As a general rule, we prefer that the Prairie Portrait interviews we publish — heck, all the interviews we publish — are, as they say in the biz, “not completely fabricated by someone other than their purported subject.”
But in the case of Prairie Portrait prodigy Hank Snider, we find ourselves compelled to bend that rule.
Hank, you see, is the 1-year-old son of Chris Snider, a Drake University professor of multimedia journalism whose social media efforts on behalf of Des Moines we have covered on occasion. Chris was the subject of Prairie Portrat in March, and shortly thereafter he came to us with an idea:
“I have a story pitch for you!” Chris wrote in an email “Prairie Portrait on my son. I think we can make this the most popular one ever …”
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Most popular ever? That’s a pretty promising pitch. And, well … who could say no to a face like Hank’s?
So, without further ado, we present an interview with the most prodigious Prairie Portrait subject ever. At an age when most kids are just learning the basics of skills like walking and talking and are still years away from reading and writing, young Mr. Snider wrote and answered his own questions (with maybe just a little help from his media-savvy pops).
Name: Henry “Hank” Snider
Bio: I’m a one-year-old (just turned 1 last month!) who spends most of my time chasing the family cat Duke around the house. My goal is to be the most popular baby on the internet. Or at least more popular than the e-trade baby. He’s my personal hero.
Title: CEO of the Nursery
Age: 1
Residence: Des Moines, Iowa (thinking about summers in Paris, though)
Facebook: facebook.com/henryandrewsnyder
Twitter: @RealBabyHank
Intro music: “Today Is Gonna Be a Great Day,” from Phineas and Ferb
“Silicon Prairie News”: I see you are on Facebook and Twitter. How would you describe your personal social media strategy?
“Hank Snider”: Basically I try to make faces and get Daddy to take a photo. Then I post the photo with some funny saying about how cute I am. This strategy might not work for ugly babies. But let’s be honest, I don’t have that problem.
SPN: Who are your social media heroes?
HS: I’m a big Chris Brogan fan. But mainly his early stuff, before he went all Google+ crazy on us. I also have Silicon Prairie News at the top of my RSS reader at all times. … Oh, this interview is for Silicon Prairie News? What a coincidence!
SPN: Any advice to babies just getting started in social media?
HS: Remember that it’s important to make connections in the real world too. Put down the iPhone once in awhile and attend a playdate or a Kindermusic event. Or just take time to talk to the other kids at daycare. Act like you care what they are rambling on about.
SPN: Can you think of any companies you would like to find this article and send you free products?
HS: Well, I love to watch television. And my cheapskate parents won’t even buy me one. #Sony #Samsung #Vizio (I’m not picky). I drink Similac forumula. Big shout-out to Pampers! I would totally pin tons of BabyBjorn products on Pinterest if dudes were allows on Pinterest (no offense, dudes on Pinterest).
SPN: What are your future social media goals?
HS: If I get bigger than Bieber, I get bigger than Bieber (Ellen Show, are you listening???). Short term, I’d just like to get enough followers to get into a sponsored tweet program. Walking seems pretty hard. I think I’d just prefer to buy a car.
Credits: Photo courtesy of Chris Snider.
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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