How Leslie Jordan turned Instagram into his greatest showcase of all-around talent
How Leslie Jordan turned Instagram into his greatest showcase of all-around talent
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A year ago, the former Google employee and Google alumna — now a social media star — dropped out of Instagram’s HQ in San Francisco to pursue his dream of putting on a one-man show. So, how has the one-man show, now a permanent fixture on the brand, gone from concept to reality?
The process took a few months — in fact, it was only in March that Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom called for a meeting with Leslie Jordan to discuss the possibility of bringing him on full-time at the newly-founded fashion and lifestyle platform. Jordan is best known for his work on the game-changing Tumblr blog, Tumblr, where he posted photos of food, fashion and pop culture alongside his friends and colleagues. He’s also done celebrity and political posts for The Huffington Post and Gawker, respectively.
So, with his background in graphic design — which Jordan honed at Google while simultaneously working on Tumblr — it was clear he had the chops for a show. And he had even more experience with a social media platform — as he was the last person to leave Tumblr’s product management team. Jordan also had the social media marketing experience of former Tumblr CEO Kevin Rose and former Flickr CEO Eric Ries, both of whom were key in the development of Instagram.
According to Jordan, Instagram didn’t need a showman to make it successful, which is why he was recruited. “I think, in a nutshell, I just needed to be the most technically savvy person on the planet,” he says. “To know how to make the best designs, not just the worst; to know how to take a mediocre and turn it into something beautiful. And how to keep up with the community. How to keep the community with you. How to keep up with things that are happening.”
With his unique personality, Jordan’s personality as he built up a loyal community of over
