Jayde I. Powell hosts first-ever virtual conference, the Chronically Online Virtual Social Media Summit
On Social Media Day, June 30, creatorpreneur and social media strategist Jayde I. Powell hosted her first-ever virtual conference, the Chronically Online Virtual Social Media Summit, marking a new chapter in her broader mission to redefine what a creator-led brand can build. The summit's speaker lineup included more than 25 marketing professionals from brands such as Nordstrom, Forbes, Business Insider, Brandwatch, Calendly, Sprout Social, and more.
The summit featured six sessions and a keynote from social media strategist Lia Haberman, drawing more than 180 registrants and an audience of creators, strategists, and marketers for a full day of programming centered on the current state of the social media profession.
The event was anchored by Jayde’s inaugural Chronically Online Creator Program, powered by Powell's creator- platform Creator Tea Talk. Online learning platform Teachable served as the summit's presenting sponsor.
A different kind of industry event
Unlike many social media conferences focused on tactical execution—platform updates, growth hacks, and campaign how-tos—the Chronically Online Virtual Social Media Summit centered a different set of questions: What does a long-term career in social media actually look like? How does the profession progress? And what does the future hold for the people doing the work?
Session topics included mental health in the social media industry and the impact of AI on the future of social media jobs, among others. The day was framed less as a tactical training ground and more as a space to celebrate social media professionals and give them room to connect with one another.
That framing resonated in post-event feedback. Survey responses pointed to a recurring theme: many attendees, often operating as teams of one, described feeling isolated in their roles or unseen within their own organizations. The summit offered a space for those professionals to come together, not only to celebrate the profession, but to talk through how to grow within it.
A course launch, powered by a three-year partnership
The summit also served as the launch platform for Powell's new course, "How to Build a Personal Brand That Pays." The announcement came during a sponsored commercial break, where Powell introduced the course live to the summit audience. The course is hosted on Teachable's platform. The moment reflects a partnership between Powell and Teachable that spans three years. As a platform built for creators and creatives building brands of their own, Teachable's involvement extended naturally beyond presenting sponsor to course partner—a pairing Powell says “made sense” given the platform's role in supporting the same kind of creator-owned business building the summit was designed to celebrate.
Inside the Chronically Online Creator Program
The summit's programming was shaped in part by the Chronically Online Creator Program, a cohort initiative built to give creators a direct seat in the summit's development. More than 110 creators applied for the program. While the original plan called for 12 selections, the response prompted Powell to expand the cohort to 16.
The program was designed to address a persistent gap in how the industry defines "social media professional." Historically, that title has been applied almost exclusively to marketing and branding professionals, even as creators do the same strategic, creative, and audience-building work. The Chronically Online Creator Program was built on the premise that creators are social media professionals too, and that they belong in the room where that conversation happens, not just as attendees, but as contributors to the summit itself.
The initiative also reflects Creator Tea Talk's broader mission of making opportunity equitable for creators. The 16 selected creators represented a range of communities and geographies, spanning the United States, London, and the Bahamas, with varied backgrounds, niches, and areas of expertise across the creator economy.
Creators building brand infrastructure, not just content
The summit is positioned as a case study in what's possible when creators expand beyond content production into full-scale brand building. Rather than treating a personal brand as a byproduct of posting, Powell's approach treats it as an ecosystem, one that includes original programming, community infrastructure, education, and brand partnerships alongside content.
"This summit reflects where the creator economy is headed," Powell said. "Creators aren't just filling brands' marketing calendars anymore. We're building our own institutions, with the same production value, sponsorship models, and programming rigor that large brands have used for years."
The Chronically Online Virtual Social Media Summit is being cited as an example of creators taking direct ownership of the experiences they produce, rather than operating solely within brand-owned platforms and events.
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