Reality Check with Craig Price

Janice Levenhagen-Seeley (@ChickTechOrg on twitter) joins host Craig Price to discuss her non-profit ChickTech.  What is ChickTech? It is a nonprofit dedicated to retaining women in the technology workforce and increasing the number of women and girls pursuing technology-based careers. Craig and Janice discuss how their programs not only develop the skills women need in tech but also a sense of accomplishment and self-confidence. They also discuss the realities of the "Good Ol' Boys" network, unconscious bias in the workplace and how you can find a local chapter or create one of your own. They also talk about using culture training and assessments to identify issues many organization may not even realize exist.

For more information on how you can participate or donate, go to http://chicktech.org 

Alan Cerny (@NordlingCS on twitter) returns with host Craig Price for part 2 of their preview of the 2016 Summer Movies for July and August.  It's been a busy summer so far for movies. Craig and Alan discuss a full slate of movies coming out as well as talk about why Ghostbusters is a reboot instead of a sequel. They also discuss if Suicide Squad will be more fun than Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice and their love of Spielberg and John Williams.

Movies in this episode include (with scheduled release dates):

July 1: The BFG

July 1: The Legend of Tarzan

July 8: The Secret Lives of Pets

July 15: Ghostbusters

July 22: Star Trek Beyond

July 22: Ice Age 5

July 29: Jason Bourne

August 5: Suicide Squad

August 12: Sausage Fest

August 12: Pete's Dragon

We’ll be sure to add Alan’s reviews from ComingSoon.net as he writes them.

James Morrison with the FBI Houston Division joins host Craig Price to discuss cyber crime. As a computer scientist, James has had to deal with many complex problems and solve many issues but nothing as mind boggling as Comicpalooza and Craig.  The two bravely sit down in the Houston heat and humidity to discuss ransomware, the importance of backing files up, why criminals are more interested in your medical records than files on your hard drive and what you can do to prevent problems in the future. It is all part of Comicpalooza's Science-Fiction/Science-Faction educational track which happened in Houston June 17th through June 19th.  It was an amazing event and Craig even gives a quick rundown of the weekend where he had a surprise hosting assignment with actress Tara Reid! It's a great way to celebrate 200 episodes.

Reality Check was a proud member of the 2016 Comicpalooza Podcast Partnership Program which arranged this interview and a few more to come.

Phil Gerbyshak (@PhilGerb on twitter) returns to discuss website effectiveness with host Craig Price. We all have websites. Some spend thousands of dollars to have the latest and greatest sites with all the bells and whistles. And yet, they wonder why no one picks up the phone or emails them to make a sale. It might be because, while your site may look amazing, it doesn't really say anything or show off your talents, programs or expertise. Phil has teamed up with past guest Eliz Greene to create a training program called  Lookers2Bookers.com which helps businesses assess and develop better websites that close business and generates sales. Phil and Craig talk simple mistakes most websites make (contact info anyone??), the differences between lead pages and home pages, why keywords are important to the reader and how to generate traffic to the beautiful temple you have created online.

You can find more about their program at Lookers2Bookers.com and look4book (see what I did there?) later this month.

APP BONUS: Download a website self-assessment worksheet and see if your site needs help today!

Jess Todtfeld (@MediaJess on twitter) joins host Craig Price to discuss media training. Getting on TV can be quite the mystery. Thankfully, Craig has Jess Todtfeld of Success in Media, Inc.  walk him through contacting media outlets, how to pitch producers and even how to behave once you are on. Yes, Marco Rubio is mentioned. Jess also talks about the importance of converting interviews so they are not just snapshots of publicity but revenue funnels that can help your business.

You can learn more about Jess at http://jesstodtfeld.com and http://successinmedia.com

Reality Check with Craig Price has been nominated for Best Business Podcast!

Starting May 29th, please go to PodcastAwards.com and vote for Reality Check with Craig Price everyday until June 12th. There is some tough competition in this category and every vote is needed! Thanks to all the listeners who nominated the podcast, without you, the listeners, this would just be me talking to strangers for no reason!

Cary Gordon (@comicpalooza on twitter) joins host Craig Price to discuss social media marketing for Comicpalooza.  As part of the Comicpalooza Podcast Partnership Program, Craig invited Cary, comic con's Social Media Coordinator, to sit down and talk how he and his team work their social media magic for Texas’ largest pop culture event.  The two discuss how far in advance the planning begins (hint: the day after the last one!) which platforms work best for interacting with attendees, how they prep announcements of big guests and more.

You can also listen to Cary's 2 podcasts: Metal Geeks and MSRcast. Both can be found at http://metalgeeks.net

Alan Cerny (@NordlingCS on twitter) returns with host Craig Price to preview the 2016 Summer Movies for May and June.  If it's may it must be a movie preview podcast! Craig and Alan discuss a full slate of movies coming out as well as talk about Craig's arbitrary movie ratings that range from Must See in Theater to Wait for it on HBO. They also talk about Captain America: Civil War while trying not to turn the discussion into an anti-Batman v. Superman rant as well as Alan's set visit to Independence Day 2: Resurgence.

Movies in this episode include (with scheduled release dates):

Out now: Captain America: Civil War

May 20: Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising

May 20: Angry Birds

May 20: The Nice Guys

May 27: Alice in Wonderland: Through the Looking Glass

May 27: X-Men:Apocalypse

June 3: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2

June 3: Pop Star: Never Stop Never Stopping

June 10: Warcraft

June 10: The Conjuring 2: The Enfield Project

June 10: Now You See Me: The Second Act

June 17: Finding Dory

June 24: Independence Day 2: Resurgence

We'll be sure to add Alan's reviews from ComingSoon.net as he writes them.

Jennifer Husband and Leyel Hudson of Blue Sun Interpreting (@comicconterp on twitter) sit with host Craig Price to discuss sign language interpreting.  Kicking off the 2016 Comic-Con season in Texas, Craig brings the first of his Comicpalooza Podcast Partnership Program episodes with some great "co-workers".  Craig first met Jennifer and Leyel during his panel with actor David Anders and was so impressed that he also made sure to call them out in his Ming Chen panel that fall at FanFair. The three talk about dealing with celebrities that ramble (Bill Shatner), celebrities that are super cool and interactive (John Barrowman) and how to deal with nerd words that don't exist in the "real" world. They also discuss their own mini-convention Deaf Con that will be happening May 7th!  But mostly they geek out over upcoming cons and celebrities. They also discuss their latest venture Blue Sun Interpreting.  Blue Sun Interpreting is dedicated to providing qualified, certified, knowledgeable, professional American Sign Language (ASL) interpreting services for comic conventions and other events in order to provide communication access for Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals. Not only does Comicpalooza stand behind these great interpreters but Reality Check and Craig endorse them wholeheartedly.

You can find Blue Sun Interpreting at https://www.facebook.com/comicconterp/ and on Instagram at http://instagram.com/comiccon.terp

BONUS: For the first time ever, this episode of Reality Check has been transcribed to provide access to any non-hearing folks! Just click here to download the PDF or download the app!

This week, host Craig Price offers up a bonus episode spotlighting Cigar PEG Radio.  What is Cigar PEG Radio? It's a weekly podcast Craig has been producing and hosting for the past few years for the charity Cigar PEG. The podcast is a way for people to get excited and learn more about the Cigar PEG charity auction, which this year will be July 24th in Phoenix, where they will auction of celebrities to raise money for charities like the NSA Foundation and Laura's Hope.

What is Cigar PEG?

It's a 501(c)3 charity founded by Ed Rigsbee dedicated to making a difference by employing "Philanthropy through Fun." Cigar PEG Radio is the podcasting project where each week Ed assigns Craig a mission. Maybe it's to introduce listeners to some of the Cigar PEG staff or to some of their High Roller contributors. Maybe it's one of their many donors who support them year after year; maybe it's just for fun! But just like Cigar PEG itself, they hope you have fun and learn something new.

This year's theme is "community" and Ed has instructed Craig to get to know some of the great and smart Cigar PEG folks, like the spotlighted guest in this bonus episode Rich Gasaway. Rich is a retired fire chief who now spends his time consulting and teaching organizations how individuals, teams and organizations make decisions in stressful environments. You can learn more about Rich at his website http://www.SAMatters.com

You can learn all about Cigar PEG at their website http://cigarpeg.com and you can join their Facebook and their LinkedIn groups as well as subscribing to iTunes to make sure you don't miss an episode.

Karin Hurt and David Dye (@letsgrowleaders and @daviddye on twitter) join host Craig Price to discuss their management book Winning Well.  Being a manager is tough enough but inevitably something will come up that will try and beat you down on the job. Be it disloyal employees, bosses with no ability to self-assess themselves or just folks who can't give or take feedback well, something is always around the corner. With their new book Winning Well: A Manager's Guide to Getting Results---Without Losing Your Soul Karin and David have your back. This well written book details how to deal with issues with actual action plans not just fluffy best case scenarios. Craig, David and Karin talk about trust, respect and how to treat people so they remain productive. Craig brings up Charlie Sheen, bad bosses and how to overcome a breach in trust from upper management so it doesn't cause problems on the front line.

You can find Winning Well: A Manager's Guide to Getting Results---Without Losing Your Soul at all your major book outlets (link goes to amazon so the podcast can make a few pennies) and you can find Karin at http://letsgrowleaders.com/ and David at http://trailblazeinc.com/

APP BONUS: Karin and David have donated a great 18 page Winning Well Toolkit PDF.