We had the good fortune of connecting with Tony Harris and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tony, where are you from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
I grew up in the Laurel Canyon neighborhood of the Hollywood Hills in the late 1970s, which was arguably the epicenter of culture at that time. I went to Wonderland Elementary School during the infamous Wonderland John Holmes murders and was exposed to mature situations earlier than I would have preferred. Christina Applegate was often at the house playing with my older sister, and Billy Dee Williams and Kareem Abdul Jabaar would come to the school regularly to see the student performances of their kids. Through that lens, I saw through the myth of celebrity. I realized that the famous people I’d see were just as human as everyone else. As I grew up, many of my friends moved away from Los Angeles and new friends arrived from other parts of the country and around the world. And they brought with them their perception of “Hollywood” they got from movies and TV that was an illusion that I knew to be false. I observed them act shallow and saw them emulate how they thought people in LA acted, while not realizing that real LA natives are mostly thoughtful and sincere.

That realization that my background as a 3rd generation Angeleno offers me a window through the myth of LA and gives a depth to my life-experience that I recognize in other locals who stayed.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I’m the owner of Deliberate Media Solutions, a social media marketing company I founded in 2002- we’re in our 20th year of operation. We’ve had tremendous success delivering Fan Acquisition and Engagement services to clients over the past 2 decades across social platforms as well as our Creative Asset generation though our talented designer.

As pioneers in the early days of Social Media, Deliberate Media was born out of the need for companies to find, harness and access their audiences. We’re true believers in the pragmatic effectiveness of Fan Acquisition and Engagement on Twitter and we’ve built the foundation of Deliberate Media Solutions around that core principle of AUDIENCE AMPLIFICATION. Whether bands or artists or theatrical movies or brands, every product has an audience and one owes it to their brand to find and activate them as advocates. We’ve innovated proprietary technology like TwitProGro and our Follow Faucet algorithm to help brands, bands, movies and music campaigns find and activate their fans.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Tower 26 in Santa Monica Griffith Park
Pinks
Rose Ave/Abbott Kinney Blvd in Venice
Marvin Braude bike path from Pacific Palisades to South Bay

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My Monday Lunetta Men’s Group. A private weekly gathering of successful men aligned in purpose.

Website: https://www.deliberatemarketing.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tonyharris/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DeliberateMedia

Other: https://deliberatevisuals.com

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.