1. You’ve previously written The Comedy Toolbox which was published as a real book and became a best seller. Your newest book, The Little Book of the Sitcom, is only available electronically. What was your thinking behind this?

Once I decided to embrace electronic publishing – and I resisted it at first, for reasons discussed below – I developed a strategy of mixing up big “marquee” titles with smaller, more targeted stuff. I plan to roll out novels every six months or so, or however fast I can write them, with smaller projects – 10,000 to 15,000 words – in between. On the big side, thus, we find DECIDE TO PLAY GREAT POKER, and on the small side, its self-spoof, DECIDE TO PLAY DRUNK POKER. I thought that there was a need for a smaller, targeted workbook for sitcom writers, so I decided to fire it out. It took me less than a month from concept to completion, which is the way it should go for smaller projects. Write it, format it, throw it out the window, and see if it lands.

As to why The Comic Toolbox is not available digitally, that’s its own story. I published The Comic Toolbox long before anyone, myself and my publisher included, ever contemplated digital rights. Now that the digital age is here, we both want to do an eBook version – but we simply can’t agree on a royalty split. It’s a shame, but it’s a fact; I’m being asked to accept a smaller share than I feel comfortable with, and until that changes, the venerable Toolbox will be available in print only.

2. Where do you see book publishing in ten years? Will we ever go fully digital?

We’re heading there so fast it’s making my head spin. I myself have grown quite accustomed to reading books on my iPhone, and damn near consider it the default value. But if you’re thinking about the next ten years, I suggest you broaden your time frame. As a writer interested in his “legacy,” I’m not thinking about ten years, I’m thinking about a hundred, two hundred or more. For a long time, I thought that a book wasn’t a “real” book unless it existed between covers. Now I’m not so sure. Granted, eBooks are ephemeral – pull the plug and the book goes bye-bye. Then again, with so many copies and so many platforms out there, today’s eBooks benefit from a multiply-redundant system. If electricity continues to exist – a big if, I grant – eBooks will live on. I won’t bet against them outliving paper ones.

Will we ever go fully digital? I believe we will. Writing, after all, is just encoding information for transmission from point A (my brain) to point B (yours).  Printing on paper is inarguably less efficient than electronic transmission. Within in a generation, eBooks will be the norm, and “kids today” will think it quaint that we ever bothered encoding anything in “dead tree” format. That said, there will always be print books. Motion pictures didn’t kill stage plays, and TV didn’t kill movies. Books and eBooks are viscerally different experience. There will continue to be a market for both.

3. You’ve mentioned you’re currently in Bulgaria helping develop an adaptation of Married… With Children and will then supervise the rest of the project back from the US via skype and email. What are the benefits/frustration of working remotely? Would this project have been possible ten years ago?

Oh yeah, it was possible. I was doing it ten years ago. The fundamental issue is file transfer. If I can look at a script on my computer, it doesn’t matter where it originates. That technology sorted itself out years ago. Know what? I have a colleague I’ve worked with for years, and only just the other day saw her face for the first time – via Skype video. So yes, it’s possible to have fruitful distance-consulting relationships, and it’s possible to work effectively that way. For me, the benefits of distance consulting are obvious: I can work at home, in California, in my underwear (if I so choose), rather than brave a Balkan winter. The frustration is mainly that communication becomes slower and less organic. At best, you have to schedule Skype conferences (rather than just walking down a hall and sticking your head in a colleague’s office). At worst, time zones and language barriers intrude. But it’s all quite doable, and the distance-consulting model is much more efficient than travel; you don’t have to waste time on planes.

But I would never want to switch over to distance consulting completely. For me, the fun of the job – the bliss – is going to places I’ve never been. I describe my business model this way: I travel around the world exchanging information for experience and money. That deal is so heavily in my favor that I would never, ever want to let it go.

4. You still had to travel to Bulgaria to meet face to face first. On the one hand it seems that a person can get in touch with anyone and be “discovered” or hired. On the other hand, with so many more blind pitches, it seems like personal connections are more important than ever to help the filtering process. Has this been your experience? How do you envision this going forward?

Well, if it weren’t for the internet, I wouldn’t have the career I have. Just as the Comic Toolbox hit print, the internet was emerging, so that people who liked what they read could reach out to me and ask me if a “concert” version of the material was available. That’s what got me started on my international career (27 countries on 4 continents at last count). But as I said, part of the fun for me is going to the place and meeting the people, and I will always try to hold onto that part. The beauty of the modern world is that it’s so much easier to connect with the specific parties who might be interested in what you have to sell. I don’t consider it impersonal. It’s just a different kind of personal, that’s all. As for filtering, without glorifying public opinion by calling it “crowd sourcing,” the fact is that the market wants what the market wants. If you have a product and you have a buyer, you’re in business. That’s true whether you’re selling Jack some magic beans or delivering a sitcom script halfway around the world.

Going forward, I expect to continue striking a balance between building relationships with clients I know personally and selling product to people I’ve never met. But I’m catholic in these matters. To me, “whatever works, works.” I don’t assign value judgments to any of it. Nor should anyone; value judgments are bad, tee-hee.

5a. How has technology changed the book writing process from when you started out up to now?

It must be confessed that I go way back – all the way back to before the dawn of the PC age. My first computer was the IBM PC junior, the Dinosaur of the Computer Age, and it completely remade me as a writer. Once I discovered the delete key, and once I discovered that I could save old versions and go back to them if I wanted to, I became free to explore whatever damn idea crossed my path. Nothing was wasted and nothing was lost, so I became much less precious about my words. As a writer, it’s great to be free to make mistakes, and word processing certainly set me free in that respect.

Within the past three years, though, the publishing model has completely broken down. When I sold my first major novel, The California Roll, my buyer was Random House, and their market was bookstores. Now their market is dead, so my buyer is gone. That’s the bad news. The good news is that I have a new buyer: you; your cousin; your ex-girlfriend; everyone. It’s harder for me to sell to everyone than it was to sell to Random House, but that’s the reality I’m living in now. It’s not a good thing, not a bad thing, just a thing that is.

Consider this, though: The gatekeeper is dead. It used to be that you couldn’t sell a novel unless it impressed an agent and then a publisher enough to take it on. Now, all you need is a PC and an internet connection, and you can self-publish. And by the way, the stigma of self-publishing is dying daily. There was a time when authors looked down their nose at “vanity press,” but you know what? Even big authors self-publish now, because it makes economic sense. My thinking is this: “If it’s good enough for Stephen King, it’s probably good enough for me.”

5b. How has technology changed TV show writing process from when you started out up to now?

Wow. Try writing a TV script on a PC junior. Better not make your file too big; the computer will crash and the file will corrupt. Script writing software? What’s that? Learn to write macros, dude, and don’t give your characters similar names like Dave and Duncan, because your computer won’t know which one you mean by alt+d. When I first delivered scripts, I delivered printouts – printed on dot-matrix printers, no less. These days, every smart show uses Google Docs or something better to manage document flow. Everyone with a need to know, from writers to actors to production, can see the latest revisions on anything at the click of a mouse. It’s SO much more efficient. When I was coming up, we used color-coded pages to indicate revision, and some poor benighted writers’ assistant had to pull out the brads in the script and replace the white pages with the new yellows or blues or whatever.

But guess what? My great-uncle Bernard Vorhaus was a Hollywood writer/director in the 1940s. He worked with carbon paper. Kids, do you remember carbon paper? Primitive…so primitive. And fifty years from now, writers will think we were ridiculously quaint and archaic, too. My advice to any writer of any age is: embrace the new technology, because it’s going to blast past you whether you embrace it or not.

6. How are you using the internet/social media to promote your career?

Social media lets me connect directly with people who have a pre-existing interest in my work. I write about poker and I write about writing; I also write comic mystery novels. Each of these areas is of interest to some people, and social media lets me reach them all so easily, just by broadcasting my noise and news. It’s direct marketing, really, without the hassle and expense. But you need to “sell between the lines.” If my Twitter feed weren’t generally amusing, I would have no audience for when I use it to promote stuff. So for me it’s part narcissism – look at me, world! – and part target marketing.

7. Have you noticed the payoff yet?

Oh, yes. I’m selling on Amazon and receiving literally tens of dollars every month from that source. Behind this joke is the reality that I can afford to sell small amounts of many products, and this is my model. I write what pleases me, try to let people know it’s out there, and hope and trust that the quality of the work will create its own demand.

8. You have a twitter link on your website, but not a Facebook fan page or any other social network links, what’s your thinking behind that?

Not thinking – laziness. My website is already an artifact of an older technology (WordPress! Yikes!) These days I put my energy into Facebook and Twitter – and will put new energy into whatever comes next. But you know, I was an HTML early adopter. I taught myself HTML in 1995 and posted my first website then. I thought it was “one and done.” What did I know? Frankly, I’d rather just write than do any of that other stuff, but it’s not practical: If you don’t promote, no one knows you’re out there.

9. How much information do you tend to share on social networks?

I blather about my life a little. I especially share when I’m in exotic places like Bulgaria. Mostly, I try to be witty and entertain, with stuntwords, TrueFact/BarFact and other affectations.

10. What’s your weirdest online experience involving your comedy career?

I don’t know if it’s the weirdest, but it’s the most recent weirdness. Just last week I was trying to determine the provenance of a quote I love – and my Google search led me to a webpage at bigbencomedy.com, where The Comic Toolbox was heavily quoted. In other words, my search led me to me, via you. And because I promote at every opportunity, I reached out to you and, well, here we are. You know, my philosophy is pretty much this: Go off in all directions at once; you’re bound to get somewhere eventually.

1. How are you using the internet / social media to promote your career?

Besides being on stage, the internet is the main way I interact with fans, friends and bookers. I post about shows and promote shows online. I don’t know how I’d be able to do it without the internet. I have a good website, I have a twitter account, Facebook and keep in touch with everyone there. I also have a Facebook fan page, but I don’t focus my energy there, right now. I focus on the regular page because I feel I can interact closer with the people who are interested in seeing me. It’s easier to say thank you for coming out to the shower personally. There comes a time when you need a fan page, which is when you can’t say thank you to everyone.

2. Have you noticed the payoff yet?

Yeah it’s been great. I can’t compare it, but it’s easier to book and promote. When I did the Canada tour, people came to the tour because they saw clips on the internet. And people have messaged me, “Hey I saw your clip, when are you coming to Ohio?” and they’ll even reach out to clubs like, “Hey when is this guy coming here?” I’ve benefitted greatly from other people posting my stuff.

3. You tweet like 20-30 times a day. Are you one of those comics that actually enjoys it or are you that bored?

I like it. I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t like it or didn’t want to say it. If I have something funny to say and there’s nobody around for me to say it to, I just throw it on twitter. It’s like that friend that’s always there. And I imagine all my twitter followers laugh at it.

4. What do you think about posting videos of your show online?

I think it’s good. You should put up a few videos. I just throw up a few videos that showcase what I do. I have a couple videos of me doing crowd work, a couple where I’m doing jokes, letting you know I can write a joke, then another video is persona heavy. You need to be strategic with it because almost no stand up clip is going viral. Unless it’s a video of you and a heckler. People don’t make things go viral that are intentional. Standup humor is intentional. I thought this was funny, I said it and you laughed. What’s viral is unintentional humor: fat people doing regular things and us laughing because they’re trying to be normal like us and go jogging or someone hitting a nail and it going awry. There’s ego attached to sharing, you share a video because you found funny in it. If I share a stand up clip, even if my friend sees it, he knows that the comic thought it was funny and he gives all the credit to the comic. If I share a video of a kid doing a stupid dance, then I get the credit for showing it to my friend because my friend goes, “Hey, you’re so funny for thinking this is funny”. Stand up clips are still good to put up there just to showcase what you can do. Then again, maybe one good joke, some people made it based off of one good joke, like Angelah Johson’s nail salon clip. For whatever reason, that resonated and people shared the shit out of it.

5. Do you notice you get more fans from standard TV appearances or from online presence?

I would say the majority of my fans are from live shows. If we’re comparing media, I’d say I get more from MTV or Music Choice because you’re touching millions of people. I’ve gotten lots of twitter fans from retweets, but it really depends on the medium. The great thing about the internet is that anyone who sees you on the internet will be internet savvy and follow you on the other things that you have on the internet. They can go from your Youtube to your twitter and then Facebook friend you. Someone who sees you on TV is less willing to breakout their computer or phone and search for you.

6. How do you think digital tools will change comedy?

I think it’s empowering. It puts the power in the artist’s hands. If you have a fan base, you can say “fuck you” to everybody. There’s certain comics like Doug Stanhope who can tweet “I’m gonna be here” and 300 of his fans will show up, and then you don’t need to kiss anyone’s ass. No bookers or Hollywood. The only people whose ass you gotta kiss is Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter because without them, you’re fucked. But with them you have the ability to get in touch with your fans and pack out shows and make a living. Before that, you had to be really nice to the venue and promotional company. People used to come out for the venue, now they come out for the comic.

7. How much information do you tend to share on the social networks?

I’ll share what I had for breakfast if I had diarrhea because of it. There has to be something funny or passionate attached to my tweet. Anybody who’s gonna be on twitter or Facebook has a grandiose idea of themselves. You have to if you think people care about you in the moment, and I have that, but I at least know that people shouldn’t care what I had for breakfast. If I have a scrambled egg and I farted later and it smelled just like that scrambled egg, then maybe you need to know that. I post if it evokes a reaction. Or if I’m watching TV and wanna make fun of it and nobody is there, then I can post. Like I remember watching the Miami Heat game alone, and I noticed that Big Baby looks just like one of the monsters from Space Jam, and it would’ve been a great thing to say with my friends, but I was alone like a loser, so instead I got to working my thumbs and getting it on twitter. And all for one measly retreat from a friend of mine! It sucks how much that little red number means to me when I go check my twitter.

8. What’s your weirdest online experience involving your comedy career?

I’ve met girls and we’ve hung out. The other night I was with a girl who saw me at a show randomly, she lived in Miami and we talked randomly on the internet for a few months, then we ended up fucking, thank you Mark Zuckerberg. Everybody owes Mark Zuckerberg 10% of their pussy in the past five years. People talk about how many relationships he’s broken up, think about how much extra vagina you’ve gotten because of Facebook. Or how many girls you knew not to get involved with because you saw their beach photos and saw their weird mole that you wouldn’t have otherwise known about until after you got emotionally invested.

9. You just had a Canada Tour, how’d you promote it online? Which ways were most effective?

I had my website and people would check the info there. I also had ticket links on Facebook. People who saw me could see me at other shows. People who liked me promoted my future shows to their friends, it was great. The whole community came together and other comics supported. You can really start a movement quickly now. Back in the day, it was hard to get people together. You had to really care about a cause. The internet has made it really easy to pretend to give a fuck. You can really seem like a good person just based on the shit you like. For example, I can like saving starving kids in Africa, I’m not gonna give money or time, but I’ll click “like”, whatever that does for them, and hopefully it’s a good thing.

Ray has been on Lifetime Network, where his performance at Gotham Comedy Club aired on “How Clean is Your House?” That performance led to appearances on the E! Network and Entertainment Tonight. His ‘Laundromat Sketch’ was featured in the New York Times and his ‘The Tudor’s Henry the VIII: The Real Story’ was the featured video on Comedy Central’s sister site Atom.com. He currently has his own web series on AOL’s men’s website Asylum.com. Ray also frequents the Bob and Tom Show, he’s been the featured comedian of the week on SIRIUS Satellite Radio, he’s also a regular guest on the very popular award winning podcast Keith and the Girl, and clips off his first full-length comedy CD entitled “1647 Waterbury” can be heard on SIRIUS and XM Satellite Radio.

1. How are you using the internet / social media to promote your career?

I use it a lot, it’s weird because I wasn’t sitting around saying “oh I’m gonna use this internet” it was more that the internet found me and it really has helped me reach an audience that I otherwise would never have tapped into. The ‘Keith and the Girl’ Podcast has been great, they have such a great fan base, that’s tens of thousands know all the details of your life. I was doing shows in Scotland and a fan from the podcast was asking me about baseball cards I bought on Ebay over a year ago, and that really hit me. Here I am on the other side of the planet and some kid was noting a small detail in my life, it was surreal. Wow people pay attention to what I do. They have listeners all over the world. Also, I have a web series on Asylum.com.

2. Have you noticed the payoff yet?

The internet is like a crutch that helps you walk ten times faster and I’m like, “Well walking is my business so sure.” A lot of the media that I’m featured on are internet based and those fans seem to find me via Facebook or they’ll email me or buy tracks of my CD on iTunes. (Ray Devito: 1647 Waterbury) I have a web series which is cool, the internet is a big deal, so I’d be a fool to not let the people who follow me know when my shows were and stuff. You can even follow me on twitter.

3. What do you think about posting videos of your show online?

It’s good and bad. I’m at the level now where I don’t wanna put too much up because I understand a lot of networks want to be the first to expose you to the world.  If you put a comedy video (non-standup) online and it does well, Atom.com or FunnyOrDie they don’t want it from you, cause it’s already out there. However you have to throw some stuff out there for people to know who you are. If it wasn’t for my Laundromat Sketch video, Comedy Central’s Atom.com would never have known about me and then I never would have done the Henry the VIII for them.

4. How do you think digital tools will change comedy?

It’s gonna make it easier to make videos look really professional. With Photoshop, iMovie and Garage Band, anyone can make a video look amazing now. Also I co-produce a show in NYC Sacapuntas Show on the first Monday of every month at Bowery Poetry Club, it sells out every show, and we sell most of our tickets on line through eventbrite.com

5. How much information do you tend to share on the social networks?

I let people know what shows I do but I try to keep it humorous. I gotta start treating fans like fans, I think I’m too laid back. When people think I’m funny after I show, I’ll be like, “Yeah lets hang out.” I’m the only dude I know who’ll hang out with his fan base. And that’s not always the best. I was in Sioux City, Iowa and I did some jokes about smoking weed and afterwards, this guy goes, “You wanna go get high?” and I’m like “Sure.” It turned out he just got out of jail that day. So it’s me, him , his buddy and his buddy’s girlfriend and while we’re back there smoking weed at the Best Western, the guy’s buddy starts giving my ex-con fan a hard time about how he’s a fuckup and isn’t paying his child support, and my fan is trying to impress me, so he pulls out a knife, in my hotel room! I diffused the situation, and then the dude’s girlfriend goes, “He’s right you are a fuck up.” Now there’s a casino boat across the street, so I’m like, let’s go there. And they all go out to do that, and as they start walking, I stop and sprint back to my hotel room and bolt the door.

6. What’s your weirdest online experience involving your comedy career?

Back in the heyday of MySpace, I put up the Laundromat Sketch and it was the MySpace video of the week. There was a lady in Albuquerque who was into it, and I was playing out there. But she wasn’t into my show, she just wanted to show me how interesting she was. She had piercings down her back spine, and this is a G rated video I did, what makes you think I’d be into that? She was weird, cause she had no interest in going to a show, she just wanted to show me how weird and different she was, I was turned off. By the way, please don’t put this on my MySpace page, I mean I haven’t checked it since 2004 but she might still be monitoring it.

1. How are you using the internet / social media to promote your career?

That’s possibly the biggest part of my career. I have a huge following on Twitter, like 12,000 people. I have a Facebook fan page, group page and normal page. I’m also interested in content aggregators like Ping.fm that’s a one stop shop to all of the social networks. I’ve been able to tie in 13 social networks into one pipeline which makes it easy to stay on top of all of them. I have a mailing list which I’ve had for years. If I meet someone at a party, they go into my mailing list. It allows me to stay in touch with them. A lot has happened this year so it’s great having those networks at my disposable.

2. Have you noticed the payoff yet?

Obviously higher attendance at shows is always nice. I think the payoff is fans genuinely find you funny. I think I read in your other interviews that before the internet, if you had 20 videos, it wouldn’t go beyond the people in your neighborhood and now it can make you an instant star.

In fact, I began a whole company based on this fact. I’ve started a web design company, EZ Web. I’ve been designing websites and online presences for other comedians for a long time. I did LorneMichaels.com and like 40 other comedians. Easyweb helps facilitate communication between artists and designers. It’s a way to put nerds who understand what technology artists need together with the artists and to help them use the right tools. We’ve seen wonderful things happen once we get someone who can translate technology with someone who is inept with technology but really needs it.

I work with New Wave now, who are a wonderful management company. I didn’t have anyone before that, but because I had control over my website I could always make it seem like I did. I did 2 TV shows and most opportunities I was given were because I had control over my website. Image is everything and the internet allows your image to be whatever you are wise enough to make it.

3. How were you doing the photo part of your act before TV screens and projectors became common in clubs?

I actually built my own little portable nerd kit. I have my own projector and maxed out my credit card and bought a portable screen. I’d always get a lot of looks when I’d walk in with the screen and extension cords. But it was important to be able to workshop that material. And the multimedia stuff is one of my favorite things to do. My new show, Pain in the Butt, is all multimedia. There’s a whole science in doing these shows. I have to talk to the AV person at the venue and find out specifics: Is it a DVI connector, component or VGA? I’ve had to learn how to run the booth. At this point, by just using my Mac and a few adapters I can make a whole multimedia experience with just a laptop bag. And I use my iPhone as the remote control.

I’m also using a real time camcorder and synthesizer to hook up with the audience. I compose the song in front of the audience with a wireless mic and iPhone. I wanna push the boundaries of what can be done. Cause I have a magical tool that can do anything and you can have a very fun evening.

4.What kind of comedy videos do you think the internet is best for?

Only cause I watch them all day, I really appreciate when someone is able to knock something out of the park in under 45 seconds. I think the internet fosters quick fix better than anything. I like when someone can give me a whole experience in under a minute. I think the internet fosters no rules. Which when you get the right people you get great things. Autotune News takes newscasts and make whole songs out of mashups with heavily edited cameos by themselves. The whole thing is written into a song and really cool and talented.

5. What do you think about posting videos of your show online?

I think I probably agree with the other comedians on this. Jokes are continually work shopped until they’re not. On my website,  I just have promotional videos from my album which I know are the fastest and tightest expression I have. I think however something like twitter and Facebook have allowed the work shopping and writing process to become a lot more organic which I like. I used to my twitter feed constantly to send jokes out. It allows me to get immediate feedback on the quality of the joke in written form, which is good cause it doesn’t have the quality of my nervous performance messing up the joke. I go through my twitter feed before going on stage and I’ll load up on the ones that make me laugh. They’re the jokes I find the funniest from the past two years in chronological order. Or I’ll email jokes to myself with the subject line “ajoke” written as one word, so whenever I search gmail, I get a chronological list of all the jokes I’ve emailed to myself. So I think the internet has been amazing for the development of the process of comedy if you use it the right way. Just posting videos of your jokes won’t do much good especially if you look at it a week later and are like “oh I look like an asshole.” So for video not so much but for writing that turns into standup, 100%. And I guess the internet is the best showcase of the end product of that whole process.

6. How do you think digital tools will change comedy?

The internet is the best thing that ever happened to comedy, I truly believe that. The underlying premise of comedy is “no rules” and that’s the underlying premise of the internet. That’s why they go together so well, hand in hand. I think we’re on the cusp of another major revolution because in the last two years because streaming video is becoming ubiquitous. Now Hulu and NetFlix are operating massive quantities of libraries. As more people move from the TV to the internet, they don’t have cable, they have the internet. I think we’ll see a continued explosion of creativity cause there’s nothing you can’t do online. The oldest rule in comedy is : funny is funny. On the one hand you have people doing crap but at least they’re trying, and on the other hand the best rises to the top. I go to Reddit.com and am addicted to that cause it aggregates the funniest stuff. The internet allows genuinely good stuff to be seen by a worldwide audience that would’ve never happened before. Singing news mash ups are just as funny as what I’ve seen on The Daily Show; the internet is a great equalizer.

7. Did you hear from anyone at Google after your Google Threatens to Kill Users sketch?

No. which is funny because I’m such a huge fan of Google. For easyweb, we use Google’s technology. But I still do agree with what my character was talking about in the video. I think it’s indicative of the internet that there’s no rules. I bashed Google openly on YouTube which is owned by Google and they were fine with that. I respect that. I like how Google doesn’t restrict what their users can do. They’re the exact opposite of Apple. It’s clear the two companies are diverging because of that. Although I am waiting for Google to delete my gmail account any day now.

8. How much information do you tend to share on the social networks?

I’m not too big on sharing just for the sake of sharing like “walking to work” or “eating a donut” although I do like reading other’s status updates, just knowing where they are, it makes me feel more connected. I tend to put out jokes that I think of. I do a lot of tweeting. I think the rule of thumb, if it’s something I want people to know me for or what I find spontaneously funny that I want people to laugh at, I’ll send out.

9. What’s your weirdest online experience involving your comedy career?

While I’m now the #1 Ben Morrison on Google search now, for a long I was getting my ass kicked by the azalea, the flower: there’s a Ben Morrison Azalea which has a huge following. I was unable to get into the Google page ranks. You don’t know young comedy depression until a flower is funnier than you are. If you do a Google images search on my name, it’s photos of me and a bunch of flowers peppered. And those flowers are getting prettier by the year.

1. How are you using the internet and social media to promote your career?

I’m on Twitter, Facebook and occasionally go on MySpace to see if anything is going on there. I have a YouTube channel and a Funny or Die channel, all that stuff. I just try to get as much stuff out there as possible without people getting mad at me for sending them too much!

Anyone who isn’t using the internet to promote their career is either really famous and doesn’t need to – or is missing out on the opportunity. I got online with my music around ’02 when I was aware that CDs were beginning to go away. I started selling my stuff on iTunes somewhat early. Back then it was harder to get listed and even more expensive. But now it’s like, why wouldn’t you put it on iTunes? Rhapsody? Everywhere? I’ve made physical CDs in the past and they’re just all stuck, sitting in my basement. Nobody wants to buy them anymore! I do miss album art and track sequencing and stuff like that but I understand that most people in the world don’t want a jewel case and a bunch of CDs alphabetized on a bookshelf. I’d love to start selling my albums on USB drives when I’m on tour. That could be the future. I find in California and New York nobody buys CDs at the show. You gotta offer it for three bucks or trade them for a beer or something.

2. Have you noticed the payoff yet?

On a few videos, certainly. With a viral video, you never know what’ll hit. I put out a lot of videos that I think I really funny and they get 500 hits, then I put out another one and it gets 300,000. Once you get something going and get the YouTube followers or start selling mp3s, it’s a great thing when it works.

3. You have ZachSelwyn.com and ZachariahMusic.com, why’d you decide to do that?

ZachSelwyn.com is much more of my current comedic website. ZachariahMusic.com was based on my band for many years. One problem I had is my brother was a great web designer and he was up keeping it but I wasn’t paying him, and it’s really hard to get a busy guy to do something for free. So I had to start a new site. It’s simpler but it gets the job done.

For me, the best promotional device is making entertaining videos rather than writing a little thought for the day. It’s hard to get people to read your stuff, there’s so many people with blogs and websites. I know lots of artists and I’m guilty of not going to their pages.

4. How do you think the internet is different for musical comedy versus straight stand up?

I have a musical comedy video deal at Atom.com and those videos get a bunch of hits. Same thing with YouTube. And then I post my stand up stuff and people are like “oh great, another standup comic. Why would I watch this?”

I think music is an effective way to get viewers because the videos work well visually on computers. Some stand-up stuff does not translate over. BUT – I think a lot of people are putting out music videos that aren’t very good. There’s lots of rap parodies that are great out there – and some that aren’t so great. Hopefully most of my stuff is great! Some of my stuff I re-watch and cringe at it and think, “I can’t believe I put that up,” but I like to throw it all out there.

Stand up comedy is good online for a 2-3 minute clip. You have a better appreciation for stand up in person, no matter who the performer is. I think the music videos are more visual and can be better received on a home computer.

5. What do you think about posting videos of your full performances online?

I’d love to do that, I just don’t who would watch it! They say the internet attention span is 3-4 minutes? Right?  We’re all there at one point. You get excited about something and then 2 minutes in, you’re not paying attention anymore. I’ve sat around and watched 30 minutes of stuff but it’s been on an airplane when I’m not distracted. I don’t know if the internet is ready for that length of performance, television is still the place for that.

6. How do you think digital tools will change comedy?

Anyone can put out an album now. You can record a set and go to TuneCore and sell your album online bit by bit or song by song. I think there’s gonna be a mass saturation of the market if there isn’t already. I really think the best comics end up rising to the top. You know, the comics who’ve been doing it for 20 years. Although, I have funny friends who put out records that don’t do well and I have guys who should put out a record but haven’t. Making a record is definitely time consuming and you don’t necessarily have a label working for you anymore. You gotta take time to record and sell and promote, promote, promote! In the 80s, when there were 15 stand up albums released a year, it was probably easier to make stars of people. There’s plenty of comics from the 80s who never put out records who were geniuses and I was unfortunately never able to hear their material. For instance, I couldn’t go see Robert Schimel in Tucson, Arizona. But I got to hear Andrew Dice Clay and Dennis Leary. Hopefully an aspiring comic out there is listening to newer performers online or to their podcasts.

7. How much information do you tend to share on the social networks?

I kinda keep my personal life out of it. I posted a couple of pictures of my kids at one point, that was enough. I’m not really interested if someone checked into some Greek diner on Ventura Boulevard today. I try to make it what I want people to follow: clips, videos and funny things. I probably post on twitter a few times a day and on Facebook once every few days but just to say, “I’m playing at the Improv on Wednesday” or “Check out my new album” or “Pluck Yer Twanger was just released”. I hope one day to be able to pay someone to do this for me cause it is Time consuming! I tweet from my iPhone sometimes while I’m driving,and I’m thinkng  “This is unsafe and time consuming but hopefully worth it…”

8. What’s your weirdest online experience involving your comedy career?

I used to be on show on G4 called “Attack of the Show.” It was an interesting experience because I wasn’t prepared for the amount of geek fans I would get. So I got a lot of fat guys and teenagers sending me their artwork and pictures. I never got any naked pictures though, thank god, or maybe too bad. It was a lot of, “Hey man, any chance you can mention my name on the show?” The first couple of times you do it, it’s cool, but if you don’t mention it, you get hate mails like, “You’re an a-hole and you suck.” And it’s easy to pay attention to the web when you’re on TV because there’s lots of haters. I learned I can’t listen or read anything on the web because it would upset me for days. You talk to people like Dane Cook and he’s like “I have half the people online who love me and half who hate me.” You can really get brought down if you spend your time listening to the haters. They definitely know how to take you down. They know how to kick you in the balls, mentally. My advice? Avoid reading it!

1. How are you using the internet / social media to promote your career?

I use Twitter and Facebook to ramble and update things I think are funny as well as tell people where my shows are. But as far as new media goes… I’ve done a lot within the webisode world. I did a series for College Humor and a show for Sony “Crackle” which I then sold. I’m  also doing my second series of shorts  comedy central’s for atom TV.  I’m using digital media to incubate some of my ideas and then have them become TV shows or movies.

2. Have you noticed the payoff yet?

My following is growing from twitter and online videos. When I did “The I Have To Go In One Minute Show,” we did a show every day for eight weeks. That was great, because it built a mini-following and now I headlined the College Humor Live tour.  And the Crackle web series became a TV pilot, which didn’t get picked up, but I am writing another TV pilot for MTV now that came off the digital web series.

3. What do you think about posting videos of your live stand up online?

I don’t like to post recent videos, I’ll post my Comedy Central Presents or when I’m me on TV.  But I don’t think it’s a good idea to post jokes from live shows  because if everyone sees it online, it spoils it when they get to see you live and they’re like “write some new jokes!!!!”

4. Do you think the internet is better suited for sketch comedy than for stand up videos?

I think sketch comedy and shorts are perfect for the internet. I think short stand up clips also work well but sketches are better for this media. Sketches can go viral but it’s rare for a stand up clip to go viral. I did a show at UCB for College Humor where I have this ongoing feud with Dan Levy (a host on MTV-Canada) and that went viral which was great, but I think the internet is more fitted for shorts, parodies, interviews, and of course porn.

5. How do you think digital tools will change comedy?

I don’t think it will change comedy, I think it’s been able to help progress careers. It’s also one of those things where the cream always rises to the top. As digital becomes more popular, what ends up happening is people make videos. The perfect example is Bo Burnham, he’s hilarious and he posted funny videos when he was  in high school and now he’s playing theatres, whereas before the internet, that couldn’t have happened because the exposure wasn’t there.  A lot of people make videos, but if they’re not good, nobody cares. Just ask my mom Linda.

6. How much information do you tend to share on the social networks?

I post whatever, I don’t hold back. I twitter jokes and stuff about my life. But I have never showed my dick online. . . Yet.

7. What’s your weirdest online experience involving your comedy career?

I’ve gotten some weird emails. The weirdest thing one was a hate mail (email) that was supposed to  be sent to Dan Levy the MTV Canada host.  Because apparently he called Kristin Stewart a bitch  (from Twighlight)  so I got an email from some person with the subject line of “fuck you asshole, we love vampires”. That was very confusing…but very hilarious.

How are you using the internet / social media to promote your career?

I am a technical person by default. I’ve been in the IT industry for over 20 years. When I was laid off in 2009, I took that time off to study and promote comedy. I’ve always been told that I was funny, so I wanted to understand how to use that gift, and also build it into a career. Using the tools available via the internet, it was clear that how people choose to be entertained had changed. I needed to understand my target audience, and how they’re using the internet for social entertainment. The social media (as a whole) is a process that a comic must be willing to navigate. It’s not just about “Who’s looking on my website?” You have to ask yourself “Who found my website?” and most importantly – “Are they coming back?” The next thing you need to inquire is “What are the other ways my audience is communicating online? How do I get more involved with them?”

Have you noticed the payoff yet?

Absolutely! In a nutshell – Twitter is the bomb! I’ve started to obtain a great and dedicated following from word of mouth. I utilize my website, FaceBook, LinkedIn, and for those still using email – fanbridge.com. If you’re going to market yourself as a comic, you have to ensure everyone who wants to follow your work (as a fan) has a certain amount of access to you. My career in comedy would not have advanced this rapidly if there was no internet. My biggest payoff this far is the DC Digital Week Conference (June 10th-20th). This conference has allowed me to introduce some of the best local comics on the scene to the rest of the world.

What do you think about posting videos of your show online?

In the beginning, I hated the idea. My fear was that someone would steal my jokes, and when I performed the same material live – I would be referred to as a hack comic. Now my thinking is the reverse. I can post a few of my jokes out there, and start to build a following. I’ve had fans who attended my show(s) based on my demo clip on youtube. The comedy market is crowded, but if you’re using the human factor…(meeting fans before and after show, etc) – success can be discovered.

How do you think digital tools will change comedy?

It’s a good and bad thing. Just like porn, now any fool with a camera thinks he can produce a quality product. Seriously – I treat it like I did when MTV was introduced to the world. My inside voice says “You have this new power…how will you use it?” If you’re going to consider using the digital market for comedy – you’d better have a strategy. If used incorrectly…it could take years to correct a bad marketing plan. Having a website is no longer the only plan to generate interest. Learn how to use the ‘Social Media’ to advance your career!

How much information do you tend to share on the social networks?

My online life is almost an open book. In the years before the rise of FaceBook, I was active in a lot of online communities. . I’ve been in computer networking for over 20 years, so if someone did a digital query on me, my results would include computer related items… before the article on strip clubs (or what other results produced may be produced by the search engine of your choice).

What’s your weirdest online experience involving your comedy career?

That would be in the ‘twitter world’. If you’re trying to get attention (for whatever reason) via twitter – you’ll get people that want to follow you… and you have no idea why! Not everyone who follows you on twitter is someone you want in your fan base. I use www.truetwit.com to validate users. I will follow my fans if you’re real and take the time to reply back to me. But to those spammers who join me with names like “DateXXXXblah, blah, blah,” or “hottest parties, blah,) – Byte Me! You’re off my digital list! If you’re a fan I’ll bring you some comedy to remember.

1. How are you using the internet / social media to promote your career?

I tried to use my website as much as possible. I use a service called Constant Contact to send monthly newsletters out to my 1500 subscribers. Also, every week I send out an email to my subscribers who live in whatever city I’m performing in that week. My subscribers are categorized by city, and I email them saying “I’ll be in your town.” I still do Facebook but I’m trying to push people to my website since I paid money for that and not for Facebook.

2. Have you noticed the payoff yet?

I get referrals, people forward my email to their friends. Their friends come to the show with them. It helps expand your fan base. Facebook, everyone is doing it. So I wanna do something unique in terms of promoting. This is my website, this is me.

3. You’ve been writing one to five topical insight columns per month, how did that idea come about? Do you find a weekly posting format best?

The idea came about when a good friend of mine, who runs my website, suggested it. My buddy Justin said, “Hey you should write more.” He knows I want to get a writing job in New York and I wasn’t exactly prolific with that kind of material. So he suggested I start writing a weekly topical joke. And the more I got involved with writing, National Lampoon, SNL, Fallon, the more I was able to compile a list every week of stuff I was submitting to those guys. It’s beneficial just to get the practice. The more you do it, the easier it comes. It’s still not easy but you know how to do it better.

4. You have your stand up CD on CD Baby.com, how are you finding digital CDs compared to selling CDs after shows?

They’re definitely better sellers after shows. It’s an impulse buy and I’m in charge of the sales pitch at my show. So after people watch me for 40 min, I spend a couple of minutes telling them about the CD and then I close the show. So as I’m walking out, it’s in their head, its fresh. Online, it’s a different animal. A lot of time, people will take my website card with the promise of “we’ll get it later” and they hardly ever do. Cause they forget about it or the impulse goes away. It’s actually cheaper online than live, but it’s better live. Plus they have a few drinks in them.

5. You’ve been doing standup for over a decade, how has it changed because of technology?

There’s been huge differences. The main one is getting in touch with your fans. It’s easier to promote shows but it’s also a saturated market. Everyone is promoting shows now. The difficult thing now is to find a niche.

It’s also an easier way to keep up with comedians, not just personally, but watching clips online and building the camaraderie. And policing each other, if I see somebody on the road doing my buddy’s joke, it’s easier not only to contact my buddy, but to police ourselves. Because the joke stealing comic is gonna be outted online and blackballed a lot easier than ten years ago, and that’s now more of a deterrent.

6. What do you think about posting videos of your show online?

I have different opinions about that. I want people to get a taste of what I’m about, not just bookers but potential ticket buyers. But at the same time, I don’t wanna share too much. I want them to come to the show. I don’t want an online entity of people staying home and watching it. But it’s a great way to spread the word. What I’m worried about is people filming at shows and posting themselves. I’m gonna predict right now, Keith Alberstadt 2010, there’s gonna be a Supreme Court case for freedom of speech involving videos on the internet. Someone films something at a show, posts it online, and it’s gonna be a big issue, I think.

7. How do you think digital tools will change comedy?

I think you’re gonna see more of an emphasis on digital shorts, people making their own sitcoms online. Gaining an internet presence through YouTube channels. Humorists writing blogs online and building a fan base that way, which is already happening now. Stand up might take a little bit of a hit, because more comics start filming their own shit, putting it online. When it comes to being a stand up, there’s only one category in that whole umbrella, regardless of who they are.

8. How much information do you tend to share on the social networks?

I’ve got two Facebook pages, one for comedy and one for my personal. Every now and then they overlap, like if I’m raising money for something, like the Nashville Flood Benefit, I’ll post it to both. I don’t share anything that’s too personal. I think that’s dangerous. Then you get stalkers and psychokillers. Unless she’s really cute, then I’ll tell her whatever she wants.

9. What’s your weirdest online experience involving your comedy career?

Somebody did a joke on Last Comic Standing that was similar to mine, and then, I didn’t know what to do about it. Thenall of a sudden the NBC message board was blowing up. People who knew me, had seen my show, where calling this guy out. And the guy’s friends were saying it was coincidental. They’d been posting comments on that board for a week before I heard about it. I told people to chill out and I contacted the guy and we talked it out. It was weird to see so many people in my corner who I didn’t even know, I was like, “Wow I guess I have a bigger impact than I thought.”

1. How are you using the internet / social media to promote your career?

The biggest thing that I’ve used it for is for my videos. When one thing can go viral, it can really do wonders for getting your name out there. I started doing web videos before YouTube really blew up. So I feel like that’s one reason I’m working for FunnyOrDie now and have my videos featured on Digg and College Humor, etc. I started doing video before things blew up. So I started honing on it early, before it became a necessary thing for comedians to do.

When I started out, I was putting it up and sending links out, now it’s amazing how many people you can hit with one video. It’s not just you sending it to your people, if people like it, those people send it to their friends, and their friends, and so on.

Video has been the biggest because most comics are actors and when acting is slow you gotta have other things to market yourself and stay creative. You gotta continue to put your name out there and web content is the best way to do that. I’ve had some videos have a lot of success and I’ve had videos that I thought where better and they didn’t do as well. What goes viral is up to universe.

I see comics posting quick little videos for the sake of having videos, some people say ‘if the content is good the quality doesn’t matter” but I disagree. I’ve seen funny stuff on webcam, but if you’re trying to do a sketch, you’ve put some time into writing it and the lighting is bad and video is grainy, it definitely reflects on the comedian.

Having videos helps for shows. I’ve built a good online following cause of the videos and people go to the shows because of the videos. I was at a show and these girls recognized me from the ditzy girl video. They tell their friends, see my standup and subscribe to my YouTube. Ultimately that’s my goal: I want my own show. These networks look online and say, “Well clearly millions of people are following him so that would translate to TV.” You keep doing it and keep building a following. So once stand up and everything else hits you can fuse them together and take over the world.

The internet lets you connect with an audience the way you couldn’t do 15 years ago.

2. “Fat Camp” is your debut album but you had a previous album, “In Your Boobs”, is debut misleading?

“In Your Boobs” was an album of songs I wrote in college. That album is the “I graduated and I need something to do to keep myself busy” project. It took 6 months to create. It was really cool to do and I’ve been doing musical theatre and music my whole life, and I always wanted to do that. I don’t want that on my tombstone though, “Creator of In Your Boobs”. I wanted good music with funny lyrics, some of those songs I wouldn’t have written now though.

And then Fat Camp is stand up. It was my first stand up CD I recorded in San Diego. I started doing stand up in 2001 and did it 20-30 times until 2006. I never made a commitment to doing it until 2007. I don’t think comics should count how long they’ve been doing it until they’ve been doing it consistently 4-5 nights a week, going on the road, really making a commitment to it, etc. I only feel like I’ve been doing it 3.5 years. So “Fat Camp” is basically the first CD, about forty minutes of jokes. It was something I felt I was ready to do. I felt I had enough material I was proud of. A lot of it has changed since recording that but I had people ask me about CDs after shows so I put it out.

3. You have a lot of stand up and sketch videos online, do you think one of these comedy forms lends itself better to internet video than the other?

When I did the Kermit video, I had no idea it’d get 6 million hits and get on all these shows and sites. I had no idea it would happen. A viral sketch or spoof can really blow up and go everywhere, especially if it’s topical. At the same time, Angela Johnson, I just saw her Comedy Central special, and she has her video of her standup of the nail lady character and that really bumped her up. Next thing you know, she’s headlining clubs. I think that happened with her before everyone was doing it. Now you type in “stand up comedy” and get 6,000 videos. I know I see a bunch uploaded on Facebook daily. I think it depends on the timing and what people are looking for, there’s so much out there now, it’s tougher to do. There’s still value in having video of your stand up online, cause people wanna see that. If they can’t make the club, or people who see a sketch of mine, might be curious to see stand up and wanna come out. It definitely doesn’t hurt you to have a little clip of your stand up there to give them a taste if you want them to come out. People like that might pass a clip along to their friends and ask, “do you wanna see this guy with me?” There’s no reason not to take advantage of it and have that stuff accessible to people.

4. Kermit The Frog’s reaction to 2 Girls 1 Cup has gotten over 5 million views, did you think it’d be that popular? How much has the popularity of that clip helped your career? Have there been any negative effects from that?

It was one of those things that was topical, and I saw a bunch of clips of people reacting to the video and I watched the actual one, and I thought it would be really big before it became well known. It was 2007 and we were just now having girls film pooping, you’d think that would be something that would’ve happened already. I guess the country hasn’t evolved that much. I thought, “everyone’s doing reactions of people, how can I make it different?” And I thought, “Nobody’s expecting Kermit” and then I thought, “How can I make it more surprising?”

What really helped out was the YouTube subscribers. It definitely bumped me up a level as far as recognition in the comedy world. Comics knew about it. Joe Rogan messaged me that he liked it. It was cool in that it bumped me up a level in people taking me seriously, which is weird to say cause it was the most beloved character of all time jerkin it to girls shitting on each other. It was funny that people were saying “mad props dude”. It just goes to show you how tough it is to come out with something topical and really have it be different and hitting the issue on a point of view that people haven’t really struck yet. Right now, there’s still comments on it daily and I still get YouTube subscribers from it.

I was concerned about the Henson company contacting me cause I don’t own the rights to it. But if you’re not selling it’s less likely to be an issue. I spliced an Oprah interview to make it look like I was being interviewed with her and they asked me to take it down. But this one there hasn’t been any backlash. If something were to happen, it would’ve happened already. If they ask me to take it down I will, but I’m glad it hasn’t happened yet. It’s like the moon landing, it was a big deal at the time and people won’t forget. I guess I should make a video of Kermit jerkin to Neil Armstrong landing on the moon.

5. iTunes vs regular CDs, what are your thoughts?

I think you’re stupid not go digital. People still use CDs but it’s like when everyone moved from CDs to MP3s and iPods, we turned the corner. I think it’s easier for comics to carry around and sell digital. People spend so much time at their computer anyway. We’re in that digital age, especially with the younger generation. My demographic isn’t 50 and 60 year olds. They download one track and send it to a friend and it’s already named. It’s about being accessible. My CD is gonna be only digital. Maybe my next one I’ll do actual CDs. Maybe even down the line I’ll get hard copies of this one, but right now the digital way is easier and cheaper too.

6. What do you think about posting videos of your stand up performances online?

I think I have one 8 minute video and I’m debating taking it down. I put other stuff up of 3-5 minutes to kinda have and for people to check out. Also, I had to put it up to send the link to a few people. I don’t think having a 20 min set online is ever good. You wanna give people a taste and show them how funny you are in a few minutes. If you show the whole thing, why would they still want to come see you? You’re not leaving anything there.

Stuff on the web doesn’t translate as well in person. There’s something about being there and in the moment, being a part of what’s happening at that time and the energy of the room, it doesn’t translate. You can still see if someone’s funny though. Plus 20 minutes is a long time. The internet attention span is 2-3 minute videos. That’s why I keep mine short. I wish I could chop down 4 minute clips to less. You wanna make it easy to pass around. When they put specials up there, it’s different, when it’s Robin Williams and people know who he is. But not when you’re undiscovered. You don’t wanna put all your shit out there. When people are trying to get to know you, ten or twenty minutes they’ll be in and out and get distracted and won’t give you their full attention. And they’re not giving you a fair assessment for that. They mighta missed half the endings of jokes.

7. How do you think digital tools will change comedy?

It’s already pretty clear what it’s doing. It gives anyone an opportunity to create and market themselves. I know comics and people who don’t have websites and only one video or something. But it’s giving more people opportunities. I think more people have jumped on in trying to make content and get discovered but at the same token, it’s pretty clear what’s good and what’s not. YouTube isn’t the mecca of comedy of producing the biggest stars but you can use it to your advantage to get some instant fame and capitalize on that into bigger things and that’s what some people have done. That’s why I keep doing my videos. Not just to stay fresh but to keep writing and to keep my mind conditioned in that mind set of listening and paying attention to things. You always wanna be in that mind set. You put them out and you don’t know. Every time I put out a video, I get more subscribers. You never know which one will resonate enough that people will send it to ten people instead of two people.

People are trying to capitalize on the web series stuff, there’s a lot of good stuff out there but there’s a lot of shitty stuff out there too. People are paying money to make it look good but the content sucks and vice versa. I know every agency has web divisions now. In the next 5-10 years, once the internet is part of TVs, more integrated, things will probably take another turn, in a good way for comedians.
When I first started out, I was sending out links and I was self conscious about what I was putting out there and look at my stuff and accept whatever comes like “stop sending me these” which actually happened, or something like “that was funny.” And even one of those compliments is enough to keep going.

I’d say be careful and don’t put up crap, cause if people only see one video and don’t like it, they won’t check out another one. At the same time, it’s how I started. I didn’t put up everything I did. Stuff is better quality now, but there’s funny stuff from the old stuff too. The quality and execution has improved the longer I’ve been doing it though. It was a different time though, there weren’t as many people doing it, so I got away with it more. There wasn’t as much competition so I wasn’t being held to a higher standard.

8. How much information do you tend to share on the social networks?

I’m trying to get more of the Twitter thing. I can’t make myself write daily things that I think people actually care about. If I think it’s funny, I’ll spit it out. I mainly use it for shows and videos to let people know about that. I’m not gonna go against it, so I’m trying to do it more. It’s definitely another way to promote and market yourself. People are featured on sites for their tweets. Doing it every fifteen minutes seems tough. I read them and am like, “wow, do you really think people care to know what you’re thinking every ten minutes?” Although there is some funny shit.

In some ways it can be helpful to write a joke. A comic buddy will put stuff out there and if people respond, it’s like a behind the scenes way to test out if people respond to a joke without going on stage. It’s the immediate attention and gratification thing too, it’s like when you perform and do well in stand up. The immediate satisfaction you get from doing well. Twitter is even quicker. If someone retweets or comments on it, it’s immediate gratification. I’m trying to bring myself to do it more, I know it’s helpful but at the same time, I forget about it because my mind isn’t consumed with trying to make my career off of funny anecdotes. When it’s a positive marketing tool, you shouldn’t deny it.

9. What’s your weirdest online experience involving your comedy career?

I did this three part series “Cock Eyed Breakup” and it was featured on the front page of MySpace when that still meant something. It got 500,000 hits or something. The video was about a one night stand, and this girl was cock eyed and I’m trying to break it off with her and its awkward and uncomfortable. And I got messages like, “My daughter is cockeyed, you son of a bitch, how can you make fun of others misfortunes? You’re going straight to hell!” and I messaged them back, “I wasn’t trying to make fun of your daughter, I don’t even know who your daughter is.” This is people that are super sensitive. I don’t think everything is a joke, but you gotta have a sense of humor about most things in life. Of course, it’s easier to say when you don’t have the things you’re joking about I guess.

You also get girls messaging you and wanting you to come perform in certain functions. There’s a church group that wanted me to come and I was like, “Have you seen my videos? They’re not super-Christian-y”.

I’ve also had weird responses. I had a guy at The Improv who hit me up on collaborating. He was like “I wanna make a comedy music video, but I don’t have an idea, or a crew, or anything, but we should collaborate.” He was basically like, “I want you to write, provide a crew and shoot a video and put my name on it with you.”

1. How are you using the internet / social media to promote your career?

I was actually reading some of your previous interviews like the one with Judy Carter and I ended up feeling really bad (that I’m not doing enough). I have a website and I use Facebook of course, and there are thousands of little things I do like going on this blog site, that blog site, what have you. But I don’t keep a blog myself (it would feel like homework, and I’ve always considered myself more of a performer than a writer), and I’m not overly concerned with my lack of stuff online.

You’ve really gotta have a lot of time to do that thing, or a web guy that you trust. And, I don’t trust my web guy.  You may be thinking “why is he saying that out loud?” to which I would say “I just fired him,” which is weird, because I also just fired my psychiatrist.  But I digress… I like the website itself, but there are so many updates and so much maintenance. A lot of times, in my head, I go “I can go home, do the calendar, do all the admin stuff for my site, blah blah blah, or I can go do a couple of shows” and 9 out of 10 times I’ll go do the shows.  I’ve convinced myself that’s the key to succeeding.  Working on my act.  Having a really good act that isn’t as well- advertised is better than very well advertised decent act. Of course, I could be dead wrong.  I probably am.  I am constantly hearing I need more internet “presence.”  But, I’m kind of addicted to doing shows.

2. Have you noticed the payoff yet?

I have gotten booked at a few colleges just off of my website.   And, I’ve been amazed that you really don’t need that long of a video.  They’ll call and say “we loved your video,” and find out later they only watched three minutes.  Maybe that’s just the way we’re wired now. We don’t want to sit there and watch a ten minute video anymore. You can put it there, but it probably won’t be watched. Maybe the first minute or so. The beginning of the video in particular really has to be sharp, different and unique.  A lot of comics will say “it gets good four minutes in.” Unfortunately, people don’t watch it that long.

I almost feel like to have a website now, it has to be really nice, or it’s not worth having at all. If you just have an okay site, you might as well just be on Facebook.  But if you have something really nice to reference to people, and they’re impressed by it, it’s really helpful. Something with good, crisp video and an updated calendar.  Great.  When I had just a run-of-the-mill, I think it ended up hurting me.  I would’ve been better off just not having one at all.  I think people will look more favorably on you if you don’t have a site than if you have just an okay one.

I remember I was in Austin, and the club didn’t know who I was. Big surprise.  I asked if I could get up, directed them to my website, and the guy said, “Well, you don’t have any bookings coming up, so we can’t put you up.” I thought I had updated my calendar, but I guess it didn’t work. I probably forgot to click ‘publish’ or something.

3. I noticed your site has a user registration section, do you find that it helps build a fan base?

I haven’t taken advantage of it as much as I should. It would probably be really helpful if I did. It’s unforgivable and it’s laziness. A lot of comics swear by the mailing list.  On the other hand, there are so many options online that it’s just overwhelming sometimes.  There are only so many hours in a day and I would much prefer spending at least a little bit of that time writing and performing, rather than spending my entire day sending off a constant barrage of show invitations from every site imaginable, only to have people come out and see the same material because you never spend time writing or performing.

It’s getting to the point where it’s too much though: I gotta put it here, there, send it to this email list, that mailing list, it’s like I need to hire somebody just to do that. It’s a ton of admin work, and my philosophy is “if it’s between shows and sending emails, I’ll do shows.” In my experience, I have gotten more work from doing a good show (and someone sees me/books me) than I have from online stuff. But, that’s not to say I haven’t gotten anything online.

Plus, I don’t know that bookers really trust video all that much anymore anyway. Now to get booked, video isn’t enough.  It has to accompany a live guest spot. You try to get a gig at a club down in the South, for example, it used to be just a video, then a DVD, then an emailed link, but none of that is good enough anymore. Now you have to send a DVD just to get the guest spot. They won’t book you unless they’ve seen you live, a couple of times, plus referrals. Referrals have been more valuable to me than my Live at Gotham video. I don’t even know what to say about that. Maybe the clubs did try booking acts off the DVDs they were getting in and then got burned a few times.  From a booker’s perspective, with video, you never know if a performance has been sweetened. Referrals and guest spots, you can’t go wrong by that.

4. You post your cell phone on your website, have you had any issues with that?

No, it hasn’t been an issue.  There are booking sites like gigmasters where comics compete to book a gig. And, when you submit for a gig and put in your pricing and such, the site sends the client an email and sends you their email address and phone number.  Sometimes, if you haven’t booked anything, you think “Oh I’m not getting these bookings, I’m getting beat out by people who have been at it longer.” But the reason might be that some of the more aggressive comics just don’t mind actually picking up the phone and following-up with clients. While a lot of us younger guys are sending a follow-up email, somebody else is already on the line booking the gig.  I think it’s an advantage to be a bit more aggressive. I’m still learning, and forcing myself to do these kinds of things. The best, of course, is when you get a feel for how technologically savvy the client is beforehand. Some prefer not to be called at all, and others will only speak over the phone.

5. What do you think about posting videos of your show online?

I think it’s necessary at this point. I think the question is, does it suffice to just put your videos on your own website? And the answer is no. People aren’t going to spend a ton of time searching for you. So you have to spread the videos around.  That’s what I was mentioning before, it’s a real pain that you have to put each and every clip on so many different sites. You gotta do the event invites in all the different places and videos too. People will say “I saw you online” and I ask “where?” They say “YouTube” and I know it’s an old video, so I immediately start apologizing because I know that’s old stuff.  “On Youtube? No! I don’t do that material anymore!” But if they say they saw my video on my site, I still apologize (“that stuff’s no good either!”), but not as much as if they saw it on YouTube. But it’s not one of those things you think about too much. Generally I think about “I wanna book my next gig” and not about making sure all my videos are being perfectly maintained.  I’m kind of always about the next thing.

6. How do you think digital tools will change comedy?

I still think that comedy shows are best live in intimate settings – those are the best. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen somebody on TV, and I don’t think much of it, but then I see the same guy in a club or a smaller room and I’m just blown away. I don’t think that we’ve come so far that we can replace how much better a live show is. I think that’s the one downside about online videos – when people see them as a substitute for the real thing instead of a preview.

I just hope online clips don’t discourage people from going out. I hope instead of people saying, “Hey, I saw Ben’s video online, let me go watch every single other video he has,” they say “Hey, I saw Ben’s video online; I’m going to go see him live.”  But they might just stop at watching all of your online stuff. Their friend will be like, “Well Ben’s coming to town to perform” and they’ll go, “Nah, I’ve already seen his whole act on YouTube.” Then what’s the point of putting clips up in the first place?  There’s so much upside about getting your comedy online and out to so many, but there’s downside. Because there’s so much video out there, people may only watch 5 or 10 seconds of your clip. At a show they’ll watch the whole thing and really get you.

7. How much information do you tend to share on the social networks?

I try not to go overboard with it. I try to only plug big shows for my Facebook profile updates.

Sometimes you can look at your newsfeed and it’s like the boy who cried wolf. “This person put in their 5^th status update today about their toes…” It’s constant minutia. Which is fine, but I prefer to just put down a bigger show and not put down shows that there’s no chance people can come to. Like if I’m doing a college in Idaho, I probably won’t put it down there, because you know, who’s gonna see the status update and say “let’s go book some tickets.  Nick’s gonna be in the middle of nowhere”?  But if it’s in The City, I’ll put it down, and maybe people will come out.

8. What’s your weirdest online experience involving your comedy career?

I had a few in the beginning where people would find me online after seeing a show and email me, which is nice, but I just have nothing to say to them.  Aside from the typical thank you’s and such.  I thought fans were reserved for people who were doing it forever and on TV. It’s so weird to go to a show and hear “I heard you’d be on this so I came out.” It’s really strange.  Of course, that hardly ever happens so I don’t really have worry about it.

I’m always in awe of the number of friend requests you can get after doing some show in the middle of nowhere where you didn’t think anyone was even listening.  The kind of gig where you have to ask the band to stop setting up (or playing).  And you even get friend requests from people who didn’t like the show. “You just wanna friend me to tell me you didn’t like it?” I guess I just wanna control what I put out there, and I’d rather put out smaller amounts in an environment I understand better – stand-up.  That’s why I don’t do that many status updates or tweets. Although perhaps I should.

I’ve also had negative experiences where people will book me based on video (let’s say, for the sake of argument, it’s even a video I really like) and I’ll go in and do the gig, and the material is completely inappropriate for the gig they want me to do. I’d be like “oh they like this video, so I’ll be sure to do that material from the video,” and it turns out to be completely inappropriate for the show.  I don’t mean it’s dirty when it should be clean, just that it’s not what they wanted.  Well, why did you book me based on the video then?  Because I did that exact same stuff for you!  A guy actually said once that I didn’t perform “the video material” with the same intensity that I did in the video.  But, in the video, I was in front of a couple hundred people, and his show maybe twelve.  So, you still need to ask questions, ‘cause so many things will be taken out of context, which is why clubs are still based largely on referrals and guest spots. They’ve been burned too many times.  So, I still think word of mouth and reputation are the most important things in comedy.