One thing I really wanted to fit into last Friday’s TVnext event was a perspective from Jimmy Fallon.  For over a year, I’ve been telling everyone that would listen to me that Jimmy was reinventing the talk show format, involving the audience in the show to a degree that's unprecedented.  So as we were leading up to the event, we contacted Jimmy through our friends at NBC and said we’d love to do a quick  interview with him, and sent him this guide to what we’d ask:

Overall, we’re  super interested in the way The Jimmy Fallon Show seems designed for social  media interactions.  In a way, it’s the first thoroughly modern talk show  — where the talk happens not just on stage but also with the audience through  social media.

We just want to ask a few questions about how  Jimmy thinks about this as he’s working with his staff and writers each week.

So questions like:

Obviously you and your writers are trying to  do great TV first.  But how much do you think about “talk value” in  social media when you create bits like “the ballad of steven slater” or A  History of Rap.

What’s the biggest reaction you’ve gotten from  the Late Night hashtags?

Do you ever get tired of explaining what a  hashtag is?

You seem to have embraced not just the tools but  even the vibe of social media — be helpful, say thanks, be nice. Is that true,  or are we imagining that?

So we were ready for one of two responses: either yes, let's do the interview, or thanks but no thanks, let's not.

Instead we got a third response.  "Hey, Jimmy thought it might be fun if he taped a piece where we take a look into how he approaches his day, work, and the show relative to social media. Would that be ok?"

Um.  Yes.

Here it is.