Ines AissaniWe are getting ready for a new year and before closing the year 2022, which was oh so bouncing, I want to tell you about the beginnings of this blog.
I discovered Bitcoin in 2014, when I had just launched my second startup (the first was a small) failure and it was a mobile payment fintech aimed at the African market. It was by developing an application in “classic” finance that I understood that the future was here, with Bitcoin. It single-handedly replaced all the banks and all the fintech applications and that's how I left traditional finance for good. Without any regrets 😉
The years went by, I handed over my fintech and every day I immersed myself more in thelearning bitcoin. And, 4 years later, I decided to embark on a new project, this time, related to Bitcoin.
Before launching into a new startup, I wanted to do something “easier” and above all that corresponded more to what I like to do most in life: writing. This is how I contacted a recognized trader in Togo, Crépin Sondou, and with whom we decided to create this blog. At first, we simply wanted to “educate” and share information about bitcoin. The creation of our crypto company would come after…
The beginnings of the ZoneBitcoin blog
Our very first article dates from 2018, when the first great euphoria of 2017 had just faded. The cryptosphere as we like to call it was still very fragile and above all very “small”. At that time we couldn't talk about an ecosystem, for example. There were very few crypto influencers like you can see today flourishing on all networks. There were also very few businesses and very few cryptos, compared to today…
I remember for example that there was only one really “official” and serious site for buying bitcoins by credit card and it was Coinbase. Otherwise, we had to buy on localbitcoin (what I did). Yes, and imagine that in 2018, you could only buy 4 different cryptocurrencies on the site! The exchange platforms were very “basic” and in 2018, even Binance was only available in Chinese or English language…
As far as the French media were concerned, there were very few actors. If I remember, at that time, there was only Cryptoast, Journal du Coin, CoinTribune, bitcoin.fr and Actucrypto. I even think that they were the only ones in France in terms of news media, with certainly a few other blogs. The design of the sites was very different from what you see now. Everyone has become more professional since then, but in 2018 (and it wasn't that long ago), it looked more like blogs than news sites and media strictly speaking.
I am personally happy to see that the media mentioned above have reached a certain level and reputation. These are good newspapers that cover crypto news. We need it to access continuous information on what's happening in the world of cryptos. And, things happen, as you know. I am not going to list here the thousand twists and turns that we experienced in this year of hangover. Between the monumental massacre of Terra and the bankruptcy of FTX, there was enough to cause a lot of ink to flow….
I want to mention them here because I don't consider them competitors. I'm not afraid to highlight people who do the same work as me. However, we are all fighting the same fight: educating and popularizing knowledge of cryptos. For me, they are “colleagues” and we have different editorial lines. Basically, as far as we are concerned at ZoneBitcoin, we do not deal with hot news. In this sense, zonebitcoin is more of a magazine than a media. This is also why we don't publish as much in terms of frequency and volume.
The ZoneBitcoin editorial line
It is therefore in this context of the year 2018 that we launched this little “zonebitcoin” blog. Yes, the name of the newspaper was not insignificant. Needless to say, we tend to be pro-bitcoin, or hear the phrase “bitcoin maximalist” if you prefer. However, we are not radical on this point. Certainly, we believe that Bitcoin is different and even superior in many ways to other cryptocurrencies, but we also recognize the incredible potential and infinite possibilities that they bring. In other words, we are very far from considering that altcoins are shitcoins. Far from the same: we believe that they can be an effective lever for the adoption of Bitcoin. That's what I think in any case and that's why I think the year 2022 was not as catastrophic that…
But, I am not going to open the debate here on the maximalists nor on the sulfurous debate of carnivorous either… Everyone thinks what they want on the subject. Simply, with such a name, we wanted from the start to communicate more about Bitcoin. That was our ambition at the time and that has not changed 4 years later, even if we have communicated a lot about other cryptocurrencies – particularly in 2021. Could we do otherwise with this torrent of innovations? We record few views and it would have been our death to only deal with bitcoin…
Oh… I digress….Before this simple editorial turns into a book, it is time for me to tell you about our 4 resolutions made for the continuation of the zonebitcoin magazine.
ZoneBitcoin’s 4 resolutions for the years to come
1/ We will publish more articles on Bitcoin and its philosophy. It is time to publish more in-depth articles on the subject. Treat economics or monetary history for example. We are not censored a lot to please “the greatest number”. In the end, this large number “is not interested in our content anymore. So, we might as well follow our lead.
2/ Join the African continent. Since the beginning (the co-founder of this blog, Crépin, is of Togolese origin) we have written about bitcoin in Africa. We are absolutely convinced that this can be a tool for emancipation and for sustainable. I can't count the number of articles we have published that advocate for the use of cryptocurrencies in Africa. We are going to communicate more on the subject and seek to win over a wider African audience.
3/ Recently, we opened an “Ethical Crypto” category. In fact, nothing new under the sun, I tried as much as I could (in my videos also) to promote ethical projects or with a greater social dimension. However, I must continue even if this type of subject does not appeal to “most people”. Again…. I must – it seems to me – persevere in this direction. After all, that's what interests me the most and I would rather share the projects or even talk about interesting crypto personalities. Talking about those who give a much nobler meaning to cryptos than by seeking simple profit...I don't know how many articles there have been for example on Sam Bankman Fried …And the other more interesting entrepreneurs sometimes don’t even have an article about them…
4/ This is the least sexy resolution but the most necessary if we want to exist in the long term. We need to work more on our presence on social networks. This is our greatest weakness and a certain handicap that prevents us from achieving viable growth for our newspaper. We have never done a promotional campaign on social media, as strange as that may be. Like a personal fight against the inevitable, we believed that only the quality of a work is enough for visibility. No, it doesn't work like that, unfortunately. Those who have the most visibility are not those who produce the best content. On the contrary, it is the most consensual content and those which are well relayed by others (media, press, other influencers, etc.) which are the most seen/read. There it is, the sad truth about the visibility of the crypto world (and it is true for other areas).
You can write mediocre articles without any added value, but if you master social networks, you will be recognized as an expert. The public will share and get excited about a funny photo, a meme, or a giveaway competition more than a good opinion article...Whether we like it or not, networks govern the media, newspapers and magazines are subject to this tyranny of provocation. If we want to stay in the race, then – we too – work on this aspect even if it disgusts us to become “click whore” editors.
Final assessment of the 4 years
In general, I love doing reviews (usually at the end of the year) and I reserve the right to do it quickly for this article. Quickly, then, what I can tell you is that we have arrived where we wanted to be. Of course, we are not known to many people, we do not make views, we are rarely quoted or mentioned by the pundits in the industry….It's true. And, that's not a problem. We are not going to cry because there are strategic reasons behind all this. Afraid of losing your duly acquired audience? I can understand. It's OK.
However, we can be proud of not having promoted bogus crypto projects. We can be proud of not succumbing to marketing hammering. We may have made mistakes, that's for sure, but we also did great things. We were among the few to warn of certain scandals before they broke out. If you follow us, you know what we're talking about...
We're here to sell rugs. You understand. We can tell you about 1000 requests that we have refused and therefore thousands of euros refused… We could talk to you about it but it would be of no use, basically. Some would even accuse us of being arrogant when we only mention a fact.
We don't have the ambition to be a big newspaper and get thousands of views per day. We are also not looking to collect thousands of euros and especially not on the backs of our subscribers. We want to remain financially viable without selling our soul to the Devil. Is this even possible? We seek to build a quality community and participate positively in theecosystem. This is what we deeply want for this magazine.
Thanks to our readers
Finally, I would like to thank our loyal readers. Some have been following us since the beginning. We gain new readers every day and that's what makes us happy and gives us the strength to continue. We hope to maintain this growth, however small it may be. So, once again, thank you to those who follow, like, comment and share. Ultimately, they are the ones who keep the zonebitcoin newspaper alive.
The only thing I want to add here is that the more we work on this journal, the more we realize the responsibility that falls to us, publishers and editors.
It is our duty to remain impartial, to promote healthy projects and to do thorough research before providing information. We need to do our job better overall.
Of course, for obvious funding reasons, we also have to publish mundane articles on this or that company or service. This should not short-circuit our values, however. We could sell products, training, or any other service, but at the moment, this is not part of our objectives. Definitely, we will offer paid services in the future. What we want to do more is share as much relevant content as possible and gain recognition. This is where we fish.
We have also opened two new categories: Crypto Ethics and Economy. You see our inflection better I suppose; We seek more to make an impression with the big ideas that support Bitcoin.
In view of the current situation, it seems more important than ever to work to disseminate what is noblest in blockchain.
Videos on Youtube
I am going to mention YouTube videos very briefly here because I plan to write a detailed article on the subject. Many of our readers got to know us through the videos on YouTube of the ZoneBitcoin channel. We have a community which (we see it from the quality of the comments) is becoming ever more relevant on the subject of cryptocurrencies. However, we lack rigor in the frequency of publications... It's a shame, we had good growth...
This is due to my work as a consultant, which I do at the same time for this magazine… Therefore due to lack of time. I then need to improve the editing delegation etc. It will be less authentic but we have to resolve it….Once again, my morals take a hit.
I hope that in 2023, I will be able to devote myself more to it. This is one of my personal resolutions, we will say. There you go, don’t worry, I’ll be back on YouTube soon 😉
Thanks to new editors
I would particularly like to thank the new editors who have joined us. I'm thinking of @evan-selemani as well as @guellord-mbusa. I am very happy to be able to expand our editorial team and I hope that in 2023 this will also be the case.
On that note, my post was long and bravo for those who read to the end. It’s time for me to wish you from the bottom of my heart an excellent new year 2023 😉
Ines
