In 2012, Evan Britton founded a website premised upon what the web arguably does best: help people obsess over celebrities.
Britton launched his first site in 1999 as a senior in college and has since made his living monetizing web clicks.
When he created Famous Birthdays as a sort of Wikipedia of celebrities nine years ago, Tiktok wasn't even born and Snap had barely launched. The term "influencers" had yet to seep into the mainstream. But as social media created a new form of celebrity, the site has morphed into a pillar of the teen-centric world of online personalities and creators.
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This month the company said it will surpass 35 million unique monthly visitors across its app and website. Third-party data providers, which use various methods to estimate web traffic, peg that figure anywhere between 4-6 million (Comscore) and 29 million (Similar Web). Many of those users are teens who use the site to browse celebrity profiles, contribute to popularity rankings and see who's trending.
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"It's a pulse of the Gen Z community," said Talia Kocar, VP of Content at Mammoth Media, a Gen Z-focused mobile entertainment studio.
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And as that community has expanded and entrenched its online presence, Famous Birthdays has ridden the wave. Britton's profitable website makes money from billions of programmatic ads that are generated from places like Google and Amazon and it has become a useful resource for the growing industry of monetizing online celebrity.
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In April it will launch its third international off-shoot in French, joining Spanish and Portuguese, as the company anticipates the spread of influencer fever beyond America.
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"Famous Birthdays is essentially the Wikipedia of influencers," said Ryan Detert, CEO of Influential, a leading influencer marketing firm. "It has become a very valuable tool within the influencer industry to do quick research on creators and it's also very popular with young fans. They have found a unique niche in the fact that influencers are the new celebrities for Gen Z."
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Britton hadn't originally intended on serving that niche. He'd started <a href="https://www.famousbirthdays.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Famous Birthdays</a> with A-listers in mind and a user-first focus on growth. The plan was to add new profiles to the database based on users' search patterns.
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"The internal search data guides our roadmap," he said. About 90% of user searches on Famous Birthdays yield a hit. The other 10% help to indicate what else users want.
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"We built technology around analyzing those missed searches," Britton said, adding that Famous Birthdays' search engine now receives over 1 million inquiries a day. "It lets us know before anyone else what's happening."
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Early on, it became apparent that users wanted something more than A-listers.
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They wanted social media celebrities. So Britton and his now team of 30, including freelancers, took to reaching out to up-and-comers that the data suggested were on the rise.
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In late 2018, for instance, Famous Birthdays contacted Paige Mackenzie, an Arkansas-based teen who at the time had about 600,000 followers on still-nascent TikTok.
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"I was like 'oh my god'; I had a fangirl moment," Mackenzie said. "I was a normal girl with a couple of followers, and they want to know about me? That was the coolest thing."</p><div class="rm-embed embed-media"><script id="infogram_0_bde6b6e3-9f0b-4097-92ae-015bb30b0f6f" src="https://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed.js?rFs" title="Famous Birthdays Growth" type="text/javascript"> </script><div style="padding:8px 0;font-family:Arial!important;font-size:13px!important;line-height:15px!important;text-align:center;border-top:1px solid #dadada;margin:0 30px">
<a href="https://infogram.com/bde6b6e3-9f0b-4097-92ae-015bb30b0f6f" style="color:#989898!important;text-decoration:none!important;" target="_blank">Famous Birthdays Growth</a><br/>
<a href="https://infogram.com" rel="nofollow" style="color:#989898!important;text-decoration:none!important;" target="_blank">Infogram</a>
</div></div><p>Mackenzie has since grown her TikTok following to 7.5 million. She typically regales her fans with comedic videos she describes as "relatable," like when "your brother annoys your mom right when you're about to ask something important."</p><p>
When Mackenzie was added to the platform, Famous Birthdays had about 20 million users. That has since exploded beyond Britton's imagination.</p><p><span></span>"The platform has evolved quite a bit over the years – much like how Gen Z's (and my) definition of a celebrity has," said Kocar, who added that Mammoth "constantly references" Famous Birthdays to inform its content decisions.</p>
<blockquote class="tiktok-embed" cite="https://www.tiktok.com/@willywonkatiktok/video/6849877838120701189" data-video-id="6849877838120701189" style="max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px;" > <section> <a target="_blank" title="@willywonkatiktok" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@willywonkatiktok">@willywonkatiktok</a> <p>Thanks for making this happen :) Go boost me if ya want <a title="willywonka" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/willywonka">#willywonka</a> <a title="famousbirthdays" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/famousbirthdays">#famousbirthdays</a></p> <a target="_blank" title="♬ original sound - Greg and Zach" href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-6795947928369335045">♬ original sound - Greg and Zach</a> </section> </blockquote> <script async src="https://www.tiktok.com/embed.js"></script>
<p>"TikTok has been a wave that's really grown our platform," Britton said, noting that stars on the social-video stalwart are his site's most popular searches. "There's been a huge momentum for the creator economy and we've been on that wave because we were seated as the platform beneath all of that."</p><p>That momentum has led Britton to recalibrate his expectations.</p><p>"Six months ago, I would have thought our ceiling was maybe 50 million users, but I think we're gonna be there by the end of next year, based on how things are going," he said.</p><p>The company's <a href="https://es.famousbirthdays.com/" target="_blank">Spanish-language version</a> launched in July 2019 and now comprises about 15% of Famous Birthdays' total traffic, Britton said. The <a href="https://pt.famousbirthdays.com/" target="_blank">Portuguese version</a> launched in October 2020 and the French version will launch in April 2021.</p><p><span></span>Britton hopes to replicate his platform's success in those new markets. In the U.S., arriving on Famous Birthdays has come to be seen by creators as a veritable badge of honor.</p><p>When Duke Depp was invited to bring his online persona Willy Wonka to Famous Birthdays in July, he bragged about it to his nearly 18 million followers.</p><p>"Check it out my dear children, I finally made it on Famous Birthdays," he said. The post has since been liked over 412,000 times and received over 4,000 comments.</p><p>In September, Grandad Frank told his nearly 5 million TikTok followers that "Something crazy happened!!!!" He'd made it onto Famous Birthdays.<br></p>
<blockquote class="tiktok-embed" cite="https://www.tiktok.com/@billyvsco/video/6864718524619738373" data-video-id="6864718524619738373" style="max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px;" > <section> <a target="_blank" title="@billyvsco" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@billyvsco">@billyvsco</a> <p><a title="greenscreen" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/greenscreen">#greenscreen</a> thank you guys! Number 1 forty-7 year old. Y’all are awesome! <a title="waitforthegreats" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/waitforthegreats">#WaitForTheGreats</a> <a title="boost" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/boost">#boost</a> <a title="famousbirthdays" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/famousbirthdays">#famousbirthdays</a> <a title="foru" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/foru">#foru</a></p> <a target="_blank" title="♬ borderline by tame impala - audioz !" href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/borderline-by-tame-impala-6815764995805121285">♬ borderline by tame impala - audioz !</a> </section> </blockquote> <script async src="https://www.tiktok.com/embed.js"></script>
<p>Famous Birthdays currently hosts around 210,000 profiles, along with some 15,000 pages for shows, movies, bands and web groups. The team receives over 1,000 user-submitted edits and updates per day, Britton said, which they manually review and verify.<br></p><p>Using inputs like search volume and user engagement, Famous Birthdays also provides several popularity rankings.</p><p>The company has never raised outside capital and doesn't plan to start.</p><p>"Our vision is to build the Wikipedia for the Digital Generation," said Britton. "Given the scale we already have, we're confident that we'll be able to do it without raising VC."</p>
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The time for online shopping is now.
The pandemic has ushered in the era of ecommerce as Americans embrace curbside pickup, next day deliveries and grocery pick-up services. There's likely no going back as an increasing number of consumers get accustomed to shopping online.
Now, retailers are taking experience to another level with streaming, data personalization, augmented reality and other features that are only likely to grow digital shopping habits.
Here are three trends sweeping ecommerce and the Los Angeles companies that are fueling it:
<h2>AR and Livestreaming Usher in New Virtual Shopping Experiences </h2><p>
Makeup and clothing retailers that relied on in-store shoppers have turned to augmented reality features to lure customers — from their own homes where they don't have to social distance.
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YouTube and Amazon both launched livestreaming services this year, letting consumers shop for clothes or try on makeup from their phone screens. Meanwhile, Google's new augmented reality platform built with Toronto-based ModiFace pairs ecommerce sites with the virtual try-on technology.
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In Los Angeles, two venture-backed livestreaming shopping companies are making waves. Popshop Live launched in 2019 and this year closed a <a href="https://dot.la/popshop-live-2646369816/particle-2" target="_self">$3 million round in July</a> as CEO and founder Danielle Li watched users spike in a push from businesses to stay afloat.
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"Retailers who have one to three locations quickly realized they're getting nearly the same amount of traffic," said Philip Soriano, Popshop Live's head of operations. "People come to us and will probably stick around even if the foot traffic comes back."
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Meanwhile, L.A.-based NTWRK offers livestreamed shows featuring limited-edition gear launched by celebrities and designers. The video commerce platform, founded in 2018 and backed by Live Nation Entertainment, recently partnered with Snap to stream interviews with designers and creators about items they're preparing to drop.
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<a href="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQ0MzU5Mi9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2ODEwMDUwM30.v7E4hnsaVUx6nW9dQAd5GP8Vfjm8nWMcCZuXvWg-BkI/img.png?width=980" target="_blank"><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQ0MzU5Mi9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2ODEwMDUwM30.v7E4hnsaVUx6nW9dQAd5GP8Vfjm8nWMcCZuXvWg-BkI/img.png?width=980" id="6bc48" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ba7f934e0b8a437235ad5ea58adfe58f" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="Popshop Live" /></a>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Popshop Live Became Essential for LA Boutiques During the Shutdown. Now It's Got $3M to Grow</small>
</p><h2>Entertainment and Shopping Have Teamed Up</h2><p>
From platforms like Popshop Live to Instagram's new Reels feature, tech companies are harnessing influencers and networks of users to promote consumer products.
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As companies feel the pressure to build an online presence, many are turning to <a href="https://dot.la/influencer-marketing-2648899321/influence-in-the-wake-of-ecommerce" target="_self">influencer marketing campaigns</a> to ramp up sales. And marketers only expect that trend to continue.
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MagicLinks, an L.A. social media marketing company, found that across a sample of 4,500 ecommerce retailers, sales directed through YouTube influencers jumped 80% year over year in the quarter from June through August. The company said influencer-driven sales were up 115% across customers, including Target, L'Oreal and Best Buy.
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Other marketing agencies said they've increased budgets for influencer content since the pandemic. Even bigger companies are giving it a shot: Tito's Vodka and Superdry to name a couple.
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"Any brand that wants to connect with Gen Z, and sell whatever product or service they have, has to engage (with these platforms)," Glenn Ginsburg, SVP of global partnerships at influencer marketing agency <a href="https://www.qyoumedia.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The QYOU</a> told dot.LA. "Moving forward I think we'll see brands start to build deeper relationships with influencers."
</p><h2>Better Recommendations Are on the Way </h2><p>
Personalization has swept ecommerce as companies are ramping up product recommendations online. AI is now becoming more precise in helping companies steer shoppers toward products that fit their profile.
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Gabriel Nipote is the co-founder and COO of Halla, the L.A.-based machine learning company builds algorithms for online groceries to make smarter food recommendations. Unlike retail where shoppers are comfortable, online grocery shopping is starting to gain market traction.
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It's there that the gaps to machine learning are clear. For instance, some online markets during the pandemic offered customers product substitutions that didn't resemble what they ordered.
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"There are special places on Twitter and Reddit for people to complain about their tortillas being replaced by bags of flour, or receiving recommendations for hygiene products while browsing bagels," Nipote said.
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And because shoppers have only recently started coming around to grocery shopping online, data is still scant and difficult to draw broad conclusions from. As more shoppers fill shopping carts online, Nipote, whose startup team has doubled since March, expects more tech solutions for personalized shopping to launch in 2021.
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