Members of the Google Amharic - Ethiopic Translation have brought the Gmail translation work to 100% numerous times. The translation work obviously falls back as Google keeps adding new features to Gmail. Currently, Gmail is not available for translation work. As soon as it becomes available, we hope to finish the work. We need more volunteers, though.
JT: You seem laidback about your work, but it must be a very tiresome and tedious work, while it certainly does not come with any salary. Were there moments when you wanted to stop everything or said why am i doing all these?
AG: If you are speaking about my voluntary translation work, you are right, there are times when i get discouraged. Unfortunately, there seems to be not much of enthusiasm amongst Ethiopians for voluntary works. I strongly believe this needs to change. There are simply so many ways people can contribute to their community.
JT: You have already accomplished a lot at a young age. But do you have other big projects planned?
AG: Not any time soon. I'm very much focusing on EthioTube right now.
JT: Many decades ago, the western Oromia native Engineer Ayana Birru created the Amharic typewriter and now you are leading a movement to incorporate ancient Ethiopian languages to this internet age. Do you feel that you are one of those few Ethiopians carrying the torch from Ayana to set new milestones?
AG: I'm flattered by the comparison. I am nowhere near the great Ethiopian inventor Engineer Ayana Birru. He was one of a kind. He was there when Amharic language needed a revolution. I've huge respect for him. He inspires me a lot.
JT: YOU TUBE uses the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) notification process to identify and remove unauthorized Western music videos on its site. Do you use such device and is it effective in copyright protection?
AG: EthioTube also uses DMCA. It has been effective for us so far. However, many people don't seem to know the procedure when it comes to this. We've specified our policy on our website.
JT: YOU TUBE mostly does not protect Ethiopian artists from copyright violation as Ethiopians don't seem to have the financial and other resources to demand or utilize such protection like Western musicians do. The Ethiopian music industry - both the secular and increasingly the religious portion - is booming. Since the Diaspora market is important for music video sellers in Ethiopia, what do you think can be done to help them protect their products?
AG: First, i think they should unite to protect their product. Second, i see a great need for standardization in Ethiopia. Products made in Ethiopia need to go through standardization process. Then they will be in a better position to internationally protect their products.
JT: Instead of removing unauthorized content to protect artists who make music videos, the internet can be a source of revenue for musicians inside Ethiopia. Do you think this can be an opportunity for ETHIO TUBE to benefit by making deals with Ethiopian artists so you can both protect and distribute their products online in exchange for them sharing a portion of their revenue?
AG: Oh, certainly. EthioTube is always open for partnership at any level. We bring a huge community base that is growing day by day; i'm positive that Ethiopian artists could use this to their advantage. We definitely hope to come to a mutual agreement with them on this issue.
JT: As you know, Ethiopia has one of the least internet penetration rates in the world. This hurts all of us publishers but there is also a certain degree of inappropriateness and anarchy online since there is complete freedom on who puts and what is put online. Both generally speaking and specifically in regards to monitoring content from Ethio Tube users, where do you think is that important borderline - if it exists - between prohibiting inappropriate content and curbing freedom of expression?
AG: They go hand-in-hand. EthioTube strongly believes in keeping its house clean. Every user who registers at EthioTube agrees to play by the rules, which we have specifically provided on our website. We classify a certain entry as inappropriate based on our Terms of Use. Apart from that, users are pretty much free to express themselves.
JT: You speak Afaan Oromoo but you write it in Amharic alphabets. Most Oromo-Ethiopians say that one of the benefits of Qubee is that it already uses Latin alphabets and it is much easier to apply with Western technologies. Knowing how tedious your experience with using Amharic online has been, do you agree?
AG: Yes, i do speak Afaan Oromo, thanks to my father and grandmother. But i never had the chance to learn how to write in Qubee. I hope that changes in the future. Amharic is of course my first language. With regard to your question, my experience with Amharic has been tedious because there has been very little coordinated effort to make the language accessible for western technologies. Look at the Chinese, their language has one of the largest sets of alphabets/characters in the world, and yet they continue to be one of the leading forces when it comes to technology. So, the Chinese have shown us it's possible to apply western technologies to your much complicated non-western language. As for Qubee, technology could have been one, but i think there were a lot more other aspects that made its creation possible.
JT: Ethiopia can gain millions in revenue if it can develop the software industry and use Information Technology (IT) for economic development. What do think are the shortcomings, obstacles and perhaps achievements inside Ethiopia?
AG: I'm far away from Ethiopia to comment on this, but in my opinion, the country need to get much more industrialized. What a shame is it to graduate students in IT related fields, and not know what to do with them?
Educational institutions and industries are /should be interdependent. On a positive note, i thought Nokia's recent introduction of Amharic keypads for some of its cell phones has been a great development.
JT: Thank You for your time
AG: I thank you.
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