Profile
Aram Zucker-Scharff is out to find a better narrative for the world. Over the past few years he has built himself an understanding of new media, marketing and advertising from the ground up. By starting in the midst of the radical alteration of how we consume media, it has become clear that new media requires new methods of understanding.
Aram firmly believes that you have to comprehend the spectrum of knowledge that supports professional techniques in order to create effective and unique innovation. This means knowing the basic elements of how to tell a brand's story as well as understanding the code and hardware behind the digital systems we use every day.
His approach is to understand where technology and narrative meet. Then we can work together to find the best way to apply that knowledge to strengthen the brand.
Education:
Aug. 2005 - Jan. 2011
B.A. English
George Mason University
Aug. 2005 - Jan. 2011
B.S. Information Technology
George Mason University
Selected Professional Experience:
August 2013 to Present
Content Strategist, CFO Publishing
- Works with all divisions to improve overall web presence by leveraging new technology, user experience data and narrative design.
- Project manager on the launch of a new, fully responsive, WordPress-based website.
- Developed and open-sourced a plugin to provide advanced metrics through Google Analytics, including viewability and seconds engaged.
- Developed and open-sourced community-building plugin Response Stack.
- Trained journalists and marketing staff in content development and SEO techniques.
- Worked to optimize the digital sales channel.
- Tested, deployed and designed tools to increase engagement and create a more positive user experience.
June 2012 to Present
New Media Consultant, Web Developer, Freelance
- Provides consulting and development for online media.
- Developed and deployed a number of new websites.
- Project managed website redesigns.
- Retained to provide and implement advice on branding, marketing, targeting, social media integration and engagement to onAir LLC.
- Retained by onAIR to implement online content platform through PHP, HTML and Javascript development.
- Retained by Center for History and New Media (George Mason University) to develop on Sloan Foundation-funded Press Forward project. Work targeted at building aggregation tools.
- Provided social media, WordPress and SEO training to select professors and classes at George Mason University.
- Developed day-long Alternate Reality Game (The Hunt 2) with puzzle focus.
- Launched a JSON API focused on showcasing networks on WordPresss MultiSite.
- Trained a rising cadre of aspiring developers in basic and advanced WordPress techniques.
Oct. 2011 to June 2012
Assistant Director for Marketing and Communications, Office of Student Media, George Mason University
- Administrative Faculty
- Engage students through social and traditional media. Oversee social media, including 18 Twitter accounts and eight Facebook accounts, to manage and build upon the online community that interacts with the university's brand and the office's content. Manage the onMason blogging and site-building platform to provide much-needed tools to the Mason community, build a greater audience for office content and increase traffic to student media properties. Also, to engage high school students who are considering George Mason University, both online and in person.
- Build search engine and social media optimization into various student media web presences.
- Manage marketing and public relations for the office. Work to develop and strengthen outlet brands. Hire and supervise students specializing in these fields to expand reach and effectiveness.
- Increase ad sales and leverage non-traditional methods and platforms in order to boost revenue. Manage student ad sales staff.
- Represent Student Media in off-campus events and organizations that intersect our interests in order to create opportunities for collaboration, including Social Media Club DC, Online News Association, and DC Twestival. Also to represent Student Media at national and regional conferences and BarCamps, including the College Media Advisors NYC convention, WordCampNYC, BarCamp News Innovation Philly and various THATCamps.
- Represent Student Media at on-campus events including orientation, housing, admissions, fairs and conferences. Responsible for the highest number of freshmen signed up to participate to date.
- Develop, design, modify, and improve student media outlet websites. Guide students interested in learning and building their own websites.
June 2011 to July 2012
Web Developer, Writer, Community Manager, Nightmare Mode
- Pitch, write and publish articles covering video games, game design and narrative design.
- Maintain, create modifications and new options for the website's WordPress theme.
- Worked with current Editor in Chief to redesign website.
- Optimized website for search engines and provided tools for authors and editors to continually maximize that optimization.
- Optimized website for social media and built a custom Open Graph solution to combine SEO and SMO efforts both automatic and by website staff.
June 2010 to Oct. 2011
Community Manager, Office of Student Media, George Mason University
- Manage marketing and ad sales staff to increase student participation and revenue. Work with students, staff and faculty specializing in these fields to create best practices and expand efforts. Help converge content to increase visibility.
- Manage a student advertising staff who, for the 2011 Broadside Orientation Guide, achieved the highest revenue total to date.
- Work with student staff on initiatives to build new sources of revenue, such as Connect2Mason's The Hunt or Twitter advertising. Additionally, build search engine and social media optimization into online properties to increase marketability.
- Represent Student Media at on-campus events including orientation, housing, admissions, fairs and conferences. Responsible for the highest number of freshmen signed up to participate to date.
- Represent Student Media in local off-campus events and organizations that intersect our interests, in order to create opportunities for collaboration, including Social Media Club DC, Online News Association, DC Twestival and the DC Media Makers.
- Represent Student Media at national and regional conferences and BarCamps, including College Media Advisors NYC convention, Social Learning Summit, WordCampNYC, BarCamp News Innovation Philly and THATCamp.
- Collaborate with other university departments on projects, like the online onCUE directory, that enhance the university's communication and brand.
- Oversee social media, including 18 Twitter accounts and eight Facebook accounts, to manage and build upon the online community that interacts with the university's brand and the office's content. This includes managing the onMason blogging and site-building platform to provide much-needed tools to the Mason community, build a greater audience for office content and increase traffic to student media properties.
Feb. 2010 to Dec. 2010
New Media Manager, UPIU, United Press International
- Optimized the UPIU brand's social media presence.
- Grew UPIU visibility in the college media space.
- Increased traffic significantly, resulting in the launch of advertising products on the main website.
- Proposed, launched and managed a blog as part of an effort to increase brand transparency, promote content and join the discourse in the college media space.
June 2008 - June 2010
Technology Manager, Office of Student Media, George Mason University
- Proposed and launched the onMason platform to build cutting-edge content management tools for the Mason community and for Student Media outlets.
- Researched, developed and deployed technology solutions for journalism tasks.
- Educated users on best practices for new and existing tools.
- Aided in the convergence of content.
- Developed, deployed and maintained MasonVotes.gmu.edu, a social media-based website built to inform students and residents of Northern Virginia about politics. The project received national media coverage and student contributions were syndicated internationally.
- Deployed a full redesign of Drupal-based convergence website Connect2Mason.
Aug. 2007 - May 2009
Lead Resident Technician, Chesapeake-area, ITU, George Mason University
- Maintained and repaired student computer systems on-site.
- Worked with student clients.
- Managed a number of other resident technicians in my area.
- Worked with the MAGIC ticket system
- Monitored an advanced phone-system and instant message for help requests.
Promoted in May 2008 from
Resident Technician, ITU, George Mason University
Dec. 2008 - Jan. 2009
Featured Blogger, Voice of Young Voters, United Press International
- Wrote three times a week on the topic of the economy in the 2008 presidential transition.
- Worked with others writing on the same topic for the UPI feature site The Voice of Young Voters.
- Sparked a lively debate, building an audience, expressing opinions and ensuring that all sides of the youth vote were represented.
- Wrote a document, at the request of UPI, instructing future journalists on how to promote their work online.
Sept. 2007 - Dec. 2008
Prose Editor, Volition Magazine, George Mason University
- Reviewed all prose submissions and selected submissions for publication.
- Coordinated with other editors and the editor-in-chief.
- Helped manage Mason's undergraduate literary and art magazine.
April 2008 - June 2008
Freelancer for Student Media, Office of Student Media, George Mason University
- Sought out and covered my own leads.
- Wrote articles for online news and convergence site Connect2Mason.
- Wrote a multimedia events blog.
Feb. 2007 - April 2008
Managing Editor, Broadside, George Mason University
- Oversaw the proper formatting and insertion of national and local advertisements
- Coordinated coverage of multiple campuses.
- Organized a team of editors and staff members.
- Oversaw organization and design of a weekly newspaper, checking news budgets and enforcing deadlines.
- Edited copy on 8 to 22 pages a week.
- Coordinated various internal sections.
- Provided support as a peer mentor to students.
- Hired and trained staff.
- Hired and coordinated a team of four copy editors.
- Worked with section editors and writers.
- Trained copy editors.
- Helped to form a production schedule.
- Formulated overall style rules for the publication.
- Worked with a team of copy editors to read, fact check and ensure the quality of the student newspaper.
Promoted in Dec. 2007 from
Copy Chief, Broadside, George Mason University
Promoted in July 2007 from
Copy Editor, Broadside, George Mason University
April 2007 - April 2008
President, Hillel: The Jewish Student Association, George Mason University
- Created an advertising plan to promote the organization through outreach programs and a branding campaign.
- Applied for and received grants for both the George Mason University Hillel and Israel Club from interest organizations.
- Coordinated with other student leaders and organizations while expanding involvement to post-graduate leaders.
- Managed and expanded the organization's overall budget by expanding the scope of the organization and increasing advocacy activities.
- Worked with representatives of external organizations to increase Hillel's budget, resources and activities, including the Israel on Campus Coalition of Greater Washington, national-level Hillel, Religious Action Center, Taglit-Birthright and other campus Hillels.
- Created a detailed action plan to enhance the entire organization and bring it in line with the recommendations made by Hillel's national accreditation committee.
- Increased attendance significantly.
- Filled long empty leadership positions and trained new student leaders.
Dec. 2006 - Jan. 2008
Copy Chief, VoxPop, George Mason University
- Coordinated a team of four copy editors.
- Contacted and managed copy editors and writers to insure quality and accuracy.
- Formulated a style guide to determine the overall style for writers of the magazine.
July 2004 - Feb. 2011
Lead Writer, Angels Fall First Universe
- Managed all writing- and text-focused projects within the AFFU, a group of independent game developers working on a multi-platform, multi-game project.
- Managed content for associated projects from an international team located all over the world, ranging in age from 15 to 32.
- Oversaw and maintained all textual content for the project.
- Managed a community of interested consumers and participants, insuring all contributions met the standards for the project.
- Collaborated with the Art Lead, Project Leads and Lead Developer.
Consultations:
- Real Estate Weekly, NY
- Northern Virginia Magazine
- OneBlueTV
- United Press International
Presentations:
Zucker-Scharff, Aram (2012). SEO 101 and 201 for Journalists and Bloggers. BarCamp Presentation at BarCamp News Innovation Philly 2012.
Zucker-Scharff, Aram (2012). White Space and Responsive Web Design. BarCamp Workshop at BarCamp News Innovation Philly 2012.
Zucker-Scharff, Aram (2012). SEO201: A Search Engine Optimized Presentation on Search Engine Optimization. Presentation at College Media Advisors NYC 2012.
Zucker-Scharff, Aram (2012). SEO101: Search Engine Optimization for Journalists. Presentation at College Media Advisors NYC 2012.
Zucker-Scharff, Aram (2012). 50 free tools for journalists in 50 minutes. Presentation at College Media Advisors NYC 2012.
Boyet, Michele and Aram Zucker-Scharff (2012). Brand Me: Using Social Media to Brand Yourself and Your Newsroom. Workshop session at College Media Advisors NYC 2012.
Zucker-Scharff, Aram (2012). Narrative Design in Games and the Classroom. Facilitated Roundtable Session at THATCamp Games 2012.
Boyet, Michele and Aram Zucker-Scharff (2011). Social Media: The Good the Bad and the Ugly. Workshop session at College Media Advisors NYC 2011.
Zucker-Scharff, Aram (2011). What is Search Engine Optimization and where does it live? A crash course for journalists. Presentation at College Media Advisors NYC 2011.
Zucker-Scharff, Aram (2011). From Research to Release: 50 free tools in 50 minutes. Presentation at College Media Advisors NYC 2011.
Panel session (2011). Mobile Use in Higher Education. Social Learning Summit 2011.
Zucker-Scharff, Aram (2011). onMason: student-focused WordPressMU use in an educational setting. BarCamp session presented at WordCampNYC 2011.
Loker, Kevin and Aram Zucker-Scharff (2011). How to use social media. Presentation session for jDay VA 2011.
Loker, Kevin and Aram Zucker-Scharff (2011). Using blogging in your news organization. Presentation session for jDay VA 2011.
Zucker-Scharff, Aram (2010). Using WordPressMU to build community. BarCamp session presented at BarCamp News Innovation Philly 2010.
Zucker-Scharff, Aram (2010). From Research to Release: Using the Free Web to Create Better Journalism. Presentation screen-cast session for Southeast Journalism Conference 2010.
Zucker-Scharff, Aram (2010). onMason: Community-building and blogging at George Mason University. DC Media Makers.
Zucker-Scharff, Aram (2008). Next-generation political coverage with Mason Votes. DC Media Makers.
Selected Publications:
Credited in:
Wheeler, David (2011). 'Google Doesn't Laugh': Saving Witty Headlines in the Age of SEO. The Atlantic Online.
Israel, Shel (2009). Twitterville (as @Chronotope).
Freni, Danielle (2008). The World Watches Northern Virginia with Help from George Mason Student. Hillel.org.
Published:
Zucker-Scharff, Aram (2011). A WordPress Theme for Taking Notes on Your Kindle. Chronicle of Higher Education online.
Zucker-Scharff, Aram (2009). Israel Tweets Gaza Conflict. United Press International. UPI.com
Zucker-Scharff, Aram (2009). Innovative Models: Student Media at George Mason University. CoPress.
Zucker-Scharff, Aram (2008). A History of Virginia in Votes. United Press International. UPI.com
Online Publishing Sites:
March 2007 - Present
Zucker-Scharff, Aram. Hack Text. http://hacktext.com.
Personal blog hosting articles and posts examining new media texts, transmedia concepts and related tools. Previously hosted under the name Read, Write and View http://aramzs.me/4w.
June 2011 - Present
Various Authors. Nightmare Mode. http://nightmaremode.net.
Details: Group site for news, and critical examination of interactive narratives and game systems.
April 2011 - Present
Zucker-Scharff, Aram. AramZS's GitHub. http://github.com/AramZS.
Details: Repository for past, current and future coding and development projects.
Feb. 2010 - Dec. 2010
Various Authors. UPIU Blog. http://blog.upiu.com.
Brand site for discussing journalism and releasing information about the activities of United Press International's UPIU.
Aug. 2008 - Sept. 2009
Various Authors. Mason Votes. http://masonvotes.gmu.edu.
News site covering elections in Virginia with a focus on the Northern Virginia area.
Dec. 2008 - Jan. 2009
Various Authors. UPI Young Voters Presidential Transition Forum. http://www.upi.com/Features/Voice_Young_Voters/Blog/.
Group blog focused on the hundred-day presidential transition period, published opinion articles on economic policy.
Aug. 2008 - Jan. 2009
Various Authors. UPI's Voice of Young Voters. http://www.upi.com/Features/Voice_Young_Voters/.
Hub site for student reporting of the 2008 national election. Frequently syndicated content along with independent articles.
Student Scholarships:
- Winner of the CHSS Dean's Challenge Scholarship for 2008-2009
- Received a four-year academic scholarship to George Mason University.
Awards and Honors:
- Folio's Notable Technology in Audience Tracking Tool
- Folio Magazine's 15 under 30
- Top Honors Award for Most Effective Technology Tool for Mason Votes
- George Mason University Honors Student.
- National Society of Collegiate Scholars.
- Dean's List for 5 semesters.
Skills and Qualifications:
Marketing with new media platforms:
Proficient in:
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Experience with Tools and Software Platforms
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Present Activities/Projects:
Completing for self-publication as a Kindle Single: The Use of Artifacts in Narrative Design.
Twitter Archival Shortcode: a plugin for WordPress for archiving tweets.
Unnamed Magazine-style WordPress theme for Nightmaremode.net.
Short-form endorsements:
“Aram is detail oriented and task driven. He is well organized with a strong personality to engage others in his work.”
“Aram created and managed written/multimedia works for Connect Mason. He jumped at most coverage opportunities, often suggesting ways of improving our storytelling methods and proposing additional CM initiatives. I hope to see him continue his work at Connect2mason.com.”
“As a ResTech Lead, Aram provided support and maintenance for student’s computers and their connection to the university’s computer network. He also managed 3 other ResTechs. Aram would be an asset to any organization.
Aram is an intelligent individual and handles responsibility well. During the release of a new system, many students were unable to access the network. Aram developed a solution, tested it and shared it with the team. His solution resolved the students issues. Aram has become highly proficient in identifying and removing viruses, spyware and Trojans.
Customer satisfaction surveys are sent when an incident is closed in our call tracking system. Aram consistently receives outstanding ratings on the responses he received. As this comment shows, Aram is very dedicated to helping his customers, “Aram came the day of my request was courteous knowledgeable and patient with my concerns. He immediately identified the cause of the problem and identified troubleshooting methods for future events. I was very satisfied with this performance.”
"Aram's exceptional savvy and dedication to attention-grabbing and thoughtful journalism make him a standout character in a field that is developing at a fast clip. Aram is both responsive and self-starting, inspiring others with his creative ambitions. He is dependable; you can count on him for new ideas and diligence in executing them."
Other references available upon request.