By Miles Tucker
Paige Bird’s return to the Arizona State University’s Fashion Journalist Club was well received. After visiting the club last year, Bird reappeared with updates on her thriving magazine.
Bird co-founded Metiza Magazine with childhood friend Selina Petosa, founder of Rational Interaction a Digital Agency in Seattle, WA. The two powerhouse women came from humble beginnings to being on top of the online pyramid. She earned a degree from the University of California, Irvine and worked in the beauty industry as a freelance makeup artist. Bird landed a position with Bobbi Brown Cosmetics as a Global Makeup Artist and got to travel the world gaining knowledge and experience. She chose education as the next step to making a difference beyond beauty, but in connecting with kids.
Bird grew fruitful connections within the industry. In February 2016 she and Petosa officially created Metiza, and Bird traded her 16-year teaching career for the opportunity to speak to the masses through her writing.
She created her own niche within the digital media industry with a message of empowerment. This message was intended to uplift the female youth who feel disenfranchised. Bird’s passion for kids drove her to reach out to adolescents and having her own magazine was just the platform she needed.
The attitude that Bird brought with her to ASU was inspiring. She was positive about every situation that she brought up.
When I got the chance to talk to her, Bird had plenty words of advice for those looking to be successful. She believes the most important aspect of a career is finding joy in what you do. When trying to find an occupation, she reassures that if you do what you love “the money will follow.” Bird practices what she preaches because she made Metiza Magazine her life’s work, and never looked back.
Bird’s belief that everyone can find their community emanated from her dedication to integrity. Other internet sites may use click bait to attract browser traffic, but Metiza and its editors choose to remain organic is growth and community outreach. The rewards of staying authentic and only posting meaningful articles landed Metiza in an extremely lucrative position.
The Metiza community is active and loyal, growing at all times and reaching up to 50,000 visitors per month. Unlike most content providers, 75% of content is created by the community itself. The remaining portion comes from handpicked professionals with direct links to the worlds of fashion, nutrition, wellness and more.
Another word of advice from Bird was “get out of your comfort zone.” Judging from the direction she is taking her magazine, Bird is undeniably a woman of her word. The content of Metiza has blossomed to include news and politics, expanding its coverage even further. Their new political scope is meant to focus on the need to know happenings within the U.S. and to keep readers healthily informed and empowered to create change.
Bird even hopes to widen her spectrum to include a male audience by signing on more male contributors. This is a large step from a content provider whose primary focus is to cater towards young women. She wants Metiza to have the depth to take an unbiased stance on any topic. It’s safe to say Bird and Metiza Magazine will continue to soar for years to come.
Photos courtesy of Victor Ren and Metiza.com.
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