Monday, September 21, 2009

TOPAZ AND AQUA, a toast to creative ingenuity.

Topaz and Aqua- information, muse and glamour. That is a simple way of describing it! I ran into an interesting website recently that I thought you’d like to read about it. Okay, no, it is not some bingo link to how you can win an online lottery. It is more exciting than that! www.topazandaqua.com is an interesting online magazine moderated by young Oyinade Olajiga. Divided into six creative pages that mesmerize visitors, each of these pages carries some weight of inspiration that will leave you yearning for more. Okay, I admit, a page or two is still under construction but the others will simply blow your mind away.

Is this a website review or what? No, it is simply presenting you with an exciting example of how young Nigerians are maximizing the internet as a platform of expression and communication. I mean, yahoo-yahoo is not all there is to cyberspace!

“’Topaz’ is my birthstone (November) which makes it a little more personal and ‘Aqua’ simply means water which is one of the simplest and most abundant things in life. I'm a very deep and sensitive woman, so I write down my thoughts, whatever I see around, built scenarios and all. I remember that I would write and keep most of my articles to myself for a long time. I would then bring them out, read them, get excited and funny enough, keep them back in a file, well hidden. One good day, I was bold enough to start a blog and I decided to publish a note. The feedback was awesome and people got back to me how inspired they have been and also encouraged me to put up more of my materials up there for people to appreciate and be inspired.” Wrote Oyinade, describing her venture into creating Topaz and Aqua.

She agrees that managing an Online Magazine is time consuming; it is no child’s play when it comes to conceptualizing, editing and publishing using digital technology. “Our target audience is knowledgeable people and as such, expects a certain level of crispiness in your writing to keep them engaged and entertained enough. Although it's easier to manage than prints but it is sure time consuming but the positive side is instantaneous feedback which helps you to know what people expect from you next … it has been an amazing experience.” She said.

Topaz and Aqua is barely 3 months old but it looks like it has been around much longer. If you want to add some colors to your day, then your next click online should be to see and feel what I’ll call an online magazine redefined on www.topazandaqua.com.

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