The Smaller House blogger captivates local web audience with addictive storyline

Pamushana.com says The Smaller House is one of the “hottest non-reporting blog” locally, but for me it’s one of the hottest local blogs in all categories. The story told on The Smaller House is gripping, engaging, well crafted and has proven a hit in just under 2 months in our digital space.

You don’t need to look beyond the reader comments and engagement levels to see that the Smaller House (which premiers its second season on 3 March) has rapidly gained attention from its debut in Mid December 2013. From the very first post, the author consistently leaves followers eagerly waiting for the next installment, something you don’t often find in Zimbabwe’s digital space – never mind the mainstream media.

This is probably the first time we seeing in Zimbabwe a brilliant work of art being illuminated in social media. The Smaller House blog is organised in chapters that narrate the story of 23 year old Lynda, who is mixed up in abortion, cheating, extramarital affairs and a host of other “social ills only bad women can get mixed up with”. The stories are so compelling to levels were you can easily sense the emotional attachment from the avid followers of the blog. The followes reactions to chapter 20 titled “Reflections of Passion” is an example of how the blog has connected with it’s audience.

But more than the story line, it’s the kind of social questions The Smaller House tackles with great craft that demands attention. In a way, The Smaller House is using new media to challenge perceptions towards “the other woman” which the mainstream media has never really tried to examine and to some extent, reinforced the stereotypes towards the “other woman”.

Image Credit: www.pamushana.co.zw