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.