Now, for those of you that aren't in the know, MetzyMom has been the radio hostess for OLA.com for a year now!! The radio program is on TalkShoe and the next show will be held February 29!! Beginning at 8:00 pm EST.
This will be a longer running show as Metzy has traveled from Arizona, her home state, to Oregon to have the show LIVE at the OLA.com office!! Wow!! And as you can see in prior posts, she has been meeting up with various OLA.com members along the way and she's not done yet!!
Before Metzy took off, she did an interview with me about the show. And, as promised, here it is.
When is the anniversary show going to be held?
The show is currently scheduled for the 29th of February. I had planned to do it on February 2nd, but with what has been described as "the worst weather to hit the Northwest in 30 years", I figured I'd better do some rethinking. I mean let's face it... I'm a fabulous driver but I drive in Hot Arizona, not Snowbound Oregon!!!
What are some of the topics going to be? I know this is the one year anniversary for the radio show but what else? I know that it's going to be a review, of the year? Of course, seller of the month for February, and you said you'd have a couple of guests. Anything else?
The show is going to be a review of the last year. A walk down memory lane. I plan to talk a little bit about everything we've done up til now. I've got a couple surprises up my sleeve, but people will have to tune in to the LIVE show to find out what... and there will be prizes!!! The only hint I'm gonna give is this: Make sure you know what we covered... lol... take an hour a day, while you're listing this next week, and listen to a different show each day. It will be worth your while!!!
How did you get started in this? What prompted you to do the radio show?
I was a dedicated fan of Dave White, the original OLA Radio host. He always encouraged me to call in and participate during the LIVE show. I usually called in and participated for a few minutes each show... for maybe, I don't know, maybe 4 or 5 months. Dave decided he wanted a co-host and auditions were held. I don't know how many people auditioned, I only know of 2 others who tried out. I didn't even know I'd won the job until the day of the following show! From that time on, I got to be on every show and give my opinions and share facts and research.
When Dave got sick and quit doing eCommerce Radio, a hole was left in the eCommerce radio world. I didn't think about continuing on without him, because like everyone else, I thought he'd get better and return. When that didn't happen, I began thinking about doing the OLA Show myself. I was already doing a weekly eCommerce radio program for ALL sites, but my heart has always been here at OnlineAuction.com. So when Chris Fain came through Kingman one hot summer day in July 2010, we briefly discussed it. With the way that eCommerce was changing, it was becoming harder and harder to do a show for ALL sites and so I put SellerBuzz on hiatus and got ready to bring back OLA Radio.
What was your goal when you started?
My goal was to provide a once a month informative and educational eCommerce program specific to OnlineAuction.com Members. Many things in eCommerce can apply to all sites, but each site has it's differences. I wanted to highlight how OnlineAuction.com was different and better and at the same time, provide an easy path to learning this better but different platform. There is a learning curve when you join a new site and I hoped I could make the curve a little less curvy, kind of a "quick start" to listing at OnlineAuction.com.
What is your goal today? I imagine it might have changed a tad since beginning.
It has! In the beginning, it was a lot of dry basics. Now it's a lot more fun for me, and hopefully for everyone else too. Whereas the focus in the beginning was more on learning the boring basics, now it's more interactive. It's more about Everyone instead of Everything.
What was the BEST program that you had and why?
Easy answer! I loved the Christmas Show. I had been told by many of my radio host peers that what I wanted to do couldn't be done, that many before me had tried and it just never worked out right. That didn't stop me from trying it anyway! Nothing ventured nothing gained.... My idea was to work the show so that it felt like an office party. People stopping by, sharing a toast, having a drink or bite to eat, hugs and kisses, and back out on their way to the next party. By coordinating with the OLA Staff and OLA Chatties, I think that was exactly the feel of the show. It took a lot of work and a lot of coordination, but it felt like a Christmas Party to me... I hope it felt like that to everyone else.
What was the worst program that you had and why?
I don't think in terms of a "worst" program, because each program is a lesson in something different... and sometimes that "something different" is a surprise to even me. The first program featured our beloved CEO Chris Fain, but Chris couldn't get in on the phone line. It should have been a disaster... except that it really wasn't. I learned how to get a guest on the air even when they couldn't get on themselves. We all learned that not everything goes as smooth and easy as we'd like, but that with a little patience and perhaps a little dead air time, everything works out in the end if we stick with it. I had originally planned to edit out all that dead air, but decided, in the end, that it was a great lesson in sticking to what you're doing, seeing what you're doing through, even when it's tough. I kind of think of OLA that way. When I first came, it was new and a challenge because all I knew was eBay. But I stuck with it and saw it through. I learned how to lean into the learning curve and embrace it. So I don't think of any of the shows as "worst" shows... because I learned something valuable from each one.
I presume that you ARE going to continue!!! Right??????
I am going to continue. As long as OLA wants me to host the show, I'll be there. I'm thinking about doing some different things this year... like maybe having a guest co-host on a few of the shows... I think we've got a lot of people with a lot to say... and I hope to give more people a voice through the show.
So, if you want to know what the show is all about, go to TalkShoe on February 29th to see what is going on!! It's going to be a blast!!
Thank you, Metzy, for being so willing to do the interview and for being such a great hostess this past year!! May we have many more shows with you to come!!
L-R: James, Me, Chris Fain, John
