O'Neil Jason Charles Edwards

May 08, 1974 - May 26, 2010

Higher and Higher

When he sang the words “Mr. Wacky is gone but his dancing lives on…”, O’Neil Edwards could never have known that his end would be equally tragic. He was named O’Neil Jason Charles Edwards at birth, an event that took place on May 8, 1974. One of ten siblings, O’Neil’s five sisters and four brothers knew that music would be the road he would take from early in their lives.

He was destined to be in the music business, following in the footsteps of his father, well-known Jamaican recording artiste and producer Rupee Edwards. The performance and production of music was a part of O’Neil’s early life as he watched his father, heard the sounds, felt the excitement of the music business and decided this was what he wanted to do.

Even as he was making a decent living as an entrepreneur, the music business called out to O’Neil. Confident of his ability and determined to succeed, he joined with his neighbourhood friends, Jerome "Craig "Jackson, Kevin Blaire, Robert Manning and Leonardo Grant to form a multi-talented group of singers. It was 1999, and the new century was to bring a round of success for the brand new group Voicemail.

One hit after the other, with popularity rising, Voicemail became highly sought after on the dancehall scene. The group became a trio - Craig, Kevin and O’Neil. Although O’Neil’s deep and distinct baritone was sure to provoke loud screams, the trio was known for their seamlessly interlaced voices. Their mantra was one sound, one distinctive look, a group that moved in unison and sang in harmony.

This complete image, professional demeanour and focused outlook did not happen by accident. The standards were maintained through O’Neil’s management style. It was he who administered the group’s business. While the other’s trained, O’Neil toiled. He made the deals and confirmed the bookings, planned the tours, coordinated the recordings and thought through the promotions. He was the foundation upon which Voicemail was built.

The life of a performing artiste is a challenging one. No one knows this more than O’Neil’s life partner, Ingrid Smalling. With every late night, early morning and long, gruelling hours, Ingrid provided the strength and support that O’Neil needed to make it through the labyrinth that the music industry can be. Their daughter, Nehalis Nastacia Edwards provided her father with a month of joy, born five weeks before he passed. ‘Fun and gregarious’, a man of style, that is how O’Neil Edwards’ friends and neighbours from the Duhaney Park community describe him. Always “Ready to Party”, always ready to dance.

O’Neil Jason Charles Edwards left Jamaica a message, one last voicemail. The circumstances of his death and the time at which he passed are both significant. O’Neil’s last voicemail serves to point Jamaica and the Jamaican recording industry in a new direction. A direction that seeks to help to build a nation, take a nation ‘Higher’. His wish would be that everyone in the fraternity would hold up their hands higher, clasp them together in his memory, and move as one to help to heal nation in distress.

Out and Bad…Rest in Peace O’Neil Edwards.

Star Tech: IT Easy - Beefing up BlackBerry security - Quick tips to lock away your BB data

This week, we introduce one of our latest columns geared towards offering technological advice. Carlette DeLeon, who also has a tech programme on radio will seek to solve some of your issues and offer guidance each week. Enjoy!

They are so convenient. They take pictures, send messages and play music. We use them to keep all our contacts and all sorts of information that is important to us. The problem is that information in the wrong hands can hurt us.

Don't take your BlackBerry for granted; protect it and the data stored on it. Ok, let's move past the lecture and get straight to the tips.

Enable a password, not just a keyboard lock. The keyboard lock prevents the phone from dialling by itself but doesn't prevent someone from seeing all your personal information. Use the 'Security' settings located in the 'Options Menu' to set a password and tweak the settings for your lifestyle. You may key in the password when you turn on the phone, when you make a call or at various settings in between. Adding a password is the single best way to prevent unauthorised access to your phone.

Read the full article

Send feedback to: TechITEasy@CarletteDeLeon.com

Charm, wit and writing skills - essential qualities for social media hosts

Who has the skills to mount a social media campaign?

Entertainment Publicist Carlette DeLeon said that the 18-34 year old market was the key audience for social media campaigns, but that not everyone had the skills and personality to use it successfully.

She was speaking at the monthly members’ meeting of the Public Relations Society of Jamaica (PRSJ) at Jampro Trade and Invest Jamaica on May 17.

Ms DeLeon said, “If you think that you need to be constantly available as a public relations practitioner, once you enter the sphere of social media, it just gets worse. Some of the common courtesies seem to go out of the door with a number of persons within the social media sphere.

Personality has to be that you are not afraid to give away your time and be accessible in infinitely more personal ways.”

Writing impactful, concise messages was a key skill along with the ability to have fun and informed online conversations. The person must also be very accommodating of his or her time.

Ms DeLeon said, “Be prepared never to stop and be committed to it. People lose interest and move on…develop a lot of content. Have to have a willingness and readiness to be engaged and to engage. You have to be witty and charming.”

She noted that the person behind the online site is who will make the social media campaign successful. She also cautioned that truth was essential as response time on social media was very fast.

“If you are not brutally honest someone is going to call you out and be brutally honest a lot faster that if they read it in the newspaper or hear it on the radio,” she said.

Ms DeLeon also cautioned against putting heavy reliance on Facebook – a website that currently struggles with subscriber privacy issues. “If you only have contact with your audience is Facebook when they shut that down you are going to lose them.”

Despite its growing popularity, the effectiveness of social media campaigns, especially the growing Twitter, cannot be adequately measured for billing purposes.

Carlette DeLeon

“It may seem easy that anyone with a computer can and become a publicist and launch a social media campaign and yes, getting the word out is easier than before but the message becomes truly effective rather than potentially lost when it is in the hands of a well-trained public relations professional. We cannot be replaced by someone with a computer that just puts up a post. Everything to get to that point from crafting the message to getting to where it should be delivered and who gets that message is best determined by us as public relations professionals. In keeping with the standards that we have learned from traditional media we can apply it now to new media and make social media that much more effective for us.”

Source: Public Relations Society of Jamaica (PRSJ)

Tech Time: Mobile Productivity

Summertime is the time to get outdoors and move about. But there is no need to sacrifice productivity for mobility – netbooks, tablets and laptops keep up industrious while on the go. Picking the tool best for your needs is easy when you know the benefits and pitfalls of each.

Netbooks

“Internet notebook computers” or net books are the cheapest, most portable option for portable computing, but they are also the least powerful. The ultra compact devices are generally less powerful that their laptop counterparts limiting the scale and number for applications that can run simultaneously. On the plus side, many netbooks are 3G enabled and preconfigured for internet access over mobile networks. With subsidies and other incentives, a netbook may set you back about US$200.00.

Tablets

The introduction of the Apple iPad has shone a spotlight on tablet computing. Tablets are not new, but early tablet computers featured rotating screens to move the device from the traditional clam shell design to the flat tablet with a built intouch screen. Further, first generation tablet required a stylus to interact effectively with the screen, the iPad tosses the tablet for fingers, like the iPhone/iTouch predecessor.

Having now revolutionised the concept of tablet computing, iPad can expect a number of copycat devices. That said, tablets are compact, easy to use and VERY stylish. With up to 10 hours of battery life and both wifi and 3G internet accessibility, a fully kited iPad costs less than US$900.00

Laptops

Laptops are the most common mobile workhorses. With all the power to rival a desktop PC, the laptop keeps you working away from the office. With a 3 hour battery life on average, laptops are not long treaks in the field; and many can be downright delicate. But, as desktop replacements, they are indeed the most powerful.

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Tech Time: Mobile Printing

Technology is even better when it's portable or mobile. Though phones and computers have successfully made the transition from office to road, printers seem to practically anchor the workplace rather than sail with it. But, mobile printers are available, and more importantly, are practical.

When looking for a mobile printer, there are some features that are critically important.

Lightweight – if you have to be carrying this device around – in additional to all the other gadgets in your mobile arsenal – weight becomes a major issue. Sub 5 lbs is the goal.

Resolution – the printer may be small, but it must compete effectively with its desktop counterpart. Today’s mobile printers offer great photo quality colour printing with print specs of 9,600 x 2,400 dpi not unheard of.

Speed – well, here is an area where I must admit, I am always disappointed, for both traditional and mobile printers. Don’t expect printers to spit out full colour, letter size pages any faster than 14 ppm (pages per minute).

Portability – moving around is important, but working without being tethered by wires is just priceless. Look for battery and Bluethoot® and WiFi options for wireless power and communication to truly enhance the mobile experience.

Cost – though models are available for as little as US$150.00, US$300 is needed to get a printer with all the best features, add another $100.00 for even more bells and whistles.

Brand – HP and Epson are making a play to topple the dominance of Canon for this marketing, with impressive options

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Online: http://trivialonfame.blogspot.com/

On email: famefm@rjrgroup.com

On SMS: 876-878-FAME (18768783263)