Kunbi Tinuoye launched her website UrbanGeekz in 2015. Here, she shares why she wanted to be a part of a growing trend of journalists taking media onto their own platforms.
Why did you choose this subject?
UrbanGeekz is a groundbreaking African American, Latino, and multicultural digital news platform focused on technology, science and business. The video-centric online publication also provides authoritative lifestyle and entertainment content.
I launched the website because mainstream tech blogs also do not pay enough attention to the growing multicultural market. Our mission is to make technology more accessible, while highlighting STEM fields, business, and entrepreneurship as exciting career paths, especially for women and underserved communities.
Is your site profitable?
We do generate revenue from banner advertising, sponsored editorials, media services, and strategic partnerships, and so forth.
How do readers respond to you? How many readers do you get to your blog per day?
In a relatively short time, the brand has had tremendous success, including some of our most popular blog posts going viral. The site has run banner ad campaigns for Intel, Nielsen, Black Enterprise, Culture Shift Labs, among others. We have also forged successful strategic partnerships with reputable brands, such as AT&T, 20th Century Fox, Black Enterprise, General Assembly, Tech Talent South, and Startup Runway, to name a few.
The best we have had is 10K unique visitors a day, which is pretty good for an emerging news platform.
How do you link to other bloggers and get the word out to others that you have a blog? Is connecting to other bloggers important?
We have had quite a lot of media coverage on other blogs and news platforms. Aside from that, our main focus is on producing engaging editorials and video content to attract readers.
What role does Twitter play in your life? Facebook? LinkedIn? Instagram? Snapchat? Periscope?
Having a strong social media presence is crucial for our brand. Currently, our main social media outlets are Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook although we have a presence on almost every social networking platform including Linkedin, Pinterest, YouTube and Google Plus. As our video content expands we also plan to enhance our presence on YouTube presence.
Do you consider yourself a journalist?
Yes, first and foremost I am a journalist. I’m an ex-BBC multimedia journalist and my last gig was working as the southeast correspondent for NBC’s African American news platform, theGrio.com. But, I absolutely love being an entrepreneur. It’s extremely liberating to take a “back of a napkin” concept and then work toward turning your idea into a credible business. Launching an innovative tech startup has also given me the space to set my own agenda and think outside the box. I love the collaborative process of working with a small-dedicated team that’s committed to the overall vision of an emerging company.
What do you do when you are not blogging?
I love yoga, swimming, and of course quality time with my family.
Some of your favorite bloggers are …
Samara Lynn, tech editor at Black Enterprise
Jai Stone is an inspirational powerhouse.
Danielle Sacks, who is now an editor at Inc., is a great writer.
I also like the work that Good Black News is doing: positive and uplifting stories focused on people of color.
Name a blogging tool that you can’t live without?
Google Alerts keeps me up-to-date with relevant and interesting content.
