Italy was a turning point for me. Cinque Terre topped any daylong experience, ever. Stresses completely washed away, and all I was able to process and absorb was the sun and good food. Once we got home, I started a new job. It’s a transition that I envision like a big, swiftly moving wave that’s swept me along despite my meager surfing skills, and continually lands me on prime beaches. It’s a good gig. Read on.

Introducing Mayka Mei

We’re excited to welcome to the team Mayka Mei, Red Magnet Media’s Senior Strategist and first full-time employee! Mayka comes to us from the fashion marketing world, and has a background working with indie fashion brands, pop entertainment artists, and social gaming. To let you get to know the woman with blue hair, we asked her a few questions. (Fun facts at the end!)

When did you start getting into social media? What interests you about it?
I started my first blog ten years ago. Back then, it was simply the power to personally publish that attracted me. For the most part, my fascination with leading social media concepts hasn’t deviated from that. I’ve always been for the people and I get excited by any platform that enables an individual or group of people to take full charge of representing themselves.

What led you to working in social media? 
I think my route to social media as an industry was inevitable. It seemed to always be in the works purely based on technological developments. Friendster came out when I was in college, and I couldn’t have been more fascinated by the potential of the ensuing social and communication trends. Then we all migrated to MySpace, Facebook…I discovered Twitter when I had down-time at my first job, and I just kept tweeting to myself for two years. Eventually, I got a new job through Twitter.

What did you do before arriving at Red Magnet Media?
The easiest way to look at my work experience is to first recognize that I have about five backgrounds. Before joining Red Magnet Media, I was working in fashion marketing orchestrating social strategies at online retailer Moxsie. I’ve also written and edited for both print and Web, marketed in social gaming before Facebook Ads, introduced the first three iPhones in Apple retail, and worked in higher education administration.

How do you pronounce your name? Where does it come from?
“Micah May.” My mom made it up – spelling and pronunciation. When I was little I told her she spelled it incorrectly. She explained that it’s the Spanish spelling,…but both of my parents are Chinese. I just tell people it’s “Chinese American Hippie.”

Which apps do you use the most on your phone?
Instagram! (Which feeds into Foursquare.) Twitter or Hootsuite, of course. And Bejeweled Blitz at all hours of the day.

Who are you favorite non-social media personalities to follow?
Even though I’m a Chapstick kind of girl, I love Eva Chen, the beauty editor at Teen Vogue. She receives makeup and beauty gifts that are packaged more prettily than wedding presents, and she tweets and tumbles about every one of them.

I think Aziz Ansari is the comedian of my generation and a quintessential example of how Twitter is the perfect practice ground for comedians: They have to generate every punchline in 140 characters.

Describe your perfect day.
I just went to Italy for the first time, and the one day I’d like to relive was a day trip to the Cinque Terre. Any future perfect day starts with traveling to a gorgeous place I’ve never been to and ends in a food coma.

Mayka Mei Fun Facts: I have a twin brother. Our birthday is New Year’s Eve. I can whistle music through my nose. When I was little I pushed MC Hammer’s daughter and made her cry. There’s a baby in Micronesia named after me. (Haven’t met her yet.)

Send Mayka a welcome hello and follow her on Twitter (@mayka) and her personal blogThe Maykazine.

So now I’m the Senior Strategist, Employee No. 1 at Red Magnet Media. We do social strategy for big creative brands and bands. I couldn’t have asked for a better “Next Step” for me, careerwise and personal development-wise. Thanks for feeding me with delicious food and better articulating my ever-evolving definition of “meaningful work” for me, RMM.

Photo by Woozy of Mahfia! (Bookmark that spot. I’ll be contributing soon!)