Zaria Parvez Hangs Up The Owl Costume

Hi everyone and welcome back to another one-off podcast from the link in bio universe. My name is Rachel Karten and I write a newsletter all about working in social media. Today I am chatting with Zaria Parvez, the person behind Duolingo's meteoric rise on social media.

The decision to put someone in an owl costume. That was her. As you'll see in our conversation, the magic of Duolingo wasn't just in the viral posts. It was that they empowered a young employee to really just run with it. Yesterday, Zaria announced that after 5 years at the company, she's leaving.

I flew to Pittsburgh to catch up with her about that decision. We talked about what she's looking for in her next role, why she's really into slowburn content right now, and what brands should really be doing when they want to be more like Duolingo. I've known Zaria for years. I consider her a friend, and I always learn something when we chat. I hope you enjoy our conversation.

Um, it's lovely to be in Pittsburgh. Welcome. I know. Really humid day. Oh, it is.

Yeah, especially coming from LA, I feel like you go from hot to humid is a very It's a lot. It's a lot.

Um, okay. Do we start with the big news? Yeah, I guess I'm leaving Duolingo after 5 years of being the social person there. It is now time to fly. How are you feeling? I'm so excited.

Like, I feel I think there was a lot of like there was like a big mix of emotions. I feel like obviously it's when my first job out of college so no one really teaches you like how to quit a job.

So that was like its own like okay this this is how you submit your two weeks and this is what you say.

Um but I also think it's just like I think some of the best career advice I ever got was like you don't want to stay in high school forever. Like there's a reason why high school is only four years long. And and like not like I had a dig at anything but it's just like I feel like I did everything I really wanted to accomplish there. And it was like, I want to those were great days and I want to continue to see even greater days. And I honestly think like in February when like we killed Duo and it like just blew up. I was like this is the culmination of the strategy.

Like this is everything. Um and after that I was just like well like I need to now challenge myself and just move on.

And then I think the other third thing that I was like okay this is how I know it's time to go.

um is there was actually this study about like the art of virality where essentially it's like we think it's super subjective a lot of the times but there's actually a lot of like objective features to like what can make something go viral um and like there's like I think five different things one is um has a character duo um one is like helpful to a human host and there's like emotional connection and so I kind of want my career to be dictated around hitting five of those things at different points joins. So I was like, "Okay, character check." And now I'm focusing on helpful to a human host, which sounds very robotic, but what are the other ones? Um, I have them on my iPad. Okay. Genuinely useful to human host. Easily imitated by human brains, answers interesting questions, features a character people can focus on, and elicit a strong emotion. Okay.

So, those are the things you need. Okay. You're going to have five jobs. Yeah. Exactly.

I'm going to do each of those. We're on number two. Exactly. Exactly. Um, I'm cur like I feel like most people listening know your lore, but I'm curious like what just for those who don't know, what did Dolingo look like before you got there and like how are you leading it? So, okay. So, what's crazy is like when I first joined like Dolingo was not an IT brand. like they did cool stuff, but it was like I remember when I joined out of college, I was like, "Hey, I got this role." And I actually had an offer from an advertising agency and everyone pretty much was like, "You're stupid for like moving to Pittsburgh and doing this. Like, why would you not go the agency route, like have all these brands, big brands?" And I think for me it was really taking a bet on like a ship that I think was going to sail really well. Um, and it took time. Like I think people see like, "Oh, sorry TikTok.

" Like it took us like me two years to like figure that out. But when we started, Duo had I actually looked this up recently in my like as I'm like drafting my goodbye post.

Instagram had 300,000 followers. Twitter had 370,000 and Tik Tok had 35,000. 35,000. And now 4.6 million on Instagram, a million on Twitter, and 16 million on Tik Tok. So for percentages, that's like Tik Tok's like a 45,000 percentage growth. And then Twitter was like 170%. Which is like still a lot.

I mean, for a platform that most people say is not doing too well. Yeah. That's great. It's just like crazy to see those like that growth and just like I think when you're so in it for the five years, like you forget about it and now it's like, oh [ __ ] that's a lot of people. And that's just followers.

So yeah, the growth is crazy. Yeah. Yeah. you've done a lot of interviews where you talk about specific, you know, strategies and posts that you've done and like I don't know, I want to go like a little bit deeper and I'm curious, you know, I think when you work in social, it's impossible for your identity to not be a part of it. Um, and you know, I think you create a strategy for a brand, but you put yourself into it as well. What has that been like for you? And as you're leaving, like how do you think about how much of your identity you put into Duolingo social? I feel like um it's so hard because I feel like like the like Dualingo comments was like Zaria's humor, right? Like that's just like those responses were just like one-offs coming in my head. And even now like I started as like the only social person.

2024 we got Kelsey um who started as our first full-time. We had some interns and like freelancers in between, but like first headcount y and that was the first time I really had to explain like gut instinct into strategy and it was like really hard cuz it's like how do you like there's just a humor and a brand voice either you get it or you don't. Um and it's actually funny cuz somebody asked me like what's the hardest goodbye been for you at Duolingo like as I'm leaving and I was like it's the mascot suit. like saying goodbye to that is like like it's almost like a mask is coming off in a way. And I think like just figuring out how to like navigate that has been really interesting.

And like I think like what I am really proud of is like yes there's a bit of an identity crisis where I'm like am I duo? Am I not duo? Like am I Zaria? But like I think being able to take when I was back in 2021 I took ownership of the work on LinkedIn and that's kind of when I blew up there where I was like I'm Zaria. I'm like the dualingo on TikTok. this is what I've done.

And I think what's funny is like looking back a lot of people would tell me they're like, "Oh, how did you get permission like to write that and do that?" And I was like, "I didn't know you had to ask for permission." Like it's like so many of these things that I just didn't know. And I think having that has allowed me to like almost grow in public with like a lot of people including you.

Like you you've seen the ups and downs and kind of be like, "Yes, I'm Zaria from Dualingo, but now I'm also like building a personal brand and growing as a social person and like going through this crazy ride like so publicly together that it's like helped me kind of differentiate.

But like it's going to be weird. I'm like it's going to be weird seeing other people post things and being like that's not what you're supposed to do." But yeah. How did you go about like working with Kelsey to um like scale that humor and voice? So, I think a lot of it actually came down to the interview process.

Um I think one of my talents, one of my superpowers I should say beyond like content and all that fun stuff is like finding the right people to make a creative team of like what are like what is our goal and what do we want from them. So, I mean the take-home task for Duo was like huge. Um, and I pretty much like one of like one of the asks was like, you have to build like original lore around Lily, one of the world characters. How do you do it? How do you go about it?

Um, so really seeing how people like a use trends, but also use like their original ideation and bring it to life was super important. And I think like humor is so core to duo like who we are that like seeing like do they have that like laugh out loud ability? Do they have that thing where like you like stop the scroll? Like these things that you hear, but really it came to life.

I think in the take-home task. That's a good um take-home prompt. I feel like I feel like honestly a lot of the interview process for me is like yes, seeing not necessarily, you know, examples of their previous work, but how they articulate it or so like how do they articulate the humor, how do they articulate the lore, and like can they even explain lore and why that brand that they love is using lore. 100%. And I think like for me it was cool when like people would reference and I'm sure this like is pretty universal like brands that like people don't really know about or things that they're just exploring and excited about. And you can tell I feel like you can tell when someone's like in a groove and is excited to be there versus like someone who's just like in freezes.

So yeah, there's there's a lot of telltales I think I figured out in the past 5 years.

I'm curious how your mental health has been over these past 5 years. I know you've like written about it a little bit. I mean, it's been a genuine roller coaster, I think.

Like, again, first job out of college and to like receive some of like the highest accolades was like so exhilarating, so exciting. Like, holy [ __ ] like people see me in Pittsburgh, but it was also incredibly exhausting.

And it's it's like weird to almost talk about that cuz people are like, "How can you like you're Forbes 30 under 30, you got like how can you be like this is too much?

" And I think there was a part of me that felt like when people grow in their 20s, they have time to explore. And like I almost felt like I was quickly thrown into like selling my ideas, defending my work, all of a sudden navigating super tricky internal dynamics that like came with the territory of having such high visibility like early in my career that like you maybe learn after 5 years, but like all of a sudden I'm like a year into this role and like yeah, I'm now talking to the CEO about like why I believe in this and like defending my work to like someone on like design studio who doesn't understand like what's marketing about, what are we doing to the owl.

And I think like I was I was junior enough that a lot of people struggled to see me as a leader yet like innovative enough that people depended heavily on my work. So it just like that combo was really isolating I guess and it like I think it made me grow up in a lot of ways too and now know like okay when people come into social how do I treat them? How do I make sure they're okay?

But like it's just yeah it's one of those things where culture is just dictated by the youth and like youth tend to have more impact in social versus like being there for like 10 years and going through the rep. So like navigating that I think had the highest toll on my mental health more than like incessant being online or like the always onness of it. Yeah. I feel like it's like I feel like we're always like empower younger employees, give them a seat at the table, but we don't support them in that pressure of what that seat at the table feels like. And also just working in social, not even an age thing, having to pitch ideas that sound wild and are hard to pitch in a way that make you even sound like you know what you're talking about. Yeah.

And then they are the like things that move the needle and it's like that is really hard and it's just it's weird because it's like yeah like you're like you're trying like for me it's like being in tech you're talking to like engineers about this and they're like what are like what are you saying and I feel like when you're young it's so easy to just be like he he like it's a meme and I I think that's also something where I like I needed to figure out how to be so confident in what I was saying that people took me seriously cuz like they're not going to take a young woman of color serious.

Like that's just like I have every odd against me in that situation. So it's it was it was crazy.

And like I did take mental health leave like I like went off for like two months and just like detox.

And I actually think like that was the start of the end in a way where I realized I was like [ __ ] like what am I doing? Like what do I care about? What do I want to prioritize?

Like what is next for me? because I was so stuck in this incestant grind that I didn't even think about Zaria's future. It was just what's the next day on of Dulingo Social going to look like.

And what were some of those things that you decided you would like to prioritize in the next role?

Um, so I think just like strong vision and leadership and then I also just wanted a really diverse team.

Um, like I stick out like a sore thro sometimes in Pittsburgh. And so I was like, okay, like how many people of color are like around me? how many people kind of are leading the team, what does that look like? And how do we define culture in a new way? And then again going back to like that study, I was like, I want to do something that's like one of those five things.

And kind of like what would it look like if I didn't have a character? What would it look like if I just had to like start from scratch and be a builder again? Cool. Do you feel pressure to like that people are going to be watching closely like again like in this way? Yeah, I'm sure.

I feel like of course like what like I would too be like what is she gonna do next? That is like something I think that keeps me up at night. But I'm also like I feel like success looks so different for so many different brands in different ways. So I have to like keep telling myself that and like this is this challenge is like probably more less external facing but like I need to role manage like seven people and like hire more I'm sure eventually like that in itself is like its own like career thing where like I don't know externally if that like those growth and those moments will be seen as much but like that in itself is like Zaria's growth in a different way. So, I think finding new levers for success for me will be big because it's kind of hard to like outdo what was done in a way.

Like I'm like, I don't I don't know how I'm going to do that again. But we'll see. Maybe. Maybe.

That's smart. I feel like it's like I'm sure there are so many companies that have tried to poach you that want to replicate Dolingo. They were like, "We've got our mascot ready for you." And it's like I think that's the first thing I was like, "No mascot, please." Yeah. No, I think that's smart to I I love that. Like I think you know it's a whole new challenge and I think also to grow in social learning how to manage is so important. Oh um and hard. Yes. And I I feel like there's very few leaders who understand social and have like done a good job at it quite honestly. Totally.

Are you still going to post on LinkedIn and be thought leader stack now? Yeah. I feel like so I've always loved writing and I think like for me I think the biggest joy that I've been able to bring truly is like growing in public and I I think I'm really excited to do that. Like I want like I'm so excited to talk about like I was Zaria from Dualingo and now I'm Zaria from nothing now and like I'm back to like square one and like what is that journey going to look like? Um and I think there just needs to be like more vulnerability. I think also with like I think people think of like the social adventures of like all these like people who started and it's like I'm actually also learning like I'm 26 like I still have so much ahead of me where I'm like I don't know what's going to happen or what will happen and I I'm really excited to just like bring everyone along in that journey so it feels a little bit more real and not like unattainable or like they're like working on a different plane like no like I'm struggling with Tik Tok too like I'm struggling with algorithm like I'm looking at other brands too to see what they're doing to go back to the news of you leaving. I'm curious as somebody who reports on social and looks at a lot of social um how that viral LinkedIn AI post might have either um affected your decision or not or just sort of like what that felt like also having Duo be, you know, the darling and then all of a sudden that's how people sort of express their anger. um as a as a way. Yeah, I think for me it was one of those things where like what ended up happening is like that just didn't that wasn't a problem or a challenge that excited me to fix anymore and it was kind of like all right like this kind of feels like the book end to the chapter and the strategy that I brought forward and now like I'm down to pass it on to the new people who like are going to come and fix this and create something new out of it. It was hard to watch as like an outsider where I'm like I know that their social team doesn't align with this and yet that's like where consumers go to complain.

And I I've always felt like that is so tough because on the one hand I'm like no don't use social to like air your grievances with the brand but at the same time it works in a way like like CEOs care about that public perception and that people are complaining there. And so I yeah I get it.

I get it. And I always want to be like it doesn't work. Don't complain on social. I'm like no it does it and it does. It does. And like yes it does work for everyone. for everyone listening. I think it's like a common sort of feeling that on social small teams, we're notoriously underresourced.

But then there's like if we do something too well, we will never get the resources. And I think with social, what what really did not work in our favor and like of my favor was like I didn't know I thought $5,000 in budget was a lot. Like I didn't know that community management is its whole separate role.

like I thought you do that and like respond to the comments and nobody stopped me and like that was the pain where I'm like why didn't someone just say like girl that's like a five person job and I think I think there's like a cool thing of being like oh my god I wear all these hats and I did all this and it's a oneperson show and then I was like no all that indicated is I didn't value myself I was paid very well I was treated like what like I never feel like my like my compensation was never like oh my god like whatever Um, I think it's just really hard when you just start so junior for people to respect you. And I think that's just like unfortunately like just how life goes. And there was also a lot of growing up. I'm sure like it's such a one-sided conversation.

I'm sure there's moments where Zaria had crash outs and they're like, "Oh my god, like here we go." But again, the biggest gift I gave myself was building that external personal brand because I think at the end of the day, like what almost matters more I think is that external chatter versus like what's going on in a Slack channel. And like I think that has helped me like level head like these lessons that I've learned and what I want to take away with me.

When I reached out to you for like a one of the like quarterly trend reports, you were like, I'm not going to answer this. Here's Kelsey. I thought that was like so nice and so great and like a perfect example of like a manager knowing also that like contributing to outside articles and you know, reports or whatever it might be is a growth experience for someone under them.

So, I'm curious sort of what are some of your like management styles and working with Kelsey that um you hope to take with you in the next in your next role? Yeah, I think like for me the biggest thing is like giving credit where credit is due and like if someone pours their heart into creating content and contributing they should have the opportunity to speak about it like period.

And I think having those leaders to like follow and like learn from was so important. And I think I really think like a strong leader empowers the team to present publicly pretty much also helping them build like their strategic thinking skills. Like you should learn how to talk about social and how to talk about in a way that sounds smart. And I think a weak leader takes that spotlight away where they're so insecure or so nervous about other people like outshining them that it becomes this weird tit for tat and then all of a sudden like a leader who never worked on it sounds almost like incompetent because what they're saying is so vague and jargony. I agree.

I've there's a few companies that I've like reached out to to like interview their social person for the newsletter and I've heard that you know so the social team isn't what's it I don't know what the right word is but like only executives get to sort of like do PR and that's not uncommon.

Um and so if executives if you're listening let your social people take the interviews like it's like such a small thing. It's such a small thing, but it's so important and it also will make the interview better because they worked on it and know what they're talking about.

Um, that's a really great point. Um, um, okay, another another strategy but like bigger picture question.

the amount of meetings that probably all social managers have been in where it's like we need to be more like Duolingo and we've talked about this of like actually replicating and yeah I think that probably 70% of the mascots were born out of like Dolingo's success maybe more um and so when you hear that what do you think like and when I hear that I think there's there's strategies and like philosophies that make Duolingo go social good. It's not just that they had a mascot. And so what are some of those um strategies that you think brands should actually be taking from your success at Duolingo?

So I think like first comes down to like process like lower approval processes and letting people take the reigns. The second like you don't have creative freedom or fast approvals like just stop trying like genuinely like it's just impossible. Um but I think wanting to be like Duolingo is meaningless if you don't have a destination. And I think like people really admire the results, but like let's chat about the journey. Like let's really chat about it because like it was not easy getting there. It was like one person for a long time being extremely like burnt out trying to figure out how to do it. Um a really scrappy team of like people just willing to jump into this mascot suit. And I think like if you don't know where you're going, distractions will look like opportunities. And I think being like Duolingo is like understanding like the opposite of like risk-taking and being brave is not being a coward. It's conformity and like if you start trying to be like every other brand. Um at some point you're just no because instead of like yes anding and I think there's like just no shortcut to the solution. Um and like one of my favorite quotes which I'm going to read now from my iPad. Let's get it. is the athlete knows that strength comes from the 10,000th repetition, not the first. The parent knows that trust builds through bedtime stories read with the same enthusiasm for the hundth time.

The artist knows that mastery emerges from the willingness to fail beautifully repeatedly until failure teaches you something failure alone can teach. So I think like letting go and being okay with falling flat is being like dualingo. Like we're only looking at 10% of the story. like an overnight success like takes 10 years and it wasn't I feel like I've scrolled back on Dolingo for reporting purposes.

Yeah. I feel like it was language learning videos, language learning videos and then there was like one day clearly where you tried something a little bit different like was that post truly like can I just try this thing? Yes. Like that like that's what I always try to communicate.

Like people think it's like this insane strategy deck and I'm like no it was me being in the office seeing Michaela next to me and being like I know like nobody really like she wanted me to like focus on other social things like fan art Friday and like you know like that stuff and I was like can I just try this?

She's like yeah I'll record you like let me just do this 10 minutes between meetings and I'm like okay great and like let me go for it. The state of social right now like what keeps you up at night?

What excites you? Um, let's talk about it. So, what I'm really grappling with is that I think brands in this five, so I started to do a 2020, now we're at 2025. In these five years, brands understand that they need to be on TikTok. They understand they need to be on social and I think what that has done has created this insane saturation of brands on social. Totally.

And you're just like, everyone's doing every trend. Everyone's commenting everywhere. and you're like, "Okay, that what worked then is not going to cut it now." Um, and there was this stock I was reading.

Um, but it was it's called Etymology Nerd. I don't know if you've heard of it, but essentially discussing like the difference between like looking at how we communicate as people.

And there's like ritual communication and transmission or sorry, ritual view and transmission view.

And the ritual view is really about like when we communicate in media, when we talk about things, it's really about like we did things to maintain oral tradition and storytelling and just like the ritual of building community. And now we're at this point of transmission view where it's like who can hack the algorithm the fastest, who can get to the fastest, and efficiency essentially replaced ritual. And I think what we're going to see now from brands and we're starting to see it is like people going back to that slow burn and like that's where the writer room comes in. That's where now everyone all of a sudden is an entertainment house and all of a sudden has these like multiple post like series and I think there's really something powerful about reclaiming that ritual and the brand to do that effectively will be the next it brand and I I I genuinely believe that and it's happening like you've you've reported on it like you've seen like built done it like people are starting to try into that. I don't know if anyone's like unlocked it to like the virality that it can be, but I'm my prediction is the next big brand will be the one that unlocks that content house. I agree. I agree. I think I had I wrote about that and now I have um a reporter that's like wanting to write about it and like asking about it and it's like what's the ROI on that though in like this kind of way and I was like I mean awareness and eyeballs and entertainment and the brand is fueling that like what do you mean what's the ROI? Like what's the sales going to be? It's like how what like what? And it's I think that's like where the whole all of marketing comes together. I'm like maybe just maybe social's about brand awareness. I know.

I know. I'm like totally in that and I feel like I it's so hard cuz I started doing social 2013.

It was like it was like you use Instagram to you know have all the stories you want to tell and you talk about your new products and you can do all these things on Instagram and it was like kind of amazing because it was like it worked and your followers would see it. But now with the algorithm the way it works I'm like no tell one story like really well or like and the thing is people are going to inevitably start craving what they've lost. Like people are catching on now.

Like this algorithm is crazy. were getting like like someone once described like the algorithm and the amount of like content we get fed at us is like being shot like the like the bullet to us like how much is coming at us and I think it's just a matter of time before people are like okay like we want we want slow we want a slow burn versus this insanity. Yeah. Um how do you convince a company to invest in that slowburn when like the virality feels so good? We'll see on my next chapter. Yeah.

No, I think a lot of it is like a mix. Like I think you're allowed to do like give them some of what they want and then cook in the back with what you what you actually want to achieve. And I think that has been a really productive way to go about it. We're like, "All right, here are your couple wins of like me interacting as a brand, but like this is like the experiments." And I think it's a bit of that like grinding and expanding like this is the grind and this is where I'm going to expand my reach.

Um, and seeing where we can go. You can be a brand that is so online that you're the first to react to something. I think like people say that like Louis Vay Social's so good because they're clearly just like the first to do it. But I think Duolingo was also like that and what that type of team structure and like mental load looks like versus I mean a built that's building like a lot of success off of like a very I mean it's tiring in a different way for sure, but I almost feel like that's like that ritualistic is also a more sustainable social manager as well in a good way. I think it it really jumps into this territory of like empowerment versus exploitation.

Um, and I think I think in like the short term, I'm sure like that chasing trends is going to do really well. But again, it's that long term of like if I want to maintain a great team of people I've trained, curated, and understand our brand tone, I need to look at them on like a fiveyear prospect, which sounds insane. I think for some brands, like a lot of tech, too, they're like we could keep people for more than two years. Like that's just how the turnover goes.

Um, and I I just I genuinely feel like speed is important now, but now that every brand is doing it, is it really that important? Like, right. I feel like it's again I I wrote about this as well, but like tension and it's like it the the brand's commenting was funny in a time when not many brands were commenting, but now when that's the norm, where's the tension in that? Yeah.

It's it's a situational irony like going like it's just you need that excitement. You need that wait, what's going on?

And that's why I think some brands are like I still think like brands responding in cultural moments where it really makes sense obviously works the best, but like I do think like a new revamp of social is going to be h like I really do think we're on the cusp of that of like we've really exhausted like brands taking over this human persona and I think it might swing back to people wanting brands to just stay away and be a different type of slow burn and like understand you're a brand, understand you're doing something else. We don't need you to be as relatable as you were trying to be before. Yep. And I guess yeah, I my trends are a certain thing to me, but it's like do you remember every brand that was doing like the Nicki Minaj like balancing trend?

Like no, not at all. I'm like it just and I in fact I think like there's like sentiment of a trend coming across for the 15th time that like I watched it but did I feel good watching it? 100%. Um, it was cool to see like when Duolingo I know you talked about the writer room a little bit and it's like that was fun to see that those performed I thought quite well. Like it wasn't like wait I those were not considered success. I think they were. Thank you. Thank you girl. Well that's sad. Okay.

But like it to me it was a success in the parts of social media that you can't measure where I'm like whoa.

They're like growing up a little bit of like they're exactly able to script a like a show in a way that typically people would say like oh that's too produced or whatever it might be and like it's working and like to me that is a sign of success and thanks girl. Yeah. Oh, okay. Let them know it was a success. Um okay. Should we do a little fire? What is it called? Fire. Why did I call it fire round?

Is that what it's called? Let's do a little quick paced questions. Okay.

What are some of your favorite brands to follow right now? My favorite brand on social right now is Jellyat.

Oh my god. Same. I have always been obsessed with them. I think they're so smart at like 3D rigging up their plushies and figuring out how to like Is that what they're doing? Yeah, they're like So they're like rigging them up in these like 100%. I thought they were just animating them.

I mean, I'm sure they're they're putting some serious effort into these like huge craft.

They're putting craft into this and like it shows that craft can be just as successful as crappy. I love that.

Um, biggest social media pet peeve content clean up. Do not use social as a crutch to get impressions or like optimize things because something else didn't work. Something you wish every CMO would understand about social media. M your community is your insurance policy. So invest in them, curate them, take care of them because you don't know when you'll need them. Favorite poster campaign you've ever worked on. Um I loved when Tik Tok was being banned. There was something about that community that was back. Um and us revealing who wore the mascot suit was just like a fun tension.

Yes. Wait, can you talk about the thought process of like revealing who was in it? Yeah.

So, Mark Pavoc has been like my OG duo suit guy since day one. Like Foley, he's like in it most of the time.

Yeah. Like now it's different. Now we have dancers and like who can move.

I know, right? Naturally. Um but like we were just like we've been through it together and I was like everyone's responding to the Tik Tok band. How do we do it in a way that's like people just don't expect?

And I was like we have to reveal who's in the suit. And there's a lot of conversations where like do we say it's do a liipa? Do we do? And I was like do a lipa's done.

Like it's over Saturday. We've done that joke. Um and so I remember it was like a Friday and we work remote on Fridays.

And I called Mark and I was like dude you need to come to the office like please like we need to film this. He's like bet I'll be there. So it was me and Mark and then I messaged our CEO Luis and I was like we need like the OG band needs to come back together. So I messaged Luis.

He's like yeah I'm down and then Legal Steve and we're like we're going to reveal Mark and then we're going to do like a goodbye TikTok. And I think it was like it was like the start of the end.

I think of that like nostalgia, but that was like my favorite content of like revealing him because a lot of people don't expect that. They're like the Disney magic and I'm like [ __ ] the Disney magic. Like people want to see like what's going on and he became like his own lore.

So it was that was like one of my favorite things and he like deserved it. He did so much for me wearing that suit and I was like Mark you deserve your moment on the internet. Is it hot in it?

It's so hot and stinky and it smells a little bit like Mark forever but that's okay. I kind of love it.

I kind of want like a He's left his mark. Oh my god. Sorry. Um, what do you love about working in social media? I think chasing those creative highs. Like when you have an idea that you know is like, "Oh, this is going to hit and like let's go for it." That's my favorite. Um, can you give us a hint at what's next? I would say it's like a a social person's dream. I got resources, a team, creative freedom, and best is yet to come. Yay. Thanks for chatting. Oh, yeah. Thank you for iPad.

This iPad. I feel like a boomer. I like it. I liked it. It was like I studied for this podcast.

Exactly. But thank you for having me. Of course. Um Oh, where can people find you now?

Oh, well, obviously on LinkedIn. Obviously. Substack. Substack. Yes. Substack. I have a substack called Make It Go Viral and we'll see I can make [ __ ] still go viral. Thanks so much for listening to my conversation with Zaria. If you want more, subscribe to my Substack called Link in Bio. Bye.