Frank Gruber
Bio
As a senior product manager for AOL, Frank is responsible for the recently launched myAOL Personalization Suite. A former consultant for several Fortune 500 companies in the Chicago and Boston area, Frank also developed online product strategies for Classified Ventures and Tribune Interactive, a subsidiary of the Tribune Company offering news and information sites in 20 major markets.
Frank Gruber is a co-founder of TECH cocktail, a web/tech/business mixer event which connects the local technology and business in a number of under served communities like Chicago, Washington D.C., Boston and soon NYC. Frank's expert analysis on Web 2.0, social media and emerging technologies have been featured in TechCrunch, iMediaConnection, Technology Evangelists and on Somewhat Frank.
An avid blogger and active member of the blogosphere with a wealth of experience in web technology and product development, Mr. Gruber received his Master's Degree in Computer Information Systems from Northwestern University, and his Bachelor's Degree in Computer Information Systems from Purdue University.
Work History
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September 2006 - present
myAOL Personalization Suite (http://my.aol.com) • Lead the development of myAOL Personalization Suite (US & International). • Perform competitive analysis of the personalization and syndication space. • Develop a new media (blogger outreach) marketing plan for myAOL. • Execute blogging initiatives by launching the myAOL Product Blog (http://myaolblog.aol.com). • Manage the myAOL partners and distribution strategy.
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January 2006 - September 2006
• Develop the Apartments.com strategy for its Web sites, and responsible for managing the tactical execution of the strategy. • Responsible for information architecture, user experience, usability, navigation, and design direction for Web site implementations as well as all co-branded and partner integrations. • Apartments.com is a $50+ million revenue generating web site focusing on online advertising rental properties.
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August 2005 - present
• Founded Freedom Jump, LLC and created SplogReporter.com, a service empowering users to combat spam blog, as grassroots level with vision of improved search engine function and accountability. • Created TECHcocktail.com to connect the Midwest technology and business community and renamed Freedom Jump, LLC to TECH cocktail, LLC. • Manage product development lifecycle, marketing, media relations and public relations. • Recently highlighted in Wall Street Journal (Oct. 19, 2005).
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June 2005 - present
Somewhat Frank -- the blogosphere’s must-read tech-talk written by Frank Gruber -- presents candid and timely perspectives on how web 2.0 and technology fuse into everyday life. Running the gamut from the latest reports on emerging Web 2.0 applications to exciting updates in the social media movement, Somewhat Frank makes the fast-paced world of technology both accessible and fun. Also you can join the community and connect with its worldwide audience of business and tech industry leaders, venture capitalists, investment professionals and entrepreneurs. Somewhat Frank is published by Somewhat Frank, LLC.
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January 2005 - December 2004
Supported more than 50 markets with Tribune Company websites nationwide; handled change requests to include template changes, edits, feed issues, and web enhancements. Collaborated on special projects with Production Systems Team, was leader on new website deployments within Technology group, and acted as front line for on-call issues facing Producers, Managers and General Managers in respective markets. Acquired proficiency in Unix, Vi editing, shell script programming, Oracle 10g Application Server, Perl, Sage, Tacoda and P3P.
Online profiles