Complete Bio of Mark Harrison

Mr. Harrison's unique history of professional experience blends technology, education, business, and international affairs. Trained as a diplomat, Mr. Harrison has worked with UNHCR, the IMF, and the World Bank Group. He has served as a political functionary, technologist, and journalist in the US, Europe, Thailand, Israel, Tanzania, and Guatemala.

He has served as CTO and Technical Counsel to a companies ranging from Fortune 500's to start-ups, and has guided projects across the globe. He served as a technology adviser to Primedia, the US media conglomerate, Channel One, the world's largest in-school education and television news network, and largest minority-owned TV network in the US. He has built systems and infrastructures for the afore-mentioned organizations as well as a number of other major corporations including Booz, Allen & Hamilton, and Bell Atlantic/Verizon.Mr. Harrison currently acts as CTO and marketing adviser to Techcelerator, the Silicon Valley venture development firm headed by tomandandy.com's Tom Hajdu. He is also an associate of Joseph Jaffe's New York based new media marketing company, crayon LLC.

Over the past 15 years, Mr. Harrison has taught at the secondary, university, and post-graduate levels in the US, Canada, Germany &Tanzania, and has developed curricula in business, academic methodology, languages, and technology. Mr. Harrison has lived and worked in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America and speaks English, German, French, Swahili, and Spanish.

Complete Bio of Chris Abraham

Chris Abraham, President and COO of Abraham Harrison, is a leading expert in online public relations with a focus on blogger outreach, blogger engagement, and Internet reputation management. A pioneer in online social networks and publishing, with a natural facility for anticipating the next big thing, Chris is an Internet analyst, web strategy consultant and advisor to the industries’ leading firms. He specializes in web2.0 technologies, including content syndication, online collaboration, blogging, and consumer generated media.

Prior to starting Abraham Harrison, Chris was a member of the Interactive Team at Edelman Public Affairs in Washington, DC, consulting clients such as Wal-Mart, Shell, and GE on blogger and social media strategy. Before Edelman, Chris was Technology Strategist for New Media Strategies, a pioneer in online brand promotion and protection with clients including Sci-Fi Channel, Buena Vista, TomTom, Paramount Pictures, Coca-Cola, McDonalds, Disney, Reebok, EA, RCA, and NBC.

In the early nineties, Chris joined The Meta Network, a seminal online virtual community based in Washington, and so began his career as an expert in online community development, social media, social networking, and online collaboration. Chris has had a web presence since 1993 and started blogging in 1999, focusing on community, connection, innovation, and brand extension. As a technologist, Chris has consulted T. Rowe Price, the US Department of Treasury CIO, Friendster, Deutsche Telekom, and others.

Chris has taught blogging courses for the Writer's Center of Bethesda, has been a guest lecturer on public affairs blogging at Columbia University's SIPA school and the American University in Washington, DC, and is the Emergent Technologies Advisor to the Urban Institute's Communications Advisory Board. Additionally, he is the go-to expert on social media, citizen journalism, technology, and the Internet for BBC World Service, CNN Radio, and CNet's BNet.

Chris received his BA in American Literature from The George Washington University, studied American Literature at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England, and studied French at the University of Hawaii. He splits his time between Berlin, Germany, and Washington, DC.

Contact Chris Abraham

Email:chris.abraham@abrahamharrison.com
Mail: +1 (202) 657-4063
Mobile: +1 (202) 352-5051
Fax: +1 (202) 330-5724

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+1 (202) 657-4063 United States
+44 (0)20 3287 2063 United Kingdom
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Get to know Sara Wilson

Abraham Harrison is a virtual company and yes, we are all computers and live in the cloud.  J/K.  Actually, all the staff at AH are real people from all over the U.S. and the world working together to bring our clients the very best in digital communication and social media.

But it takes a certain finesse to keep a virtual company running smoothly and that is where Director of Operations, Sara Wilson, shines.  Sara has been working for AH since 2007 and her responsibilities include business development, human resources, financial services, and operational oversight.  Sara knows who at AH is supposed to be doing any particular thing, and, if no one is doing it, will assign it to someone, or do it herself.

I sat down with Sara to learn a bit more about her and what it takes to manage a virtual company.

Ellie Brown: What is a typical work day like for you?

Sara Wilson: I may be one of the rare people at AH that actually works from 9-5 everyday.  I have mainly have an oversight role – Mark jokingly refers to me as the “all seeing eye” of the company – but I also do research, project monitoring, new business development and some direct client work.

EB: What is a typical non-work day like for you?

SW: I have two children, Casey and Jared, so my days off usually involve their many activities. Most days it’s shuttling Casey to the local performances she hopes will launch her to Broadway stardom, taking Jared to cello lessons and watching him play baseball.  I also like theater, reading, and anything that gets me outside, as long as it doesn’t involve a lawn mower.

EB: What did you do before AH and how did your previous experience prepare you for your job at AH?

SW: I am trained as a historian, with experience in college administration, freelance writing, and non-profit management.  Before AH I was working part-time for an association of historians made up of university professors from all over the world. Like AH, they did not have a central office, so this position gave me experience working effectively from home with people spread out all over. I learned how to get everyone to work together to accomplish common goals.

EB: What is your favorite part about working for Abraham Harrison?

SW: There really isn’t just one part. But if I had to narrow it down, I’d say the environment (working from home) and the things I’ve learned about social media.  I love the freedom of being able to make my own schedule and working at a place where you don’t have to ask permission to take a couple hours in the afternoon to take your kid to the dentist.  There is a shared expectation and trust at AH that everyone will complete their work when they have to.  It doesn’t matter if it falls into that 9-5 schedule.

Also, I have learned so much in the last few years about social media.  My background is in history, so I didn’t have initial expertise in social media or even public realtions.  It’s exciting that the field is changing so rapidly and there is always something new to pick up on.

EB: I have to ask.  Do you have a favorite Chris Abraham social media analogy you can share with everyone?

SW: There are so many! I like the one where Chris compares Twitter to throwing bread crumbs in a flowing river. Some bread crumbs will get picked up and eaten, the rest will just float on by.

EB: Finally, if Chris and Mark gave you a million dollar bonus (you deserve it), how would you spend it?

SW: Sounds typical, but I would love to travel with my family.

Not typical at all – especially for someone who “works” around the world everyday.  Read more about Sara and her work on Abraham Harrison’s website.

(by Ellie Brown)

Get to know Rodrigo Martucci

Now that many of you now know what Abraham Harrison does, it’s about time you got to know who is doing it.  Meet Rodrigo Martucci: blogger, snowboarder, accordion-player, Project Manager at AHLLC.

Rodrigo has been working for Abraham Harrison since 2009 and his two main clients are BrandsClub and OLX (in 5 languages!)  Good thing he speaks English, Spanish and Portuguese and knows how to use Google translator well for Russian and Polish.  Before coming to AH, Rodrigo was a media buyer and analyst where he honed his record-keeping, reporting and trend analysis skills – all very transferable to his new position as Project Manager.  He is also adept at Microsoft Access, which is amazing, because who uses Microsoft Access?

I sat down with Rodrigo to ask him a few questions to learn more about him and his work with AHLLC.

Ellie  Brown: What is a typical work day like for you?

Rodrigo Martucci: What I love about this job is that no day at work is ever “typical.” Sure, I check my email and check my reader for social media news every morning, but the work I do always changes, as does my schedule.  I develop Facebook and Twitter strategies for clients and manage blogger outreach efforts, but I also do trend analysis and message development.  I never work the typical 9-5, but follow a daily schedule that works for me.  That is a great part about working for a virtual company.

EB: What is a typical non-work day like for you?

RM: Like my work days, I never really have a “typical” day off. I like watching basketball, playing soccer and playing instruments (saxophone, flute, accordion, guitar and keyboard). I also really like snowboarding – something I could never do before I moved to New England from my native 80 degree Paraná, Brazil.

EB: What is your favorite part about working for Abraham Harrison?

RM: My favorite part is being on the frontline and interacting with customers on our clients’ behalf.  It is nice to see that my efforts are making a difference – it makes me feel like our work matters.

EB: How did you become such a social media expert?

RM: I’ve been using social networks – Facebook, Twitter, Orkut – on a personal level for about 5-6 years now.  Back in the day people just sort of winged it when it came to a social media strategy.  There was little structure and support “in the back” as in knowing the client, having set goals, and most importantly knowing the audience – all the things we know today are really important. I wanted to find out more so I studied on my own, took some Internet marketing classes, and here I am. The industry is really changing everyday, so I do a lot of testing to see what works and what doesn’t work then move forward from there.

EB: We all know (or maybe some don’t) that Chris Abraham loves a good analogy when explaining the concept of social media to clients/students/people on the street.  What is your favorite?

RM: Chris tells a great one about the “Big Bang” of social media – that is creating a brand’s fan page, Twitter and YouTube. Then as the plan develops, you need to feed the new universe – give it sun and water to grow and bloom.  Eventually your universe will feed itself (more or less), but in the beginning you need to feed it for it to flourish.

EB: Finally, if Chris and Mark gave you a million dollar bonus (it’s coming), what would you do with it?

RM: I’d probably invest in real estate or put in in the bank – I’m a safe type of guy.

EB: How very practical and responsible.  If I were a new client with AH, I would feel extremely comfortable leaving my social media in your capable hands.  But there must be something fun you’d do with it?

RM: Well, I’d probably travel around the world and follow the Formula 1 racing circuit.

So there you have it.  For even more insights and social media advice, look for his posts on Marketing Conversation.

(by Ellie Brown)