CHICAGO-There are few people who personify the power of social media more than Daria Musk, whose career was changed thanks to Google and who then who grew so big that she changed Google in return.
A struggling but talented singer and musician with a passion for music and an infectious enthusiasm, Musk nonetheless found herself with a music career that was little more than "serenading bartenders in empty nightclubs."
"The whole music world to me was like a nightclub with a bouncer and I wasn't invited. But I knew if I wasn't invited I'd have to rush the party, and if I did, I'd want the door wide open behind me."
Musk rushed that party thanks to Google+ Hangouts, which allow up to 10 people to participate in a video exchange. Musk told CO-OP Financial Services' THINK Conference that "suffering through your dream is no way to manifest it," and that she would "laugh in the face of the lion."
Musk decided she would host her first Hangout Concert, admitting she didn't even know what it meant. In the first few moments no one responded. But moments later someone from Australia checked in, followed by someone in Argentina and Europe and then from around the U.S.
'The Thing Went Viral'
"That night I ended up singing for six and a half hours. The thing went viral; a virtual line around the block took place. I saw the sunrise in Norway, and saw girls in Australia dancing," said Musk, who performed at THINK with a live Google Hangout that included people from three conferences watching live.
Musk would go on to play Hangout Conferences and her fame grew. A concert streamed live through YouStream drew 9,000 people; another conference via YouTube live attracted 200,000. The crowds kept coming even though, as Musk would come to learn, the sound quality was terrible. Yet those crowds brought her to the attention of Google's Engineering Director Chee Chew, who helped to create Google Hangouts On Air and Studio Mode, both of which improved the user experience.
The Value of 'Authenticity'
Musk has become a phenomenon in the process, noting she "ended up making more money in a day than I ever made before by working with all these big companies."
Those original 10 people have grown into 2.6 million followers of Daria Musk.
"You don't have to be a singer to have your voice heard," said Musk. "Authenticity is the new currency. That's what pays the most dividends. Authenticity is totally scalable."
