When we became digital natives, offline communities sort of became stuff of history. The ones and zeroes became our refuge and prison in equal measure, and human interaction became limited to blithe likes on Instagram and others like it.
A couple bloggers are trying to bring back what it is to hang out and discover physical spaces and communities we live in. TechCabal began a series on people helping us make sense of our physical space by leveraging the internet. This week, we sit in with Olamide Amosu, the curator and editor at Living in Lekki, a hyperlocal discovery website exploring Lekki, an upscale lot on Nigeria’s Lagos Island.
What is it? Living in Lekki explores Lekki, shares places of interest from the community.
Why is it interesting? Living in Lekki got our attention when it published 101 Things to do in Lekki; the interactive map that highlights the places of interest in Lekki. From food, to beauty, to games and sports, the website is curating what could be the definitive catalogue of life in Lekki.
Who are they? It’s just one person really, for now – Olamide. She is a marketing professional with a day job.
Our interview;
TechCabal: Thanks for speaking with TechCabal, Olamide. Tell us about yourself, please? Who is Olamide?
Image via: Olamide Amosu
Olamide Amosu: I describe myself as a tourist in Lagos and a startup builder. I am a marketing communications professional who has worked mostly with companies in the technology space and new media. I moved back to Nigeria ending of 2010 after studying in the UK. I have a background in business, finance and management. I love exploring, I am a tech enthusiast and a business builder. I started my first blog in 2011 that was aimed at discovering places around lagos but I soon shut it down because I had the wrong approach and limited time to spend.
You’ve probably had to pitch your blog sometimes, how do you describe it?
A community discovery blog all about exploring, highlighting my experience with places and things to do in Lekki, Lagos. I also say it is more like me telling a story in a different way.
Why did you start Living in Lekki? Is it just you?
I started livinginlekki.com in December 2013 and it took off January. I manage the blog by myself and discover sometimes with other people.
Is this what you do full-time?
Managing a blog like this takes up a lot of time but I don’t do it full-time. I have a day job I joggle amongst other things. I do most of the work for Living in Lekki on the weekends. That gives me time to work and post during the week. During the week I am a marketing communications manager at a technology startup in Lagos.
Is the blog a business?
The blog is gradually going commercial but it is not yet a business.
How does the blog monetise then?
For now, I generate revenue from banner placement, featured content, event promotion, and also brand and content partnership.
So, your customized Google Maps place listing; “101 things to do in lekki”, is really a great tool for discovering, well, things to do in Lekki. What’s the story behind that?
Yes, It is. I started thinking along these lines when a couple of people mentioned to me they couldn’t find the places I wrote about to try out the experience. People were also trying to get me to put down landmarks just to locate places and I thought to myself that I had to do something about it if people are to go to these places.
My friend Rich said to try and put together a map. I told him I wasn’t that technical (I went through the Google maps App and I said I definitely can’t achieve this this year). One day I sat down and thought to myself to customize the map creating a story about 101 things to do in Lekki with the places I have visited to make the discovery blog more interactive. It took a month of back and forth to put it together (It is still a work in progress but this is only the first stage)
Was it hard to do?
It was very challenging because I had to work on the map round the clock to get places on the map. Starting the map made me realize I still have not covered enough places I needed to do more, which means more work for me (and my future team)
Do you feel limited by not being able to actually code?
Yes I do. I am a tech enthusiast and I really like to push myself, I tried taking Python classes online in 2012 but I lost interest. It was too complicated. I love doing things myself and learning how to do them, so if I could code, I would have done a lot more with the blog by now.
If you did not have technical constraints, what would the blog look like? Would it still be a blog, or something else entirely?
It will a bit with a business interactive feel. It will definitely be more interactive with more segments. I have not ruled that out completely because I have a lot of plans in the works.
What’s the most successful post/content on your blog so far?
First is a food post about a Chinese restaurant in Lekki from when the blog started and the second is the 101 things to do in Lekki map which is the most recent. The map has had more hits than 99% of the posts on the blog.
Where would you like this all to go?
I would like this to grow into a proper business brand that is technology-enabled; mobile apps and hopefully expand to other places. I intend to build an offline community for exploring and discovering in Lekki. I see a future where content will be generated by readers and people in Lekki.
I have a mind for creativity with original content and I believe it is one of the reasons why the blog is still existing. I started working on another site not a blog last year which is part of the expansion plans for Living in Lekki, it is similar but with multiple contributors.
