So far, the Bangladeshi youth, has almost exclusively been dependent on foreign websites to cater to their infotainment needs. For example, to be entertained, we go for BuzzFeed, The Onion, CollegeHumur etc. For tech reviews, we depend on The Verge, CNET. To know about upcoming events in Dhaka, we look up AllEvents or Eventbrite. The question that came to our minds is that, why isn’t there a Bangladeshi platform that serves all those needs for our youth? “We figured since there isn’t one, we should go ahead and be the one to create such a service. One that entertains our youth with humour, news and updates from the Bangladeshi point of view. One that can we can all call our very own. That is how BuzzDHK came to be”says Asif.
Starting the buzzThey say the hardest part of a start-up is the actual execution. Too many ideas just remain in the conceptual stage and never see the light of day. Nishadul Haque Nihal isn’t one to make that mistake. Teaming up with Abdullah Atique, they were very quick in designing the website and launching the Facebook page in a flash, after they made up their mind that BuzzDHK should be more than just an “idea.” Just before the formal launch of our startup, they took in Rafi Nizamee and Muhammed Asif Khan, initially to help promote the startup, but once things began snowballing, it became an all-hands-on-deck affair, and the founding members became integral elements of the project. “What really motivated us is how much people liked our concept, and how soon we started getting offers from people wanting to write for our platform. That helped us realise we were on to something that deserves some serious dedication.”
The special first“The first article that helped us create a dent in the community around us is a rather strange one. We all worked on it but really didn’t think it would make much of an impact amongst the readers. The title 8 Things Only A Bengali Medium Student Can Relate To should tell you why we thought of it that way. But then, the article went viral by our standards, bringing a lot of traction our way and eventually scoring 12,000 views, which is a lot for a website that was barely a month old. The eventual success of this article taught us three important lessons:
(1) One cannot necessarily predict what the readers want to read. Rather, it is better to try different things and see what works and what doesn’t.
(2) Entertainment is one topic that appeals to all segments of the youth population.
(3) Topics from the Bangladeshi point of view are perfect to differentiate us from foreign websites, as they resonate quite well with our readers.
Other humour articles, many written in the context of the Bangladeshi life, by some awesome members of the BuzzDHK team had similar success stories to tell, leading us to adjust our core proposition. From then on, it was not just to fill in the youth on all the news and updates they would want to read. Sure, you can give people precious information, but who’s to say we can’t make them laugh and have a good time along the way? Entertainment soon became a core part of our purpose with BuzzDHK. But it is not just any usual entertainment. Where else with you find entertaining articles from the Bangladeshi point of view?”
Celebrity mode onWhen things start going your way, it is always important to keep in mind that Murphy’s law never takes a break. One of the team members found this out the hard way when one of his articles went viral, resulting in him being inundated with friend requests and inbox praise. Right around this time, the site reached its limit with its international web host. “For one month, the entire site was down as we battled endlessly with the host to reinstate our site, to no avail. A month of absence after getting quite a bit of traction is not easy to jump back from. But given how much people put faith and appreciation into our idea, what we were doing and the hard work the entire BuzzDHK team had been putting through, it made little sense to us to pack our bags and give up. We had to start from scratch, so to speak. Having to cope with losing all the view counts, we re-made the site, and painstakingly re-uploaded all the articles. Our team members did not lose heart either, and together, we started afresh and now we are glad to say that we are stronger than ever!”
Pros and uh oh's“Our main blessing and strength lies in our team, hands down. You can have a great product, a great idea or service, but if you don’t have the right people pushing it ahead, it is going to be a failure. The current crop of Dhaka youth hides a rich pool of highly gifted writers, and the fact that they chose BuzzDHK to be the platform for their write-ups is our biggest inspiration. Because they are not short of options when it comes to writing for a website or publication, by choosing BuzzDHK they are putting faith in the idea, the concept and the vision. Some of our senior members in the team, such as Adiba Islam, Kashfia Ahmed, Nafisa Afsana Taskia, Tashfia Rawnak Anika, Ayman Rahman Arghyo, Fableeha Bushra Chowdhury and Anand Rahman have been absolutely brilliant. The whole team is responsible for our articles, our views, our reach, and the spread of our name. So as long as the team sticks together, with members from diverse universities and schools around the city, the platform will keep growing, both in numbers and in strength.”
Technical issues top the list of problems for the outfit. Sites like Buzzfeed or Mashable backed by mufti-billion dollar conglomerates and have the luxury to employ dedicated technicians and web hosting services that BuzzDHK doesn't have. Add that to the slow Internet – a big hassle for readers accessing the site through their mobile devices arises. In the face of these challenges, the team is leveraging all their resources to provide the best experience for their readers. “As long as we have our dedicated and talented team of writers with us, such issues will never keep us from growing and evolving!” Asif exclaims
After buzz“I have a strange habit” Asif confesses. “Whenever I want to know about any particular topic of any kind, I would type in the keywords and end it with “wiki.” For example, if I wanted to know more about Richard Branson, I would Google “Richard Branson wiki.” That way, the Wikipedia article of Branson would come up at the very top. It is because I have huge respect and trust in Wikipedia. Nishadul Haque Nihal envisions the same phenomenon for the youth of Dhaka in terms of BuzzDHK. That is, whenever one needs to know about upcoming futsal events in Dhaka, he would google “futsal buzzdhk.” Whenever someone needs to know if any good part-time jobs for students are available, he would google “part-time jobs buzzdhk”. And whenever one wants a taste of all the different topics in life from the Bangladeshi perspective, which is not present in any of the fancy foreign websites out there, he would just search from his bookmarks and visit BuzzDHK.”
That’s the vision!
A basic overview of BuzzDhk
BuzzDHK is a platform for the youth of Dhaka to be entertained and also stay updated on news and information that they would find relevant. Basically, if you are looking for some cool humour, give the site a visit. And if you want to stay updated on different sorts of news (events, food reviews, part-time jobs, sales promotions, tech reviews) that is relevant for the youth, let this site be your guide!
