Rowdy Orbit: Original Webisodes for People of Color

It didn’t take Essence, BET, or Bob Johnson entering the market for us to realize that  original black video content was a hot segment of the online market. The explosion of web series created either by black people, for black people or both (AJ Christian does a great job of documenting some on his blog), has made this segment even more enticing. But one of the largest hurdles faced by webisode producers is the same obstacle most online content producer’s face, only worst. That problem of course is trying to get their content in front of the right audience. Webisode producers can’t rely upon search engines the same way most bloggers do, and most new websidoes don’t have the budgets to advertise, nor do they have the influence online to get noticed. So how does a Black Webisode gain traction? That’s a question that Jonathan Moore intends on answering with his new start-up Rowdy Orbit.

Launched in September of 2009, Rowdy Orbit’s goal is to deliver culturally relevant, original stories to people of color online. The site started out of Moore’s frustration with not seeing the consistent images of people of color especially online.
“I always wanted to show people of color in a positive, more dynamic light. Because I was really tired of seeing us as the joke or punch line or some type of stereotype that wasn’t true. Once I understood the power of the media. I decided to strike out and do something new, while bending some traditional rules in the process.”

Not only is Moore attempting to tackle the negative portrayals of blacks, but Rowdy Orbits is also quality web content get discovered. By grouping sites from a variety of different genres, including a cooking show called Soul Delicious, starring Chef Mel, a hip hop influenced chef, and situational comedy starring Jaleel White (Steve Urkel from Family Matters) called Road to the Altar, Rowdy Orbit is combining the audience and appeal of each websiode creating a one stop shop for original black webisodes. “Our business model is surrounded by helping webseries creators stay Independent or go to the next level and providing a platform that doesn’t disrupt or clutter the viewing experience. We exist to help web series creators to understand and pursue a non-traditional, process driven pathway of telling an honest and culturally relevant story in their own voice.”, said Moore.