Hi folks!
I wanted to introduce you to the newest member of the WMF Comms team: Jeff Elder. Jeff started with us yesterday in the newly created role of Digital Communications Manager. His role will be focused on engaging our social media communities with our mission, and working closely with all of you to make that a reality. Jeff will also work with Ed Erhart on the editorial strategy for the Wikimedia blog.
Jeff joins us most recently from the Wall Street Journal, where he was an investigative reporter covering the Bay Area tech industry. Previously, he led social media for the San Francisco Chronicle, where he covered everything from presidential elections to World Series wins. Before that, he was director of operations for Storify, led social media at Lowe’s, and was a Knight Fellow for social media at Stanford University.
Coincidentally, Jeff was the first journalist I interviewed with after joining the WMF, for a WSJ article http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2014/06/16/wikipedia-strengthens-rules-against-undisclosed-editing/ on our Terms of Use update. We didn’t talk about social media at the time, but he did take a Vine of our interactive version of the puzzle globe http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2014/06/16/wikipedia-strengthens-rules-against-undisclosed-editing/. You may be more familiar with Jeff’s other work -- like this internet-famous video of a dog named Norm riding a scooter https://vine.co/v/b1PPwg6JtTA.
Jeff plans to spend a bit of time listening and getting up to speed on the community. (If you have any advice on good resources, do share!) Please say hi, and definitely ask questions, but it'll probably take a little bit of time before he can weigh in on some things -- we all know it takes some time to learn the ropes around here :)
Thanks, Katherine