@JoelECarlson – Hello everybody, and welcome to Twitterview No.2, this time with @GiaLyons as the guest. Let roll!

Q – #1    So @GiaLyons, where did you grow up, and what were some of the steps that you’ve taken in life to get you where you are today?

A:    I grew up in Tulsa, OK, graduated from the University of Tulsa, and moved to Milwaukee in the early 90′s to live with friends.

I should point out that Tulsa and Milwaukee are a bit different from each other.

I majored in Organizational Communication, which is the study of how people communicate within a company.

one of my college classes involved me observing my dad (RIP), an elementary school principal, conducting a staff mtg.

After Milwaukee, I moved to Minneaspolis/St. Paul, while I was a consultant at Whittman-Hart, doing Lotus Notes dev.

Q – #2    So what is it that you do now, and how did you schooling help you to adapt to the various social media tools?

A:    I’m the Program/Community Manager for the Jive Cmty ( http://bit.ly/9efvfb ), which is a branded cmty running on Jive

Studying how people communicate helped me understand the basics of how folks REALLY work together, regardless of tools

how ppl communicate really hasn’t changed, wrt WHAT is communicated and what’s expected in the exchange.

o, no matter what tool or platform you use, the art of effective communication remains unchanged. Give, get, repeat.

it’s helped me design/develop collaborative apps in the past, and today, helps me help others use Jive the best way.

I guess the biggest lesson in online communication is this: respond, if you care. Pretend you’re F2F.

Q – #3    What SM channels do you primarily use, and who are some folks on Twitter that you’ve benefited from following?

A:    Twitter is #1 channel. I’ve learned MUCH from @armano @amcafee @jasonfalls @jaybaer @sarahkayhoffman @theCR @spikejones

Also learned much frm @20adoption @cflanagan @greg2dot0 @meganmurray @jcorsello @sofresh @jakrose @Maggiefox @stoweboyd

I should say I’ve been INSPIRED by @spikejones. ;)

I think the best thing about being in social media today is the constant state of learning. I LOVE it. #jectv

Q – #4    With your background and experience, are there tools/channels that you see untapped or yet to be developed?

A:    I think brick&mortar places where ppl naturally congregate could make some longtail $$ by better accommodating meetups.

places like @Caribou @starbucks places of worship, @lifetimefitness etc. could capitalize on ppl’s desire to congregate

esp. when we want to congregate ad hoc, about topics other than what those places sell. Mini-piazzas. #

how many times has a meetup/tweetup been uncomfy because the coffee shop/bar was crowded/too small? Give us mini-areas.

a great example of this is @AmoreCoffee. they have this awesome little room that you can schedule, & you get fab coffee

@JoelECarlson – Interesting! I totally agree with you on loving SM for all of the learning! @UrbanBeanCofee has a great room too!

Q – #5    Now for your FAVS: Favorite – restaurant, store, summer activity and tech gadget.

A:    current fave restaurant is @hautdish. UNBELIEVABLE food on Washington in dt #Minneapolis. The hype is true.

Fave store? @zappos, baby! Hands down. IRL store? @shopmama. Both know what cust svc means, which makes me crazy-loyal.

Fave summer activity is jogging outdoors. NOT. Seriously though, fave thing is dining outside at restaurants.

and fave tech gadget? #iPhone4. Almost always in my hands.

sorry, that should have been @hautedish. Believe the hype, and eat there ASAP.

Q – #6    You’re a great guest! :) So do you @Foursquare, and if so, what badges do you have?

A:    I’m a late @foursquare adopter, and I check in when I remember to. current badges are: Superstar Swarm Bender Crunked..

… Explorer Super-User JetSetter Photogenic Local Adventurer and Newbie

Q – #7    So to end the week and start the LONG weekend, final question: what idea or mantra would you like to share?

I used to sing PowerMan 5000′s, “This Ain’t a Song About Nothin’” before big presos, but I think my latest mantra…

My latest mantra is, “Don’t get too big for your britches, don’t get your panties in a wad, and pick your battles.”

we people of passion must remain calm when it is right to do so. ;)

@JoelECarlson – Thank you @gialyons for your insights, sharing some of you personal history and of course, sparing some of your time.

@gialyons – btw, you’re really good at this Twitterview stuff!

@gialyons – see you soon at #CaribouChat21

@JoelECarlson – Welcome to Twitterview #2 for today. Our guest is @petebocken, so lets get to geek’n, I mean Tweet’n. :)

@petebocken – Thanks for having me Joel!

Q – #1    So @petebocken, where did you grow up and what were some of the life steps that you’ve taken to get you where you are today?

A:    Grew up in La Crosse, WI. Always lived and breathed tech! Started with keyboarding class back in Kindergarten…

Took a bunch of photography, art, tech classes in HS.

Just couldn’t escape computers. They were a good way to express myself.

Did some IT here and there, but I really took to web design.

Q – #2    So what kind of work do you do now, and what kind of clients do you have?

A:    Help out @westwords_paula at Westwords Consulting, web dev/design for the most part. IT support, the techy geeky stuff.

We pride ourselves on having a personal work relationship with people at all levels of experience and business size

Clients range from single individuals to large corps.

Q – #3    So how quick of an adapter were you to Social Media, and which ones have you used?

A:    MySpace first, left that quick! Then Facebook for friends, family. Twitter more for work networking, new relationships

LinkedIn for …. i don’t know, haven’t had much use for that yet. But I’ve connected to everyone i’ve worked with.

Q – #4    I see. Have you used any of the geolocation tools like Foursquare, Gowalla or Facebooks new one called Places?

A:    I knew you would ask! ;) No! Not for me. Don’t like the idea. Plus everyone would know I don’t leave the house much!

Q – #5    Hahaha! That’s okay. Do you have some people that you feel you’ve benefited from following on Twitter?

A:    I’ll plug @SocialNicole cause she’s been trying to get me to use Twitter for some time now. Think I finally stuck

Follow everything @chriscoyier does for web dev, design, css, wordpress

I use TweetDeck, so I’ll just use searches a lot for stuff i’m watching to keep an eye on

Q – #6    Ah. Any new technologies, hardware, apps or software on the horizon that you think will be a “game changer” soon?

A:    Mobile has obviously skyrocketed the last few years. That will continue.

Hopefully standardization on social networks continues as well as data liberation.

I see casual computing not needing a typical computer, we are seeing that with what Google is doing

Q – #7   Now for your FAVS: Favorite – restaurant, store, gadget and summer activity.

A:    I don’t eat out that much, but fav restaurant is either Chipotle or Dave & Buster’s (Chuck E Cheese for adults!)

Fav store is amazon.com, brick and mortar is Target

fav gadget is my iPhone of course

Fav summer activity, can’t say i have one. pastey white dudes & sun don’t get along

Q – #8    That’s okay. Are you a @MinnStateFair kind of guy, or do you skip that?

A:    Yup, we always go. My wife & I have our tradition of the photo booth every year. This will be our tenth year in a row.

Q – #9    That’s sweet! :) So to end today and Twitterviews for this week, what thought or mantra would you like to share?

A:    Was told a long time ago. “Don’t be a leader or a follower, just be yourself.

@JoelECarlson – Thanks @petebocken for that final comment! Have a great weekend and thanks for your thoughts!

@petebocken – Thank you Joel!

@JoelECarlson – Hello everyone, and welcome to today’s Twitterview of @westwords_paula. Lets get started!

@westwords_paula – Hi Joel! Thanks for having me!

Q – #1    So @westwords_paula, where did you grow up and what were some of the steps that you took in life to get you where you are today?

A:    I was born and raised in La Crosse, WI. I initially started out as a graphic designer and fell into IT. #

I was always fixing the computers where I worked, I thought it made more sense to just work on fixing the computers :)

I worked in IT Consulting for about 11 years managing a regional consulting practice focused on web-based business apps

I started Westwords Consulting a little over 4 years ago. I love the combination of creative and technical this allows!

Q – #2    I see. So what kind of projects/jobs do you take on? How big or how small of a job will you take on?

A:    The goal of creating Westwords was to bring the same offerings that Fortune500s receive to everyone.

I think the only way for us to stay relevant, is to work on projects that vary in size.

Q – #3    So what kind of projects have you worked on lately?

A:    One that has gotten a lot of traffic lately, is Mark Dayton’s campaign site – http://www.markdayton.org

We recently relaunched a new site for The Ritter Group http://therittergroup.com/

We have quite a few sites that we are getting ready to launch in the coming weeks.

Q – #4    Okay. So how have you used Social Media for yourself and for your business? Were you an early user of it?

A:    Definitely an early adopter to Facebook. I am amazed at the connections that I have made – both personally and for biz.

I use Twitter to do trending, I find myself listening more than participating often :)

Q – #5    Nothing wrong with that. :) Who are 5-15 people that you follow that you find benefit from connecting with?

A:    Couple favs on the work side – my favorite geek – @petebocken, my favorite social media expert – @SocialNicole #

I follow @TechCrunch for news – when I have a few down mins I like to catch up on the articles they post.

Some techie friends that offer interesting views of the world – @joshorum and @Micropterus

My dear friend @theletter_H offers her witty and wise view of the world on a daily basis.

Q – #6    Any new(er) technologies, tools or gadgets that have caught your interest or that you’ve started using recently?

A:    I wait for @petebocken to tell me what to get :) Seriously though, I love my iPhone and the ability to stay connected.

Q – #7    Good to have people like that. Do you Gowalla or Foursquare? What’s your favorite iPhone app?

A:    I seem to be suggesting KeePass to a lot of clients – http://keepass.com/ – great app to keep all those pws together!

I Foursquare. Fav iPhone apps are Hipstamatic (awesome camera app), Kindle, Yelp & Shazam.

Q – #8    What’s your favorite: restaurant, store, foursquare badge, and summer activity.

A:    I have been known to eat Mexican for all meals in a day, so I have to go with Boca Chica in St. Paul

My favorite lunch place is @nookcafe in Kenosha – best Portabella sandwiches EVER!

Favorite store is a toss between REI and Target

Favorite foursquare badge is Newbie – I love checking out new places!

Fav summer activity is biking!

Q – #9    So to end our time with you today, what mantra or thought would you like to share today?

A:    I love quotes and the one that I use as a mantra is from Don Shula – “Success is not forever and failure isn’t fatal.”

It’s one that helps through the good and the bad. Take a risk sometimes or you will never know what you are capable of.

@JoelECarlson – Thank you for your time today and for sharing some of your life. Have a great afternoon @westwords_paula!

@westwords_Paula – Thank you, Joel!

@JoelECarlson – Hello everyone and welcome to the Twitterview of @rickmahn. Lets make like some Grade-A Bacon and get cooking!

@rickmahn - Hello Joel, hi everybody!

Q – #1    So @rickmahn, tell us, where did you grow up and what were some of the life steps that you took to get where you’re at today?

A:   Gosh, that goes back a ways. :) I grew up in both urban and rural areas. Originally from New Hope here in the city.

Around age 10, my family moved to western WI – Spring Valley, WI to be exact. Had fun there through high school.

It was in HS there that I found my passion for technology using old Radio Shack/Tandy TRS-80s !

Getting started with those early computers in the early 80s set my trajectory into IT, the web, and social media

Q – #2    So you have a good foundation in tech. So how did you get involved with Social Media Breakfast and bring it to MN?

A;    Well, I’d been connecting with folks around the country online since about 2000, and started blogging in 2004.

After a couple more years and jumping on Twitter in early 2007 I started thinking it’d be nice to meet these folks IRL!

One of the many folks I connected with in 2006 was @BryanPerson (hi Bryan!) and saw his efforts in Boston in 2007

In August of that year, he did something interesting and invited a lot of the Boston crowd to breakfast. #

Q – #3    What kind of support/attendance did you start off with, and how large has the @smbmsp network grown to now?

A:    The first @smbmsp had just 18 people in attendance at Key’s Cafe in DT Minneapolis

Since then, we’ve grown to just under 2,200 members of #SMBMSP today.

The growth is amazing, and the challenges/responsibilities that go with that have taught me a lot.

Q – #4    WOW! The variety of topics keeps things fresh. In addition to your @smbmsp work, what else are you involved with?

A:    Thanks, we take topic suggestions from the community.

I provide social media strategy & implementation services as an independent freelancer. Both small & large orgs.

Along with that is the task of managing communities, web support, and writing when time permits.

The @smbmsp work has really started to consume the most time, however, with lots of requests and mentoring.

Q – #5    …and sleep too right? :) Who are some (5-15) people that you get real benefit from following on Twitter?

A:    Yeah, sleep is in there somewhere. ;) Hmm, I don’t know that I can narrow it down to a few individuals… there’s 100s

I’ve tried to highlight the really influential tweeps in #FF posts on my blog. Used to be a lot of A

Ok, sorry for the delay… where was I?@

Q – #6    Okay, new question. As someone involved heavily in tech/web/sm, what do you see happening in the next year or two?

A:    Yeah, the SM/Tech set is pretty static at the moment. I’d have to say, like many, that mobile is really next.

If you look at geolocation like Gowalla and Foursquare, mobile is the key to those services.

Having that connectivity with us every moment opens up many, many opportunities for new business.

I guess I also see a larger opportunity for companies to start leveraging new mobile tech. The iPad is one example.

Q – #7    Yes it does! Now for the FAVS questions: Favorite – restaurant(s), store(s), tech gadget and summer activity.

A:    My Faves: I’d say for food it’s the Calddagh in MG, Vino in the Valley in WI, and The Hotel in Turtle Lake, WI

Guess I’m a closet foodie! I always like a good tech store like MicroCenter, but I kinda miss CompUSA a bit.

My Nexus One Android (#froyo) phone is the greatest gadget, and my fam likes boating & camping in the summer.

Q – #8    Ah, an #android user. If you could invite any 1 person (dead/alive) for dinner, who would you ask and why?

A:    Oh, that’s a tough one! I’ll go for alive this time – Anthony Bourdain to talk about food, and culture.

Q – #9    You are a foodie! :) Nice choice. Any goals (personal/biz) that you have for yourself for the next year or two?

A:    Good question! I plan to continue exploring social media, and supporting the #smbmsp community in new ways.

There’s a lot of things that coincide with that since we have a GREAT SM community here in MSP. Looking forward to it.

Q – #10    Great! Final question – what thought or mantra would you like to share with everyone today?

A:    I’d say that merging online/offline communities is something to keep in mind as we go about our day. Thanks Joel!

@JoelECarlson – Thanks very much @rickmahn! I appreciate you taking time to share some of your thoughts and life today. Enjoy your afternoon!

@rickmahn – Thanks Joel, have a great day!

@JoelECarlson – Hello everyone, and welcome to today’s Twitterview with @kenjiokumura. Time to get to Tweet’n!

@jenjiokumura – Hi Joel! Ready

Q – #1    So @kenjiokumura, where did you grow up and what were some of the life steps that you took to get you were you are today?

A:    Graduated with an econ degree/environmental studies and also trained in conflict resolution in college

Born in Japan 1968, grew up in CA, college and career in MN.

In HS took classes in basic at the local JC… no computers in the classroom! This was around 1984. We made a tank game!

non-profit internship working on a database for @crfusa, next at Upward Bound, 1st agency job in 1995

there was only one computer hooked up to the Internet at the agency -i sat there. Few months later, I was managing the Internet group

15 years later, most of my work is digital bringing strategy, creative, and technology folks together to solve problems.

Q – #2    So you have REALLY seen computers, the internet & Social Media evolve. What has “wow’d you” the most w/the changes?

A:    The velocity and scale of information. There’s much that remains the same. Tools become really important to manage this

Also, because of all the ways that people can connect now, people who weren’t always networking can figure out their flavor now

does that make sense?

social in their own way.

Q – #3    It makes sense! :) So who are 5-15 people that you benefit personally or professionally from following?

A:    I have to say that @albertmaruggi brought the connectio of SM to interactive for me a few years back

there are of course the many thought leaders I follow… but @leila_c of samasource. Doing good work w/ for profit and non-profits

@kanter is another person that makes aha! connections. She can make the theoretical into action.

Oh, and I follow my wife’s blog :-) She just started drawing again. She’s been reading business books lying around! Very inspiring

a little shameless plug for her http://www.chamindika.com :-)

Q – #4    Let now move on to you FAVS: Favorite – Restuarant, store, summer activity, neighborhood and color.

A:    food… yummy topic

I will curate this: Grocery store with delis: Cinco de mayo on Nicollet for home made tortilla’s made every day.

Nice selection of roasted meats – make sure you grab the cilantro from the grocery section and the jalepeno salsa. Chorizo too….

Shuang Hur Oriental Market on Nicollet. They have really succulent roast pork and duck.

They will catch, kill, and clean tilapia and crab there too!

activities: midnight canoe floatilla with the guys on our fab lakes. kendo @minnehahakendo, bicycle, bicycle, bicycle

No favorite colors, love them all equally. :-)

I’m going to have to say that I like the Lyn/Lake area – is that a neighborhood?

I forgot mobile karaoke on the greenway summer activity!

Q – #5    That works! So are there any tech/SM events that you are looking forward to attending in the next month or so?

A:    MIMA Summit @mimasummit and I think I’ll try the Alphabetbash. The local meetups like the Content Strategy Meetup http://ow.ly/2n3Bn

Q – #6    What has been your overall impression of the PR/Mrktg/SM/Tech world in the Twin Cities?

A:    We’re lucky to live in a place that brings together generous, smart, and innovative thinkers.

I participated in an event that brought non-profits & strategist together -strategy for good. Organized by @anemilie @paulisakson

Our community is really good at bringing folks together and seeing what happens :-)

Joel, thanks for the opportunity to share my thoughts! You know, we’ll have to do a Twitterview about you soon :-)

I’m sure folks will agree!

Q – #7    For today’s final question: what advice or mantra would you like to share with everyone following today?

A:    Own it. Be curious. You’re always in beta. Ship.

@JoelECarlson – Thanks for your time and sharing some of your thoughts today. Have a good afternoon! :)

@kenjiokumura – Thanks @joelecarlson! It’s so hot I think I’m going swimming tonight :-)

Foursquare is becoming more and more popular amongst people and businesses as another way to connect with people and to share their life in an open forum. Though you do have control as to how broad of an audience you want to let know your whereabouts, maybe just your friends on Foursquare, maybe everyone that follows you on Twitter or on Facebook. Ultimately, you have the power.

Could there be some places that you shouldn’t check-in so that nobody knows that you’re there? Here are a few NON check-in suggestions.

You might now want to check-in at:

1. The police station
2. The doctors office
3. Where you live
4. Where your kids attend school
5. Your bank
6. Your personal storage location
7. Your vacation home or cabin
8. Where a friend lives
9. A weight-loss clinic

Do you agree with these?  Can you think of other locations a person might not want to check-in on Foursquare at, especially for privacy or secrecy? What boundaries should be set for themselves?

There have been several large food & drink companies that have announced that they’ve made free WiFi available at their various locations. McDonald’s  (http://huff.to/ceotH0) did so at the beginning of the year, then recently Starbucks (http://bit.ly/99HP71) announced that they would.  If the “big boys” get it, why don’t more places?

Why should a local chain or stand alone location invest in providing FREE WiFi to it’s customers?  WiFi allows people to check their Facebook accounts, check their email accounts, browse for news and really “stay connected” with the internet world. This generally will take more than just 5-10 minutes, so that’s a longer window of time for them to stay in your business and be exposed to the variety of offerings that you have.

If I was opening a casual restaurant, a coffee, donut, sandwich or any other similar type of shop, I would make SURE that I offered FREE WiFi. People will stay longer, they will make more purchase and that creates a win-win situation for you as a business owner.  The “connected community” will also love you and spread the word about your establishment to others.   FREE WiFi should become a stable in food & drink establishments like water, lights and A/C.

What’s been your experience, do enough establishments have FREE WiFi that you’ve seen that it appears “standard” to you, or do more places need to offer it?