October 7, 2009
It’s old news that you can get a vanity URL for your personal Facebook profile. For example, what used to look something like:
http://www.facebook.com/gobbltygookitybla234882930718729blablablah239482038203482xyzabc
is now just http://www.facebook.com/saraisenberg
That’s my individual, personal profile.
However, Facebook Pages (for businesses and celebrities), previously gave vanity URLs for pages created before March 2009 AND having more than 1000 Fans. Apparently, Facebook has quietly changed that number to just 25.
I’d like to introduce my new Facebook Page URL (ta da):
http://www.facebook.com/SaraIsenbergConsulting
Yeah!
PS- For info on Facebook Pages vs Facebook groups, see:
http://www.squidoo.com/facebookpage
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Facebook, Sara Isenberg, Sara Isenberg Web Consulting & Project Management, Technical Project Services | Tagged: Facebook, Santa Cruz, Sara Isenberg, Sara Isenberg Web Consulting & Project Management | 
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Posted by saraisenberg
October 1, 2009
What a great day ~150 of us had at the 7th Annual Women’s Leadership Forum on the top floor of the Rittenhouse Building in downtown Santa Cruz. ALL of the speakers were GREAT. I would call this the best Chamber of Commerce event I’ve been to (and I’ve been to many).
Speakers were:
Linda Gold (M3iworks, CEO)
Kim Walesh (City of San Jose, Director of Strategic Planning)
Seana Norvell (Technology Public Relations)
Donna Murphy (Vice Chancellor – University Relations, UCSC)
Dolores Carr (Santa Clara District Attorney)
Nina Simon, founder of Museum 2.0, lead us in three participatory “exhibits” that felt much more relevant that the usual stuff that leaders do with large groups.
From the Chamber website:
what Museum 2.0 is about
Nina Simon talks about her creation of Museum 2.0 as if she woke up one morning astounded to discover herself transformed from electrical engineer (which she is) into the guru of museum social interactivity. Not true, of course, but what is true is that the world of information, networks, and communication changed just about that fast and she was entrepreneur enough to grab a hold. And, she has proven herself in the world of museums as a guide in the dawn of museum interactivity, engagement, and social networking. A passionate activist for the integration of social, dynamic, participatory experiences, Nina has built Museum 2.0 to be a design firm helping museums worldwide use social technology to create dynamic, audience‐driven exhibitions and programs. Nina’s work encourages museums to allow their constituents to “muck about” in the stimuli of the space, to create environments that encourage each participants unique experience, and to allow even the exhibit to be designed by the public. She has had some extraordinary experience prior to Museum 2.0 that led her to this role. She was hired by the International Spy Museum in Washington D.C. where she was charged with making Operation Spy an immersive experience. Nina then became curator at The Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, where she worked at the cutting edge of exhibition design, using “crowd‐sourcing” and prototyping exhibits through a wiki and Second Life. She also led the design of a multi‐platform game that accompanied season 3 of the CBS television show CSI:NY. This all led to Museum 2.0 and a remarkable list of consulting and teaching roles with museums and museum organizations around the world. To see a list of and links to her most recent projects with links to her work:
http://www.museumtwo.com
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Posted by saraisenberg
September 29, 2009
SARA ISENBERG
Web Consultant & Project Manager
sara@saraisenberg.com
www.saraisenberg.com
831-334-0701
Santa Cruz, CA
Download Resume [PDF]
OBJECTIVE:
I provide web consulting & project management services to businesses, web developers, and individuals who need help with web, social media, email marketing, software development, and other projects.
SUMMARY:
- Strong project/production management, technical account management, and organizational qualifications.
- 15+ years of professional experience managing client-focused technical relationships and services for strategic partners and clients.
- Extensive understanding of the web production process and software development cycle.
- Extensive experience evaluating websites, scoping and defining updates, with a detailed eye for fine-tuning.
- Proven ability to find resources for web design and production, branding, information architecture, search engine optimization (SEO), Social Media, and QA.
- Experienced facilitator of results-oriented team meetings.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to promote the message of the organization through liaison activities, enewsletters, webinars, and presentations.
- Extensive experience interviewing, hiring, training, mentoring, and advising.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:
Sara Isenberg Web Consulting & Project Management, sole proprietor
http://saraisenberg.com, Santa Cruz, CA, 2005 – current
- Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Technology Advisory Program (www.sbdctap.com/) Technology Advisor, delivering web audits, and advising/consulting with small business owners to help them find solutions to their technology challenges, including use of social media and usability recommendations.
- Baskin School of Engineering (BSOE) VC 1 to 1 Program (http://vc1to1.soe.ucsc.edu/) Program Manager, facilitating the connection between faculty and Venture Capitalists. “Fostering the culture of entrepreneurship at BSOE.”
- Monarch Media, Inc. (www.monarchmedia.com/) Managing technical activity and communication between clients and programming team for a variety of client-specific web site development and maintenance projects.
- Catalyst Consulting Team (www.catalystonline.com/) Facilitating web updates, SEO upgrades, producing enewsletter.
- ForGrab, Inc. (www.forgrabs.com/) Working directly with founder of start up to bring web application product to market.
- 5 Dynamics, Inc. (www.5dynamics.com/) Facilitating weekly production team meetings. Managing updates and schedules for web application, including defining requirements and support processes. Finding resources for production, best practices, SEO, copywriting, and QA. Producing enewsletter for clients. Presenting webinars to clients.
- Quiddities Dev, Inc. (www.quiddities.com/) Managing web application development projects, including schedules and communication with client for software development and maintenance.
- Ops A La Carte, LLC. (www.opsalacarte.com/) Providing technical account management for Reliability Engineering projects, including schedules, deliverables, and budget.
UCSC, Information Technology Services (ITS), Santa Cruz, CA Project/Service Manager, 2004 – 2005 (limited term appointment)
- Project manager for migration and new feature rollouts for new campus-wide email system.
- Extensive collaboration with software engineers, support, management, steering committee, and training.
- Facilitated and documented weekly project team meetings.
- Managed relationships with outside vendors, including providers of webmail and testing resources.
- Communicated regular status updates to campus technical community.
- Recruited and supervised engineering students on testing project.
- Managed web page overhaul and on-going updates.
- Worked with trainers on classes for staff and faculty.
UCSC, School of Engineering, Information Systems and Technology Management, Santa Cruz, CA Administrative Manager /Program Representative, 2003 – 2004 (limited term appointment)
- Utilized a wide range of analytical, administrative, and management skills to establish the new Information Systems and Technology Management (ISTM) Department in the Jack Baskin School of Engineering (SOE).
- Liaison to a variety of SOE and UCSC organizations and faculty, including Business Office, Development Office, Advising, Alumni Association, Office of Sponsored Projects, UC Extension, and UC MBEST.
- Outreach to industry partners, students, and faculty through the creation of brochures and other promotional material.
- On-going outreach to industry for collaboration, research, and internships. Organized industry visits.
- Worked closely with Office of Sponsored Projects and UC MBEST on grant proposals.
- Implemented ISTM’s initial web presence by creating department and faculty web pages.
SCO (Santa Cruz Operation), Santa Cruz, CA Engineering Services Senior Account Manager, 1989 – 2002
Account Management and Service Delivery
- In-depth experience as a senior technical account manager and partner (client) advocate providing management of client-focused technical activity and services between company and strategic partners including Compaq, HP, IBM, Unisys, Lucent, Avaya, and Oracle. Single technical point of contact for partners.
- Instrumental in working with Sales and Support management to define service lifecycles, deployment and delivery of services, and increase revenue for annual service contracts by evaluating and recommending service pricing, and bringing new business to the department and whole company.
- Comprehensive experience with project and product life cycles, including evaluating and tracking schedules, status, dependencies, deliverables, open actions, and risks.
- Strategically managed significant amounts of computer hardware loaned by partner companies that was used extensively by engineering, support, and test organizations.
Communication and Outreach
- Prepared and delivered presentations communicating department’s services and status to external strategic partners, and to other departments within the company.
- Actively participated in meetings with strategic and prospective partner managers and executives about how department services could be of business and technical value to them.
- Provided guidance and input to other departments regarding building successful business and technical relationships with strategic partners.
Management, Hiring, and Training
- Managed the group during managers’ absences.
- Worked closely with managers providing significant input on department planning and priorities.
- Chaired more than seven hiring teams tasked with hiring engineering professionals into group. Managed screening of candidates, coached interviewers, interviewed candidates, and evaluated team’s interview results.
- Hired, supervised, and advised interns and new technical account managers.
- Wrote training materials, provided training to, and mentored new hires.
- Represented company at university career fairs, screening potential new-graduate hires.
EDUCATION:
- Bachelor of Arts, Computer and Information Science, UCSC, Honors.
- Bachelor of Science, Sociology, University of Oregon, Honors.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
- Experience with MacOS, Windows, Unix, Microsoft Office, Safari, Internet Explorer, Firefox, Dreamweaver, Photoshop, C, Pascal, Bugzilla, Mantis, ConstantContact, WordPress.
- Chair of the Jack Baskin School of Engineering Alumni Association, UCSC, 2002-2004.
- Member of Santa Cruz NextSpace (www.nextspace.us/), Santa Cruz Design + Innovation Center (www.designsc.org/), Santa Cruz Geeks (www.santacruzgeeks.com/), Santa Cruz New Tech Meetup(www.meetup.com/newtech-86/), Santa Cruz Marketing Roundtable (www.meetup.com/marketingroundtable/).
Comments Off | Sara Isenberg, Technical Project Services | Tagged: production management, project management, project manager, resume, Santa Cruz, Sara Isenberg, software development, software projects, Technical Account Management, technical project manager, Technical Project Services, Web Development, web production | Permalink
Posted by saraisenberg
September 25, 2009
From time to time I have clients who think WordPress is only for blogging, not for “regular” websites. Yes, WordPress is great for creating a nice looking and easy to maintain blog. However, WordPress is also a great CMS (Content Management System) that can be used to create a regular non-blog-looking website. And, because WordPress is a CMS, the website can be updated easily by people who aren’t web developers.
(Credit to Pro Blog Design)
http://www.problogdesign.com/inspiration/30-great-sites-using-wordpress-as-a-cms/
Leave a Comment » | Sara Isenberg, Technical Project Services, WordPress | Tagged: CMS, Sara Isenberg, Technical Project Services, WordPress | Permalink
Posted by saraisenberg
September 25, 2009
This meetup will be held at the Dream Inn.
Doors open at 6:30pm for networking and appetizers. We will set up networking tables for sponsors.
And please welcome our new program segment: Kids in Tech. You will be impressed by these teens, their enthusiasm for technology, and their projects!
Presentations will start at 7:15pm. Our line up of presenters for October are:
New Tech Presenters
- Joby Energy – serial entrepreneur and Santa Cruz resident JoeBen Bevirt will talk about his startup which tethers high altitude kites to create energy. JoeBen Bevirt.
- GeoGad – Learn how to create user guided tours on your mobile device. Georgi Dagnall
- PypeLyne – the best way to manage your project pipelines. Vikram Subramaniam
- LiveOps - learn how Cloud Computing, Call Centers, and freelance opportunities to work from home come together in an impressive solution. Michael LaGuardia
RSVP now for this event. We will close attendance at 300 persons. Entry fee is $5.
For more info: http://www.meetup.com/newtech-86/calendar/11287983/
Leave a Comment » | Events, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz New Tech Meetup, Sara Isenberg, Technical Project Services | Tagged: Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz Tech Meetup, Sara Isenberg, Technical Project Services | Permalink
Posted by saraisenberg
September 20, 2009
This is where I’ll be on Oct 15, 2009… Hooray to SCDIC for another great event in Santa Cruz!
Thursday, October 15, 2009, 6:30pm
The Dream Inn, Aquarius Meeting Room
175 West Cliff Drive
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
[Click Here to RSVP]
Schedule:
6:30 – 7:15 networking
7:15 – 8:15 presentations
8:15 – 8:30 questions from moderator
8:30 – 8:45 questions from floor
8:45 - 10:00 networking
Speakers:
•••► Nathan Shedroff
Author of “Design is the Problem”
www.nathan.com
Chair of the Design MBA program at California College of the Arts
www.designmba.org
•••►James Barsimantov, PhD
Principal at Ecoshift Consulting
www.ecoshiftconsulting.com
•••► Elizabeth Thompson
Local Government Liaison at Unimodal Systems/SkyTran
www.unimodal.com
•••► Neal Saiki
CEO of Zero Motorcycles
www.zeromotorcycles.com
•••► Moderator: Merc Martinelli
CEO of Verdafero
www.verdafero.com
Leave a Comment » | Events, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz Design + Innovation Center, Sara Isenberg, Technical Project Services | Tagged: Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz Design and Innovation Center, Sara Isenberg, Technical Project Services | Permalink
Posted by saraisenberg
September 18, 2009
After attending the Santa Cruz WordPress Meetup and crossing paths with Chris Burbridge several times a week, WordPress is a topic that’s been coming up more in the conversation these days. From attending the Nextspace WordPress brown bag lunch, to comparing WordPress vs Joomla vs Drupal, to discussing what makes a quality theme, best practices, I’ve been telling folks about WP Remix, and just wanted to post this link as a resource and reminder:
WP Remix 3.0 is
…the only theme that offers WYSIWYG page template editing. Over 50 page templates to choose from. Web Stanards, Color schemes, Usability, grid, typography…
Leave a Comment » | Sara Isenberg, Sara Isenberg Web Consulting & Project Management, Technical Project Services, Web Development, WordPress | Tagged: Sara Isenberg, Technical Project Services, WordPress, WP Remix | Permalink
Posted by saraisenberg
September 18, 2009
From time to time, someone will ask me … Which is better: WordPress, Joomla, or Drupal?
The answer is… it depends.
- What is the project? How simple or robust? What features?
- Who is the developer? What are their skills?
- Who will be the site administrator? How friendly does the CMS editor need to be?
According to Bruce Byfield at linux.com:
Consistently, Drupal offered more fine-tuning and tools for managing multiple blogs, while WordPress, although less configurable than Drupal, proved easier to use and navigate.
Here are some resource summaries on this topic of comparing WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal. Voila!
- Article mentioned above, by Bruce Byfield at Linux.com
- Article with CMS feature comparison chart, by Dan Knauss
- Article comparing just WordPress VS Drupal comparison, by Todd Zeigler
I put this information together yesterday to share with my cousin — he works for a Community Sponsored Radio Station — and then decided to share here, as well. Thanks, Norman, you inspired this post.
2 Comments | Articles, Blogging, Sara Isenberg, Sara Isenberg Web Consulting & Project Management, Technical Project Services, Web Development, WordPress | Tagged: CMS, Drupal, Joomla, Sara Isenberg, Technical Project Services, WordPress | Permalink
Posted by saraisenberg
