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.
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. https://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 https://aramzs.me/4w.
June 2011 - Present
Various Authors. Nightmare Mode. https://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. https://github.com/AramZS.
Details: Repository for past, current and future coding and development projects.
Feb. 2010 - Dec. 2010
Various Authors. UPIU Blog. https://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. https://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. https://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. https://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.