User:The Knight of Sainte-Hermine/Mable J. Moore

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Article Draft - Alphonzo "Phonz" Terrell[edit]

Terrell at South by Southwest 2019

Alphonzo "Phonz" Terrell is an African-American CEO and co-founder of a new social media platform called Spill.[1][2] He is also an online content creator, influencer, and mentor for those in the creative community space.[3]

Early life and education[edit]

Alphonzo was born in North Carolina and grew up in Amherst, Massachusetts. Alphonzo Terrell earned a B.A. degree in American Studies from Columbia University.[4]

Research and career[edit]

Terrell worked at Twitter now known as X, heading the social and editorial content team for three years. [5] Prior to his career at Twitter, Terrell worked as a Director of Digital and Social Marketing at HBO, where he led brand strategy across digital and social channels. Terrell believes in new beginnings and wanted to create a new social media platform that would give a voice to Black Women, members of the LGBTQI+ community, and those who represent culture-driving communities. Spill is the brainchild of Aphonzo "Phonz" Terrell and co-founder DeVaris Brown,[6] and the name comes from Black queer culture which frequently used words such as spill the tea or spill your drama.[7]Terrell and his team have developed and improved the user experience of Spill on the platform by using human moderators. His team of developers also aims at incorporating AI content moderation to help monitor the entire system as the platform grows in the future.[8]

Terrell has a team of diverse developers who mainly represent marginalized, underserved, and underrepresented groups working at Spill.[9]Spill as a social media alternative, has been designed to utilize blockchain technology mainly aimed at the Black Community to enable users to profit from their viral content.[10] Terrell is currently working towards improving the AI system for his social media platform so that it may avoid instances where users are flagged due to the AI not understanding cultural nuances and language being used by various communities.[11]

Awards and honors[edit]

  • 2020 Webby Awards - Best Overall Social Presence / Media & Entertainment2020 Webby Awards - Best Overall Social Presence / Media & Entertainment[12]
  • 2022 Best Overall Social Presence - Brand Social[13]
  • 2019 40 Under 40 | Brand Innovators Award by HBO[14]
  • 2019 Nominee - Advertising, Media & PR / Real-time Response Campaign Nominee - Advertising, Media & PR / Real-time Response Campaign Issued by 2019 Webby Awards[15]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Spill". Spill. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  2. ^ "Spill Is A New Black-Owned Twitter Alternative: What to Know". Time. July 6, 2023. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  3. ^ "Spill, The New Black-owned Social Media Platform Vying To Compete With Twitter". www.theqgentleman.com. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  4. ^ "Alphonzo Terrell - Co-Founder and CEO at SPILL". THE ORG. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  5. ^ Duffy, Clare (November 7, 2023). "Elon Musk laid him off. Now he's aiming to build a social network that's better than X | CNN Business". CNN. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  6. ^ Silberling, Amanda (January 30, 2023). "Three months ago, he was laid off from Twitter. Now, his competing app Spill is funded". TechCrunch. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  7. ^ "Urban Dictionary: spill the tea". Urban Dictionary. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  8. ^ Mendenhall, Natalie (July 7, 2023). "Unlike Threads, Spill isn't trying to be the new Twitter. Safe spaces for minorities is the aim". Georgia Public Broadcasting. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  9. ^ "Spill Is A New Black-Owned Twitter Alternative: What to Know". Time. July 6, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  10. ^ Silberling, Amanda (January 30, 2023). "Three months ago, he was laid off from Twitter. Now, his competing app Spill is funded". TechCrunch. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  11. ^ "Meet The Former Black Twitter Workers Behind New Social Platform Spill". POCIT. Telling the stories and thoughts of people of color in tech. December 21, 2022. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  12. ^ "NEW Webby Gallery + Index". NEW Webby Gallery + Index. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  13. ^ "NEW Webby Gallery + Index". NEW Webby Gallery + Index. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  14. ^ "40 Under 40". www.brand-innovators.com. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  15. ^ "NEW Webby Gallery + Index". NEW Webby Gallery + Index. Retrieved November 12, 2023.