Category: Interviews

Today I’m interviewing Zach Selwyn. Zach will be appearing in a recurring role on the new season of “Greek“ on ABC Family, and is currently the TV host of Atom TV on Comedy Central. He is best known as the host of Discovery Science Channel‘s hit shows “Catch it Keep it“ and “Punkin Chunkin.“ Zach has a new album coming out “Pluck Your Twanger.”

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!

Today I’m interviewing Dan Levy. Dan‘s had a half-hour special “Comedy Central Presents: Dan Levy“ and a MTV produced a TV pilot based on Dan‘s 10-part weekly web series, “My Long Distance Relationship“ which first ran on Sony‘s Crackle.com. Dan also produced and starred in the popular collegehumor.com series “The I Have To Go In a Minute Show with Super Host Dan Levy.“ He has been seen in The Montreal Just For Laughs Comedy Festival, Aspen Comedy Festival, Comedy Central‘s “Premium Blend“, “The Late, Late, Show,“ and is a regular round table guest on Chelsea Lately. Dan will be recording an album for Comedy Central Records during shows on October 1^st & 2^nd in Denver at Comedy Works Downtown (get tickets) and has just joined the cast of HBO’s upcoming comedy series “Enlightened.”

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.

Today I’m interviewing Wayne Manigo (aka ‘WayneMan’). In over a year in the comedy arena – he’s gone from being the start up comic at the ‘open mic sessions’ – to opening for national headliners (including Clay Miles, Kevin Lee, Yannis Pappis, and others). When not performing at corporate events or writing new material…he is just ‘5150’ (the national radio code for just being crazy). Step into his mind and he’ll take you for a ride!

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.

Today I’m interviewing Keith Alberstadt. Keith is originally from Nashville, TN the home of the mighty VanderbiltCommodores and is a professional stand-up comedian and writer living in New York City.  He’s been seen on the Late Show with David Letterman and is a contributing writer for Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update.  Read more at KeithComedy.com.

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.”

Today I’m interviewing Adam Ray. Adam has been touring the country with his standup, opening for acts such as Sinbad, Greg Giraldo, Harland Williams, and Bobby Lee. His TV credits include ABC’s “According to Jim,” and MTV’s “Human Giant.”  Adam has created a large online following with the popularity of his web videos that are frequently featured on Funnyordie.com and Youtube. His Kermit the Frog reaction video to “2 girls 1 cup” hit over 5 million views on Youtube.

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.”