Hi there.
I’m Shawn, which you clearly know because you’re on this site and this page. You could not have come here, landed on “About” and possibly have been surprised by this. I still felt the need to introduce myself. I’d feel rude otherwise.
For most of my life, in some form or another, I’ve been invovled in either media or marketing. Never both at the same time! Just one or the other. Here’s a bit about what I’m doing right now.
Currently: ScreenRant (Valnet)
At Valnet, I work on the ScreenRant brand. My official title is “Publishing Strageist.” I believe I do quite a bit! I assume the role of SEO specialist on the site, which does not include just search but extends to Discover, as well. I do my best to understand the current Google realities, communicate those to the team, prepare them for changes and help position the site’s content for success. Evergreen having to do with search, I also work to keep important content tracked and aid the site’s content creators in addressing gaps — opportunities for ScreenRant to serve readers in a way it might not be already.
All of the above requires what is practically a marriage to spreadsheets, data visualization tools and analytics software. Having the ability to create automations in the forms of scripts with some triggers, or tools built so other people can run them without my intervention — definitely a useful skill to have.
On top of the day-to-day, I send out a weekly SEO newsletter to the team, though I’m toying with the idea of turning that into a video. At one time, many years ago, I was at peak “putting myself out there” but withdrew quite a bit. I’m getting there again, but — baby steps.
Other Things To Know About Me
I am originally from Enola, Pennsylvania. I now reside in Brooklyn, New York.
For several months, 24’s Jack Bauer also hailed from Enola, Pennsylvania. There’s a story about that. Ask me sometime.
I have four younger sisters, one niece and one nephew.
I rarely go a single day without playing at least one Rocket League match. I can routinely hit the Champion I level in 3v3 each season (which is top 3%, I’ll have you know! No easy feat!). I would still get demolished by any professional player.
I’m ears-deep in the Apple ecosystem but absolutely swear by my MacBook Pro above all else. I find it difficult to get work done on anything else.
I love liverwurst. Apparently there are people out there who think it’s gross. They are wrong.
Pierogies, also. Good stuff. Must be the Polish parts.
They’re technically a competitor (!) but the Friday Vergecast is a must-listen for me, every single week.
I read a lot about a lot every day: content from ScreenRant, articles from SEO news sites, tech news, gaming news, media industry news, political news — you name it. Reeder for iPad. That is how. I sink into a poofy chair, I open Reeder for iPad and I flip away.
If there is a behind-the-scenes book about a tech/gaming company (think The Accidental Billionaires, Hatching Twitter, etc.) I’m 100% reading it.
I force myself to listen to new music constantly because it makes me feel less old.
I wouldn’t call myself a reality TV fan, but — Golden Bachelor, Golden Bachelorette, Shark Tank. These I will show up for.