Rose Nasimiyu triumphs cancer

Nasimiyu triumphs cancer

Rose Nasimiyu, cancer survivor [Photo: Standard]

By David Odongo
Do you remember Rose Nasimiyu? The girl, who at nine years, last year, gained fame countrywide due to her brave battle with cancer?
Well, the princess who won everybody’s heart with her courage and positive nature was on Monday declared cancer free. It has been a battle that has seen the young girl fight for her life, balance medication and academics, and thanks to generous donations from well-wishers, she has undergone treatment and is now cured.

An exuberant Nasimiyu says : “CANCER IS GONE! Medication has stopped, I am so happy, I don't know what to say but to thank the Lord for what he has done for me.”
Nasimiyu was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a type of cancer which originates from white blood cells last year. She further thanks everybody who has been there for her through the ordeal that would have broken many grown ups.
“I thank you all who have supported me through this journey, I love you all and always will. Thank you all” says an ecstatic Nasimiyu.
Cancer treatment, including chemotherapy, is a painful and expensive experience with side effects like nausea and hair loss.
During an interview with Jeff Koinange’s talk show The Bench in October, Nasimiyu stated that the only time someone has been unkind to her is when a pupil at her school told her, "Don’t give me your cancer". She however says that did not make her bitter since the pupil was ignorant about her condition.
Nasimiyu had recounted her struggles with the disease and how she has managed to stay positive despite the challenges.
“I didn’t like chemotherapy. They put you on a drip for eight hours and then after that I always feel nausea, I vomit, I can vomit like 12 times a day and after that I feel a little better."
Her mother, Phoebe Wegesa Hughes admitted it has been a trying period.
"No parent wants to hear that her child has cancer," she said.
Nasimiyu’s struggle against cancer has seen her give motivational speeches, compose songs of encouragement, and even win awards. A few months ago, Jubilee Insurance awarded Nasimiyu its Samaritan Award (JISA) for the 3rd quarter of 2011 for inspiring cancer patients and the general public.
As a move to inspire other people, Nasimiyu recorded a song titled ‘I believe’ in June last year and ‘The cry of a child’ in October the same year. She also recorded a collaboration titled ‘Baba anakupenda’ with Blessed Jo.
“I want to tell everybody suffering from similar conditions not to give up hope but to pray, to believe and to trust that God is there. Doctors treat but God heals,” says Nasimiyu.
In an earlier interview with The Standard, Nasimiyu says it had taken five months before the doctors could diagnose her condition.

"I had a big swelling under my arm…it was very painful," said Rose. Later, she underwent a Fine Needle Aspiration (cancer test) two times without any results.

When all the tests returned negative for any disease, the doctors did a biopsy and cancer was diagnosed.
Nasimiyu, with the help of her parents formed the Princess Hope Cancer Foundation that she hopes will help create awareness on cancer.

ACCOUNTS ASSISTANT REQUIRED

We are a leading manufacturer and distributor of Personal Protective Equipment in the wider East African region. We’re looking to hire a highly efficient and effective Accounts Assistant who will be reporting to the Finance Manager.

Accounting Duties & responsibilities
    Maintenance of the general ledger.
    Maintenance of accurate stock ledger and fixed assets ledger.
Handling of office petty cash.
    Proper maintenance and management of all financial documents in an orderly manner.
    Post details of the daily transactions to the existing accounting software in this case
    Assist in accurate and timely preparation and consolidation of financial reports.

Qualifications & skills requirements
    Minimum of CPA sec 6 or equivalent.
    Good accounting skills.
    At least 2 years of relevant work experience in a multi currency organization.
    Conversant with QuickBooks & Pastel accounting systems.
    Process thinker, excellent communicator, excellent interpersonal skills, high degree of integrity and professionalism.
    Ability to work under pressure and meet strict deadlines.

How to apply: 
If you are interested in the position and have the skills and talents our client is looking for, we would like to hear from you.

Please forward a copy of your updated resume, and your current salary and benefits package to hr@kema.co.ke before close of business of 7th November 2012. Only successful candidates will be contacted.

Contortionist’s bid for more flexibility at work

Snake-like woman twists into incredible shapes

Bending over backwards ... Zlata operates computer while twisted into odd position

 

 Bending over backwards ... Zlata operates computer while twisted into odd position

 

FEELING overstretched at work? This contortionist certainly does — curling her body over a desk to use a computer with her hands and feet.

The bendy blonde shows she really does bend over backwards for the boss in a calendar of office-inspired images.
In one picture, artist Zlata — real name Julia Guenthel — pours coffee with her leg bent back over her shoulder.

Coffee break ... Zlata contorts to pour brew

Another shows her holding a presentation with her head between her legs.
She also squeezes herself into a suitcase, under a desk and contorts herself on a chair.

 Flexible ... artist holding presentation and squeezing into suitcase

Zlata, whose calendar is aptly called More Flexibility in the Office, said: “Most CEOs want to have more flexibility in work from their employees.
“Through my calendar I hope to inspire employees on becoming more flexible and give bosses the right motivation.
“It is my profession to train my body to be very flexible.”
Zlata has been a contortionist since she was 17.
Her talent for stretching was discovered when she was four.
She then went on to study at circus school when she was six before moving from her native Kazakhstan to Leipzig, Germany, at the age of 16.
She rose to fame on the country’s version of Britain’s Got Talent and has since worked for a number of big companies and become a sensation as far away as China.

 12 months of contortion ... calendar

Bending the rules ... Zlata's body is extremly stretchy

But Zlata, who likes to be known as the Goddess of Flexibility, is hoping to make it big as an actress in Hollywood.
She trains for three hours a day and can hold positions for up to five minutes

Desk exercise ... not many can follow this workout

Zlata added: “I love it to get into extreme positions like that and test my physical boundaries.
“They are really not painful – in fact it’s an amazing feeling to be in such tight holds and extreme positions.”

Chair is taken ... Zlata in impossible pose

Audit Assistant

Audit Assistant -Ref.No.AA1
Reporting to the Internal Auditor;

Duties and Responsibilities
Work under the guidance of the internal auditor to carry out the following tasks;
    Evaluating the Sacco’s operating controls and policies
    Evaluating the Sacco’s adherence to regulatory guidelines and key business indicators.
    Assisting in undertaking of internal audit assignments
    Following up on audit recommendations
    Verifying payment vouchers and schedules for authenticity and make recommendations to the internal auditor
    Make periodic reports to the Internal Auditor on Compliance
    Any other duties that may be allocated by the Internal Auditor from time to time

Key Qualifications
    Business related degree or CPA II qualification
    One year experience in a similar role
    Good communication skills both written and oral
    Computer literate

Qualified applicants should send their applications and detailed CVs by 2nd November 2012 to the email address below indicating the job reference number as the subject line.

Please quote your Current Salary and Expected Salary. Only Shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

The Head
Co-operative Consultancy Services Ltd
Email: co-opconsultancy@co-opbank.co.ke

Internal Auditor

Chuna Sacco was established in 1976 with membership comprising current employees and ex-employees of the University of Nairobi. The Sacco currently has a membership of 5,000.
The Sacco is interested in filling the following positions;

 Internal Auditor-Ref.No.IA1
Reporting functionally to the Audit Committee and administratively to the CEO;


Duties and Responsibilities
    Evaluating institutional controls to determine their effectiveness and efficiency
    Recommending improvement to institutional controls, operations and risk mitigation solutions.
    Determining the level of compliance with internal policies, procedures, statutory and regulatory requirements.
    Evaluating and verifying final accounts together with the audit committee
    Conducting special audits on specific operational areas out of management requests.
    Making Periodic reports to the audit committee and management.
    Coordinating work with external auditors.

Qualifications
The holder must possess the following qualifications;
    A business related degree from a recognized institution
    Must hold CPA (K) and registered with ICPAK.
    Minimum of three (3) years’ experience in a busy environment with demonstrated outstanding professional competence.
    Those with a CISA qualification will have an added advantage.
    Good analytical and reporting skills.
    High integrity and honesty
Qualified applicants should send their applications and detailed CVs by 2nd November 2012 to the email address below indicating the job reference number as the subject line.

Please quote your Current Salary and Expected Salary. Only Shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

The Head
Co-operative Consultancy Services Ltd
Email: co-opconsultancy@co-opbank.co.ke 

Lady Accountant (Gross Salary 50k)

Lady Accountant (Gross Salary 50k)
 A trading industry, due to the rapid growth, a position of an accountant has been created.

The Accountant shall be responsible for the executing systems, procedures and controls in the entire accounting function covering the accounting policies, procedures and control, manner of record maintenance and reporting requirements.


The Lady accountant will also be in charge of a  team. The Suitable candidate should have good negations skills .

Duties and Responsibilities:
• Make payments to suppliers and maintain accounts for creditors
• Receive and process all invoices, expense forms and requests for payment
• Oversee the management and preparation of financial statements and management accounts.
• Assist in preparation of monthly management accounts and financial reports.
• Ensure filing of all payments made and record all financial transactions for easy retrieval and reference
• Prepare payroll and process statutory deductions of NSSF, NHIF and PAYE and remit as per set timelines
• Prepare and review detailed budgets for approval.
• Make regular reports to the board on income, expenditure and any variations from budgets.
• Apply accounting system compliance with generally accepted accounting principles for auditing purposes.
• Act as the custodian of accounting records, ledgers, revenues and operating expenses
• To manage and oversee the internal audit process and be in-charge of reviewing accounting and administrative controls
• Oversee clearance of debts and arrears within agreed timelines
• Ensure all taxation and legislative requirements are complied with at all times.
• Management of the fixed asset register
• Demonstrate clear integrity and a sense of ethics and responsibility to the farm and its employees on a daily basis, serving as a model for others
• Protect organization's value by keeping information confidential.

Required Qualifications
·         Possess a Bachelor degree
·         Must have a CPA (K)
·         Minimum 5 years work experience with the last two being in a supervisory or managerial position
·         Good negations skills
·         Good accounting skills. From books of original entry to management accounting
·         knowledge of Pharmaco/Pharmacy accounting system or Pastel
·         Good Interpersonal skills i.e. Influencing, communication and
negotiation skills
·         Problem solving and Analytical skills
·         Decisive decision maker.

Female candidates are encouraged to apply

All qualified candidates should send their applications including three referees, CVs to jobs@corporatestaffing.co.ke, indicating the title  Lady Accountant on the subject line.

The final presidential debate

The final presidential debate


WASHINGTON (AP) — Voters didn't always get the straight goods when President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney made their case for foreign policy and national security leadership Monday night before their last super-sized audience of the campaign. A few of their detours into domestic issues were problematic too.

A look at some of their statements and how they compare with the facts:

ROMNEY on Syria: "What I'm afraid of is we've watched over the past year or so, first the president saying, 'Well we'll let the U.N. deal with it.' And Assad — excuse me, Kofi Annan — came in and said we're going to try to have a cease-fire. That didn't work. Then it went to the Russians and said, 'Let's see if you can do something.' We should be playing the leadership role there."

OBAMA: "We are playing the leadership role."

THE FACTS: Under Obama, the United States has taken a lead in trying to organize Syria's splintered opposition, even if the U.S. isn't interested in military intervention or providing direct arms support to the rebels. The administration has organized dozens of meetings in Turkey and the Middle East aimed at rallying Syria's political groups and rebel formations to agree on a common vision for a democratic future after Syrian President Bashar Assad is defeated. And Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton brought dozens of nations together as part of the Friends of Syria group to combine aid efforts to Syria's opposition and help it win the support of as many as Syrians as possible. The U.S. also is involved in vetting recipients of military aid from America's Arab allies like Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Romney is partly right in pointing out Obama's failure to win U.N. support for international action in Syria. But the Friends of Syria group has helped bring in hundreds of millions of dollars in humanitarian aid and other forms of assistance to Syrian civilians and the political opposition.

In trying to describe the strategic importance of seeing Assad defeated, Romney stumbled in saying Syria was Iran's "route to the sea." Iran has a large southern coastline with access to the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. It has no land border with Syria.

___

ROMNEY: Said that when he was Massachusetts governor, high-school students who graduated in the top quarter "got a four-year, tuition-free ride at any Massachusetts public institution of higher learning."

OBAMA: "That happened before you came into office."

ROMNEY: "That was actually mine, actually, Mr. President. You got that fact wrong."

THE FACTS: Romney was right. The John and Abigail Adams scholarship program began in 2004 when he was governor.

___

ROMNEY: "In the 2000 debates, there was no mention of terrorism."

THE FACTS: There was passing mention of terrorism in the 2000 debates. In the Oct. 17, 2000, debate between Democrat Al Gore and Republican George W. Bush, Gore talked about his work in Congress to "deal with the problems of terrorism and these new weapons of mass destruction." And in the vice presidential debate, Democrat Joe Lieberman defended the Clinton administration's record of preparing the armed forces to "meet the threats of the new generation of tomorrow, of weapons of mass destruction, of ballistic missiles, terrorism, cyber warfare." Romney's larger point, that the U.S. did not anticipate anything on the scale of terrorist threat that existed, is supported by the light attention paid to the subject in the debates.

___

OBAMA: "What I would not have had done was left 10,000 troops in Iraq that would tie us down. And that certainly would not help us in the Middle East."

THE FACTS: Obama was suggesting that he had never favored keeping U.S. troops in Iraq beyond the December 2011 withdrawal deadline that the Bush administration had negotiated with the Iraqi government. Actually, the Obama administration tried for many months to win Iraqi agreement to keeping several thousand American troops there beyond 2011 to continue training and advising the Iraqi armed forces. The talks broke down over a disagreement on legal immunity for U.S. troops.

ACCOUNTS OFFICER

Accounts Officer
The Accounts Officer will be responsible for verification of vouchers and committal documents in accordance with laid down rules and regulations, data capture, and maintenance of primary records.

Core Duties and Responsibilities:
    Maintenance of primary records such as cashbooks, ledgers, vote books, registers and preparation of management reports such as imprest and expenditure returns
    The officer may also be deployed as a cashier where duties will entail receiving duly processed payment and receipt vouchers
    Writing cheques and posting payments and receipt vouchers in the cash books and balancing of the cash books on a daily basis
    Extracting and providing cash liquidity analysis
    Ensuring security of cheques and cheque books
    Paying personal and merchant claims guided by cash balances in the cash books and Treasury regulations
    Receipting of all money due and payable to Government
    Inventory control

Applicants must meet the following requirements:
    Have served in the accounting profession for a minimum period of five (5) years in the Public or Private Sector
    Have a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce (Accounting or Finance Option) and passed Part III of the Certified Public Accountants of Kenya [CPA(K)] Examination.

OR
    Passed Certified Public Accountants of Kenya [CPA(K)] Examination or its approved equivalent qualification
    Be proficient in accounts based computer applications
    Have demonstrable professional competence in accounts work

Job Location Mombasa

Please mail resume to globaltalentexplorers@gmail.com

Audit Assistant Required

Audit Assistant Job Vacancy 

A rapidly growing Nairobi based audit firm in need of an audit assistant with one year experience in an audit firm.

The successful candidate will be responsible for conducting clients audits, preparing audit reports and highlighting issues relating to internal control weaknesses.

Job Specification (Expected Skills/Attributes):
The incumbent will be required to possess the following attributes:
Excellent audit skills
Should be self-driven and work with minimum supervision
Excellent communication and presentation skills
Detailed understanding of the role and functions of the Internal Audit Dept.
Good personal judgment, initiative, creativity and maturity
Must have quick books experience.
Candidate must also be conversant with tax matters  and especially filling of VAT.

Qualifications:
Should have a minimum of CPA Part 2.

Experience:
Must have worked in an audit firm for a minimum of a year.

If you are up to the challenge, posses the necessary qualification and experience, please send your CV only indicating why you are the most suitable candidate for the role clearly quoting the job title (Audit Assistant(15k-20k))on the email subject to jobs@corporatestaffing.co.ke

Accounting Job

Maries Stopes Kenya is seeking to fill the following position:
Role: Grants Compliance Manager

Reports To: Director, Financial Management
Liaises With: Project Managers
Duty Station: Support Office

Key responsibilities
Produces monthly project reports
Supports project managers to improve financial compliance on grants
Supports project managers in the development and control of grant budgets
Supports project managers in the analysis of project transactions
Monitors and enforces compliance with grant financial conditions

Job Requirements
University degree in Accounting or Finance
CPA (K) or equivalent
Four years’ grant management experience in an INGO

Skills: Knowledge of donor financial reporting requirements highly desirable

Please check the MSK website "www.mariestopes.or.ke" for the full job description.

NB: Please clearly indicate the subject as ‘Grants Compliance Manager’

Applications quoting the position title with detailed CV with contact details of three referees (two of who should be immediate former supervisors) should be submitted to:

People and Development Dept
pd@mariestopes.or.ke

On or before 19th October, 2012

Marie Stopes Kenya is an equal opportunity Employer

Limbless Evangelist Nick Vujicic Honeymoons With New Wife in Hawaii

 

• 
  Nick Vujicic, 29, and his newly married wife Kanae Miyahara show off the wedding ring.
•  
• 
  (Photo: Life Without Limbs)
  Nick Vujicic, a Christian motivational speaker and evangelist without arms or legs, speaks to a crowd in the South American country of in 2009.

Inspirational speaker and Life Without Limbs author Nick Vujicic was spotted on the beach in Hawaii recently, enjoying the sun with his new wife Kanae Miyahara.

Just before he left on his honeymoon, he tweeted a message of praise to God, saying, "Here we go –WOO HOO! God is AWESOME!"
The two were married a few days before Valentine's Day at an undisclosed location in California after being engaged in August.
Vujicic, who was born with no arms or legs, was said to have placed the wedding band on his wife's finger himself while she in turn placed a ring-bearing necklace around his neck.
Committed to being a devoted husband, the 29-year-old preacher hoped to do all he could to be a blessing to Miyahara, who he believes is the greatest gift "after life, salvation, and a relationship with God."
Days before the wedding, he asked on his Twitter page, "anyone wanna offer some advice for me to help me be the best husband I can be?"
Thousands of people from all over the world who have read his book, heard him speak, or know about his story of faith have flooded his Facebook page with congratulations.
"I'm happy to see you happy, my hero," Smile Pepear wrote. "Wish you all happiness in your married life!"

Loretta Burn commented, "I met you last year at Nortland and have been a big fan for years. All I can say is, she's one lucky girl to have captured the heart of such a great guy like you!"
"You are a miracle in motion and an example to all what the power of love, faith and belief in yourself and your dreams can do," Darshan Gabriel Shanti added. "God bless you and your entire family and all your followers and the people you have yet to touch."
"If you've achieved all you have so far alone, looking forward to seeing how much more you achieve now there's two of you," Rob Wright said.
Born with Tetra-amelia syndrome, a rare disorder characterized by the absence of all four limbs, Vujicic does not let his disability overtake his life, having learned how to write, use the computer, play tennis, drive, beat a drum, pen an autobiography, start his own nonprofit foundation, and even surf.
At every speaking engagement, he has been vocal about God's vital role in shaping and renewing his life, which was once full of depression and bitterness.
"I found the purpose of my existence and also the purpose of my circumstance," he revealed. "There's a purpose for why you're in the fire."
Through his faith in God, whom he credits for turning his life around and giving him hope, Vujicic has touched millions of lives with his testimony, encouraging those who are broken and weak to trust in the Lord for provision and freedom.
"It's not about the outside. It is about being complete on the inside," he shared at a previous Harvest event in Seattle. "Because I have seen so many people complete on the outside but who don't know the truth. It is the truth that sets you free and who the son sets free is free indeed."
Vujicic's next speaking engagement will take place at Calvary Community on April 13.
Until then, he continues to enjoy his short time off celebrating a new chapter in his life with his bride. He also hopes to have children in the future, which is in fact, medically possible for him.
"I can't wait to be a father," he shared on "60 Minutes" previously. "We're going to be able to hug and play you know but I think it's just going to be a crazy day walking my daughter down the aisle."

Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/limbless-evangelist-nick-vujicic-honeymoons-with-new-wife-in-hawaii-69883/#WHLFgVZOrGktkFfv.99

Nick Vujicic on Why God Made Him

LimblessEvangelist Nick Vujicic, who spoke at Saddleback Church in Calif. on Sunday, was born with neither arms nor legs, and questioned God for eight years why it was so. The answer changed his life, and through him that of tens of thousands of others.

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  Nick Vujicic, a man born without arms or legs, is the author of the new book Life Without Limits:

•  

  Mars Hill Church Pastor Mark Driscoll had some harsh words about "most ...

For the now 30-year-old Nick, founding president and CEO of the nonprofit organization Life Without Limbs, the most important thing in life was to understand why God made him without arms and legs.
Speaking at Pastor Rick Warren's church in Lake Forest on Sunday evening, the inspirational speaker said he spent eight years asking God, "Why? Why was I born this way? I don't understand how can You say You love me when You allow me to stay in this pain."
Vujicic, who has been living in California since 2007, was born in Brisbane, Australia. His parents – Pastor Boris Vujicic and nurse Dushka Vujicic – were not given any medical explanation or warning about his birth with neither arms nor legs. But Nick got the answer to his desperate prayers.
John 9:1-3 spoke to him in a special way. The New Testament portion reads: "As he (Jesus) went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, 'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?' 'Neither this man nor his parents sinned,' said Jesus, 'but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.'"
The Life Without Limbs author described his feelings after reading these verses. "I got goosebumps on my skin I don't even have," he told the congregants. "And I had faith because I understood something. You see, all I wanted to know was that God knew what He was doing with me."
By the age of 19, Nick started to fulfill his dream of being able to encourage other people and bring them the Gospel of Jesus through motivational speaking and sharing his testimony about how God changed his life and gave him a future and a hope.
The desire to have arms and legs has remained, Vujicic admitted. Initially, he thought, "Lord, if you give me arms and legs, I'll go around the world and share your power with the world." He said he still has ups and downs in life. "I am just like you."
Vujicic said he has failed God every single day, but has relied on Philippians 1:6: "Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."
Vujicic recalled he and dozens of his Christian friends once prayed for 90 minutes for his arms and legs in a farm in a jungle in India. They made arms and legs with clay, and prayed it turn into flesh and bone. It didn't happen, but he had peace in his heart as he saw an eagle soaring in the sky throughout those 90 minutes. He said it was as if God was smiling, and was happy he had the faith to pray.
"Please give me arms and legs. But if You don't give me arms and legs, I trust You." This has been Vujicic's prayer. He said his commitment to Jesus is "to want His plan, and not my plan ... even when I don't understand."
You are praying for something, but what if God says "no" to that? he asked. "Is He still God? Yes. Will He waste your pain? No." He quoted Romans 8:28, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
Vujicic, who has traveled around the world, sharing his story with millions of people, said he's grateful to God for saving him from the two biggest disabilities: sin and death.
He said when he was 10 he wanted to commit suicide, and wanted to see someone like him so that he wouldn't be alone. Five years ago in California, he finally met a baby named Daniel, who too was born without arms and legs ... "exactly like me." "Not getting a miracle, I can be a miracle to Daniel ... an older brother of Daniel his whole life ... encourage him."
Nick said if he truly lived without arms and legs throughout his life "just so I can hug Daniel in heaven, it's all worth it."
"I found the purpose of my existence, and also the purpose of my circumstance. There's a purpose for why you're in the fire," he says on his ministry's website. "If God can use a man without arms and legs to be His hands and feet, then He will certainly use any willing heart!"

Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/nick-vujicic-on-why-god-made-him-limbless-80996/#RjAw8kPKOy2VvLyx.99

Facebook: One Billion and Counting

Mark Zuckerberg has just six billion more people to go.

Facebook said it has topped one billion monthly active users, a milestone that raises growth questions anew for the social network and whether it can profit off its giant user base. Geoffrey Fowler reports on digits. Photo: Getty Images.

Mr. Zuckerberg said Thursday that Facebook Inc., FB -4.73% the social network he started in his Harvard dorm eight years ago, reached the milestone of one billion monthly active members on Sept. 14.
The Menlo Park, Calif., company had reached 500 million active users in July 2010, making Facebook one of the fastest-growing sites in history.
Facebook didn't specify whether the one-billion count includes fake accounts, but it has been on a campaign to remove them. In August, Facebook said fakes constituted 8.7% of its users.

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg in San Francisco on Sept. 11.

 

The announcement couldn't come soon enough for Facebook. Investors today value the business at a fraction of the $100 billion opportunity they saw in the company when it held its initial public offering in May.
Other social media businesses are also running into difficulties. On Thursday, social-games maker Zynga Inc. lowered its earnings outlook for the year, in part because consumers appear to be losing interest in some of its games.
The question for Facebook is just how much value Mr. Zuckerberg can extract from all those people that Facebook signed up for free. Last year, the company produced nearly $4 billion in revenue, mostly from advertising—far less than the nearly $38 billion that Google squeezed out of an equally large set of users in the last fiscal year.
Facebook still trails behind other Web companies in capturing revenue from users. In the U.S., search engines such as Google and Yahoo make about $88 per person who uses its search engine, while Facebook makes about $15 per user, according to eMarketer Inc.
This week, Facebook executives attended New York's Advertising Week, trying to convince advertisers that its mix of direct access to people and their network of friends provide a potent marketing tool equivalent to five Super Bowls each day.
Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg said earlier this week Facebook is looking at "premium services for businesses" as a way of adding to its revenue stream.
Meanwhile, Facebook has grown increasingly bold in its efforts to find alternative lines of revenue.
On Wednesday, it began testing a service in the U.S. that charges members $7 to ensure that their friends see posts on the social network, angering some users who said Facebook was turning its back on a long-standing promise to remain free.

 

 

 

Facebook's next billion members may be tough to come by. There are some 2.5 billion people on the Internet today—and many of the ones not on Facebook are in countries like China that haven't welcomed Facebook's particular brand of online communication.
Mr. Zuckerberg has visited China, home to more than 500 million Internet users, but the site remains blocked there except to people who use tools to bypass government censors.
On Monday, Mr. Zuckerberg met with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev of Russia, another market where Facebook has had difficulty growing.
Mr. Zuckerberg, 28 years old, showed just the extent of his aspirations in a celebratory post on his Facebook profile in which he compared his social network to other inventions that have "connected" humans.
"We belong to a rich tradition of people making things that bring us together," he wrote. "We honor the humanity of the people we serve. We honor the everyday things people have always made to bring us together: Chairs, doorbells, airplanes, bridges, games."
Lately, Mr. Zuckerberg has also touted Facebook's efforts on mobile phones, which will prove crucial to the company's ability to attract more members from the developing world, and more ad dollars from consumers around the world amid changing Internet habits.
On Thursday, Facebook said it had 600 million mobile users, meaning more than half of the social network's members access the service on phones or other on-the-go devices. There are five billion mobile device users in the world.
Facebook has struggled to keep up with this trend, only this year beginning to show mobile users ads. Investors have been concerned that Facebook won't be able to generate ad sales at the same rate as desktop ad dollars.
Last month in an onstage interview at a technology conference, Mr. Zuckerberg admitted the company's previous mobile strategy was wrong. But he said Facebook could eventually make more money per user on mobile phones than on desktops.

More

• Digits: Facebook's Milestone

In a "Today" show interview that aired Thursday on NBC, Mr. Zuckerberg sought to reassure investors that he is the right person to lead Facebook, as some on Wall Street have questioned whether he has the ability to helm a large public company. "I take this responsibility very seriously," he said.
A Facebook spokesman said Mr. Zuckerberg wasn't available for an interview.
To date, people have made 140 billion friend connections on Facebook, the company said. As it matures, Facebook users are getting younger: The median age of a user joining today is about 22, down from 23 for a user who joined at the time the site hit 500 million users.
The Web industry has various ways of measuring user reach so it's difficult to full compare companies. Facebook defines active users as a logged-in member who visits the site at least once a month, or accessed it in some way through a third-party site connected to Facebook.
Looking at reach by another measure, Google is the only Web company with more than a billion unique users visiting its stable of websites monthly, according to data from comScore Inc. It took Google from 1998 to 2011 to reach the one billion mark

Coffee Linked to Vision Loss

Coffee Linked to Vision Loss

A new Harvard study has discovered a high incidence of vision problems among men and women who drank three or more cups of coffee a day. The research, published in Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, linked heavy consumption of caffeinated coffee with increased likelihood of developing exfoliation glaucoma, an eye disorder that affects about 10 percent of adults over age 50 and can lead to vision loss or blindness.
Specifically, the researchers reported that adults who drank three or more cups of coffee daily were 34 percent more likely to develop exfoliation glaucoma, compared to those who abstained from coffee. Women with a family history of glaucoma were at the highest risk, with their threat of exfoliation glaucoma soaring by 66 percent if they quaffed three or more cups of java per day.
Here’s a closer look at the study and what it means for coffee-lovers.

What is exfoliation glaucoma?

Glaucoma, the second leading cause of blindness in the world, affects 60 million people. It is a group of painless diseases that can damage the optic nerve, if untreated. Typically, this damage results from increased pressure within the eye, usually due to fluid buildup.
Think of the eye as a sink in which the faucet is always running and the drain is always open. A tiny gland behind the iris produces fluid to nourish the cornea and lens, then the fluid flows out of the eye through spongy tissue called the trabecular network, explains the Glaucoma Foundation.
Exfoliation glaucoma, sometimes called “exfoliation syndrome,” is marked by tiny, dandruff-like flakes building up on the lens of the eye. The flakes are rubbed off as the lens of the iris (colored part of the eye) moves, causing the spongy tissue that normally serves as the eye’s drain to get clogged. The result is increased pressure, sometimes very high pressure, inside the eye. The cause of exfoliation glaucoma is unknown, but genetics appear to play a role.

How was the study conducted?
The Harvard study was the first to link heavy coffee consumption and glaucoma risk in Americans by analyzing data from nearly 79,000 women in the well-known Nurses’ Health Study (NHS) and more than 42,000 men in the Health Professionals Followup Study (HPFS).
The researchers looked at men and women ages 40 or older who did not have glaucoma at the start of the study, and had received eye exams from 1980 (for women in the NHS) or 1986 (for men in the HPFS) to 2008. The study looked at health questionnaires the participants filled out about consumption of caffeinated drinks, including coffee, and their medical records (to identify cases of exfoliation glaucoma).
The analysis showed a significant rise in incidences of exfoliation glaucoma among people who drank three or more cups of coffee, but nolink between drinking other caffeinated beverages, such as soda or tea.

The Scandinavian Link

"Scandinavian populations have the highest frequencies of exfoliation syndrome and glaucoma," author Jae Hee Kang, ScD, of Channing Division of Network Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, told Science Daily.
"Because Scandinavian populations also have the highest consumption of caffeinated coffee in the world and our research group has previously found that greater caffeinated coffee intake was associated with increased risk of primary open-angle glaucoma [another form of the disease], we conducted this study to evaluate whether the risk of exfoliation glaucoma…may be different by coffee consumption,” Kang added.

Should you cut down on coffee?

As I’ve reported previously, coffee has a number of health perks, including reducing risk for superbug infections, diabetes, strokes, and breast and prostate cancer. Kang emphasizes that further study is necessary to find direct evidence that heavy consumption of caffeinated coffee is indeed a risk factor for exfoliation glaucoma.
“If [the findings are] confirmed,” she told HealthDay News, “those at risk of exfoliation glaucoma—particularly those with a family history of glaucoma—would be recommended to limit their intake [of coffee] to less than three cups per day.”
Several eye experts say that they’re not cutting down on java—at least not yet, because this type of study is not designed to prove a cause-and-effect relationship. Therefore, variables other than drinking large amounts of caffeinated coffee may explain the apparent association with glaucoma.

Who is at risk for glaucoma?

Because glaucoma is painless, many people don’t know they have it until irreversible vision impairment occurs. To detect it in the early, treatable stages, the Mayo Clinic recommends getting a comprehensive eye exam every three to five years starting at 40 and annually starting at 60.
Screening is particularly crucial if you have any of these risk factors, says the Glaucoma Foundation:

• Being over 60. You are six times more likely to develop glaucoma if you’re older than 60.
• Family history. Having close relatives with glaucoma multiples your risk by four to nine times.
• Steroid medication use. One study found that heavy use of inhaled steroids for asthma boosted glaucoma risk by 40 percent.
• Ethnicity.African-Americans are six to eight times more likely to develop glaucoma than Caucasians. People of Hispanic ancestry are also at higher risk.
• Eye injury. Blunt injuries that “bruise” the eye can lead to glaucoma, either soon after the injury or years later. Use protective eyewear for activities that may cause eye injury, such as sports like boxing or baseball, or using power tools