About

Hi. My name is Christopher Carfi. This is my blog where I discuss everything from my job to trading resources like the bitcoin era app to my views on entrepreneurship. There’s all sorts of information about me if you scroll down. (It is important to note that this is my personal blog. While I am an employee at GoDaddy, the opinions here are my own.)

ONLINE PERSONAE:

http://twitter.com/ccarfi
http://www.facebook.com/ccarfi
http://www.linkedin.com/in/ccarfi (References)
https://christophercarfi.com (blog, since 2004)

SNAPSHOT:

• Senior Director of Content and Community at GoDaddy
• VP, Social Business Strategy, Ant’s Eye View (acquired by PwC)
• Vice President, Edelman Digital
• VP, Products at Swipp
• Co-founder, Cerado
• Led product marketing at Extricity (acquired by Peregrine Systems)
• Executive at Accenture (Andersen Consulting) Center for Strategic Technology
• M.S./M.B.A. Carnegie Mellon University
• B.S. Northwestern University (Computer Science)

PROJECTS:

Coindale is an experiment to better understand the emerging bitcoin economy. The site tracks bitcoin and cryptocurrency news from around the web, and is a discovery directory for connecting e-commerce and brick-and-mortar businesses that accept bitcoin and other altcoins (e.g. litecoin) as a means of payment, as well as emerging protocols and blockchains such as Ethereum. This site is perfect for those looking to start investing in bitcoin and want to keep on top of the latest news. Take a look on https://bitcoin-revolution.app/about/ if you want to learn more about getting into cryptocurrency investing. Sites like these would also be useful if you are interested in buying cryptocurrency. If you’d like to learn more, you can search online or check out this German website on buying cryptocurrency stocks (Lithium Aktien kaufen) such as Bitcoin or Lithium.

The project has also included experiments in four facets of bitcoin mining (native, colocation facility, via pools and via mining contract). People are often looking for more here about colocation server options in other industries, so this is somewhat unique.

SPECIALTIES:

Strategy development and execution, social business, sales effectiveness, competitive intelligence, competitive analysis, sales force automation, product marketing, CRM, collaborative technologies, enterprise social networking, customer community mapping and development

WHAT I DO:

• Customer Relationships (Understanding, creating and nurturing)
• Strategy Development (Scenario planning to business plans)
• Thought Leadership (Writing, speaking, facilitating)
• Team Leadership (On time, on scope, on budget)
• Product Management and Marketing (stories and acceptance condition development, backlog management, customer ramp)
• Particular emphasis on bringing customer-driven products to market

WHERE I’VE DONE IT:

• GoDaddy (2014-Present)
  • Responsible for content marketing, content strategy, community and evangelism for key customer segments
• Swipp, Inc. (2013)
  • VP, Products
  • Swipp connects social media marketing directly to revenue and lead generation

• Ant’s Eye View (2011-2013)
  • VP, Senior Strategist
  • Developing Social Business strategies for clients including Google, HP, Cisco and Visa
  • Ant’s Eye View was acquired by PwC in September, 2012

• Edelman Digital (2010-2011)
  • Vice President
  • Delivered social media and related programs for strategic clients including MGM, Samsung, The North Face, Adobe, Charles Schwab and others

• Cerado, Inc. (2002-2010)
  • Co-Founder and CEO
  • Marketing consulting services – Assisted companies including Cisco, Expedia, HP, Open Kernel Labs, Network Solutions, and dozens of others understand their customers and their networks (2002-2008)
  • Mobile Software (2009-2010) – Led multiple teams in the development and launch of multiple applications including:
    • Presto Frame – A “Top 10” photography app for the iPad (available at iPad launch)
    • I Know A Little Place – Local boutiques and reviews for Paris, London and Manhattan
    • Nat Decants – The leading iPhone Lifestyle/Wine App
    • Scanaroo – A groundbreaking mobile app that enables customers to carry their loyalty cards on their iPhone
• Extricity, Inc. (1999-2002)
  • Director of Product Marketing
  • One of the first entrants into the XML-based integration market
  • Founding member of the RosettaNet Solution Provider Board
• Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) (1989-1999)
  • Researched and created business cases for practical emerging technologies (i.e. ensured technology drove business value, and was not technology for technology’s sake), technology evangelist
  • Diverse career spanning:
    • Artificial Intelligence and Expert Systems
    • Data Mining and Data Visualization
    • Early (1994-1997) commercial internet

RECENT SPEAKING:

• Social Media Marketing World 2017 – Keynote panel on AI and Marketing
  https://www.klipfolio.com/blog/social-media-marketing-world-2017-day-3
• Interactive Day, San Diego 2017
  http://interactivedaysandiego.com/agenda/
• Hubspot Inbound13: You Must Be Present To Win
• http://bit.ly/1h4g1N1
• SXSW 2011: Shopping as a Revolutionary Act
  http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/ideas/view/5414
• Conversational Commerce Conference
  http://www.cvent.com/EVENTS/Info/Staff.aspx?e=f70a703b-babf-4cda-930c-1412dee2bf4f
• ROI and Metrics of Social Media (sponsored by SAS Institute)
  http://www.bettermanagement.com/seminars/seminar.aspx?l=15250
• ROI and Metrics of Mobile Marketing
  http://www.bettermanagement.com/seminars/seminar.aspx?l=15251
• Inbound Marketing Summit
  http://city.inboundmarketingsummit.com/boston/speakers.html
• Business of Community Networking
  http://www.othersidegroup.com/adcomments/2009/03/bocn-business-of-community-networking-wrap-up/
• SocialCRM Panel
  http://www.meetup.com/CIO-IT-Executives/calendar/11218780/
• GABA Roundtable (German TV)
  http://mariosundar.wordpress.com/2009/04/25/yet-another-roundtable-on-corporate-blogging/
• SXSW – Flashmarkets (From the Roman Agora to the Mobile Web)
  http://sxsw.com/node/1834
• Supernova Network Age Briefing Series
  http://www.supernovahub.com/conversations/network-age-briefings

RECENT WRITING:

• Entrepreneur.com – How to Rev Up The Success of Your WordPress Website
  https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/295168
• Five Trends That Are Going To Affect Marketing in 2014
  http://socialmediatoday.com/1985426/five-trends-are-going-affect-marketing-2014
• CRM Magazine: Boost Brand Advocates and Social Media Influencers
  http://www.destinationcrm.com/Articles/Editorial/Magazine-Features/Boost-Brand-Advocates-and-Social-Media-Influencers-86675.aspx
• 1to1 Media: Should Customers Control Their Own Information?
  http://www.1to1media.com/weblog/2009/10/guest_blogger_christopher_carf.html
• Retail TouchPoints: Social Media Requires New Metrics To Support Retailer Investment
  http://www.retailtouchpoints.com/marketing-metrics/337-social-media-requires-new-metrics-to-support-retailer-investment-.html
• Sales & Marketing Management: Sales and Marketing Hit The Network Age
  http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/smm_20090809/ (p. 16)

INFLUENCE:

• Top 25 Marketing Blog
• Top Social Media Strategists to Watch in 2010
• 100 Smartest People in Social Media (2009)
• Top 20 CRM Blog (2005, 2007, 2008)
• Power 150 Marketing Blog
• Founder’s Council: SocialBusinessOne
• Advisor: SocialMediaToday
• Steering Committee: ProjectVRM

Although I’ve been on the west coast since 1998 or so, I hold my Chicago roots dear. Grew up in that great city by the lake and went to school there (Evanston, actually), and took a detour to gather another degree in Pittsburgh before making my way west.

On the full-disclosure side of things, it’s probably relevant to note that my partner in matters both on- and off-line is the talented and lovely Lisa Stone. I promise we’ll try and keep the public displays of whuffie to a minimum.