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Boone: On PFB’s Growth and That Fateful Twitter Message I’ll Never Forget

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I can still remember my heart doing a 40-inch box jump and colliding with my tonsils the moment Kyle Porter sent me an out-of-the-blue DM in 2014. I should’ve been overjoyed. The owner of a big website DM’ing me was resume-worthy material for a Twitter egg. But I couldn’t help but feel that I’d (somehow, unknowingly) committed a federal crime.

His approach was simple. But it didn’t make me any less terrified.

It was those three words — “Who are you?” — that I often think about. I worry about. I dream about, too. Had he not sent that message to a then-anonymous Twitter account called The Okie Pokie, which was filled with nothing more than mumbled musings from a recruiting-obsessed Twitter egg, I wouldn’t have the job I have. Or jobs I have. Most importantly, I wouldn’t be doing what I love covering Oklahoma State and helping build PFB into what it is becoming.

I worry what might have happened had I brushed off his seemingly innocuous Twitter message that day. Or where I’d be had he decided not to send it. But now, I mostly dream about that moment. Because (insert crying emojis, because I don’t feel I’m totally overstating it!) it kind of changed the trajectory of my life. Through it, I’ve been to places I’d never have gone, gained great friends, and learned under a great mentor in Porter, who, for reasons unclear to me (and even more unclear to angry commenters), continues to invest in me and others.

PFB is my passion project-turned-obsession that I — along with others on the staff — eat, sleep, breathe and ponder about every day of the year.

I’m not an emotional dude, but I do get nostalgic from time to time. And I’m reminded of that 2014 interaction every year when we, as a PFB team (who would’ve thought we’d have more than two Kyle’s!), meet up to discuss our goals, dreams and ambitions on how to better provide OSU content to you, the reader as we did this past weekend. We call it our annual summit — though I feel comfortable saying the biggest accomplishment every year is building our camaraderie and relationships with one another.

Nonetheless, it’s an absolute blast — productivity be damned (though we did manage two crank out two podcasts!) We’ve brought on new people every year, and each year it’s a thrill to be able to align ourselves with one another in person on our ambitions, visions and goals for what PFB can become. What we strive to cover. And what we hope to accomplish.

I’m confident that, as a writer and editor, I don’t always get things right. We’ve altered posts I’ve written because they were dumb or off the mark. We’ve changed headlines I’ve crafted because they had misspellings. Heck, we’ve deleted posts altogether because I was so far off base!

The flack I’ve taken for those instances I fully accept. But for myself and for the website on the whole, we’re evolving, growing, learning and changing as quickly as Gundy’s mullet can shed its butch wax. It’s exciting, exhilarating, frustrating and nerve-wracking all in one. And for me, most of all, it’s an absolute blast to be on this journey with Porter and the gang.

I feel #blessed and #thankful to be a part of it, and most of all optimistic about the immediate and long-term future of where we’re headed. We’ll be rolling out our new site soon that has new exciting features, a more pristine look, and a better user experience. We’ll also continue to welcome (and encourage) contributions if you feel we’re meeting your OSU-related needs.

Selfishly, I hope you’ll contribute because you enjoy what I bring to the table. That drives me. But even if you don’t open your wallet because of me, I hope you’ll contribute because of what PFB provides as a whole. Our team is awesome, and we want to be able to continue to bring on more awesome to our team.

I hope you help us by hopping on board to see how far we can take this thing.

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