@JoelECarlson – Hello and welcome to Twitterview No.2 today, this time our guest is @lgmelcher. Lets get rolling!

@lgmelcher – thanks, @JoelECarlson. coffee in hand and ready to go

Q – #1    So @lgmelcher (Lauren), please share where you grew up, what you did after High School and what lead you to where you are today?

A: I grew up in an Air Force family – dad was stationed in Texas and California, and I came to Minnesota for college (@StOlaf)

I took some time off to travel, then studied journalism in Wash. DC before coming back to MN and getting an English/Management degree

My first “real” job was with @AliveMagazine – managing editor – which was an awesome experience. loved the mission and the community

…and then two years ago I took a new job in strategic communications and marketing, which I also love.

Q – #2    Cool. So what is your role, what type of clients/customers to do you work with and is SM part of what you do?

A: My role changes for each client, but I’m generally in a project manager / content strategist position for #highered clients

I also work on our technology team, building internal and external systems (including web dev processes, etc) so that includes SM

Our firm doesn’t specialize in any particular area, but I’ve been lucky to work with lots of nonprofits and colleges/universities

Q – #3    Neat. What kind of things do you do to stay caught up with the latest platforms, systems and processes?

A: I read all the time. Blogs, yes, but also magazines and books (!). That’s always been a habit, and it serves me well in my job.

I also write for @TECHdotMN, which leads me to meeting tons of great people – I learn a lot from talking to and writing about them

I should say, too, that while I like staying caught up with the “latest & greatest,” I make an effort for it not to control my life

Q – #4    Good for you! So in addition to work, what other kind of hobbies or activities are you involved with doing?

A: Well, last year I splurged on a DSLR camera that I love, and spend a lot of time outside of work on personal & volunteer photo prjcts

I’m also the proud new owner of a 110-year-old farmhouse in Minneapolis, which has been a blast to work on the last few months

really, I’m a sucker for a good home improvement or cooking blog and love DIY projects.

Q – #5    Wow!  A 110yr old farmhouse. Hopefully it’s warm inside! Now to your FAVS: restaurant, store, winter activity and gadget.

A: very warm :) that thing was built back when people really built houses well, I’m telling you.

hmm. favorites. restaurant: Northeast Social Club in Mpls, but my all-time fav is a BBQ dive in San Antonio. Rudy’s. mmm.

store… Hunt and Gather (50th and Xerxes) is great for vintage finds. But I’m a Williams and Sonoma girl at heart.

winter activity… downhill skiing, for sure. I grew up skiing at Lake Tahoe and that’s the thing I miss most about California

gadget… my mom’s iPad. sigh. I love that thing. also, my bluetooth b/c I’m always driving and talking on the phone

Q – #6    So what kind of professional or personal goals have you set for yourself for the next year or so?

A: great question. I like goals when they relate to business, but I don’t have a lot of personal/professional goals set out right now…

… I feel that I’m lucky to have already gotten to do many of the things I dreamed of as a little girl.

so my goals are to be challenged in my work and have the freedom to volunteer my time to causes I feel strongly about

Q – #7    That sounds fulfilling. :) If you could have any 1 person (dead/alive) over for dinner, who would you ask and why?

A: I’ve always imagined that Indira Gandhi would have some amazing stories to tell.

Q – #8    Final question, what life advice or mantra would you like to share today?

A: I used to be a cautious person. Still am in some ways, but the phrase “feel the fear and do it anyways” really resonates with me.

and the quotation behind Alive Magazine has been hugely influential for me …

“don’t ask what the world needs. ask what makes you come alive and go do that b/c what the world needs is people who have come alive”

@JoelECarlson – Thank you @lgmelcher today for your time and sharing some of your thoughts. Have a great afternoon and have fun.

@lgmelcher – thanks, @JoelECarlson. take care.

@JoelECarlson – Hello everyone and welcome to the Twitterview of @assistantlist. Lets get started shall we?

@AssistantList – Yes.. Good Morning Joel

Q – #1    So @assistantlist, where did you grow up and how did you get to  doing what you do today for work?

A: I grow up in Chicago and have a BFA in photography from Columbia. @assistantlist is a side project of my company @flashlightmpls

Q – #2    I see. So how did you become interested in photography?

A: I think I was just born a visual person. Do you want me to tell you what @assistantlist is and what it has value?

Q – #3    Yes, what kind of service is @assistantlist, and how has it been used?

A: Most of our @flashlightmpls clients are from the coasts and they are always in need of some productions help.

We would get a couple of people every week asking if we knew any photo assistants.

This happened a lot and all of our people were booked. So I decided on a Monday to built a small site.

I talked with my friend @epmd73. He built the site and I shot the portraits. The site was live in 4 days from the idea.

The beauty of @assistantlist is that its a free service for any one to use. Its a community building platform.

Q – #4    How many folks do you have on @assistantlist, and have you seen it being effective?

A: There are 48 people/companies on @assistantlist and its is growing everyday. It’s very effective! People are working.

Q – #5    So what does somebody need to do to get on the list of available people?

A: We have a @tubes designed postcard campaign and aggressive email campaign that 8000 photographers across the US

It is a fee based subscription service for working professionals in the photo industry.

@rickharing @aphotoassistant @kern2d @PeterHunner @jbBRDNKCHR @TWEAK @AndersonDT are some twitter people on the list.

Q – #6    That’s great. What kind of feedback have you received since it’s launch?

A: We received 2500 hits to the site within the first week and a nice mention on @aphotoeditor We launched 07/23/10.

To date, We have received over 10k unique visitors to the site. Next year we are going to do a series of events.

@JoelECarlson – That’s great! Well all the best to you on this endeavor. Thanks for participating in today’s TwitterReview.

@assistantlist – Thank you.

As 2010 nears it’s end, it might be a good time to reflect on activities of the last year and determine what were the biggest branding PR nightmare stories that happened.  You first might think of the BP Gulf oil spill. Some may think of the Toyota recalls due to bad and known design defects. Others may think of the Gap logo redesign. Would you have taken on any of these as a person in PR to try to fix repair damage to the brands image, and what would you have tried to do to repair them?  Please submit your ideas for Global, National or Local PR nightmare stories.  A follow up post will be made later.