Today I’m doing a Twitterview with Joel E. Carlson.

Innovation within the Social Media Landscape is what keeps it interesting, moving and relevant. Creating content that other people find useful is key. This is exactly what my Follow Friday, Mr. Joel E. Carlson has done via the Twitterview. According to the Twitterview Facebook Page, a Twitterview is defined as, “interviews with people using the Twitter social media tool. They are designed to help people share about not only what they do in life, but also who they are.”

Twitterview with Joel E. Carlson

Joel’s Twitterviews have become so popular that he is booked (daily) through the end of June (I’m still trying to squeeze in there)! When he performs these Live Twitterviews, he uses the Hashtag #jectv. I “tune in” regularly, but I wanted to know more about what these were, where the idea came from and who he is. I’m calling it the Digital Mention View (#DMView) today. And here it is:

SKH: What exactly is #jectv?
Joel: The Twitter hashtag #jectv stands for Joel-E-Carlson-Twitter-View

SKH: How did you come up with the idea?
Joel: I was driving in my car, and I was thinking, “What could be a way for people to share more about themselves, and not sound braggish?” So I thought of an interview, and then I thought that it could be done on Twitter. I would then post on my blog the entire dialogue to be looked at later by those who missed it when it was live.

SKH: Who are some people you have Twitterviewed so far? Who has been your favorite?
Joel: I’ve been able to interview almost 40 people so far, some of them being local TV news personalities like @heatherbrown21, @DeRushaJ and @RenaKARE11. There have been a wide scope of backgrounds and personalities that I’ve chatted with. I really enjoy learning about people and getting to know them better, and this has been a great outlet for that. One of my favorite Twitterviews was with @philson (Phil Wilson). He is SUCH a character! Some people are apprehensive at first, but after it’s done, everybody says that they’ve enjoyed participating in it. Everyone has a story to tell.

SKH: Who is one person you would love to Twitterview?
Joel: I would like to Twitterview @KatieCouric from CBS.

SKH: How did you get into the “Social Media Landscape?”
Joel: I worked for a handyman company as a service manager and in early 2009 I mentioned to the owner that we should get involved with using Social Media. He green-lighted the idea, and so I created a Facebook, MySpace and Twitter account for the company. I observed what worked, who were good people to follow and interact with, as well as who to listen to and learn from. I then was on my own in Dec of 2009, so I made my very own Twitter, Facebook and YouTube accounts. I also started a blog to share my thoughts and ideas even further.

SKH: What are your hopes, goals, etc for #jectv?
Joel: I didn’t have a grand plan when I first started doing the Twitterviews. It was just an idea to have fun with and help people get noticed and share more about themselves. Now I get people ASKING if I can Twitterview them, instead of me just asking them. I am currently booked up with at least one Twitterview a day, (M-F) until about the end of June, so it’s moving along well. I’ve also added introduction videos on my YouTube account for people to see a brief glimpse of the person I’ll be chatting with, before their Twitterview happens. Another layer I’ve also added is doing TwitterReviews, where I chat with a restaurant/cafe/coffee shop and ask them about their business to get them additional exposure on Twitter.

SKH: What are some other interests, hobbies, etc.? What do you do in your spare time?
Joel: I like basketball, I have been a fan since the Larry Bird/Magic Johnson era. In fact, I attended the first game of the first regular season of the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Metrodome in 1989. I also enjoy watching pro and college basketball, and learning about computers, Social Media, gadgets, the internet and technology. I also enjoy photography. Lastly, like my Twitter BIO says, I’m a big fan of Sharpie!

SKH: Where can we find you in the Social Space?
Joel: On Twitter I’m at – @JoelECarlson. I’m also on YouTube, and lastly you can find me and all my Twitterviews via my blog.

SKH: And anything else you’d like to share?
Joel: I think and feel that Social Media has been around long enough that businesses shouldn’t think of it as a fad. They (Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, LinkedIn, etc.) should be looked at as tools to create communities, provide customer service and as a way to really reach and engage with customers and to draw in new customers. Some of the tools may come and go or morph to be more specific within the target group, but they’re not going away. Thanks for asking your questions. 🙂

Xox,
SKH