Q&A Interviewing

The first interview was quick, easy, and surprisingly informative. I thought it wouldn't be as informative, but the key with the first interview is asking the right questions. Because you can't do follow up questions you need to try and cover all the areas you want information on. It helps if the person you're interviewing takes the time to give you some nice long responses.

The second interview was interesting. It was easy to link the previous response to the next question. I went into that interview planning to ask questions about the actual website structure and the last question was about how Jeff enjoyed seeing shows while on the job. Different from the first one because you don't know where the interview is going to end up, it's open-ended. After doing the second one the first style is too closed for the audience to get to know the person you're interviewing. This style is also harder in the sense that you need to be interviewing someone committed to answering your questions or you need to have a longer deadline.

The third interview I did was a phone interview with Jeff. This was my favorite, but the hardest for editing purposes. Because I am friends with Jeff it was such an informal conversation that I had to go back and pick out different parts of the conversation to post. If I didn't know the person I was interviewing I think it would have been a good balance between awkward and comfortable. An in person interview might be a little awkward, but not having to look someone in the eye while you ask or answer questions relaxes both parties.

I think I got pretty good information about MySecretBoston, how Jeff got into writing, and a lot about how he does and enjoys his job. This was a good experience.