Friday, July 02, 2010

Soraya Darabi

Fractals: Mandelbrot
Fractals And FoodSpotting
FoodSpotting Is The Next FourSquare
Going Backwards: FoodSpotting, FourSquare, Twitter, Facebook


sorayadarabi on Twitter Half a million followers.
Soraya Darabi| Most Creative People 2010 | Fast Company based on her success as manager of digital partnerships and social-media marketing at the Times, where she was hired at 23. "Soraya was dazzling when she showed up at The New York Times, trying to tug the Gray Lady into Facebook and Twitter and all the social media," says columnist Nicholas Kristof. "I often travel to exotic foreign lands with a local guide and interpreter, and Soraya played precisely that role when she led me into the world of new media. The only reason I have nearly 1 million followers on Twitter and 150,000 fans on Facebook is Soraya's guidance." Darabi herself has nearly half a million Twitter followers, which means that when the Freelance Whales play at her friend's loft party, they wind up as a showcase band at South by Southwest, in Austin. She's earned a reputation among the digerati as someone who intuitively, if not effortlessly, understands where all this social-media stuff is going. "Soraya knows how media companies can take advantage of these practices -- if they're willing to take the risk," says Alice Marwick, a researcher at Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet and Society. ...... Greenwood: "She's been one of my go-to people for what's going on in social media and how companies are innovating from a brand and marketing perspective." ...... "I get information from my peers," Darabi says simply. ..... Drop.io, with Nicholas Negroponte on the board ..... Presslift .... Now Darabi is working on a suite of similar verticals for fields including education and possibly entertainment. ..... Darabi's own entrepreneurial drive -- "We need more young women starting companies" .... "We're living in a world right now where the 26-year-old founder of a PHP platform [Facebook] has more power than the president of the U.S. in terms of his reach on a day-to-day basis," she says, dismissing talk of a social-media bubble. "I'm not sure social media has been overestimated yet." ......






Soraya Darabi Leaving NYT For Drop.io's New PressLift | Mediaite Big move in the social media world: Soraya Darabi, manager of digital partnerships & social-media marketing at the New York Times, is leaving the Gray Lady to join real-time sharing and collaboration site Drop.io as product lead for their new PR tool, PressLift....... behind the NYT’s multimedia Inauguration Day Facebook campaign, which won first prize at the INMA Awards for excellence in marketing (and encouraged excellence in hipster patriotism). Darabi’s department grew in prominence last May when the NYT appointed a full-time social media editor ....... PressLift, a new tool for PR professionals to share multi-media materials (without annoyingly clogging inboxes)..... a tracking tool to measure penetration and use. ....... couldn’t pass up the chance to join a savvy NYC start-up: “The New York Times was my home for over two years. I loved every bit of of the job. I’ve had the itch to work for a start up for a short while. ......uniquely positioned to understand the features and benefits of this user community .... Vindu Goel: “Soraya, what are we going to do without you?” ..... Dropio’s .... millions of users ..... Time named it one of the year’s 50 best websites .....
Soraya Darabi - LinkedIn named one of AdAge Magazine's "25 People in Media to Follow" on Twitter.com and was listed at #2 on "The Silicon Alley Insider 100" at the end of 2009. ..... B.A. in English Literature at Georgetown University .... B.A. , English, Art History , 2002 — 2005 ...... a consumate professional ....Her business acumen, enthusiasm, and generous spirit will light up the darkest of conference rooms. Not only does she have extensive technical expertise, but she's also an accomplished communicator and social network builder - a rare combination. ........ enterprising, hardworking, and smart ....... a deep understanding of the landscape of social networks ...... detail-oriented, responsive and full of energy ........ smart, dedicated and self starting ...... always positive and ready for new innovative tasks ....... a team player ...... will be a success wherever she is ....... creative, energetic, and so knowledgeable and enthusiastic about buzz marketing/social networking that I've found myself quoting her on the subject whenever it comes up ........... generous with her ideas ...... plain fun to talk to: she's smart and funny as well as sensitive and kind, but disarming because she somehow projects both a crazy confidence and a sweet modesty at the same time ......... an incredible person to get to know in the fast-evolving culture of New York digital media. ...brings all sorts of innovative ideas ....... Soraya has been lending her strategic advice, relationships and expertise to my non-profit for close to two years now. She is fabulous at what she does, is very knowledgeable, proactive and is able to think creatively. She is one of the most dedicated and hard working people I know and is a pleasure to work with .. April 6, 2009 ........Soraya will blow you away. She's ferocious and enterprising, and she finds solutions where others only see problems. While being extremely conscientious and professional, she is also visionary--with the patience and practicality to realize those visions. ........always one step ahead of everyone else and always at the ready to help the rest of us catch up. I can't help but learn something from her every time we're together. Her infectious charm helps her to get things done while gaining supporters and fans along the way ....... an ambitious young woman eager to succeed. ..... a blow when she left our company. ..... was the best manager and mentor that I could have asked for. I consider her a social media and marketing genius and a role model for young professionals starting out in the corporate world. She is extremely intelligent, organized and poised. As her direct report, I was constantly amazed at how she managed to dip her fingers into just about every pot of honey out there! World traveler, marketing maven, trustworthy confidant and witty joker -- she wears all the hats on the rack! If I could have stayed longer with NYTimes.com, I would have begged to stay with Soraya. ........ stunningly cutting-edge in every arena I've encountered her ...... consistently on the cutting edge of the online community, both professionally and socially ..... a networking wonder, and seems to know and have befriended virtually any and all movers-and-shakers within the online media world.Her web-savvy and creative vision are surpassed only by her drive and unrivaled work ethic ... April 6, 2009 ........ tireless in her pursuit to be all knowing on digital strategies. ....... succeeds at every turn ..... has an ear to the ground a hand on the key board and her brain hotwired to wiki-pedia of all these is to know in the rapidly changing world of digital strategies. ....... consistently energetic, competent and willing. She never hesitates to help out a friend (or colleague) and she exudes hard work and ambition. ....... a friendly and enjoyable personality in the office.
My Life in Beta (Tumblog)

Five Questions for Soraya Darabi of drop.io's PressLift ‹ Social Media Week
contributing to Social Media Week’s board .....
Flickr: Soraya Darabi's Photostream
Soraya Darabi | Guest of a Guest
The 2009 Silicon Alley 100: Soraya Darabi one of the reasons the New York Times became so Facebook-and-Twitter-savvy this year
Silicon Angle: No, Mark Zuckerberg Isn’t More Powerful than the President
My Comment

I don't know who you are, my first time at your blog, but you are so missing the point. You start with the nuclear button. How many times has a POTUS pressed that button that you know of? The number one way a POTUS exercises influence is not even through the veto power. That number one thing is media attention. Keyword: media. Have you heard of the term social media? Facebook has half a billion people. Obama does not have that many voters. Do you think everyone in America, or every voting citizen, or everyone who voted for Obama spends every waking minute trying to figure out what exactly Obama will order them to do at that very moment? No, stupid. So Obama has no power over them at all, right? But that would be trying to figure out the logic behind what you are getting at. And that would be a mistake. Because you conclude by revealing you have an ax to grind. Here is a person who is on the cover of a magazine that has had, well, Mark Zuckerberg, and Barack Obama, on its cover before, also Steve Jobs, if that means anything to you, and she is on the cover when Lady Gaga is on the list, Fred Wilson is on that same list she is on. Last year she was on a similar list put together by the Silicon Alley Insider: the AOL CEO was also on the list. I find that remarkable. Actually her Zuck remark was the most eye catching for me when I was reading the Fast Company profile on her. I am like, wow, I had not thought of it that way, but wow. Although I have heard of other respectable people in tech talk of Facebook as quite literally a country, like VC Brad Burnham of USV. I think Soraya and Brad are up to something, you are not.
Fast Company: Is Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg More Powerful Than the President? their power, at least in terms of reach of voice, is not so different.
Most Creative People event
Fast Company: Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, LinkedIn: Multiple e-dentity Disorder





Soraya Darabi - The Daily Beast
Amazing Women Rock - Soraya Darabi (Internet RockStar) Darabi recently made the cover of Fast Company's 100 Most Creative People in business, falling between the likes of Lada Gaga (No. 1) and Andrey Ternovskiy (No. 100), the teen founder of Chatroulette....... says she'd "give anything to go back to college and double major in computer science." "Women are simply not taught to think technology and programming are cool and worth exploring until it may be too late," she says. ...... So how does this savvy non-engineer get a leg up in the Internet world? By harnessing the power of her social network, of course. "It's all a game of online telephone, and I'm tapped into a network that probably hears the message first."
Soraya Darabi - mediabistro.com
NYT Social Media Wunderkind Moves To Marketing New App "Next Tuesday will be my last full-day at The New York Times...It must go without saying that I will miss the beautiful brainy faces of my work family so very much."
Soraya Darabi on Hot Potato

Video: The Moment Project - Drop.io product lead Soraya Darabi shares her favorite movie moment

Soraya Darabi and Drop.io Want to Supercharge Social Media She's earned a reputation among the digerati as someone who has intuitively understood where all this social-media stuff is going
Soraya Darabi | CrunchBase Profile
When Your Profession's Landscape Changes - Shifting Careers Blog
NextGen:Charity : a conference on new strategies in non-profit and ... Speakers .. Seth Godin .. Soraya Darabi
Watch live streaming video from internetweekny at livestream.com
Events / Goods 4 Good
soraya darabi (sorayadarabi) on Vowch "She knows everything about launching products and campaigns with the social web, specializing in Twitter, Facebook, and digital media. She's incredibly passionate about using the power of technology to change the world for the better, and has successfully harnessed this power to launch successful campaigns to feed millions of hungry people and provide clean water for countless communities. Extremely bright and articulate, she is the go-to person for social media strategy."
Foodspotting | About Active Advisor .... loves food, photography and emerging tech so naturally ..... In 2010 she shared a spot on The Daily Beast's "Women Who Rule the Web" list alongside Alexa.
CatchAFire
Internet Week party report: It never stops | The Social - CNET News This one was the work of The New York Times social media marketer Soraya Darabi and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, who invited a few people to the outdoor bar at the Standard. Guests "checked in" to mobile networking site Foursquare, their friends dropped by, and soon the place had snowballed to such an extent that the guests decided to give the bar staff a break and relocate to the notably less highbrow Hogs & Heifers Saloon across the street..... some of the well-off dot-commers in attendance at the Standard, including billionaire Mark Cuban.
SorayaD's Music Profile – Users at Last.fm
2008 December « everydaytrash Soraya visited Brigitte in Malawi last November and took the photo above while accompanying her on a round of visits to G4G partners. On that day, in addition to pads of paper, the girls brought a couple jumbo bags of lollipops for the students at this school. What you see are a bunch of kids who have never had a lollipop. The reason they’re all looking in different directions is becaues they’re not quite sure what to do with them. I so wish I had video of this cross-cultural encounter!
SheFinds.com: Going Going Gone: Get The Last Vince Draped Dress Before It’s Sold Out Usually we don’t shop from the cover of business magazines–that us, until we spotted this drapey Vince dress ($285) on Soraya Darabi, social media guru, on the cover of Fast Company. We figured it’s perfect for work and nights out, and since we’re perpetual shoppers, had to ask her who made it. We tried to buy ourselves one, but it turns out, we weren’t the only ones coveting the dress–now, it’s almost sold out. Hurry, and get one of your own while it’s still available.

This Is Not Happening: King Dennis
Paul Graham, Brad Feld, Me, BBC
Me @ BBC
I Have Been Quoted In Fast Company
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Blogger Stats

Image representing Blogger as depicted in Crun...Image via CrunchBase
Weeks back (Redesigning My Blog) I got rid of Google Analytics (and Google Ads) from this blog to speed up the loading time. Every micro second matters. The faster the better. Readers like it fast.

Today I learn Google has integrated stats into Blogger itself. That is a good thing.

Mashable: Google Launches Real-Time Blogger Stats
Blogger In Draft Blog: Introducing Blogger Stats
Blogger In Draft

I just learned this blog had 335 page views yesterday.

I just published a blog post - Brazil: The Overconfidence Of A Soccer Superpower - like a minute ago, and it already has 13 views. Wow.

For yesterday I have a peak around midnight - that must be India - and another, bigger pick around noon, more like 2 PM - that is America. Bollywood, Hollywood.

Last week my most visited post has been this: Larry Ellison. That just so happens to be one of my favorite posts.
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Brazil: The Overconfidence Of A Soccer Superpower

Dunga, St. Jakob Stadion, Basel (Switzerland),...Image via Wikipedia
Brazil has a special place in the soccer universe. It still is my favorite country to root for. Pele still is the best soccer player the world ever saw, the most famous athlete the world will ever know.

Brazil

But Brazil lost today. It was going to treat this game like it were the finals. I did not see much evidence of that.

Coach Dunga made two obvious mistakes even before the games began. He refused to put on the team some very obvious names, some star players. Why? Because Brazil was too big, there were too many good players to choose from. The coach is not the most important person on a soccer team, a VC is not the most important person on a tech startup team.

And he picked a wrong guy for team captain. I still do not know his name. His personal game was mediocre. But that can not be a deal breaker as long as you can exhibit leadership qualities. The dude got himself a yello card in a previous game, today he earned himself a red card. The yellow card rang alarm bells in my mind. The guy has a character flaw.

Instead of saying, we now have 20 minutes to even it out and still go win this game, let's go do it, the guy reduced the team size to 10 and brought the morale down for the team. 20 minutes were enough time. Kaka alone made two good attempts in those 20 minutes.

Brazil, great soccer country, lousy team captain, a coach lacking humility.

There was this pervasive overconfidence on the Brazilian side that prevented them from going for the small opportunities, learning the small lessons, treating the other side with sufficient respect when they had a one goal lead, and succumbing to frustration when that other side evened that out, and finally ended with a one goal lead.

Maybe the goalkeeper should have been the captain of the team on the Brazilian side.

Okay, so I am still rooting for Argentina. I am nervous the way I was not today. I was expecting to see Brazil win. But between Germany and Argentina, that is a hard one.

Soccer And Latin America
Lionel Messi (2)
Lionel Messi

Last night at Digital Dumbo I had an Argentina shirt on. One of the organizers invited me to the Dumbo Breakfast. Invite me for Dumbo Dumplings instead. (My Secret Sauce) Breakfast is a little too early. And, sorry, but today was Brazil's day, not Dumbo's, much as I love that place. I walked over there! Took me only a little more time than a train ride would have taken. But I hear flying is even faster.

July 1 Digital Dumbo: Do Not Miss







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