Techdesign hub changes its name to TechKord

It is no longer news that Techdesignhub.com is undergoing a complete rebrand, including a name change to Techkord.com and a transition from a free hosting site to a paid one, all in an effort to better serve readers and give the blog a more professional appearance to help it live up to the standard expected of the blog.

Mr ThankGod Sika, the blog’s founder, described why he opted to launch a tech blog and the motivation behind the redesign in an in-house interview. Keep your seat belt on and enjoy this interview segment.

What was the driving force behind you starting a tech blog?

Mr. Sika: I’ve always been the type of person who has a passion for information communication technology (ICT), design, and other related fields, dating back to my undergraduate days, and who also appreciates sharing knowledge and educating others about current events in the industry. Even though as an undergraduate, I owned a business centre (internet café) where I produced designs for clients and also repaired laptops while in school.

Instead of running a standard gossip blog, I thought to myself, since I love ICT, research, and sharing knowledge, why not create a blog, not just any type of blog, but one that deals with technology, tech news, innovation, and design while enlightening those who may not be talented in these areas? As a result, Techdesign hub was born, and it has experienced tremendous growth.

Give us a brief evolution of this blog and its rebrand to TechKord

Mr. Sika: The blog Techdesign hub was launched in August 2020 in response to a need for Nigerians to be educated about the tech industry. In terms of the TechKord branding, I believe ’empathy’ is the driving reason behind it. The previous name Techdesign hub was a bit long and sometimes difficult to recall at a glance, plus feedback from users. The previous name also implied that the site primarily deals mainly with design-related material, which is not what the blog represents. It is also general knowledge that the shorter the domain name is, the more authority it has on the internet in SEO optimization.

What are some of the challenges you have had to face in the course of running this blog? 

Mr. Sika: I will say epileptic power supply is the most difficult obstacle I have had to overcome, as I only have less than 2 to 3 hours of consistent power. To work, I’ve had to switch to diesel, which has been rather expensive. This is because a blog requires regular updates, both in terms of content and features. After all, everything about the blog must be current, which is difficult to do when there is no electricity. 

Apart from epileptic electricity, the next obstacle is funding. Many people are unaware that maintaining a blog is quite costly. At the early stage, the blog was hosted on BlogSpot which was free, but with this rebranding, The blog has been switched to WordPress, which comes with a high cost because many plugins and features are paid for.

The next challenge is getting good content writers to contribute high-quality content to the blog; as a result, we are unable to publish content as frequently as we would like.

Would you say your blog has influenced tech literacy in Nigeria?

Mr. Sika: Yes, even though the blog is still relatively young, I believe it has had a significant impact on Nigerian tech literacy. Many people call me to tell me how much they love the blog’s content; others say they found the information they needed about specific issues on the site, and love that it was written in an easy-to-understand manner. My favourites are the people who say that practising the blog’s advice helped them eventually get into the IT industry and that it helped them broaden their understanding of what the industry is all about.

What makes your blog different from other tech blogs?

Mr. Sika: The difference between my blog and others, I believe, is that I did not create it mainly just for financial gains. The aim is to publish high-quality, factual material written in plain English. It’s critical to remember that the blog was started to share information with others.

What should we expect with this rebranding?

Mr. Sika: The first step in rebranding this blog was to switch from a free hosting site that seemed more like a “personal blog” to a premium one that looks and feels more professional. The rebranding will be like a breath of fresh air to this blog and will help us reposition ourselves to achieve our aim of being a global household name and a force to be reckoned with.

With this rebranding, we aim to create a community of tech enthusiasts which has always been a vision of mine, this will enable us to reach out to more people and connect with them.

The rebranding will also be visible on the content the blog will put out, as we plan to onboard more qualified content writers who can write, edit and publish their articles on their own, hence allowing us to publish more quality content to serve the need of our readers globally.

We will be including some sort of plagiarism checker in this new blog to help us control plagiarism. What this will ensure is that only the best of contents will see the light of day on the blog.

What is your goal for the future?

Mr. Sika: As I said earlier, my goal for the future of the blog includes getting more content writers, having a community where people who use the blog can easily ask and find answers and solutions to questions.

I hope to also expand the blog in such a way that we can begin to organize free training for people, especially those who want to learn skills that will help them attain financial freedom.

Final question, where do you see your blog in 5 years?

Mr. Sika: I see my blog hosting millions of readers. I see it becoming one of the top blogs in Africa and by extension, the world, where people come to find answers and news to tech-related problems. Running this blog is not a Sprint race, but a marathon and this blog will continuously improve with years to come until we reach our final destination. Thank you very much.

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