Ariel Waldman

Ariel Waldman is a digital anthropologist and the founder of Spacehack.org, a directory of ways to participate in space exploration and encourage citizen science. She is also a sci-fi movie gadget columnist for Engadget and the founder of CupcakeCamp, based off of the BarCamp model. In 2008, she was named one of the top 50 most influential individuals in Silicon Valley. Previously, she was a CoLab program coordinator at NASA, the community manager for Pownce, a P2P sharing social network, as well as a Digital Insights Analyst at VML, an interactive WPP agency, for 8 years.

Some of her recent client work includes:
• Mobile user interface product management for Nokia
• Community outreach for Institute For The Future’s massively multiplayer thought experiment around CubeSats
• Community management for Google Lunar X PRIZE
• Digital insights analysis and user experience concepting for OneRiot

Ariel Waldman’s Specialties:

She delivers user experience concepts, community strategy, social web analysis, and recommendations steeped in digital anthropology and knowledge of communities. From wireframes to execution, her work is based on a solid understanding of how communities interact, collaborate and create, and the dynamics of digital ecosystems as a whole.

Ariel Waldman’s Experience

Founder

Spacehack

(Aviation & Aerospace industry)

November 2008 — Present (1 year 1 month)

I created Spacehack.org, a directory of ways to participate in space exploration, after working at NASA. The site encourages citizen science and features projects people can get involved in to actively contribute to the global space program. From creating remote-sensing CubeSats to analyzing aerogel, Spacehack.org shows how people are hacking into open source space exploration. I founded, designed and implemented the site and continue to manage and develop it further.
Digital Anthropologist

Self-employed

(Marketing and Advertising industry)

July 2007 — Present (2 years 5 months)

Delivers user experience concepts, community strategy, social web analysis, and recommendations steeped in digital anthropology and knowledge of communities. From wireframes to execution, her work is based on a solid understanding of how communities interact, collaborate and create, and the dynamics of digital ecosystems as a whole. Recent clients include Nokia, OneRiot, Google Lunar X Prize and Institute For The Future.
Columnist, Engadget

Weblogs, Inc.

(Privately Held; Internet industry)

May 2007 — Present (2 years 7 months)

I contribute Movie Gadget Friday, where I review the lovable and lame gadgets from the world of sci-fi cinema.
Community Manager

Pownce

(Privately Held; Internet industry)

July 2007 — December 2008 (1 year 6 months)

Pownce was a social P2P sharing network created by Leah Culver, Daniel Burka and Kevin Rose that launched in 2007 (acquired by Six Apart in 2009). I provided community management and relations as the main point of contact between the developers and the community. Helped the team develop social network policies/processes and prioritize bug fixes / feature requests. Responsibilities included interaction with all email, forums, wikis and developer groups, as well as general community outreach and management of Pownce content.
NASA CoLab Program Coordinator

NASA Ames Research Center

(Government Agency; Defense & Space industry)

July 2008 — November 2008 (5 months)

CoLab was a NASA program that connected communities inside and outside NASA to collaborate. I provided social media strategy, coworking development, online community insights and user experience design for various NASA missions and public outreach/education programs. From providing a framework for people to work directly with NASA scientists to supporting open source projects, NASA CoLab stimulated exploration surrounding the space program.
Publisher / Writer

Shake Well Before Use

(Publishing industry)

August 2006 — November 2008 (2 years 4 months)

A weblog with daily coverage of art, advertising, sex and technology.
Editor

SuicideGirls.com

(Online Media industry)

July 2007 — December 2007 (6 months)

Contributed a weekly column for SG Geek Newswire about the intersections between sex and technology.
Digital Insights Analyst

VML

(Public Company; WPPGY; Marketing and Advertising industry)

November 1999 — August 2007 (7 years 10 months)

Created custom word of mouth programs based off of conversation monitoring and social web analysis. Used a proprietary crawler technology called SEER for mapping out online ecosystems created by consumer-generated content, identifying inﬂuencers, and assessing tenor and value of content. Clients included Burger King, Microsoft, Ford, Sprint, Colgate, Audi, Diageo, Adidas, Ubisoft, and various new business. Created and executed social media strategies for generating online conversation about new products, as well as developed interactive client/consumer long-term blog-centric programs. Provided consumer insight as well as actionable recommendations and solutions for clients. Directed creative and technology teams on social web concepts.

Case study: Pioneered Sprint’s groundbreaking mass blogger outreach initiative, the first for any consumer technology company. The mission of the blogger outreach was to create an opt-in research and development program for Sprint’s EVDO technology that connected product developers with early adopters. I coordinated and managed this program as the main point of contact between Sprint, the bloggers, and the account/development teams at VML for 2 years. Over 500 bloggers participated with a surveyed 97% asking to continue. The initiative sparked discussion around the products and the program (400k mentions in 6 months), as well as increased the overall discussion around Sprint in online communities and contributed to improving various products and services.
Graphic Designer / Photographer

Self-employed

(Graphic Design industry)

June 2001 — February 2005 (3 years 9 months)

Designed print materials for a variety of local clients.
Photography Intern

Ron Berg Photography

(Public Company; 1-10 employees; Photography industry)

November 2002 — May 2003 (7 months)

Ariel Waldman’s Education

Art Institute of Pittsburgh

B.S. , Graphic Design , 2006 — 2008
Academy of Art University

Graphic Design 2005 — 2006
Kansas City Art Institute

Graphic Design 2003 — 2005
Imperial College London

Graphic Design / Advertising 2004 — 2004

Summer study program.