Our team rocks! Our pride and joy lies in the awesome people that work on Team Obviously and the sheer amount of talent they bring to the table.

I'm Aaron. I was the newest member of Team Obviously...but you'll meet our newest member, Lara, very soon. In order to get know my Obviously fam, I've embarked on a quest to chat up every member of Team Obviously.

Today I sat down with the explosive Miriam. Head of Accounts and Product Ops, queen of cats and the lifeline of Team Obviously.

TEAM ALIAS: QUEEN MEEM/ THE INDIANA HAMMER

Aaron: What’s your role at Obviously? Assigned role and informal one? (ya know like queen of snacks, etc.)

Miriam: My formal role covers a lot in true #startuplife fashion. I handle large clients at Obviously as well as manage the accounts team, making sure that nothing catches on fire. If it does, I work with the team to put it out and we learn from it. I also take constant feedback from everyone who comes in contact with our platform so that the development team can make improvements. My informal role: being the office grandmother via inappropriate winking and advice giving.

Aaron: I don't mind your winking. *winks*

Miriam: *blank stare*

Aaron: Do you prefer Instagram Stories or posting on your feed? Pros & Cons? Filters or nah?

Miriam: Full disclosure - I didn’t have an Instagram account before working at Obviously. I’ve never been huge into social media for personal use despite being one of the first to sign up for Facebook in 2004 when it launched while I was in college (and now I’ve deactivated that account, sooo...). I started @meemcw to have a presence with the influencers we work with and to generally be a part of the office culture. I prefer posting on my feed and lately I’ve been editing my photos without using filters.

Aaron: In your pre-Obviously life, what did you do (for work) and what lead you here? I heard Mae is a kickass ninja and you’re one too, and Obviously is obviously an influencer ninja gang that posts amazing selfies.

Miriam: I can finally talk about Syria without my colleagues teasing me! My pre-Obviously life was 100% focused on the Middle East. My degrees (and life, tbh) focused on Middle East politics, namely Syrian political economy. I lived and worked in Damascus for a couple years and then moved to New York and had a few different jobs related to the Middle East with the UN and Yale, and I eventually ended up building the social media platforms for al-monitor.com. There I realized I enjoyed that type of work - work that was largely data driven. I decided to take a sorely-needed break from the Middle East world and move exclusively into the social media universe and found Obviously. At that time it was Obviously Social, and along with influencer campaigns we did a lot of social strategy for brands. In a few months I will be celebrating 3 years at the company.

Aaron: Yaaaas 3 year anniversary! *cue champagne pop*

Aaron: What type of influencers do you follow? Top three accounts aaaaand go!

Miriam: The pressure! I tend to follow ones that I work with closely - like my #teampixel fam. Check out @isaiahrw for great photography, @sofiaecha for her artwork and style, and @tomwindeknecht for bright posts that make me laugh. (All the #teampixel members are amazing, though!)

Aaron: Tell me something about Obviously that others may be surprised to hear?

Miriam: We’re an exceptionally diverse team for the industry we work in, and in general - something I’m really proud about. I hope that doesn’t surprise people but I am delighted by it and wanted to mention it!

Aaron: On the spot, create a haiku about cats. You do like cats, right?

Miriam:

The hand that feeds me

Taunts with colored bird-like toys

With pity I play

Aaron: What’s the most obvious thing about us here at Obviously?

Miriam: What you see on Instagram @obviously is what you get with us! We are tight and love being in the office - most of the time. Like when there’s not a Bomb Cyclone happening.

For more fire cat haikus follow the totes amaze @meemcw. Check out the blog same time next week to meet more of Team Obviously!