Buzzfeed launched a new social brand this week called Cocoa Butter (yes, that kind of cocoa butter). Cocoa Butter‘s purpose is to better distribute black content to Buzzfeed’s audience, an audience that’s mostly made up of white millennials. One of the core writers and co-hosts of the podcast “Another Round,” Tracy LaFway Clayton, took to Twitter to further explain the need for Cocoa Butter.
so! some folks have noticed a new buzzfeed thing called @cocoabutterbf. id like to explain what it is by first explaining what it isnt
— tracy aka Bhad Bhooster (@brokeymcpoverty) July 14, 2015
it is NOT "black buzzfeed" or buzzfeed for black people. when i interviewed with jonah he asked if he thought we needed a separate +
— tracy aka Bhad Bhooster (@brokeymcpoverty) July 14, 2015
vertical for black content and we both agreed that that isn't the answer. sectioning off black content causes more probs than it solves
— tracy aka Bhad Bhooster (@brokeymcpoverty) July 14, 2015
vertical for black content and we both agreed that that isn't the answer. sectioning off black content causes more probs than it solves
— tracy aka Bhad Bhooster (@brokeymcpoverty) July 14, 2015
my biggest thing has always been the integration of black content into the whole of the site rather than throwing us in a corner
— tracy aka Bhad Bhooster (@brokeymcpoverty) July 14, 2015
and leaving us to entertain ourselves. so that is emphatically not what this is. i wldnt be a part of that.
— tracy aka Bhad Bhooster (@brokeymcpoverty) July 14, 2015
what this IS is an extension of a group of dope ass ppl who got together of their own volition to create content relevant to their interests
— tracy aka Bhad Bhooster (@brokeymcpoverty) July 14, 2015
as most of those people are black, the content we create has to do with black things, blackness, black issues, etc.
— tracy aka Bhad Bhooster (@brokeymcpoverty) July 14, 2015
now the thing is, buzzfeed, as diverse as it is, is still a white ass site. no one here will disagree with that
— tracy aka Bhad Bhooster (@brokeymcpoverty) July 14, 2015
and our audience is oooooooooooverwhelmingly white which means that the dope ass shit we do make is tough to circulate and get seen
— tracy aka Bhad Bhooster (@brokeymcpoverty) July 14, 2015
so to recap: buzzfeed stays the same. we will do what we've been doing. cocoabutter is a way to distribute our stuff via social.
— tracy aka Bhad Bhooster (@brokeymcpoverty) July 14, 2015
Read a longer explanation here.
What do you think about Buzzfeed’s new outlet for getting Black writer’s content to the web?
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