Today, two years ago, Mugibson.com went live, here’s a look at how the journey’s been.
To be quite honest, If you asked me where I saw myself five from now four years ago, I had no idea I’d be here telling stories online, profiling stars, reviewing music, & conducting interviews but heyyy.
Related: Introducing the Mugi Talks Podcasts: The Mugibson media story
The idea of owning a personal website was first pitched to me by a longtime friend who is a web developer and computer science student; which of course I didn’t welcome as much because it looked hella hectic to have to man a site or any related computer activities.
However, I’d ventured into blogging at an amateur level back then in 2014 with blogging platform; – Blogger, and here I was, my passion for informing and writing on a digital platform was being awoken.
I eventually re-embarked on this blogging journey in February 2019 with the launch of a self-titled WordPress blog and kept doing research on how to be better, attending events within this area of blogging, media, and digital publishing and receiving mentorship.
Entertainment and lifestyle have always been two areas that have always had a special spot in my heart, so even when it came to writing, it was quite obvious this would be my niche when I started out with writing online.
Read Also: About Me
The desire to have the freedom to publish stories/ articles instantly whenever I scribed some down minus necessarily having to wait on an editor to approve or the wait on the entire chain in between for approval heavily drove the launch of this site.
December of the very year saw me join a news website as a contributor and later Editor where I honed my writing skills and got a lot more exposure and later networked and met fellow writers, more so at pressers, cuz learning never ends.
Going Big:
Initially, the blog was meant to be a simple place for expression, and sharing ideas and thoughts by the founder, but with the coming of the pandemic, the goal changed. It was then that the web developer and I decided to go mainstream, so as to offer an escape to the readers hence launching as a website, and putting out a lot more content in line with entertainment.
The Numbers (Then & Now):
Upon initial rollout, the microblog would register 5 to 6 readers, minus me; per article; which could be primarily cuz I used to write really lengthy pieces gweeee, am talking 12-minute reads and anything around that length or more worth of reading time, but of course, with experience and taking in feedback, eventually learned to cut the words down to the most important aspects of a story or article.
Last year alone, over 699,000+ of you found the works of my hand worthy of reading and sharing widely.
Milestones:
Despite the tough year and challenges presented by the pandemic, and the internet shutdown in January last year, growth in numbers of readers were registered at Mugibson.com. We were ranked by Alexa as the 787th most visited website in Uganda as of May 2021.
Our work has been widely consumed in Uganda, Nigeria, and the United States
Proudest Moments:
Okay, these have been quite a number, but the most outstanding one being my article being shared by brands on their socials; Musicxmatch, and MTN Uganda, among others.
The official hashtag of the blog site (#MugiBlogs) trended on Ugandan Twitter back then in July 2021 on the 23rd up to position 2 and would later maintain its trend for the next one and a half weeks.
My heart also beams with joy when we give an artist the very interview of an artist’s career.
Major Success Attributes:
The strong support online and offline support from the readers and friends who are dedicated who share and circulate links to the stories widely, tip me whenever they get their hands on a lead for a story. Networking with fellow bloggers, and learning from them too with an open mind, and experimenting on the job. Consistency, I feel like this has been a big part of our growth, right from the start.
Stand out Features:
Upon initial launch, we ran a bird logo with lines through it, but later advanced a maroon M, and a newer modern theme. On top of that, a “Dark Mode” was rolled out in April, a Spotify playlist, and more.
The Commitment:
Bigger things are to come, and like our promise, we shall continue to practice positive journalism, while sharing groundbreaking stories, in entertainment, lifestyle, human interest, career, and whatsoever be fit for consumption. Got a tip on what you think we think we should add to the site or improve. Share some feedback at: mailme@mugibson.com.
Congratulations to the site, to more years!
