Brandon Fletcher
Brandon Fletcher (born April 2, 1987) is an Internet entrepreneur and creator of the Date Unknown website and reality show. He grew up in the Harlem section of New York City and has lived in various cities such as Boynton Beach, Florida, Menlo Park, California, Los Angeles, California, and Kingston, Jamaica.
At 20 years old, Brandon became one of the first content creators on the Internet to ink a revenue sharing deal with YouTube.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Companies
Fletcher's first internet venture was an online consulting company called You Should Be a Star.[2] He created the website while interning for record producer Ryan Leslie as a way to "offer musicians feedback".[3] There is a $39.99 fee for musicians to submit their music.[4]
[edit] Date Unknown
The second initiative from Fletcher was an online-based reality show called Date Unknown that films "the first dates of people who meet online".[5] He executive-produced and funded the whole project himself.[6] A new episode from the series is uploaded to the Internet every Monday. The show has filmed in the New York City and San Francisco areas and has been compared to traditional television shows such as "Blind Date".[7] The tenth episode has received 1.5 million views to date.[8]
The entire series is filmed on a Canon GL2 and edited using Apple's stock editing software, iMovie. Fletcher says he chose to execute the show because "it was different and had the potential to be huge".[9]
In June 2007, Fletcher signed a "highly symbolic deal" with YouTube for Date Unknown.[10] The deal was struck because of a cross-country trip that he took from New York City to storm YouTube's office in San Bruno, California.
[edit] "Can YouTube Hear Me?"
At 19 years of age, Brandon gained some notoriety by publicly asking YouTube to feature his show idea on their front page by flying across the country to visit their office.[11] The effort, dubbed "Can YouTube Hear Me?" landed him a chat, but no promise of a feature.[7] He hired a videographer to document the journey and posted clips to a personal website as the trip went along.[12]
Eventually, Fletcher was able to accomplish the goal of the trip and get Date Unknown featured on YouTube's home page.[13] This also led to him signing a publicized revenue-sharing deal with the site.[14]
[edit] Personal life
Brandon is also a music producer.[7] He is credited as a co-writer on Cassie's debut self-titled album.[15]
[edit] References
- ^ View my My Posts. "Date: Unknown Gets Revenue Sharing Deal with YouTube". Mashable.com. http://mashable.com/2007/06/19/date-unknown/. Retrieved August 30, 2009.
- ^ Posted by Dee (September 28, 2006). "::Cake & Ice Cream:::Celebrity News & Gossip for the Fresh, Fly & Flashy::: Attention Aspiring Super Stars". Cakeandice-cream.blogspot.com. http://cakeandice-cream.blogspot.com/2006/09/attention-aspiring-super-stars.html. Retrieved August 30, 2009.
- ^ Sep 25, 2006 at 11:53 pm (September 25, 2006). "You Should Be A Star! » HIPANDPOP.COM – Gossip and Humour, The Digitalized Black Celebrity Life". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on October 10, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20071010050538/http://www.hipandpop.com/you-should-be-a-star-683.html. Retrieved August 30, 2009.
- ^ "Be a Star Consulting Group : submission for your music and professional feedback from an experienced A&R!". Youshouldbeastar.com. http://youshouldbeastar.com/join.html. Retrieved August 30, 2009.
- ^ "Dateunknown.com - Reality Show of First MySpace Dates | Visit dateunknown.com". Killerstartups.com. May 7, 2007. http://www.killerstartups.com/Social-Networking/dateunknown-com-reality-show-of-first-myspace-dates. Retrieved August 30, 2009.
- ^ "National Journal Online – Tech Daily Dose – YouTube Crusader Unveils Web Reality Show". Techdailydose.nationaljournal.com. May 8, 2007. http://techdailydose.nationaljournal.com/2007/05/youtube-crusader-unveils-web-r.php. Retrieved August 30, 2009.
- ^ a b c (May 8, 2007). "Brandon Fletcher Debuts ‘Date: Unknown’". Newteevee.com. http://newteevee.com/2007/05/08/brandon-fletcher-debuts-date-unknown/. Retrieved August 30, 2009.
- ^ 27 augustus 2007 (December 24, 2006). "Episode 10: Funky, Hot & Sweaty". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kE-VkJf6uw&feature=channel_page. Retrieved August 30, 2009.
- ^ "New Web Series – Date:Unknown or How Social Media Affects The Battle of the sexes at Pravda on Media, Technology, and Rebel Filmmaking". Pravdam.com. May 14, 2007. http://pravdam.com/2007/05/14/new-web-series-dateunknown-or-how-social-media-affects-the-battle-of-the-sexes/. Retrieved August 30, 2009.
- ^ "YouTube signs deal with 20-year-old’s dating show". Tech.Blorge.Com. June 22, 2007. http://tech.blorge.com/Structure:%20/2007/06/22/youtube-signs-deal-with-20-year-olds-dating-show/. Retrieved August 30, 2009.
- ^ "Banging on YouTube’s Doors | Epicenter". Wired.com. April 2, 2007. http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2007/04/banging_on_yout/. Retrieved August 30, 2009.
- ^ "Should YouTube Hear Me?". 10 Zen Monkeys. April 16, 2007. http://www.10zenmonkeys.com/2007/04/16/should-youtube-hear-me/. Retrieved August 30, 2009.
- ^ "YouTube, the 20-Year-Old, and Date Unknown". 10 Zen Monkeys. June 22, 2007. http://www.10zenmonkeys.com/2007/06/22/youtube-the-20-year-old-and-date-unknown/. Retrieved August 30, 2009.
- ^ "YouTube To Share Revenue With 20-year-old Filmmaker". Slashdot. June 24, 2007. http://slashdot.org/articles/07/06/24/0357237.shtml. Retrieved August 30, 2009.
- ^ "Cassie – Cassie(2006)". Realrnb.com. http://www.realrnb.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11850. Retrieved August 30, 2009.
