Updated 11/23/09 – This is not a more advanced position

Dogster, Inc., – makers of vibrant, passion-centric, pet-centered community and information sites and blogs – is looking for an energetic, multi-skilled graphic and web designer to join our design team. This is a full-time contract position working at our offices in the Potrero Hill neighborhood of San Francisco.

We are a five-year old, financially secure business and we love what we do.

Responsibilities:

  • Working directly with project leads and engineers on site features, enhancements and updates

  • Some projects will involve direct implementation of fairly complete concepts developed by advertisers or others on the design team – taking another designer’s work and developing semantic, standards-based HTML/CSS and implementing it into the code base in concert with the development team

  • Other projects will entail designing user interfaces from rough wireframes or conceptual designs and carrying the project through to production, including all html and css coding

  • Working with Product Manager on optimization of sites, including creation, implementation and tracking of A/B and multivariate tests

  • Developing creative solutions for in-house marketing and editorial campaigns, including production of weekly newsletters

  • Design and production of marketing campaigns/promotions for advertisers

  • Designing custom buttons, icons, promotional images, banner ads as needed for the sites

  • Testing and QA of new site features

Qualifications:

  • 5+ years professional experience in web design and usability

  • Experience with usability testing and A/B and multivariate testing

  • Highly proficient in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator

  • Highly proficient in HTML and CSS

  • Self-motivated, ability to work independently to implement creative and editorial direction

  • Ability to thrive in a fast-paced iterative development environment, which includes initiating projects, delivering on time, communicating well, and following-through.

  • Exceptional attention to detail

  • A love of pets and a sense of humor

  • You value working in a fun environment, on a small team, with people you like

Please email portfolio samples or URL, resume, and letter of introduction to jobs[AT]dogster[dot]com. When sending portfolio links to web sites you’ve worked on, please be sure to include a description of your specific role for each example.

For years now you could get your dog or cat photo on your credit card, but never your debit card.

During the time of national savings we found a new partner, Tempo that is the first company to provide custom debit card replacement and thus Dogster Debit MasterCard® and Catster Debit MasterCard® are now a reality. The best part is you get cash back from a number of the purchases you make.

Pretty cool, right. I’ve already got Moxie on my card and I love it.

We are very pleased to announce we are seeking an awesome Internet Advertising Operations and Project Manager.

Our ideal candidate has had 3+ yrs of ad ops experience and 1-2 yrs of project management experience, is completely data driven and understands the entire digital media process from a design, engineering, business development and sales perspective. This is a really great opportunity to work with a profitable dynamic start-up. The position is 6-month contract that we hope will lead to a full time gig for the right candidate. Rock stars only.

The Advertising Operations and Project Manager is responsible for coordinating and managing all aspects of the ad operations process including: ad trafficking & optimization, managing inventory, reporting, customer service and billing (with accounting), defining and managing project time lines, leading client meetings (with sales), evaluate analyze and apply IO parameters – defining work time lines and managing client expectations to that time line, collecting and managing all creative assets, working with engineers and designers to build custom campaigns, working with sales & our clients to help define project goals.

Required Skills:

• 3-5 years experience in online advertising in advertising operations or traffic coordinator role

• 1-2 yrs of project management experience

• Detailed understanding of the digital media process

• Ability to work with design, engineering, business development and sales teams as well as clients to define product specifications and schedules

• Ability to manage schedule and scope so projects launch on time defect-free and amazing

• Meticulously think through the user experience aligning both the end users interests and that of the client in building custom ad campaign products

• Expert level knowledge of Microsoft Excel

How to Apply:
If you meet all of these qualifications AND have more to offer, Please email cover letter and resume to: jobs[AT]dogster[dot]com

We are very proud to have just released our first iPhone app into the app store. We released it in partnership with Jim Young, on of our Angel Investors who co-founded the HotOrNot empire. (Talk about a smart money value-add investor ;)

The app let’s people quickly make a profile, find other users either like or near them and start chatting it up. It’s called The Dog Park (naturally) and is meant to mirror the casual, easy sociality that comes amongst dogs and dog people at the real dog park. Install it now for free and check it out.

There’s a built system that allows people to give gifts and send photos to other users with points earned simply by using the app.

Here are some screen shots. Woof! Woof!

A screen shot of who is online in the Dog Park

A screen shot of a chat conversations I’ve had

You earn free points to give gifts to other dogs simply by using the app

Sarah Lacy wrote an article about Dogster over on Tech Crunch, to let people know about our upcoming ad sales partnership with our buds over at I Can Has Cheezburger!

We’re super excited to be working with the I Can Has Cheezburger group of companies and look forward to developing this relationship further! We know you know about I Can Has Cheezburger and Hot Dog, but make sure you stop by FailBlog and ItMadeMyDay.com and check out what else Cheezburger founder Ben Huh and his gang are up to…

Click here to read the whole article over on Tech Crunch.

Three of the biggest Groups in the Dogster community, The Best Lil’ Doghouse In Dogster, Tiny Paws And Furiends Cruise Line & Miss Dixie Monroe’s “Dixie” Land have decided to have an end of summer block party bash.

You’re invited, of course. It’ll be going on in all three of those groups simultaneously.

One question I get a lot is “do people meet and fall in love on the site?” The answer is yes, but not often. What has really surprised us, however are all the tales we hear of people that met on the site becoming very good friends in real life, even when they life thousands of miles apart. People are definitely not bowling alone when they spend time on Dogster.

But here’s a woofderful story where a site friendship led to a in-person friendship which led to a romance and marriage which led to a likely life-long friendship of two families.

I made friends with a lady, via Dogster. At the time I lived in N. GA, she lived in S. GA. Eventually, by pure coincidence, we moved to S. GA and my Dogster online friend became a real life friend. The first time she visited my new home, she brought her daughter along. Her daughter noticed a photo of our oldest son, who had just moved to Alabama. She commented that she thought he was handsome. I thus gave her a way to contact him, just for fun. To make a long story short… Our son moved to S. GA just six months later. Now our son, and my friend’s daughter are engaged to be married next year. They have lived together for over a year now and are deeply in love. Our families have become very close to each other.

We so happy for them all! Just one question can we be a Groomsdog at the wedding?

UPDATE 9/21/09: This position is now filled. Thanks

Here’s some very exciting news. We are seeking one awesome Editorial and Content Manager to oversee the entire Dogster, Inc. family of properties. The position is full-time based in San Francisco. The formal details are below but here’s who we really want you to be:

• » you are a perfect grammarian. You can write persuasive copy in your sleep and copy edit in a dust storm
• » you understand social media as if you were born into it
• » you relish a challenging fast-paced work place
• » you value working in a fun environment with people you like
• » you are awesome
• » you love animals
• » you love the Internet

The Editorial & Content Manager will be a critical trusted member of the team and responsible for:

• » writing highly effective copy for site features
• » consistently improving and updating all existing web content
• » managing a blogging and freelance writing staff of 5 – 10
• » writing weekly member newsletters for both Dogster and Catster
• » tracking open rates, click through rates and other key performance indicators for newsletter, blogs, and homepage editorial sections
• » writing highly effective copy for site features
• » providing quality control over all site copy
• » copy editing company documents
• » assisting the Business Development Team with marketing copy
• » writing and programming the dynamic leads and other homepage content.
• » finding new content sources both online and off and deploying and tracking it’s effectiveness
• » instigating and managing the viral distribution strategies of Dogster/Catster, utilizing social services such as Digg, Stumble Upon, Facebook and Twitter, among others.
• » communicating with and responding to blog readers, site fans, newsletter readers and twitter/facebook followers, via email, blog comments, twitter, wall postings, etc.
• » being a creative force for the company
• » staying up-to-date on pet-owner trends online and off.
• » staying up-to-date on Internet and publication trends.
• » reaching out to pet people wherever they are on the Internet
• » contributing to the evolution of “the voice of Dogster/Catster”

In addition to possessing expert social networking and social bookmarking skills, the ideal candidate will be aware of the latest pet- and animal-related Internet trends, and will be able and comfortable to follow and use evolving jargon and lingo in order to communicate effectively, efficiently and dynamically with our members, visitors, and followers, in attempt to further promote and distribute Dogster and Catster content.

The ideal candidate will understand how reader-targeted communication efforts are critical to our companies continual growth and expansion. He or she will demonstrate the ability to think creatively and work well independently. He or she will be familiar with the entire family of Dogster, Inc. properties and will communicate openly and regularly with the Dogster, Inc., team, presenting ideas, suggesting material, and coordinating cross-promotional support when appropriate.

he ideal candidate will be sensitive to and aware of the Dogster.com and Catster.com communities and can tailor updates (and writing style, in general) to appeal to the particular needs and desires of our Dogster and Catster members.

More desired qualities:

• » creative
• » funny
• » ability to write in a connecting way with our members
• » reliable
• » self-motivated and driven
• » strong work ethic/disciplined
• » organized
• » detail-oriented
• » stats junkie
• » knowledge and appreciation of blogging, vlogging and micro-blogging
• » love for dogs and cats
• » ability to learn from mistakes and not dwell on them

Qualifications:

• » 5+ years professional writing experience
• » Professional experience in a web environment
• » Expert knowledge of social networking and bookmarking tools
• » Deep understanding of internet concepts such as: page view, unique visitor, bounce rate, exit rate, SEO and keywords
• » Deep understanding of Internet virality, memes and trends
• » Familiarity with Google Analytics or other analytics tools
• » Commanding expertise in English language usage and grammar
• » Familiarity with HTML and CSS

If you meet all of these qualifications AND have more to offer, please send your resume and cover letter to: jobs[AT]dogster[dot]com

Dogster, Inc., manages and operates the largest online entertainment and information destination for dog and cat lovers. We are a five year old financially secure business and love what we do. We’re not scared to put in the long hours, but also enjoy our loves outside of the office.

Dogster, Inc is an equal opportunity employer and we mean it.

This is a full time, on-site position in San Francisco, CA. Working remotely is not an option due to the highly collaborative work requirements.

Best team on the Internet!

Learn more about us

Big thanks to Yahoo!’s Dustin Whittle, Senior Tech Yahoo!/Open Evangelist, for a great presentation on developing Web Services (i.e. APIs) using the PHP Symfony Framework. Yahoo! wrote/rewrote Answers, Delicious, Bookmarks and much more in Symfony and we’ve been using it for a number of recent projects and a number in the pipeline. It’s significantly reduced development time on complicated projects and provides with a very robust unified platform for future products.

Congrats to Paul Thrasher, our Lead Engineer who has been organizing the events. Attendance was already double the first meet-up and a number of companies were represented. If you want to learn more about Symfony or share how you are using it, join the Bay Area Symfony developer’s group and make it to an upcoming meet-up.