I'm once again pumped to introduce you to our second new community manager, Jared Paul. Get to know him in less then 2 minutes with these juicy tidbits below:

• Jared grew up in Atlanta where he honed his passion for college football, sweet tea, and southern gentlemanly manners. 
• He's a proud graduate of the University of Florida...Go Gators! 
• Spent a few years in sales roles, started his own company, then founded the nonprofit A Good Idea, which he ran for the past 4 years and was named a "top 7 favorite charity" by the readers of 7x7 magazine. 
• Jared loves music, music, music and more music. He's been a musician for 20+ years and tries to see at least one show a week. Have any parties that need music? Not to worry, Jared is a master music mix maker :)

After sitting down with Jared, I wanted to get his take on his new role and what he wants to accomplish in it. Here are some of his thoughts:

What are you looking forward to in this new role?
The Community Manager position provides me with the opportunity to do two things I love, connecting with and helping people. Having my finger on the pulse of saleforce.com's social media interactions will provide me a real-time opportunity to solve problems and create an even better user experience. Furthermore, I'm looking forward to working with my passionate and creative colleagues.

What are your goals? 
My initial goal is to jump in and become part of the Salesforce "energy" that makes us one of the best companies in the world. To become a knowledgeable ambassador of the brand and to get a deeper understanding for our customers so that I can truly understand what drives and inspires them. Eventually I'd love to take the online conversations offline, to allow for a more personalized connection to be formed. 

Why social media?
It has not only become a huge part of my social life, allowing me to really stay up-to-date on distant friends and family, but it allowed my nonprofit to connect with volunteers, board members, and other community members whom we most likely would have never met. Social Media and networking was also the catalyst for us winning national awards, contests, and more!

From a marketing perspective, I love the fact that for the most part social media marketing is free. In the past, companies had to spend thousands of dollars on commercials, print advertising, and radio spots, and now have the ability to market their brand across multiple free channels. 

What crazy thing should our community know about you? 
I was in NYC on 9/11 and watched the twin towers fall. This experience forever shaped how I view my life, my work, and my desire to wake up every day feeling passionate, excited, and ready to take on each experience.

Jared brings another perspective to our team and we're looking forward to having him jump in and make a splash with our community. Follow him on Twitter (@jaredmpaul) and take a look at his starring role in this 2 minute video: Heart of the City - Trailer.

Nathan (@natespeak)