Emerson Spartz

Last updated
Emerson Spartz
Emerson Spartz.png
Born (1987-02-17) February 17, 1987 (age 37)
LaPorte, Indiana, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
OccupationFounder of Dose
Known for MuggleNet, OMG Facts, GivesMeHope
Parent(s)Tom and Maggi Spartz
Website www.emersonspartz.com

Emerson James Spartz (born February 17, 1987) is the founder of the viral media company Dose and the founder of MuggleNet, a Harry Potter fansite.

Contents

Early life

Spartz was born in La Porte, Indiana to Tom and Maggi Spartz. [1] [2] He is the oldest of three brothers. [2] At the age of twelve, Spartz convinced his parents to allow him to drop out of school and homeschool himself. He developed his own curriculum, [3] which his parents supplemented by requiring him to read four single-page biographies of successful people every day, which were collected from the pages of Investor's Business Daily . [2] Spartz has subsequently attributed some of his entrepreneurial success to reading these short biographies. [2] [4] [5]

Career

MuggleNet

Using the WYSIWYG site-building tool Homestead, Spartz founded MuggleNet, a Harry Potter news website and forum, in 1999, at the age of twelve. [2] [6] In fall 2006, while a junior at Notre Dame, Emerson co-authored a book, MuggleNet.com's What Will Happen in Harry Potter 7, which speculated on plot elements of the final Harry Potter book to be released in July 2007. [7] The book remained on the New York Times Children's Bestseller List for six months, peaking in the number two position and selling 350,000 copies. [8] [9] In June 2007, Spartz went on a tour with Ben Schoen, another MuggleNet staff member, to promote their work. [10]

In 2009, Emerson Spartz and Ben Schoen wrote another book, MuggleNet.com's Harry Potter Should Have Died: Controversial Views From The #1 Fan Site. [11]

By 2007, Spartz was receiving a six-figure income for running MuggleNet and had recruited six paid and 120 volunteer staff to the site. [6] [12] [13] [14] In 2015, he stated, "As I became less motivated by my passion for the books, I got obsessed with the entrepreneurial side of [MuggleNet], the game of maximizing patterns and seeing how big my reach could get." [2] Spartz sold MuggleNet and severed his relationship with the magical brand soon after. MuggleNet became an independent brand in 2020. They work closely with their business partner, Topix Media. [15]

Dose

In 2009, Spartz launched Spartz Media, now called Dose, a company that originally crowdsourced viral web content across thirty websites. [1] [2] In May 2009, Spartz and Gaby Montero founded GivesMeHope, a website where contributors share answers to the question "what gives you hope?" in the form of anonymous anecdotes. [16] [17] The site was created in response to FMyLife. [16] [18]

In January 2010, Spartz launched OMG Facts. [19] In 2012, OMGFacts.com received 30 million monthly page views, [3] and had 500,000 subscribers on YouTube. [20]

Spartz has launched at least thirty websites under the Spartz Media brand, all of which primarily rely on social media sites for web traffic. [2] Because these sites have increasingly operated by republishing previously developed viral content, Spartz's content strategy has been characterized as arbitrage and has been criticized for failing to license or provide attribution for copyrighted media. [2] [21]

In 2014, the company launched Dose.com. In 2015, the company changed its name to Dose and raised $25 million in venture financing, bringing its total capital raised to $34.5 million. [22] [23]

In 2016 Spartz was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list. [24]

Personal life

Spartz graduated in May 2009 from the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business. [25] Emerson has stated that he read one book of nonfiction per day during college. [4] [19]

Spartz married Gaby Spartz (née Montero), his college girlfriend, in 2011. [26] They divorced in 2017. [27]

Related Research Articles

In J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, a Muggle is a person who lacks any sort of magical ability and was not born in a magical family. Muggles can also be described as people who do not have any magical blood inside them. It differs from the term Squib, which refers to a person with one or more magical parents yet without any magical power or ability, and from the term Muggle-born, which refers to a person with magical abilities but with non-magical parents. Equivalent terms used by the in-universe magic community of the USA include No-Maj and No-Majs ; French equivalents are Non-Magiques and No-Majes. Other terms are Can't-Spells and Non-Wizards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lord Voldemort</span> Fictional character from Harry Potter

Lord Voldemort is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the Harry Potter series of novels by J. K. Rowling. He first appears in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997) and returns either in person or in flashbacks in each novel in the series except the third, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, in which he is only mentioned.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albus Dumbledore</span> Fictional character from Harry Potter

Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore is a fictional character in the Harry Potter series of novels by J. K. Rowling. For most of the series, he is the headmaster of the wizarding school Hogwarts. He is also the founder and leader of the Order of the Phoenix, an organisation dedicated to fighting the Dark wizard Lord Voldemort.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hogwarts</span> Fictional British school of magic from the Harry Potter universe

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is a fictional boarding school of magic for young wizards. It is the primary setting for the first six novels in the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, and also serves as a major setting in the Wizarding World media franchise.

<i>Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone</i> 1997 fantasy novel by J. K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is a fantasy novel written by the British author J. K. Rowling. It is the first novel in the Harry Potter series and was Rowling's debut novel. It follows Harry Potter, a young wizard who discovers his magical heritage on his eleventh birthday when he receives a letter of acceptance to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry makes close friends and a few enemies during his first year at the school. With the help of his friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, he faces an attempted comeback by the dark wizard Lord Voldemort, who killed Harry's parents but failed to kill Harry when he was just 15 months old.

<i>Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix</i> (film) 2007 fantasy film directed by David Yates

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a 2007 fantasy film directed by David Yates from a screenplay by Michael Goldenberg. It is based on the 2003 novel Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling. It is the sequel to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) and the fifth instalment in the Harry Potter film series. The film stars Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, alongside Rupert Grint and Emma Watson as Harry's best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger respectively. Its story follows Harry's fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as the Ministry of Magic is in denial of Lord Voldemort's return.

The Harry Potter fandom is the community of fans of the Harry Potter books and films who participate in entertainment activities that revolve around the series, such as reading and writing fan fiction, creating and soliciting fan art, engaging in role-playing games, socialising on Harry Potter-based forums, and more. The fandom interacts online as well as offline through activities such as fan conventions, participating in cosplay, tours of iconic landmarks relevant to the books and production of the films, and parties held for the midnight release of each book and film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MuggleNet</span> Harry Potter fansite

MuggleNet is the Internet's oldest and largest Harry Potter and Wizarding World fansite. MuggleNet was founded in 1999. It has expanded over the years to include a handful of partner podcasts, a separate book blog, over half a dozen published works and live events. At one point, it also ran its own forums, social network and separate fan fiction website. Originally owned by founder Emerson Spartz, MuggleNet became an independently-owned and operated brand in early 2020.

<i>Harry Potter</i> Series of fantasy novels by J. K. Rowling

Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young wizard, Harry Potter, and his friends, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The main story arc concerns Harry's conflict with Lord Voldemort, a dark wizard who intends to become immortal, overthrow the wizard governing body known as the Ministry of Magic, and subjugate all wizards and Muggles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Leaky Cauldron (website)</span> Fan website and blog about Harry Potter

The Leaky Cauldron, also called Leaky, TLC, or Leaky News, is a Harry Potter fansite and blog. The site features news, image and video galleries, downloadable widgets, a chat room and discussion forum, and an essay project called Scribbulus, among other offerings. Since 2005, the Leaky Cauldron has also hosted an official podcast, called PotterCast.

MuggleCast is a Harry Potter podcast that is hosted by Eric Scull, Andrew Sims, Micah Tannenbaum, and Laura Thompson. Sims came up with the idea for the podcast and pitched it to the founder of MuggleNet, Emerson Spartz, who originally thought it was a bad idea. It was the first MuggleNet podcast and was released on August 7, 2005, and was hosted by Ben Schoen, Sims, and Kevin Steck.

Melissa Anelli is an American author and webmistress. She is the author of Harry, A History, which chronicles the Harry Potter phenomenon. Anelli is also the full-time webmistress of The Leaky Cauldron, a commercial fansite devoted to the Harry Potter franchise for fans.

<i>Harry Potter</i> (film series) Fantasy film series

Harry Potter is a film series based on the Harry Potter series of novels by J. K. Rowling. The series was produced and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures and consists of eight fantasy films, beginning with Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001) and culminating with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011). A spin-off prequel series started with Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016), marking the beginning of the Wizarding World shared media franchise.

Since first coming to wide notice in the late 1990s, the Harry Potter book series by J. K. Rowling has been the subject of a number of legal disputes. Rowling, her various publishers and Time Warner, the owner of the rights to the Harry Potter films, have taken numerous legal actions to protect their copyrights, and also have fielded accusations of copyright theft themselves. The worldwide popularity of the Harry Potter series has led to the appearance of a number of locally-produced, unauthorised sequels and other derivative works, leading to efforts to ban or contain them. While these legal proceedings have countered a number of cases of outright piracy, other attempts have targeted not-for-profit endeavours and have been criticised.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rubeus Hagrid</span> Fictional character from Harry Potter

Rubeus Hagrid is a fictional character in the Harry Potter series of novels by J. K. Rowling. He was introduced in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001) as a half-giant who is the gamekeeper and groundskeeper at the wizarding school Hogwarts. He is a member of the Order of the Phoenix and eventually becomes the Care of Magical Creatures professor. Hagrid is portrayed by Robbie Coltrane in all eight Harry Potter films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GivesMeHope</span>

GivesMeHope (GMH) was founded in May 2009 in response to the popular site, FMyLife (FML), itself a spin-off of popular French website Viedemerde.fr. It was part of the Spartz Media Network. On the site, people share with the world their most hopeful, uplifting moments while answering the question, "what gives you hope?" According to Quantcast, GivesMeHope receives over 500,000 hits every day. As of August 5, 2009, the website has over 160,000 fans on Facebook. A book containing stories from the site was released in the Fall of 2010

Production of <i>Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows</i>

Production of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the 2010/2011 two-part finale of the Harry Potter film series, began in 2009. Both Part 1 and Part 2 were directed by David Yates, written by Steve Kloves, and from the screen adaptation of the 2007 novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. The picture was produced by Rowling, alongside David Heyman and David Barron. It was originally set to be released as one, but due to its long running time, Warner Bros. Pictures divided the film into two parts.

Fandom Forward is a nonprofit organization that was initially run by Harry Potter fans but that has since expanded to include members of various fandoms. It was founded by Andrew Slack in 2005 to draw attention to human rights violations in Sudan. Since then, the organization's campaigns have focused on topics such as literacy, United States immigration reform, economic justice, LGBT rights, sexism, labor rights, mental health, body image, and climate change. They have received recognition from many popular figures in the Harry Potter community and have been the subject of multiple academic studies on fan activism and civic engagement among youth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gaby Spartz</span>

Gaby Spartz is an Ecuadorian Twitch streamer and YouTube gamer. She is also the founder of the market research company Dose.

References

  1. 1 2 Moore, Ann (21 April 2012). "From Muggle to Media Mogul by Age 25". Crain's. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Marantz, Andrew (5 January 2015). "The Virologist". The New Yorker . Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  3. 1 2 Gilbert, Trevor (16 July 2012). "How a Self-Taught 12-Year-Old Turned Spartz Media into a Viral Media Titan". PandoDaily. Archived from the original on 18 July 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  4. 1 2 Harris, Melissa (21 October 2014). "Emerson Spartz talks (quickly) about creating a life without distractions". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved 17 February 2014.
  5. ↑ Fussman, Cal (6 August 2014). "What I've Learned: Viral Wizard Emerson Spartz". Esquire.com. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  6. 1 2 Vittor, Josh (22 June 2007). "Wild About Harry". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  7. ↑ Siegal, Lee (11 February 2007). "Children's Books". New York Times. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  8. ↑ Raine, George (7 July 2007). "Potter spin-off a hit for tiny Berkeley publisher". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  9. ↑ Buckley, Madeline (2 October 2007). "ND Junior Writes Bestselling Harry Potter Book" . Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  10. ↑ "The Planet Provides Web Hosting for Harry Potter Site". 2 July 2007. Archived from the original on 17 February 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  11. ↑ "Volume 93 Issue 3 by The Fordham Ram - Issuu". issuu.com. 9 February 2011. p. 4.
  12. ↑ Brady, Diane (1 July 2007). "The Twisted Economics of Harry Potter". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  13. ↑ Teigen, Megan (Autumn 2005). "Mugglenet founder chooses Notre Dame over Hogwarts". Notre Dame Magazine. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  14. ↑ Chapla, Shannon (22 July 2008). "Senior "Web wizard" takes Harry Potter to the Middle East" . Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  15. ↑ "We're Back!" . Retrieved Aug 10, 2020– via www.facebook.com.
  16. 1 2 Spartz, Emerson; Montero, Gaby. "About GMH". GivesMeHope. Archived from the original on 2011-08-16.
  17. ↑ Anjarwalla, Tas (2 Aug 2010). "8 feel-good websites to brighten your day". CNN. Archived from the original on 9 August 2012. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  18. ↑ Sullivan, Matt (1 June 2009). "GivesMeHope.com: When Bankruptcy, Plane Crashes, and Mondays Get You Down". Esquire. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  19. 1 2 Jahn, Tim (10 June 2011). "From Interviewing JK Rowling To Inspiring Millions Every Month – with Emerson Spartz". Entrepreneurs Unpluggd. Archived from the original on 25 September 2011.
  20. ↑ Frobes, Marissa (15 September 2011). "The Observer". The Observer. Archived from the original on 2012-08-17. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  21. ↑ Ingram, Matthew (30 December 2014). "When content becomes a virus, the viral scientists ultimately win". Gigaom. Archived from the original on 8 August 2018. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  22. ↑ Inverso, Emily, "Under 30 Emerson Spartz On The Trick To Tackling Viral Content", Forbes, 1/7/2016
  23. ↑ Pletz, John, "Emerson Spartz raises $25 million from Tribune Media", Crain's Chicago Business, 12/09/2015
  24. ↑ "30 Under 30 2016: Media". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-03-26.
  25. ↑ Johnson, Nancy. "Emerson 2.0". Notre Dame Business Magazine. Mendoza College of Business. Archived from the original on 15 April 2013. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  26. ↑ "MuggleNet's Emerson and Gaby tie the knot!". Sep 3, 2011. Retrieved Aug 10, 2020.
  27. ↑ https://courtlink.lexisnexis.com/cookcounty/FindDock.aspx?DocketKey=CABHDAABGIG0DR
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