Tell me about your Company, Mixergy?

Do you know how, when you hear about successful online entrepreneurs it seems like their success came easily, but when you start your own company, it feels like you’re fighting an unwinnable battle. Well, I run a site where the most successful internet entrepreneurs come to tell startups how they did it and help them get past those seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

What was your first experience of social media?

I remember when just posting my picture online seemed like an invasion of privacy. But then I slowly experimented with social media just to keep an eye on where online business was going. I finally got excited about it when I posted a link on Twitter to a Mixergy event I was hosting and people started buying tickets. Anything that leads to sales gets me fired up.

What is the biggest tip you would give to a newbie in social media?

For me, the goal is to use it well, without having it become like that office watercooler that people who hate their jobs waste all day in front of. Social media is a great way to build an audience, but it’s also a fantastic way to kill time.

What do advertisers do that you wish they wouldn’t?

Force their way into my life.

What do bloggers do that you wish they wouldn’t?

Write long posts. (Though I’m guilty of that sometimes too.)

Where do you see growth in the social media field?

I’d like to see some “unsocial media.” I don’t want everything I say, think and write to go out to the world. The default setting on too many apps is set on “share.” I miss the old MS Word Doc that sat on my computer and was kept private until I was ready to show it to the world.

What new ideas are advertisers coming up with to take advantage of new trends?

They’re having my friends advertise to me — and it often drives me nuts. I can’t stand getting all those direct messages on Twitter from the apps that my friends use. I don’t need to know that they just took a quiz or just started listening to their favorite song.

What do you do to improve the world?

Try to make money. Business people are the ultimate do-gooders, because the only way they can make money is by listening to what people want and helping them get it.

What do you do that is green?

Not a damn thing. I don’t accept this “happy clappy” view of the world that says, things will get better if only “each one of us did his part.” I could recycle everything I touched and the environment won’t substantially change.

I know what you’re thinking, “what if everyone thought like you Andrew?” Well if every thought like me, then maybe we’d have a pragmatic approach to this problem, instead of the placebo solution that makes people feel good when they recycle but doesn’t really have impact.

What is one thing about you that not many people know?

That I exist. I’m still an unknown. Frankly if I died tomorrow, I don’t think my existence will have had much of an effect on the world.

That’s why I’m building Mixergy. By helping entrepreneurs build world-changing businesses, I can build a legacy for myself.

What’s your favorite book?

I hate the title, but I love the substance of Felix Dennis’s book, How to Get Rich. He’s the founder of real companies such of Maxim, and he debunks the self-improvement industry with their gurus who’ve never had any real success.

What is on your iPod?

Lots and lots of audiobooks and podcasts. I like to learn while I run, cycle or just walk my dog.

What are your contact details (email, company, blog, facebook, myspace, forums, etc)?

It’s all on Mixergy.com and AndrewWarner.com

What events do you go to?

Mostly the ones that I speak at.

How do you prefer to communicate?

By short emails. My least favorite is voicemail. I hate waiting for someone to stop stuttering and get their message out and then having to grab a pen to write down what they said. Voicemail should die.

What is one thing people can do for you?

Use the ideas on my site to build incredible companies for themselves.

Entrepreneur Blogger and Startup Blogger Andrew Warner of Mixergy, an Interview