Nigerian celebrity blogger Stella Dimokokorkus opens up in a recent interview with City People Magazine about the business of blogging, quitting her 9-5 to pursue blogging full time, her competitors specifically Linda Ikeji and much more.
“On deciding to launch her own blog :
I started as a print journalist and opened my first blog years back but I didn’t go far cos I lost it and then I started the one I currently have now but I could not update it because it was clashing with my day job and sometime in 2013 I had to make a choice between becoming my own boss and going online fully or staying with print..I saw print was slowly free falling. Print had become boring for me as well and one could not update a breaking news because the paper could only be birthed once a week. The slowness was killing my vibes and my stories and my hot print stories were being lifted online without due credit, it was all messed up and then something dramatic happened that helped me make up my mind..it was not really planned to switch over fully, it just happened and I don’t regret it..
On her transition from print journalism to new media:
I crossed over with my wealth of experience from the print.I had good teachers..My former Boss Kunle Bakare, Azuh Arinze who has birthed YES international magazine and Michael Effiong of ovation. Those guys had a well of knowledge and i tapped.
Anyone who has worked for Kunle Bakare will agree with me that when you come on board his team, you have a choice of bending, breaking or surviving against all odds. He pushes you to become the best.
On her blogging infrastructure and operation :
My typical day starts at 5am..well that has been my routine since i had my first son….he was a crying baby and I learnt how to stay awake with him, it stuck and so helps me now. I post stories as often as they come and when I say as often i mean as often as it takes me to finish composing a story or culling and editing ,enabling comments and moving on to the next post. Trust me on a good day I spend all day online but the beauty of it is that my mac has wireless internet and its small so I have it in my bag always and even when I am out, I can comfortably blog from where ever I am if I find a good spot.
On competitors particularly Linda Ikeji:
Competition is good if it is healthy…..I wonder why her name keeps tagging along my progress..its probably because she started blogging before me and some certain school of thought was formed that the blogsphere is owned by her blog..i guess my blog and a few others have broken down that theory to nought……like i said competition is good if it is healthy and the sky is big enough for everyone.
On her assessment of Ikeji’s work and what sets her apart:
My assessment of her blog? why would I want to assess another person’s blog when there is work on the table to be done? I pop into her spot once in a while. But I have so many ideas on my own that I don’t have time to be idle.”
City People Magazine has the full interview.
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