Emerson Spartz
Encyclopedia
Emerson Spartz is the founder of the #1 Harry Potter
fansite
, Mugglenet.com, and currently serves as CEO of Chicago-based Spartz Media. "Spartz Media’s network of sites receives 8.5 million monthly visitors, has 5 million followers on Facebook and Twitter, and an audience comparable to that of the Chicago Tribune."
website in 1999 as a homeschooled
twelve-year-old. As CEO, he oversees 120 volunteers and a paid staff.
In 2007, Emerson co-authored a book - "MuggleNet.com's What Will Happen in Harry Potter 7 - Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Falls in Love, and How the Series Finally Ends." As of July 21, 2007, 'What Will Happen' sold 335,000 copies and reached #2 on the New York Times Children's Bestseller List. It spent 6 months on the list. Emerson went on a tour with Ben Schoen, another Mugglenet.com staff member, in June 2007 to promote their work.
In 2009, Emerson Spartz and Ben Schoen penned another book, "MuggleNet.com's Harry Potter Should Have Died: Controversial Views From The #1 Fan Site".
In May 2009, GivesMeHope
(GMH) was founded by Spartz and his wife, Gaby Montero, in response to the popular site, FMyLife
(FML), itself a spin-off of popular French
website Viedemerde.fr. Exhausted by the negativity of the media, they created GivesMeHope. The two refer to the site as "Chicken Soup for the Soul – the 21st Century, Twitter-style version." On the site, people share with the world their most hopeful, uplifting moments while answering the question, "what gives you hope?" On GivesMeHope
, users share true stories of kindness and generosity. They are usually inspiring, sentimental and "heartbreakingly sweet."
On December 30, 2009, the two launched a GivesMeHope spin-off site LoveGivesMeHope.com (LGMH). The site aimed at those who "can't get enough of the love stories on GivesMeHope". As of August 5, 2010, LoveGivesMeHope has over 160,000 fans on Facebook. The stories are shared widely on platforms such as Facebook. Since February 1, 2010, the site has produced some stories that have been shared over 565,000 times on Facebook.
In January 2010 Emerson and Gaby collaborated with Adorian Deck to create OMG-Facts.com a site similar to GMH, in which visitors can view interesting facts, and vote on upcoming facts. As of September 28, 2011, the OMGFacts Twitter account has over 2.5 million followers. The site's YouTube account, as of September 2011, has half a million subscribers.
Spartz Media later created another site called SixBillionSecrets.com "where people share hopes, fears dreams and are treated in a non-judgmental way by a supportive community"
In November 2010, GivesMeHope released a book of the top 127 stories from GivesMeHope. In the book, each story is accompanied by an illustration.
In early September 2010, Spartz Media launched a new site, called Kids Give Me Hope, in which people submit stories in which they have been inspired by something a child has done or said.
Another addition to the Spartz Network is Taste of Awesome - a brand new site launched in late October 2010, described as " Boring Photos + Epic Captions".
In late 2010/early 2011, two new sites were launched onto the network: Unfriendable ('fails' from Facebook, Yahoo! Answers, Cleverbot etc.), and SmartphOWNED, a site which includes mistakes written in texts.
The Spartz Network is still adding websites, 1 per month.
's Mendoza College of Business
. In 2007, Spartz incorporated Spartz Inc. to serve as the legal entity representing his MuggleNet e-business.
Spartz and Montero were married on September 3, 2011.
Harry Potter
Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
fansite
Fansite
A fansite, fan site, or fanpage is a website created and maintained by a fan or devotee interested in a celebrity, thing, or a particular cultural phenomenon...
, Mugglenet.com, and currently serves as CEO of Chicago-based Spartz Media. "Spartz Media’s network of sites receives 8.5 million monthly visitors, has 5 million followers on Facebook and Twitter, and an audience comparable to that of the Chicago Tribune."
MuggleNet
Spartz founded the MuggleNetMuggleNet
MuggleNet is a Harry Potter fansite founded by Emerson Spartz. The site is composed of news, editorials and synopses of the Harry Potter books and films, an encyclopedia of the books, an IRC network, in which the fans of Harry Potter can discuss predictions and share thoughts, a discussion forum,...
website in 1999 as a homeschooled
Homeschooling
Homeschooling or homeschool is the education of children at home, typically by parents but sometimes by tutors, rather than in other formal settings of public or private school...
twelve-year-old. As CEO, he oversees 120 volunteers and a paid staff.
In 2007, Emerson co-authored a book - "MuggleNet.com's What Will Happen in Harry Potter 7 - Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Falls in Love, and How the Series Finally Ends." As of July 21, 2007, 'What Will Happen' sold 335,000 copies and reached #2 on the New York Times Children's Bestseller List. It spent 6 months on the list. Emerson went on a tour with Ben Schoen, another Mugglenet.com staff member, in June 2007 to promote their work.
In 2009, Emerson Spartz and Ben Schoen penned another book, "MuggleNet.com's Harry Potter Should Have Died: Controversial Views From The #1 Fan Site".
Spartz Media
In 2007, Spartz incorporated Spartz Inc. to serve as the legal entity representing his MuggleNet e-business. Spartz now has 24 people working for him.In May 2009, GivesMeHope
GivesMeHope
GivesMeHope was founded in May 2009 in response to the popular site, FMyLife , itself a spin-off of popular French website Viedemerde.fr. On the site, people share with the world their most hopeful, uplifting moments while answering the question, "what gives you hope?" According to Quantcast,...
(GMH) was founded by Spartz and his wife, Gaby Montero, in response to the popular site, FMyLife
Fmylife
FMyLife is an English-language blog that serves as "a recollection of everyday anecdotes likely to happen to anyone". Posts on the site are short, user-submitted stories of unfortunate happenings that begin with "Today" and end with "FML"....
(FML), itself a spin-off of popular French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
website Viedemerde.fr. Exhausted by the negativity of the media, they created GivesMeHope. The two refer to the site as "Chicken Soup for the Soul – the 21st Century, Twitter-style version." On the site, people share with the world their most hopeful, uplifting moments while answering the question, "what gives you hope?" On GivesMeHope
GivesMeHope
GivesMeHope was founded in May 2009 in response to the popular site, FMyLife , itself a spin-off of popular French website Viedemerde.fr. On the site, people share with the world their most hopeful, uplifting moments while answering the question, "what gives you hope?" According to Quantcast,...
, users share true stories of kindness and generosity. They are usually inspiring, sentimental and "heartbreakingly sweet."
On December 30, 2009, the two launched a GivesMeHope spin-off site LoveGivesMeHope.com (LGMH). The site aimed at those who "can't get enough of the love stories on GivesMeHope". As of August 5, 2010, LoveGivesMeHope has over 160,000 fans on Facebook. The stories are shared widely on platforms such as Facebook. Since February 1, 2010, the site has produced some stories that have been shared over 565,000 times on Facebook.
In January 2010 Emerson and Gaby collaborated with Adorian Deck to create OMG-Facts.com a site similar to GMH, in which visitors can view interesting facts, and vote on upcoming facts. As of September 28, 2011, the OMGFacts Twitter account has over 2.5 million followers. The site's YouTube account, as of September 2011, has half a million subscribers.
Spartz Media later created another site called SixBillionSecrets.com "where people share hopes, fears dreams and are treated in a non-judgmental way by a supportive community"
In November 2010, GivesMeHope released a book of the top 127 stories from GivesMeHope. In the book, each story is accompanied by an illustration.
In early September 2010, Spartz Media launched a new site, called Kids Give Me Hope, in which people submit stories in which they have been inspired by something a child has done or said.
Another addition to the Spartz Network is Taste of Awesome - a brand new site launched in late October 2010, described as " Boring Photos + Epic Captions".
In late 2010/early 2011, two new sites were launched onto the network: Unfriendable ('fails' from Facebook, Yahoo! Answers, Cleverbot etc.), and SmartphOWNED, a site which includes mistakes written in texts.
The Spartz Network is still adding websites, 1 per month.
Personal Life
Emerson was a self-taught home-schooler through high school, and graduated in May 2009 with a degree in management concentration from the University of Notre DameUniversity of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
's Mendoza College of Business
Mendoza College of Business
The Mendoza College of Business is one of the colleges at the University of Notre Dame, which is located in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States.- History :...
. In 2007, Spartz incorporated Spartz Inc. to serve as the legal entity representing his MuggleNet e-business.
Spartz and Montero were married on September 3, 2011.