In mid-February, Augie Ray will be leaving Forrester to lead the social media efforts at a Fortune 500 company. I’m going to miss working directly with Augie. But at the same time, I understand why he’s taking this new role. The analyst job boils down to two amazing responsibilities: 1) Do courageous research; and 2) Apply your research to help a client. Every so often, while doing the latter, an analyst decides it’s time to move back to the practitioner world. I wish Augie the very best (i.e., thousands of positive customer reviews) as he creates and implements the social strategy for his new company.

Just as an analyst becomes a practitioner, a practitioner becomes an analyst. After helping set and deploy Cisco's social media strategy, Elizabeth Shaw just started in our San Francisco office as an analyst covering the emerging and social media needs of interactive marketers. If you’re a client or a vendor in the Bay Area, please connect with Elizabeth. I think you’ll find her sharp, engaging, and open. Elizabeth will join Josh Bernoff, Sean Corcoran, Nate Elliott, Michael Greene, and Melissa Parrish to create the research that helps our interactive marketing clients move from social experimentation to cultural transformation. This team will work closely with other Forrester analysts covering social tools for their clients, such as Zach Hofer Shall writing for the Customer Intelligence Professional, and Rob Koplowitz and Ted Schadler writing for the Content & Collaboration Professional. Watch for upcoming reports on accelerating your social voyage, creating a global organizational structure for social, and selecting the best social media management services.

We are hiring a senior analyst in North America to join our Interactive Marketing team. This analyst will cover social media and its relationship to other digital efforts. If you’re interested, you can apply directly from the job description, or reach out to me at coverby@forrester.com or on Twitter @coverby.