A Kennesaw State senior has been growing as an emerging and prominent voice in the world of blogging.
Meghan Cooper is a journalism and emerging media major who has made a name for herself as an entertainment and media journalist with her website, JaMonkey, and her YouTube channel.
The name JaMonkey came from a nickname Cooper’s husband gave their daughter. Cooper said that her two daughters not only influence her life as a mom but also her life as a blogger.
“When I originally started [blogging] I was doing it as a way to share my newborn daughter with family that lived out of town,” Cooper said. “I was using it as a way for journaling to share milestones of my daughter with them.”
JaMonkey is still a family-oriented project, said Cooper, who explained that her husband and children occasionally help with the site. Her husband recently covered a NASA event for the site and saw one of the most recent SpaceX launches, and her children sometimes help with the crafting and baking.
“My oldest, 11, has started brainstorming her own ideas,” Cooper said. “If it’s something entertainment related, I’ll ask her what some of the things in the show are that stood out to her or if kids her age or younger would be interested in it.”
Most of her content on JaMonkey is entertainment-oriented now. Even her crafts and recipes are entertainment-themed, such as a recent recipe she made from the new Kim Possible film to help promote the movie.
“I categorize myself as a lifestyle blogger now,” Cooper said. “My main focus now is entertainment news. I also have recipes, and crafts and science-related [content].”
Cooper has traveled to cover several special events, including the red carpet for the film Mary Poppins Returns at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater, where she was able to interview the majority of the cast and the director.
Two of Cooper’s favorite interviews were one with Canadian actress Evangeline Lilly, famous for her role in ABC’s “Lost,” and another interview at Pixar Studios where she got to experience the behind-the-scenes making of their films.
JaMonkey also has a YouTube channel where Cooper posts reaction videos and other content that might not otherwise be found on her blog.
“I consider it an extension of my blog,” Cooper said. “I’ll create a recipe and photograph it, but I also might film making it and put it on my YouTube.”
Cooper said she writes and vlogs both because she loves her work and because she sees it as a way to build a sense of community.
“I write because I like to get it out,” Cooper said. “I hope someone can take away from an interview with someone like Evangeline Lilly … that she’s human and one of us. I think it’s about community and finding other people who like the things you do.”
To see more of Cooper’s work, visit JaMonkey.com or youtube.com/user/JaMonkeyTV.
