Zadi Diaz

Zadi Diaz
Photo of Zadi Diaz
Born
New York City
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)creative executive, producer, director
Notable workEpic Fu, YouTube Nation
Websitewww.zadidiaz.com

Zadi Diaz is an American creative executive, producer, and director. She launched Jet Set Show in 2006 (later renamed Epic Fu) and became the first female web series host to win a Webby Award. Epic Fu was also the first web series about internet culture to be recognized with a Webby. Diaz has held creative leadership roles at Disney, DreamWorks Animation, AwesomenessTV, Ipsy, and Mitú. Her work continues to explore themes at the intersection of digital culture, storytelling, and creative leadership.

Early life

Zadi Diaz was born in Harlem and grew up in the Washington Heights section of New York City, as well as the South Bronx. She is of Dominican descent.[1]

Career

Before co-creating Jet Set Show and Epic Fu, Diaz was an early participant in the emerging videoblogging community of the mid-2000s. Under the alias Karmagrrrl, she created and shared videos on her personal blog, blending personal storytelling with political and social commentary.[2] One of her most notable early works was a video montage in response to Hurricane Katrina, set to Green Day’s song “Wake Me Up When September Ends.” The video used emotional imagery and music to highlight the governmental failures surrounding the disaster. It was cited in a 2005 New York Times full-page article.[3]

Diaz also taught video blogging workshops at Apple Stores in Los Angeles and contributed to the broader vlogging movement through communities like FreeVlog and Rocketboom. These early experiences helped establish her voice as a digital storyteller and laid the foundation for her later work creating web-native series about internet culture.

Epic Fu

Zadi Diaz co-founded Epic Fu with Steve Woolf, which first premiered as JETSET (also referred to as Jet Set Show) on June 1, 2006. Amanda Congdon and Andrew Baron were initially tied to the first few episodes of the production,[4] but the partnership dissolved with the Rocketboom split in July 2006.

The show, later renamed Epic Fu, became one of the first and most influential web series focused on internet culture.[5] Aimed at a youth audience, the series blended art, technology, news, and social commentary in a fast-paced, web-native format. Diaz served as both host and executive producer.

In April 2007, JETSET was the first established web show to sign with an entertainment studio Next New Networks (NNN).[6] In its tenure with NNN, the show grew from 30,000 to 40,000 views per episode to 3 million views a month.[7] After briefly being signed to West Coast digital studio Revision3 in June 2008,[8] Epic Fu was independently run and distributed through Blip.tv.[9] The show was praised by publications such as Wired[10] and Ad Age[11] for its innovation and cultural relevance. It became the first web series about internet culture to win a Webby Award.

Podcasting

In 2006, Zadi Diaz co-founded the podcast New Mediacracy. Created with Steve Woolf and video blogger Steve Garfield, the podcast featured candid discussions about online video and new media, and often featured popular web series creators as guests.[12] In 2010, Chris McCaleb of Big Fantastic joined the podcast as a regular and series host. Notable guests included Felicia Day, Joe Penna, Illeana Douglas, John August and Paul Scheer.

Creative Leadership

Diaz went on to lead creative development for digital content at major studios. From 2012 to 2013, she served as an head of content development and executive producer for Disney Interactive’s Online Originals division, producing series including Where's My Water?: Swampy's Underground Adventures, Talking Friends, Blank: A Vinylmation Love Story, and multiple other digital shorts and one-offs.[13]

She later served as VP of Programming at Awestruck,[14] an AwesomenessTV initiative, and as executive producer of YouTube Nation,[15] a daily curated series developed in partnership with YouTube and DreamWorks Animation.[16] She also served as Vice President of Programming and Development at Ipsy and Head of Digital Studio at Mitú.[17] In 2018, she became the co-founder and chief creative officer at Major Digital Studios, a digital storytelling studio based in Los Angeles.

Speaking

She has spoken at events such as Cannes Lions, SXSW, VidCon, NAB, Comic Con, and New Media Expo.

Awards

Year Award Show Category Result Recipient(s)
2006 PodTech Vloggie Awards Favorite Kids and Teens videoblog Won[18] Epic Fu
2007 Webby Awards People's Voice Winner - Music Won[19] Epic Fu
2008 Webby Awards Variety Nominated[19] Epic Fu
2009 1st Streamy Awards Best Hosted Web Series Won[20] Epic Fu
Best Web Series Host Nominated[21] Zadi Diaz
Webby Awards People's Voice Winner - Best Reality/Variety Host Won[19] Zadi Diaz
Variety Nominated[19] Epic Fu
2010 2nd Streamy Awards Best Web Series Host Won[22] Zadi Diaz


References

  1. ^ "Bio". zadidiaz.com. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
  2. ^ DiGiacomo, Danielle (2006-03-01). "Hot Vlog". Independent Magazine. Retrieved 2006-03-01.
  3. ^ Boxer, Sarah (2005-09-24). "Art of the Internet: A Protest Song, Reloaded". The New York Times.
  4. ^ Terdiman, Daniel (2006-07-12). "Behind Rocketboom's breakup fireworks". Cnet.
  5. ^ "We're LIVE from the Hollywood Web TV Meetup With EPIC FU!". Tubefilter. 2010-01-21. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
  6. ^ Gannes, Liz (2007-04-01). "JETSET Signs with Next New Networks". NewTeeVee. Archived from the original on 2009-03-22. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
  7. ^ Thomas, Michael (2007-12-31). "We did it!!! 100 million views in one year!!!". NextNewNetworks. Archived from the original on 2009-03-23. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
  8. ^ West, Jackson (2008-06-04). "Revision3 picks up Epic Fu after departure from NextNewNetworks". Valleywag. Archived from the original on 2009-03-27. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
  9. ^ Learmonth, Michael (2009-07-28). "Blip.tv Brings Programs to YouTube, Ads to 'Channel Awesome'". AdAge.com.
  10. ^ Wortham, Jenna (2008-06-06). "Revision3 Adds Epic-Fu To Arsenal of Geek Web TV". Wired. Retrieved 2008-06-06.
  11. ^ Whitney, Daisy (2008-07-29). "Rolling Stone, MTV, Epic Fu?". Ad Age. Retrieved 2008-07-29.
  12. ^ "Net Neutrality: White Ribbons and the Fight Ahead". Tubefilter. 2010-04-15. Retrieved 2010-04-15.
  13. ^ Shields, Mike (2012-04-26). "Disney Turns to Mobile Apps as Show Pilots". Adweek. Retrieved 2012-04-26.
  14. ^ Spangler, Todd (2015-04-15). "AwesomenessTV Wants Moms with 'Awestruck' Network on YouTube, Facebook, Verizon". Variety. Retrieved 2015-04-15.
  15. ^ Hurwitz, Daniel (2014-01-13). "YouTube, DreamWorks start daily show about Web videos". USA Today. Retrieved 2014-01-13.
  16. ^ Verrier, Richard (2014-01-13). "Jeffrey Katzenberg talks up YouTube Nation". LA Times. Retrieved 2014-01-13.
  17. ^ Chmielewski, Dawn (2018-05-09). "Mitú Adds Three Latina Executives To Its Digital Media Team". Deadline. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
  18. ^ Lewin, James (2006-11-05). "Ze Frank Comes Out On Top At PodTech Vloggies". Podcasting News.
  19. ^ a b c d "Home".
  20. ^ Hustvedt, Marc (2009-03-29). "The Streamy Awards: A Night Full of Winners". Archived from the original on 2009-04-01. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
  21. ^ "1st Annual Winners & Nominees".
  22. ^ "The 2010 Streamy Awards Official Winners". Archived from the original on 2010-11-14. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
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