News In Brief

Arizona podcaster

and ASU grad killed in Los Angeles hit-and-run

By Merryn Johns

Mat George, who co-hosted the podcast "She Rates Dogs," was killed in a hit-and-run in Los Angeles early on Saturday morning, July 17, his co-host Michaela Okland confirmed on Twitter on the Sunday after.

According to CBS Los Angeles, a male pedestrian was struck by a BMW in the Beverly Grove community at around 2:20 a.m, and the Los Angeles County coroner's office identified that person as Matthew Thomas George, 26. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The New York Times reported that George was struck as he crossed a street at an unmarked crosswalk.

After co-host and friend Okland announced his death on Twitter tributes praised George for his vibrant personality, humor and outspokenness, discussing issues of dating and his identity as a gay man, which made him popular with listeners of "She Rates Dogs.”

Co-host Okland posted on the "She Rates Dogs" Twitter account that one more episode featuring George was recorded before his death but has been put on hold, however.

In an interview with Shoutout Arizona last year, George mentioned being an out gay man, and the risk he took in moving to L.A. from Arizona. "Growing up and being in the closet, I never knew anyone or heard about anyone who had similar experiences and fears that I had," George said.

"Before switching from a life that was going towards medicine to a life in entertainment there were a lot of questions going through my mind. Some questions included was it worth it? Am I sure this is what I really wanted? Could I really do this and still make enough money to support a family one day. After a long 2 weeks of thinking about it 24/7, I ultimately decided that I was going to make the switch. I knew it was risky but I also knew that if I didn’t try I would never stop wondering what could’ve been."

By doing the podcast George wanted to share his own experiences "and make LGBTQ+ people all across the world feel like they're not alone. The most rewarding moments are when members of the LGBTQ+ community reach out to me and tell me what a difference I've made in their lives," George said.

It was while studying at ASU that George discovered his talent for storytelling: "Towards the end of my college days at Arizona State University I started to share my experiences as a gay man with different people I was close to. Their reactions made me realize that a lot of these stories were funny to others, which then gave me more confidence to start sharing them with even more people.” George graduated from Arizona State University in 2017, according to his LinkedIn page.

Supporters of the podcaster have encouraged anyone wanting to honor George's memory to make a donation to the national LGBTQ inclusion nonprofit GLSEN.

CATCHING UP WITH…

Breanna Andrea

This past year many of us have spent more time in front of screens and on our devices than ever before, endlessly scrolling through content. But who is creating content that matters? And what is the future for LGBTQ content creators? The inaugural Aequalitas Content Creators Association convention in Cedar Rapids, Iowa August 22 - 25. One of the featured speakers at ACCA will be Andrea Breanna, Founder and CEO of Rebel Mouse.

What do you think you will be speaking about at the Aequalitas Content Creators Association convention in Cedar Rapids?

This is an important moment for independent media. Google has realized that the open web became a pretty bad place for consumers in comparison to the highly optimized and well thought out products that social media offers. But having a web property is more important than ever. This was the founding principal of RebelMouse: to make websites as fast, clean and usable as the social products like Facebook and Twitter that they not only feed off, depend on — but compete against. With Google's Core Web Vitals update, websites that are slow, have bad ads, have bad experiences are going to drop out of rankings. Savvy indy media is going to not only survive this but use it as a David and Goliath moment against the big media which can't get out of its own legacy problems to solve this.

The idea of content creation is somewhat new compared to the history of publishing — and it is rapidly evolving. What do you see as the main challenges today for anyone in this space, which some people say is already oversaturated and highly competitive.

There is this huge arch in history from a scarcity of information (so people would pay for good information) to an abundance of information (so people didn't need to pay for information — it’s all free!!) to an overabundance of information (people pay for good information they can trust again). Smart media companies are collecting membership revenue in exchange for giving information from a particular perspective on a particular topic and it's a thriving revenue source. The narratives of "fake news" are resonating because people are unsure what they can trust. And it turns out they are willing to pay for streams of content they can trust.

We also see a huge opportunity for innovation in ads that the Google Web Vitals update requires. There are better ways of advertising — how Facebook, Twitter and Instagram do it. Not with a takeover and pop-ups but by being smart about how the sponsored content is promoted within a stream. We are helping our clients at RebelMouse make the most of this trend and opportunity, which does require a great product to make happen. just unbelievable so ideas (and websites, and content) can spread faster and more efficiently than ever before.

Any trends in this space that you think will take off? For example, blogging was once hot but has been left behind by influencers, YouTubers and podcasters; what will come after these content creators or are they here to stay?

Trusted news sources that aggregate highly valuable audiences for advertisers and that collect direct consumer revenue from memberships. Legacy media brands are absolutely in crisis because of their own legacy and it's a dream innovator's dilemma for savvy new media companies.

You have an incredible career in digital media and content, building HuffPost, The Dodo, Axios, Avaaz and other ventures. What drew you to this sector originally and what do you consider to be your major achievement?

I have always loved where the right content is, in the right product, at the right time and becomes something that is massively popular and a household name and topic. There has never been a better age to build these things — the distribution channels we have now are

You are part of the LGBTQ community (trans, non-binary). Our community is known as being early-adopters and creative people. Do you believe that content creation plays a political role in the protection and advancement of our community?

YES. I believe the queer community holds the keys to using technology for good instead of just putting profits first and ignoring evil. We have every native, natural reason in the world to use media to help society progress to a more kind, empathetic, and beautiful culture. Our own lives and happiness depend on it. And we are more powerful, more connected and more united than ever.

What digital media content platforms do you most enjoy these days?

I am very impressed by TikTok, obsessed with Twitter, in love with Chess.com, and very long on Facebook/Instagram being here forever (like it or not).

Find out more at facebook.com/aequalitasmedia