Google
Incorporation is prepared to train thousands of media personnel in
Nigeria on the effective usage of the tools of the search engine.
West Africa Google says it plans to equip more than 6, 000 media
professionals in the region on the appropriate use of Google tools in
2017.
Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, the Head of Communications of West Africa
Google made this known to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on
Wednesday.
He said that Google had already trained more than 300 media professionals in West Africa in the first quarter of the year.
“We are currently working on a programme where we can train thousands of media people across West Africa.
“Every discovery usually starts with a search. People usually
go online and search for ideas, innovations and what is trending in the
global world.
“Google has provided a platform for young people who are
seeking to bridge the knowledge gap by connecting with people of
like-minds in order to make their innovation a reality,” he said.
The communication officer explained that the focus on media was
because of the extreme important influence as a primary mode of
communication of informing the public on new developments.
“When the media knows most other people know. Helping the media
to tell stories more interesting and also helping to ensure the media
has the right tools to inform others is important to Google.
“That is why we have decided to embark on a massive training
procedure to equip the media with the appropriate use of utilising the
Google tools to their benefits,” he said.
Kola-Ogunlade said that basic data tools for media such as web
basics, advanced search, trends, news verification and other social
media search techniques were taught at the workshop.
He said that other tools such as storytelling with geography tools,
web-stripping and data visualisation were also added to make the
workshop more informative and educative.