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We’re back with another Influencer Profile! This week’s honoree is Production and Content Manager Steve Maloney, he of impeccable taste in headgear and nut-based snack food. While most people think of newspapers as what happens when you print out NPR, Smaloney (as he’s known around the SI offices) used to write them. Steve comes from the world of print journalism, having been a newspaper reporter before transitioning over into the world of keyword-rich, search engine friendly, online content. With experience running blogs, writing blogs, wrangling writers, and making a living as a writer himself, Steve brings a wide range of experience to Search Influence.

So what do you find yourself doing around here?

A little bit of everything. I assign out hundreds of articles to our writers every month, make sure they are completed correctly and on time, make sure the production crew is running like the well-oiled machine that it is, and put out any fires I may come across every day. I also train new people and keep the bowl of mixed nuts on my desk at least halfway full most of the time.

Is there anything that particularly excites you about coming to work every day?

My chair is really comfortable, and I always enjoy it when my “snakes in a can” trick fools some unsuspecting sap.

What do you think your most awesome contributions have been so far?

Snakes in a can. Oh, and I introduced Leigh to the wonderful world of Care Bears this morning.

Anything you’d like to do more of? In the ideal world, what would you be doing all day?

Mostly cruising around Bayou St. John in a kayak. But since I don’t own a kayak or live particularly close to Bayou St. John anymore, I guess my ideal day would involve a swimming pool and a good book.

How do you handle staying on top of and motivating your colleagues and us titans of production?

The Titans of Production is not only the name of an underground 80’s hair metal band [citation needed], but the nomenclature also fittingly describes the production team here at Search Influence. Reining in this team requires a delicate balance of sight gags, cat-like reflexes, snacks, comic books, early 90’s soft rock, and comfortable shoes.

How does SI compare to the more writing-intensive work that you’re experienced with? Do you think an element of creativity comes through?

Much of the finesse and control I once enjoyed over English wordings gone… now… but I really like setting the deadlines instead of being petrified of them as I was back when I was a newspaper reporter. I do miss the fedora with my press pass in the headband, though. I’m always writing, even if most of it doesn’t make it to paper. It’s a reflex action, much like breathing.

Thanks for all that you do herding the metaphorical cats in the production room, Steve. Keep an eye out for this one’s inaugural blog post — it’s sure to be a good read!

After a long hiatus, we’re pleased to announce that our Influencer Profile series is back! Every other week we’ll be highlighting one of our talented teammates, and this week’s employee is one of our resident junior developers Olin Gallet.

Olin started on our production team just a few months ago, assisting Luke Ledet and Jason Hamilton with the technical end of what Search Influence does. He’s a recent graduate of the University of New Orleans’ Computer Science program with a minor in English — which obviously means that you’ll be seeing more of his excellent blogging skills on display in the near future.

As one of our resident early birds, you can usually find Olin tapping away at PHP code at absurd hours of the morning. On the off-days he spends his time discovering new music, writing, playing Street Fighter, programming and having adventures around New Orleans. Just don’t call him “bro”… And without further ado, the man himself!

A note from Olin – since I’ve actually got a minor in English focused on poetry writing, I’d like to show you some of my lyrical skills. I’m not letting Julia have all the fun around here.

So what do you find yourself doing on a day-to-day basis around here?

Turn on computer

Type words look at peers code works

Turn off computer

There really is no set guideline as to what I do day-to-day. I just fix problems people have and make sure the solution works.

Is there anything that excites you about coming to work every day?

No amount of money or bountiful women with plastic surgery can keep me coming to work. What keeps me coming to work is the people here. I’m not naming names for the sake of favoritism, but there are some characters at work that make the day go by better.

Most importantly, people know how to leave me alone when I have stuff to do. They also know how to help me or at least entertain my questions when I have them. When I can get my job done and help other people do the same, then I know I had a good day at work.

What are your biggest contributions?

I’d say my biggest contribution so far has been designing various forms for various websites. Being able to see the work I do makes it huge for me. They’re also important for ensuring that customers have an easily accessible way to communicate their needs and concerns to the client.

Anything you’d like to do more of at SI? In a perfect world, what would you be sitting around all day doing?

I want to do something more creative. For one, I want to get involved in more marketing. I realize that many of the tasks such as keyword research and article writing are repetitive and time-consuming. I want to create ways to minimize the work in these tasks.

I also want to get involved into graphic design at work. I used to be big into just sketching around when I got a drawing tablet for my laptop, but I haven’t had much time for design recently. I want to get back into it.

_________________________________________?

Hey, this is my question for you. What do you want to know about me? The only stupid questions are those that are left unasked. Feel free to either drop it in the comments, email me at [email protected], or pass me a note at work (just make sure Luke isn’t looking).

Thanks for all your hard work, Olin! We have a really talented and interesting team here at SI, and we’re proud to show off each and every one of them. Keep your eyes on this space for more profiles of our Influencers!