PLATFORMS
MULTICHANNEL MULTIMEDIA CONTENT STRATEGY & TEAM LEADERSHIP.
MYSPACE
THIS WAS AN UNEXPECTED TWIST.
IN LATE 2012, MY GOOD FRIEND, JOSEPH PATEL, ASKED IF I MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN HELPING HIM STAND UP AN ORIGINAL CONTENT TEAM AT MYSPACE.
THE FORMER SOCIAL MEDIA GIANT HAD NEW OWNERS AND WAS LOOKING TO MAKE A SPLASH WITH A NEW LOOK, FEEL AND FUNCTIONALITY, AND, YES, NEW ORIGINAL CONTENT. IT WAS AN EXCITING OPPORTUNITY FULL OF CHALLENGES AND POSSIBILITIES. THE ANSWER WAS EASY. YES.
I JOINED THE COMPANY AS THE SENIOR DIRECTOR OF CONTENT AND OVER THE NEXT 18 MONTHS, WE BUILT AN ORIGINAL CONTENT TEAM AND STRATEGY FROM THE GROUND UP, RECRUITING WRITERS, EDITORS, VIDEOGRAPHERS, PRODUCERS AND MORE, TO JOIN OUR BI-COASTAL OPERATION.
WE BROUGHT THE 1975 TO A HIDDEN NEW YORK STUDIO, WENT BACKSTAGE WITH CHANCE THE RAPPER BEFORE HIS FIRST HEADLINING SHOW IN NEW YORK, WALKED THE STREETS OF BROOKLYN, BAREFOOT, WITH MAC MILLER (R.I.P.), AND WENT VIRAL AFTER ATTENDING THE OSCARS WITH JENNIFER LAWRENCE, AMONG MANY OTHER FUN, CREATIVE AND EXCITING THINGS.
UNFORTUNATELY, IN THE END, OUR INCREDIBLE TEAM COULD ONLY DO SO MUCH, AND THE COMPANY’S EFFORTS TO REVITALIZE MYSPACE AS A MUST-HAVE SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM—THAT ALSO OFFERED ORIGINAL CONTENT—NEVER TOOK HOLD.
STILL, IT WAS FUN WHILE IT LASTED, AND SPENDING HALF OF MY TIME IN MYSPACE’S WEST COAST OFFICE GAVE ME A REAL LOVE FOR L.A.
MASS APPEAL
IN A WAY, THIS WAS ANOTHER HOMECOMING.
WHILE WE WERE IN PRODUCTION ON THE RAPTURE SERIES, MASS APPEAL ASKED ME TO TAKE A LOOK AT THEIR EDITORIAL PLATFORM AND CONSIDER STEPPING IN AS EDITOR IN CHIEF.
I’VE ALWAYS HAD A LOT OF LOVE FOR THE MASS APPEAL BRAND. WHEN I WAS A YOUNG WRITER AND EDITOR, THE MAGAZINE WAS A FUN SANDBOX FOR ME AND MANY OF MY FRIENDS TO TRY OUT NEW IDEAS AND COVER FIGURES AND TRENDS SHAPING CULTURE ON THE FRINGES OF THE MAINSTREAM. IT HAD AN EDGY, DIY, HIP HOP AND PUNK ETHOS, ROOTED GRAFFITI AND STREET CULTURE THAT SPOKE TO ME THEN AND PROBABLY ALWAYS WILL.
THE FILM AND TV WORK WE WERE DOING FELT ROOTED IN THAT SAME SOIL, AND I WAS HAPPY TO HELP THE BRAND HOWEVER I COULD. I ACCEPTED THE OFFER AND GOT TO WORK, AUDITING TRAFFIC PATTERNS ACROSS THE BRAND’S DIGITAL CHANNELS AND USING THAT INFORMATION TO ESTABLISH A CONTENT STRATEGY, ORG CHART, OPERATING BUDGET AND KPIS.
DESPITE UNEXPECTED BUDGET CUTS, I MAINTAINED COURSE, ASSEMBLED A TEAM THAT FIT WITHIN THE NEW BUDGETARY FRAMEWORK, AND WE BEGAN WORKING TO IMPLEMENT OUR CONTENT STRATEGY, WHICH LED TO 3X AUDIENCE GROWTH ACROSS ALL CHANNELS IN LESS THAN 18 MONTHS.
ULTIMATELY, FURTHER BUDGET CUTS DID US IN (AN ALL TOO FAMILIAR TREND), BUT NOT BEFORE WE GOT TO DO SOME SOLID DOCUMENTARY WORK, LIKE THIS PIECE ON POST MALONE, THIS ONE ON G-HERBO AND THIS ONE ON LIL TRACY, AS WELL AS INTERVIEW FUTURE STARS LIKE YOUNGBOY NEVER BROKE AGAIN, THE SUICIDEBOYS AND MANY, MANY MORE.