Name: Ian Cahill
Bio: Content Creator and Expectant Father. Does it get better?
Title: Community Manager, RareWire
Age: 31
Thanks to our sponsor
Residence: Lee’s Summit, Mo.
Twitter: @iancahill
Linkedin: linkedin.com/iancahill
Intro music: “This Year” by the Mountain Goats
What was it about RareWire in general and the community manager position in particular that compelled you to make the jump to RareWire back in October?
Ian Cahill: I had the rare (pun intended) opportunity to not only make a career move into something that I have always been passionate about, community and social media, but I was given a chance to work with my friends on something that was still in its infancy. RareWire has a chance to grow by leaps and bounds and I am happy to be on the ground floor. I am constantly impressed not only by our technology, but the amazing talent that I work with on a daily basis. I am really lucky.
SPN: You’ve expressed excitement over the impending launch of RareWire’s company blog. What advantages does a blog present for customer outreach that traditional avenues don’t?
IC: The trend on the web these days is that information needs to be fast and compact, which is why Twitter is so successful. What is lacking though often is conviction and community. I think a blog provides a place to really tell a story and get people attached to your thoughts and ideas. Using a blog is a great way to allow people to dig a little deeper on specific topics. Blog posts don’t always have to be novels, either. They allow an open forum on specific topics that live for a little longer than other forms of social media.
SPN: As co-founder of TapTeach Apps, what’s your pitch for how an iOs app can teach — or augment the teaching of — something like baseball better than how you were taught the game once upon a time?
IC: As part of TapTeachApps we really want to drive home the fact that screens shouldn’t run our lives, they should complement them. The goal with our Sports series of Apps is to provide a starting point to teach children a sport and then take that knowledge and translate it to the sport itself, outdoors or in an active setting. We never intend our games to be used without some guidance by a parent or otherwise.
SPN: You write short stories in your spare time. What’s the CliffsNotes version of your latest project?
IC: It is about a boy and a girl who meet through a hole in a wall that separates their two cities. It’s moving I swear!
SPN: As a die-hard Kansas City Royals fan (which, in the interest of full-disclosure, I am also), what keeps you coming back season after excruciating, 100-loss season?
IC: I could spend hours waxing intellectual, moving from cliche to cliche, but at the end of the day it comes down to loyalty. I have lived in KC all my life and grew up with Royal Blue. It hasn’t always been easy, but as a season ticket holder, I feel connected to the players and the other fans. Either that or I am a fool. Take you pick.
Credits: Photo courtesy of Cahill.
Prairie Portraits: To learn more about this series, see our introduction post, or visit our archives for past Prairie Portraits. To suggest an individual for a future Prairie Portrait, contact editor@siliconprairienews.com.
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