Social Media Week 2012: Jermaine Dupri Discusses Global 14

Most people don’t know the CEO of McDonald’s, but they do know Steve Jobs, said Jermaine Dupri, the Social Media Week 2012 keynote speaker, on Monday.

He believes that Jobs’ prominent role in Apple had a lot to do with the company’s meteoric rise to success. Similarly, Dupri, a Grammy Award-winning songwriter, rapper, and producer, believes that his high profile and hands on success in music will make him a social media superstar.

“We live in a world where you have to talk to the people buying the Filet-O-Fish.”People want to see…those guys who sit behind the desk.”

Taking that into account, Dupri was inspired last year to start the social network Global 14, where his input takes center stage.

“Global 14 is a place and a home for people who have the same likes. It’s a little tunnel of people who are all marching in the same direction and I created a home for those people,” says Dupri. “It’s a place that is burning with activity.”

What would a music heavyweight know about social media? Plenty.  Since it began in November 2011, Global 14 has generated some 33,000 subscribers and is built upon specialty communities. Using this hands-on approach, he posts photos, videos, and commentary daily surrounding trends he believes currently or will soon have a “cool factor.”  Like Tom on MySpace, he follows everyone on the site.  The only difference is that the music mogul talks back– giving members feedback on their music, videos, and other posts.

Dupri wanted to create a site where it was easier for people to hold and continue a conversation over a length of time. He took issue with how a person’s stream of consciousness on Twitter could be broken up due in part to followers taking tweets out of context. He describes Facebook as a reunion place for friends and family; on the contrary, envisioned building a site where like-minded strangers could interact.

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Music is the main thread of interest for Global 14 members but topics of conversation include automobiles, sneakers, art, fashion, and relationships. In addition, Dupri’s social network has become a destination for individuals looking to hear and share independent music within the hip-hop community.

G Jamz is a sharing service that houses music from independent Global 14 artists who Dupri has donned as having the “cool factor.” Visitors will be able to purchase music releases from G Jamz on the site, notes Dupri, on the joint venture between him and  participating artists. He’s involved the Global 14 community in this project, allowing group members to vote on songs that should or shouldn’t make it into G Jamz via the “Pump it!! Or Dump it!!” section.

Dupri also wanted a site where advertising wasn’t disruptive to users. As a result, Global 14 currently does not have advertising. Like Facebook, in its early days, Dupri has decided to build a strong community first and he is working with iCrossing, a digital marketing agency, to determine the best way to monetize the site in the future.

“We have advertisers that are always trying to connect with very specific audiences. They want to understand that audience and give content that is meaningful, not just commercials pushed to a mass audience,” says Adam Lavelle, chief strategy officer at iCrossing.com, a subsidiary of Hearst Magazines. “Global 14 provides a glimpse into the future of what social [networking] holds. It is a very robust community. It has a very particular world view and shared values.”

In the future, if his community reaches 50,000 members, Dupri  hopes to host a Global 14 convention.

Visit BlackEnterprise.com’s technology section throughout the week for more Social Media Week 2012 coverage.