Deborah Block-Schwenk

Current

• QA Analyst at CIDC

Past

• Consultant: Online marketing at Valid8.com
• Consultant: Online Outreach/Community Management at LivingConversations.com
• Web and Data Manager at Political Research Associates

• Consultant: Content Blogger/Blogger Outreach at Market Platform Dynamics
• Social Media Marketing Research Intern at Refine and Focus
• Editorial Intern/Blogger at Center for Citizen Media
• Test Lead at BCBS (contractor)
• Quality Engineer at Pegasystems

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Education

• New School University
• Brandeis University

Recommended

1 person has recommended Deborah

Connections

101 connections

Industry

Online Media

Websites

• My Blog

Deborah Block-Schwenk’s Summary

Social media enthusiast with extensive experience in software quality assurance. Student of cutting edge social media marketing and citizen media. Basic knowledge of web and digital design. Software quality engineer with project management experience, excellent analytical and problem-solving ability and communication skills.

Deborah Block-Schwenk’s Specialties:

Writing, editing, blogger outreach, social media marketing, SEO/SEM, web design (XHTML. CSS), design (Photoshop, Illustrator). Analysis/strategy, risk assessment, project management, research.

Deborah Block-Schwenk’s Experience

• QA Analyst

  CIDC

  (Online Media industry)

  November 2008 — Present (9 months)

  Quality Assurance Analyst for online software applications and games.

• Consultant: Online marketing

  Valid8.com

  (Privately Held; 1-10 employees; Telecommunications industry)

  June 2008 — November 2008 (6 months)

  • Reduced adwords budget by 25% while maintaining click through and conversion rates
  • Recommended website text changes and redesign to improve Search Engine Optimization
  • Researched sites for blogger outreach and relevant forum participation.
  • Guiding CEO through decision-making process for starting a blog.

• Consultant: Online Outreach/Community Management

  LivingConversations.com

  (Health, Wellness and Fitness industry)

  April 2008 — July 2008 (4 months)

  • Added questions, resources, events and responded to comments in online forum in social networking site for breast cancer survivors.
  • Researched and conducted outreach to blogs and other relevant sites, resulting in link trades and additional exposure.
  • Web traffic up 20% from May to July, including organic search up from 17.5% to 30%
  • Commented on other relevant blogs
  • Coordinated with IT staff to create bulk emailing options for the site.
  • Researched relevant news articles and summarized information for founder’s blog posts

• Web and Data Manager

  Political Research Associates

  (Research industry)

  January 2008 — April 2008 (4 months)

  Investigate and correct website errors due to site move of 500-plus pages of web content. Format and upload new web pages. Format and send out email-newsletters for small think tank. Access database query and report production.

• Consultant: Content Blogger/Blogger Outreach

  Market Platform Dynamics

  (Management Consulting industry)

  April 2008 — April 2008 (1 month)

  • Researched and conducted outreach to blogs in related fields for specialized business management blog
  • Commented on relevant blog posts on other sites
  • Identified content for business management blog
  • Contributed to 30% increase in traffic for April 2008 over previous month

• Social Media Marketing Research Intern

  Refine and Focus

  (Online Media industry)

  May 2007 — September 2007 (5 months)

  Researched social media marketing avenues including MySpace, blogs, podcasts. Wrote summary of findings including action plan.

• Editorial Intern/Blogger

  Center for Citizen Media

  (Online Media industry)

  October 2006 — June 2007 (9 months)

  Developed design concept and choose images for Principles of Citizen Media project. Edited/proofread text and selected pull quotes. Wrote blog entries on relevant topics.

• Test Lead

  BCBS (contractor)

  (Computer Software industry)

  April 2005 — August 2006 (1 year 5 months)

  Responsible for overseeing testing efforts for large software prodjects for Health Insurance company. Analyzed testing requirements, prioitized tasks, advised and trained testers.

• Quality Engineer

  Pegasystems

  (Public Company; Computer Software industry)

  June 1997 — January 2005 (7 years 8 months)

  Analyzed CRM software, developed and executed test plans. documented bugs, reported on progress. Oversaw small teams (2 - 10 people), including remote workers.

Deborah Block-Schwenk’s Education

• New School University

  M.A. , Media Studies , 2005 — 2007

  • “Marketing Your Media on the Web,” Independent study (formatted as class syllabus) on social media marketing by independent artists and media makers.
  • Relevant courses: “Social Media and Millenials,” “New Media Strategies and Design,” “New Media Ethics,” “Web Design,” “Digital Design,” “Media, Corporate Responsibility and the Law,” “Media Economics.”

• Brandeis University

  Biology, English 1987 — 1991

Additional Information

Deborah Block-Schwenk’s Websites:

• My Blog

Deborah Block-Schwenk’s Interests:

social media, social media marketing, Web 2.0, internet culture, politics, environmentalism

Deborah Block-Schwenk’s Groups:

PodCamp Boston

•    Ethical Vegans
•    Brandeis University Alumni Networking Group
•    CIDC

Deborah Block-Schwenk’s Contact Settings

Interested In:

• career opportunities
• consulting offers
• new ventures
• job inquiries
• expertise requests
• reference requests
• getting back in touch