How did your professional persona develop?
I was a writing prodigy. I started writing complex sentences from when I was four. But not for nothing. I had a major crush on Christopher Reeve as Superman, and thought he was real (because I recognized NYC in the movies.) I felt that if I became a better journalist than Lois Lane, Superman would marry me. The writing thing stuck with me well through college. I started doing editorial work, then PR, then traditional marketing, then online marketing.
I am now the Director of Communications for ZCast, and the CEO of TechShmooze. I love what I do. And I love being transparent, informal, and totally approachable through it all. I note that not a lot of professionals are that way, and I’d like to change that.
You are a Moslem by birth and belief, and at the same time you are an ardent supporter of Israel and the Jewish people.
In terms of my background in regards to my Zionist upbringing and efforts, my poem covers the full story: https://www.malanational.org/
How do you help companies spread their message far and wide?
I help companies spread their message far and wide by following three tricks. These tricks demonstrate the biggest difference between salespeople and marketers. It all comes down to subtlety.
* Create original, easy-to-read evergreen content
* Find ways to repurpose that content
* Don’t talk about your product or service, establish yourself as a thought leader, and let others come across your product/service through self-discovery.
And I have to thanks my mentor Hillel Fuld for teaching me all I know in online marketing, and helping me excel in it.
Are social bloggers guns for hire, or do they actually believe in the companies they are plugging?
Social bloggers, for the most part, generally believe in the companies they are plugging. If you think about it, it’s always easier to write and talk about things you are genuinely interested in. It doesn’t feel like “work.” However, when dry spells kick in, they will accept any offer that comes their way. Everyone is guilty of that. It doesn’t make the quality of the content any better or worse, but yeah, that’s when it feels like “work.”
Do you see the internet as a force of good, evil, or just making money?
I see the Internet as a force of everything good. Good content, good friendships, and good money. In my world at least. Online marketing is a happy space and a happy place, especially if you put care into choosing clients. Along the way, you strike up conversations with many interesting people of all backgrounds and levels. It keeps things interesting and dynamic.
And there are no words to describe the solid friendships I have to credit the Internet for. I can go on for days talking about how these friendships dramatically improved every aspect of my life, and my own sense of being.
Where do you see yourself in five years? With your own company? Doing what? How?
In five years, I hope to be admired by the Jewish community worldwide for the goodwill efforts I am starting with TechShmooze, and I hope these efforts help bridge the gap between peace-loving Muslims and Jews. I’m not looking to get wealthy off of TechShmooze. I am using it to give quality service to bootstrapped startups in Israel based on their budget and needs.
I am training young inexperienced people with what they need to quickly land a job in tech upon making aliyah, because I am aware of the struggles faced by olim. If and when I do see steady finances coming in through TechShmooze, I will begin to hire agunot, to help them rebuild their lives. All goodwill. Because of this, I won’t let go of my day job.
You are a person of high integrity and the courage to say what you think and feel.
I used to be shy about saying what I think and feel, because I was raised to be a nice sweet dainty lady who kept opinions to herself. However, I noticed over time that whenever I contributed in intense discussions, others loved to hear what I had to say. Even if they disagreed, they praised my way with words. And that helped me break out of my shell.
I take pride in being very specific and detailed with everything, and I have my Israeli friends to thank for that. Because they tend to ask a lot of questions- whenever I write or say anything, I try my best to cover all bases to ensure that there won’t be anything left to ask. That’s how I know I did a great job.
Published: Jun 23, 2016
Latest Revision: Jun 24, 2016
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