Sparker Media is a Connecticut-based company specializing in the creation and editing of print and online content, as well as the development and management of online marketing campaigns utilizing search engine optimization (SEO), social media, and e-mail marketing, such as e-newsletters and blogs.
Contents
Overview
Sparker Media was founded in 1999 by Sabadino Parker, a lifelong resident of Connecticut who earned his Bachelor's at the University of Connecticut in 1999 and his Master of Arts in English at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn. Originally, Sparker Media was a sole proprietorship and rubric under which Parker used his education and work skills to provide freelance writing and editing services mostly through word-of-mouth and Internet-based advertising. Creating resumes, in particular, was a specialty of Sparker Media. As the Internet developed over the course of the following decade, Parker found he was engaging more and more in developing Web content geared toward marketing, including updated and new websites, blogs, and e-newsletters. In 2011, Sparker Media announced it was expanding its services to include online marketing strategies.
History
Sparker Media was the brainchild of Sabadino Parker, who was born and raised in New Britain, Connecticut. Born in 1976, Parker excelled at artistry and writing, leading him to join the municipality's Gifted and Talented Program and becoming president of the National Honor Society while attending New Britain High School.
His excellent grades afforded him a full scholarship to the University of Connecticut, which he attended from 1994 through 1999, graduating cum laude with a B.A. in English and a Certificate in Peace Studies in May 1999, after having been placed six times on the Dean's List and honored as a New England Scholar for 1997 and 1998.
Shortly after graduation, Parker learned the intricacies of the publishing industry—specifically industry/legal/regulatory news—through his employment with Business & Legal Reports in Old Saybrook, Conn., first as a proofreader in 2000 and eventually as the managing editor of a series of environmental-law newsletters and state-specific booklets and special reports. In 2003 Parker accepted the APEX (Awards for Professional Excellence) in the category of Best Newsletter for the Environmental e-Lert—his first venture and accolade in the field of e-mail marketing and news dissemination. It was also during this period that Parker became a regular contributor to PopMatters.com, reviewing films, music, television programming, and graphic novels. In conjunction with this, Parker, under the umbrella of Sparker Media, became a weekly, syndicated DVD critic for a column titled "Getting Reel," which was published online and throughout various publications, most notably Connecticut's Shore Publishing, LLC's line of community newspapers.
It was also in this period, between 1999 and 2004, in which Parker published most of his creative works, most notably the poem "Smoke," which appeared in the Fairfield Review and the Kafkaesque short story "Heater," which appeared in the Winter 2004 edition of The Harrow.
In regard to Sparker Media, all of Parker's works were attributed to the company to demonstrate its credibility as a service excelling in writing and editing, while Sparker Media itself garnered a host of clients through such avenues as eLance, engaging in copy writing, editing, proofreading, and resume building—which quickly became a specialty of Sparker Media during the period's economic recession.
Throughout this period, Parker worked full-time as an editor, writer, and publishing manager, responsible for maintaining publishing schedules, relaying updates found in the Federal Register, and delegating customer inquiries, while taking night classes at Trinity College to earn his MA in English in 2007.
Since then, Sparker Media garnered additional clientele, varying in subject matter and formats, from ghostwriting self-help books for Connecticut-based Foghorn Publishing, developing marketing collateral and transcriptions for FactSet Research Systems, fact-checking material data sheets and maintaining inventory databases for Mettalizing Service Company, performing journalist and photography duties for Connecticut's Rare Reminder, and serving as head writer and eventually editorial manager for Hartford-based Scene Magazine (an online social media and entertainment publication).
Present
Sparker Media has continuously operated since 1999. However, it was only announced recently that Sparker Media was expanding its services to include online marketing in addition to providing Web content.
Through its affiliation with Website developers (who often needed a reliable source for textual content), such as MD Tech Team, Sparker Media began to transition from providing merely grammatically and verbally superior content for its print and Web clients, but to also incorporate the marketing techniques valued by online marketing, such as phraseology conducive to SEO, the development and maintenance of scheduled blogs and e-newsletters, and the infiltration of its business clientele's brands on social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Current Services
With nearly a dozen contracted freelance employees, Sparker Media is capable to specialize in the following:
Future Plans
Upon expanding into the online marketing business, Sparker Media has announced it will develop an e-book detailing its approach to the creation of resumes and cover letters for those seeking employment. It will also be guiding Scene Magazine as it develops additional marketing collateral and a print version of its online publication.