Shai Kushner

Background

About Shai Kushner

I wasn't a standard little kid. While my friends admired sportsball teams, rock stars and actors, I was busy hanging posters of Gary Thuerk on my wall. By sending the first spam email on record, not only did Thuerk inform 400 ARPAnet users of a scheduled demonstration of a new Digital Equipment Corporation product, he paved the way for online advertising to become as ubiquitous and pervasive as it is today. Then, in April of 1994, as I was spending my waking hours studying banners on Prodigy, I marveled at how two Arizona lawyers could reach Usenet newsgroups to offer their services in obtaining Green Cards. Heroes they were, my heroes at least. If you've read this far, then I hope you know I'm just kidding. I mean yes, Mr. Thuerk did really send that email in 1978, and those two lawyers really did plug their Green Card capabilities to Usenet groups, but I didn't know or care about it back then. Truth is, like many, I am very into sports, music, and other forms of entertainment. Passionate about those things, actually. It probably explains my eclectic career to this point. I have worked as a radio DJ (remember those?), in television and film production, as a video engineer for the Mets, a sports blogger, a producer and floor manager for WWE, a screenwriter, and indeed, in the fascinating and challenging world of digital advertising. Throughout this journey, I have learned how much I love seeing a project through to completion, admiring it for a moment, and then moving on to the next. As much as I enjoy the finished product, it's the collaboration it takes to get there that keeps me going. Fortunately, the most consistent feedback I've received is that my colleagues, managers, and those whom I've managed have appreciated my determined yet empathetic approach, and have told me that I've often inspired them to do their best work. Well, maybe positive reinforcement is another thing that keeps me going. When I'm not working with others, I am dividing my time among my family, my screenwriting, listening to extended jams by a number of bands, and dying hard with the Mets. Reach out if you're looking to add someone to your team who enjoys what he does and looks to help others enjoy it too. Or reach out if you're curious about random online advertising trivia and don't feel like Googling it yourself. Cheers, Shai