OMG Livestream of the Year!

When video began to pop as a “must-do” for Internet people, I was resistant even though I love camera work. My excuse was that I was a writer first. But really, the idea of producing video seemed so hard.

And then a few years ago (March 2017) at a roundtable with Soledad O'Brien (really), she was like, “Hello, you live in Boston. Put out a call to some Northeastern students. Build a video intern team, have them follow you around while you solve people’s problems, and they will produce it for you for course credit.” Soledad is a genius but still, it just seemed like SO MUCH.

And then June 2017 I decided to try Facebook Live (talking about my aging lady problems ) and I FELL IN LOVE. No editing! I loved the live format! I had no problem talking direct to camera on my own. I loved interviewing guests. I loved putting nervous guests at ease and helping them shine. I loved the potential for unexpected mess because it was live. It reminded me of how I never had stage fright when I performed solo recitals in college. And it made me think of my Dad, who wanted me to become the first Korean-American talk show host.

Anyway, over the last few years, I have done a lot of livestreams; lifestyle fare at Boston Mamas + Edit Your Life and sex ed interviews at AMAZE. I’m really proud of my video work AND I was completely shocked when I won the Mom 2.0 Iris Award for Livestream of the Year for my AMAZE Live! sex ed series (especially given the other amazing nominees). How I will explain this to my very traditional mother (with whom I had my very first sex ed convo a couple of weeks ago ) I have no idea.

I guess my point is that you need to stay true to what you feel you can do well, with joy and without immense dread. And that the timeline and how it all plays out may not be what you expect.

Mega thanks to Tiffany Reese for image 1; I was too shocked to screenshot! And Meredith Walker for image 2 (look Dad I'm on TV!)