Towards a More Open and Profitable Nairaland

For the everyday entrepreneur, profit is always the motive. His living is defined by it. He hustles and searches; he buys for less and sells for more. For a webenterpreneur however, things may seem a little different. Though profit might as well be the ultimate motive, there always seems to be something grander behind his every move, his every action as he sits before the computer clicking away or composing codes at will. This may not be so unrelated to the fact that he’s often driven by the will to “make things open”, the will to cause others to notice, to impress them with the power of information and of connectivity.

Webentrepreneurship has undoubtedly changed lives around the world. From Facebook to Yammer, it’s a constant evolution unwilling to stop for a short breath. From the cubicles of Silicon Valley to the streets of St. Petersburg, it’s a marvelous turn of events connecting friends with friends and developers with developers. Yes, Africa is not left out and the many changes we see around the world are evident here as well, even if only slightly. Yes, only slightly for the many players who could and should change the landscape have refused to make the move.

Nairaland may be Nigeria’s (or perhaps Africa’s) most visited forum; it should be. With its simplistic web interface, its offer of varied personality profiles, its plethora of interesting threads and its over 1 million internet users, this website can indeed lay claim to being grand. I have personally found it very interesting and engaging, if not addictive. And Christ! It’s just a forum, but of course no ordinary one.

Wouldn’t everyone agree that this site has all those features every successful web story needs? Just look at Facebook or Twitter and tell me if this website doesn’t share all of these with them: a reticient, reclusive founder. A simple interface. Minimal ads. Free to everyone with a cellphone and an internet connection! What stops Nairaland then from rising into these big leagues? Well, if not globally, at least in Africa?

Truth is, it disturbs me that this engaging website is not living to its full potential. It’s disheartening to learn of how successful other less trendier web stories are; and there’s Nairaland unable to keep pace. Could anyone look at how Nairaland’s business profile has risen since its establishment and not argue that it should have achieved a million users much faster? That companies should be jostling to place ads on the site? That it should be no surprise when its content makes daily news in the country and outside?

So, why hasn’t Nairaland thought about making great leaps in operation so it’ll not only attract a wider user base home and abroad, but also make a name for itself globally? How is this achievable? The idea should be for Nairaland to make its own news using different possible strategies. One way this has often been done is when users post witness events: a lost baby, a car wreck, Tinubu’s birthday celebration, etc. We see how other users immediately flock to these threads to comment on how this has affected them or to learn a thing or two. Besides such user-generated news, we have got hardly any other Nairaland-own news on offer, instead we get copy-and-paste. Is Nairaland management considering this? Perhaps, Nairaland could do a “Ask me Anything” session with a popular Nigerian celebrity just as Reddit does? Perhaps Nairaland could indeed assemble a group of historians, journalists, doctors, and yes, women for a random question-asking session just as is done on Reddit? Indeed, doesn’t Nairaland have enough to learn from Reddit?

Besides such Reddit-like sessions, shouldn’t Nairaland think about offering celebrities an avenue of making first disclosures on Nairaland so this can be news for other blogs and TV stations? The idea sounds impossible, but Nairaland-sponsored lobbying can win Nigerian celebrities over to it, help such celebrities expand their fan base, while they (celebrities) create news for the site.

In addition to this, there are many more ways this website can expand its operation, making itself significant in Nigeria and abroad. It’s high time this site wakes up from being just a forum for entertaining discussions to being a voice for everyone and a name everywhere. The founder needs to show that he’s a true webenterpreneur interested in making things happen by being truly creative.

Check this https://www.nairaland.com/1219359/issues-selling-nairaland#14663693