@JoelECarlson – Hello everyone, and welcome to the Twitterview of Kieran Folliard. He will be using @TheLocalMPLS as his Twitter account. Lets begin!

Q – #1    To begin, this week is the launch of your new whiskey, #2gingers. What led to it’s development?

Kieran: Five years of being the #1 Jameson account in the world and the success of our trademarked drinks Big and Skinny Ginger gave us (con’t)

the opportunity to partner with Coolery Distillery in Ireland.

Q – #2    Had the thought/dream of the #2gingers been something on your mind to do for some time?

Kieran: You don’t have to be Irish to think launching your own whiskey brand seems like an interesting journey!

Q – #3    When will the #2gingers be available for the public to try?

Kieran: The christening of 2 Gingers will be at 5pm on Wednesday the 16th @TheLocalMpls. Then 530pm @KieransMPLS (con’t)

then 6pm @CooperIrishPub and 7pm @The_Liffey. There will be bagpipers, whiskey barrels and flame throwers. :)

With a free 2 Gingers for everyone (21+) at each pub!

Q – #4    I see. For those new to your establishments, what 2 featured drinks will the #2gingers be an ingredient in?

Kieran: Our featured drinks have become trademarked. They are the Big Ginger and the Skinny Ginger. Very simple yet egalitarian.

Fill collins glass with ice, 2 oz of Two Gingers, fill with ginger ale and garnish with a wedge of lemon and lime slice!

Q – #5    You first came onto the scene with @KieransMPLS. In a crowded food/drink scene in Mpls, what made you try?

Kieran: loved sitting in pubs drinking pints and talking rubbish. Why not punch the clock everyday?

Q – #6    I read in a @MNMOmag article that not only is the product important to you, but also your personnel. Can you explain?

Kieran: As an independent pub business, any product such as 2 Gingers or Green Ox that comes from us internally (con’t)

and is of high quality, all of us collectively feel a personal connection to it. We’re all part of the story. (con’t)

And with that comes a certain sense of pride which we all take ownership of.

Q – #7    Kudos to you! It seems like more companies that treat employees well have a good retention of them! True for you?

Kieran: Absolutely! We have colleagues who have been with us for 17 years @KieransMPLS, 7 ppl who have been with us for 10+ yrs

now have ownership in the company. And hopefully we’ll have many more to come.

Q – #8    Great format to ask this – Do you have any job openings at either of your 4 locations?

Kieran: We’re always looking for friendly people! Stop in and say you’re related to the 2 Gingers!

Q – #9    Nice. We’ll be ending soon, but you mentioned a product called #GreenOx earlier. Can you explain what that is?

Kieran: #GreenOx is our partnership with chef Mike Phillips. He purchases local pigs and lambs. He produces a wide variety of (cont)

charcuterie and sausage. Currently they’re on the menus at all 4 pubs, but hopefully they’ll be available in the (cont)

retail market with the next year or so.

@JoelECarlson – Thank you so much @TheLocalMpls (Kieran Folliard) for your time, comments and care that you bring to the Twin Cities! Excellent!

Kieran: Thank you for the opportunity to share. We hopefully see you on Wednesday for the big 2 Gingers launch!

@JoelECarlson: Welcome everyone! Today’s Twitterview with @SaraBoyd of @wcco starts now! Lets get to Tweeting!

Sara: Wahoo! Thanks for having me! (Sorry in advance for clogging people’s feeds) :)

Q – #1    So @SaraBoyd. Where did yo grow up, go to school and what was your 1st job?

Sara: I grew up in the lovely suburb of Shoreview, went to Mounds View (Go Mustangs!) and then headed to UW-Eau Claire.

My first job was a receptionist for Coldwell Banker Burnet where I answered calls and set up showings. Thrilling stuff.

I got a lot of calls where people would say “I’m at a blue house that’s for sale, how much is it?” #awesome

Q – #2    How did you get interested in the web and social media? What kind of schooling have you had?

Sara: I went to college for print journalism and was right at the turning point where online was becoming the new thing.

So I started taking a few CS classes, which got me really excited for the so-called “new wave” of journalism.

I’ve always loved social media, or should I say, I’ve always been sucked in. It’s just such a great way to connect.

Q – #3    It is fun, but can also be a “time trap”. :) After your Coldwell Banker Burnet job, what led you to @wcco?

Sara: So very true. It’s consumed hours of my life I’ll never get back. :)

I worked at CBB in high school, so once I got to UWEC, I got an internship at the Eau Claire paper.

After the Leader-Telegram, I got a scholarship which included an internship @WashingtonPost, which was incredible.

From there, I had 1 more internship at the Green Bay Press-Gazette before accepting a full time job as a reporter there

After missing my family, TC life and um, culture, I finally moved back home after getting the job at ‘CCO.

That was my first job moving from newspapers to the “dark side” of broadcast TV :)

Q – #4    I think you just lost all of your WI followers. :)  So what is your role with @wcco, and what does that entail?

Sara: Haha, Green Bay is its own unique animal in WI. :)

At ‘CCO, I’m a Web Producer, which entails writing & editing stories for the web, making TV stories “web-friendly” …

posting to WCCO’s The Wire and helping with social media, etc. Plus, anything else that comes along for the web.

Q – #5    I see. In your opinion, does Social Media and the urge to break a story 1st affect the accuracy of stories?

Sara: It can, if you let it. For us, accuracy always needs to be No. 1. We’d rather wait until we have the full story.

We’d rather be correct first than just first. In our tweets, for example, we always try to wait to link to the story.

You can be first every time but be wrong half of those times, and that’s much more damaging than being second.

Q – #6    Good guidelines to have with stories! Now your FAVORITES: Restaurant, store, comfort food and outdoor activity.

Sara: Ooh, that’s tough! For restaurants, I basically have a favorite for every genre of food.

If I had to pick 1, I’m loving Cafe Lurcat right now. Love shopping at Patina. And always love a good mac & cheese!

For outdoor activity — 1st of all, not until it reaches at least 50 — but I enjoy clichéd long walks in the park.

Q – #7    I see. What goal do you have for yourself for the next few months or years to achieve?

Sara: I’d love to own my own island, or find a cure for cancer. But if not that, then to continue expanding wcco.com’s reach

I’d love to do even more in terms of entertainment coverage and capitalizing on our TC offerings.

@JoelECarlson: Thank you Sara for being a Twitterview guest today. All the best with your work at CCO’!

Sara: Thanks Joel! It was fun!