@JoelECarlson – Hello everyone following today’s Twitterview with @jwynia this morning. We appreciate his availability. Lets get going!
Q – #1 So tell us @jwynia – Where did you grow up? What HS did you attend? What did you do for work/school after HS?
A: I grew up in West Central MN in the New London/Spicer area, 90 mi west of the Twin Cities. Went to New London-Spicer HS
I left high school early to go to Willmar community college. Spent a year at St. John’s U (in MN) until money ran out
Q – #2 @jwyniaSo from community college up until now, what have you done or been pursuing?
A: Finished a degree in English at St. Cloud. Did a bit of tech writing and then moved on to software development.
I’ve been doing software development ever since.
Q – #3 @jwynia – Whom do you work for, or for yourself? What kinds of projects do you work on?
A: I am self-employed and generally do relatively large software projects for businesses.
Most of my projects are behind the firewall, the kinds of applications where it’s someone’s job to use the result.
a lot of my work is in web applications, but nearly always includes some heavy-duty back-end data work.
what I most definitely don’t do is build $1000 web sites, which I get asked for all of the time.
Q – #4 What can I get for $9.99? :) Any particular fields that you focus on or have done a majority of your work for?
A: My clients have come from a variety of fields and include lots of small businesses as well as Target, Wells Fargo, 3M
Q – #5 Good diversity! How has Social Media helped you professionally, and also personally?
A: Well, I’ve had a blog for 6-7 years, largely because I had stuff I wanted to say and no one nearby wanted to hear it.
over time, I discovered that every single potential gig I talked to had read it before we talked.
the professional leverage, visibility and credibility that provided was immediately obvious to me.
Social media of various kinds ever since has just been part of that approach, as far as the professional aspect.
It’s also meant that I am always 100% aware that potential clients may be reading what I’m writing.
personally, more recent social media like Twitter have made a pretty big impact on me, expanding my social circle
I have always felt anxious in social situations and a bit of a recluse. Before things like Twitter, that meant…
…I had very few opportunities for the kinds of social interactions I *do* enjoy. Twitter has let me meet so many…
…new and interesting people, both online and in real life and seek out social situations instead of avoiding them.
10 years ago, you NEVER would have found me organizing any sort of party. Now? Tikit tweetup: http://bit.ly/9VmYDI #jectv
I use the Twitter favorites feature constantly to save stuff I like or links I want to follow up on: http://bit.ly/bQdKra
@JoelECarlson – I’ve heard that from other people. How Twitter helps “wall flowers”/shy people grow and express themselves more easily.
Q – #6 Who are 5-10 ppl that you follow that provide you with insight, entertainment or education?
A: I tend to not follow celebrities, but find @ebertchicago makes me think, even if I don’t always agree with him
@toddkashdan has done some great psych research in happiness and keeps on top of that field.
Q – #7 We are just about out of time, so to end with @jwynia today – What thought or mantra would you like to share?
A: I am a big skeptic of either/or dichotomies and constantly use a phrase that keeps that in mind…
The glass isn’t half full OR half empty, it’s just too big.
When someone presents a choice or situation as only having 2 possibilities, there’s almost certainly others too.
@JoelECarlson – Very insightful! Thanks so much for being available today @jwynia and sharing some of your life on Twitterviews. Have a good day!
@jwynia – glad to do it.