The book surrounds his relatively quick and calculated rise to personal branding fame and the opportunity that is newly available to everyone in today’s restructured digital society.  In the book, Gary states that he lives by three simple rules:

Love your family.
Work Superhard.
Live your passion.

With this, he says, you will find ultimate happiness and success.

The main theme of the book is identifying and pursuing your true passion, with a focus on the current (free) social media tools available to all of us.  Although these channels may change as rapidly as they’ve been created, the strategy for success remains the same, “If you spend most of your life time working, then it better be for something you love,” warns Gary.

Gary was an entrepreneur from the very beginning, creating a “personal brand” on everything he did, from his franchised lemonade stands to his baseball card trading empire. Soon, he was working at his parents liquor store in Clark, New Jersey which he later grew into a $60 million business.  The book explains why we should all be able to do the same (if we’re truly crushing it, that is).

Gary, with his life-long obsession to one day buy the New York Jets, has used his god-given DNA to pursue what comes naturally to him, and what doesn’t even feel like work.  The book points out that we all have different DNA, and it’s important to embrace what we’re instinctively good at and recognize what we’re not.  Authenticity in business is key.

Gary, like me, shares the motto “refuse to settle” and was prompted to do this book out of the disbelief that there are still people out there who haven’t figured out that you don’t have to settle, ever.

We all love something, we’re all overly knowledgeable about something, and we are all the ‘go to’ person for something amongst our family and friends. As far as Gary is concerned, the more niche your passion the better, in one example showing how even a fisherman particularly interested in the best bait for the best catch is a walking money machine if monetized correctly.

Advertising dollars are going where the eye-balls are, and the eye-balls are moving from print to screens, so if there was ever a time to create a loyal audience online and offer that inventory up to an ad-buying company within your niche–it’s now.

In today’s world, the gate keepers have lost their power and to succeed, you just need to clarify where your DNA and passion intersect–and be willing to hustle.

WATCH the below video of AMP3 PR client, Justine Suh of The Green Scout Report, interviewing Gary Vaynerchuk about the new book (and disregard my shaky camera work!).

For anyone out there looking to motivate their personal and career goals, I strongly recommend this read. I personally plan on gifting it to several people in my life who are in the process of reinventing themselves or are considering new entrepreneurial ventures this year.

From Roberto Gonazalez, my friend and NYC real estate guru who conceived, wrote and directed the viral video “The NYC Realty Guide” to my big sister who is a pharmacist by day but a passionate family travel blogger by night, the niches that social citizens could be capitalizing on are endless, and @Garyvee is not afraid to say it, “Quit your job, quit your job today.”

Gary (next to my hero Oprah) is in the running to be my mentor of the decade.

Get out there, and start crushing it today!

And for the wine lovers out there, don’t forget to tune into WineLibrary.TV for Gary’s ongoing video series on all things wine.

[Alyson Campbell for It's All Very PR]

I arrived to the home of the NextUP series, 92Y, with fellow AMP3 co-hort @Termeh, where we proceeded to eat (delicious, mind you) hummus, chat with the ever-present Matt Caldecutt, and interview the Editor-In-Chief of Mashable, Adam Ostrow, you know–the usual pre event fare.

Moderated by mashable rep, Adam Hirsch, the talks got underway. And here is the run-down of what we learned:

Panelist(s) #1–Philip James (CEO) and Mark Angelillo (CTO) of Snooth.com:

Snooth.com is a comparison shopping engine for wine. Philip taught us that when dealing with a web startup, most negotiating is actually going to end up being compromise and that is just what you have to deal with in the beginning. His advice was to accept it, swallow your pride, and get your deals done. If you believe in the quality of your product and you know where it’s going, you will be able to revisit your business deals once you have bargaining power. CTO, Mark, gets a giggle out of the crowd after introducing himself as a techie, “I’m a tech guy, so I don’t really talk in front of people… but hey, they did stand me in front of a computer here, so maybe this will be ok.…!?” Turns out it was, as he offered feedback on open source rules and solutions. Mark’s moral of the story? Invent the racecar, not the wheel. The faster you move, the better your business is going to be. The two continued on with the perfect balance of a Tech VS. Business dynamic which is obviously what makes them so successful at what they do.

Panelist #2–Melanie Notkin, Founder & CEO of SavvyAuntie.com:

Melanie is a beam of positive, contagious energy who really keyed into WHY her business has been so successful, so quickly. I also enjoy her because she coined the phrase “PANK’s” (Professional Aunts, No Kids). Turns out, I am a “pank” myself; a very proud auntie at that, but not so savvy when it comes to what’s trendy for kids. That’s where Melanie’s service comes in.

Here is what Melanie identifies as her 3 secrets to success:

• Powerful Niche: Melanie identified a niche (herself included) of women who were unsavvy about Sponge Bob, The Jonas Brothers, and Hannah Montana, but who were passionate about kids and the kids in their life (even though they are not their own). Turns out, PANKs, are one of the most affluent demographic segments on the market!
• Strong Product: She introduced her website not just as a good idea, but with superior quality, and that is reflected by the fact that she is currently nominated for a WEBBY award.
• Social Influence: She is the face of the brand and she has a strong social presence. She represents the “SavvyAuntie” in everything that she does. Twitter has been a huge social referal for her from Advertisers (such as Playskool and Sephora) to Press Interviews/Coverage, noting that she “launched at the best time, [I] was on Twitter before it got Oprah’d“

Panelist #3–Michael Galpert, Co-Founder of Aviary.com:

Aviary is an accessible Photoshop-like platform that allows you to manipulate visual media with ease, in a manageable, sharable file-type/size. It allows users to be creators and offers a simpler version to the non-graphic-designers out there, similar to what Google Documents has done for those who do not have the Microsoft Suite.

What Michael says is the key to his web start-up is the community focused platform that allows users to share and see what others are doing in real time. He recommends open source, and reminds us that Aviary released an API so that 3rd Party users can use this platform on their own.

Ultimate message: be open, don’t try to control everything, and don’t try to do what has worked for others in the past; think ahead about what’s going to be happening next.

Panelist #4–Scott Belsky, Founder & CEO of Behance.com:

Letting us know that, no, he doesn’t work for Beyonce, Scott reminded us that most good ideas never happen. As such, Behance was born out of frustration as a platform to help creative professionals realize their goals by creating an organizational structure that keeps all project members looped in and accountable. His platform seeks to solve the problem of organizing creative work on a macro and a micro level and also *buzzword* encourages community where creatives can curate and “appreciate” art in one space.

Scott’s Tips for Best Practices:

• Hire based on Initiative, Not Experience [*IMHO--Someone that really wants something, will make it happen, regardless of experience]
• Solve a Frustration [What is your business seeking to achieve? Does it solve a current problem that exists?]
• Value the Experiential Education as Compensation [The old adage rings true: What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger, right!? You live, you learn.]

The evening closed with a multi-panelist group Q&A moderated by Mashable’s Editor In Chief, Adam Ostrow, where I captured the above panelists answering the following question: “What do you love about being a web/tech startup in New York City?”

This event was very relevantly sponsored by DubMeNow and SunStartUp Essentials, and rumor has it that the next event will be held on June 3rd regarding “Social Media Marketing,” followed-up by what I can only imagine as hilarious, “Tech Karaoke” in the space after-hours.

[Alyson Campbell for It's All Very PR]

The event featured a slew of impromptu fashion shows every 20 minutes throughout the evening, showcasing her new line, several customized shoes, and her bridal collection as well. The models were wearing dresses by Kathlin Argiro and jewelry by Lisa Linhardt, and the featured bridal gowns were by Lisa Krizner-George of Vanilla Pink. Live entertainment was provided by DJ Danny Ramirez and famed salsa pianist, “Pulpo,” and the hors d’oeuvres and mini desserts were courtesy of Las Chicas Bakery.

Guests were treated to discounted custom shoe ordering (20% of all shoes + Buy One, Get One for $40) in the private 2^nd floor Shoe Salon where event-goers could touch, feel, and try Burju on for themselves!

*Guests included: Christine Matava (Whom You Know), Michelle Madhok (Founder, SheFinds.com), Bryn Taylor (Managing Editor, SheFinds.com), Pamela Pekerman (Co-Founder, BagTrends.com), Martha Alburquerque (Founder, LelaLuxe.com), Wendy Toth (Blogger-in-Chief, ShoeTube.tv), Stacy Armand (Fashion Stylist), Alexi Panos (TV Host), Felicia Sullivan (Blogger/Author), Kim Weling (Fashion Stylist), Geraldine Laiz (WhatsWear.com), Qianna Smith (Fashion Editor, Essence Magazine), Brooke Johnston (Former Miss UK / Actress), Tinka Milinovic (European Popstar), Patty Hughes (Curvy Girl Style), Judy Dutton (Health Magazine), Carol Huang (MAXIM), Kiri Blakeley (Forbes Magazine), Erin Gell (Forbes Magazine), Andrew Graham (GreenTarget), Matt Caldecutt (Social Media Publicist and Event Goer Extraordinaire), Lisa Lacy (Freelancer Writer & Baker), Tiffany Winbush (Women Making Moves), and Dynelle Skinner (Borghese).

*Burju Shoes (first couple shoes are from the Bridal Collection)

*Men’s Shoes (Andrew Graham is totally getting the red ones on the far left!)

*The SheFinds.com Ladies: Bryn Taylor (Managing Editor), Michelle Madhok (CEO), and Rebekah (Assoc. Editor)

*more Burju Shoes on display

*Christine Matava of Whom You Know showed up rocking her “Mary Jane Rocks” Burju Shoes

*Designer Burju Perez with BagTrends.com Co-Founder, Pamela Pekerman

*A fellow event goer wearing some Burju Shoes (Note to Self: love the yellow w/ Leopard Print)

*Model rocking out some Burju Shoes on the feature light boxes

*Pretty, frilly, Burju goodness

*Fashion Stylist, Stacy Armand, with Designer, Burju Perez

*Designer Burju Perez w/ TV Host, Alexi Panos

*More Burju Shoes

*Brooke Johnston (Former Miss UK / Actress) w/ friend Tinka Milinovic (European Popstar)

*Me in a pair of Silver Metalic flower-adorned Burju Shoes, and please allow me to be the Case Study of the evening: I wore these shoes from about 5pm – 11pm without sitting down once (these are 3″ heels) and I still felt like I was walking on water by the end of the night. And I have problem feet! I am Alyson Campbell, I have wide feet, and I endorse this message!

*Photos couresty of Belkis Carrasco

[Alyson Campbell for It's All Very PR]

Though there were a series of panels each day that intrigued me (including: Art & Social Media, The Social Media Communications Summit, Launching  a Media Brand from Scratch, and Digital Hip-Hop), a demanding week forced me to partake only in the post-work festivities.

On Tuesday Night, we went to the “I Heart PR Newser” pre-Valentine’s Day soiree at Aspen and cozied up by the fire with a few of our favorite PR friends.  Then, I strolled down to the Next New Networks’ “New Network Party” for the launch of their Barely Political sister brand, Barely Digital.   There, I ran into (client) Amber Lee Ettinger, AKA The Obama Girl (who is part of the Barely Political family); NY Tech Meetup Organizer (and friend), Nate Westheimer; Huffington Post turned Daily Beast reporter, the lovely (Canadian!) Rachel Sklar;  Art of Talk Founder, Miss Charlie Oliver; Gary Sharma of Gary’s Guide AKA “Guy With A Red Tie”; Blogger, Nichelle Stephens; Publicist and avid event-goer, Matthew Caldecutt, among others.

*Jackie Brook (AMP3), Termeh Mazhari (AMP3) & Alyson Campbell (AMP3) @ “I heart PR Newser”
Photo Courtesy of Kelly Samardak of Media Post’s, “Just An Online Minute”

Wednesday night were the much anticipated Shorty Awards, a newly conceived awards show designed to commend the best creators of short content on Twitter, in a series of niche categories. After not securing a press pass to this event (the list was “full”), I watched the live streamed footage from home instead.  The show was hosted by none-other-than MC Hammer, and not-surprisingly, Hammer makes a killer MC!

Thursday night, me & The AMP3 Gang got dolled up for Twestival, yes that’s right, a Twitter Festival.  All proceeds went to a fantastic organization, Charity:Water, that delivers clean drinking water to underdeveloped countries.  In the end, we were collectively responsible for funding 3 more wells in Ethiopia.  All of the tweeps were out in full effect, including @UrbanAthlete, @Kibby, @socialmedium, @Andrew_Graham, @Brett, and about 600 more.  Eclectic Method finished out the night with an amazing set, mashing up classic TV and film moments (with help of several giant big screens) into the music.

*Jackie & I with two Mashable fans
Photo Courtesy of Kelly Samardak of Media Post’s, “Just An Online Minute”

Unfortunately, I was missing in action on closing night (Friday), but read via Twitter that the DJ was an awesome, interactive one, accepting song requests via SMS text message.  Oh the techieness of it all…

Though it’s starting to feel like every week is Social Media Week, I’m already looking forward to the next official one.

[Alyson Campbell for It's All Very PR]

After some initial mingling, Jeff Jarvis took the stage to give us the speed-talking version of the book with accompanying slides (to which he cursed the PC they were using more than once with, “Get a MAC, people!“). Immediately, a fury of tweets began to hit the twitter waves, as fellow attendees transcribed their favorite quotes almost as fast as Jarvis could spit them out.

Basically, the book focuses on the idea of using Google as a success model for ways we should all be implementing our own businesses, careers and lives, by exploring a better philosophy for the consumption of information.

Choice quotes from Jarvis included:

• “We all want to create. 81% of Americans think they have a book in them, thank god they don’t all come out”
• “Facebook is a close competitor to Google. They could lose though, they could pull a Friendster”
• “How many people wish that Google owned their cable company?” (crowd woo’s)
• “Life is a Beta”
• “Middlemen are dead”
• “Are there any Real Estate Agents in the audience…?” (silence follows) “Good, I f’n HATE real estate agents.”
• “I believe firmly that there’s a market demand for news…I believe in the future of news.  I teach journalism.”

…and the best doozie of the evening, “Public Relations is hopeless.” OUCH!  With power in numbers, 3 of us publicists surrounded him after the speech to ask him why PR is so hopeless, to which he responded, “It’s not the publicists that are hopeless it’s the clients of PR that are” (and I omitted an expletive here).  Well, hey – the man thinks fast on his feet!

*Jeff Jarvis with blogger/journalist, Maegan Carberry

*Jeff Jarvis giving his speech, standing up on a safety hazzard waiting to happen.

[Alyson Campbell for It's All Very PR]

Redbook, Shape, Star Magazine, The New York Daily News, The New York Times, and now, The NY Post with her Page Six “Six & The City” Column–these are all publications that Celebrity Gossip Columnist, Kelly Will, has written for during her impressive and inspiring career.

This is definitely my longest blog post by far (I know: tisk, tisk), but I was so thoroughly interested in Kelly’s perspective, career, and the various topics we touched upon, that I decided I’d keep it all in for those who are interested, too.

If you aren’t up for the full read, here are the cliff notes: Kelly Will is awesome. She created her own career from the ground up by following her gut and making conscious choices to pursue her dreams. There was little sleep involved (I was exhausted just listening to it), but what we’ve learned is that hard work pays off and sets you up for a lifestyle to envy later on.

This interview is going to be revealed in TWO PARTS, as we chat about Celebrity Gossip, Travel, Social Media, and life as a Freelancer.

[Big thanks to @JoAnaSwan for transcribing this interview!]

PART 1 – Making It Happen:

Alyson Campbell: So Kelly, you’re a celebrity gossip columnist. How do you keep up? Where do you get the bulk of your tips? Through friends & warm contacts? Is that successful for you?

Kelly Will : Definitely. I believe that you’re only as good as your warm contacts. I could not do this job without all those people who get that “tips” email reminder from me every month. So many people contact me with simple sightings, even a publicist who isn’t repping Kevin Bacon will see Kevin Bacon crossing the street in SoHo and tell me “He was running into such and such restaurant,” and that’s the simplest way that I get a great sighting without physically being everywhere at what time [which is nearly impossible]. Plus, I’m turning 30 this year and I really wanted to transition into a place where I don’t have to go out every single night. You don’t have to see me at Rose Bar and the next night at Beatrice and maybe one night at Gold Bar and another night at Marquee. I know people and if something “big” happens I’m confident someone will let me know “this happened.” Also, I really count on all my PR contacts as far as my celebrity interviews go. It’s amazing how generous and willing people are to get the celebrity to talk to me. If I can have five minutes with a celebrity on my own without other reporters’ microphones coming in, then it usually can become an item and I can thank the publicist by making sure its properly stated where the celebrity was, what the event was for, who was involved, and it’s a really nice synergistic relationship. As a good gossip columnist in New York City, if you can’t help your publicist friends then they will not help you.

AC: So not just as a publicist, but as a reporter too, it’s who you know, and you just sprawl out across many circles?

KW: Yes, any opportunity to meet new people (as long as I have the energy and I’m not completely exhausted), I will make the effort to exchange business cards and just say “Hi, this is what I do.” Every week I have three sightings available that are open for restaurants in the city. You know, the restaurant publicists, I don’t think they quite realize that I’d love to have every restaurant publicist in the city know me, because people love to go out and eat, celebrities love to go out and eat! It’s just a simple sighting and it’s not invasive; that’s what’s great about sightings is that they’re not invasive. A lot of people are still so worried about the negative gossip column item and I completely understand that so for the most part I try to be as positive as possible cause karma’s a b*tch! And, I want good karma!

AC: Well that is something I’m sure that celebrities are happy to hear from you…

KW: Yeah, you’ll never see me do a mean celebrity interview…never…ever. You’ll never see me making up quotes from a celebrity to make them look bad ever. It’s all on the record and its all positive. About once a week I do have one great gossip item that is not an interview with a celebrity and that definitely might not be great for my karma but I believe some celebrities deserve it if they’re going to pull the things they pull.

AC: And some of them know that they’re pulling these things. Some of them do still believe that ‘all press is good press and they’re just happy that they’re in your column whether it’s negative (KW: Right, the younger celebrities especially)…or the socialite crowd, I’m sure they always love getting called out?

KW: Oh yes definitely. All press is good press in that arena.

AC: So, you said you transitioned into freelancing about 3 years ago? How did you get to that place?

KW: I started my career as an Elementary Education Major at Indiana University, in the good ol’ Midwest. I grew up outside of Chicago so I lived in the city throughout childhood and I thought to myself, “I don’t want to go back to Chicago after graduating.” My friends were coming to New York so we all decided on graduation day that we would move to NYC together. We slept on couches for a couple weeks. A couple of us got apartments together and I got a job as an assistant at Redbook Magazine at Hearst. Hearst is a wonderful company, they really take care of their employees, and you’re not a number to them at all. From Hearst, my boss took me with her to Shape Magazine, and while at Shape I met Bonnie Fuller. She had just come on to Star Magazine from US Weekly and had just renovated US WEEKLY into the pink and magenta glorious animal that it now looks like today, that Janice Min has taken over. Bonnie met me and she needed a new assistant and we just really clicked.

AC: So, what was your big break? How did you make the leap from assistant to reporter?

KW: I will never forget it. I got a tip that Britney Spears was performing at the old Limelight (which at the time was called Avalon) and I thought “Wow, I’m just gonna go down there and see.” I was still at Shape at the time, and I leaned against the stage for an hour and had a drink with one of my friends and all of the sudden Britney Spears decided to surprise everyone! It was Britney Spears, “Out all Night on MTV.” I happened to be there and happened to have a camera and I took photos; I was inches away from her! Bonnie had only been at the magazine for a month or so at the time and she ran the photos. Star Magazine actually paid me for the photos because they were really good shots, and they ran my reporting on Britney, too. I had a job offer the next week. I definitely look back at that moment, my choice to go to that concert after I had gotten the tip, and I remember consciously making a decision. In my head I was thinking, “I have a feeling if something good happens here, this will change my entire career.” At the time, I had been in New York for almost a year, so I was still pretty new and I was willing to do anything to get ahead.

AC: That is so inspiring! Good ‘ol Britney, she’s probably made a few careers happen in her day! I remember when I first started to hear your name around town, that you were officially reporting at Star Magazine. So were you at Star for a while and then The New York Daily News?

KW: It was a huge transition actually. I’m really willing to share this story now because (especially in this economy) so many people are going through it and it’s a very difficult thing when you get laid off from a job… I was Bonnie’s executive assistant for over a year, I was promoted, she made me an editor, she was a wonderful boss, and we had a great relationship. I truly admired her and respected her and still do. I was an editor for a year and then suddenly I was laid off in just a regular slew of like 10 people that were also cut. I remember I didn’t cry that night, but I went home and called my mom and she was so upset. She said “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe this is happening to you,” and I was like “It’s going to be ok, Mom.” I signed up for unemployment the next day because I just didn’t know how I would pay for my New York City bills without having a job. I decided I was going to take the summer off because I did had some money in savings. I took a few weeks to really figure out what I wanted to do. To be honest, I did a lot of soul searching that summer.

AC: So, without realizing it, you almost needed that break?

KW: Yeah, I mean I had worked 80 hours a week for almost 3 years straight. Star was a great place, and a wonderful learning experience and I would do it again, I would definitely do it again. It was also a truly exhausting experience. I was going out all night long and I was partying with THE celebrities of the moment. Marquee had just opened, and it was a SCENE. Every night you ended up at Bungalow 8 and maybe you got in somebody’s SUV and went to an after-party. It was just the time of your life in your mid twenties to be having. It also just sucked the life out of me. When I was let go it gave me a reason to sit still and realize how exhausted I was because you just go, go, go and you don’t think about it. So yes, it took a lot of soul searching to figure out who I was. I thought I was defined by my work because I had labeled myself as a “Bonnie minion”, a person that Bonnie Fuller had created, and I had to recreate my own image of who I could be, now that I was on my own.

Gosh, it took a lot of work, but when you’re getting near the end of unemployment and you’ think “Oh my gosh, I still don’t have a job, what am I gonna do,” you push yourself. I interviewed for a lot of PR jobs because everybody said I should do PR. I actually got a lot of offers and with every single one, I found a reason to turn it down, even though I desperately needed a job. I kept telling myself “C’mon, your name, people are forgetting who you are,” and I was still going out often specifically because I didn’t want people to forget who I was. You think it’s so important to keep your name out there. It was really getting near the end and finally a really good friend of mine said: “You can do anything you want and why aren’t you thinking: ‘I can freelance, I can do this on my own, I can run my own business’.” And that was the turning point. I said, “You know what? Wait a second I can, and I will.”

It was my good friend Jared Shapiro at Life & Style Weekly, he was Bonnie’s assistant right before I was. We had a great friendship throughout the Star years together and he went to Life & Style and he said “I’ll help you.” He supported me and to this day I still do a little work with Jared at Life & Style. He was the start of my freelancing career and I can give him a lot of the credit for that. He helped me out when I really needed it. One thing built on another, and because I had been friends with Ben Widdicombe (of Gatecrasher at the New York Daily News) and he needed a filler (Laura Schreffler was going to be out and I was friends with Laura), he asked if I could do it and I said “ I guess I could!” So, I agreed and thought “What the heck, its been a good summer, and I should just make the summer even better.”

Ben & I ended up working out a deal that I would do the gossip column once every other week and it was completely part-time. I felt like I was helping him out and he was helping me out. He has become a great friend of mine, he’s such a funny person, a nice guy and so smart. Even on days when we thought “Wow, a daily column is a killer, to come up with three celebrity items plus 3 full sightings every single day, five days a week!” I give him so much credit for doing that for so many years. There were days that his writing was so sharp, so witty, so funny, that it was an unreal column. That tone will forever be lacking. I doubt anyone can ever compete with that Ben Widdicombe tone. I just remember a lot of his one liner jokes in the column, and I never would have come up with them. He can take full credit for all the good writing in that column.

Soon, a friend of mine recommended me to The New York Times, to Ben’s friend Horatio Silva, and he wanted me to do a daily column from Sundance last year, so I did that and the Daily News and was still working with Jared at Life & Style. It was a great time. But, there was no sleep involved.

AC: When you were working at that many publications at one time, how did you decide who you would give which lead story to?

KC: I think most people look at it as such a difficult task. As a writer who’s sort of immersed in it, it jumps out at you what’s going to work for which publication. There’s just a certain thing that each outlet wants. For example, the New York Times obviously has a very different tone than a small item for Ben (in the Daily News). So, I actually did a lot of movie coverage for the NYT, where I would interview the celebrities featured in the movie, and we would really talk about the movie. In a gossip column there’s not a lot of room to talk about the project someone’s working on, sadly. I’m happy to mention it. I’ll always mention the project, and the place. The important stuff is always going to be there. The real meat of the item, though, is going to be something about the person or their attachment to another celebrity. Unfortunately, while I’d love to focus on the projects of each celebrity, what sells is celebrities tied to other celebrities and celebrity gossip. People want to know the insides of celebrity life. At the same time, Ben decided he was going to let go of the Daily News, so it sort of worked out with perfect timing, and I could take a little bit of a break and not work quite as hard. I decided this summer that I was going to learn how to live a little bit more frugally, travel all over the world and not work SO hard. So, I did a lot of traveling.

AC: I think I need to learn from you on that one, I would like to do that.

KW: Yeah, I did 16 countries in 15 months. I am very proud of that number. It was really my goal, and to do it on a budget too. Having a great experience on a budget.

AC: Did you go to Greece?

KW: I did, it’s actually one of my favorite places in the world.

AC: Greece is the best. I did the Greek Islands a couple of summers ago. Now, I know I should go explore other places, I should go see the rest of the world, but all I want to do is go back to the Greek Islands.

KW: Greece is on my top list of travel spots! It’s on my American Airlines homepage, I keep an eye out for big Airline deals, and anytime there is, Greece is #1! It’s a beautiful country; I can’t say enough about the whole country of Greece, I love it. When it comes to traveling, people say “Well, did you do this club in Paris?” and I’m just like no, that is the opposite of what I do when I travel. I truly am the opposite of my personality in New York. I climb the volcanoes, I hike to the top of mountains, I do silly things like jumping off cliffs in Croatia. I do active, fun, adventurous things. I want to experience it as much as a local and as least like a tourist as possible. I just want to soak it in. I can never guarantee I’ll be back to any one place so I just want to take it all in.

AC: Well I mean, being out at the club all night and then being exhausted, you can do that in New York and once you’re in a dark enclosed space with a DJ, it’s all the same thing, so it makes sense to see the sights. Very cool. Thanks Kelly!

Stay tuned for Part 2 of our interview, where we talk about the evolution of media and where Kelly Will is today!

*Kelly Will at an event in Los Angeles.

[Alyson Campbell for It's All Very PR]

We started out at Chef Ji Cha’s event held at Mercury Bar, complete with drink & food specials (in true chef taste) and multiple big-screens boasting the dramatic season opener.  As a little girl, Ji grew up above her father’s restaurant on 57th Street, so both cooking and Hell’s Kitchen were two things that were never too far out of her reach.

Ji, one of this year’s 16 contestants, schooled all of her colleagues in round one where they were asked to prepare their “signature dish.”  Head Chef, Chef Gordon Ramsay, known for his strict reign in the kitchen, actually went as far as to say that he “loved” Ji’s signature dish (unlike many of the others which he wouldn’t even give the dignity of swallowing!).

*Hell’s Kitchen Contestant, Chef Ji Cha, with AMP3 PR’s Jackie Brook

Next, we headed over to Chef Seth’s screening party just blocks away at Hudson Terrace, where we caught the ending of the episode.  Seth winds up on the losing team of the challenge and is among the 2 nominated for elimination on night one.  At the party, as they were showing this suspenseful moment, Seth stood at stage right in the dark while the dramatic tv music intensified.  Ultimately, Seth’s opponent, Chef Wil got sent home instead, and as this was announced, Seth took the stage with a Rocky-style victory dance to the mass applause of his hometown friends and fans.

*Hell’s Kitchen Contestant, Chef Seth Levine, with AMP3 PR’s Jackie Brook

The prize for this season is a quarter of a million dollars PLUS the position of Head Chef at The Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa in Atlantic City.   Our money is on Chef Ji!  Tune in Thursday nights at 9PM ET on FOX as the race continues.

[Alyson Campbell for It's All Very PR]

Alyson Campbell: Tell us what you cover at THR?
Georg Szalai: I mainly cover business and financial news from big media and entertainment companies (Time Warner, News Corp., Viacom, CBS, etc.), satellite TV companies and any other business news and trends in the industry that I may notice. Anyone still awake? (I know friends would prefer I covered celebrities, but I love what I do). Plus, I’ll cover NY conferences, events and news as needed.

AC: So obviously, you deal with publicists in your day-to-day affairs. How many pitches do you get a day?
GS: I probably get 3-10 pitches on an average day and 200-plus other emails.

AC: Do the pitches you receive tend to be on topic?
GS: It’s about 50:50. Sometimes people just throw out pitches with the apparent hope that we may care. But too often they are either glamor-focused (as in: J-Lo wore a dress from xyz at this premiere last night, which doesn’t interest us as a business-to-business publication) or about small companies that don’t have a compelling story and hook (e.g. if a small Web company is helping big media giants sell TV ads, they better have a major success story to tell that we can showcase with numbers. Just saying they are cool and fun and good isn’t enough).

AC: What makes a good pitch in your eyes?
GS: I like email pitches that have a clear story angle and fit thr angle into larger trends and developments (e.g.: here is a company that is growing despite the recession and here is why, or: Obama has promised to push “green” technologies, and here is a film studio that is overhauling its operations to abolish all greenhouse gas output within 3 years.)

AC: What do you love & hate about PR?
GS: I love it when I have worked with PR people for a while and we understand each others’ needs and interests. I hate it when someone new calls me to say they have a great story and they only need 5 minutes to explain why. Hey, I don’t even have 5 minutes to get a coffee, and please, let me decide if a story is great or not (or let me believe I decide).

AC: With the changing landscape of the traditional media, is it part of your job requirement to embrace social media / new media in your day-to-day efforts?
GS: Our readers care about new media more and more, and a growing number of them work in new media. So, I feel I must learn about it, cover it and also use it in our reporting at times.

AC: So what do you use? Facebook?
GS: Yes, I sometimes post questions for THR or freelance stories I am working on in my Facebook status line…in case a friend has a tip or thought.

AC: What about Twitter?
GS: I scoured Twitter as part of our Obama inauguration coverage this week. Otherwise, I will explore it more in the near future. Alyson, you are definitely the one person suggesting the most that I use Twitter more to learn about latest developments that may not be in the offline mainstream yet, so I’ll work on it.

AC: I know, you would think I do PR for Twitter. So, do you mind being approached from a professional standpoint on personal networks? For example, being pitched via a Facebook message?
GS: I prefer email, but am not opposed to a network approach, especially if it’s a sensitive issue someone may not want to discuss via email.

LIGHTNING ROUND:

Favorite time of Day? Evening, when I catch up on more email & memos via Blackberry from home or see sources/friends.

Mustard or Ketchup? Ketchup…and lots of it.

If you didn’t live in NYC, where would you live? Berlin or London.

Favorite sport? Rugby. I love the team I play for – the Village Lions RFC.

Fav blog or online pub to read? I love the Wall Street Journal and The Economist – online and offline.

Blackberry or iPhone? Blackberry. Less fancy, more efficient for typing.

Mac or PC? Either way…as long as I get broadband.

Favorite NYC restaurant? I can’t believe Florent closed. I also love Q2, a Thai place in midtown West.

What’s your vice? Lack of sleep – because there always seems to be something interesting or fun going on.

PR: Yay or Nay? I often feel like other journalists I know: Can’t live with PR, can’t live without it.

Thanks to Georg for contributing to this week’s edition of “Meet The Press” and for the delicious pineapple-coconut mojito!

[Alyson Campbell for It's All Very PR]

[Alyson Campbell for It's All Very PR]

Complete with indulgent catering provided by Elegant Affairs (think: chocolate covered strawberries, fondue, mini heart-shaped sandwiches, and almond-encrusted white chocolate on a stick), the evening was held at the Gibson Guitar Room in Hell’s Kitchen, where Robin was set to sign an authentic Gibson Guitar for give-away and to perform live for the crowd, after the reveal of his new 1-800-Flowers product.

Unsure of what to expect, the room was filled with familiar faces including: NY Post / Page Six Magazine’s gossip editor, Kelly Will (whom I had just interviewed moments before, stay tuned for that blog); TV & Fitness Editor of OK! Magazine, Delaina Dixon; Gossip Editor for the NY Daily News, Shallon Lester; William Morris Agency Rep, Strand Conover; Dating Expert & Host of NBC Digital’s “On Dating” (who gave Termeh & I some firsthand advice for this Valentine’s Day), Andrea Syrtash; and most notably, “Shaggy The Dog.”

Termeh, my colleague at AMP3 and also the Editor-in-Chief at New York Buzz impressed me to no end last night. Not only did she jump at the chance for a photo opp with the Robin Thicke (as he posed with a bouquet of flowers and exclaimed, “Hey – I need a lady friend in this photo,“), but she also snagged talk time (filmed by yours truly) on the Red Carpet, to ask Robin about his favorite romantic locations in NYC (see New York Buzz for details).

Robin’s live spot was truly impressive. The guy sings (or should I say swoons) 90% of his songs in his falsetto, which is just simply amazing. He is truly a gifted singer/songwriter, and not surprisingly the son of actor, Alan Thicke (Read: played the father on 80’s / 90’s sitcom “Growing Pains”), they certainly do look alike.

The night was complete with a fantastic gift bag complete with a $100 Gift Certificate to 1-800-Flowers (thank you!) and some delectable chocolates & sweets (which were already devoured before I got a chance to write this blog).

Kudos to Robin Thicke! And here’s to getting Valentine’s Day started early this year! XO.

[Alyson Campbell for It's All Very PR]