Facebook Staffer Joins Newhouse NYC Faculty

With experience at Facebook, the New York Times, and Allure, Simone Oliver now brings her social media expertise to the Newhouse NYC classroom.

She may not remember her first Facebook post, but as an early adopter of social media, Oliver has always been passionate about social storytelling.

“I went through different stages of each platform where I was posting like a madwoman,” she recalls.

Last year, Oliver took that passion to Facebook as the Editor of Magazine and Lifestyle Partnerships for the social giant. And this evening she’ll teach her first social media class as an adjunct professor at Newhouse NYC. With years of experience at Facebook, the New York Times, and Allure magazine, she’s sure to incorporate her vast knowledge of digital media into her class: Social Platforms, Processes and Perspective.

Video: Meet Newhouse NYC’s Newest Addition, Simone Oliver 

Social from Day One

In addition to taking classes, Oliver’s 22 students are interning at various media companies this semester. Fortunately, Oliver knows how critical those internships can be to their future careers.

Her summer internship with the New York Times in 2003 led to her first job as a news assistant and what later became a nearly 13-year career at the paper.

“We started to transition to digital and by that time I was obsessed with becoming a copy editor,” Oliver says of her start at the New York Times. “But they don’t hire copy editors who are just a few years out of school.”

So shortly after joining the newspaper, she moved into their digital space where she worked on their website and helped make the paper a digital-first publication.

During her nearly 13 years at the New York Times, Oliver advanced to positions including Senior Fashion and Styles Web Producer/Journalist, Online Fashion Editor, and Growth Strategy Editor. She launched the newspaper’s first Instagram account in 2011, led the editorial side of their first fashion app, and co-created a fashion video series focused on individual style around New York City and the world called, “Intersection: Where Culture Meets Style.”

In 2016, Oliver became Digital Director of Allure magazine. In just a year, she led a team of 20 to completely overhaul their digital editorial strategy.

Now, six months into managing Facebook’s Magazine and Lifestyle Partnerships, Oliver is finally is achieving a lifelong career dream.

 “This company is based on Mark Zuckerberg’s dream to connect the world and I mean, c’mon, it’s kind of hard to beat that company mission,” Oliver says. “I also get to work with some of the smartest, most humble people ever.”

Simone Oliver at Facebook’s miNY room, a tiny conference room at their NYC headquarters

The Classroom Experience

Although she’s not a Syracuse University alumni, Oliver has admired the Newhouse School since she was a teenager.

“How far back in history should I start?” Oliver jokes. “I visited Syracuse when I was a junior in high school. I remember going to the campus and being overwhelmed with how beautiful it was. And I remember thinking how amazing it was, but it was cold!”

Oliver graduated with a degree in English from Howard University in Washington, D.C. And while it’s understandable that the Syracuse cold isn’t for everyone, Oliver feels like she’s finally getting a piece of Syracuse through teaching at Newhouse NYC.

“It’s something I wanted to do because I’ve had teachers that have made a tremendous difference in my life,” she says. “It’s been a dream of mine for a very long time and to have this opportunity to me is something that I won’t ever take for granted.”

The Spring 2018 Newhouse NYC students will be her first teaching experience, and she promises not to disappoint with a “really, really fun class that covers a lot of ground.”

“I really want students to leave the class with an understanding of how much they can do across social media and realize how important social media is for storytelling and business growth,” Oliver says.

Her philosophy for teaching? Mostly, she wants to be extremely welcoming.

“We have a lot of different minds, personalities, and learning styles in one room week after week, and I think it’s important to make yourself accessible and to be approachable,” she says.

Simone Oliver wearing one of her signature styles at Facebook’s NYC headquarters

Outside of her Social Space

Aside from her passion for all things digital, Oliver is quite the fashionista. Throughout her career, fashion has played a large role in her daily life at work and at home.

“Here’s why I like fashion: Fashion to me has nothing to do about how much money you have, how much access you have. Fashion to me is a convergence of creativity and business. And, to me, it just never gets old.”

 Aside from her unique style, this New York native is also a beloved foodie and travel addict.  She enjoys traveling with her husband and daughter around the world, trying different cuisines.

Newhouse NYC is thrilled to have Professor Oliver as an addition to their faculty.

Article and video written and produced by Nicole DeMentri, Broadcast & Digital Journalism ’18 and Newhouse NYC alumna

Newhouse Alumni in the Social Space: 5 Alums Explain the Evolution of Their Social Media Careers

By Tessa Latrenta, ADV senior and Newhouse NYC student

As part of the Newhouse NYC semester, students have the opportunity to hear from various alumni throughout the communications industry–which now especially includes social media. Many students, like myself, hope to graduate and one day work for major social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, or Foursquare. I spoke with five alumni now working in the social industry to learn about their careers–both past and present–and how their roles have evolved.

Eric Forman ‘11, Advertising

Facebook, Global Marketing Solutions

One of our first field trips this semester was to Facebook, where we had the opportunity to speak with Eric Forman. He credits working at an advertising agency post-graduation for allowing him to transition to working within the social space now. After gaining experience at a media agency for two years, he then moved on to land a job at Facebook.

He now works within global marketing solutions at Facebook and has been there for the past four years. As Eric related, working at a media agency opened various opportunities and connections for him, and one of those contacts was able to introduce him to the right people at Facebook.

“Don’t fret the first job post-graduation,” Eric advised. “But as students advance, they should make sure they are working on the right business and accounts to help them succeed within their next role.”   

Mindy Diamond ’11, Public Relations

Twitter, Senior Product Partnerships Manager

Mindy Diamond started her career within the sports industry, interning and working for companies like ESPN and Sports Illustrated. Mindy explained that she was able to gain a ton of experience and enjoyed working on one of her passions: sports. For the first few years of her career, Mindy moved around at various companies trying new roles and starting new projects. After trying several roles for three years, she felt that she needed to take her next move very seriously in order to find something more lasting.

Mindy reflected on what she had done and what she hoped to do for the next few years. She spent a lot of time thinking about what made her excited every day and came to a conclusion.

“I loved the intersection of media and technology, and became most excited when it was all about tech,” she said.

Mindy was faced with the decision to either stay in sports or be more industry agnostic. She looked for a company that she believed in and could grow into; she explained that many companies are open to having their employees discover new roles by offering shadow programs or other opportunities.

Eventually, Mindy found her current position at Twitter working in product partnerships. Her roles and goals have evolved from a focus within one area, sports, to become more centralized on advancements in technology and consumer media behavior.  

Mindy’s biggest piece of advice for students and recent grads is to not get caught up in wanting to work for big brand names and have a flashy company on their resume.

“Large companies can be great workplaces, but often people need a smaller company to start at, where they can move internally and develop various skill sets,” Mindy described.

She also challenges people early within their career to not be afraid to explore outside of their major. “All communications jobs are writing intensive, and Newhouse trains you to work collaboratively with others.”

Michael Rosen ‘94

Foursquare, Vice President Sales

Michael Rosen, the current Vice President of Sales at Foursquare, challenges students to think of companies like Foursquare, Facebook, and Twitter as much broader than just social companies.

“These companies have roots in social, but I wouldn’t say they are just social companies, rather they have leveraged a core consumer set that interacts with content,” Michael explains.

Michael began his career at Showtime Networks and found that opportunity through the Newhouse network.

“Relationships help to get in the door, but, after that, you have to shine on your own,” he says.

He spent six years at Showtime and was invested in the company, but, at the time, digital was just starting to be part of the discussion. He knew that he needed to go outside to try a hand at digital.

“If you see a subset of market you believe is critical take the risk and do it. For example, an upcoming market right now is augmented reality,” Michael urges students.   

When he was looking for his next roles–at Bloomberg and now at Foursquare–it was more about his future potential rather than the positions he had held previously. One of the most important aspects of advancing and finding the next role is to move to a transparent company where every voice matters, Michael says. Many of his leadership roles have come because the company wanted a new perspective.

Michael recommends recent grads go to companies with “diversified offerings where they can gain experience in various different areas.”  

 

Angela Hu ‘12, Magazine Journalism

Instagram, Business Marketing Manager  

Angela Hu is currently a business marketing manager at Instagram, but she started by working at New York magazine.

The opportunity was facilitated by several Newhouse alumni who introduced her to editors at New York magazine. This lead to an internship and then an editorial assistant position for their special issues.

After this role, she moved to J.Crew and then Madewell in social media marketing.

“I know when to move on to a new role is when I’ve learned as much as I absolutely can and feel like I have performed at my best,” Angela says.

She never wants to feel complacent in any job and always tries to challenge herself to find roles that are both mentally and emotionally stimulating. So when a recruiter reached out to her for the Instagram team, she interviewed immediately. She says she was lucky to join a team and product that she loves.

“It differs a lot [from my past roles],” Angela says of her new position at Instagram, “but there are a lot of skills that I acquired from my degree in magazine journalism that I still use on a day-to-day basis.”

One of her best skills is writing clearly and succinctly, which she learned through magazine journalism. She is now in more of a senior role, which means she gets to be more strategic and think broader about overall team and company goals. It also comes with the responsibility of presenting to more C-level executives and honing public speaking skills.

“Some days it’s still really scary (and uncomfortable),” she admits, “and that’s when I usually know I still have a lot to learn.”

Overall, Angela’s biggest piece of advice for recent grads is to follow up with everyone they meet and be persistent. “A nice email will mean a lot and as personalized you can make it, the better. It makes the receiver feel special.”

 

Brenden Lee ‘12, Public Relations

Twitter, Communications

Similar to Mindy Diamond, Brenden Lee started his career within the sports industry. Following his passion for sports, he worked within communications for companies like the Philadelphia Eagles and the National Football League.

Brenden related that as he advanced, his roles and responsibilities became more diverse. He emphasized that being able to execute as one moves up is crucial.

“Have a well thought-out opinion and show your superiors and coworkers that you are able to think creatively,” he advises students and recent grads.

After working in communications for the NFL, Brenden moved to the social platform Twitter. At Twitter, he is now able to combine working in technology with sports. As Twitter began live streaming sports, he related that he wanted to take on a larger role and learn new skills, so he made the move to the social platform to advance his career. He now leads sports communications for the platform, both consumer facing and business-to-business promotion for live streaming sporting events.

Brenden described that the biggest difference in his current role is the ability to execute his ideas. As a manager, he now leads a team and handles all of Twitter’s sports communications in the US.

“Be diverse, be able to write, know the news, and have the mindset—particularly in tech—where you want to grow and learn about everything,” Brenden urges students. “Those who aren’t stuck in a box advance the fastest.”

4 Cool Things We Saw at Bloomberg NYC

By Omneya Aboushanab 

      1. We found a Newhouse alumna!

Well, ‘found’ is a strong word. Our fabulous Social Media professor, Ariana Finlayson, planned the whole trip, but still #newhousemafia. Megan Hess (MAG ‘11) is a Mobile and Emerging Platforms editor at Bloomberg here in NYC. She is in charge of their consumer mobile app, Bloomberg, which offers global business and finance news as well as market data and portfolio tracking tools (download it here if you don’t already have it… and turn your push notifications on). She also oversees the 20 newsletters that go out from Bloomberg’s news department.

One piece of advice that I loved from Megan was to keep a positivity log. She said that she keeps a Google Doc of random good things that happen to her at work. It’s her own little way to cheer herself up if she’s having a bad day. Megan loves her job, but she said very clearly that we can love our jobs, and still have bad days. It’s okay.

      2. We learned how to side hustle.

Megan was a Magazine Journalism major at Newhouse, but she always had a knack for the digital world. She even started her own website, NoJoeSchmo.com, a platform she created when she graduated from college. Megan said it was her way of making sure she always had a place to write, even if she wasn’t working. The site is a compilation of stories she collected from subjects about where they work. The theme is cool and crazy jobs that not a lot of people know about.

Megan also serves as Vice President on The Board of Directors and Foundation Board of New York Women in Communications, which is the premier organization for communications professionals in the New York metropolitan area. I think it’s safe to say she’s pretty cool, and we know you’re jealous of our one-on-one. 

     3. We raided the free pantry. 

The Bloomberg building is incredible. It’s all glass and shaped in such a neat ‘U.’ The 6th floor is basically the main common area, where of course we spotted the free snacks and drinks right away. How, you ask? Well, college students and ‘free’ go together like peanut butter and jelly. They had every snack imaginable: Oreos, granola bars, and chips, oh my! OK, enough about the snacks. 

The more important part about the 6th floor is that it’s meant to be interactive. Bloomberg wants to push its employees to interact with one another even if they don’t work in the same department. They even went to great lengths making sure that the elevators don’t go to certain floors. That way you have no choice but to walk through the 6th floor. There are escalators and stairs, so you can get to where you’re going, but it just makes it a little easier to meet new people and appreciate the view that way.

The 6th floor is very vibrant and welcoming. There are fish tanks everywhere (my personal favorite, I can get lost looking at them for a long time), murals, and digital screens that update in real time. The mural of the people on the glass is meant to represent all of the different types of people that are employed at Bloomberg. I really appreciated the diversity and creativity of the individuals.

      4. We got invited to Money Talks, Bloomberg’s exclusive Facebook group

Megan spoke to us about Money Talks, a private Facebook group for Bloomberg that you have to be approved for before being able to join. It is Bloomberg’s way of targeting an audience that they felt they were missing… young people like Newhouse NYC students and females, since Bloomberg’s audience skews on the older side and is mostly male. Using social media is a clever way to try and broaden that audience. 

The group consists of about 3,000 people right now. All you have to do is ask to join via Facebook. Megan says the reason they monitor the group is so that they can reduce the amount of fake profiles that are spamming people.

Money Talks consists of stories that Bloomberg reporters write, question statuses, discussion posts, and much more. It’s just a way for readers/viewers to interact with one another and the reporters on a platform other than the mobile app or website.

As usual, it was an amazing field trip thanks to our wonderful Newhouse NYC program. A huge personal thank you to our social media professor, Ariana Finlayson, for organizing the trip for us, and another mega orange thank you to Megan Hess for welcoming us into her world post-‘Cuse.

Facebook NYC: An Exclusive Visit with Eric Forman ‘11

By Omneya Aboushanab 

On Thursday October 5, Newhouse NYC had the chance to visit the Facebook NYC offices as part of our Social Media course with Professor Ariana Finlayson. Newhouse alum Eric Forman (ADV ‘11) was our “tour guide” and host for the evening.

In the simplest terms… it was awesome.

There are two locations for Facebook in the city, and we were able to see their new offices on Park Avenue South. Eric had been traveling for work all week, and was fresh off the plane when he came to meet us. We were able to see the workspace, the awesome pantry (where we of course stocked up on FREE snacks, because that’s music to a college student’s ears), the Instagram wall, a lifesize iPhone, and the infamous Facebook wall.

 

When we had the chance to sit down with Eric he spoke with us a lot about networking (something not new to Newhouse NYC… it might actually be Cheryl and Marisa’s favorite word). Not to our surprise at all, he said that networking got him his first real job, and his current job as CSM of Global Marketing Solutions at Facebook. Eric made it really clear that keeping in touch with everyone you meet is important. He referred to it as “a relationship business.” He said he especially likes keep-in-touch emails that have awkward/specific subject lines. This makes your email stand out in an inbox and is sure to get you a response!

Eric was also very clear on what we should not be doing as interns and soon-to-be graduates. This includes burning bridges. It’s crucial to turn down and leave jobs in the most professional manner, because you never know when you are going to need that person in the future. He shared his regrets, his wishes, and simply how to navigate this crazy industry we call media.

After we learned about his career path, some students were able to ask him questions, and it was clear that the ADV students loved what he had to say. I’m a BDJ student, and I still found the information very relevant.

I had the chance to live tweet the event, and it was a really fun experience. Eric was funny, and gave me a lot of great content to work with. The space was fun and colorful, so it was easy to capture. You can head over to @NewhouseNYC on Twitter to see what went down in real time.

A huge thanks to Professor Finlayson and Eric Forman for organizing such an exclusive visit for us!