Social Blend co-host SilentJay74 in his own words

Catch the Brainwaves is our ongoing series of interviews with a variety of folks participating in blogging and social media. I ask them ten questions and they respond with their brilliant answers and insights! Today is the first of our four part series of Q&A sessions with the co-hosts of the rockin’ podcast Social Blend, featuring SilentJay74 (aka Joe Fowler)

Are you sitting comfortably? Then let’s begin!

1. Can you tell us the origin of your username (SilentJay74)? And what’s up with the mask on your avatar?

SilentJay74 is a cross between the Kevin Smith characters from the movie Clerks. Jay would never shut up and when Silent Bob opens his mouth, he usually has something epic to say. So I would like to think that since I rarely shut my mouth, what I have to say is important. The mask was a picture for Day of the Ninja. It is actually a snowboarding mask made a company called “Gator”. I also used it in Iraq and Afghanistan, it can scare the crap out of people

2. You seem to be a bigger fan of Pownce and Plurk than Twitter. How would you promote the first two services to fans of Twitter to try to get them to buy in?

I am a big fan of Pownce for the ability to send files. Pownce launched with the ability to either micro blog, embed video and pictures, or send a file to another user. Which to me is pretty impressive. Plurk launched with a timeline, nested replies, and the ability to embed video and pictures. Twitter is action packed with issues. It is down all the time, you have to look for a reply, and you cannot embed pics and video. So why use something that has a lot less to offer? Yes Twitter does have a lot of third party apps to follow your friends, but so does Pownce.

3. “Go big or go home” – what does that phrase mean to you? Do you follow that advice?

“Go Big or Go Home” To me that means don’t do anything half-assed. I believe that if you are passionate about something, have a goal, then do what ever it takes to make it happen. Let nothing or no one stand in your way. Always take it to the next level that way the bar is set high.

4. Ever miss the active duty life in the Marines?

Every now and then I do. I have Marines that I brought up from Privates that are now Platoon Sergeants. They are great guys and I instilled in them to always do the right thing. So in a way I am still part of the Marine Corps. Right now with the world in the condition it is in, I am glad those guys are out there. I wish they didn’t have to be though. So far not one of the Marines I trained has shown up on a casualty list. I thank God for that everyday. I do miss the brotherhood and some great times. The travel was awesome.

5. Do you have any goals or aspirations related to blogging?

As far as my blog goes, I am glad some people read it. But I am by no means an epic blogger. I usually use Juicysnake.com to get things off my chest. People read it and get a laugh, then my job is done. I would say I try to relate to people out there in the tech world. Some times I rant and moan, but it is all in good fun. To me a personal blog is just a way to say how you feel and convey those emotions. I have no ad-sense and no ads. Just one guy spouting out how he feels that day.

6. Mixx seems to inspire a lot of loyalty among its users and fans. Why do you think this loyalty is there?

As far as Mixx loyalty goes, it has a lot to do with the Mixx crew. The guys at Mixx.com want to know what is on their communities mind. They want to know from the community what features Mixxers want. Here is the kicker, the Mixx crew listens. Whenever Brian Hill created Mixxingbowl.com, he was just waiting for a C&D, but the crew at Mixx embraced it. They knew that this was the “backdoor” into the Mixx community. So now the crew behind the scenes had a place to listen to their community and take notes.

Being involved with your community is a big thing. It gives the community members the feeling they have a say, which in this case they do. When that happens the community becomes extremely loyal. So now you have these refugees from *cough* Digg.com *cough* who have a place where they are listened to and not totally ignored.

7. A ninja appears behind you, ready for action. What do you do?

Tell Chuck Norris to take care of my light work.

8. How challenging is it to work on a podcast when none of you are in the same location?

Scheduling is the biggest problem. Sometimes bandwidth gets in the way. But we have a private board set up where we post ideas all week. They show notes get finalized on Thursday and we record on Friday Nights. So it takes prior planning but we stay on top of it.

9. Pretend that the Internet is destroyed overnight. What do you do the next morning?

I would start linking pc’s via dial up.

10. Any final thoughts for our readers?

Check out Mixx.com and register at Mixxingbowl.com. If you aren’t listening to Social Blend you are missing out. Party like the world end’s tomorrow, dance naked, and make a lot of love!

Thanks to SilentJay74 for sharing his brainwaves!