Karen Spencer

Yeah, I actually think it's not that unusual for people to work in tech or corporate America and kind of flip out at some point in their lives and look to do something crazy like move to the jungle.

Yeah, I actually think it's not that unusual for people to work in tech or corporate America and kind of flip out at some point in their lives and look to do something crazy like move to the jungle.

22, I just felt like I was losing my mind with COVID and the murder of George Floyd and the attack on the Capitol. I just could not stay in the United States any longer. So I came to visit a friend in Costa Rica and within three days decided that I would move here and brought my husband back. And we now own a pottery studio and a coffee shop. And it's amazing.

22, I just felt like I was losing my mind with COVID and the murder of George Floyd and the attack on the Capitol. I just could not stay in the United States any longer. So I came to visit a friend in Costa Rica and within three days decided that I would move here and brought my husband back. And we now own a pottery studio and a coffee shop. And it's amazing.

I grew up acting and I was a theatre major in college and really wanted to stay in that entertainment acting space. And so after living in New York for a while, I moved to Los Angeles and then I became an agent myself. booking actors in film and television. And from there, I met Ashton Kutcher and I went to work for him for five years and as his vice president of production.

I grew up acting and I was a theatre major in college and really wanted to stay in that entertainment acting space. And so after living in New York for a while, I moved to Los Angeles and then I became an agent myself. booking actors in film and television. And from there, I met Ashton Kutcher and I went to work for him for five years and as his vice president of production.

And we had three different arms of the company, film, television, and then what we called at the time, new media.

And we had three different arms of the company, film, television, and then what we called at the time, new media.

Because Ashton said, I'm pretty sure there's a way to make money on the internet, but let's see if we can't crack that. And so we were doing all kinds of experimental content for the web. And then, of course, he decided to become the first person on Twitter to reach a million followers.

Because Ashton said, I'm pretty sure there's a way to make money on the internet, but let's see if we can't crack that. And so we were doing all kinds of experimental content for the web. And then, of course, he decided to become the first person on Twitter to reach a million followers.

And so he issued a challenge to CNN, who was right about the same amount of followers at the time that he had, something like 800,000 followers. And he really wanted to show that with the Internet, one person could have as big of a platform as an entire company. And so I helped him with that campaign. We hit a million and Twitter from then on became my absolute favorite social media platform.

And so he issued a challenge to CNN, who was right about the same amount of followers at the time that he had, something like 800,000 followers. And he really wanted to show that with the Internet, one person could have as big of a platform as an entire company. And so I helped him with that campaign. We hit a million and Twitter from then on became my absolute favorite social media platform.

And so like it was literally just early days. We had this really weird sort of like pipeline chart where we would go to brands and we would try to explain to them what influencer marketing was and how they could use it to their benefit.

And so like it was literally just early days. We had this really weird sort of like pipeline chart where we would go to brands and we would try to explain to them what influencer marketing was and how they could use it to their benefit.

I do, actually, because at the time I was working as Tyra Banks, director of communications, and Tyra was really all about kind of being an early adopter. And so I... I mean, my memory tells me I could be wrong, but I have a very clear memory of being the person to record Tyra's first Vine. And I remember how like cheesy it was.

I do, actually, because at the time I was working as Tyra Banks, director of communications, and Tyra was really all about kind of being an early adopter. And so I... I mean, my memory tells me I could be wrong, but I have a very clear memory of being the person to record Tyra's first Vine. And I remember how like cheesy it was.

So there was definitely an awareness for me of Vine when it launched. And then, you know, we were working with a lot of Viners.

So there was definitely an awareness for me of Vine when it launched. And then, you know, we were working with a lot of Viners.

What I saw was an extreme allergy towards quote unquote influencers that, you know, still exists today in one form or another. The creator economy has been around long enough and it has proven itself to be quite quite a powerful engine and a monetization machine that. It's really not disputable anymore that social media creators have and wield a lot of power.

What I saw was an extreme allergy towards quote unquote influencers that, you know, still exists today in one form or another. The creator economy has been around long enough and it has proven itself to be quite quite a powerful engine and a monetization machine that. It's really not disputable anymore that social media creators have and wield a lot of power.

But in early days, I mean, it was just nothing but eye rolls in San Francisco. And like, oh, my God, who are these people on social media? And why are they getting paid $100,000 for a six second ad? And, you know, there was I very rarely ever heard someone supportive of it and not critical of it.

But in early days, I mean, it was just nothing but eye rolls in San Francisco. And like, oh, my God, who are these people on social media? And why are they getting paid $100,000 for a six second ad? And, you know, there was I very rarely ever heard someone supportive of it and not critical of it.

I heard that Vine was looking for a head of creators, and I went and interviewed with them. I was not really a user of Vine at that time. I was definitely hiring and working with Vine stars, so I was aware of it, but I didn't have that daily habit of being a Vine consumer. So I had to kind of like quickly get up to speed on that.

I heard that Vine was looking for a head of creators, and I went and interviewed with them. I was not really a user of Vine at that time. I was definitely hiring and working with Vine stars, so I was aware of it, but I didn't have that daily habit of being a Vine consumer. So I had to kind of like quickly get up to speed on that.

And Twitter had a policy at the time that you'd be interviewed by like eight different people. And if you didn't get an enthusiastic yes and a thumbs up from everyone, then you wouldn't be hired. If even one person had a reservation, you wouldn't be hired. So I thought, okay. It's never in my life have I had a group of eight people all enthusiastically like me. So this is not going to happen.

And Twitter had a policy at the time that you'd be interviewed by like eight different people. And if you didn't get an enthusiastic yes and a thumbs up from everyone, then you wouldn't be hired. If even one person had a reservation, you wouldn't be hired. So I thought, okay. It's never in my life have I had a group of eight people all enthusiastically like me. So this is not going to happen.

And I guess maybe because I just didn't even think it was possible. I didn't really go into the interviews with much fear or nervousness. And I was shortly hired thereafter. Wow.

And I guess maybe because I just didn't even think it was possible. I didn't really go into the interviews with much fear or nervousness. And I was shortly hired thereafter. Wow.

Yes. The founders of Vine did not believe in social media influencers. When Vine stars started becoming a thing, they were very resistant to it. And before I arrived at the company, there was a mandate that went out from them that no one was to talk to Vine stars.

Yes. The founders of Vine did not believe in social media influencers. When Vine stars started becoming a thing, they were very resistant to it. And before I arrived at the company, there was a mandate that went out from them that no one was to talk to Vine stars.

They wanted it to be democratized. And as soon as it became clear that there was going to be this sort of like high school situation where there were popular creators and mid-level creators and all of that stuff was like disgusting to them. These were grown men. They didn't make an app for teenage humor content. They made an app for... wanting it to be the sharing of art and ideas.

They wanted it to be democratized. And as soon as it became clear that there was going to be this sort of like high school situation where there were popular creators and mid-level creators and all of that stuff was like disgusting to them. These were grown men. They didn't make an app for teenage humor content. They made an app for... wanting it to be the sharing of art and ideas.

And as soon as it turned into something that they didn't foresee, I think they were unhappy about it and continued to try and make moves to head it in the direction that they had seen it going in, which, you know, is just impossible. You can't dictate the tides to the ocean. You can develop your product with a vision for what it's going to be.

And as soon as it turned into something that they didn't foresee, I think they were unhappy about it and continued to try and make moves to head it in the direction that they had seen it going in, which, you know, is just impossible. You can't dictate the tides to the ocean. You can develop your product with a vision for what it's going to be.

But as soon as that product gets in the hand of audiences, you no longer have the power or control to tell people how to use it.

But as soon as that product gets in the hand of audiences, you no longer have the power or control to tell people how to use it.

Like, I mean, the Vine skeet wording content creation community was amazing. The art community was insane. just really niche, small followed, but highly talented content producers. And so there was this vibe internally, again, kind of like talking about how a product comes to life, but then the people behind the product want it to be something else.

Like, I mean, the Vine skeet wording content creation community was amazing. The art community was insane. just really niche, small followed, but highly talented content producers. And so there was this vibe internally, again, kind of like talking about how a product comes to life, but then the people behind the product want it to be something else.

Vine was continually moving more and more in the direction of like lowbrow, not politically correct humor targeted for let's say 15 year olds, right? And then all of the quite serious intellectual and artistic employees of Vine, they didn't want the company that they worked for to be that.

Vine was continually moving more and more in the direction of like lowbrow, not politically correct humor targeted for let's say 15 year olds, right? And then all of the quite serious intellectual and artistic employees of Vine, they didn't want the company that they worked for to be that.

So everybody there had their own little passion project and they were like developing, you know, how they could bring the skateboarding channel to more of an audience and how they could make the art channel pop off in a more popular way. And the thing is, 15 year olds just wanted like fart and dick jokes, you know, and that's what these like top Viners were giving them.

So everybody there had their own little passion project and they were like developing, you know, how they could bring the skateboarding channel to more of an audience and how they could make the art channel pop off in a more popular way. And the thing is, 15 year olds just wanted like fart and dick jokes, you know, and that's what these like top Viners were giving them.

People like King Batch, who was when I came on board, the top Viner with the most loops. And that's that was what we called views. He had never been able to talk to anyone at Vine before. He had sent just countless emails to the help center saying like, hey, I'm your biggest Viner and I'm having some technical issues. Can you help me? Can you provide me some support?

People like King Batch, who was when I came on board, the top Viner with the most loops. And that's that was what we called views. He had never been able to talk to anyone at Vine before. He had sent just countless emails to the help center saying like, hey, I'm your biggest Viner and I'm having some technical issues. Can you help me? Can you provide me some support?

So when I met him, he said, oh, I thought Vine just didn't like black people. And I said, no, no, Vine just didn't like creators in general at all.

So when I met him, he said, oh, I thought Vine just didn't like black people. And I said, no, no, Vine just didn't like creators in general at all.

Andre and maybe another leader from the company took me in a conference room and shut the door and said, we're in code red. And that's why you're here. And Instagram had just launched video. And because of that, we were seeing Vine's activity decrease in an alarming fashion day over day. In fact, when I joined, there was like a digital board on the wall of the office that said,

Andre and maybe another leader from the company took me in a conference room and shut the door and said, we're in code red. And that's why you're here. And Instagram had just launched video. And because of that, we were seeing Vine's activity decrease in an alarming fashion day over day. In fact, when I joined, there was like a digital board on the wall of the office that said,

displayed all of the daily statistics about how many people were on the app, like daily active users, monthly active users. That board, the cord was pulled on that board pretty soon after I started because no one wanted to be broadcasting the truth about what was happening with the app. So it was a big Code Red situation. It was a founderless company at that point.

displayed all of the daily statistics about how many people were on the app, like daily active users, monthly active users. That board, the cord was pulled on that board pretty soon after I started because no one wanted to be broadcasting the truth about what was happening with the app. So it was a big Code Red situation. It was a founderless company at that point.

There was a lot of sort of attempt at like power grabbing, you leader at every department was kind of making a play to be the general manager of the company. I think we had four different general managers while I was there. So there was no clear leadership and there was always a lot of internal turmoil. But what everybody knew to be the truth was that Vine had never monetized.

There was a lot of sort of attempt at like power grabbing, you leader at every department was kind of making a play to be the general manager of the company. I think we had four different general managers while I was there. So there was no clear leadership and there was always a lot of internal turmoil. But what everybody knew to be the truth was that Vine had never monetized.

Vine was an expensive app for Twitter to be carrying on their backs. You know, it was a huge monthly cost to support that much streaming video at the time. And Yet Twitter had never issued any kind of mandate about like, hey, guys, you have six months to get your shit together and figure out how you're going to make money or anything like that.

Vine was an expensive app for Twitter to be carrying on their backs. You know, it was a huge monthly cost to support that much streaming video at the time. And Yet Twitter had never issued any kind of mandate about like, hey, guys, you have six months to get your shit together and figure out how you're going to make money or anything like that.

And so it's very amalgamous in terms of what are we going to do to make money? How are we going to monetize this? Is there going to be ads? We talked about a tip jar, you know, all of the different ways that people now monetize on social platforms. There was daily conversation about what that plan was going to look like, but no clear decision on what was going to happen.

And so it's very amalgamous in terms of what are we going to do to make money? How are we going to monetize this? Is there going to be ads? We talked about a tip jar, you know, all of the different ways that people now monetize on social platforms. There was daily conversation about what that plan was going to look like, but no clear decision on what was going to happen.

And so we were just basically freeloading off of Twitter, you know, which could definitely have contributed to the fact that Twitter was hostile towards us. And we were at an impasse.

And so we were just basically freeloading off of Twitter, you know, which could definitely have contributed to the fact that Twitter was hostile towards us. And we were at an impasse.

It became really obvious as soon as I joined that Vine was essentially the redheaded stepchild of Twitter.

It became really obvious as soon as I joined that Vine was essentially the redheaded stepchild of Twitter.