Countdown @AfriTECH 5.0: Top regulators, tech titans drive conversation on Africa’s digital independence in AI Era - ITREALMS

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The African tech community is counting down to the fifth edition of the Africa Tech Alliance Forum (AfriTECH 5.0), where the urgent conversation on achieving true digital autonomy will take centre stage, reports ITREALMS.

Scheduled for Thursday, November 13, 2025, at the Oriental Hotel, Lekki Road, Lagos, the conference promises to be a pivotal gathering for policymakers and innovators.

Private conversation comes to Skype via Signal, Microsoft collaboration

ITREALMS:

A San Francisco-based software entity, Signal and Microsoft Corporation, have advanced plans to introduce a Private Conversations feature in Skype, powered by Signal Protocol, reports ITRealms.

The collaboration, ITRealms gathered, would see Signal and Microsoft bring onboard end-to-end encryption to Skype, to make private communication simple and ubiquitous.

With hundreds of millions of active users, ITRealms gathered that Skype is one of the most popular applications in the world.

This, the partnership disclosed they were excited that ‘Private Conversations’ in Skype will allow more users to take advantage of Signal Protocol’s strong encryption properties for secure communication.

ITRealms also reports that the Private Conversations feature is now available in preview for Skype Insiders.

“There’s still more to come,” the partnership to ITRealms in a press statement made available at the weekend.

ITRealms recalls that with this development, Microsoft has joined a growing list of organizations including WhatsApp, Google, Facebook, and Signal itself that have integrated the open source Signal Protocol into their messaging platform.

Officials, told ITRealms, “We’re going to continue our efforts to advance the state of the art for frictionless private communication, in our own app and in others. We’re excited about the future of Signal Protocol and the places it is going.”

Further, they said, “Signal is making private communication simple. We design open protocols, develop Open Source software, and give it away for free.

Though they noted it has been challenging work, “… We started this project because we think making things is fun, privacy is valuable, and cryptography is remarkable.”

Chuks Egbune/GEE

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Phone etiquette to note

Education@ITRealms:

A telephony conversation is all about communicating in the right way, as it is different from a face-to-face conversation, which makes understanding the other person pretty easy for you. 

Observing telephone manners is important especially if it is an official call that you are making or receiving. Being able to speak on the phone with good manners and poise is just as important as communicating face-to-face.

STEPS TO BETTER PHONE MANNERS:
1.         Always introduce yourself - When you call someone, a friend, family or stranger, speak clearly in a modulated voice and introduce yourself. Smile before taking the call, this allows you to be more amicable.

2.         Be well-mannered - It would be a better world if we all treated each other the way we wish to be treated. When you are on the telephone with someone, you should treat the caller with the same dignity and respect we expect from them.

3.         Proper Tone of Voice - Tone of voice is the non-verbal component of your telephone personality. Do not sound anxious, aggressive or pushy. While in public, yelling, rude language and profanity may be inappropriate and offensive to those within earshot.

4.         Beware of your language - Your use of language can make or break a call. There are certain words and phrases that can quickly turn off a caller. Things like "I don’t know," “We can’t do that". On the other hand, there are words and phrases that are music to a caller's ears such as "Let me see what I can do for you" or “I'm not sure, but let me check and see." Show a caller that you care about them and at least, you are trying to help.

5.         Develop listening skills - Many people have a tendency to talk incessantly on the phone, while not giving the other person a chance to speak. Do realize that it is important to listen to the other side as well.

6.         Do not hold inappropriate conversations in public - Use appropriate volume when speaking on the phone, everyone around you does not need to hear your conversation, do not put your phone on speaker your conversations should be discrete.

7.         Do not use loud ring tones - Avoid excessively loud or annoying ring-tones, they can be very disruptive or aggravating to those around you.

8.         Call at appropriate time - Consider your call timing whether it is your friend, acquaintance, business partner or workplace colleague, you should consider the time of calling a person. Unless it’s very urgent, do not disturb a person when he/she is busy or during the peak working hours.

8.         Do not put a caller on hold for a long time - If you have put a caller on hold for a long time, be sure to check back within few minutes, as to whether he/she would like to continue to be on hold or not.

9.         Give your full attention - Do not make calls while driving, shopping, banking or doing something else, it puts your life and others in danger and causes distraction.

10.       Know where to use your phone - If your cell phone rings while you are talking or having a meal with someone, take the call only if it is important and excuse yourself for the duration of the call.

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Pix: Uj. N. Dominic/GEE

Twitter removes 140-character limits on Direct Messaging

ITRealms:

Global platform for public self-expression and conversation in real time, Twitter, has henceforth removed its 140-character limit, especially on its Direct Messages (DM) reports ITRealms.

According to Product Manager at Twitter, Sachin Agarwal in a blog post, individuals could now chat on continuously in a single Direct Message, and likely still have some characters left over.

ITRealms notes that Twitter is largely a public experience, Direct Messages (DM) which allows users to have private conversations about the memes, news, movements, and events that unfold on Twitter.

Twitter also noted that each of the hundreds of millions of Tweets sent across every day offers an opportunity for users to spark a conversation about what’s happening in their world.

“That’s why we’ve made a number of changes to Direct Messages over the last few months. Today’s change is another big step towards making the private side of Twitter even more powerful and fun,” Agarwal disclosed.

Although, Tweets will continue to be the 140 characters they are today, ITRealms gathered that Twitter began rolling out this change in its Direct Messages today across Android and iOS apps, on twitter.com,TweetDeck, and Twitter for Mac.

“It will continue to roll out worldwide over the next few weeks. If you can’t wait to try out longer Direct Messages, be sure you’re using the latest versions of our apps so you get the update right away. Sending and receiving Direct Messages via Short Messaging Service (SMS) will still be limited,” Agarwal further explained.

(@agarwal), +ITRealms DSA +Remmy Nweke (ITRealms)

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