So, Matt, just where ARE you going?

In life, sometimes it’s just good to make a change, and I’ve decided to again do that in my career. In more than 10 years as a web professional, I’ve worked with an airline (JetBlue), a content network that now realistically can be now defined as one of the largest blog networks online, both as a “guide” and as a marketing professional (About.com), at an education company developing a learning management system (Scholastic), trying one of the largest content companies in the world develop social media products (Viacom), and I still do and will continue to teach the next wave of technology professionals at NYU.

I’ve always tried to take the road less traveled in an attempt to learn just about every aspect of the online space possible, and with a goal of not being labeled as any one thing.  Lots of things interest me, and being labeled has always been confining to me.  All of these opportunities have given me experience in product management, project management, online marketing, e-commerce, paid content, web production, design, information architecture, user interaction design, online privacy, community and vendor management.

I am, and always will be open to the next great opportunity in my career, and for now, I’ve figured out the next step.

Recently in various tweets, tumbles and other conversation I’d mentioned that this week is my last at MTV Networks. I’ve shared the news with a few people, especially those who were gracious enough to serve as references, but now I wanted to share it with the rest of you. Well, the answer is:

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I got a phone call a few weeks ago out of the blue, and conversations from there blossomed into a new position – Director, Emerging and Social Media Strategy at CafeMom. Who’s CafeMom? Started in 2006, and more than 40,000 groups strong, CafeMom is a well-regarded and well funded community where moms and moms-to-be can connect about issues that really matter to them.   I’ll be helping to shape the social media strategy for the company, and providing their users with ways to connect with their friends and loved ones across the web, and to be able to interact wherever they live online and the market using these tools.

Now, I understand this may not be as “sexy” a brand as MTV Networks, after conversations with leadership there, and with an understanding of their corporate culture, I decided it was time to return to the land of the smaller company. I miss the more entrepreneurial spirit they provide, and I think it will be a great place to work everyday.  And, it’s a company faced with an interesting set of marketing challenges.  I believe I have skills that can be helpful to the company and their users and I’m really excited to get started.

Looking back, I took the job at MTV Networks because I wanted to see how I would enjoy working for a bigger corporation, and at the end of the day, the experience was great, the team was great to work with, but I decided that it was really not the environment for me. I do, and will continue the rest of the social media team well as they continue to build out a great product in flux and thank them for all of their help, support and feedback as we have worked together.

My first day at CafeMom is August 12th, and their offices are conveniently located blocks away from a bunch of great restaurants (including Shake Shack of course), and it’ll be a pleasure to get out of Times Square during heavy tourist season (sorry touristy folks, but when you’re exhausted after a long day and just trying to get home, you tend not to want to deal with people having the time of their lives).

So, that’s pretty much it.  Any questions? 🙂

21 comments

  1. What-eva. The list of accolades, the years of experience, the professorships at established universities…all that could never prepare you for the onslaught of stay-at-home mommy bloggers. They are a ruthless pack. I hear they scalp pizza delivery guys and wear sensible shoes. OH THE HUMANITY!

    j/k – knock ’em dead Matt. This is a great opportunity for you and I’m so so proud of you. *fistbump*

  2. I’m offically the first new fan of CafeMom. Keep me posted on how it goes, and for God’s sake, can we meet for drinks???? I’m in Hell’s Kitchen and I just don’t see why we can’t meet for drinks!!!!
    Congrats, Matt. You’ll be great for CafeMom.

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