Sponsor content: this content is made possible by our sponsor and does not necessarily reflect the views of Dawn.com's editorial staff. What's this?

There is a big, wide gaping hole in the media when it comes to direct reportage from the growing Pakistani tech industry.

Sure, I get my regular dosage of news. Several forums and magazines do a decent job of covering the latest trends and major startups.

But what I’ve long found missing is a blogger’s voice; a dedicated channel which discusses what’s happening inside the belly of the evolving local industry instead of commenting from outside. The only major local blog in this regard had been ProPakistani.pk.

Well, not anymore, because PakWired.com is looking to dominate this space.

The owners say PakWired is “all about business, technology, and the startup culture in Pakistan. If you have an interest in e-commerce, telecommunications, or general business and technological advancements, you’ll love PakWired.com”

PakWired has only recently been launched in 2014. While the site isn’t exactly bursting with visitor comments, there is a healthy amount of content and lots to like already.

The site design is super-clean, and the owners have kept the place free of ads (at least for now), which is impressive. Let’s see if they decide to monetize it at some point ahead.

The content has a great mix of articles on a range of subjects. There are detailed technical reviews on everything from apps to operating systems; various Pakistani business ventures and startups analysed in-depth; how-to guides and resources whether for running softwares or companies; short pieces on the best of the industry and who and what to watch out for; longer features on the big players and news on upcoming or recently held events (like the Digital Youth Summit 2014) and developments (like the onset of 3G/4G services) in the country’s IT sector.

It’s not just the topics. Take a look at posts like ‘What you need to know about the Youtube ban’ or ‘The Android vs iOS comparison’ and you’ll agree that they’re fairly well-written and relevant pieces.

Similarly, I found the reports on local businesses covered well, with an informed commentary on the competition between companies. I think PakWired has a good pool of writers. In their own words, the team includes “local and international writers who also write for authoritative websites such as lifehack.org and huffintonpost.com.”

All this tech-exclusive stuff is mixed with pieces looking to spur on creativity and motivation, like the following piece, which I thought was quite well written: ‘15 of the most inspiring women of Pakistan’.

That said, the website is new, so it seems to still be groping around for the right formula.

I found it odd that the last upload on the ‘News’ section was back on May 14. Also, they might want to increase the proportion of reflexive content – hands-on, firsthand reviews of the latest software updates, etc. – to more than the share for reactive content – news, information, etc. Conducting regular interviews of seasoned web professionals can be a great way to cover news in a different way and let people know where the industry is headed.

That said, I think PakWired is on the right track to becoming a knowledge reserve for entrepreneurs and online professionals - and yes, possibly the casual reader with an interest in the area.

Clicking around on the site, I notice two particular tabs up top. One of these is a glossary of the innumerable alien-like terms involved in the web and software industry.

The second one, titled ‘Resources for Startups’, is a neatly compiled and extensive database of online places where business owners and entrepreneurs can find an answer to any question they face.

There is a list of websites which offer good tools for tackling the financial and marketing aspects of your business; resources on planning businesses and on getting started; not to mention famous startup incubators and possible sources for seed funding, for the aspiring entrepreneur.

For now, the site looks new and neat, with just a small number of tabs and a bunch of useful articles. We’ll have to wait and see how they tackle things when traffic and content starts coming in thick and fast. I hope the site stays clean and navigation easy. I like the widget on the right of every page which shows a small list of recently reviewed websites/software along with their ratings.

As their content increases in amount and diversifies, PakWired will have to find a way to regroup its stuff into more narrowly defined categories than ‘startup’ and ‘social media’. Also, having ‘quotes’ and ‘technology’ as distinct sections on their own seems somewhat out of place. Another thing I’d like is greater visibility for ‘latest articles’ on first clicking open the homepage.

All in all, PakWired.com is a worthy and long overdue addition to local tech coverage, which is suffering despite the ongoing boom in the industry.

The owner, Hasan Saleem, is a successful and experienced web professional and entrepreneur. With the right ideas, this website has the potential to become a powerful one-stop source for all things tech and local.

Follow PakWired on Twitter: @PakWired

Sponsor content: this content is made possible by our sponsor and does not necessarily reflect the views of Dawn.com's editorial staff. What's this?