Twitterview #131 – With Paula West (@westwords_paula)

@JoelECarlson – Hello everyone, and welcome to today’s Twitterview of @westwords_paula. Lets get started!

@westwords_paula – Hi Joel! Thanks for having me!

Q – #1    So @westwords_paula, where did you grow up and what were some of the steps that you took in life to get you where you are today?

A:    I was born and raised in La Crosse, WI. I initially started out as a graphic designer and fell into IT. #

I was always fixing the computers where I worked, I thought it made more sense to just work on fixing the computers :)

I worked in IT Consulting for about 11 years managing a regional consulting practice focused on web-based business apps

I started Westwords Consulting a little over 4 years ago. I love the combination of creative and technical this allows!

Q – #2    I see. So what kind of projects/jobs do you take on? How big or how small of a job will you take on?

A:    The goal of creating Westwords was to bring the same offerings that Fortune500s receive to everyone.

I think the only way for us to stay relevant, is to work on projects that vary in size.

Q – #3    So what kind of projects have you worked on lately?

A:    One that has gotten a lot of traffic lately, is Mark Dayton’s campaign site – http://www.markdayton.org

We recently relaunched a new site for The Ritter Group http://therittergroup.com/

We have quite a few sites that we are getting ready to launch in the coming weeks.

Q – #4    Okay. So how have you used Social Media for yourself and for your business? Were you an early user of it?

A:    Definitely an early adopter to Facebook. I am amazed at the connections that I have made – both personally and for biz.

I use Twitter to do trending, I find myself listening more than participating often :)

Q – #5    Nothing wrong with that. :) Who are 5-15 people that you follow that you find benefit from connecting with?

A:    Couple favs on the work side – my favorite geek – @petebocken, my favorite social media expert – @SocialNicole #

I follow @TechCrunch for news – when I have a few down mins I like to catch up on the articles they post.

Some techie friends that offer interesting views of the world – @joshorum and @Micropterus

My dear friend @theletter_H offers her witty and wise view of the world on a daily basis.

Q – #6    Any new(er) technologies, tools or gadgets that have caught your interest or that you’ve started using recently?

A:    I wait for @petebocken to tell me what to get :) Seriously though, I love my iPhone and the ability to stay connected.

Q – #7    Good to have people like that. Do you Gowalla or Foursquare? What’s your favorite iPhone app?

A:    I seem to be suggesting KeePass to a lot of clients – http://keepass.com/ – great app to keep all those pws together!

I Foursquare. Fav iPhone apps are Hipstamatic (awesome camera app), Kindle, Yelp & Shazam.

Q – #8    What’s your favorite: restaurant, store, foursquare badge, and summer activity.

A:    I have been known to eat Mexican for all meals in a day, so I have to go with Boca Chica in St. Paul

My favorite lunch place is @nookcafe in Kenosha – best Portabella sandwiches EVER!

Favorite store is a toss between REI and Target

Favorite foursquare badge is Newbie – I love checking out new places!

Fav summer activity is biking!

Q – #9    So to end our time with you today, what mantra or thought would you like to share today?

A:    I love quotes and the one that I use as a mantra is from Don Shula – “Success is not forever and failure isn’t fatal.”

It’s one that helps through the good and the bad. Take a risk sometimes or you will never know what you are capable of.

@JoelECarlson – Thank you for your time today and for sharing some of your life. Have a great afternoon @westwords_paula!

@westwords_Paula – Thank you, Joel!