About Business 2 Community

Mission Statement

Our mission is to create an open community where business professionals can establish their thought leadership, increase exposure for their business/organization, and network with others.  We aim to provide a balanced view of the current business landscape based on industry news and trends, as well as the real-life experiences from our 4,000+ expert contributors.  We are committed to continually providing new and innovative offerings (i.e. webcasts, whitepapers, site functionality, etc.) that enhance the experience for both our contributors and our audience.

History

In 2010, Brian Rice and Michael Brenner sought to leverage social media to build their personal brands through blogging and with the technical expertise of Dan Criel, B2C Marketing Insider and B2B Marketing Insider were launched in May of that year.  Both personal blogs quickly established an audience and gained industry recognition/awards.  After several months, Rice’s B2C Marketing Insider blog was named one of Ad Age’s Power 150 Marketing Blogs which resulted in an increase in site traffic and guest blogging requests.  Frustrated with existing blogging communities that choose to focus more of their efforts on highlighting well-established authors or failed to provide proper author attribution, and faced with an opportunity to connect with new bloggers, Rice decided to transform his personal blog into a ‘real’ open online community and built the strategy for the site’s future growth.  With the help of Criel, the site underwent its first redesign and began accepting original guest posts as well as syndicating content with expressed permission.  By the end of 2010 the blog outgrew the label of being a ‘personal blog’ and was beginning to take shape as a viable online media property.

In 2012, Business 2 Community established itself as one of the most popular business blogs on the web according to Technorati and Alexa.com.  In September of 2012, our offerings expanded to include a monthly webcast series that features our expert panelists as they share business best practices via live and recorded events.

We are privileged to have some of the brightest minds in the industry share their thought leadership and experience with our audience. These contributors provide valuable insights from both a business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) perspective; helping us truly create a “Business-to-Community” experience.

The Business 2 Community Team

Brian Rice, Co-Owner & Site/Content Strategist

Brian Rice is a marketing professional with a decade of experience on both the client and agency side of marketing.  He holds a BS, Marketing from Cabrini College and a MBA, Marketing from Saint Joseph’s Haub School of Business and is a member of the International Business Honors Society, Sigma Beta Delta.

Brian began his professional experience as an Intern at the executive search firm, Heidrick & Struggles in their Philadelphia office where he maintained their resume search database and assisted on various projects.  The next stop in his career was at LexisNexis where he gained experience in direct marketing while supporting in the promotion of LexisNexis’s legal publications and conferences.

At Lasko Products, a large manufacturer of heaters and fans, Brian was a Marketing and Sales Analyst working on accounts such as Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, Target and Kmart.  It was here that he gained insight into logistics and distribution for consumer products.

Interested in online marketing and a desire for gaining ad agency experience, he joined Unreal Marketing as an Account Executive and quickly was promoted to Account Supervisor where he worked on dozens of accounts across multiple industries.  Below are some of the highlights:

• FreeCreditReport.com
• Wilmington Trust
• Citizens Bank
• Chase
• Peachtree Structured Settlements
• Speedo
• Majestic
• White Flower Farm
• Artbeads.com
• Cosmetique
• Saladworks
• Total Merchant Services
• Career Education Corporation

Next, Brian was a co-Founder in GREENandSAVE LLC, a provider of environmental news and education, and got a taste of life as an entrepreneur.  At the beginning of 2010, he sold his stake in the company and joined SAP, a provider of products and services that empower businesses and helps accelerate business innovation, as an Online Marketing Manager.  In March 2013, he was promoted to Director, Social Media on SAP’s Global Marketing Team and in In addition, Brian is an adjunct professor at Cabrini College where he teaches Direct and Online Marketing. The views and opinions expressed here are Brian’s and do not represent those of his employer.

Connect with Brian on LinkedIn or email him at brian@business2community.com.

Dan Criel, Co-Owner & Site Architect/Creative Director

Dan has been designing and coding for the web for more than 15 years.  He graduated from the University of Delaware in 2005 with a B.E. in Computer Engineering, and again in 2007 with an M.B.A.  After working in the coding & design field throughout college and graduate school, Dan was hired by SAP America to support digital marketing in North America.  In this role, Dan has transformed campaign development & execution and has created numerous award winning web applications that help digital marketing run better at SAP.

Dan designed, built, and currently maintains all technical aspects of Business 2 Community and Business 2 Community Webcasts as a one-man development team, server admin, database admin, information architect, and creative director.

The views and opinions expressed here are Dan’s and do not represent those of his employer.

Renee DeCoskey, Managing Editor

Renee DeCoskey is a freelance writer, as well as the Managing Editor for Business 2 Community. She holds a BA in English from Susquehanna University and an MA in English from George Mason, and has a background in English secondary education. Though a relative newcomer to the business and marketing world, she enjoys it and continues to find new learning opportunities every day.

Daryl Merza, Advertising & Sponsorship Sales

Daryl Merza joined Business2Community in September 2012. He has 12 years experience in growing, monetizing and supporting new media companies and corresponding technology solutions, the last 5 years spent in the marketing and advertising vertical . As Vice President, Digital, Daryl is responsible for managing Business2Community monetization strategies, strategic partnerships, and media and sponsorship sales efforts.

Formerly, Daryl worked at Online Marketing Connect, with the last three years being spent as Director of Business Development for their main event series, the Online Marketing Summit. Previous to this he held senior sales roles at advertising networks Marchex and IndustryBrains, and in the print industry for Cool Blue Press of Washington, D.C.

Daryl has focused his energies on business in his career, but was educated in the sciences as he holds BS’s in Mechanical Engineering and Aerospace Engineering from Rutgers University, He resides in San Diego, CA and his hobbies include training in the martial arts, creating music, and rebuilding high-end PC equipment.

Partners

ThinkTraffic is an SEO agency that works with small businesses and entrepreneurs to build sites that deserve to out-rank the competition and is our SEO partner.

Their focus is always on building quality traffic by developing a better user experience, building a stronger brand and ultimately, delivering a positive ROI.

Click here for more information about ThinkTraffic.

Contact Us

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