This is Your Life in Silicon Valley - Should You Tweet About Your Meditation Retreat to Myanmar? (Guest: Jessica Powell, Author, Former Head of Communications at Google)

Should You Tweet About Your Meditation Retreat to Myanmar? (Guest: Jessica Powell, Author, Former Head of Communications at Google)

01/22/19 • 38 min

Jessica Powell ran communications at Google. She's now a bestselling author. We asked Jessica - who has seen her fair share of PR crises over the years - how she would handle communications issues facing some of the top tech companies in the world. You might be surprised where she stands on various issues plaguing some of technology's top players.

We asked her about Jack Dorsey's now infamous 'tweetstorm' about his meditation retreat to Myanmar and her reaction to it. We examined the broad spectrum of reactions that played out on social media.

We dig into Jessica's journey to San Francisco, which started in sunny So Cal, and the 'fake' Los Angeles San Francisco rivalry. Jessica dishes on some of her favorite athletes and sports teams.

As a communications exec, we had the opportunity to ask Jessica how she would handle PR crises at Facebook. And what was inherently different about Facebook and Google culture. We also asked Jessica about where change needs to occur at these companies - whether regulation will work, or how lasting change will really take place.

Jessica talks about why she began writing satire, and how people reacted to it. She talks about her recent interview on Fox News with Tucker Carlson and what that experience was like. Enjoy this broad, amazing interview with one of tech's top marketing execs!

We asked her about Jack Dorsey's now infamous 'tweetstorm' about his meditation retreat to Myanmar and her reaction to it. We examined the broad spectrum of reactions that played out on social media.

We dig into Jessica's journey to San Francisco, which started in sunny So Cal, and the 'fake' Los Angeles San Francisco rivalry. Jessica dishes on some of her favorite athletes and sports teams.

Previous Episode

Who Should Run Facebook? (Guest: Kara Swisher, Journalist, Co-Founder of Recode, New York Times Contributor)

Kara Swisher needs no introduction. She is one of the top business journalists, and covers technology for various outlets. More recently, Swisher became a contributor for the New York Times Opinion section - and she has a lot to say about Facebook.

In this episode, we learn a lot about Swisher's background, where she grew up, and what her thoughts are on San Francisco. Swisher provides us with her perspective on Facebook's problems, and whether one individual can even solve them at this point. We have an extensive discussion with Kara about ethics and technology.

We talk about the next wave of big innovation, and/or the lack thereof. We talk to Kara about whether she likes Scooters or not. And who her favorite social media follows are. We discuss Chrissy Teigen and why she's a great follow.

You don't want to miss this episode - Kara is a living legend, is candid, and opens up to us about a wide variety of subects.

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Can Theater Survive in the Age of Instagram? (Guests: Pam MacKinnon and Andy Donald, American Conservatory Theater)

Pam MacKinnon is a Tony Award-winning Director. She's spent decades atop the theater world, directing shows on and off-Broadway. Andy Donald is a west-coast native but has spent recent years on the East Coast as an artistic director. Both are now part of the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco (as Artistic Director and Associate Artistic Director respectively). But what is it like running a high profile theater in the technology epicenter of the universe?

We talk to Pam and Andy about their journeys to San Francisco, their times on the East Coast and the ongoing SF/LA rivalry. We have a deep conversation about what it's like to run a show to audiences with short attention spans who are looking at smartphones constantly. What does theater need to do in order to evolve to the Instagram age? What about the arts scene in San Francisco? Andy and Pam pontificate on both and describe what it's like to be in San Francisco at this day/age and time.

We talk about the American Conservatory Theater, its mission, and its most recent show (listener note - this episode was recorded last year, and the show discussed during the interview is not currently running). If you're into the arts, theater, and looking for insight on where it's all headed, this episode is for you. It's a fascinating discussion.