All the Me's (My First Touchcast)

I've started experimenting with Touchcast, a new software tool that allows you to do some really fascinating things with interactive video. It allows individuals to create some pretty professional looking videos, but what's really ingenious about is that all of the graphics that you bring into the video, pictures, charts, web pages, anything, are all interactive.The viewer can touch or click on them, and be pulled into that graphic.

It really is an amazing little program. They have a free version for iPad, and now a desktop version, too. The first time I saw it was back in May, when we made a pilot in the WSJLive studio with a more advanced rig, a touchscreen desktop computer. As cool as it is to watch, I think it's even more impressive to see it on the other side. At the time, I compared it to, as an anchor of a show, going from driving a Malibu to driving a Maserati. The picture above I took is actually the monitor, with my own reflection in it.

To get the full flavor of it, you'll have to watch the video on Touchcast's site. Here's the link to my channel. This is the first one I produced on my own. It's a goofy little thing about all the other people I found on through the web named Paul Vigna; you can get an idea of how powerful this technology can be.

Hopefully, I'll do more and better ones as I get more used to the technology.

'Gold Rush' Days

Jack and Todd Hoffman of the reality-TV show "Gold Rush" did the media circuit in the city today to promote the program's new season, and one of their stops was my show (it's nice to know we're on the publicist's list of stops).

I'll be honest, I thought I asked some pretty good questions, and I thought their answers were also very good, very illuminating. Sharp guys.

I had a lot of fun with this one.

William Shatner on the Euro Crisis and the Best Trek Movie

Here's one of the Markets Hub shows from October 2011, when we were surprised on the set by William Shatner. Click in at the 15-minute mark to get an idea of what we were talking about before Shatner came on. He comes on set at the 16-minute mark.

Back then the shows were a half-hour (they're only 20 minutes now) and we had two anchors. So Michael Casey and I were interviewing Shira Ovide about banks in the U.S. and Europe when who do I see getting mic'd up on the set, but William Shatner. I think to myself, wow, William Shatner's here. But I'm wondering where he's going (you can see at one point in that 15-minute frame where it becomes obvious I've noticed him). I didn't think he was coming onto my show.

That's because Shatner was not scheduled to be on the show.