Baratunde Thurston, the Supervising Producer for Digital Expansion at The Daily Show has announced that he is leaving the show. He is the guy behind the creative online vision since joining the team back in August of 2015.

In a Medium blog post, Thurston went into his decision to leave.

“This has probably been the hardest job I’ve ever had, and while the work has been challenging, it isn’t the only challenge I’m up to. I love bending technology to people’s creative wills. I also love being able to express myself directly to people, and now I’m ready to get back on stage, on the mic, and on screens of all sizes.”

During his time in the position, Thurston “grew The Daily Show’s social reach by more than one million followers,” which is no easy feat in the oversaturated, mile a minute, digital world that most of us exist in today. True virality is a goal for so many and a reality for the few, but Baratunde cracked the code for Trevor Noah.

Thurston and his team brought the Internet unforgettable moments like “Your Boy Black Trump”, as well as many other viral tweets, Facebook videos, and Instagram posts that will go down in social media history.

Most importantly, Baratunde Thurston will leave The Daily Show with an entirely new understanding of how the digital space can evolve if used progressively with innovation and creativity in mind. Revolutionizing the space, he brought Trevor Noah and company into the present, using technology in the way that met the people where they actually are (which for some reason seems to be more uncommon than not).

What’s next for Thurston? He says, “eating dinner before 9:30pm, clearing out my book-length Instapaper queue, and opening my mail. I’ll be doing more standup; more TV; and more plotting.”

What are your favorite Daily Show online moments? Let us know in the comments.

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Baratunde Thurston

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