He puts the hard "g" in "gifs".
Look around you (not actually because that would be weird) and survey the BFIB digital landscape. Birds on the Black is like a COVID vaccine card - pretty much everywhere and proudly represented at that. With everything from branded merchandise to podcasts to a significant social media presence, BotB is an absolute content creation machine powered by intelligent, talented, funny creators (and me too on occasion). BotB is like 100Thieves but without a Valorant team. It's the brainchild of @cardinalsgifs, and for his birthday I'm breaking media silence to pay homage.
This is an appreciation post and to truly appreciate Gifs requires an appreciation of the BotB media empire he's built.
BotB is a massive global operation that employs thousands of creators, contractors, administrative staff, and a mariachi band. That does not include all the subcontractors like the ones that churn out hoodies and t-shirts for $2 each. Low costs thanks to questionable labor practices combined with creative corporate tax accounting produce crazy high profit margins. Those margins allow BotB to be a bit top-heavy on the management side of things. The 6-figure salaries for all the regular contributors have to be paid somehow, and the cost of Kyle's legal counsel alone requires a hefty chunk of cash.
It takes a lot of ad revenue, Instagram stories, and TikToks of BotB staff members learning K-pop dances to pay for this stuff. Heck, we've even got an upcoming sponsored Twitch stream where we'll be playing an R.B.I. Baseball tournament in a hot tub. Thank you all in advance for the gifted subs btw. Those will help soften the blow suffered when the BotB bid for Twitter fell short of what Elon Musk offered. Gifs tried though.
He'll have to settle for categorization as a "ubiquitous influencer" instead. That sounds ridiculous and could almost pass for pure hyperbole, but try navigating Cardinals twitter without encountering something Gifs tweeted/created/clipped. Much like bad takes that stuff is everywhere but for good reason.
How many BFIB cult members have 20K+ followers on the bird app? There are some celebrities, some athletes, some media members, and then there is an account that doesn't have to show any bare skin to get followers.
That tidbit along with his collection of Pez dispensers makes him stand out. Also, there's the lucrative media empire thing too.
But whatever.
At the heart of it all is Gifs, and it's amazing what a creative, motivated individual with a capture card, parole, and a bunch of Adobe products can do.
Happy Birthday, @cardinalsgifs! Take 5 minutes off. You've earned it.
-#dennis
FYI - Gifs' birthday is 3rd on my list of reasons to break silence. The return of Halley's Comet is first, and a rewrite/reshoot of the Game of Thrones finale ranks second.