Internet Famous

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I am not Internet famous. However, that hasn’t stopped Ron from wanting to ask me a series of questions relating to Internet fame. He’s talked to several other celebrities, and asked the same questions of them. I can only hope my humble video response helps him in some way with his research!

• What were some of the factors in your early years or education that prompted your involvement in social media? – I’d have to say the Speak ‘n’ Math. I used to love punching numbers into that thing, and trying to solve math problems. I sucked at Math – I’ll admit it. I was always bad at showing my work on paper. Instead, I would create formulas with a calculator to solve the problems for me.
• No longer associated with TechTV, how have you been reaching out to your audience? – You have to understand that I already had an online audience of over 100,000 people before TechTV ever happened. In fact, that is WHY I was asked to be on TechTV. I’ve been online since 1992. TechTV came about for me in 2001. I’m still doing the same things I have always done. It’s just easier to do now with the advent of new tools such as Facebook and Twitter.
• What services do you provide your sponsors or clientele? – I do get paid to consult with companies about how to have a bigger and better presence online. I also do various speaking engagements throughout the year. As far as the sponsors, we produce the videos each week, as well as the Gnomedex conference.
• While you may not consider yourself Internet famous, how has it led to your success online? How has it furthered your career? – It’s led to my success because I’m doing it. You have to work at it, constantly. You have to stay in touch with the people in your community. I don’t know how this has led to Internet fame. I have a very dynamic personality, for sure. I get paid to be myself. I don’t think I could achieve any more happiness than that.
• How have you branded yourself? – Well, I am myself. The old Lockergnome classic cartoon-y looking logo has been around for many years. The Chris Pirillo brand is technology – information, help, advice. I’m a conduit for many thousands of people who share information and ideas, which is pretty cool.
• What advice can you give others who are looking to make an impact online? – If you want to do it, dedicate yourself. Don’t expect success to come overnight. If you’re happy with what you’re doing – then you’re successful. When it comes to the way others will measure success, it’s hard won, and takes a lot of time and work to come by. Do something different. Be yourself – be genuine – but stand out!
• Who do you consider to be Internet famous, and why? How do you think Internet fame differs from other types of fame? – I don’t consider it to be any different, actually. I think it’s a cult of personality, and it’s easier to connect with celebrity (and easier to become one) via the Internet. The main difference I’d say is connections between a person and their community. We used to have a distance between celebrities and their followers. This isn’t so prevalent now, with the advent of social media outlets. As for who I would consider to be Internet famous… iJustine. She’s genuine and has a good heart. I think she’s going to be moving on to bigger and better things in the near future.
• What are you involved in today that differs from your previous work? – I’m doing a lot more local outreach here in Seattle. I’m doing things like meetups and Tweetups – either co hosting or attending. I’m meeting people who are doing the same types of things as I am. I’m much more locally aware than I used to be in the past.
• What’s the one thing about you that people don’t know yet? – Hah! I sleep with my Throwboy RSS pillow!
• Point me to a couple of URLs on YouTube of videos that you feel best showcase who you are. – I’m going to throw this back to my community. I’d like you guys to leave a comment to this video, and point out the URLs that you feel best show who I am. I’m interested to see your responses!
• Are there any future projects you would like to share? – Yes! I’d like to share them all!

I certainly hope these answers helped! The video will soon be encoded, uploaded and posted to my blog by my good friend, assistant and Community Manager Kat. (YAY KAT!) She keeps me on track, and I couldn’t do what I do without her! There are a lot of people who are vital to this company, and I sincerely appreciate them all.

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