7iber.com
December 26th, 2007
Rating: 
What do they say it is?
7iber is an independent web-based citizen-media news outlet from Jordan.”
What do I say it is?
7iber (‘ink’ in Arabic written on a Latin keyboard) are four freelancers that got together to publish English-language content about Jordan. The project relies also on community-generated content, but it feels more like open-minded journalism than “citizen-media”.
What’s great about it?
Just like iNorden, 7iber aims at much more than milking the 2.0 cow. The 7iber team believes in the transforming power of the web and hopes to harness its power to actually change the Jordanian society at large.
What could be better?
7iber wants us to believe it’s “people-powered”, even though it’s written in a language only a minority speaks on a medium only a minority has access to.
Less than a third of traffic actually comes from Jordan. The project represents more of a toy for the elite (and orientalist American kids) and won’t make a difference for the unconnected masses. But it’s worth trying.
How is it going to make money?
Web-based publishing remaining dirt-cheap, 7iber relies solely on the founders’ capital. It might look for advertising dollars but shows no hurry. The dryness of the revenue stream seems not to affect the project, which publishes non-stop since May. Passion is a handy substitute for money.
Should I pay it any attention?
Just wait for the headline ‘Jordan Censors Homegrown CitJ Website’ on your favorite journalism blog. To succeed, 7iber must grow loud enough to bother the local government. Otherwise, it will become a collaborative, loss-making Lonely Planet copycat.
(Btw, Mark Glaser interviewed 7iber’s founder at Mediashift.)
Sphere: Related Content
Entry Filed under: Citizen journalism, Non-profit, UGC
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