Tounsia is 5 years old (part 2) : Hidden Odds in the Way

How can we define a media online ? Does it refer to any website broadcasting news and/or investigations and/or opinions ? It does, but...

For years, some hundreds of websites have seen the day in the world wide web, all of them have been competing to bring the most exciting news to the Internet users. Dozens of these online media have even initiated alternative journalism including insightful data-driven news, handmade investigations, etc. [read more..]

This evolution has also concerned the Tunisian digital network in the aftermath of the revolution. People have always been looking for the truth.. behind more and more political enigmas, economical issues, social phenomena, etc.

In parallel with the rapid growth and mutation of the digital media, Tunisian Facebook users exceeded 2.8 millions (Socialbakers, Jan. 2012) only one year after the revolution of freedom, otherwise, up to one major Tunisian out of three has a Facebook account. This fact is actually a particularity of the Internet usage in Tunisia. 

As seen in the last post in this series, it was a challenge for Tounsia media to retain Internet users, including members, in the website, while almost everything was shared in Facebook : news, entertainment, opportunities, questions and answers, debates, opinions, etc. We have also seen that we had no choice but invest in our Facebook page, sharing and promoting content. 

Which type of content ? 

Here lies the challenge and the starting point for change. For more than two years, Tounsia has kept publishing balanced content including : Opinions, Reviews of some commercial products, Discussions around society and TV programs, Recommendation of our partners' programs and places, etc. That approach had its own benefits : We could develop a comprehensive business plan which is not dependent on some advertising banners. Besides, Tounsia fits nearly everyone's taste, such a magazine, a traditional magazine...

As stated above, Facebook did offer all of this in a daily hourly basis, plus the exciting social features (threads, networking, sharing to her/his timeline, etc.). On the other hand, I have to admit that some older online media did succeed to become a primary source for the Internet users to learn about fashion, best outdoor plans, etc. However, we have kept in believing that we still have some place for our media, a place which Tounsia, and only Tounsia, can properly occupy. 

Get specialized.. That has been the magic hint we have discovered and realized only after experiencing a specific niche for our media all over the past three years. We will learn about some details in the next post. Keep posted !