Bencredible

This is my latest appearance on Twin Cities Live.  I LOVE this round table format, it was a lot of fun and I think the segment turned out quite well.  Kudos to the TCL crew for thinking this up, and great looking 16:9 feed (although it seems a bit soft to be true HD, I wonder if they are scaling the SD to HD?)

Because John and Rebekah are a hoot!

Yes, we’re going to space. Yes it is real. Yes we’re nerds. Yes this show is awesome!

I’m BACK on Twin Cities Live talking about scanners. I want to personally thank the audio engineer as they have now given me a theme song, and being that I aspire to be an evil villain, a theme song is a requirement! Well done!

I love this show! Not only do we always have a great time, but I get to show off the latest and greatest technology to the masses. In this live episode we cover: TWITTER!  Just the idea that Twitter is now on TV shows such as CNN and even the afternoon talk show tells me that it is either mainstream or very, very close to mainstream now.

Luckily all of the Twitter downtime happened right before the show and they were stable once we went on-air.  Was a fun moment watching the hosts play with Twitter and get the ‘Something has gone wrong’ screen.

I had an appearance on Twin Cities Live today talking about eReaders.  We went over 3 different eReaders that I own, but my collection is actually larger than that.  I thought it was fun, and hopefully I was able to present the technology in a way that even a techophobe would understand.

Wow, big press week!  First Cariann and I were in the StarTribune on July 1st for SpaceVidcast.  Then today I was back on TwinCitiesLive talking about how to secure your computer (video below).  And finally tomorrow I’m scheduled to go on the air with Jay Kolls at 6:05am on KSTP AM-1500.  Yes, you read that right… 6:05 in the AM!  I have no idea what I’m going to do!  I didn’t even know there WAS a 6 in the morning!!!

Anyhow, enjoy the TCL clip from earlier, and I believe we have other local press outlets looking to do SpaceVidcast interviews as well! Watch for those in the near future.

I was on Twin Cities Live earlier today to describe Podcasting 101…

Your truly is slated to be live on Twin Cities Live this Wednesday, May 7th between 3:00pm CDT and 4:00pm CDT.  Check out KSTP channel 5 in the Minneapolis, MN area to see the live show, or go to http://www.twincitieslive.com the day after the show to catch the video segment.

I’ll be talking about low cost videophones (AKA Skype) and how you can use that in interesting ways such as a baby monitor (or babysitter monitor), home security system or low cost telephone replacement.

Make sure to check it out live!  Of course I’m not in the TCL promo, but that’s probably because they don’t know how awesome I really am… yet…

UPDATE: I have written a technical analysis of Skype on Technology Evangelist before the TCL show.  I won’t be getting even nearly that techie on the show, but I wanted my uber geek friends to have something to do too.

UPDATE 2: Here is the Twin Cities Live segment as it aired on KSTP, Channel 5

KSTP is starting a new show at 3:00pm CDT called ‘Twin Cities Live‘. They have a nifty splash page for the site up at http://www.twincitieslive.tv that tells you the show will be starting April 21st. Here, I’ll save you a click:

I have been contacted by KSTP to appear once in a while (or once if I suck, maybe more than once if I’m actually good) as a technology guru type person.

So who are those two people in the picture? According to their press release, “The show is hosted by Minnesota natives John Hanson and Rebekah Wood. John was discovered during an open casting call at Mall of America and Rebekah went through a series of auditions before joining the show. Both grew up in Minnesota and were eager to return to the area.”

Wow, that sounds a lot like Good Company, doesn’t it? Returning to my trusty press release, “TWIN CITIES LIVE will offer the same “spirit” of local programming as Good Company did but with an updated format and content. John and Rebekah bring a unique perspective, and the production staff is dedicated to providing engaging and timely content on a daily basis.”

So all in all it sounds like it will be a lot of fun. A live studio audience on Fridays (although I think it would be cooler if they had one every day of the week) and possibly yours truly showing you what cool technology will help you in your life. For those who know me I’m really big on the ‘why’ not just the ‘how’. No one cares about CPU speed, amount of RAM, etc., etc. Technology is used to solve a problem or streamline a workflow. What most forget is that the specs don’t actually matter that much, it is the function and design of the product that will make all the difference. How you use the technology is what really matters, not how it was made or who made it. Unless Apple made it, then it is required to be cool and you have to buy it, no questions asked. Now everyone go out and buy an iPhone!

I was supposed to go in for a screen test this last week, but one of the producers called me, told me that they were super busy starting the show up (as I can imagine having gone through that same process more than once in my life) and I would be taken just straight to air. Here’s hoping that I do my former employer Hubbard Broadcasting proud. I’m going to see if they will let Cariann join me on the set and stream a little behind-the-scenes stuff live on Qik.

WCCO are you listening? KSTP knows how cool I am, why aren’t you bringing me on board? KMSP, you’re about 2 miles away from me and I never get a phone call. Geesh, where’s the love? KARE? Well, they are HD and that just scares me. Would I look fatter in widescreen?