Hello everybody following #jectv today! My guest today is @wcco TV morning reporter @StanfordWCCO, so lets get started!

Q – #1    Lets start off by asking @StandfordWCCO (Chris), where did you grow up and attend High School? Where then did you go to college?

Chris:    I grew up in Stevens Point, WI. Went to Stevens Point Area Senior High (SPASH), undergrad at UW-Stevens Point

I guess you could say I didn’t stray that far from home for a while. Central Wis. is nice, but I needed more

Q – #2    What kind of classes did you excel at in HS, and what was your major when you went to UW Stevens Point?

Chris:    I really enjoyed this electronic comm. class I took my Junior year. I took the same course my Senior year helping…

the younger students with their projects. That was my first experience sharing my knowledge in that type of setting…

I built on that later. I graduated college with a BA in Comm with an emphasis in Mass Media.

Q – #3    How did you get your food in the door for becoming a reporter? Where did you intern? What kinds of things did you do?

Chris:    I first interned at WSAW as a paid production assistant. I ran studio camera and audio. That’s where I discovered my

fascination with TV news. That’s also where I learned how to shoot. They let me shoot sports, and news. I loved it.

Seeing my video on TV was wild! I couldn’t believe it. I later left that station to intern at WAOW in their newsroom.

WAOW hired me right out of school as a producer/reporter.

Q – #4     Where is WAOW, and what led you eventually come to Minneapolis and @wcco TV?

Chris:    It’s in Wausau, WI. It was my home market. They really liked that I was local. I anchor the mornings there, then

I went to Eau Claire to WQOW to anchor/produce the 10pm. When my contract was up, I wanted to report in Minneapolis

Landing any job in TV is hard. I thought I won the lottery landing at @WCCO. I never thought it would happen.

Q – #5    Interesting. What drew you to MSP over say Green Bay, Madison or Milwaukee in your home state?

Chris:    I’ve always loved coming to Minneapolis. I’ve always had fun visiting. The city has a great feel to it.

That, and my then wife (then fiance) was getting her Pharm. D at the U. We lived in Hudson when I was job hunting

TYPO ALERT!!! Now wife (then fiance) – I’m very happily married and have never been divorced

Q – #6    As someone from WI, have you seen or experienced anything in MN that is different from life in WI? Style? Attitudes?

Chris:    It’s far more diverse here. There’s more culture. But I love Madison and Milwaukee. Those cities are fun.. wow.

I think the attitudes in general are similar. We’re all from the Midwest.

I’m from a smaller town in WIs. and have never lived in a “big city” before. But I feel like I fit right in

Q – #7    More about YOU now Chris. FAVORITE(S): Restaurant, store, comfort food, recent book or movie. National anchor.

Chris:    Peter Jennings will always be my favorite. There will never be another. I try to keep it healthy with my diet, but…

My guilty pleasure is an unnecessary bowl of cereal. I love anywhere with good sushi, or a laid back bar and grill

I’m a guy who appreciates good cinema, but can laugh at the silly humor of South Park. Those guys are incredibly clever

Q – #8    What are some neighborhoods and places in the Twin Cities that you’ve enjoyed exploring recently?

Chris:    I finally got my bike out and road along Minnehaha Creek and around a couple of the lakes.

I’ve also played a few of the city’s public golf courses. I love to golf. They’re a great value.

Q – #9    I saw that you anchored on SAT night by the way. Congrats! To close, what kind of stories do you like to cover?

Chris:    Covering features. I like to tell ‘people stories’. It’s a great way for the viewer to relate and get a point across.

I like that I can do a feature in the morning and then cover breaking, hard news for the noon. It keeps it interesting.

I have the privilege of meeting new people every day and always learning something new in the process

@JoelECarlson:    Super! Thanks Chris for your time and comments today. If you’d like to have him answer a question, DM me and then. . .

. . . I’ll post a a YouTube video on Friday of Chris answering some of your questions. Thanks again @StanfordWCCO!

Chris:    This was fun. Hopefully I was interesting enough!

Sorry for the #TweetScare today @KellyGroehler! So lets start out from the beginning! Where did you grow up and attend school?

Kelly:    Thanks. spent childhood in Adrian, MN. Left in 10th grade; graduated from ROCORI H.S. But Adrian will always be home.

Q – #1    After H.S, what did you go on to? Did you know what kind of profession that you wanted to get early in life?

Kelly:    Original plan: sports broadcasting. But I turned down Emerson College. Suzy Kolber at ESPN has my childhood dream job.

Took intro broadcasting class at SCSU (TOP-NOTCH mass comm school). Hated it. I sat in my advisor’s office, crushed.

she suggested PR: Either ask the coach a question as a reporter, or help the coach answer it. That was my PR awakening.

graduated ’93 with a B.S. Mass Comm, PR emphasis/minor: Human Relations from SCSU. Accredited in Public Relations 1998

but I don’t do sports PR. I enjoy being a plain ol’ fan, but I do respect well-handled team PR. To wit: #YANKEES. :)

Q – #2    Great that you found your calling! :) What then was the first job that you got to apply your newly acquired skills?

Kelly:    internship at St. Cloud Hospital; learned I don’t enjoy health care PR. Dad was patient at that time, so didn’t help.

then, 8-month internship at @padillaspeer. A fantastic, grounding experience. I recommend for any graduate.

Q – #3    Take us down the road from the SC Hospital to you getting to end up at Best Buy. How did you know you were a fit?

Kelly:    From @padillaspeer, did short stints at a St. Cloud ad shop, then in Brainerd at Russell & Herder. Back to PSB in ’96.

I was at PSB from ’96 to ’05. Amazing experiences; manufacturing, tech, labor negotiations, supply chain, change mgmt.

learned so much about the value of good communication, and the role of intangible assets like reputation to biz goals.

most importantly, learned to think and speak the language of business, and how to explain PR in those terms.

Best Buy – came here in ’05 to help build corporate PR capability, reputation mgmt & comms strategy for sustainability

understanding how sourcing, supply chain, labor, manufacturing works helped immensely in a retail environment.

Q – #4    Nice! With your experience, how have you seen technology/internet change how PR is done? Has it effected the quality?

Kelly:    It has affected quality. we get caught up w/new channels like SM. Adoption curve; PR principles needed more than ever.

There is an adoption curve while we all figure out the best way to approach a new channel: earned, paid, owned, or all.

the lines between paid-earned-owned are fuzzier than ever with social media.

Principled PR approach to SM – audience, message, prioritize, focus, proactive, relevance, perseverance – will prevail.

I’m happy tech is here to stay; we need to adapt PR principles to new ways of engaging stakeholders & sharing stories

Q – #5     In your mind, when a CO. is hiring a Social Media Manager, what should be the top skill – PR, Marketing, cust serv?

Kelly:    Depends on where the position is staffed. I don’t think social media warrants own department. It’s a set of channels.

If it’s in PR, I’m looking for a PR manager with experience integrating social media into communications strategies.

It’s highly unlikely we’d ever seek a social media manager, or seek to create a position so specific to one channel

Q – #6    Good points! Lets shift gears.  Please reveal your own @vanityfair version of “My Stuff”. What’s your “stuff”?

Kelly:    have you ever seen one of those lists? I was kidding – we’d be here all day

Q – #7    It was new to me, but I’d figure that I’d play. :)  FAVORITE(S): Restaurant, store, comfort food, recent book or blog?

Kelly:    Restaurant: MSP – @travailkitchen, Manny’s, Fuji Ya, @Barbette, @tilia. NYC: Balthazar, Del Posto, Republic (noodles!)

And I LOVE the cereal milk soft serve & compost cookies at @momofuku Milk Bar, East Village NYC

comfort food: Anything Ole whips up (mac/cheese, Spinach-scallion-jalapeno pizza, marinara). Also love roasted chicken.

recent book: I’m ashamed to admit I have a list a mile long on my iPhone, but haven’t cracked open a new one in 1 year.

I do read @Fortune & @VanityFair issues cover to cover. NatGeo, too. I reread Salem’s Lot this summer (favorite book).

favorite blogs: Same Rowdy Crowd, Smart Politics, Daily Beast, HuffPost. @freshtart to drool. @judy3x for crazypants.

ah! One last comfort food: @Aveda tea.

Q – #8    Busy mom! To close, what’s one goal that you have, personally or professionally, that you hope to reach soon?

Kelly:    Happy, well-adjusted teenage boy. T-minus four years to go! Professionally: an overseas assignment and a CCO role.

@JoelECarlson:    Thanks SOOO much for your time and comments today Kelly. I hope that you reach your goals soon. Have a good week!

Kelly:    Joel, this was fun. Thanks very much for the opportunity!

Hello everybody. Happy to be on Twitter instead of Facebook? :) Lets get started now with the Twitterview of @FoxyFalafel.

Q – #1    So @FoxyFalafel (Erica), what was life like growing up in South Dakota? Did you live in town or have acres?

Erica:    I grew up on the farm on a river with acreage. A great way to grow up and I’m very thankful for that!

Q – #2    So did you raise animals? If so, which ones did you have? What made you decide to go to school in NY?

Erica:    We raised pigs till I was in Jr. High and my grandparents who lived 5 miles from us raised cattle and chickens.

It was always fun to have animals around. We learned the circle of life at a young age. We had cats and dogs too.

I decided to go to NYC b/c I found the @nutritionschool (Institute for Integrative Nutrition)#bestfit

The founder of the @naturalgourmet Anne Marie Colbin spoke at @nutritionschool and I was hooked!

The @naturalgourmet was founded on the principle that what we eat affects our physical, mental and spiritual well-being

Q – #3    For those that missed your video on http://www.youtube.com/JoelECarlson, how did you come to learn about the making of Falafels?

Erica:    After culinary school I worked w/ an israeli chef for 2 years. I learned middle eastern and Mediterranean flavors

And the art of falafels!

Q – #4    So when did you start making Falafels in Minnesota and start prepping the sauces that you would bring to markets?

Erica:    Foxy debuted last summer at @kingfieldmarket All the sauces and pickled items started then too, but has grown since.

Q – #5    Besides @kingfieldmarket, where else can you be found, and what’s the “Smoothie workout”?

Erica:    Pedal Powered Smoothies & Kombucha @MCFarmersMkt Blender attached to a bike. You can pedal your own!

Q – #6     So what options does a person have when the order a falafel?

Erica:    Curry, Beet, or Foxy Falafel w/ hummus & seasoned cabbage in a pita topped w/ cukes & tomatoes. Your choice of sauces

Sauces are Cucumber Mint Yogurt, Green Tahini, Spicy Harissa and Amba (pickled mango) sauce

Lots of pickles too! Baby bell peppers, onions, cauliflower, hot peppers, banana peppers, dill pickles

Q – #7    Tell us more about yourself. FAVORITE(S) Restaurant, store, comfort food, recent book or blog, herb/spice.

Erica:    Love @namastecafe, just tried Bachelor Farmer. Yummy

Really enjoying stewed meats and warming comfort food as it gets colder.

Q – #8    You can share a few of them. :) What are your plans for the future with your business?

Erica:    Future plans are to keep on feeding people delicious food! More to come so watch twitter for details!

Q – #9    So how much longer will your falafels be available to the public? What’s the Foxy-Falafel season? :)

Erica:    @kingfieldmarket ends October 30th. You can get the falafels there and then stay tuned for winter events/distribution!

The farmers market season typically runs from the end of May till the end of October.

I do caterings too so people can feel free to contact me for events!

@JoelECarlson    That’s awesome Erica! Thanks so much for you time and comments today. A video of how Falefels are made will be out soon!

Erica:    Thank you Joel! So much fun to meet you! I hope you have a great day! Come and eat a falafel anytime!

The expansion of Food Trucks in the Twin Cities continues to grow and grow. Here are a few videos showing some of the food truck options that are available to people in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul in Minnesota.

128 Cafe

Chef Shack

Fork in the Road

Smack Shack

New Facebook Feeds Fail to Impress ‘Customers’: MyFoxTWINCITIES.com

Hello everyone, and welcome to the start of a new week! Lets kick it off with a Twitterview! My guest today is @NewMediaAngels.

Cemanthe:    Hello everyone!

Q – #1    To start @NewMediaAngels (Cemanthe), tell us about where you grew up, if and where you attended University and where you live now.

Cemanthe:    Hello :) Grew up in South Africa (everywhere! mum got itchy feet every 3 years so we moved alot :), didn’t attend uni -

and think this stood me in good stead afterall! And now live in the most beautiful part of London near Richmond :)

Q – #2    Yes they did! So how did you come to start your company? When did it start, and what was the motivation behind it?

Cemanthe:    Great. Well, I started a previous business in 2007 when I got tired of the rat race and office politics, but sadly..

that business got nicked by someone else! (long story!) :) so I rebranded and started new media angels in Feb 2009 …

motivation was purely because I’ve always been entreprenurial & also dont seem to fit into the structure of a company..

I always contributed more than my job description allowed for ;) and there can only be one MD in a company so made..

so made sense for me to start my own and be the MD :)

ps.. life is too short to be in a job or career that is not fulfilling! philosophy of my life!

Q – #3     What’s an MD? What kind of businesses have you worked with? What is “HOT” when it comes to Social Media in the UK?

Cemanthe:    ah! Managing Director :) The big boss basically :) In my own business we’ve worked with everyone from pre-startup..

.. to mid-range brand. In my personal work experience I’ve done just about every job u dnt need a degree :)

The current trend is moving towards mobile marketing in the form of apps, but also more emphasis being placed..

on building relationships with customers using #socialmedia

Q – #4    Are QR Codes catching on in their use in the U.K? Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are heavily used here. There too?

Cemanthe:    Great question! QR codes not catching on as much yet, I think people struggling to understand what they are & can do…

yes, Facebook, Twitter and Linked definitely industry leaders here in UK!

Q – #5     What kind of things do you find people generally Tweet or post on Facebook? Weather and food are popular in MN.

Cemanthe:    I think it’s mixed to be honest. The people who know about social media are tweeting about weather and food! How else..

do you start a conversation with someone? :) It’s trying to get this concept across to people that’s so difficult..

.. will you start a conversation?! People are trying to sell their business through socialmedia, not realising that..

.. no-one cares about your #business; they want to know about you and what You can do for them! That’s your USP – you

Q – #6     Do you do both Android and Apple Apps? As far as smartphones go, which platform is the most popular in the UK?

Cemanthe:    Yes, we do both, but not built from scratch – they’re structured to make it easier (& cheaper) for the client…

Apple most popular but Android definitely market leader in all research I’ve done! Strangely enough :)

Q – #7     Lets learn more about YOU. Your FAVORITE(S): Restaurant, store, comfort food, vacation city and App to use.

Cemanthe:    Whew! This could go on for ages ;) heehee Restaurant: Giraffe, @sweetiepiesbb and Pincho (tapas). Store:..

.. any stationery shop will do! :) Comfort Foo: choc, cupcakes, icecream. Vacation City: Greece in general, but..

where I live is so beautiful that every weekend like a vacation :) App: Facebook! hahaha also Shazam :)

ah also, Florida and New York City favourites! New York City most favourite city of all time :)

Q – #8     Are you a blog or a biz-book reader at all? If so, have any recommendations that you care to share?

Cemanthe:    Oh yes! Follow Mashable closely for updated info, and with other blogs find ones recommended on facebook by contacts..

and also particularly have found Seth Godin’s book ‘Poke the Box’ useful and enlightening. Also like…

‘Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway’ – book for life in general really. not just business

I think also reading biographies or autobiographies of business leaders is a good idea – learn from their experience

Q – #9     Do you have any goals for your business or yourself that you care to share? Expansion, etc.?

Cemanthe:    Well, NewMediaAngels is now splitting into Social Influence which will deal with socialmedia training side of things..

we will then do photography and apps as part of New Media Angels once that happens, & I have a wonderful team of ..

Make creating a Web site a top priority. You really shouldn’t do without one. Give people a place to go to learn about your business.

.. about 12 Angels (who are fab!). I also have a new company that I’ve just started which focuses on the internal…

..social engagement – ie. the internal clients: employees! So NMA and SI will be external social, new company internal.

@JoelECarlson:     It’s been great to Tweet with you today. All the best with your Co. and yourself. Thanks for your time and comments!

Cemanthe:    Thank you Joel – that has been great to talk to you too! Very interesting! :) Bye! *waves*

Hello everyone! Welcome to today’s Twitterview of @LynxRadio (Alan Horton) voice of the @WNBA @MinnesotaLynx! Lets play!

Q – #1    Before we talk about you @LynxRadio, have you ever had a season that you’ve been more surprised by then this year? #LosLynx

Alan:    I’m surprised that they’ve been as dominant as they’ve been. Seems like every few weeks they’re setting WNBA records!

Alan:   Right from a chat on lynxbasketball.com to a twitterview ! Let’s do this ! Follow at #jectv #loslynx

Q – #2    It seems like no one player is the dominant force, it’s more of a team with balanced strengths. Who has surprised you?

Alan:    LW MVP play, SA regaining form, RB’s rebounding, Maya’s raw ability…all surprising how good they’ve been together

Q – #3    What kind of game are you expecting tonight when the @MinnesotaLynx play the @SASilverStars? #LosLynx

Alan:    4 meetings avg score has been 72-66. Lynx would love to get it more up-tempo but SAN has 4th ranked defense.

I actually think it will be more high-scoring, #loslynx will feed off a big crowd tonight.

Q – #4     Up-tempo is certainly fun to watch! As far as tickets go, are there still any available? #LosLynx

Alan:    Yes, but lower bowl are going fast, close to 10,000 expected tonite. #loslynx are fun to watch, good offense & defense

Q – #5    Where can we listen to you, is the game televised and what time does the game start?

Alan:    8pm. On radio BOB 106.1 FM (Twin Cities) & AM 1260 KDUZ (Hutchinson) online w/ LiveAccess on lynxbasketball.com

and our broadcast is also being carried on @NBATV (check your local listings) #loslynx

@JoelECarlson:    WOW! The @WNBA No.1 team’s 1st playoff game is not televised on @ESPN or @FSNorth. Travesty! Good to get a ticket!

Alan:    @FSNoth has Twins game, @ESPN2 probably has football…Sunday’s game will be on @ESPN2 at 4pm.

Getting proper playoff coverage is an issue for @wnba, especially when regular season goes into mid-Sept.

@JoelECarlson:    @LynxRadio @FSNorth would get MUCH BETTER ratings with the @MinnesotaLynx right now than the Twins. Put the Twins online. #ProductionIdea

Q – #6    So a little bit about you. Where did you grow up, where did you attend school and how did you get into broadcasting?

Alan:    Grew up in Clarksburg. MA (pop. 1,686) located in Berkshire Mtns. High School at Mt. Greylock in Williamstown, MA.

Attended Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY & graduate work at Syracuse.

As a kid started broadcasting games in front of TV, then going outside & calling the action as we were playing.

Q – #7    Where did you first start broadcasting games and what teams have you covered? #LosLynx

Alan:    My 1st broadcasting experience was a local tennis tournament on TV & I learned very quickly the value of preparation.

That was in high school, then after Syracuse covered just about every sport at every level (SD Padres in ’06)

Q – #8    To close today, what advice would you give to aspiring sports broadcasters out there looking to succeed? #LosLynx

Alan:    I always stress making yourself as valuable as possible, learn to engineer, produce & work equipment, not just PBP

Thanks Joel, that was fun. Coming to a playoff game?

@JoelECarlson:    Thanks for your time and comments today. May you and the @MinnesotaLynx have a great night! #LosLynx in 2 games!

I’m going to try to make one.

Alan:    Stop by and say hello, I’ll be courtside. Thanks again.