BBC Dream Comes True Thanks to AC Reality

I grew up watching BBC - British Broadcasting Corporation. No, I'm not British, but as an American kid, I'd watch fare like Dr. Who, The Tripods and All Creatures Great And Small. An American boy watching sci-fi TV and comedies imported from jolly old England didn't have buds doing the same.

A few liked Dr. Who, but it was all European competition they'd allow against American hits like The Incredible Hulk or Three's Company. My BBC love carried over into adulthood. Today, I watch BBC America and BBC World News. Still, when contacted by BBC reporter Matt Wells, I felt transported back to childhood.

Matt wanted to discuss my New Media work, especially my web writing on Associated Content. Though Associated Content has been in my life for a few years, the doors it opened and what it motivated me to do is difficult to sum up neatly. I've written dozens of op-eds, movie reviews, and product reviews. I've conducted celebrity interviews with real Hollywood heavyweights like Nancy Cartwright (Bart Simpson) and Robert Englund (Freddy from A Nightmare On Elm Street), and I even chatted with Dr. Marc Rayman, a NASA scientist.

I've done well on AC. I get great feedback, and believe in AC's 'people's media company' type model. Despite it all, I felt shock. The BBC wanted to talk to me? Isn't BBC only interested in the movers and shakers of the business world, or powerful elite in the world's government? They deal in people like Tony Blair, and David Beckham, Barack Obama and Madonna. Whatever could I tell them, that they'd want to broadcast to the public?

Upon meeting Matt, I was put at ease. His friendly professionalism encouraged me to simply chat about what I'd been up to on the web. When I spoke of AC colleagues like Charlotte Kuchinksy,Timothy Sexton, Paula Neal Mooney, and Jonathan Knight, things became clear.

I wasn't talking to BBC because of me - the BBC was talking to me because of ALL of us: Tim Sexton, who's keen political acumen keeps law courses sharp, Paula Neal Mooney, who writes on virtually any topic with verve and conviction, Charlotte Kuchinsky whose beauty tips brought her own BBC focus and radio interviews, and finally Jonathan Knight, who navigates nightmare alleys of horror movies like a modern day Sherlock Holmes. These writers appear in the final aired BBC chat, but unfortunately because of time, Jonathan Knight didn't make the video cut.

Thanks, Matt. Thanks, AC colleagues. Growing up a BBC fan to become their subject is a dream come true to last a lifetime!

Watch my BBC interview here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/journalism/blog/2010/09/make-money-as-a-pay-by-click-j.shtml