About
Welcome to Conversations Matter. We are a group of marketers, community managers, product managers and ordinary people who work in some capacity with social media. We all work (or used to work) internally for organizations such as Intel, Hewlett Packard, Cisco, Yahoo, and Cadence Designs Systems. We do not require membership or registration to have access to this information. If you would like to contribute to this blog, please contact us and we can discuss the next steps.
We fundamentally believe that the core of social media revolves around the conversations that are happening online today; and that it is imperative that companies and brands participate in these conversations.
The posts and articles on this blog are represented from the point of view of each individual author and not the company that he or she works for. Here is the official disclaimer:
All commentary on this blog is our personal opinion and is not read or approved before it is posted. No warranties or other guarantees will be offered as to the quality of our opinions or any comments left by others. The opinions expressed here on this blog are our own and not those of any of our employers past or current. This includes, but not limited to, thoughts, intentions, ideas, strategies and tactics.
Now, who are we?
Michael Brito started his marketing career almost 12 years ago as a Search Engine Optimization Manager in the wedding industry. Since then, he has worked for companies such as Sony Electronics, 8×8, Hewlett Packard, Yahoo and now Intel.
At 8×8, Inc., Michael led all of interactive marketing to include SEO, paid search, media buying, analytics and social media. He launched his first community in 2004 in an effort to gain subscriber insight and decrease the call volume coming into the call center. At HP, Michael managed a $12M search budget (paid & natural); and was also instrumental in evangelizing social media across the IPG organization. At Yahoo, he managed community marketing for all of Yahoo’s social networks. Now at Intel, Michael is responsible for driving social media strategy for the consumer segment. He also authors a social media blog where he focuses on the conversational element of social media. You can find him roaming Facebook and Twitter just about everday. He is also the founder of this site, Conversations Matter.
Michael has written articles for popular online publications such as Search Engine Journal, WebProNews and Imedia Connection.
As Manager of the Service Provider Web & Social Media Marketing group, LaSandra Brill shapes Cisco’s marketing strategy to include a mix of social media marketing techniques. LaSandra is an Ezine expert author and authors a blog, Marketing in a Web 2.0 World, where she explores how marketing is changing for B2B companies with the rise of social media and Web 2.0. She has ten years of technology marketing, communications, and web strategy experience. Before joining Cisco, she held marketing management positions at Mirapoint and AppStream.
LaSandra holds a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Management from San Jose State University. You can view her LinkedIn profile here.
Tac Anderson is a serial entrepreneur, born contrarian, avid blogger and a voracious reader and learner. Tac has been passionately involved in “computer mediated communications” since the mid 90’s. He is passionate about accelerated forms of communication and blogs regularly at www.newcommbiz.com.
As HP’s Web 2.0 Strategic Lead for the global LaserJet business, Tac helps HP leverage Web 2.0 technologies both for internal and external communication. He regularly works across multiple segment teams such as, New Business Development, PR/AR, IT, Current Business Management, Channel Partner teams as well as working with all of the regional marketing teams.
A local tech evangelist, Tac stays busy fostering discussions as the Founder and Chief Instigator at TechBoise.com. The typical Gen-Xer, his patience is thin, but he keeps at it. He will not take no for an answer.
A savvy marketing chick and professional writer for over 15 years, Kelly Ripley Feller is a social media addict and outspoken proponent of change and marketing evolution. Professionally Kelly has enjoyed a diverse career managing marketing and communications programs for organizations that include non-profit, natural foods, healthcare, and high technology. She has worked with a variety of technology companies including Intel, Hewlett Packard, Microsoft, Intuit, SAS Software, Symantec, and IBM. Today she manages social media programs for Intel and writes about social media, marketing, business, Second Life, and politics, including a column on social media and politics for a literary of several lifetimes in that virtual realm. She lives outside of Portland, OR with her husband and son, and holds a BA in Communications and Political Science from the University of Michigan.
Tom joined Cadence Design Systems in March 2008 to manage the company’s user community and help launch its successor this summer. In addition to forums, the new site will see the debut of expert blogs and the entire community will feature the latest Web 2.0 social media tools.
Prior to Cadence, Tom was the community manager at Symantec, where he designed, launched and managed the Symantec Technology Network, an online IT community for Symantec’s business customers.
He began “blogging” in 1996 (though he called it his “online journal”) when working in Tokyo as a journalist to keep friends and family informed of his adventures there.
Tom holds a B.A. in journalism from “The” Ohio State University.
Marc Levin is an Independent Marketing Consultant who has worked for Yahoo!, Countrywide Home Loans, Lowermybills.com and The Walt Disney Company as an Online Marketing specialist with oversight and management of all Internet Marketing channels including: SEM, SEO, E-mail, influencer marketing, corporate blogging, social media and affiliate network relationships with Commission Junction and Linkshare.
His passion for photography, the game of golf, digital marketing and his family & friends have inspired him to be an active member in the blogging community with his blog: www.dogballsblog.com and on Twitter.
Angela LoSasso is Community and Blogs Strategist for Hewlett-Packard’s Imaging and Printing Group, Americas region. She launched HP’s first Wiki-based communities to support HP’s $300 million “What Do You Have to Say? campaign, and she also writes an internal HP blog, The Conversation.
Angela’s web career started in 1993 as a moderator for a technology forum. From there she led content and editorial development teams for Internet pioneers and award-winning websites such as CNET (as an Executive Editor) and Netflix (as Director of Editorial). Angela’s other editorial and journalism stints include the Los Angeles Times, Entrepreneur Magazine and Future Publishing.
Her secret to surviving and thriving in the corporate world and as an entrepreneur: Be nice. Play nice. Don’t run with scissors.
Her dream is to retire in Parma, Italy and serve handmade Tortelli D’erbette pasta to friends and family.
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