Profiled - Grapevinestar - A new social media and entertainment company
An interview with Jacob R Miles III, CEO and Founder
The Social Media Portal talks to Jacob R Miles III from Grapevinestar social media, how it is being used in the entertainment industry and the impact of the medium for agency and brandsSocial Media
Portal (SMP): What is your full job title and role at Grapevinestar?Jacob R Miles (JM): CEO and founder
SMP: Briefly tell us about Grapevinestar, what is it and what does it do?JM: GrapevineStar? is a new (social) media and entertainment company, an intellectual property owner and social media solutions provider that aids businesses in their development and marketing efforts.
SMP: What made you start Grapevinestar?JM: I have been involved in the media and entertainment industry for over 20 years and the internet technology area for 10 years and saw the opportunity to leverage my experiences to integrate them and bring solutions to businesses worldwide.
SMP: What was the most challenging part of building the service?JM: financing by far, as CEO, I am always raising capital and being the chief advocate and sales person for the business.
SMP: Why did you elect to use Ning, and how is that working out? JM: Ning is an excellent platform; Marc Andreessen is clearly the most knowledgeable guru of social media and he believes as I do that the future of social media is in niches I also believe this is true for traditional media and entertainment. The platform also offers the flexibility demanded by our clients and members.
SMP: Who are your target audience and why?JM: Our target customers are creators of media and entertainment content. We can help them develop and monetize their content.
SMP: How did you initially attract users to your site / service, and how do you do it now? JM: Initially it was exclusively by word of mouth. Our presence on the internet is quite significant and as a result we now receive leads from the web. We also use direct mail and events where we speak, exhibit or network.
SMP: What are the low moments of what you have been doing so far?JM: Low moments are usually related to financing or software development not occurring in the timeframe planned.
SMP: What are the high moments of what you have been doing so far?JM: High moments come with every satisfied customer and every employee or contractor that comes onboard that shares our vision and passion for what we are doing.
SMP: Now that you are established, what do you see as your biggest challenges and opportunities?JM: Sufficient financing for fast growth and finding quality people. We are very picky.
SMP: What are the next moves for Grapevinestar?JM: We are a globally focused company so international expansion is a main focus of ours.
SMP: What?s the next big step for social media and networks?JM: focus on international markets. An updating and further integration of gseconnect, our news and information social media directory.
SMP: What?s going to be the most interesting aspect regarding social media / technology throughout 2009?JM: New applications and how existing and new are used in the entertainment and medical industries.
SMP: What impact is the global recession having and what do you think the best way is to manage it for businesses such as yours?JM: Business certainly has slowed. We are managing cost and expenditures very closely while trying to ramp up sales via extraordinary customer service.
SMP: How does this fit into plans at Grapevinestar?
JM: We are customer focused, honesty, integrity and a culture of caring for our customers and employees and we will always be lean and aggressive.
Now some questions for fun
SMP: What did you have for breakfast / lunch?JM: Turkey and avocado on wheat bread
SMP: What?s the last good thing that you did for someone?JM: Wrote a prayer for a friend and his family.
SMP: How many hours to you work a week? JM: 50 - 60 hours
SMP: If you weren?t running Grapevinestar what would you be doing?JM: Developing toys and games, listening to jazz, show tunes or classical music
SMP: When and where did you go on your last holiday? JM: Paris, France
SMP: What?s the first thing you do when you get into the office of a morning?JM: Brush teeth, wash face ? go to gym
SMP: If you had a superpower what would it be and why?JM: LOVE and Compassion for others ? because with these two things in super abundance we could solve most if not all of the world?s problems.
SMP: Is there any other sites/s that we should be aware of that relate to the above?Gsconnect.com http://www.gseconnect.com SMP: Is there a corporate or personal blog/s we should know about (if there is, you should add this to SMP also)? JM: jacobmiles
If you are interested in being Profiled, get in touch with the SMP editorial team via our contact
form.
Read more