Onliner.by

Onliner.by
Type of site
News site
Online newspaper
Available inRussian
OwnerOnliner LLC
URLonliner.by
CommercialYes
RegistrationFree
Launched14 February 2001
Current statusActive

Onliner.by (styled as Onlíner) is a Belarusian web portal, including the five main sections: technologies, auto, real estate, people, and a forum. Onliner.by also performs as a marketplace of cars, services, and consumer electronics.[1] As of August 2015, Onliner.by was among the top 10 most visited websites in Bynet [by] and the first created by Belarusians.[2][3][4][5]

Onliner is positioned as an independent media with no financial support from the government or business. Its mission is to provide a platform for every ordinary Belarusian to speak up and deal with everyday challenges.[6] In 2019 the site got the highest rate on being free from state propaganda among independent media.[7][8] In 2021, it was announced that the Onliner will cease to publish social and political news.[9]

Editors office follows strict non-political policy.[10][11] Onliner's audience includes the biggest percent of wealthy visitors in the ByNet and over 60% of age 25-34.[12][13]

Onliner received a mass media registration certificate on August 26, 2019.[14]

History

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Blog (2001−2005)

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The website was founded by Vitaly Shuravko in 2001 as a technology blog about telecommunications, gadget reviews, and mobile networking.[15][16] With the time the blog developed into a catalog with data on gadgets, vendors and prices, later followed by a forum.[17] Its threads separated into different topics, such as banking, car accidents, real estate, conflicts, and finances. In the future, these threads were taken as the basis for separate editors offices.[6]

Early Onliner published articles on mobile gadgets and network development in Belarus and abroad. In 2002 Onliner was awarded Project of the Year prize at Belarus Internet Forum and its founder Vitaly Shuravko was announced Person of the Year. The site's audience reached 15,000 unique users per day.[18] In the early 2000s, the forum was introduced. Eventually, it grew into a kind of web market where any visitor could sell, buy, or get advice on gadgets. In April 2003 the catalog of cell phones with prices and data on vendors was launched, later it was expanded and included other digital and household electronics. By the 1st of July 2003, it had more than 254,000 advertisements published.[17][16][19]

Digital Lifestyle Portal (2005−2012)

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In 2005 Onliner placed the new slogan 'Digital Lifestyle' on its homepage.[17][16][19] In the same year the legal body was registered and Shuravko's wife Ksenia took the director's post.[20]

In the early 2010s, Onliner functioned as a news portal inclined to entertainment, and that's why the language and layout of its articles were comparatively simple.[21] Brief articles with lots of illustrations prevailed among the publications.[22] However, some researchers consider media like Onliner to be a boost for the genre of long-reads and photographic reports.[23][24] In the late 2000s, Onliner developed several other sections and services, including an online classified on automobile sales and real estate.[6] By 2010 Onliner opened an independent editorial section on automobiles, in a year its audience exceeded 50,000 unique visitors daily. Early in 2011 it was followed by the real estate department, by the yearend the fourth financial section was divided.[25] In 2011 Onliner's Twitter nearly equaled its long-time competitor Tut.by in number of followers.[26] Through presence on social media (Facebook, Vkontakte, Odnoklassniki) Onliner accumulated additional flow of visitors and views.[27]

Independent Media (2012−present)

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In a decade the site eventually grew into an influential independent media with a news section, photo and video reports, interviews, investigative journalism, etc.[28] In 2012 Onliner dropped the 'digital lifestyle' slogan and announced a transfer to the concept of a multisectoral news portal. By February 2013 the audience almost reached 500,000 unique users daily.[29] According to gemiusAudience, Onliner was the first among Belarusian news media sites with an audience 1.5 times larger, than Komsomolskaya Pravda.[30][31]

As of 2013, Onliner was the 9th of most visited resources among Belarusian Internet users.[32][33] In 2013 the domain "online.by" was purchased at a charity auction by Onliner LLC for Br100 mln (about $8700).[34]

In December 2014 the web site was blocked by Belarusian authorities and was removed from the national domain zone.[35][3][5] A dozen of other sites were blocked, too, but only the Onliner's ban was officially confirmed. The official reasons given for the blockage were multiple violations of trade law, however, the independent experts linked the ban to deterioration of freedom of speech in Belarus.[36][37] The site switched to Onliner.ru domain,[38] it resumed to operate normally in January 2015.[39] [40] In 2015 it became the second most visited news site in Belarusian Internet.[41]

In March 2015 the co-founders divorced, Ksenia Shuravko remained the company's director.[42] Later that month the editor in chief of Onliner.by Denis Blisch (Russian: Денис Блищ)[43] resigned and joined Holiday.by team.[44] Soon he was followed by ex-director Alexander Stelmakh.[45][46] Vladislav Khilkevich (Russian: Владислав Хилькевич) became the new editor-in-chief of Onliner in April 2015.[47][48] A few months later Khilkevich was dismissed and Nikolai Kozlovich became the new chief editor, as of 2020 he still on duty.[49][50] Kozlovich joined the Onliner team in 2011 as a journalist in the real estate department.[28][6][51][52]

In August 2016 Onliner introduced the new responsive design for smartphones and desktops. The homepage featured interactive tiles with headlines and previews of articles.[52]

In May 2017 the administration was notified on possible blockage in RuNet by Roskomnadzor.[citation needed] The official reason was a message on Onliner's forum that could be perceived as blasphemy. The issue was soon resolved and the site continued normal performance.[53] In March 2018 more than 300 publications were issued daily.[54] In 2018 Onliner was the most visited e-commerce portal in ByNet,[55] its monthly audience reached 1.4 mln people with 11 mln pages viewed daily.[56] By December 2019, Onliner reached 500.000 subscribers.[57]

On June 19, 2019, the editors office received a bomb threat letter from Orwell! grouping. The same gang called in fake threats to several shopping malls and office centres.[58] Later in the same year, the portal became the target of a significant DDoS attack.[59]

Onliner pioneered the genre of video reports in the Belarusian Internet. In 2019 Onliner's YouTube channel had more than 375,000 subscribers, its stories on common people gained wide success and exceeded millions of views.[60][52][61]

As of 2020, the company comprises five independent editor's offices (People, Real Estate, Auto, Technology, and Forum).[28][62] In March 2020 the site exceeded 1 mln unique visitors per day.[63]

On January 27, 2020, Onliner joined the Association of Online Commerce Enterprises (APOT).[64] In February 2020 the company launched Onliner Pay, the new e-commerce payment system that allows users to buy directly at Onliner.by.[65][66] In the same month Onliner introduced Stories.[52]

References

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  1. ^ Gradushko 2013, p. 70-72.
  2. ^ "How popular is onliner.by?". Alexa Internet. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015.
  3. ^ a b "Власти Белоруссии отключили крупнейший сайт онлайн-торговли" (in Russian). RBC.ru. 2014-12-20. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  4. ^ Lud, V. (2017-04-13). "Как в Беларуси хотят сделать самый большой автомобильный классифайд. Onliner.by: "Хотеть не вредно!"" (in Russian). Kyky.by. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  5. ^ a b Astapenia & Balkunets 2016, p. 18.
  6. ^ a b c d "Николай Козлович: "Я вижу Onliner как основную площадку в жизни беларуса"" [Nikolai Kozlovich: I See Onliner as the Main Web-Site for Every Belarusian] (in Russian). Press Club. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  7. ^ "13 медиа использовали пропаганду и манипуляции в апреле" (in Russian). Media IQ. 2019-05-23. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  8. ^ Gradushko 2019, p. 17, 19, 48.
  9. ^ "Onlíner открывает раздел "Лайфстайл" и перезапускает "Людей"". Onliner.by. 2021-11-17. Retrieved 2021-11-21.
  10. ^ Цыганков, Виталий (2014-12-22). "Молчать о кризисе" [Be Silent about Crisis]. Радио Свобода (in Russian). Radio Freedom. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  11. ^ "Открытая летучка с Onliner.by. Видео" [Onliner.by Open meeting: Video] (in Russian). Press Club Belarus. 7 May 2018. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  12. ^ Sverdlov, P. (2015-03-23). "Onliner, TUT, Хартия'97, "Комсомолка", "Наша Ніва", CityDog: белорусские медиа и их читатели" [Onliner, TUT, Charter'97, 'Komsomolka', 'Nasha Niva', CityDog: Belarusian Media and Their Audience] (in Russian). Kyky.by. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  13. ^ "Топ 5 посещаемых сайтов с самой богатой аудиторией" [Top 5 Sites with Richest Audience] (in Russian). Office Life. 2019-11-11. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  14. ^ "Electronic Mass Media" (in Russian). Ministry of information of the Republic of Belarus. Retrieved 2020-06-27.
  15. ^ Gradushko 2016, p. 262.
  16. ^ a b c "Владелец onliner.by Виталий Шуравко: "Займитесь реальными вещами"" [Founder of Onliner.by Vitaly Shuravko: 'Get on with Real Stuff'] (in Russian). Bolshoi. 2013-06-11. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  17. ^ a b c Gradushko 2013, p. 56.
  18. ^ Gradushko 2013, p. 55.
  19. ^ a b "(U//FOUO) U.S. State Department Social Media Landscape: Belarus". Public Intelligence. 2011-01-26. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  20. ^ "Собственники "Онлайнера" Ксения и Виталий Шуравко развелись" [Owners of Onliner.by Ksenia and Vitaliy Shuravko to Divorce] (in Russian). CityDog. 2015-03-09. Retrieved 2020-10-21.
  21. ^ Stepanov 2017, p. 101-103.
  22. ^ Hradziushka 2017.
  23. ^ Gradushko 2014.
  24. ^ Romanova S. "Это вам не Москва" [Not Moscow Here] (in Russian). The Journalist. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  25. ^ Gradushko 2013, p. 57.
  26. ^ "Битва порталов. "Онлайнер" и "Тутбай"" [Web Rivalry: Onliner vs Tut.by] (in Russian). Kyky.by. 2014-06-26. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  27. ^ Gradushko 2013, p. 121-124.
  28. ^ a b c Tarnalitsky, T. (2019-06-21). ""Чувствуем себя немного Советской Белоруссией". По каким принципам живет планета Onliner" ['Feeling as if in Soviet Belarus': How Onliner Lives] (in Russian). BAJ. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
  29. ^ Gradushko 2013, p. 58.
  30. ^ Sokolova 2009.
  31. ^ Gradushko 2013, p. 38-39.
  32. ^ Doroshevich & Sokolova 2013.
  33. ^ Doroshevich & Sokolova 2012.
  34. ^ "Belarusian Onliner buys domain name online.by for Br100m". Belarusian Telegraph Agency. 2013-01-21.
  35. ^ "OAC Shut Down Top Shopping and News Portal, Belarusian Web Shattered with Attacks". Belarusian Association of Journalists. 2014-12-20.
  36. ^ "Оперативно-аналитический центр закрыл сайт Onliner.by" [Onliner.by Blocked by Executive Analytical Center] (in Russian). Gazeta.by. 2014-12-20. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  37. ^ Artsiomenko 2014.
  38. ^ ""Онлайнер" отключен по решению Оперативно-аналитического центра при президенте; сайт заработал на onliner.ru" [Onliner.by Blocked by Presidential Executive Analytical Center and Switched to Onliner.ru] (in Russian). Nasha Niva. 2014-12-20. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  39. ^ "Onliner.by is back to national domain zone registry". Euroradio.fm. 7 January 2015.
  40. ^ "Директор "Онлайнера" Ксения Шуравко: "Лишили дела жизни? Главное – здоровье, любовь, дружба"" [Onliner's Director Ksenia Shuravko: Stripped of Life's Work? Health, Love, Friendship are More Important]. CityDog. 2015-01-06. Archived from the original on 2020-10-30. Retrieved 2020-06-23.
  41. ^ "Исследование: Количество белорусов, предпочитающих узнавать новости из российских СМИ, уменьшилось" [The Research Shows Less belarusians Find out the News from Russian Media] (in Russian). BAJ. 2015-11-06. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
  42. ^ "Экс-директор Onliner.by перешел на Holiday.by" [Onliner Ex-Director to Transfer on Holiday.by] (in Russian). Nasha Niva. 2015-03-18. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  43. ^ "Каких журналистов ждут в крутых редакциях. Рецепт от Дениса Блища" [What Type of Journalist Do Cool Editors Need: Denis Blisch Recipe]. Mediakritika.by (in Russian). Media Kritika. 2016-03-24. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  44. ^ Troshin, E. (2015-01-31). "Главный редактор Onliner'а Денис Блищ уходит с портала" [Editor-in-Chief Denis Blisch to Leave Onliner] (in Russian). KV.by. Retrieved 2020-06-26.
  45. ^ "Главный редактор Onliner.by Денис Блищ уходит из компании" [Editor in chief of Onliner.by Denis Blisch leaves the company] (in Russian). Marketing.by. 30 January 2015. Archived from the original on 1 August 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
  46. ^ "Денис Блищ: "Я — динозавр, ведь я пишущий блогер"". «Большой». 2019-10-11. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
  47. ^ "Новым главным редактором Onliner.by стал Владислав Хилькевич" [Vladislav Khilkevich became the new editor in chief of Onliner.by] (in Russian). Telegraf.by. 20 May 2015.
  48. ^ "Теперь официально: стал известен новый главный редактор Onliner.by" [It's Official: New Chief Editor of Online.by Announced] (in Russian). Marketing.by. 2015-05-19. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
  49. ^ "Открытая летучка с Onliner.by" [Open briefing with Onliner.by] (in Russian). press-club.by. 2018-05-07.
  50. ^ "Onliner.by снова поменяет главного редактора" [Onliner.by to Change Chief Editor] (in Russian). Marketing.by. 2015-07-20. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
  51. ^ Meleshevich 2019.
  52. ^ a b c d Hradziushka & Abdul 2020.
  53. ^ "Роскомнадзор предупредил Onliner.by о возможной блокировке за сообщение на форуме" [Roskomnadzor to Block Onliner in Runet for Forum Message] (in Russian). Providers.by. 2017-05-25. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  54. ^ "Onliner: в основе успеха – эксперименты" [Onliner: Experiments are the Keys to Success] (in Russian). MyFin.by. 2018-03-15. Retrieved 2020-06-26.
  55. ^ "Крупнейшие маркетплейсы Беларуси: статистика и основные показатели (сентябрь 2018 г.)" [Top Marketplaces in Belarus: Data and Statistics on September 2018] (in Russian). BelRetail. 2018-11-02. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  56. ^ "Onliner объявил о стратегическом партнерстве с селлером онлайн-рекламы ENTER NET AV" [Onliner.by to Partner ENTER NET AV Web-Advertisement Company]. Marketing.by. 2018-11-21. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
  57. ^ "Известные журналисты — о тенденциях в медиа и личных итогах года" [Famous Journalists on Tendencies and Year 2019 Results] (in Russian). Baj.by. 2019-12-30. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
  58. ^ "В Минске продолжаются эвакуации, "заминированы" офис "Онлайнера" и несколько торговых центров" [Evacuations Continue in Minsk: Onliner's Office and Several Shopping Malls Reported] (in Russian). The Village Belarus. 2019-06-19. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  59. ^ "DDoS attack on Onliner.by news site". IndexOnCensorship. 2019-10-10. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  60. ^ "Живые истории и первый миллион просмотров: как работает видеоотдел Onliner" [Real Life Stories and First Million Views: Inside Onliner's Video Department] (in Russian). Marketing.by. 2019-08-26. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
  61. ^ "Насколько белорусская журналистика эффективно работает с аудиторией YouTube. Исследование AMDG" (in Russian). Artox Media Digital Group. 2019. Retrieved 2020-06-27.
  62. ^ ""Можно назвать просто шоком, когда в марте большие бренды ставили активности на паузу": IAB Belarus собрал локальные медиа на одной сцене, чтобы узнать, что изменилось для них в новой реальности" (in Russian). IAB Belarus. 2020-06-16. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  63. ^ "IAB Belarus собрал локальные медиа на одной сцене, чтобы узнать, что изменилось для них в новой реальности" [Local Media on New Reality of Pandemia] (in Russian). Marketing.by. 2020-06-16. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  64. ^ "В состав АПОТ вошли Lamoda и Onliner" [Lamoda and Onliner to Join APOT] (in Russian). Association of Online Commerce Enterprises. 2020-01-27. Retrieved 2020-06-27.
  65. ^ "Onliner и МТБанк запустили уникальную в Беларуси систему интернет-оплаты товаров" [Onliner.by and MTBank to Launch belarus First E-Commerce Payment System] (in Russian). Belta. 2020-02-13. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  66. ^ "МТБанк и Onliner запустили новую систему оплаты товаров через интернет Onliner Pay" (in Russian). Prime Press. Retrieved 2020-04-19.

Sources

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