Table of Contents
The visionaries
What is Cryptopolitan's origin story?
The Cryptopolitan team: Veterans of the content marketing industry got together in London to create a crypto website that sets itself apart from the rest. They had the vision to grow a crypto news site through organic reach without paid ads. Through time, supporters were added to the group and gained momentum.
A community soon grew around the fledgling group of eight writers and one editor. More writers and section editors soon came on board through word-of-mouth referrals and a meticulous onboarding process. The goals of incisive and timely news reporting set by the founders were affirmed and expanded with the addition of new content creators.
What made you become a journalist?
Cryptopolitan: Team members from other news sites have joined us for career advancement purposes. The impact of a growing news outlet like Cryptopolitan on a CV proves to be a strong motivation. However, our high standards are also exclusion criteria for many applicants. Those who join us and consistently make the grade have grown closerto become believers.
Cryptopolitan believes in the advocacy of neutrality and transparency. Our journalists share our vision as we develop their investigative journalism techniques. Bear in mind that these are already seasoned campaigners in the journalism industry.
Editorial responsibility is strictly observed to screen possible reporting errors while covering areas related to cryptocurrencies. Content creators undergo rigid onboarding to develop keen insight and prevent misinformation.
The journey
What are some of the challenges you face as a content creator?
Cryptopolitan: In organizing content production daily, we constantly face the horns of a dilemma. After hurdling different challenges, we must form a middle ground where we are confident with our results.
What are some of the challenges faced by journalists?
Cryptopolitan: Finding the "heart of the matter'' has always been a challenge. While remaining objective and not passing any judgments, our journalists must rise to the challenge to present news with fresh discoveries and lessons learned.
The first challenge is going directly to the source to find the news. This part is tricky because facts get diluted and embellished as they spread from the primary source. Maintaining neutrality and transparency is easier said than done, but our editors and writers know the drill. Our seasoned journalists already know to avoid the pitfall of fake news.
Cryptopolitan content creators try to convey a fair and reliable account of crypto events, subject to further investigation.
What are some of the challenges faced by your editors?
Cryptopolitan: Our editors must sift through a slew of writer applications as they come bearing their gifts of skills. We needed to balance seasoned veterans with the enthusiasm of new journalists. While we appreciate the spontaneity of fresh talent, they may display moments of weakness. We also work cautiously with “established names” with the same writing style and uncovered fake identities.
Cryptopolitan has developed a reputation for enforcing strict measures to protect the site's authenticity and transparency levels. Cryptopolitan takes plagiarism seriously, and the infraction is heavily penalized when detected.
What are some digital publications that you follow?
Cryptopolitan: Our primary crypto news resources are reliable international news sites (including Bloomberg, DailyMail, The Economic Times, Entrepreneur, FinBold, FinTech, Forbes, Hackernoon, Guardian, Medium, New Yorker, NewsNationNow, NewsWire.Ca, PR NewsWire, TechCrunch, TechTimes, Times of India, VentureBeat, YahooNews); press releases from brands and finance industries including JPMorgan, charts, and data from reliable crypto exchanges (like Binance, Coinbase, eToro, Changelly, CoinMarketCap, TradingView); blogs, speeches, interviews, conversations on YouTube and Twitter; circulars, and rulings from local and international regulatory government agencies like the SEC.
We steer clear of news aggregators and competitors as we need to remain as transparent as possible so the audience can assess undiluted information.
We have our network of sources from inside various organizations that constantly feed us with information which we vet, validate and report on as well where appropriate.
Why did you decide to syndicate your content with Newstex?
Cryptopolitan: Cryptopolitan wants to reach a global audience in different spheres, and Newstex can help spread our advocacy to a broader audience and related industries: cybersecurity, personal finance, venture capital, etc. We can enlighten readers about the basics and ramifications of blockchain through our neutral and transparent medium.
Deriving and contributing prestige to Newstex's portfolio of 5,000 digital publications can help alleviate abuses affecting industries while shedding light on common misconceptions about the blockchain and crypto space.
Leveraging Newstex's top-tier connections is a mutually beneficial proposition for Cryptopolitan, our stakeholders, and Newstex. Cryptopolitan needs like-minded knowledge advocates to maintain its integrity and purpose. Being the "salt of the space," we choose to make a fundamental difference.
The process
What do you like most about creating digital content?
Cryptopolitan: We advocate for the truth, and getting it right is the foundation for everything else we want to build. We admonish our writers to be objective and allow them freedom of expression. They are not immune to the volatile swings of crypto trends, but it takes all sides to advance the cause of blockchain adoption.
We aim to produce content that speaks to our audience. Success on that goal contributes to personal and team growth and becomes our legacy.
What do you dislike most about creating digital content?
Cryptopolitan: Digital content creation calls for objectivity with little room for emotions. Despite reservations, a digital content specialist must adhere to objectivity. Occasionally, limited resources on a topic/event make us feel shorthanded/ underqualified. The pressure for in-depth coverage is a daily part of writing for Cryptopolitan.
Deadlines are a necessity but also hinder quality news reporting. Despite many obstacles, we do not enjoy the pleasure and leisure of time. We constantly strive to beat the one-hour production deadline.
But the most irksome perhaps are "crypto news sites" that grab our news posts. We could benefit from their acknowledgment that those are our originals, and should linkback to us.
What inspires you to keep writing?
Cryptopolitan: Getting the message out there to shine a light in the darkness, what could be more noble and exciting than that? We pursue excellence in news reporting no matter the obstacles; our commitment to news reporting is no different from a doctor’s to their profession.
The positive reaction from our audience is the positive reinforcement we need. The scathing reviews also spur us to improvement.
While Google Analytics helps pinpoint areas of improvement, we are likewise moved by the urgency of advocacy - making blockchain adoption crucial and relevant.
Complaints are reality checks, and we communicate the problem to the source and encourage correction. We listen to all sides, endeavoring to marry incompatible elements and prevent dissatisfaction from growing.
The core team often meets and concedes to common perceptions to promote growth. Our shared love for writing and reporting keeps us together.
What do you think are the benefits of syndicating your content through Newstex?
Cryptopolitan: Newstex's portfolio of 5,000 digital publications could help us hit our milestones faster at no additional expense. This partnership is mutually beneficial as it provides equal opportunities for both parties. We all endeavor that better data flow will create more demand for information suppliers dedicated to finding and verifying news and putting it in context.
Cryptopolitan's legacy
What are the top tips you can give to others wanting to develop successful digital publications?
Cryptopolitan:
- Be clear about your goals and stick to them. Nothing else makes sense after faltering on this initial step.
- Be selective in forming the core team and keep them loyal to your advocacy. Followers can only be as great as their leaders.
- Balance audience commitment with the quality of stakeholders. Sponsors are needed to run the machine but keep lines drawn on who to add to the billing.
- Follow a strict onboarding process in your hiring procedure and delegate diligent reviews to section editors to avoid repetitive errors.
- Incorporate periodic upgrades to the website to maintain the highest standards.
Where do you see Cryptopolitan in five years?
Cryptopolitan:
- Staying relevant. We are upgrading Cryptopolitan to remain relevant in delivering quality crypto news to our audience.
- Self-sustaining. With a community-based platform and a native token, we are confident of further improvements to our current standards.
- Self-governing. We also hope to implement a DAO, which will allow Cryptopolitan to be self-sufficient as one of the most reliable crypto news sites.
- Blockchain-centric. Using blockchain technology and artificial intelligence to make editing/writing seamless and publishing timely might seem like a long-term dream, but we remain bullish on our visions.
- Truth-seekers. We see Cryptopolitan continuing for many years as a staunch advocate of the TRUTH, in its daily application, in a form everyone can verify and apply to their lives.
How many writers do you have? How do you find them?
Cryptopolitan: We started with eight, but we currently have 35 veteran writers on our books. We expect good quality content from our eight contributing writers and work together as a team.
We regularly receive direct applications from Telegram and LinkedIn and direct referrals.
The vision
Cryptopolitan: While our journalists cannot be without emotions, they must diligently adhere to objective methods as standards of their trade. We bear in mind that openness to the TRUTH allows a forum for facts, and helps improve the quality and effectiveness of an individual’s decision-making.
Cryptopolitan joins the flourishing cryptocurrency sector with loads of potential aiming to bring quality news content, reviews, technical analysis and other unique insights to the ever-growing cryptocurrency community. They strive to bring you the latest in Crypto and Blockchain News.
About the author,
The Newstex Team
Newstex is a leading provider of authoritative content in the areas of business & law, finance, and technology. We syndicate this digital content through a distribution network of information databases and content marketplaces around the world.
