To Studio Edirisa, one thing is obvious: in a couple of years, a touch-screen phone with decent internet will be in (almost) everyone’s pocket. Yes, in East Africa too!

But won’t such phones be quite expensive? Sure. However, if there is anything extraordinary about our region, it is how much people are willing to spend on a phone. And how much they love being photographed. And how crucially important it is to know what is happening in English football…

When we established a “multimedia magazine” called Studio Edirisa in 2008, it was logical that it would have the mobile phone as its destination.

Studio Edirisa’s target audience are young East Africans, from senior secondary students to young professionals. It is clear they will buy a mobile gadget the first moment they can afford it. But what should we do in the meantime?!

We have chosen the radio path - a one-hour weekly radio show with a lot of promotion for our website. The website is (mostly) daily, currently looking like a blog, but on the way to get into a more fancy shape.

On the image above, there is the mobile version of the new Studio Edirisa concept. … No special emphasis on the one-hour file, individual segments instead. Want to listen to everything we have done on career guidance? No problem.

… But should you listen, or should you watch?

When on a computer screen, the preference is clearly on the video side - it is awkward when you listen to an audio recording and stare at a blank screen.
On a mobile gadget, it gets more interesting - you can put it in your pocket, listen while you are doing other things.

So, a mix of video and audio should be the way forward.

An example: We have a humorous (ridiculous?) radio agony aunt panel that should morph into a filmed thing - with costumes, effects and more.

What about text?

We will put it in the background - for those who really want to get much more. Even if you are a slow reader, there is no more time-efficient way than to read.

Will we become a major player once? We will sure try. We hope we are an East African digital brand in the making.

This is the gist of Studio Edirisa’s presentation at yesterday’s lunch of Mobile Monday in Kampala.