Oct. 05, 2012 | by David Deal
If you thought Global 14 was just a community, you’re wrong. It’s a family.That’s the message of a new video created by Music Mogul Jermaine Dupri, in which Global 14 members describe what the 39,000-person site means to them. The 1-minute video consists of a simple montage of members expressing sentiments like, “Global 14 feels like a family . . . we may have our disagreements . . . but family always comes back together to work things out.”
The video represents an evolution of Global 14: from an online fan club of Jermaine Dupri’s launched in January 2011 to a self-sustaining family of shared interests.
The video is significant not only for what’s in it — but what isn’t. Jermaine Dupri himself appears nowhere in the video. The omission is deliberate.
“I’ve always contented that if I were not part of Global 14 anymore, the site would thrive because of the shared passion among the Global 14 family, whereas many other sites created by musicians revolve around the cult of their celebrity,” he told iCrossing. “Global 14 is not a celebrity site. It’s a site that happened to be founded by a celebrity.”
He said he got the idea for the video after reading a post from a member who discussed her love for the Global 14 community (which is not the first time Global 14 has been a source of ideas for Dupri and Global 14 members).
The word “family” is always risky, but it feels authentic with Global 14. If you experienced the Global 14 presidential debate forum that Dupri hosted on October 3, you get the idea. As President Obama and Mitt Romney debated on television, Dupri hosted a real-time discussion. Members disagreed, swapped opinions, and challenged each other — just like an opinionated family watching the debate from their living room. (You can see the full discussion here.)
The Global 14 family video represents an evolution in the way a brand — whether you’re a company or an individual like Dupri — can empower a community. There are times to position your name front and center, and there are times when you spark a discussion and let the community speak for itself. Dupri is doing both for the Global 14 family. On October 16, iCrossing will be with Dupri as he discusses the evolution of Global 14 at the Pivot Conference, curated byBrian Solis. I hope you’ll join us.