crazy ideas…and being on television…

Over the last few weeks, we have been creating this massive Christmas Gift Idea list on MomColoredGlasses, which was my “brilliant” idea. I put brilliant in quotes, because usually when I have an idea, it turns into a ton of work and stress for everyone around me. It’s not always so great and I was feeling especially bad about it last Sunday as I was on my way to Meijer for our weekly shopping.

But then, I had another idea. Yes, another idea, which in of itself should have flashed big “warning” signs behind my eyelids, but this one was actually pretty decent. I would write up a little press release about our gift list, send it out to the television stations and newspaper, and see what happens. Worst case scenario? Nothing happens. Best case scenario? We might get a mention on some sort of media, and get a few more clicks on our list, alleviating my guilt complex.

So, I drummed one up (here it is…Press Release_MCG) and sent it off Monday morning. About 2 p.m., I received an email from a producer over at Fox17 News that I had worked with back in September when I went on to talk about the Artist Trading Cards event. She was wondering if I wanted to come on in two days to talk about Cyber Monday shopping strategies, including our Christmas Gift List.

Yikes.

I guess I should have thought about the possibility that someone might actually write me back, but I was honestly shocked and more than a little freaked out. Online shopping strategies? Wednesday? Me? Two days?

Of course I said yes – thankfully you can’t spot nerves over email. She sent me a prep document that I needed to fill out by the next day, including my talking points for a 3 minute spot, and I went into research mode. This I can do, I thought. It’s just like creating a mini-presentation, but with someone else feeding you the next point on your outline. I almost started to relax…until Wednesday afternoon rolled around and I was staring at my outline trying to memorize all the websites I included. Thankfully, my friend Tiffany was visiting, which was a great distraction until I had to leave.

The drive to the station is literally five minutes from my house, so I didn’t really have time to tuck away my home world before I was walking into the front door of the station. I think I actually showed up a little late, because the producer walked up to me and said, “I just called you!” Whoops. She handed me a blue piece of paper with my “talking points” typed on it and told me that I couldn’t mix up the order because they had a video scrolling through the websites…in that specific order. Then she disappeared, and left me to walk into the studio.

The studio is one big room with different “sets” for the anchor desk, red couch, and weather display. The cameras sit in the middle and swing around to each area as needed. There was another family already there – the first interview of the hour – talking about their daughter’s specially trained dog who helps her with her diabetes. They offered me a chair (a little covered in dog hair) and I sat down to chew my nails and wait. (Yes…I just recently realized that I have started chewing my nails…so strange)

35 minutes later, I was still sitting there, silently saying the websites (in order) over and over, when I finally got my microphone clipped on and was headed up to the “red couch” for my segment. We exchanged hellos, and Tim Doty, one of the anchors, actually remembered that I had been on before, which was kind of surprising. Then we were given the 10 second warning, and…we were on!

You don’t really have any clue what cameras they are going to be using, and when I watched it later, I saw myself sneaking a peek over at the cameras right at the beginning because I didn’t think they were on me yet. Then, they kind of lobbed me a “starting point” and I dove in. I think I should have prepared a better opening statement, because it was a little convoluted, but as the three minutes flew by, I started to get a little more comfortable. You kind of forget that you are on camera, because you are just having a conversation. And thankfully, I didn’t forget any of the websites, even though one I said was different than the one they showed on the video, but I didn’t find that out until I got home and watched it on DVR. All things considered…I guess I didn’t sound like a complete idiot.

A few notes to self: Quit the hand gestures. Slow down. Don’t wear a free flowing cardigan – it makes you look like a big blob. Don’t forget the most important part.

Yep – I forgot to mention that our Christmas list was going to be posted…on SUNDAY. Instead, when Tim said, “so, can we find all this information on your website?” I stupidly said, “Yep!” So, I had to quick dash home and post something with all the websites and a link to the video feed that my father-in-law took of the television while I was on. (Thanks Dad!)

And there you have it…my little moment in the spotlight! Was it fun? Sure. A little nerves and adrenaline never hurt anyone.

Am I an online shopping expert? Not really, but I honestly do shop a lot online. (When we decided to go to Toys R Us on Thursday night, my mother-in-law was kind of joking that the “cyber shopping” person was going shopping on Black Friday…ha ha)

Would I do it again? Certainly. They do a nice job of making it easy and comfortable for guests. I’m already trying to think of a new “pitch” I can send over, because I think if you have an interesting angle on a story and provide the content, it might make it that much easier for them to say “yes”. Of course, that’s just speculation on my part…I have no idea what actually happens.

That’s my story…and now the list is “live”, the stress is over, and I am going to try my best to try and stifle all my crazy ideas for a little while…at least until the new year…