J A S O N    C O O K
http://www.jasoncook.com/work/
work (at) jasoncook.com

S U M M A R Y

Proven track record managing top-tier web destinations.  
Six years of product development experience, leading strategic business, design, and content initiatives.  


E X P E R I E N C E

Terra Lycos  |   1997-2002   |  San Francisco, CA
Product Manager, Webmonkey, WhoWhere  (2001-2002)


_ Managed overhaul of layout and site design; consolidated sponsorships to increase advertising inventory, while generating positive feedback for removing page clutter and intrusive promotions.  Webmonkey pioneered new ad products and formats later adopted across the Lycos Network.

_ Designed custom promotions for key advertisers, joined sales calls, and developed market research to showcase Webmonkey's strong demographics to industry clients.

_ Worked with editorial team to double Webmonkey’s publishing schedule; we also integrated our content into Lycos’ Tripod and Angelfire.com communities, boosting unique visitors and raising Webmonkey’s brand visibility in the youth market.

_ Time.com, The New York Times, Brill's Content, PC Magazine's Top 100 Computing sites, and ZDnet all gave awards or kudos to Webmonkey in 2001-2002.

Product Manager, HotBot  (1999 - 2001)

_ Led definition, design, and launch of personalized search application on HotBot; promoted this unique functionality on Lycos' west-coast press tour.

_ Managed rush deployment of a major paid-listing partnership, whose on-time, on-spec delivery secured millions of dollars in bonus payments, and proved instrumental to corporate earnings.

_ Handled post-acquisition integration of Lycos technology and business directives into HotBot's search application and user interface; devised metrics which gauged the impact of these changes on our audience, and on our bottom line.

_ Managed the development and market trial of query-disambiguation tools and natural-language search enhancements based on Cycorp technology.

_ Redesigned HotWired’s internal workflow and bug-tracking system, with an emphasis on speed & usability.  This streamlined application was subsequently adopted by other development groups within Lycos US.

_ As a contractor (1997), production manager (1998), and project manager (1999), implemented a variety of large-scale software development projects, such as migrating HotBot’s code from Apache / XSSI to an IIS / ASP platform.

_ HotBot won PC Magazine's "Editor's Choice", PC/Computing's "Search Engine Shoot-out" MVP, and Forbes' "Best of The Web" awards during this period.


Freelance Technology Writer, WIRED Magazine, others | 1999-2002 | San Francisco, CA
Articles and research for Conde Nast's WIRED, MacWorld, Webmonkey, the San Diego Union-Tribune, others.


E D U C A T I O N

University of California, Berkeley
B.A., English Literature  |   B.A., Religious Studies   |   graduated summa cum laude   |   1996