Today, we're catching up with Meghan Chayka. She does the unusual combination of working in a startup while also modeling on a regular basis. I asked her some questions on what it is like to juggle the two.

Sarah: What is your startup and what do you do there?

Meghan: My startup is Stathletes Inc. which seeks to quantify player performance in continuous flow sports.  I have a background in economics so I help with some quantitative measures.  As well, I take on a lot of the detailed projects, from legal issues to investor presentations.

Sarah: You've won a couple of business competitions. Can you tell us about how that helps what you are working on (aside from the cash infusion, of course)?

Meghan: The business competitions help in refining our pitch and presentation.  We had to do anything from a 30 minute interrupted presentation to a 1 minute pitch filmed while literally riding an elevator. I think it's great practice talking to investors, professors and MBA students that have no idea about your business. It gives you a perfect forum to sell your idea in a short period of time.

The network from these international gatherings is also a huge benefit.  I've sat beside authors of staple entrepreneurship textbooks to ones that taught founders of Groupon.  You really never know what angel or VC you bump into.  There are always interesting conversations, and I try to learn a little bit from everyone I meet.

Sarah: Have you always want to work in a startup?

Meghan: I haven't really set out to work in a startup. I won an award for a business plan exactly a decade ago and really haven't looked back.  I competed in a few other business plan competitions in my undergrad and then started this company.  I have had a couple corporate/ public sector jobs in economics and finance but that type of work never fulfilled me.  So, I feel much more comfortable in startup environments.

Sarah: Currently, you divide your focus between startup life and modeling. What's the biggest challenge of splitting your time?

Meghan: The biggest challenge is dealing with the different mindsets in each sector.  There is very little overlap between fashion and entrepreneurship.  The expectations are so opposite, one physical and the other cerebral, that it is a challenge going from one to another. 

Sarah: The follow up question to that is obviously what do you love most about doing the two?

Meghan: I love the creative aspects of fashion.  It's always inspiring to see artists at work, whether they are designers, makeup artists or photographers.  Startups are more about the challenge of stretch goals and meeting milestones.  It's really fulfilling to see a product add value to the intended consumer.  I love the never ending workload and busy time line, even if it gets a tiny bit crazy.

Sarah: What advice would you give someone looking to follow in your footsteps?

Meghan: I think you have to do what you love and always strive to create more.  It's great to get a decent education but then focus on challenging yourself in your field.  I think another important piece of advice is to not compare yourself to other people in the corporate world.  Sometimes it takes longer to succeed as an entrepreneur and that's okay. 

Thanks for answering all of my questions, Meghan! If you’d like to keep up to date on what Meghan is up to, you can follow her on Twitter.

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I met Lyn at Ford's three day Forward with Ford event. Shout to them for sponsoring me to go and meet some amazing people while checking out the latest of what Ford has to offer. Lyn was a great networker, always had his camera going and got along with everyone. I wanted to catch up with him on I know smart people as he's got an interesting job and a great way of describing it. 

Sarah: Lyn, can you tell us about what you do for a living?
Lyn: I film entrepreneurs as a Director and/or Producer. Meaning I create and produce content that centers around profiling entrepreneurs to share their stories of how they came up with the ideas for their companies, built them into businesses and the lessons they have learned along the way. The content can be in the form of TV shows (e.g CNBC’s American Made), online videos (Microsoft Small Business Web Site, Dell Women Entrepreneur Network) and/or web channels (e.g. Sweet Leaf TV, On the Road with iV). 

Sarah: When we met at Forward with Ford, I loved how you described yourself as being a storyteller. What did you mean by that?
Lyn: Entrepreneurship and starting a company is an extremely challenging process and often times is a very personal journey. The beauty of that from a producers perspective is that makes for great story in that you have someone that is trying to accomplish something great, yet they are confronted with many obstacles along the way and must overcome them in order to be successful. This, at its core is storytelling, and as a director and producer filming entrepreneurs, I’m constantly looking for ways to tell their stories on camera in a compelling and entertaining manner. One of my favorite entrepreneurs that I have filmed is the founder of Starbucks as he shares a powerful story about his parents-in-law coming to visit during the holidays in the very early stages of the company and how is father-in-law asked Howard to take a walk with him. At the time, Howard was not bringing in a salary and Howard’s wife was pregnant and providing income for the family so the father-in-law suggested that Howard quit this crazy entrepreneurial thing, get a job and properly provide for his family. Howard goes on to share how this was one of many moments on a entrepreneur’s journey that he calls the ‘gray area of perseverance’ that is all about our desire and to will to get through the tough times and believe in something strongly enough to make it happen no matter what the odds. I found that one of things I have been called to do is be an entrepreneurial storyteller and bring stories like this to life so others can learn from and be inspired by them. 

Note: you can read more of this story and watch a clip of Howard sharing this story from a TV show I produced here:
http://www.lyngraft.com/producers/the-gray-area-of-perseverance/


Sarah: What's your favorite part of your job?
Lyn: A. Causing goose bumps and inspiring entrepreneurs - Many times over the years I have been told either by the people that have watched my content or even by the people that I have filmed that it was truly an inspiring piece or that this is just what they needed to hear based on where they were at in their life or that it was the best profile ever done on them. It’s simply one of those things that feeds the soul because it feels like I am giving back to the world putting smiles on peoples faces, causing eyes to well up with tears and giving people hope during difficult times. 

B. Being Inspired - A side benefit from filming entrepreneurs is that you are constantly in front of people that have creating amazing companies and overcome incredible obstacles – I thought this might get a little monotonous filming entrepreneur after entrepreneur for years, but quite the opposite happens because you are continuously filled with infectious energy and optimism from some of the most driven people on the planet. 

Sarah: Who is the most interesting person you've interviewed/worked with?

Lyn: Interviewed = Billy Joe ‘Red’ McCombs – Founder of Clear Channel and a Forbes 400 Billionaire. Red is Texas born and bred and talks with a deep TX accent at a very slow pace, but is smart as a whip and has hundreds of successful businesses under his belt. When I first met Red, we brought him some cookies from his favorite bakery near his office, but he passed on them and told us he had what one would call an ‘addictive personality’ and could not stop at just one. He then went on to share how he was an alcoholic and how it almost ruined his marriage, business and came very close to kill him. He then went on to talk everything from why he had to sell the Minnesota Vikings, to why they had to get rid of Howard Stern at Clear Channel to being the number one used car dealer in the world to his how his prized Championship winning Longhorn bull called ‘Superbowl’ was sowing up to 200 calves per year. This was even before the interview started. And Red is simply someone you want to call Grandpa and hug every time you see him and cherish every moment you get to spend with him. 

Worked With on a Crew Set = Joel Dobzewitz – Started out as PA for me on Microsoft shoots and now works as a producer manager on the ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ TV show. This cat was a one-man-production machine that was willing to do anything and be anything to make a shoot happen. I’ve worked with a number of people like that over the years, but few brought the energy, enthusiasm and quirky sense of humor that Joel did. He use to always carry a finger puppet with him just in case we needed an emergency laugh and always seemed to have the funniest commentary to bring levity during a challenging shoot or simply when it was time to wrap a shoot.  

Sarah: If you had an intern that did everything perfectly, what would you never want to have to deal with again?
Lyn: Business - Billing. Invoicing. Check Writing. Basically paperwork. This is one of the areas I see very little value add to the process. I enjoy coming up with budgets and crafting strategies as it pertains to the financial aspects of producing and filming, but I do not enjoy in any form the paper trail (physical or electronic) that comes with it. 
Production – wrapping a shoot (As long as I still get to do the wrap production crew photo). 

Sarah: What's the best way for someone to follow in your footsteps? School or practical experience?
Lyn: Combination of both – First get 6-12 months of formal or information education about production (either through school or research). Then go work for someone in the production field for 6-12 months doing whatever – just make sure and be a sponge and try to get exposure to all elements of the process. It’s important to surround yourself with people in the business of production and find ways to immerse yourself in the business either by researching it and/or by working with production companies (or ad agencies). I started my career as an electrical engineer and then got my MBA when I started down the road of entrepreneurship for 7 years before I got into producing so I started cold-turkey and learned by trial and error. This dramatically extended my learning curve because I not only had to learn the craft – the art and the science of it, but I also had to manage the business side of the equation as any startup owner would. I learned some valuable lessons in this process, but I would have greatly benefited by working part-time in production or getting educated about it before I opened my own production company. 
 

Thanks for taking the time to answer all these questions Lyn! Lyn Graft is a Director, Producer, Storyteller and Founder LG Pictures. He has produced 450 videos including CNBC’s first primetime TV series “American Made”, 35 videos for the Microsoft, 14 videos for Dell Corporation, 25 videos for SXSW Interactive, 60 videos for Sweet Leaf Tea and 30 videos for RISE Global. Filmed 300 entrepreneurs including founders of Whole Foods, Paul Mitchell, Playboy, Baby Einstein, Clear Channel, Craigslist, BET Television, The Knot and Tom’s Shoes. He's founded 8 companies and spent time as a ski instructor! He's also best friend of Fitty G (who appears with him in his photo)

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Um, so Luca has the coolest sounding job around. He does digital strategy for Chelsea Football Club. He answered a whole bunch of my questions on working in Uni and how it helps prep you for the real world. Thanks for being a good sport, Luca!

Sarah: Luca, you have a degree in Music Technology, how did you end up working for a Football Club?

Luca: I wish I knew. I guess the answer is opportunity. While at University I ran an events management business putting on student club nights and gigs for unsigned bands. To market these events and to organise them with the 20+ staff I had I used Facebook (this is 2007 by the way). I learned the power of social media for my business. It was here that I developed the ability to influence with messages, simply because my business depending on it.

Fast forward to 2009 having graduated and relocated to London I was just another graduate. My business didn't account for much in text on my CV and I knew that getting into the music industry wasn't gonna be easy. I had been using Twitter at this point for a while, primarily for ego boosting but also for seeding blog content and networking with like-minded people. 

Twitter not only allowed me to network with relevant music industry people, but it allowed me to gain insight into other industries that I was interested in and the personnel that worked in those industries. Having been an advocate for social media and all things digital and having built my own blog and assisted others to use the web to build their own brands, it was only a matter of time until I landed a real opportunity in the digital sphere.

It was in the Summer of 2010 that a friend of mine @Mazi who at the time was working for SKY, tweeted there was a vacancy at Chelsea Football Club. I got in touch with Mazi and the rest is pretty much history.

I recently wrote a post as Twitter turned five years old documenting this whole journey and my appreciation for it.

Sarah: While you were in Uni, you were also working full time. How do you think that helped you find work after graduating?

Luca: When I graduated I didn't feel like fresh bait. Even at Uni I didn't feel like a student. I believe University is primarily about finding yourself, but it is also about building networks for the future (it's not about gaining a degree).

Having experienced management, finance, marketing, leadership, team building and all the fundamentals that matter in business whilst at University, when I graduated I was ready to take on the world... so to speak. Although it did not mean I could walk into a job, it meant I was a few steps ahead of anyone else who's sole selling point was a qualification printed on corrugated paper.

Sarah: I imagine a number of people think you have a dream job. Is it as great as it sounds? How do you spend most of your time at work?

Luca: For Chelsea fans, they believe I have a dream job. Others, may be envious, but working for a football club is no different to working for any other large corporation... except we have Sky Sports and Chelsea TV on all day. :)

My role has developed recently from Digital Marketing Analyst to Digital Strategy and Product Development. My time is divided up by product development, strategy, analytics, search engine marketing and consultation to other areas of the business.

Sarah: What’s the best advice you can give someone looking to follow in your footsteps?

Luca: Personal branding. In today's new media age, personal branding is everything. I believe the future is not in companies, but in people. More and more individuals everyday are becoming successful. Some are extremely lucky, others have built the fundamental roots and have planned for success. Eventually we are going to see a world where everyone has a website, a social presence and a brand that can be monetized. 

We are all built up of individual traits, DNA that makes us different. Therefore we all have different abilities. The key is to harness the strengths and be able to admit your weaknesses, because transparency and authenticity is everything.

Gary Vaynerchuk took this concept and wrote a book named 'Crush it!'. He turned his strengths, his weaknesses and his passion into a monetized business and shared his journey for us all to see. 

If you are seeking employment in digital or in a company that you expect to research into your background when you apply for a positiony, don't let their 'Google' search come up with the spell check because they found nothing about you. Even worse don't let the only thing they do find be Facebook.

• Invest in a website, whether it be your money or your time learning how.
• Create a blog giving your real voice on a topic that gets you excited.
• Be creative with your web CV and ditch the lame Word document as your first point of contact.
• Allow the world to see a dynamic personality that represents who you are and what you are capable of.
• Utilise Twitter to locate the businesses and the people who matter in the industry you want to be a part of.
• Build relationships that allow others to recommend you and someone will notice you
• Act confident in your ability and be positive even when it feels like you aren't moving forward.

By following the advice above I guarantee anyone can achieve whatever goal they have their sights set on.

Sarah: Do you keep regular hours, or are you working around the clock?

Luca: My job is contracted 9am - 5pm but it always varies depending on the workload. I believe it is important to relax as much as possible and exercise frequently. We all spend our whole days working out our minds but don't pay the same amount of attention to our bodies, hence why most people look run down, tired and moody. Everything is about maintaining a healthy balance.

Sarah: You also blog regularly and help others figure out how to use social media. How much of your time does that take up?

Luca: I maintain my personal brand by blogging rich content as much as possible and by assisting others in their journey to achieve. Usually I post twice a week, which includes one 'Industry Spotlight' and one topic post.

When Tony Robbins spoke of the six human needs and the sixth one being 'contribution beyond ourselves' I wanted to utilise what strengths I had to help others achieve. I help anyone I can who seeks advice with personal branding, digital marketing or business development.

I have consulted to an array of clients and companies (there is a list on my About page) and am always locating for new opportunities. 

Sarah: What do you see yourself doing five years from now?

Luca: You know, I really have no idea. You have this goal when growing up that you and all your mates say, it goes something like this. "By the time I turn 30, I wanna be a millionaire." Im pretty sure every young lad has said that. Back then, success may have involved money, nowadays, not so much.

Since University my philosophy has been to help others achieve and that philosophy has only grown stronger. I believe that humans were made to contribute something and we don't do enough of it. 

As I mentioned above in reference to Tony Robbins, self-fulfilment comes from many different human needs and emotions. I like to think in five years time I may be in a position where I have utilised my skills, my strengths, my opportunities and my network to contribute in a way that means others can benefit on a large scale. 

To help the sheep you have to learn to howl like a wolf, which means you have to grow up, learn to lead and teach from experience. As Jay-Z said "and I can't help the poor if I'm one of them.'

The future is in people, in individuals who realise they can leverage themselves but also how much they can achieve by leveraging each other. 

I expect the game to change very soon and hopefully for the better, with it being less about how 'me and you' develop individually our brands, our products and our personalities and more about how 'us' and 'we' develop together.

If you'd like to learn more about Luca, you can follow him on Twitter or check out his blog. 

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Today on I know smart people, Conrad Whelan. He’s a fellow Calgarian working at Uber, the app that gets people from A to B. The first time I hung out with Conrad, we made plans for coffee at 730. I assumed this meant am, he assumed it meant pm. Hilarity ensued.

Sarah: What do you do?

Conrad: I write dispatch and ops software for a startup in San Francisco called Uber.  I've been at Uber for a year or so, coincident with my moving to San Francisco.  My current days consist of implementing new systems for an upgraded architecture for our product to enable us to quickly roll out new cities.  I wear a lot of hats, writing code in a number of languages and administering a number of systems to keep Uber up and running.

Sarah: How did you end up there?

Conrad: I ended up where I currently am primarily because I wanted to change of scene from Calgary. I was working at an engineering focused scientific computing startup called Acceleware. The work was related very closely to the topic of my masters thesis (Electromagnetic simulation for cell phone antenna design), and we were on the forefront of writing scientific codes that made use of GPUs to speed up simulations. It was a great job, but after 4 years and a yearning to see someplace else in the world, I decided it was time to move on.  

A good friend of mine had built the Uber prototype and when I told him that I had resolved to move (rented out my condo and so on), he asked if I would be interested in helping to launch Uber (then called UberCab).  I said yes, and within three weeks was working in a tiny shared space inside an office with one other member of the team and we got to work on making the project go.  It was a bit of a change for me, as far as the technology stack was concerned, but we had a good year in 2010.  I had actually intended on staying at Uber for the short term, in order to look for another job in the bay area, but I realized that the product was too cool for me to not stay on for a while longer.

Sarah: Is this what you thought you would be doing when you were in school?

Conrad: I actually think I'm pretty close to where I thought I'd be when I was in school.  Engineering just seems to suit me, and through grad school, Acceleware, and now Uber, I think I've been able to work on some pretty amazing products with some really amazing people.

Sarah: What is your favorite part of what you do?

Conrad: The best thing about an engineering job is the feeling you get when you're being really productive and making things happen.  Especially in the tech startup game, there's a level of creativity that many people might not think about. A bunch of people with ideas building something out of nothing.  I actually enjoy the odd bit of crunch time because of the focus it can bring (though too much crunch time is not so much fun). 

My favourite task, maybe weirdly enough, is writing solid software testing code. It may sound lame, but it's something that I never really learned at school, but now love to do it on a daily basis.  I have seen the two opposite ends of the spectrum where software testing can be considered essential. Scientific simulations often take hours or days to run, and if there are parts of the code that aren't correct, that could be like wasting those days completely.  On the other hand, automated dispatch software is used to negotiate a complex transaction between two people in different locations who have never met each other before.  If something doesn't work, it's an immediate waste of time for these people and a missed opportunity for us.  Smart software testing just makes a person confident that their product is working as intended (and in turn, lets me enjoy my time off a bit more)

Sarah: What is the most tedious, boring or annoying part of what you do?

Conrad:  I guess there are certain kinds of software that I'm not super keen on writing.  I'm a math / physics guy, so writing UI code is not exactly my cup of tea.  Otherwise, configuration.  Always necessary, always slightly a headache.

Sarah: What are you most excited about?

Conrad: I think I'm most excited about my new life in San Francisco.  There are several parts to it. Playing a crucial role in a hot new startup is great.  The buzz and focus on technology companies in the media again is very exciting.  Trying to build a whole new set of friends in a new country is a great thing too. Plus, there are so many things about this place that make me feel right at home. Year round bicycle commuting is a new joy that I am finding every day; seeing so many shows coming through town; effing amazing coffee on every corner.  It's hard to not be excited to be in Northern California right now.

If you’d like to know more about Conrad, follow him on Twitter. Also, check out Uber! He’d love for you to try it and give some feedback. 

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Alex is the first person I've connected with in Philadelphia! He co-founded the co-working space Indy Hall and works in a strategic role on a number of projects. 

Sarah: Alex, can you tell us a little about what you do for a living?

Alex: I've made a weird transition from developer into a pretty cool strategic role. Because I've been working in tech for almost 15 years, I tend to work with companies that are utilizing technology as a primary component of their business, but the companies are very different. In the last year I've worked with a top-tier advertising agency (helping develop their interactive department and strategy), a multi-million dollar t-shirt company (leading the in-housing of their entire technology stack), a few software product companies and teams, including Wildbit - the makers of popular products like Beanstalk and Postmark.

Exactly what I do for these companies varies a bit, but the consistent element is that I'm focused on helping them grow. Usually, it means assessing the company's strengths and assets and looking for ways to reassemble them to help the company grow. This means I'm looking for sustainable, exponential growth patterns that don't require excessive outside resources or intensive spending. The fun part is that because I've got a tech and development background, I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty and write some code if it helps. 

I tend to operate best as a hired gun: though most of the teams I work with now are long-term arrangements, none of them are full time. This lets me get all sorts of dirt under my fingernails, and if I'm doing a particularly good job...I'm making myself obsolete. 

Sarah: In addition to that, you co-founded that co-working space, Indy Hall. How did that come about?

 Alex: When I struck out on my own as a freelance web dev in 2006, I was working from home. I quickly realized that wasn't going to last long. I didn't miss going into work, but I did miss having coworkers. I met some folks that were doing the earliest experimentation with coworking in San Francisco, and figured, hey, that sounds pretty rad. I'll move out there!

When I failed an attempt to move to SF, it was an inflection point. Why was I leaving Philly again? It wasn't for the job, or the money, or even the weather. It was for likeminded culture and a "place" where I felt I belonged. Well...if I could find that in Philly, I wouldn't need to leave!

So I started going to every event I could find. User groups. Meetups. Happy hours. You name it. I was looking for anyone in Philly who was doing cool, interesting, creative things because that's what I wanted to do! What I found wasn't just people doing cool, interesting, creative things...but I found that they were looking for other people too! So Indy Hall started like more of a club than a coworking space. Over time, we started working together, even if we weren't working on the same things. Just being in proximity to one another once a week or so was great. 

When we got to enough people, I said, "hey...we could do this every day if this club had a clubhouse!" and we started working together towards opening our first office. Inside of 18 months that office was completely full and we had a waiting list. This drove us to expand into a ~4500 square foot location where we are today, which is home to over 100 members on our active monthly roster and many more friends who visit and drop in when they can.   

Sarah: What do you think is the most important thing about finding a good co-working space?

Alex: It's ALL about the people. A good coworking community is going to be your tribe. People should be interacting with one another. It should feel warm and fun. You should be able to feel productive, but not constrained. You should feel at home. 

I've become convinced that people don't really want a better place to work...they just want better coworkers. Coworking provides that far better than it provides the amenities you think you need.

Sarah: You must get to interact with plenty of companies in Philadelphia. What's hot there right now?

Alex: Mobile Games. Holy moly, everybody's making games. It's awesome. 

Sarah: As with most cities near larger cities, Philadelphia must get compared to its neighbours often. What sets it apart?

Alex: I feel bad for anyone who feels the need to compare Philly to its neighbors. A few friends decided we should throw a party for people who love Philly, and give them a reason to talk about the things they love about Philly rather than compare it to other cities. We're doing that party every other month now. You can check out the video from the first party and see for yourself why people love Philly: 

Sarah: Finally, what are you working on next that has you excited?

Alex: There's a couple of projects that I have to keep under my hat right now, which is totally not my style...but I can promise they'll be worth the wait. The next couple of teams I'm working with though have me really pumped. I recently started working with Philly design and development shop P'unk Ave to help take their open source CMS Apostrophe and make it a SAAS hosted product, I'm going to start working with friends of mine Amy Hoy and Thomas Fuchs on their product http://letsfreckle.com/, and I've got a new product that I spun out of my work with that T-Shirt company that should be launching in the next month or so. 

Bottom line is, I'm continually working to achieve my goal of working on great things with great people. Nothing is more gratifying than that.

Alex, thanks for taking the time to answer all of these questions! If you'd like to keep up with everything Alex has going on, check him out on Twitter, or on his blog. 

Photo by Chris Sembrot

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I think it’s fair to say that if there is opportunity for beer at a conference, you’ll find James Whatley there. Not that he’s all about the party, but he is all about meeting people, talking to them about what they love and getting into debates over mobile technology. All of this makes him perfect for his position at 1000heads, the word of mouth marketing agency.

Sarah: What do you do for a j-o-b?

James: I am Marketing Director at the world's largest, full-service word of mouth marketing agency, 1000heads.

Sarah: How much of your building groups and communities efforts do you
credit for getting you more work?

James: Both personally and professionally? Almost 100%! I've been working in the industry now for five years and everything that I've achieved would not have been possible without the network that I've built around me. 

From a 1000heads perspective, we help manage some of the largest brand-led communities in the world. The positive word of mouth we engender from not only the community members but also from our clients continual appraisal and support massively supports our ongoing new business efforts. 

Sarah: What is the best part of what you do?

James: I get to make people happy. Last year in particular we had some amazing successes with campaigns such as Aussie Angels, Nokia Nav and Tron: Legacy all gifting huge smiles across vastly different community groups & members (while also, conveniently enough smashing our targets from our clients).

Sarah: How do you stay on top of trends and keep coming up with new ideas?

James: That's two questions! ;) Staying on top of things, obviously Twitter is of huge benefit however - my most powerful tool for keep track of the latest and greatest pieces of creative is actually Google Reader. I subscribe to around 5-600 blogs and image feeds, I also follow around 150-200 other Google Reader users who share some of the most amazing things I have ever seen. I can't recommend it enough. In regards to creativity; it can come fromanywhere. But where it will definitely not come from is my desk; getting up on my feet and outside of the office is a start. Some of my best ideas have come on the Tube (london's underground train system). That's actually where I do most of my blogging too.

Sarah: How do you manage your time during the week?

James: I live and die by my calendar. If it's not in there, then I don't do it. Even to the point of sending myself a meeting request for 'Do emails' for an hour each day; it helps. Admittedly it's not 100% fail proof as often - in this line of work - you have to drop things in emergencies and deal with what's important. It's not easy and to be honest, I doubt I've cracked it yet - however, if booking myself out for 3hrs at 7pm for 'go home and do nothing' keeps me sane, then I'll keep doing it :)

Sarah: Is there any part of your job that people would be surprised to
learn really isn't fun?

James: Traveling. It can be the *most* fun, of course it can. However, too much and you start to feel spun out and tired - Llke not enough butter spread over too much bread. Missing loved ones and yearning for your own bed after three days/weeks/months on the road? That's not fun. 

Sarah: If you were just starting out in the world of marketing now,
what would you do? Education or real world experience?

James: Both. Even if you're not starting out now, still try for both. Knowing what you don't know can sometimes be the most useful tool in your day to day working life. Be aware of weaknesses and, where necessary, fix them. 

I'm fairly sure that I will never know *everything* there is to know about Marketing, so I work hard, learn from others and, whenever possible, take formal training too. When an acquaintance remarked that he did not know why I was taking a scholarship ["Why do you need that?"] - I knew for sure that I had to do it. My response - "If ever I get to the point when I feel like there's nothing left to learn, shoot me dead - for I will be done."

If you’d like to follow Whatley on his marketing adventures, you can check him out on Twitter, on his blog, or over at the 1000 Heads blog.

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I started following Grant on Twitter a few years ago as he always posts great photos of things in my hometown, Calgary. He's pretty smart about some other stuff too! He kindly took a few minutes out of his busy SXSW schedule to answer a few questions.

Sarah: You finished up at Veer two years ago, what's been keeping you busy?

Grant: Since leaving Veer (two years ago at the end of January), I've been in semi-retirement. I say "semi" because I could never be entirely retired, at least in the traditional sense. I've been enjoying spending the bulk of my time with my family (my daughters are now in grade 10 and first year university) and finally getting around to ticking a multitude of items off the household to do list.

Sarah: Ah, but not entirely retired, what's keeping you work-busy then?

Grant: I've been offering my interface and design expertise to developers and other creative folks requiring UI and UX reviews for the software and web products. But that's certainly not a full time role.

Sarah: Part time jobs are where it's at. What do you do to keep your creative side going?

Grant: In terms of keeping the right side of my brain stimulated, photography has been a daily pursuit for me. I was locked up in a non-competition agreement from my previous employer up until this past November. That prevented me from exploring the sordid world of microstock and the like. I'm beginning to look into some commercial opportunities relating to stock photography, but I'm not anticipating making another career out of it. It's been nearly 25 years since I graduated from ACA(D) and shot professionally. It's an intriguing prospect, but I'm more cynical about the industry these days.

Sarah: You also continue to write about Typography, correct?

Grant: Write and design. I currently contribute to Typedia on a regular basis and have been working with very good friends of mine at Ligature, Loop & Stem. I enjoy writing, but it's exhausting. Words don't flow out of my head naturally. It takes immense concentration for me to wrestle thoughts and words into a form I'm happy with. I also have trouble stopping the editing and tweaking process. I've probably gone over this very paragraph seven times already. One of things I really enjoy is writing and designing type specimens to illustrate the various weights and distinctive features of a family of typefaces. It's the perfect combination of creative writing, aesthetic finesse, and balanced design.

Sarah: You manage three sites and a mailing list dedicated to the Apple Newton, why so much love for it?

Grant: I suppose some part of me loves the Newton because it was always a misunderstood, oddball product for Apple. Yes, it was an extremely advanced product that showed promise ... but still an oddball, and poorly executed from a marketing and consumer point of view. It's unfortunate that the platform wasn't allowed to continue under Steve Job's second watch at Apple, because I believe that it was just starting to gain traction in specific vertical markets such as education and healthcare. The main reason the Newton still holds my attention is the cleanliness and thoughtfulness of the user experience and the invisibility of the data structure. Data and information is just there whenever and wherever you need it. And the interface has a beautiful, minimalist presence about it. I truly appreciate all sorts of obsolete technology, not just the Newton. But the Newton is a very small chunk of computing history that not enough people are aware of.

Sarah: What is your favorite project that you've worked on?

Grant: There have been dozens of smaller projects that I've had a hand in over the years ... many were extremely enjoyable to work on. However, if I had to pick a single project it would be the integration of community and social technologies into the Veer.com site a few years ago. A small group of designers and programmers were split into their own group, outside of the existing creative and development departments. We were charged with deciding on a development platform (Ruby on Rails), designing a workable community model, and then executing the entire project. All while being cognizant of how the new functionality and design had to mesh with Veer's existing branding, voice, and legacy technologies. The team I worked with was the best and the satisfaction of seeing that project go live was immeasurable.

Sarah: You have two daughters, are they looking to follow in your creative/entrepreneurial footsteps?

Grant: That's hard to gauge, as they surprise me almost every day. Both of them are certainly creative, artistic, and have a wicked sense of humour. I think those attributes could take them just about anywhere. Personally, I don't think of myself as an entrepreneur. I just happen to be able to figure out how to help really good ideas along.

Thanks for sharing Grant! If you'd like to know more about Grant, you can follow him on Twitter, check out his photo stream, or read some of his Typedia articles.

Photo by: Naz Hamid 

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I stumbled across Jenka's blog after she wrote, How the Internet Killed the Rock Star (...not the way you think). I was impressed by Jenka's ability to communicate complex ideas clearly. Whether it's digital strategy, transmedia experiences or music and video promotion, Jenka understands how people think and why they do things. As you can imagine, this is a pretty good trait for a strategist.  

Sarah: This isn't what you currently do, but I really want to know how you became a circus manager!
Jenka: Like the preview for "Water For Elephants" says: "I don't know if I picked that circus, but something told me that circus picked me." The circus I worked for is more akin to Cirque du Soleil than Ringling Bros. The only animals being abused there are humans. How did I end up there? Long, long ago, I used to work in fashion PR, and used to stage manage fashion shows. An old friend of mine had become a fashion designer, and in 2005, she asked me to stage manage a runway show she was doing at a Valentine's-themed party where the circus was performing. That night, the director of the circus asked me if I'd want to be their production manager. And I said yes.

Sarah: Really, being in the circus is only one of the cool jobs you've had. Can you tell us about some others?
Jenka: Well, I just outed myself as having worked in fashion PR, too. Although, that really wasn't so cool at all. Before people were using the term "social media," what I do was being called "culture marketing." Which sounds cool. I used to be the marketing director for a big music festival. I've worked with a lot of musicians. But the coolest job I had was probably in high school when I used to get paid to be a photographer at Artists For Humanity. That was cool.

Sarah: With your current job, you still manage to find the time to write insightful blog posts over on social-creature.com. Are your posts mostly inspired by the work you do, or do they come from all over?
Jenka: They generally come from a deep fascination with culture and identity. Between the culture of my Russian-Jewish family and the culture of urban, east coast America, I spent my youth in two very contrasting environments. In college, I minored in bioanthropology, which is the study of evolution of human behavior -- same as physical traits evolve, behavioral traits are the results of evolutionary forces, as well. To me, it all ties into the same thing: exploring the human operating system. Why humans do what they do. Now, it's actually gotten to a point where people will send me their ideas for posts they think I ought to write. I got that Malcolm Gladwell article about social media from last year sent to me by like four different people telling me I should write about it. I wish I had the time to get to it all!

Sarah: You've also just launched a fiction project called MirrorLAnd. How long have you been working on that?
Jenka: I started writing MirrorLAnd at the end of 2005 -- same year as I joined the circus. For a long time, it was kind of a half-written idea about this 21st version of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland but set in LA, and in the underground circus culture. It was just collecting dust in the corner of my hard drive. And then in 2009 I developed this idea for how I could release it online -- in serialized installments, incorporating the real art and artists from the west coast culture that inspired the story. So that was when I really got serious about finishing it and bringing it to life. It's got 12 chapters, and with one released each month this is basically an experiment I'm committing to for a year. I'd love for it to get published as a graphic novel. We'll see what happens!

Sarah: In your day job, what's your favorite project you've worked on over the last year?
Jenka: My favorite project from last year is something that I worked on with a music client of mine. Last summer I saw a beyond-epic 9-minute video, called “The Apple Tree,” featuring VFX shots, action clips, and dance sequences from like 700 different movies in a mind-scrambling montage scored to music by The Glitch Mob. The first time I watched it I had to hit pause every 30 seconds just to catch my breath. Among the clips used in the video were a handful from Tron: Legacy. So the Glitch Mob and I teamed up with Khameleon808, the auteur behind the Apple Tree, and the result was this video:

It got picked up by Wired.com, and singled out by the Sean Bailey, the head of production at Disney. I hear there's talk of The Glitch Mob doing something official for Disney soon. For my crimes in coming up with the idea for this whole thing, Wired called me a "social media maven." Which is kind of embarrassing, but it's Wired. So you gotta take that and rub it all over yourself.

Sarah: If someone was looking to follow in your digital and transmedia strategist footsteps, what advice would you give them?
Jenka: Well, I've had a really circuitous route to get to where I am now -- from managing a circus, to promoting festivals, to working with bands. It's hard for me to direct people in my footsteps since they're really kind of all over the place. But ultimately all that weird experience has contributed to getting me here. And furthermore, it's an asset. My perspective and my frame of reference are so much broader because of the experiences that I've had and what I've gotten to learn through them. I think that's probably the key. Being able to learn something new from all the work you do. Curiosity is probably the best asset you can have in any creative field. Exploring and synthesizing diverse ideas. Not a lot of ways to go wrong with that. I think if you really want to do what I do, you're probably already involved in some aspect of doing it. You probably can't help yourself. Other valuable advice for the road: the trick to sounding like an "expert," is just having a unique opinion. Also, don't get good at something you don't want to do.

Thanks to Jenka for answering all of my questions! If you'd like to read more from her, you can check out her blog, read her graphic novel or follow her on Twitter. 

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Darren Barefoot is one of those guys that seems to be doing everything, all the time. He wrote a great book with Julie Szabo, Friends with Benefits and has decided to "live Canadian" for one year. As soon as I heard about the project, I wanted to know more!

Sarah: Darren, first, tell us about what you do for a living?
Darren: For the last eight years, I've been a partner at Capulet. We're a web marketing agency that works with non-profits and technology companies.

Sarah: Then on top of that, you've decided to live Canadian for one year. What does that mean exactly?
Darren: Well, I'm going to do my best to only consume Canadian products, services and media. I've divided that effort into 12 categories (there's a handy chart showing them all at http://1y1c.ca/about), and assigned each category to a month. January was household goods, February is clothing and so forth. The categories are cumulative, though, so while things are still pretty straightforward now, they're going to be tricky by the end of the year. 

Sarah: What inspired you to do that?
Darren: I've been asked this question a lot, and I wish I had a better origin story. In truth, I just thought it would be a fun way to make myself think more carefully about the stuff I consume, and maybe inspire a few other people to do likewise. It's a bit of a cognitive trick, the way counting calories or every cent makes you hyper-aware of what you eat or how you spend.

Sarah: You're not very far along, but what do you predict to be the most difficult thing to either find or give up?
Darren: April is TV and movies month. I go to the cinema a lot, like once or twice a week. Even in a big city like Vancouver, at any time there's probably zero to one Canadian movies showing in theatres. So I'm going to miss the pleasures associated with going to the movies. 

Sarah: Aside from learning more about Canadian products, what do you think will be the outcome of your year of living Canadian?
Darren: It's still early days, so I'm somewhat unsure, but I hope I can maybe shine a light on some under-appreciated Canadian products and services.

Sarah: Finally, do you feel this project will better prepare you for a zombie attack (fact: all Canadians are obsessed with zombies)?
Darren: I've had a lot of suggestions for homemade recipes for things like shampoo or soap. While the project is more about thoughtful consumption than do-it-yourself, those tips would keep fresh as a daisy when the zombies come. 

Darren, thanks so much for sharing your project with us! If you'd like to follow along, you can read Darren's blog or check out his tweets.

Photo: Kris Krug

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Before Christmas, I had the opportunity to hang out with some graduate students at Columbia's Journalism School. I was surprised at their optimism in regards to their profession, their career prospects and the role of traditional media houses. That surprise meant I  then jumped at the chance to talk to Sherry Noik, an editor and writer at Sun Media about what she does all day. 

Sarah: Sherry, what do you do for a living?
Sherry: I'm an editor and writer (print and online) at Sun Media, a media chain based in Toronto. I also occasionally write articles for other (non-competition) publications.

Sarah: Did you always know what you wanted to do? How did you end up where you are today in your career?
Sherry: It's funny, when I was a kid, there were exactly two things I wanted to do: work in radio and be a writer. So that's what I did. First, I spent 10 years in radio in Toronto (sometimes on the air, mostly behind the scenes). Then I switched careers and have been a writer/editor full-time for eight years.

In both cases, I started at the bottom, so to speak. In radio, I interned at a station and was lucky enough to be hired on. When I left, I sold a few articles to newspapers (I'd already had a few articles published over the years), and then kept at it. Oh - and I majored in English in university. See? You CAN do something with an English degree.

Sarah: What do you enjoy most about your job?
Sherry: I get paid to read, write, tweet, travel and talk to interesting people!

I recently tried to come up with an estimate of how many actual words I read in a typical day. I think it's probably in the neighbourhood of 20,000 (that's 1/3 to 1/2 of a short novel!). That's articles I'm editing, articles I'm reading, research and keeping up to date with multiple "news" sources (blogs, social media, etc.).

By the way, having to keep up with blogs and social media and whatever memes or trends are making the rounds is also a really enjoyable part of the job.

Overall, it's that no day is ever the same, there's no routine. I might be quietly working away at fixing subject-verb agreements one day, then get offered a great interview the next. Occasionally, I get to travel somewhere interesting in order to cover a story. At the office, it's a dynamic work environment, full of intellectually curious and creative people.

One final thing: I still get a kick out of seeing my byline on a story!

Sarah: I'll have to follow that up by asking what you enjoy least about what you do! Is there anything you wish wasn't a part of your job requirements?
Sherry: What I least enjoy: bad writing and sloppy writing (not necessarily the same thing). Did I mention I read, like, 20,000 words a day?

Sarah: The way people consume news and media is changing. Where do you see Sun Media fitting in with people's changing habits?
Sherry:I've been here a few years, and I've seen the print and online sides of the business begin to collaborate much more effectively. We're all watching what's happening in the marketplace, and trying to respond to it. That's become easier with the digital side of publishing because you can track, in real time, what content is resonating most with readers.

As a company, Sun Media is keeping its hand in print publishing, digital publishing, television and mobile apps, so I guess the strategy is to stay diversified and provide content to people wherever, and in whatever form, they wish to consume it.

As individuals, my colleagues and I are constantly adapting to and embracing the new tech tools at our disposal. We have reporters shooting BlackBerry videos, print editors creating online slide shows... And, of course, everyone (almost) is following the goings-on on Twitter - more than any invention since the printing press, it has changed the way news and content is done.

Sarah: What do you see changing in your industry over the next year?
Sherry: That's a tough call, and everyone wishes they knew the answer. Clearly, digital is the way everything's going. The trick will be how to monetize it profitably. I think crowdsourcing and user-generated content will continue to grow - but I still firmly believe we will always need trained journalists and editors to filter out the noise. (There is A LOT of noise.) Maybe I'm biased.

Thank you so much for the interview Sherry. If you'd like to know more about Sherry, you can follow her on Twitter, or check out her blog, a place for cunning linguists, teehee!

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I met Ira through twitter. He has what I consider to be a really cool job. He spends his days listening to music, developing content around music and being all strategenius for Corus Entertainment's interactive radio properties. Ok...that's the simple version of what he does, but don't panic, he explains in detail below!

Sarah: Ira, tell us about what you do!
Ira: No. You tell me. Ha. I’m the Creative/Content Director for Corus Entertainment's Interactive and Integrated Solutions and am the Brand Manager for ExploreMusic. I help develop content and strategies for Corus Entertainment's stable of interactive radio properties, specializing in social media, community building, content devlopment and mobile experiences.

Sarah: How much new music do you listen to each week?
Ira: A lot. Everyone says that, but I seriously listen to a ton of music. For a music lover, that’s a good thing I guess. I’ve always listened to a lot of music. I can remember listening to CHUM AM back in the day with my dad, driving around town or back at home where he’d slap on some Dave Brubeck on the hi-fi system. I owe my eclectic taste to those early experiences I guess. I’m pretty fortunate to work in a field where I have to listen to all kinds of music for work. Not just the artists we get to feature and talk to for ExploreMusic, but people have started to send me stuff to get my opinion on their sound, their marketing, etc. Band managers, artists, record labels, all kinds of people do. I’m often sitting at my desk at work with my headphones on. And really, that’s only the tip of the iceberg. I’m constantly digging up, scrounging for new music. We’re also working on these cool emerging artist platforms which are a total howl, cause we get to hear bands in their earliest, rawest form. I love that. Truth is, for me, it always comes back to my faves. If you’re on my Blackberry or Ipod Touch, you’ve arrived for Ira Haberman. That’s what I usually listen to on my commute to and from the office.

Sarah: What path did you take that led you to where you are in your career?
Ira: A long and winding road, to say the least. When all this started (my career) all I wanted to do was be a sportscaster. I idolized people like Dan Shulman, Elliotte Friedman and Mike Wilner growing up in my formative years, and really thought for a few fleeting moments that one day I would grow up to be like them. I even did some sports reporting for great radio stations like CFRB 1010 and 680 News here in Toronto. The bottom line though, is unless you are one of those dudes or as awesome as they are, it’s a rough ride. So that sucked, but I knew I loved radio, from a very early age, so a few really awesome jobs and experiences along the way led me here. I’ve worked every shift in radio, mostly behind the scenes, but sometimes in front of microphones. I’ve also worked for news/ information and rock stations. Originally I was brought into this division at Corus to work on nationally syndicated programming, like the Ongoing History of New Music and the Legends of Classic rock, but like technology the role has evolved. One thing remains though; I have a great face for radio.

I’ve always been really into making compelling content and most importantly connecting with an audience. I’m convinced that no matter what platform or gadget is cool, if you create compelling content an audience will check it out. And so here I am today, part of a team trying to leverage the power of audio entertainment (radio) and its deep connection with people into a new era. We’re still doing the same sorts of things that Uncle Milty did, but the circumstances are different. People aren’t huddling around a radio in the living room anymore, but instead are connecting with our stations or our personalities on our station websites, on a variety of social media, mobile apps, or their radio (there I said it!).

Sarah:You seem to juggle several responsibilities at work. How much of your time is spent on strategy and how much of it is spent creating content?
Ira: Ha. The ole’ chicken and the egg question. I’d say I attend to each with equal amounts of time, but not all the time. So one minute I could be interviewing some singer-songwriter dude that nobody has heard of, and the next minute I could be talking to one of our programmers about their social media strategy. It really does run the gamut. Does that make sense?

Sarah: What is your favorite part of what you do?
Ira: Evangelizing radio and taking radio into the new digital era (or whatever you call this period). Seriously, I love radio, and still think it has a lot to offer. I’m not talking about the physical radio on your mom’s kitchen counter, or the one in your car, I’m talking about audio entertainment in a more generic way. Our newstalk stations were chat rooms before we knew what that word meant and when done right like the way my pals Charles Adler or Dave Rutherford do it, it’s magical and translates really well on-line, on demand, or as part of a podcast. Charles Adler is one of the most prolific twitterers out there, cause he gets that all of this new tech stuff is just an extension of what he’s already been doing for so long. . Before Pitchfork was hip, people like Alan Cross were the tastemakers, letting us in on what’s cool to listen to. He’s still doing just that for ExploreMusic We’re extending the life of what people in the radio business have been doing for so long.

So yeah, I care passionately about the content our people create, and still think it’s very relevant, and for me, its fun telling people just that.

Sarah: Is there anything that takes up your time that is no fun at all?
Ira: I can’t really point to one thing that isn’t fun. I mean we all have paperwork to do that isn’t the most exciting, but you know what, I’m pretty lucky to have a gig like this. I could be outside in the cold rain and snow right now digging ditches. How fun would that be?

Sarah: Do you have any predictions for us for 2011? Where is the Interactive/Entertainment industry headed over the next year?
Ira: I have no idea actually. Things are moving so fast. It’s hard to predict anything these days. I suspect tablet computing will take off this year in a much bigger way, and that Apps will be the key to our collective existence. I think this also might finally be the year of cloud entertainment. You know, having your junk on a server somewhere, so that you can listen to it from multiple devices wherever you are. I use dropbox, evernote and love them both, because I can access my stuff however I want. Wish I could do that with my music. Believe it or not, the smartphone market is still emerging, and I think we’ll see penetration amongst more and more people. The dominant players in this space will continue to dominate. I’m really excited about these emerging artist portals that we’re building with the radio stations. Seems like a great way to leverage our megaphones and build community around local artists and fans. I’m pretty psyched about new records from Nicole Atkins, The Beastie Boys, Bright Eyes, Robbie Robertson, My Morning Jacket and Radiohead just to name a few. I’m sure there will be some killer indie stuff along the way as well…

Thanks for filling us in on your cool job, Ira! if you'd like to check out Ira's excellent music suggestions, go to his website, ExporeMusic. If you'd like to follow what Ira is up to, you can check him out on Twitter.

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I've known James Sherrett for several years now. We met when he was in Calgary for a conference (not through anything to do with crowdsourcing, which is kind of funny). Recently, I was surprised to learn that he wrote a novel a few years ago. Not a bull-shitty marketing book, but a real, honest-to-goodness piece of fiction. How cool is that? I'm not going to lie, finding out stuff like this is one of the reasons I'm loving this blog :)

Sarah: How did you come up with the idea for AdHack?
James: I was a frustrated ad buyer who wanted a better way to do digital advertising. We needed to work fast and deliver great campaigns in days and weeks. Everyone in advertising was talking about the next quarter and the quarter after. It was impossible! So I started out to solve my own problem and build an ad agency that worked like the web -- fast, flexible, responsive. Now we have 1,000+ people in 21 countries.

Sarah: What did you do before this?
James: I ran the Internet marketing, content and web development teams for Intrawest where we sold vacations to places like Whistler and Cancun. Yes, I got a season's pass at Whistler. Then I did the same for Teligence where we sold phone 'entertainment.' Yes, there were late night ads featuring Evangeline Lilly. Before all that I wrote a novel. I guided fishermen.

Sarah: What's your favorite project that you've worked on?
James: Hugh Jackman is the global spokesperson for Lipton Ice Tea. He'd done a great ad called Tokyo Hotel Dancing that blew up all over the world. Lipton Ice Tea (and their agency DDB Paris) worked with us on an open casting call on YouTube for folks to submit videos and get cast with Hugh Jackman on the sequel ad. We did the project in 9 European countries and 8 languages and it was amazing how people responded. We got tons of entries. Then we started getting parody videos of the first ad. People had incredible passion for the project.

Sarah: What's the most interesting thing about working with AdHack clients?
James: The range of problems we get to solve. It's an awesome challenge. Some days we're creating teams to build apps for the iPad. The next day we're organizing teams for a global beer brand's event coverage across North America. Another day we're recruiting filmmakers to remix a global TV ad to redistribution. We've found some really solid basics of process and approach to work across these projects, but the projects always amaze with their diversity.

Sarah: Why do you think people are turning to crowdsourcing?
James: I think the bigger picture is that people are responding to the huge flood of digital content that we're all immersed in today. They're finding just like us that an open, collaborative, curated process, working with their customers and advocates, is the best technique to swim with the flood and influence its path. Crowdsourcing is one name for that response.

Sarah: Where do you see this industry going in the next year or two?
James: I think the biggest change we're seeing in advertising now and continuing over the next 5-10 years is the "80 / 20 flip." Here's the 30 second overview:

It used to be the standard rule that you made an ad and repeated the heck out of it. That's a model for mass media and why you see the same ads over and over. The ad (creative) was 20 percent of the budget and the space / time to run it (media) was 80 percent of the budget. That ratio is in the process of flipping. The 'creative' part of advertising is exploding in size and complexity: In size because we're living in a world of media abundance where replication costs are near 0; in complexity because we're in what I call a 'smoosh' time where our digital world includes all types of media: video, images, audio, software, text. All of that (with more coming) can be ads.

So crowdsourcing in advertising is a response to recruit more people to build more stuff to meet the demand for more creative in a world affected by the 80 / 20 flip.

Thanks for sharing with us James! If you'd like to know more about James, you can follow him or his company on Twitter. If you'd like to learn more about the 80 / 20 flip, he's got that on his blog. If you'd like to buy his novel, it's right here.

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Toronto, how'd you get so lucky with all these smart people? Today, I'm interviewing Andrew Lane. Andrew and I met at a conference in Banff one year and he remains one of my favorite people to run into at any conference. Where ever Andrew is, fun will surely follow. 

Sarah: What do you do?
Andrew: I work at Weber Shandwick Canada.  We're the world's largest PR/Communications firm and I work as a member of our rapidly growing digital communications practice.  In Canada, my role is to provide strategic support for our 5 offices (Toronto, Ottawa, Montréal, Calgary, Vancouver) and I also work with our North American Emerging Media Team keeping our network up to speed on developments in the mobile and tablet markets.  I think it's a pretty great job for a nerd. 

Sarah: How long have you been there and what's the career path that lead you to your current role?
Andrew: I've only been at Weber since March of 2010 so I'm still a relative newbie.  My career started out at Ryerson University, studying television and  writing.  I then got into the industry and quickly shifted my focus to the digital storytelling side of things with a great company called marblemedia.  After a while I moved on to a few tech startups but found myself drifting away from that storytelling aspect of my work that I loved so much (for anyone who's ever met me, that statement should come as no surprise).  That brought me back to the entertainment side of the industry where I ran my own consulting business (shameless plug: http://nitch.ca) before getting the opportunity to work with Weber Shandwick.

Sarah: I think it is pretty reasonable to call you a networking pro, do you think this helps open doors for you?
Andrew: I'm not sure it's possible to be a "networking pro" but I really do like meeting people.  In the age of social media, it seems people consider it novel to meet "IRL".  While online relationships can be great, I'll always prefer knowing someone face to face.  People open doors for people they trust and I think being face to face with someone is the best way to build that trust.

Sarah: Have you always been this comfortable meeting new people, or did you have to work at it?
Andrew: If you've ever met my dad it's obvious that talking to strangers runs in my family.  While it's fairly counter to what you're supposed to teach your kid, I think my dad's natural curiousity in life rubbed off on me.  So I guess the answer is no, but I really think that if you're genuinely interested in learning about other people, there's very little work involved in meeting someone new.

Sarah: What's the most interesting part of your day?
Andrew: The most interesting part of my day is the end of it.  Once everything has finally slowed down, I consistently find interesting to reflect on everything that happened and see if I managed to learn something from it.  I believe in the saying "you learn something new every day" but I think you only retain that learning when you take a few minutes to acknowledge it.  So I try to.

Sarah: Of course, I have to follow that up with what's something you really wish you didn't have to do?
Andrew: Say "no" to people.  Is that vague enough?

Sarah: What advice can you give someone that would be looking to follow your career path?
Andrew: My career path has been a bit of a winding road but I've learned a lot of lessons everywhere it's taken me.  While I wouldn't encourage anyone to replicate it, I'd say that 'go with your gut' has been a saying that's consistently served me well and I'd encourage others to do the same.

If you'd like to find out more about Andrew, you can find him on Twitter, or at his website. To find out more about the company he works for, Weber Shandwick, check their social page. Weber Shandwick was just mentioned in Mashables Top Employers of Social Media Professionals!

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Saul Colt is smart, so he definitely makes the list of smart people I know. He travels all over giving talks on how to build a really, really great community.  

Sarah: You've carried around an interesting job title for quite a while now. What is it and what does it mean?
Saul: My job title for the last few years (as well as currently) is Head Of Magic. The origin of the title is pretty simple, I have a unique ability to make a lot out of nothing and on top of that a very pretty woman told me that I did was "magical" so it seemed like the only appropriate title.  

Sarah: As Head of Magic, how do you spend your day?
Saul: Every day is a little different and hard to describe (kinda like a magic trick) but on any given day I can be writing strategy documents/plans around Customer Activation, Customer Acquisition, Customer Re-Invigoration, Social media Plans, or Real World Stunts. Also I am a little crazy about my ideas and like to manage the execution so I also can be executing on stuff or maybe just maybe I am on a plane, speaking at a conference or like at this moment I am sitting in an Airport Lounge in Brazil answering your questions in hopes this interview will make me more attractive to the opposite sex or impress my Mom. 

Sarah: I've no doubt your mom is very impressed. What's the career path that led you to this?
Saul: Like most people who have jobs that they really love, the secret to my path has just been head down hustle and not stopping so people can tell you your goals are unreasonable. As for actual path I have worked in several industries (packaging supplies to automotive to publishing to creative agency to startups and Online Invoicing) but the common element was the style I developed to market products and communicate with people. I made myself the very best at a very specialized skill and worked hard to develop all my skills to be transferable.  

Sarah: You speak often. How long does it take you to prepare for each talk you give?
Saul: I spend more time on preparation then a lot of folks I know because of two reasons. I very rarely give the same talk twice (it only happens if I am asked to do something last minute) and my process is that I will "walk around" with the idea around the talk for a few days (or longer). I'll roll it around in my head a bunch of different ways. Once I find a way I like I can usually write the presentation in a few hours and then I do a final polish a day later and add some jokes or a picture or two with fresh eyes. 

Sarah: What is your favorite part of what you do? 
Saul: Dealing with people and solving problems.  

Sarah: We always hear the idealized version of people's jobs. What has to get done that you hate doing
Saul: I don't like planning farther then a quarter at a time even though it is usually insisted on. Some of whatever success I have had has come from being able to not only adapt to situations but recognizing when you need to adapt to new information. Because of this I try to leave a lot of room for interpretation in my plans and this also is part of why I am so crazy about wanting to execute my own stuff.

Sarah: What are you excited about outside of work?
Saul: When I am not working I get excited by sunsets and long walks on the beach in a warm rain. 

Thanks for answering all of my questions Saul! If you want to know more about Saul, you can check in on his fave recent accomplishment, his fave client, a friend he thinks is cool and an Emmy Award winning comedy write who is a potential BFF candidate. You can can also read his blog. 

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Hanan Chebib is today's interview for I know smart people. She is definitely smart and has chosen to work in the non-profit industry. I won't lie, I got a little teary-eyed over her job and what she does all day. Get a tissue ready :)

Sarah: What do you do?
Hanan: I'm the Manager of Development at the Missing Children Society of Canada. I create relationships to get people engaged in our cause so that our investigators can continue the search for our families.

Sarah: What was the career path that led you to this?
Hanan: It's not so much a path but more of a leaping from one rock to another. I have a Bachelor's in Physical Anthropology, as I was going to be a Forensic Anthropologist when I grew up, made the leap into becoming a pharmacy technician for 5 years, then another leap into photography for 11 years, then another as an event producer for 3 and half years.... then my most exhilarating and challenging leap was into the non-profit world this past April. Each time I jumped into a field it had a huge learning curve and its own special challenges, but what they have in common is the fantastic mix of the technical and the creative.

Sarah: Is it motivating or disheartening to learn about Missing Children?
Hanan: It's a stark reality that children in Canada go missing at the rate they do.... the number shocked me when I first heard the stat. The RCMP released that over 50,000 cases of missing children were reported in 2009 alone! In the first 48 hours, 50% are recovered, but what happens to the rest? What was motivating was to hear that an organization like MCSC was actively doing something about it. And I mean, really doing something about it! The investigators at MCSC are all retired cops with over 25 years of experience each in detective work and they are actively looking. How amazing is that!

Sarah: What’s the best part about working for a non-profit?
Hanan: I know it's cliche, but knowing that whatever effort you make in your job, it has a direct positive result in making a difference in someone's life. A couple of weeks ago, MCSC assisted in a reunification between a father and his daughter. He had been looking for her for two years. He stopped by the office with his little girl and his mother to thank us for helping him out. It was amazing! Nothing compared to that in my corporate job.

Sarah: What are some of the things you do at your job day-to-day that people would be surprised to find out about?
Hanan: Well, how creative it is. We have an environment of openess where people from every walk of life can sit down with us for a brainstorming session. I get to converse with people everyday and listen to their ideas on how to do something better, or how to use something that exists in a new way. We have partners from all over Canada that have developed one of a kind initiatives to help us with our cause. How exciting is that! I, too, know smart people!
Oh, and we laugh a lot here at MCSC. We all love coming to work and we get charged by each others successes. We're never short of smiles here. I think that would surprise people the most.  

Sarah: Where do you see a non-profit like Missing Children going in the next few years?
Hanan: One of our volunteers, Jason Long summed it up beautifully, we're one of the best kept secrets in Canada. I'd like that to change. We're moving in a direction where each and every Canadian will be empowered to prevent child abduction simply by recognizing their own strengths  and it'll be our job to celebrate and share that story. Every day we receive emails, letters or phone calls from Canadians who made a decision to take an small step to help and each and every single contribution will ripple into a societal change.

We have a farmer in Milton who grows a crop of pumpkins every year. It's an honor system, he places a table and a box at the end of his lane and neighbors drive by, pick a pumpkin or two and drop a couple of dollars into the box. This year he made a decision to donate the dolars to MCSC and he made a sign to share it. He noticed that more than not, people put an extra couple of bucks into the box. He raised $521.00 dollars! When we talked to him, he said it wasn't a big deal. It's what he does. He grows crops. He sold over 200 pumpkins this past fall. What he really did was engage an entire community to make a small action in helping us, just by being good at what he does. That's a big deal to us!

In the next few years, I'd like to see all Canadians become part of the movement to stop child abduction, in the way that speaks to them personally.

Sarah: Does the Internet make it easier to solve cases?
Hanan: Oh, yes! Google alone is a key tool. Our investigators can use Google Search on the names of our missing children and monitor the information. Or if there is an address that comes up in the course of their search, they can sit at their desks with Google Earth and do a preliminary look. Not to mention that nowadays our search has become global and it's much easier to source contact information and to build relationships critical to a case when you have it right at your finger tips.

We have also partnered with Marketwire this past year and they push out through their channels on the web all our child search alerts with helps us get realtime information out to a greater audience. Their reach is over 300,000 people, not to mention the secondary ripple of information sharing that occurs. Which is critical to our success in a case.

Sarah: What can other people do to help?
Hanan: Sometimes, it something you're already doing, but you may need a bit of help to tie it in to what we're doing. We can help with that. We all do something in our lives that can be a source of charity. You just don't know it yet! Send us an email to start a dialogue, or join our Facebook page, or go to our website and become a monthly donor.

Hanan, thank you so much for sharing what you do with us. You can follow Hanan on twitter if you want to know what she's up to next. 

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That's right, I know more than one smart person! Next up, find out what Michelle Sklar, one of my best friends is up to:

Sarah: How did you arrive at where you are today?
Michelle: I have been an entrepreneur my entire professional career.  I am passionate about innovation and social change.  I have been in online broadcasting as host, producer and business development, where I have been able to build a broad network of people, gain a unique and comprehensive understanding of digital media, emerging technologies and business models.  I turned a corner on my career... pulled a lot of my skills together and fashioned them into what I am doing now.

Sarah: Is this what you thought you would be doing when you were in school?
Michelle: No, I wanted to be a lawyer! 

Sarah: What is your favorite part of what you do? 
Michelle: Working with people, being around innovation and creativity.  I am a builder and a connector, and I am to do that with all of the activities I am involved with.

Sarah: ...and the other side of that, what is the most annoying part of what you do? 
Michelle: Navigating bureaucracy - I am an action oriented person and not all that patient! 

Sarah: What gets you out of bed every morning?
Michelle: I love my job - my team, the industry and what we do are exceptional and I am so excited to be a part of building out this company. I am thrilled to be serving on the boards and engaged in other community based activities - I have lot's of energy, and I love being an agent of change, a builder and a connector.

If you would like to know more, you can follow Michelle on Twitter. You can also read/watch some of her interviews on Techvibes and Technorati.

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I am finally on track to get posting on I know smart people. I meet so many smart people and I always find myself saying, "Oh, if only you knew so-and-so" all the time. Well, I am a (wom)man of action! Instead of just hoping everyone could meet each other, I thought I'd share some info on some of the coolest people I meet on this blog and a little bit about what they do all day. So let's get to it. 

Harley Young

Sarah: Harley, explain to us what you do with your time.
Harley: I cook with enthusiasm. I run to remember what’s important. I read voraciously. And, I help clients imagine and deliver technology solutions that improve their business. Sometimes that means I help companies merge another company into their business. Other times, it means I help state governments rewrite their entire disease reporting and surveillance system to improve public health outcomes. Each time there are some things that remain the same, and some things that differ, but it's generally fascinating.

Sarah:That's pretty impressive. How does one end up with a job like that?
Harley: After undergrad, I helped start a small software company in Ottawa. After sleeping under a server box at the office 2 nights a week for a couple years, we were acquired by a bigger US firm (Manugisitcs, now JDA Software). I resigned shortly after the acquisition, and went to graduate school thinking that I’d do my PhD and then dedicate my life to teaching. While I loved teaching, I didn’t care much for academic research, so I left graduate school with a MSc, and rejoined Manugistics as a technology consultant. After a year flying around North America, I was invited to join another startup in Toronto. 2000 was unkind to many dot-coms, and my new start-up was no different. After 3 months we were out of money and closed the doors. It was then that I joined my current employer, where I’ve mostly been since…save a 20 month break for a backpacking trip around the world, and about 7 months with another consulting firm. 

Sarah: Did you have any idea this is where you would end up?
Harley: Oh, absolutely not. I was initially a student of accounting and economics, figuring that I’d eventually become a Chartered Accountant (CA). It wasn’t until my third year of undergrad that a professor who taught one of my electives remarked that I often arrived at very clever solutions to technology problems. His compliment was followed by the suggestion that I might want to consider switching majors. Since no one in my family knew very much about technology, discussion of this around the dinner table was met with no-small amount of skepticism. “Do you really think there will be jobs in that field?” my mum asked. Don’t worry. She uses the Internet now.

Sarah: What is your favorite part of what you do that people might not think about right away?
Harley: I have two favourite things:

1. Travel. As part of my job, I spend a lot of time moving around, so I have the opportunity to visit many new places. Sometimes they’re big cities full of thrills, and other times they’re tiny towns that move at a slower pace. Both are great for different reasons.
2. People. Since I work for many different clients, I am always meeting new people. I enjoy the chance to learn new skills from them, offer some advice and guidance, and sometimes make new friends. I also enjoy connecting people I know to each other. Sometimes it’s just for a coffee when someone moves to a new city. Other times, it’s because I think they have something neat to offer one another.

Sarah: What's the worst part?
Harley: A few weeks ago, a guy who was about 27 was on his way from Toronto to Fort McMurray to start a new job. I had a window seat, and he was sitting next to me in the middle seat. As we pushed back from the gate, he kept craning his neck to sneak a peak out the window. I turned and asked what he was looking at. He told me that it was only his second flight and he loved watching the takeoff. I switched seats with him, and he sat with his face glued to the window while the plane took off, and while it later touched down. He was completely enamored with the magic of flight.

The ability to visit new places is one of my favourite things about my job. However, the process of actually going through customs, being frisked (or backscatter X-rayed) by security, and having your neatly packed shirts all rumpled by well-meaning inspectors multiple times each week has eroded the magic. About that, I’m sorry.

Sarah: I was thinking that all of your travels must have made you an expert packer.
Harley: If you've seen Up In The Air, you know my packing and airport strategy. The two keys to packing well are:

1. A good rolling bag (Zuca Pro)
2. Smart choices about clothing and shoes

There are lots of vidoes and sites about this. You can check out One Bag, or hit your favourte search engine and video site for one-bag packing or travelling light.

Sarah: What are you most excited about?
Harley: I am excited about a lot of things. I’m really excited about my girlfriend and her enthusiasm for providing kids with a solid foundation in math (she’s a grade 5/6 teacher). I’m also really excited about the future. There remains a lot of tragedy in the world, of course. But there are also a lot of people getting online for the first time, discovering and learning new things, connecting to each other and realizing that we’re all part of a community. I see how transparency, participation, conversations, and shared experience have changed my clients, and I’m excited to see how it will help support the desires we all share to help make life better.

Thanks to Harley for being one of the first people on I Know Smart People. You can follow Harley on Twitter or stay up-to-date on his whereabout by reading his blog.

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I often refer to hilarious things I’ve read on the Internet as being from “one of my Twitter friends” This qualification is fairly new. I used to just call them friends, but people tease me when I tell them about friends I’ve never met in real life. I’ve never understood this. Is there a difference because I haven’t been able to shake their hand? Is a friend more valuable because I’ve been lucky enough to meet them in person?

Wait, of course there’s a difference. You’ve never shared a drink, or a cup of coffee, or been able to hug it out with your online friends. However, you’ve found your online friends through a shared connection, one that isn’t based on location. If we assume that connection has something to do with your interests, work or emotional needs, wouldn’t the connection you share with your online friends be more valuable?

While I love having friends over for dinner and spending countless hours all over town with my crew, when I need something, I often turn to my online friends. I ask them for advice and for introductions to people I haven’t met before. I have even asked them for work.

Is it still that nerdy to meet friends online or is it a great way to meet likeminded people? Do you see a difference between online and offline friends? Do you value one group more than the other?

Update: A comment from @myownbiggestfan  

I was hanging out with some friends last week and I had just checked my phone and a Twitter pal in L.A. had posted a picture of their dog and it was pretty cute.

ME: "Oh, look, my friend posted a picture of their dog. So cute."
FRIEND: "Who's dog is that?"
"A friend from Twitter"
"Have you ever met?"
"No, not in real life"
"So, not a real friend then"

I bristled at that. The "not real" friend is the wife of a "real" friend's ex-coworker from years ago. I got along with both of them pretty much instantly. We recommend TV shows and movies to each other, we know each other's tastes well. I had helped design their wedding invites, which they repaid me (without me requesting or even wanting) in a small, thoughtful gift. I also play iPhone boardgames with them, more so than I can get together with "real" friends. We even converse with each other more than either of us do with the person we met through, who lives in the same city as me. (not by design, just circumstances)

(sorry if that paragraph is unintelligible)

I was actually a little offended that someone would try and characterize my friendship with these people as less than tangible, I didn't say anything though, because it really wasn't worth it. Some people are open to having a friendship that is buffered by some mode of communication, some aren't.

The fact is that the internet isn't "nerdy" anymore. When bar-stars are using it to get laid just as much as the role-playing game geeks, it's just mainstream. This hasn't been an issue for almost 10 years now. What is in dispute is how much time people are willing to put into an online friendship, and from that follows how much weight that person is willing to put ON that friendship. I spend quite a bit of time here, so my online friendships are important.

That said, I'm still fucking awkward whenever I meet one of you people in real life.

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I'm currently in an awkward, social media situation that I need some advice on. 

I'm suddenly getting complaints from followers about one of the Twitter accounts I help manage.

The good news: The tweets in question aren't mine.

The bad news: It's an office politics situation where my hands are tied - I really can't do anything about the spam-like tweets. 

The worries: I'm concerned this will reflect poorly on me and people will assume I don't know how to use the Internet (uhh...I totally do and I think my love of Zombo.com proves it). I'm concerned that if I say anything, they'll hand the whole thing over to the other person and the community around the account will suffer. I'm concerned that people out there don't like me and I hate that! 

How do you proceed in a situation like this? Does anyone else have any work social media war stories to share that can help me out?

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