Blip Appoints Two Top Executives: Jason Rapp To Board Of Directors And Doug Ferguson, Adweek's General Manager Of Digital, As Head Of Product & Creative

NEW YORK, June 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Blip, one of the Internet's largest independently owned and operated video networks, today announced the expansion of the management team and Board of Directors. Veteran digital media executive Jason Rapp is joining the Company's Board of Directors and Doug Ferguson, former General Manager of Digital at Adweek, will join Blip as Head of Product & Creative, effective June 18th.

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Jason Rapp currently serves as President and member of the Board of Directors of Mahalo, Inc., a leading publisher of educational and instructional mobile apps, and has been an early advisor to Blip. Effective immediately, Rapp will join Blip board members Jeff Glass of Bain Capital Ventures, Warren Lee of Canaan Partners, Justin Day, Blip Co-Founder and Kelly Day, CEO of Blip.

Doug Ferguson will be responsible for creating new products to enhance Blip's overall experience for brands, producers of original content and highly engaged audiences of online video.   He will be charged with driving a wave of innovative updates to Blip's robust web, mobile and over-the-top video distribution platforms over the next several months. Ferguson will report directly to Blip CEO Kelly Day.

"I'm thrilled to add Jason's and Doug's expertise to our board and our management team," said Kelly Day, CEO of Blip. "Jason is a highly-regarded executive with extensive operating experience and in-depth knowledge of the digital video business.  His counsel and guidance will be invaluable. Doug brings experience, vision and success in building cutting-edge platforms for web, mobile and connected devices and will surely make our products world class."

"I am thrilled to join Blip's Board of Directors," said Jason Rapp. "I've long believed in Blip's mission to support the next generation of video content creators, and I support the Company's focus on quality video content in what is oftentimes a chaotic marketplace.  Blip's commitment to marrying progressive technology with the best in original web series is a formula for continued success."

"Blip is uniquely positioned to provide the best tools for serious video producers while creating an ecosystem that will really help brands connect with audiences in a way that they are unable to do on other platforms," said Doug Ferguson, "I could not be more excited for the opportunity to work with such a talented and dedicated team of creative executives at a Company on the very forefront of innovation in the online video space."

Prior to joining Mahalo, Rapp ran an advisory business assisting start-up companies with fundraising, M&A, strategy and business development.  To date, he continues to serve as an advisor to dynamic start-ups including HipSwap, Food52, Roadify and PublishThis. From 2006-2009, Rapp was a senior executive in Barry Diller's IAC corporation, where he served as CEO of Gifts.com, the leading gift  recommendation engine on the Web. 

Prior to that, Rapp led IAC's mergers and acquisitions group, where he was responsible for all acquisitions, investments and divestitures.  As part of this role, Rapp also served on the board of Points International, Inc. Before joining IAC, Rapp was an executive at The New York Times Company for seven years, serving in various positions with a focus on digital media.  

Ferguson previously served as General Manager of Digital for Adweek, where he worked closely with the editorial and sales teams, running all production, product development, traffic building, marketing and monetization of Adweek's digital properties. During his tenure, he built a Facebook Social Reader and multiple Mobile App initiatives and re- launched and re-branded the Adweek magazine and website, which led to an increase of unique users (up 70%) and page views (up 100%), via new social strategies, SEO and partnerships.

Before joining Adweek in August 2010, Ferguson served as Vice President of Product/Creative Director for Diversion Media, an interactive agency that specializes in sophisticated software and technology solutions for diverse clientele. In this role, he worked on large scale video sites, iPhone/Android/iPad apps and strategy/rebranding exercises. Ferguson managed all aspects of Visual and Interaction Design, Mobile Strategy, Product Development, User Experience and Information Architecture and is credited with launching Ford Models entire digital platform and developing the 2009 Grammy Awards iPhone app. 

Earlier in his career, Ferguson served as Vice President of Product Development at Sling Media, the leading provider of video placeshifting products and services for consumers and television service providers.  From 2000 to 2008, he held several positions at MTV Networks, most recently as Vice President of Product and Digital. Prior to working at MTV Networks, Ferguson held positions at Sony Online Entertainment (Creative Director, 'The Station'), Frankfurt Balkind Partners (Technical Developer) and Billboard Magazine (Product Manager, Billboard.com).

Ferguson has been nominated an interactive Emmy Award for online/on-air game SimulClash and won the 2003 Beacon Award for Best Community Site, supporting "Fight For Your Rights" a pro-social campaign on MTV.com.

About Blip Networks

Blip is the place to discover the best in original web series from both professional and up-and-coming producers. It gives viewers access to a wide variety of dramas and comedies, series about sports, videogames, food, fashion and more, and makes it easy to find what you want when you want it wherever you want it. The company currently syndicates series to iTunes, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Roku, Verizon FiOS, TiVo, Sony TVs and elsewhere. Blip series attract hundreds of millions of video views per month. Please visit http://blip.com for more information. Follow Blip on Twitter: twitter.com/blip or on Facebook at http://facebook.com/blip.

SOURCE Blip Networks, Inc.