Snowplow Spotlight Anthony Mandelli

Anthony Mandelli – Digital Marketing Manager based in New Jersey

What do you do at Snowplow?

I’m the Digital Marketing Manager at Snowplow. My primary responsibility is writing our content like blog posts, web pages, and case studies. Outside of that, I do my best to support the rest of the marketing team who handle our social media, paid advertising, and email campaigns by reviewing their content. I also help maintain our website.

Why did you decide to go into marketing?

I fell into marketing by accident. Back when social media was still being established as a formal marketing discipline, I was interested in the data that we generated when we used these platforms and how it could be used to improve our experiences. It turned out that marketers were asking the same questions I was, so over time my career shifted from managing social media as a subset of what I did, to now where I get to be fully immersed in how people communicate.

What’s your favorite thing about your job?

Being able to clearly talk about Snowplow software and the amazing things our users are doing with data requires being familiar with a diverse set of topics: data science, data collection infrastructure, web analytics; the list goes on. I rely on my coworkers, who are experts in all of these things, and more, to make sure my content is accurate, engaging, and makes sense. Because of this, I get to collaborate with people from teams all across Snowplow. I get to work with and learn from the smartest people I know, every day. Can’t ask for more than that.

What do you find the most challenging?

Writing about data, and about how Snowplow helps companies, often seems to challenge me in new ways. There are so many people interested in taking control of their data and finding ways to make it work for them, and everyone has a slightly different experience with data. Figuring out how to speak to as many of those different experiences as I can so people interested in the topics I write about can not only follow along, but feel like they’ve read something meaningful, is challenging (but also very fun).

What was the first job you ever wanted to have?

When I could first conceptualize what a job was, my goal was to have the biggest vehicle possible, so I progressed from sanitation collection, to firefighter, to astronaut, ultimately deciding I wanted to do all three (at the same time). The first career I was interested in was architecture because to me, it seemed like a perfect hybrid of art and science.

What steps do you think the tech industry can take to become more inclusive?

Something we can all do is celebrate our coworkers, and make sure that everyone feels like their contributions are valued and appreciated. By supporting our teammates, we help make our own organizations welcoming and inclusive, which will hopefully go hand in hand with seeking diverse applicant pools for open positions. Together, these can help companies move in the right direction.

How do you find working for a company with such geographically distributed teams?

It’s exciting! You never know when somebody is going to join a meeting from the opposite end of the earth from the last time you spoke with them. It might be more challenging at different companies, but Snowplow does such a great job of making remote workers feel equal to office workers (which they are). We rely heavily on messaging online with Slack, so there really is a digital water cooler that we gather around to chat (we even have a channel called watercooler). The worst part is that I like my coworkers so much, I wouldn’t mind seeing them every day.

What do you like to spend time doing when you’re not at work?

My greatest passion in life is reading, so if I’m not working I’m sitting somewhere with a book in my hands. Right now I’m reading about the history of salt, and after that I’m planning to pick up a book on web development with Django (my other hobby).

What are 3 things still left on your bucket list?

Three things left on my bucket list:

• Hot wings challenge at the Red Dog Saloon in London
• Ride in a hot air balloon
• Read Lord of the Rings in Danish