About

 

I am CEO of SI Associates. In fact, I am pretty much the whole company. I consult companies of all sizes and make keynote speeches to support my lifelong addiction to writing.

And while writing is my passion, I’ve had a great deal of enjoyment and success as a consultant and writer as well. I’ve consulted global enterprises including Dell Computer, SAP, Wells Fargo Bank and CNET to name a few–but most often I’ve worked with early phase companies. Over the past 25 years, there have been more than 200 of them, some like Sun Microsystems, Creative Labs and the original developers of PowerPoint became enduring successes. My focus is always on communications, mostly related to social media. Sometimes, I am retained for projects and other times I serve as an ongoing advisor or mentor. I work with companies from all over the world, but usually they are focused on US markets.

I’ve helped organizations in virtually every aspect of communications strategies. I have a strong record as a presentation coach, helping CEO’s deliver conference keynotes and tech startups win awards and conferences such as Techcrunch Disrupt, Launch and Demo. I’m also an accomplished C-level ghost writer.  I have conducted many workshops and webinars on behalf of respected companies such as BazaarVoice and organizations like Marketing Profs.

I’m a recovering publicist. I founded and ran SIPR, a successful PR agency for Silicon Valley startups, focusing on initial launches. After 17 years I sold it to employees. If there was one thing we did better than our competitors, it was helping small companies tell their stories in compelling ways, rather than just make bullet-point presentations.

Very often, my work focuses on how organizations can use social media to achieve business goals.

In 2006, Robert Scoble and I co-authored Naked Conversations, considered by many to be a seminal book on why businesses and professional organizations should blog.  I’m also author of the critically acclaimed Twitterville and co-author [with Scoble] of The Conversational Corporation,  a Dow Jones eBook. I’ve contributed editorially to BusinessWeek, Fast Company, Forbes, Business Insider and other online publications on topics related to social media, and am a contributing columnist to American Express OPEN Forum.

I’ve  been a keynote speaker more than 100 times, addressing audiences on five continents and in 12 countries.

My blog, GlobalNeighbourhoods.net is often listed among the world’s top business blogs. A key feature is his SM Global Report, where he has interviewed more than 400 people in 25 countries about how social media has changed their lives and work.

I’m a senior fellow and advisory board member to the Society for New Media Research (SNCR), an advisor to the Social Media Club and StepOne, an organization that helps Spanish companies gain acceptance in US markets.

Contact: shelisrael1@gmail.com