About Me
You may have landed on this page after spending time on my blog. Perhaps you were curious to learn just who Larry Brauner is. Regardless of how you found your way here, I appreciate this opportunity to tell you about myself.
First, on a personal note, I’m a former Manhattanite who took refuge in suburbia. I now live with my family in the Lower Hudson Valley of New York.
Professionally, I've developed expertise over the years in business analysis, marketing and customer relationship management.
The journey that led to my immersion in social media and the web began with my experience in market research. During that period, I devised analytical processes that supported the marketing initiatives of some of the largest U.S. companies, and were instrumental in achieving their growth and profitability objectives.
Social Media Thought Leadership
When I discovered social media in 2006, I immediately realized it would dramatically enhance the usefulness of the Internet. Therefore, I decided to master social media and to see where that mastery would lead me.
As I've traveled along the path of building my expertise in social media, I've continually gained insights into the many ways that businesses can use the social web to achieve their goals. My commentaries on the opportunities and issues in using social media, online networking techniques and web marketing have garnered broad media coverage.
If landing on this page was your first introduction to me, I invite you to check out my popular blog: Online Social Networking. I believe you’ll find the articles I publish to be both thought provoking and filled with practical ideas for achieving success online.
See below for more about my career, a media list, and comments from present and former colleagues.
IDT Corporation
As a business analyst at IDT Corporation, a global telecommunications company and leading supplier of calling cards:
- I developed and interpreted predictive data models and key performance indicators in order to maximize the profit of IDT's marketing strategies and business rules.
- I specialized in analyzing margin, customer retention, churn and bad debt -- the most important factors in determining a customer's lifetime value to a company. Understanding and managing these factors are critical to any company's success.
Eric Marder Associates
I held a variety of positions at Eric Marder Associates, a preeminent market research firm serving Fortune 500 companies:
- I computerized the business and refined many research and operational processes.
- During the years that Eric Marder and I worked together, he often sought my opinion, and I reviewed the design and analysis plans of scores of complex custom marketing research projects for clientele that included AT&T, Pfizer, Hewlett-Packard, and American Home Products.
- I collaborated with Eric Marder on The Laws of Choice, a groundbreaking book on marketing research and choice behavior. Mr. Marder wrote in his Acknowledgments section that I "did the computer work, consolidating studies and generating new analyses as required. He was my severest critic. I felt confident that if I could persuade Larry of something, I would be able to persuade just about anyone else. His contribution was invaluable."
Prior to joining Eric Marder Associates, I served as an actuary in the pension consulting field for Mercer and Buck Consultants. (In May 2009, I had an opportunity to give a social marketing webinar to marketing and corporate communications specialists at Buck.)
Non-Professional Accomplishments
Ranked #16 U.S. Junior Chess Player (1971), #1 player and teacher of the oriental Go game in the U.S. (1976-81), two-time NYC Marathon finisher (1984/85). Achieved a basic level of proficiency in cello and in the ancient Jewish Talmud -- having undertaken both as an adult.
Contact Information
You can reach me by phone at +1 845-356-4218 or by e-mail at ryzemail at braunersolutions dot com.
Partial Media List
Larry Brauner and Online-Social-Networking.com in the media:
- Social Media Collective Wisdom, 1/07/10, Who's Blogging What
- Being Social or Stealing? Networking with Social Media Followers of Competitors, 1/4/10, Web 2.0 Marketing For Small Biz, Peg Corwin
- Making ‘social’ money, 12/30/09, Westfair Online, Alexander Soule
- What's Nexus for Google mobile?, 12/17/09, 8 Simple Ways to Penetrate Social Media Clutter, Who's Blogging What
- Social Media and Online Networking, 12/09/09, KZYR 97.7FM Vail Valley, CO, The Zephyr’s Community Focus, Rohn Robbins, Audio File
- 100 Social Media Experts to Follow on Twitter (#56), 11/19/09, Pulse2, Amit Chowdhry
- Making a list, 11/12/09, ten takeaways showing that the [LinkedIn-Twitter] integration will have practical implications, Who's Blogging What
- Simi mall hooking up with Shoptopia social networking site, 10/27/09, Venture County Star, Jenni Mintz
- Is email over?, 10/15/09, Is Email Marketing Dead?, Who's Blogging What
- The Most Useful Posts About Facebook, 9/22/09, List Building Using Facebook, Who's Blogging What
- Create an Online Community or Simple Social Networking Website. Free. With Ning, 8/18/09, How To Start A Social Network, Peg Corwin
- The big re-tweet, 8/6/09, The NEW Search Engine Optimization, SmartBrief on Social Media
- Summertime Fun, 8/6/09, Targeting and Connecting on the Top Business Networking Sites, Who's Blogging What
- Social Media Really Works, 8/5/09, Rob Moshe
- The Most Useful Social Media Posts of May 2009, Twitter Power System Review, Who's Blogging What
- The Twitter Power System, 5/20/09
- The Daily Twit, 5/20/09, Blog Talk Radio, James Rivers
- Who’s On Twitter? What Happens When You “Shake Hands” With Your Followers?, 3/3/09, Web 2.0 Marketing For Small Biz, Peg Corwin
- United Way turns to Facebook to Drive Donations, 2/26/09, Medill Reports Chicago, Ellen Thompson
- Profiles of Success, 1/29/09, Blog Talk Radio, Stacey Chadwell
- Online Social Networking Using Twitter, 1/26/09, Chicago Sun Times, Larry Brauner
What Others Are Saying
“Thank you for all of your time and wisdom. I have met many folks through social media, but you are certainly one of my favorites.” Chris Patterson, President & CEO, Interchanges.com, Founder, inSocialMedia.com, July 2009
“Larry, your articles are terrific! They show the depth of your expertise on all things Internet!” Ellen Elwell, President & CEO, Elwell Enterprises, Inc., June 2009
“I hired Larry Brauner as a coach to help me with social networking. To my surprise he has done that and has done so much more. Larry has shared many valuable marketing insights. He also helped me re-structure my blog, so that I could easily add subscribers and dramatically increase my search engine traffic. In fact, with just one suggestion Larry made, I was able to tweak my site and increase my search engine traffic substantially. It tripled every day for the first week after I made the change and continues to grow. Larry is the best coach I have ever had. His suggestions are very detailed, and he is able to do much of the necessary technical work for me. The time he has given to help me and the sincere interest he has taken in my business have much exceeded my expectations.” Linda P. Morton, President, Best Books Plus, Inc., August 2008
Larry is a highly competent business analyst whose ability to quickly grasp the most complex issues facing a company is a valuable asset. His expertise includes delving deeply to verify the integrity of data that will be the basis for measuring various aspects of business performance. During his years of experience in both the actuarial and marketing research fields, he acquired an extensive portfolio of mathematical, statistical and other analytical tools, which he draws upon to creatively design the most appropriate methodology for a particular project. Larry’s creativity is also evident in the manner in which he expeditiously resolves technical and other obstacles. He conveys project findings clearly and incisively, while also providing novel insights into the ways in which they can best be used to increase sales and profits.” Moshe Kravitz, Director of Finance, IDT Corporation, June 2008
“Larry is a valuable asset to our marketing group and provides rich, in-depth analysis on many different acquisition and retention campaigns that truly help us plan for future projects. He is intelligent, a pleasure to work with, and reliable. I have learned so much from him and his contributions to our organization have brought us to a higher level of strategic marketing efficiency.” Maureen McCormick, Marketing Director, IDT Corporation, August 2006
“Larry is the rare individual with outstanding conceptual and implementation abilities. His skill and creativity were integral to our success.” Larry Krauss, Vice-President, Eric Marder Associates, August 2006
“Larry consistently conquered complex data-analysis problems, spearheaded many ventures into new computing solutions, while encouraging the growth and development of his staff.” Joseph Berman, Software Manager, Eric Marder Associates, September 2006
“Larry Brauner is one of the smartest and most ethical people I know… and I know a lot of people. His analytic power and persistence in pursuit of the right information are rare. At EMA Larry dealt with fast-changing modeling of consumer data, with all its irregularities, and was able to find the patterns in that data (I helped by providing programming skills). I say fast-changing, because job requirements were very fluid, and models needed to change on a dime. Anyone seeking a leading staff member characterized by intelligence and experience in analysis, as well as a good sense of humor, should give Larry a really close look.” David Alexander, President, Opal Computing, June 2007
