Sarah Rockholt ( @Sarahrockholt ) is an event planning associate at MentorMate (where alum Ryan Pena works at the time of this recording). Her career at MentorMate began as an intern and she has worked her way up through the ranks to her current role at the company. Hear her story on this week's episode. This Week on Why I Social, Sarah and I discuss: Why she didn't end up being a meteorologist Why people played a big part in her career choice How she got used to getting out of her comfort zone ...
Feb 28, 2017•23 min•Season 3Ep. 9
Welcome to the sixth episode of Why I Social Sessions - where we bring you short discussions focused on one singular topic. This is not your standard Why I Social episode where we learn about a guest - but instead - we focus on important topics impacting the social media space today. Today, on Why I Social Sessions, Why I Social alum Casie Shimansky joins me to talk about the latest update to Instagram included the addition photo/video galleries. On Episode 6 1. What does this feature mean for p...
Feb 28, 2017•15 min
On this week's episode, an old friend reappears in Amir's life. Also, our hosts discover that Alexa is now VERY skilled. This week's Five Favorites: 1. For Generation Z, 'Live Chilling" replaces hanging out (WSJ) 2. Alexa Passes 10,000 Skills (VentureBeat) 3. Booming Android Revenue Shows Its No Longer the Poor Cousin (The Register) 4. Snapchat Faces Tough Questions With Insiders (Business Insider) 5. Hot Topic: Instagram Will Now You Posts 10 Pictures (or videos) at Once (The Verge) Honorable M...
Feb 27, 2017•32 min•Season 1Ep. 25
Matt Rappaport is a social media coordinator at B&H Photo Video. He has previously worked at Tech Times and the Huffington Post. He's also an actor with a passion for the industry and an experienced interviewer. Hear his story on this week's episode. This Week on Why I Social, Matt and I discuss: What was his first "social network"? Where did his interest technology come from? Why does he love acting? And of course, Why Does He Social?! Share your thoughts on this week's episode with #WhyISo...
Feb 21, 2017•32 min•Season 3Ep. 8
On this week's episode, both hosts have upgraded with some new technology in the past week. Also, drones, again. Deal with it. This week's Five Favorites: 1. iPhone 8 To Feature 5.8 Inch OLED Display With 5.15-Inch Main Screen and Virtual Buttons Below (Mac Rumors) 2. Facebook swipes at LinkedIn by letting brands post job openings on Pages (VentureBeat) 3. More than 60 percent of Snapchat users skip ads on platform (DigiDay) 4. Say goodbye to YouTube's long, unskippable ads starting next year (M...
Feb 20, 2017•34 min•Season 1Ep. 24
Martin Dull ( @mgdull on Instagram ) is a painting technician at the New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting & Sculpture. He's also an artist operating his own studio in Jersey City. After attending school with Martin at Marywood University in Scranton, PA - we came to realize we both worked in NYC (thanks to Facebook) - opening the door to one of the most interesting conversations in the podcast's history. Hear his story on this week's episode. This Week on Why I Social, Martin and I di...
Feb 14, 2017•24 min•Season 3Ep. 8
On this week's episode, Chris shares the story of how his son lost his first tooth. Also, the NBA pulls a page out of the NFL's social media book. This week's Five Favorites: 1. Pinterest Introduces Lens, A Shazam for Objects (The Verge) 2. Grammy's Using Snapchat to Lure Younger Viewers (DigiDay) 3. Shareholders Urge Company to Replace Zuckerberg w/ Independent Board Chair (VentureBeat) 4. YouTube Creators With 10,000+ Followers Get Mobile Livestreaming (AdWeek) 5. (Hot Topic) The Best (and Wor...
Feb 13, 2017•33 min•Season 1Ep. 23
Katy Spencer Johnson is a Communications and Marketing Agent at Quincy College (working for alum Eric Clark at the time of this recording). She is also the editor-in-Chief) of Wild Swimming New England. She spends some of her free time doing work for causes like breast cancer and volunteering at the Quincy Animal Shelter. Hear her story on this week's episode. This Week on Why I Social, Katy and I discuss: What it's like to work in publishing and why she changed How she got into wild swimming Wh...
Feb 07, 2017•23 min•Season 3Ep. 7
On this week's episode, Chris and Amir recap their DJI/BHPhotoVideo experience in NYC. Also, listeners may find themselves wondering what Amir would look like as a soccer mom. This week's Five Favorites: 1. Twitter's NFL Stream Averages 265k Viewer s (Marketingland) 2. LinkedIn Just Stole An Idea From Facebook - And It's Tremendous (Inc) Thanks to Katy Spencer Johnson for the suggestion using #FiveFavorites! 3. Facebook Reports 8.81 billion in revenue as monthly users jump 17% (VentureBeat) 4. A...
Feb 06, 2017•40 min•Season 1Ep. 22
Erica Moss is a community manager at Trello. She has previously worked at Bit.ly and 2U and brings a diverse set of experience as a marketer and journalist to the show. Hear her story on this week's episode. This Week on Why I Social, Erica and I discuss: How she pivoted after being laid off What made her make the move to New York from Michigan Why she loves Slack And of course, Why Does She Social?! Share your thoughts on this week's episode with #WhyISocial Subscribe on iTunes , Stitcher Radio...
Jan 31, 2017•26 min•Season 3Ep. 5
On this week's episode, Amir tells the story of how he lost his drone. Also, our hosts finally conclude the story of the Samsung Note 7. This week's Five Favorites: 1. Apple Hires Dropcam co-founder for special project (Cult of Mac) 2. Samsung Announces What Caused the Galaxy Note 7 to overheat and explode (Business Insider) 3. Facebook Stories puts a Snapchat Clone above the News Feed (TechCrunch) 4. 3D TV is Dead (Business Insider) 5. (HOT TOPIC) Silicon Valley’s responses to Trump’s immigrati...
Jan 30, 2017•31 min•Season 1Ep. 21
Daniel Vecchiarelli is the owner of Bello by Daniel Ross . He's been building his career since he started cutting his friend's hair in high school. It's worth noting that he's also my barber - and a darn good one (with a great story). Hear his story on this week's episode. This Week on Why I Social, Daniel and I discuss: How he started cutting hair in high school What it was like to move from employee to employer How education has played a role in his business And of course, Why Does He Social?!...
Jan 24, 2017•24 min•Season 3Ep. 4
On this week's episode, Amir and Chris debate incredible films such as "Beethoven" and "Major League - Back To The Minors". Also, Westworld returns to the podcast. This week's Five Favorites: 1. 2017 MacBook Pro to bring Intel Kaby Lake, 32GB of RAM (Cult of Mac) 2. Oculus Lawsuit May Undercut VR Industry, not just Facebook’s bottom line (Polygon) 3. Google Acquires Fabric (VentureBeat) 4. Meitu Has A Tracking Project (VentureBeat) 5. HOT TOPIC: A Breakdown of The POTUS Transition Obama White Ho...
Jan 23, 2017•31 min•Season 1Ep. 20
Al Hopper is the Co-Founder of SocialPath Solutions. Professionally, he's been focused (and succeeded) on providing great customer service since day one of his career. He also runs a Twitterchat, #CustServ, which focuses on that exact topic. As an aside (listen to find out why) if you tweet at Al, make sure you add the underscore! Hear his story on this week's episode. This Week on Why I Social, Al and I discuss: Why he believes in "servant leadership" The impact serving in the military had on h...
Jan 17, 2017•33 min•Season 3Ep. 3
On this week's episode, Amir has a sexy new computer screen. Also, our hosts discover that Alexa may be revealing more than people want or need to know! This week's Five Favorites: 1. Why Car Makers Want To Keep Apple and Google at Arm's Length (The Verge) 2. Everything You Need To Know About The Nintendo Switch (Digital Trends) 3. Google Maps Now Lets You Take Uber Without Leaving The App (The Verge) 4. Android Wear 2.0 Is Arriving Next Month (The Next Web) 5. HOT TOPIC: Facebook Hopes To Run A...
Jan 16, 2017•28 min•Season 1Ep. 19
Jessica Fisher ( @miniktty ) is co-founder of Gameosity and a freelancer writer for Geek and Sundry . She's based in New York City and participates in a plethora of activities around the city such as karate and game meet-ups. Hear her story on this week's episode. This Week on Why I Social, Jess and I discuss: How Jessica and her husband founded Gameosity What it's like being a freelancer What role karate plays in her life And of course, Why Does She Social?! Share your thoughts on this week's e...
Jan 10, 2017•22 min•Season 3Ep. 2
On this week's episode, Amir and Chris are overloaded with news from CES 2017. Also, Chris lacks the ability to say "economist". This week's Five Favorites: 1. Amazon's Alexa is Everywhere at CES (The Verge) 2. Meet The Jetsons: Smart homes estimated to be 3.5 billion annual market, say Chief CES economist (GeekWire) 3. Russia demands the removal of LinkedIn from Google Play and Apple's App Store (Newowin) 4. Vine To Officially Shut Down on January 17th (9to5Mac) 5. HOT TOPIC: All things CES 201...
Jan 09, 2017•30 min•Season 1Ep. 18
Welcome to the fifth episode of Why I Social Sessions - where we bring you short discussions focused on one singular topic. This is not your standard Why I Social episode where we learn about a guest - but instead - we focus on important topics impacting the social media space today. Today, on Why I Social Sessions, Why I Social alum Lucy Rendler-Kaplan returns to discuss what the possibility of an edit button means for Twitter. Is it a good thing? A bad thing? We discuss - on episode 5 of Why I...
Jan 05, 2017•19 min
Andre Archimbaud is an Internet Marketing Consultant at Reach Local as well as the host of the NYStandard podcast . He's an avid music fan with a background in professional baseball. His professional background includes National Public Radio, Yahoo and CBS Radio. Hear his story on this week's episode. This Week on Why I Social, Andre and I discuss: Working with statistics and scouts for MLB Why sometimes listening to music isn't enough And of course, Why Does He Social?! Share your thoughts on t...
Jan 03, 2017•31 min•Season 3Ep. 1
On this week's episode, Amir and Chris are excited to kick off a new year of Five Favorites! This week's Five Favorites: 1. Tesla Autopilot's New Radar Technology Predicts An Accident On Dashcam (Electrek) 2. Twitter's Jack Dorsey is "thinking a lot" about an edit-tweet button (Recode) 3. Facebook acquires eye tracking company The Eye Tribe (VentureBeat) 4. Snapchat has doubled its acquisitions in 2016 as it builds towards IPO (Venturebeat) 5. HOT TOPIC: 44% of Devices Activated during Christmas...
Jan 02, 2017•26 min•Season 1Ep. 17
Nicole Virant is a Corporate Trainer and Adjunct Instructor at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College (aka NWTC). In addition, she also serves as a member of the Greater Green Bay Chamber as a marketing and public relations committee member. She's an experienced presenter who's Twitter profile will also inform you that she loves family, dogs and board games. Hear her story on this week's episode. This Week on Why I Social, Nicole and I discuss: How she ended up in a corporate training role The ro...
Dec 27, 2016•34 min•Season 2Ep. 51
On this week's episode, Chris does an awful Morgan Freeman impression. I mean, really, it's bad. Also, both hosts reflect on the year that was and look forward to 2017. This week's Five Favorites: 1. Introducing Facebook Live Audio (Facebook Media) 2. What Each State Googled In 2016 (CBS News) 3. Nielsen and Foursquare Partner To Tie Digital Ads To In-Store Visits (Wall Street Journal) 4. Amazon Echo Sells Out Except In-Stores (Wall Street Journal) 5. Hot Topic: Super Mario Run gets 5 million do...
Dec 26, 2016•26 min•Season 1Ep. 16
Jeremy Goldman is founder and CEO of the Firebrand Group in New York City. His digital branding and marketing consultancy is devoted to Fortune 500-level brands and high-growth start-ups including L'Oreal, Movado and many others. Hear his story on this week's episode. This Week on Why I Social, Jeremy and I discuss: Why he loves New York City What he took away from writing a book What was his "aha" moment before founding his company And of course, Why Does He Social?! Share your thoughts on this...
Dec 20, 2016•26 min•Season 2Ep. 50
On this week's episode, Amir and Chris admit neither one has had the chance to see Rogue One yet. Also, Amir finds himself this much closer to one day buying a 360 camera. Note: There's a slight audio issue on one mic with this week's episode which could not be completely fixed in editing. Thank you for understanding as we will be sure to correct this for next week's 2016 post-holiday episode. This week's Five Favorites: 1. Apple's New TV App Goes Live (TechCrunch) 2. Meet Amazon Prime Air (YouT...
Dec 19, 2016•27 min•Season 1Ep. 15
Welcome to the fourth episode of Why I Social Sessions - where we bring you short discussions focused on one singular topic. This is not your standard Why I Social episode where we learn about a guest - but instead - we focus on important topics impacting the social media space today. Today, on Why I Social Sessions, Why I Social alum Ross Brand (of Livestream Universe ) joins the podcast to discuss the rise of major changes across social media platforms in terms of live-streaming features. On E...
Dec 15, 2016•17 min
Brad Parler is Digital Communications Administrator at Blinds.com. Brad resides in the Houston area and came highly recommended by Five Favorites co-host, Amir Zonozi. In his own words - Brad lives with one foot firmly planted in the world of video production the other foot planted in the world of Internet Technology.live with one foot firmly planted in the world of video production the other foot planted in the world of Internet Technology. Hear his story on this week's episode. This Week on Wh...
Dec 13, 2016•26 min•Season 2Ep. 49
On this week's episode, Google is shrinking the size of their apps. Also, Amir finally gets his hands on a pair of Snap Spectacles. This week's Five Favorites: 1. Slack and Google Announce Partnership (TechCrunch) 2. Google Play Background App Updates Are Now 65% Smaller (VentureBeat) 3. Instagram Is Changing Comments In A Big Way (Mashable) 4. Pandora Spotify Competitor is Launching Next Year (TechCrunch) 5. Hot Topic: Amazon Just Launched A Cashier-Free Convenience Store (Venture Beat) Honorab...
Dec 12, 2016•27 min•Season 1Ep. 14
Karla Porter is Director of Program Development and Marketing at The Arc of Luzerne County. She's also Principal of Karla Porter Human Capital and New Media. Her career has taken her across the globe - including 10 years in which she lived in Mexico. Hear her story on this week's episode. This Week on Why I Social, Karla and I discuss: The importance of the military in her career What opportunities being bilingual has opened for her How she became involved in NEPA BlogCon (w/ alum Mandy Penningt...
Dec 06, 2016•26 min•Season 2Ep. 48
On this week's episode, Amir makes Chris talk about Apple. Also, the episode is (a lot) longer than the view of an average Snapchat ad. This week's Five Favorites: 1. Spotify Crunches User Data In Fun Ways for New Global Campaign (AdWeek) 2. AT&T Just Unveiled Its Answer To The Cord-Cutting Wars (Washington Post) 3. Snapchat Video Ads Average Less Than 3 Seconds A View (Advertising Age) 4. The NFL Will (Reportedly) Relax Their Social Media Rules (TechCrunch) 5 (HOT TOPIC) STORY: Netflix (Fin...
Dec 05, 2016•31 min•Season 1Ep. 13
The journey to 100 is complete. So begins the road to 200...and it begins with one of the hardest working people I've ever met in the field. Amelia Tran is Senior Digital Strategist at Firebrand Group, an award-winning futureproofing firm focused on building powerful brands through innovative digital marketing. She's also a board member and events manager for an amazing group of social media minds in NYC called Mosaic. Hear her story on this week's episode. This Week on Why I Social, Amelia and ...
Nov 29, 2016•31 min•Season 2Ep. 47
