Nlist (Nollywood Listings)

nlist

Hi folks.

Presenting nlist(beta): It’s online database and casting platform for local movies and talent. Our industry produces a lot of media that is not documented or easy to locate so this aims to be a detailed resource for information bout our movies/TV shows and the people behind them. Think of it as an African IMDB. The site is targeted towards both people in the industry and movie lovers and is split into two areas:

Movie Info: Plot summary, credits, talent profiles (actors and crew), crew members, stills, reviews, trivia and other details like financials and movie length. Users can search names or by genre, contribute/edit (like Wikipedia/IMDB) information, review movies they’ve seen and create lists.

Casting: Also known as Pro features, this is targeted at the industry. Talent–both actors and crew–can create ‘resumés’ that include their headshots, demo reels and stats (height, physical attributes), along with their credits, which is linked to their talent profile pages. These resumés become searchable and filterable by prospecting casting directors. On the other end, Casting Directors can create detailed casting notices with specific roles they are searching for and talent can apply right there on the site. Casting directors also get a dashboard to monitor, view and sort applicants, as well as view their details and email notifications. Pro users can message talent and create private lists.

Coming… eventually: There’s a soon-to-be-public API and embedded profile cards. Eventually nlist hopes to have more in-depth search, news and local box office charts in time.

tl:dr Read the first paragraph.

For now the site is still in beta (I’m saying this a lot) so I expect people to run into a bug or two or ten.

Let me know what you think, issues, thoughts, suggestions, improvements etc. :slight_smile:

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nice idea, what is your business model and growth strategy, and how can you differentiate your platform from others.

What others?

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Nice Idea and lovely designed website. Well done!

I guess the challenge is now IMDB vs Nlist. I have seen a lot of folks fail to deliver a valid argument here. The Naija production houses are brutal and Oga Jason has even made them more brutal. For example compare

to

Discourse does not even embed your URL and we have not even gone the WordPress route yet. This are the types of arguments that you have address to the production houses all seeking the Hollywood dream. So you still have a lot of work cut out for you.

It may be easier to first scrape all the existing Naija content off IMDB first before approaching the production houses so that your content is better than IMBD. Then spend big bucks on SEO.

HTH

All the best!!!

Looking really good @onyeka. And for a product still in beta, impressive!

So for me, it’s more questions/suggestions around the business model and approach. Crucially because you’ve not gotten around to updating your ‘FAQ’, not sure how you’re approaching the normal 2 sided marketplace issues:

  1. How do you intend to get creatives (artists, directors etc) on the platform? It appears not to be enough incentive for them to do so.

  2. Are you thinking of working with any of the artist bodies (I can imagine they’re fragmented but must be some to get on board).

  3. For the users (non creative), are you intending them to pay for creating an account? I created an account and noticed that it says ‘free trial’ and I could see billing details might be needed. Are you intending to charge users?

  4. Also in respect of non creative users, are you looking of a way to purchase movies or perhaps listing to cinema showings (not sure how much work that entails), as a way to drive engagement? Or what are the likely scenarios you intend nlist to be used apart from looking up information that could possibly be found elsewhere.

  5. Finally in terms of the artists on the platform, is there anyone with completed information? I checked Jim Iyke and Omotola which I think are popular but not completed. So will be good to see a detailed & completed profile.

Really good stuff :v:t6:

Thanks for the feedback.

The link is not embedded because I haven’t set up OG metatags yet.

Re: content, we HAVE been sourcing data outside of the production houses. There are about 50 movies and 300+ plus people on there gotten that way, and there’s still more to be added. Part of the issue is Nollywood, like most Nigerian things is wildly disorganized. People are lazy and tech-averse and many producers don’t even have all the info to give you. And unlike streaming, I’m not exactly leeching off anyone’s income. I’ve kept this in mind. :wink:

IMDB is really, really great, but nlist is about showcasing Nigerian work and talent. My plans go beyond just listing info.

Here’s a little secret: You don’t have to spend big bucks on SEO. Just format your content well. Structured data is your friend. Data I’ve already added is showing up on Google and I didn’t do anything.

Going to answer this per question:

  1. There isn’t a lot of incentive yet because there really isn’t much content yet. For now I’m focusing on the lower tier talent that doesn’t have the clout/recognition to be easily reached yet. I’ve also been in talks with industry people who are in dire need of a more organized way to cast productions.

  2. Yes. Again, like I said I’ve been in contact with a couple.

  3. Yes. I’m giving everyone a free trial so they can see the full range of what can be done with the site. The paid/pro features are really only useful to creatives so I don’t expect most people to bother upgrading when it expires. For non-creatives or creatives not interested in setting up resume/casting notices, the site will always be free. Eventually, I may only give people the trial if they explicity request for it (eg. ‘click to upgrade’)

  4. I have no intention of hosting any video. The plan is to link to places they can legally watch though. Listings are part of the future features.

  5. Not yet. Only movies. For the sake of speed of entry we’re focusing on the titles first. But very soon you’ll start seeing data for the more well-known people. I’m trying to solve a challenge where as it is, you can’t even find full data for movies. A lot of people for some reason only seem to release a summary and the director/writer. It’s a big challenge, but the hope is that I’ll deal with it so people looking for info in the future won’t have to.

Thanks :smile:

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Brilliant!

Good answers I must say. I do have a few thoughts on monetisation angle, but definitely looks like you’ve got your work cut out for now. All the best (of course feel free to provide updates on progress).

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Cool. Thanks for the SEO tip. In the world where everyone knows about structured data, you still need to spend the bucks to stay and maintain the number 1 spot on search engines.

Don’t be deceived. The fact that you have OG enabled does not mean that you will be whitelisted on Discourse, WordPress and the other million scripts out there. Enable it and try it out and you see that you will need to be manually whitelisted.

As per bypassing the production houses. Hmmm… You need them to generate their data in a compatible format that allows you to easily import it to your platform or else data acquired elsewhere may not be accurate.

My 2 cents will be that you invest some effort in helping about 10 production houses put a system in place that allows them to easily import their data to both your platform and IMDB. With time you can then charge for this service for new production houses. Your edge over IMDB will be that they are using your plugin and you have a personal relationship with the production houses. You then add the other features that will allow you compete with IMDB

HTH. All the best.

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Looks good. Is it ok to say that I am working on the same thing?

Anyway, some links were spitting out this screen:


Examples:

  1. nlist.ng/casting/lists/
  2. nlist.ng/casting/messages/
  3. nlist.ng/account/resume/

I got notified of those errors, cheers. They require you to have created a resume. Will work on making that more obvious.

And it’s totally okay. What do you have currently?

I like that the site is fast, makes me want to go take a look at my own projects. Seeing that it’s a product like imdb, have you read an old medium post about an imdb redesign? There should be some gems on there: “Redesigning IMDB” @gillesbertaux https://medium.com/@gillesbertaux/redesigning-imdb-2e9e865dd83

Not live yet, and in shameful condition. This one looks a lot better. Good luck.

Sorry, i am not such of a good UI person but do intend to do something with the spaces on the left and right side of the page. Why not make it “wide screen”. I do think it will make you have more screen real estate to display more movies and it will look less like imdb. I do hope this will really take off.

There are going to be things in the sidebar. Hence the space. Besides, putting that little content in such a wide space would be equally unappealing to the eye.

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ok. May God bless your hustle.

Nice. Well done @onyeka. This is definitely an interesting vertical that I believe no-one is touching yet.

The hard part is the chicken/egg problem ofcourse. Need people to sign up to start rating etc. I think they’re calling it ‘traction’ these days. You’ve probably figured it out sha.

Maybe I’ll visit it again in a few months time and I’ll be able to see the highest rated and get started on watching some nigerian movies. Hehe.

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Hello nlist is really nice, news page is same as casting page, on other pages the explore does nothing, you said “Coming… eventually: There’s a soon-to-be-public API
and embedded profile cards. Eventually nlist hopes to have more in-depth
search, news and local box office charts in time”
I have an app its called MovieBox i need Nigerian movies for it I dont mind if your api is free or not.
checkout the app www.creativecodez.com/moviebox

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Weldone @onyeka, took a look and the beta version is already looking good. I applaud that as it shows from your responses, you have done a lot of thinking about who your early adopters would be (those imdb does not currently cater for) and this is a space/market where you have some first mover advantage.
Keep up the great work!..BTW are you thinking about Theatre listings too or just strictly movies? (Nigeria does not presently have a good listing site for any of their creative works in general)…so my 2 cents suggestions will be that you stay open to pivoting if required, and be willing to start with the market that shows the most willingness and ability to adopt this product.
From experience, I learned that sometimes it is not the market we are passionate about that embraces the product first.
I’m just excited to see women tech entrepreneurs in Nigeria with a strong perspective of what they want to solve so weldone ma’am!

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