Thanks for replying- Andrew is certainly doing well with Mixergy, and I hope things continue to go well for him. The question is just what style works best.
As Andrew mentioned in his comment (above) about 99 designs, asking for customer feedback is important.
I offer my comments here in that spirit-
Personally, I find the self-indulgent questions somewhat distastful, but it's ultimately a decision of what style he's aiming for.
You mention that I shouldn't compare him to George Stephanopoulos; While Andrew isn't at that level yet, Comparisons are among the best ways to get better. Maybe Stephanopoulos isn't the direction that Andrew wants to go, but he should look to people he emulates and try to find what he can do better to be more like them.
A large part of that is choosing your personal style. The Mixergy style works fairly well so far, but there's always room to adjust as you mature, and as the program ages-
For instance, Andrew could pursue a Folksy, relaxed, conversational style, interacting a lot with the audience. This is a lot of fun, and helps us feel connected with him, almost indie rock bandishly.
Another direction would to bring things to a more "professional" level, more akin to Bloomberg news with a focus on young and ambitious starts, rather than the megacorps we see so dominating the media.
A third option, and the one I'd reccomend, is to go for more of a Biographical view. Aim for Timelessness.
When I visit Folklore.org and read about the creation of the original Mac, I'm transported back 30 years. The stories about Atkinson and Jobs are classic and it doesn't matter WHEN I watch or listen to these stories, they'll always be wonderful.
We say good examples of this during the SmugMug interview. These stories work well now, or 5 years from now.
Discussions of current events, such as the iPad and the re-launch of StackExchange are interesting, but don't have nearly the same level of timelessness.
Particularly since Mixergy makes it money by selling back-archives, try to make sure they're valueable into the future.
Think A&E's Biography, not CNN Headline news.
In any events, Thanks for doing the interviews, they are an interesting contribution to the world of Startup Culture.
As Andrew mentioned in his comment (above) about 99 designs, asking for customer feedback is important.
I offer my comments here in that spirit-
Personally, I find the self-indulgent questions somewhat distastful, but it's ultimately a decision of what style he's aiming for.
You mention that I shouldn't compare him to George Stephanopoulos; While Andrew isn't at that level yet, Comparisons are among the best ways to get better. Maybe Stephanopoulos isn't the direction that Andrew wants to go, but he should look to people he emulates and try to find what he can do better to be more like them.
A large part of that is choosing your personal style. The Mixergy style works fairly well so far, but there's always room to adjust as you mature, and as the program ages-
For instance, Andrew could pursue a Folksy, relaxed, conversational style, interacting a lot with the audience. This is a lot of fun, and helps us feel connected with him, almost indie rock bandishly.
Another direction would to bring things to a more "professional" level, more akin to Bloomberg news with a focus on young and ambitious starts, rather than the megacorps we see so dominating the media.
A third option, and the one I'd reccomend, is to go for more of a Biographical view. Aim for Timelessness.
When I visit Folklore.org and read about the creation of the original Mac, I'm transported back 30 years. The stories about Atkinson and Jobs are classic and it doesn't matter WHEN I watch or listen to these stories, they'll always be wonderful.
We say good examples of this during the SmugMug interview. These stories work well now, or 5 years from now.
Discussions of current events, such as the iPad and the re-launch of StackExchange are interesting, but don't have nearly the same level of timelessness.
Particularly since Mixergy makes it money by selling back-archives, try to make sure they're valueable into the future.
Think A&E's Biography, not CNN Headline news.
In any events, Thanks for doing the interviews, they are an interesting contribution to the world of Startup Culture.