Renée Olbert is the Chief Content Officer at the media platform startup, Throwing Fruit. Her journey to reach this point in her career has taken her down many different roads and uniquely positions her to provide interesting insight to filmmakers. Olbert, a graduate of York University in Toronto, is a former actor and producer, whose credits include working with greats like two-time Academy Award winning director Malcolm Clarke. She is also the award winning creator of the successful web series "Seeking Simone." She hung up her red carpet dress a few years ago to address the systemic failures she faced in the industry by co-founding and running content at Throwing Fruit. The platform is a content management and creation system which provides filmmakers the tools they need to create native mobile apps using their content. This enables filmmakers to control their own distribution as well as create interactive communities for their fans via mobile devices. 

You've got data coming in from your distribution platform and you’re ready to start being "data-driven". But what are these numbers really telling you? Let’s break down some common metrics and what you can deduce from them.

Anyone who has done even casual research into building an audience has encountered the idea that, in order to cultivate fans, you have to, you know—talk to them. Give them a piece of yourself. Entertain them. Make them think. Keep them engaged lest they forget about you.