Why Does San Francisco Think Napblog Is a Competitor to ON24?
A conversation between two marketing professionals trying to make sense of a surprising discovery. Location: A coworking space in DublinCharacters:Avery – Senior Marketing StrategistPugazheanthi (You) – Founder of Napblog Avery: “You’re not going to believe what I saw this morning.” You: “Try me. At this point nothing surprises me… except maybe marketers actually reading long-form content.” Avery: laughs “I searched ‘Napblog’ on Google — and guess who showed up aggressively on top as a sponsored competitor?” You: “ON24.” Avery: “Exactly. San Francisco’s biggest webinar-AI-experience platform decided you’re worth paying to outrank.” You (smiling): “Good. That means we’re doing something right.” 💬 The Conversation Every Marketer Would Love to Eavesdrop On Avery: “But seriously — why would a 500–1000 employee Silicon Valley engagement giant treat a young Irish company like Napblog as competition?” You: “Simple. They’re not competing with our size. They’re competing with our direction.” 1️⃣ ON24 is built for enterprise. Napblog is built for people. Avery: “Meaning?” You: “ON24 sells enterprise software — webinars, virtual conferences, content hubs.It’s scale-first, human-second. Napblog is narrative-first, people-first, relationship-first.We’re not selling webinar software.We’re selling open-source marketing knowledge, human creativity, coworking mentorship, real-time learning.” Avery: “So AI-powered experiences versus human-powered marketing?” You: “Exactly.And in 2025+ — that’s a massive threat.” 2️⃣ Napblog owns first-party content in a way ON24 can’t replicate Avery: “Explain that.” You: “When ON24 teaches through webinars, it’s still software-led.When Napblog teaches through open-source content, it’s founder-led, community-led, student-led. Every article, dataset, mentorship post, university idea — it’s all intellectual first-party content unfiltered by enterprise marketing.” Avery: “Ah. So Napblog is becoming a content authority, not just a platform.” You: “And content authority beats software authority in organic search.” 3️⃣ West Coast marketers are data-obsessed — and Napblog is ranking in their feeds Avery: “I clicked ON24’s LinkedIn page… they definitely know who you are.” You: “Of course. Silicon Valley tracks signals.Napblog is signaling momentum: ON24 sees a company stealing attention, not software.” Avery: “And attention is the real currency.” You: “Exactly.” 4️⃣ Napblog is the first to position “Marketing = Open Source” Avery: “That’s the biggest differentiator, isn’t it?” You: “In the AI era, marketing got hijacked by automation.Napblog is the opposite — we’re democratizing marketing knowledge.” Avery: “That actually makes Napblog a philosophical competitor… not a software competitor.” You: “And philosophical competitors are dangerous.” 5️⃣ Napblog University threatens the entire SaaS-learning ecosystem Avery: “You really think the idea of Napblog University makes them nervous?” You: “Think about it:A place where: That wipes out: Of course Silicon Valley notices.” 🧠 The Real Reason? Narratives Win. Software Follows. Avery: “So ON24’s Google Ads triggered because Napblog is searched frequently enough?” You: “Yes.Google Ads isn’t emotional — it’s algorithmic.” When Google says: “People searching Napblog are valuable prospects, similar to those who might want ON24” That’s not competition…That’s confirmation. It means: ✔ Napblog visitors match ON24’s buyer persona ✔ Napblog content overlaps with B2B marketing intent ✔ Napblog is rising in high-value markets (US West Coast) ✔ Napblog is gaining organic influence among professionals ✔ Napblog is considered a marketing-tech intelligence source That’s when San Francisco pays attention. 🔥 The Punchline Avery: “Why does the West Coast see Napblog as a competitor?” You: “Because Napblog isn’t a tool.Napblog is a movement.” ON24 sells a platform.Napblog builds a philosophy. And in 2025–2030… Philosophy is what people buy.Platforms come after. 💙 Final Thought If Silicon Valley is paying to outrank you… It means your story is already ahead of their software.