This week, Barbara Dunkelman, Community Manager of Rooster Teeth, details the journey of how she began working at Rooster Teeth.  While her job is Community Manger in title, she wears many hats in her community and fan driven role.

She and Gus Sorola are Co-Directors of the RTX Event, a fan and industry gaming conference hosted by Rooster Teeth in Austin, TX. The Event in 2014, featured over 30,000 attendees.  Barbara chats about what it’s like interacting with Rooster teeth’s impassioned fans both online at RTX.

Barbara tells Ryan what she’s learned working for Burnie Burns and the story about she found herself working at Rooster Teeth, after growing up a fan of the series Red vs. Blue in Canada.  She also talks about what it’s like voicing the character Yang in the Rooster Teeth anime-series RWBY, and gives Ryan pointers on what makes a good pun.  Finally, they discuss Project Lazer, the recent IndieGoGo crowdfunding campaign, where Rooster Teeth shattered film crowdfunding records by raising over $2.4 Million dollars.

Barbara’s Greatest puns video (created by a RT fan)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQ59UVFQJII

Follow Barbara on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/bdunkelman

Find Barbara on the Rooster Teeth site:  http://www.roosterteeth.com/barbara

Learn more about the RTX Event:  http://rtxevent.com/home.php

Rooster Teeth’s Lazer Team:  https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/lazer-team-by-rooster-teeth

Watch Episode 1 of RWBY:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sGiE10zNQM

Barbara in the Daily Dot Ryan referenced: 

http://www.dailydot.com/geek/barbara-dunkelman-rooster-teeth/

In this episode you’ll learn:

• What makes a good community manager
• How to create a community of lifetime fans
• How Barbara Dunkelman got started at Rooster Teeth
• What makes the RTX Event special
• What is the anime series RWBY
• What is the machinima series Red vs. Blue
• What it’s like working at Rooster Teeth

This week Ryan chatted with Michael Wolf, host of The Next Market Podcast. Michael and Ryan discuss the art and science of podcasting, Michael gives the podcast download.  He's somewhat of a podcast historian (even though the industry is very young), and Michael started podcasting in 2006.  He is also a writer and researcher, who has written for GigaOm, CNN, New York Times, Forbes.

Michael shares insights into how to start a podcast, and they chat about the Mt. Rushmore of podcast hosts.  Michael talks about some of his favorite podcasters like Bill Simmons, Roman Mars, Ira Glass, The Accidental Tech Podcast (Marc Ament), and Adam Corolla - and what makes them so good.

Michael’s start-up podcast network: Technology.fm, which is a collective of tech/media podcasts to help listeners discover great technology shows.   His new podcast is:  Smart Home Show, where talks about home technology (think Nest and Dropcam).

Michaels podcast:  The Next Market Podcast, features "conversations with technology and media makers. Topics include digital publishing, web, investing, podcasting, crowdfunding and pretty much anything else on the frontiers of tech innovation.” 

 If you want to check-out his Next Market Show (which you should), The Next Market Podcast: http://www.technology.fm/nextmarketpodcast/

Technology.FM: http://www.technology.fm

Michael on Twitter: https://twitter.com/michaelwolf/

Smart Home Show:  http://www.technology.fm/thesmarthomeshow/

What you'll learn in this episode:

• How to start podcasting
• How to book guests on a podcast
• How to build a podcast business
• The reasons for starting a podcast
• Who are the podcast leaders
• What is the ROI of podcasting
• What is Technology FM
• What's the Next Market Podcast

In Part 2, Ryan talked with Andy, about "Making A Living Doing What You Love," and how Andy launched the XOXO Festival.  The next XOXO is coming up in September, 2014 in Portland, Oregon. and you can register/view the speakers: http://2014.xoxofest.com/ Dan Harmon, Hank Green, and Kevin Kelly.  (You can listen to Ryan and Earwolf CEO Jeff Ullrich, talk about Kevin Kelly's inspiring  1,000 True Fans article on Episode 7 of the Influencer Economy).

Andy chats about how a theme of the XOXO conference is about "going independent" as a creator, and how it is difficult to go independent, often the pros outweigh the cons. When someone by-passes publishers in the book/gaming/board gaming/movies world (all creative industries), it can be incredible to see how far people's ideas can go.  

Ryan asked Andy about creating projects online (Kickstarter or otherwise), without having a large (pre-existing) fan following, and how one goes about that.  Or if it's even possible.  Andy said creators with free-standing ideas that are high concept can often succeed, if you tap into a subject that people care about.  

Andy sites Indie Game the Movie as a great example of a project where you don't need a pre-existing fan-base to get off the ground.  By inviting people into the story& engaging people through the creative process, you can build a base in the process, like the creators of Indie Game did.  (You can listen to Ryan chat with VHX Founder Jamie Wilkinson about Indie Game the Movie on Episode # 8.

On this podcast you’ll learn:

• The story of Upcoming.org: the launch, acquisition and re-birth
• How to leverage the power of Kickstarter
• How to run successful Kickstarter campaigns (Andy’s projects as examples)
• How Kickstarter was founded
• What the XOXO conference is all about (you should sign-up for updates: http://2014.xoxofest.com
• How awesome the internet is and can be for givers
• How to "go independent" and by-pass publishers as a creator
• How Indie Game the Movie, built-up a fan-base and launched a movie with a large (pre-existing) following
• How board games were re-vitalized via crowdfunding 

Andy on Twitter: https://twitter.com/waxpancake

Sign-up for updates on the XLXL Festival: http://2014.xoxofest.com

Sign-up for the re-launch of Upcoming.org: http://upcoming.org

Ryan spoke with Michael Goldfine, producer of the ultra-successful film, Camp Takota.  The summer camp comedy movie, Camp Takota stars YouTubers Grace  Helbig, Hannah Hart and Mamrie Hart.  The film was distributed exclusively online, and turned a profit within four days of its release.  It is an online film juggernaut based on the passion of their Takota Nation fan base. 

Michael’s company Rockstream Studios, produced the film, where it was #3 on the indie film iTunes charts, behind major studio films like Dallas Buyers Club and 12 Years a Slave.  Ryan and Michael talked about the dilemma that every person creating in media faces:  Do I go traditional or exclusively digital?  He elected for digital only, and the film was a massive success – without any initial mainstream attention.  It was independently financed, distributed, and marketed.In this episode you’ll learn:

·      The benefits of releasing your movie, book, music album exclusively on digital platforms. 

·      How to persist in business when you keep talking to people who say “no, no, no”

·      How to launch a film or idea, without mainstream press

·      How to create your ideas in film, and break into the film industry

·      How to create a new business and distribution model for your passion projects

Website:  http://camptakota.com

Tumblr:  http://camptakotathemovie.tumblr.com

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/CampTakota

My guest this week is Adam Grant, the author of the New York Times' best selling book:  "Give and Take:  A Revolutionary Approach to Success."  Adam is a professor at Wharton, and their highest rated teacher ever.  His research around giving and taking has revolutionized how people can achieve business success.  Listen to hear more about how "giving" actually helps everyone achieve more success in the long run.

Adam broke down with Ryan the three key styles in the work environment: 1) Giving 2) Taking 3) Matching.  

Givers are the types of people who show-up early at work, mentor others, and stay late to help-out.  They give without expecting anything in return.  Takers are the types of people who "take" and look out for only themselves.  While matchers are the most common type of person at work.  Matchers have the philosophy: "You help me, and I'll help you" (tit for tat).

Buy the Book here

Follow Adam on Twitter

What you'll learn from this episode:

• How to learn more about giving, and how this is greater for you in the long run
• The characteristics around the key styles in the work place:  giving, taking and matching
• How to take the long view in business, as life is NOT a zero-sum game
• That takers have a short view towards life and work
• How takers can learn to become givers 
• How five minute favors and making 3 intros a day changed Adam Rikin's life (and the lives of others)
• How givers like the venture capital investor David Hornik succeed more by giving

Listen on SoundCloud Here

Listen on iTunes Here

Listen on Stitcher Here: 

Filmmaker Freddie Wong is on for Part II of his conversation, on the "The Influencer Economy." You may know Freddie for his popular web series "Video Game High School, which has reached over 65 million views online. To state it simply, it's "Harry Potter for video games."  Ryan and Freddie had such an interesting conversation, he had to divide it up into 2 episodes.  To catch last week's episode:  http://bit.ly/Influencer8

We talked about what it's like to run a modern day media company, in the day of the internet. And the conversation takes an unexpected twist when Ryan's memory runs out on his camera, which we'll leave for your to listen to. This was one of our favorite chats, Freddie is a true professional when it comes to creating and conversing.

In early 2014, he shattered an online video crowdfunding record for Video Game High School, raising over $900,000 for his IndieGoGo crowdfunding campaign. He is also the filmmaker behind the popular YouTube Channle /FreddieW which features video game / sic-fi / and special effects heavy content. The Channel has over 7 million subscribers, and has an amazingly loyal online following.

The Influencer Economy is also on Stitcher and on iTunes

Find Freddie on Twitter twitter.com/fwong
Find Freddie on YouTube www.youtube.com/user/freddiew
Find Freddie at Rocketjump www.rocketjump.com
Watch Video Game High School www.rocketjump.com/category/vghs

It was a pleasure to have Fula on "The Influencer Economy," he's a well-respected DJ/musician/host on YouTube.  Flula has over 500,000 YouTube subscribers on his channel and has built a loyal global audience. 

Earwolf's Jeff Ullrich joined me on the show to talk about how he launched the Earwolf podcast network, with his business partner Scott Aukerman.  We speak about how the role of talent, producer, and entrepreneur are all merging in the world of media.  Shows you may have heard of: Comedy Bang Bang, Sklarbro Country, and Jeff's podcast The Wolf Den, are produced in-house at Earwolf.  He also founded The Mid Roll, which is a advertising tool for artists to monetize their shows.  Nerdist, Marc Maron's WTF, and an entire network of shows leverage The Mid Roll product.  

We talked about how he got to 1,000 true fans for his early podcasts, how the innovator's dilemma inspired him to create the business.   He's built a podcast network with over 7 million monthly downloads, and over 10 million in revenue, it's an inspiring conversation.  

The Mid Roll:  http://www.themidroll.com

Earwolf:  http://earwolf.com

Jeff's Wolf Den Podcast:  http://www.earwolf.com/show/wolf-den/

Excited for episode #5 of The Influencer Economy, with my guest Jamie Wilkinson. Jamie and I had an awesome chat about media, video , and making stuff on the internet. It was so good, I had to divide it up into two different episodes. The conversation is a fascinating glimpse into the world of where the film industry

Jamie is currently the CEO and co-founder of VHX , a direct distribution platform where creators can sell videos, TV, film and content directly to their fans. They are paving the way for creators to connect with their fans, and empowering a generation of artists to generate revenue around their passions.

In the 2nd episode we chatted about VHX, and early successful projects Indie Game the Movie and Camp Takota. We also chat about VHX's projects within undervalued deep verticals like Kung-Fu, religion, and Korean Starcraft gaming. These are some of the more marketable movies that a studio would not consider marketable, but they are perfect for online distribution.

We also dive into how Indie Game the Move revolutionized the art and science of launching a film. He suggests that filmmakers should create a website, branding, and start making content well in advance to when their film debuts. Building an audience in advance of a film premiere is imperative to one's film success in the modern day launch.

We chatted about Camp Takota, which starts the Hannah Hart, Mamrie Hart and Grace Helbig, major YouTube stars, who leveraged VHX for their launch. In general Jamie believes you should have your film on all platforms, not only VHX, but Netflix, TV, iTunes, etc. And the team from Camp Takota did a wonderful job on their launch strategy.

Jamie is also the co-creator of Star Wars Uncut and won a Primetime Emmy – for “Outstanding Achievement in Interactive Media Non-Fiction in 2010. The film is an amazing crowd-sourced re-creation of the original Star Wars film.

In this episode you will learn:
How to launch an indie film
How Indie Game The Movie partnered with VHX and created a blueprint for how to self-distribute a film
How Camp Takota distributed their movie via their YouTube followings
How the future of film is direct communication and collaboration with the film’s audience
How to launch a film brand, create a film, and build audience ahead of your film’s release
How one Tweet can change your career path, and how Andy Baio Tweet’ed the Indie Game the Movie filmmakers about VHX and the rest is history
That the next generation of filmmaking is fans and creators directly communicating throughout the filmmaking process.

Watch Star Wars Un-Cut:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ezeYJUz-84

Follow @JamieW on Twitter: twitter.com/jamiew

Follow me: twitter.com/ryanjwill
Influencer Economy website: influencereconomy.com

Watch Camp Takota: camptakota.vhx.tv/buy/camp-takota
Watch Aziz Ansari's comedy special: azizisbored.tumblr.com
Watch Indie Game The Movie: buy.indiegamethemovie.com

Checkout VHX: www.vhx.tv/