In addition to posting here, I am a member of VibrantNation.com’s blog circle. VN stumbled upon 482gr8 and invited me to repost things over there. It’s been a wonderful way for me to “cyber meet” new people who have interests similar to mine. And the folks who work at VN have been so kind and patient as I navigate and learn my way around the blogosphere.
Last week VibrantNation sent me and its other “fitness bloggers” an invitation. Jane Fonda was going on Ustream to promote her new fitness videos. Would I be interested in submitting questions for her to answer? Gee, VibrantNation, I’ll have to get back with you on that. Actually I couldn’t say “yes” fast enough.
The next morning I received my instructions for that evening’s event. I would need an AOL AIM account. (What’s that?) I needed to log on to that account a few minutes prior to video stream and submit my questions. Then I would toggle over to Ustream to watch everything (what’s Ustream?) I had much to learn and very little time to master this. After all, it was a work day and I was expected at the office. In Jane’s early fitness videos she encouraged us to “feel the burn.” I felt the burn that morning, but it was heartburn from having no clue about instant messaging, chat rooms, streaming video, etc. But I was determined to learn.
So before leaving for work I fumbled around and managed to set up the AOL AIM account. Then I sped off to the office wondering what profound question I would ask Jane. Once back at home that evening I Googled Jane Fonda to check out her new videos. She looks fanstastic…and she’s 72 years old. Her target audience is women 50+. The video trailers made the routines appear perfect for women who want to work on light resistance training, flexibility and balance. Not having seen the videos in their entirety, I can’t possibly provide a review, but I was impressed with the trailer.
Bridget, a very kind soul, was working on this project behind the scenes. That day she took not one, but two calls from me. I needed voice-to-voice conversations to make sure I understood all of the instructions about how to connect to the correct chat, etc. I IMed my question to Bridget, toggled over to Ustream and waited to see if my question would be read allowed by the moderator, Lisa Nova.
After a few minutes of technical glitches, the streaming was on and there sat Jane Fonda. After some banter between her and Lisa, Lisa read a question off of her computer monitor. It wasn’t mine. Oh well. It wasn’t long though before Lisa said, “And here’s a question from Pam Brown in Nashville, Tennessee…oh and she blogs at…” Lisa stumbled over my little blog’s name, but she gave me a plug. Bless her! In my question I acknowledged that it had been a while since Jane had released a fitness video and I wanted to know why she felt now was the time to re-enter the market. Jane commented that I’d asked a great question (why, thank you) and mentioned she loved Nashville (doesn’t everyone?).
I was so busy screaming and calling my friend Lynn who was also watching Ustream, that I didn’t catch the complete answer. But I did hear Jane say that the fitness industry hasn’t shown an interest in women who are 50 and older and she wanted to address this. Good answer, Jane.
The remaining questions ran the gamut. In my opinion, Jane’s answers were spot-on. Because folks were instant messaging the questions in real-time, there was no way she had time to prepare her responses. She was clearly answering on the fly and she knows what she’s talking about. One person asked for Jane’s opinion about the childhood obesity epidemic and what could be done to reverse it. Her response? She said adults have to set the example. Go, Jane!
What fun! That was my first experience cyber-interviewing a celebrity. I learned some new things and I had a ball. I’m grateful to VibrantNation.com and to Jane Fonda and her peeps for the opportunity.
As a 49-year-old, I feel so fortunate that there are people in the world like Jane Fonda who are redefining aging. And I’m not talking only about celebrities. Go to your local gym and you are likely to find women in their 50s, 60s and 70s who are downright hot. I know there are women like that at my gym. And there are plenty of silver foxes of the male persuasion as well. These folks move through life with a poise and confidence that comes from taking great care of themselves.
I want to be one of them. I am becoming one of them. I hope you’ll join me.
482gr8 
Media is all so controlled now, most don’t realize how big a deal it is that there was no way to script this, and she did it anyway. Speaks to her credibility i think.
Agreed. I was really impressed. And she wasn’t looking at the computer monitor to pick and choose which questions would be asked.