sarah friedlander

Imperfect perfectionist living life to its fullest.

  1. Clases de español a Mujer de Marketing / Spanish Classes to Marketing Gal

    I’ve been meaning to do this for a long time, but I have barely spent any time on my blog talking about my job in Chile, or rather what keeps me occupied for way too many hours each week.  When I first came to Chile I spent the first two months enrolled in Spanish classes.  Although I know I needed to beef up my Spanish classes, I also felt like the classes helped give me some structure during my day:  I had to be up and showered in the morning and then after class I had the afternoons free to discover the city (or in my case, shop).
    He querido hacer esto desde hace mucho tiempo, pero han pasado varios meses desde que hablé en mi blog de mi pega en Chile, o más bien de lo que me mantiene ocupada durante muchas horas cada semana. Cuando llegué a Chile pasé los dos primeros meses en clases de español. Aunque sabía que eran necesario as para reforzar mi conocimiento de este idioma, también  sentí que las clases me ayudaron a darme un poco de estructura en mi día, que era darme una ducha en la mañana y luego después de la clase, tenía las tardes libres para descubrir la ciudad (o en mi caso, las tiendas).

    Sadly it feels like those few months of class went by way too quickly.  I spent a lot of time obsessing about decorating my apartment, indulged in way too many afternoon naps, bought and ate lots of fruit on the streets of Providencia and generally did a lot of nothing (besides the Spanish classes).  It always feels like it is so much easier to be productive with less time than the other way around.
    Lamentablemente se sintió cómo esos pocos meses de la clase pasaron muy rápido. Tuve mucho tiempo obsesionada con la decoración de mi departamento, tomé demasiadas siestas, compré y comí mucha fruta en las calles de Providencia y en general hice un montaña de nada (aparte de las clases de español). Siempre me siento como que es mucho más fácil ser productiva con menos tiempo que a la inversa.

    Before coming to Santiago I was fortunate enough to be well networked which led me to a few job interviews at potential companies.  One company was a big well-known brand in the United States and the other less known.  I went on a few interviews (which compared to the interview process in the United States seemed to move much more quickly).   In the end I chose the “less-known” brand because of a few reasons:
    Antes de llegar a Santiago tuve la suerte de estar bien conectada, lo que me llevó a una entrevista de trabajo en algunas empresas. Una de las empresas era una conocida marca en los Estados Unidos y los otras eran menos conocidas. Fui a un par de entrevistas (que en comparación con el proceso de las entrevistas en los Estados Unidos parecía moverse mucho más rápido). Al final he elegido la “menos conocida,” debido a varias razones:

    1. The job role was quite varied and would push me to become a better marketer.  I knew I wouldn’t be pigeonholed into doing the same thing everyday.  
      El puesto de la pega era bastante variado y me empujaba para convertirme en una vendedora mejor. Yo sabía que no sería encasillada en hacer lo mismo todos los días.
    2. I really enjoyed my interviews at the company.  Everyone I talked to before I accepted the job was passionate and didn’t feel like they were half falling asleep in the interview.  They actually wanted to talk to me and were interested in my responses.
      Realmente disfruté de mi entrevista en la empresa. Todas las personas me hablaron antes de aceptar la pega que tienen pasión y no estaban medio dormidos durante la entrevista.. Que en realidad querían hablar conmigo y estaban interesados ​​en mis respuestas.
    3. Job flexibility and overall approach.  I always had jobs in the past that expected me to act like an adult, keep my own hours and not expect my boss to babysit me.  It was also important to me to have a boss that understood that I may need to work remotely from the US at times and just because I am not sitting in the office does not mean I am not working hard!
      La flexibilidad laboral y el enfoque general. Siempre he tenido puestos de pega en el pasado que en los que esperan que actúe como un adulto, tener mi propio horario y no esperar que mi jefe que me cuide. También era importante para mí tener un jefe que entendiera que podría tener que trabajar de forma remota desde los EE.UU. a veces, y sólo porque no estoy sentada en la oficina no significa que no esté trabajando duro!

    I accepted my job at the end of December and started work in early January.  What a whirlwind it has been.  Before I know it I’ll be a year in to being a good little marketing gringa in Chile!
    Acepté mi pega al final de diciembre y comencé a trabajar a principios de enero. Lo que ha sido un torbellino. Antes que me dé cuenta voy a cumplir un año como una “buena chica de marketing”  algo gringa en Chile!

    Anyways, I feel now that you know a good history of my job process, but nothing about my job!  Or should I say jobs! Because at times I feel like I have almost 3 roles!
     De todas formas,  siento ahora que tú sabes de una buena historia de mi proceso de pega, pero nada acerca de mi pega! ¿O debería decir puestos de pega! Porque a veces me siento como si tuviera casi tres cargos!

    While in each role I work as a Marketing Manager, each company has a different business model.  They are (and the names):
    Mientras que en cada papel de Gerente de Marketing, cada empresa tiene un modelo de negocio diferente. Estos son (y los nombres):

    • First Tuesday is a nonprofit initiative driven by Endeavor Chile. First Tuesday is has been present in Chile since 1998 and operates under a license granted by First Tuesday London to different countries in Latin America. Between 2008-2010 there have been more than 35 events in different formats for the activation and development of entrepreneurship in the country. First Tuesday Santiago is a non-profit project designed to strengthen the environment for entrepreneurship in Chile. First Tuesday organized meetings meetings, seminars and activities to promote entrepreneurial culture around entrepreneurship.
      First Tuesday es una iniciativa sin fines de lucro impulsada por Endeavor Chile. First Tuesday está presente en Chile desde 1998 y opera bajo una licencia otorgada por Londres a First Tuesday Américas para múltiples países en América Latina. Entre 2008-2010 se han realizado más de 35 eventos en diferentes formatos destinados a la activación y desarrollo del emprendimiento en el país.  También, First Tuesday Santiago es un proyecto, sin fines de lucro, destinado a fortalecer el entorno de emprendimiento en Chile. Organizamos y convocamos reuniones, seminarios y actividades para emprendedores y promovemos cultura emprendiemiento.
    • The Founder Institute is a technological hotbed currently preparing to launch over 600 companies per year in 17 cities around the world. The program identifies high-potential entrepreneurs using predicative social science evidence, and then guides them through weekly sessions on how to start a business together with 400 CEO mentors. Everyone involved in the program, including founding CEO participants and mentors share the wealth generated by companies formed by the program. Participants also have access to a wealth of free and discounted services and do not have to leave their current day job.
      El Founder Institute es un semillero tecnológico actualmente preparándose para lanzar más de 600 empresas por año en 17 ciudades alrededor del mundo. El programa identifica empresarios de gran potencial usando pruebas predicativos de ciencias sociales, y luego los guía por sesiones semanales de cómo iniciar una empresa en conjunto con más de 400 Mentores CEO. Todos los involucrados en el programa, incluyendo los fundadores participantes y mentores CEO, comparten del patrimonio generado por empresas formadas por el programa. Además, los participantes tienen acceso a servicios gratuitos y descontados y no tendrán que dejar sus pegas actuales.
    • Tigabytes is a company dedicated to software engineering, and developing systems for large web 2.0 companies. A year later, thanks to the vision of its partners, Tigabytes becomes Google’s first partner in Latin America. By 2008 Tigabytes partners decide to push the company to exclusively do marketing and sales of Google products. Currently, Tigabytes is a leader in the sales of Google solutions, both in Chile and throughout the region, in a position that they work hard to maintain.
      Tigabytes es una empresa dedicada a la ingeniería de software, desarrollando sistemas web 2.0 para grandes empresas. Un año más tarde,  gracias a la visión de sus socios, Tigabytes se convierte en el primer partner de Google en Latinoamérica. Ya para 2008 y teniendo certeza de la excelencia de las herramientas,  los socios de Tigabytes deciden empujar la empresa hacia la comercialización y venta exclusiva de productos Google. Actualmente, Tigabytes es líder en venta de soluciones Google, tanto en Chile como en toda la región, posición en la que trabaja diariamente por mantener.
    • Top Secret Start-up:  Coming soon!
      Puesta en marcha de Top Secret: ¡Pronto!

    And there’s my run down of the job scene in Chile.  I know that for many people it is incredibly difficult to find a job in Santiago and I was very lucky.  Chile seems to be a country of networking – you won’t get anything (or very much) just by filling out the standard application.  Everytime you are in a social setting, make sure to spend time networking and getting to know others – they could be your key to your next job!
    Y ahí está mi visión general sobre mi pega en Chile. Sé que para muchas personas es muy difícil encontrar un pega en Santiago y tuve mucha suerte. Chile parece ser un país de la red – no hacer nada (o mucho) con sólo llenar el formulario estándar. Cada vez que se encuentren en un entorno social, asegúrense de pasar el tiempo creando de redes y conocer a otras personas – que podrían ser la clave para su próxima pega!

  2. Huzzah! Social Media Toolkit Launched!

    Today, I definitely don’t have a “case of the Mondays” because it’s Social Media Toolkit launch time!  Over the last few months I’ve been working on putting together a grouping of tools and best practices around social media – think of it as a sister site to the Spread Firefox Education Toolkit.

    The Mozilla Social Media Toolkit is a set of tools that allows you to leverage social media to market Mozilla and Firefox in your region and beyond.  The toolkit contains everything you’ll need from best practices, tips and tricks, to design assets for both Facebook and Twitter.

    Are you a Mozillian that has a community or localized Mozilla/Firefox social media account?  Or are you interested in setting one up?  Then this toolkit is for you!

    One of the coolest parts of the Toolkit (in my humble opinion) are the social media design asset kits.  Collaborating with The Royal Order we are releasing a set of 5 Facebook Profile Images and 4 Twitter Designs (2 Mozilla, 2 Firefox) that include a Twitter background, design color palette and profile picture.  With these designs kits you are able to instantly identify your page as a Mozilla community-supported group (while looking pretty sexy too)!

    socialmediatoolkit1

    socialmediatoolkit2

    Of course this project could not have come together without great synergy and collaboration from many different people. I want to give a huge thanks to Jamey Boje, Mary Colvig, John Slater, Tara Shahian and the fine folks over at The Royal Order.

    Thanks so much and can’t wait to see these new design assets all over the Twittersphere (and other social networks too)!

  3. SXSW 2010: Sessions, Parties, Intellectual Stimulus and Good Food

    Nearly two weeks have passed since SXSW Interactive, yet I still can remember the overwhelming feeling of excitement and happiness that passed through me during the warm Austin weekend thinking that I actually *belonged* at this conference.

    Although I’m a self proclaimed geek where programming lingo and coder’s jokes put me at ease, I don’t spend hours hidden behind bash shells, fighting with svn or checking on the stability of a server.  My days are are spent in marketing where I live and breathe social media, creative campaigns, and the power of engaging a wonderful community to promote Firefox.

    As a SXSW Interactive “first-timer” I came in not knowing what to expect but leaving with the feeling that this was the first conference where I truly felt like I was *home*.  The material of each of the sessions was tailored around my interests and although I’ve heard  complaints that SXSW has changed, I still felt that I  left with lots of insight, new connections and a revived passion for the field I am in.

    Sessions

    I was fortunate to attend a lot of great sessions on Saturday and Sunday.  Some of my favorites were:

    • Web Fonts: The Time Has Come
    • We F*cked Up: Happy Cog and Friends, Exploring Failures, Together
    • danah boyd‘s keynote; Opening Remarks: Privacy and Publicity
    • Offering Your Content in 100 Languages
    • What’s Open Video and Why Does It Matter?
    • Wow, That’s Cool…Fun With HTML5 Video

    Although this is just a snapshot of some of the sessions and panels that I attended the few that still stick out in my mind is the We F*cked Up Panel and danah boyd’s keynote.  In the session it was wonderful to hear about projects that fall apart and the tremendous opportunity to use our failures to grow both professionally and personally.  I left this session inspired to take risks and to not be afraid to try something new for fear of failure.

    danah boyd’s keynote was inspirational for a two reasons.  For one, there were two illustrators creating real time drawings of the content being discussed.  Being a very visual person this was a great way to take in the information and to process afterward.  The second was the actual content – her discussion on privacy and publicity and how it fits into the realm of social media was awakening.  As social media continues to become a huge part of our everyday life what risks are we taking by putting our content out publicly?  What privacy concerns does this bring up?

    Mozilla SXSW Events

    In addition to the many sessions that, we had some great events including the Add-ons “All You Can Mini Golf Meetup” and our SXSW Happy Hour party, which were both featured in ZDNet’s “15 SxSW 2010 Parties and Meetups You Can’t Miss“.

    The Mozilla Happy Hour party at Cedar Door had a line that started forming out the door over an hour before the event event started.  Throughout the night we saw 700+ attendees come through the door to learn about Mozilla and get some great Rock Your Firefox swag.  One of the perks of the night had to be when Joi Ito announced the three Jetpack for Learning winners that then received the “ride of their life” in the pimped out Firefoxin’ Local Motors Rally Fighter Car.

    Miscellaneous

    In addition to some great sessions and Mozilla Events I was able to attend to some great parties including Happy Cog’aoke and the Mashable Party, enjoy good Austin cuisine and soak up the Austin sun on my brisk walks between the hotel and conference center.  I’m excited for 2011 and what SXSW will hold for me!

  4. Illustration Visualization from Dana Boyd’s Privacy and Publicity Keynote

  5. Firefox 3.6 & Personas: What’s Your Style?

    First off – happy download day!  Go grab a brand new shiny copy of Firefox 3.6!

    This is my second product launch since coming onboard at Mozilla.  Product launches normally involve lack of sleep and getting into the office super early.  This launch was special for me because I got to be involved in two really cool projects:

    1. Air Mozilla Streaming during Launch
    2. Personas: What’s Your Style? Photo Booth

    Air Mozilla Streaming During Launch

    We wanted to create a collaborative way to share the excitement of our 3.6 launch with the community.  Thanks to the help of Mary, Asa, Jono and Atul we were able to pull together 2.5 hours of great content on Air Mozilla.  We had cameras broadcasting both the Toronto and Mountain View offices, which allowed people to ask questions through the IRC #airmozilla channel.

    In addition to the action between Toronto and Mountain View, Jono hosted a number of wonderful 5-10 minute interviews.  Some of the interviews we conducted were:

    • Firefox Engineering – Crashkill & Improved stability with Damon Sicore
    • Evangelism – Chris Blizzard
    • Web Development – Plugin Updater with Mike Morgan
    • Marketing – Melissa Shapiro (PR) and  Tara Shahian (Making of the Personas video & “What’s your style campaign?”)
    • Build and Release Engineering with John O’Duinn and Lukas Blakk
      • A look at our process
    • Personas with Ryan Doherty and Myk Melez
    • Firebug with Rob Campbell – v1.5 released and compatible with 3.6!
    • QA with Tony Chung and  Juan Becerra

    This was a lot of fun and got the entire community involved.  We peaked at around 200 people watching through our air.mozilla.org stream and I am looking forward to putting together something similar for our next launch!

    Personas: What’s Your Style? Photo Booth

    One of the new features of Firefox 3.6 is that Personas are baked into the browser.  This allows you to easily customize your web browser right “out of the box”.  Thanks to a few of our amazing marketing community members, we started a pretty cool campaign where you can take a photo of yourself with your favorite Persona.

    I spent part of today wrangling fellow coworkers to pose with their favorite Persona by setting up a MacBook Pro with an iSight camera and using Photo Booth to grab photos.  This was a very easy to way to get everyone involved and we got a great collection of photos!  Check it out:

    This setup can easily be duplicated anywhere – think coffee shops!

    For more information on this check out the Spread Firefox page (and while your at it watch our cool Personas video!)

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