Alan Talaga
@danpotacke
Description (140 characters)
Jokes and musings with a decidedly Madison focus from Dan Potacke, the talk show host/alter ego of Alan Talaga, a local standup comic.
Recent tweets:
I'm glad Oprah has chosen a Jonathan Franzen book for her Book Club. That little-known author could use a boost.
Voting out Feingold in favor of Ron Johnson is like if the Miami Heat replaced Lebron & Wade with some guy who plays pick-up ball at the Y.
Shia Lebeouf is in a new Wall Street movie, what 80s property will he revive next? Mannequin III: Manneq-Depressive or Twins II: Triplets?
Alan Talaga does stand-up comedy under his real name, but on Twitter, he's known as Dan Potacke, an ill-equipped talk show host who interviews Madison's elite. He started the Twitter account in February, and planned to tweet in character (in fewer than 140 characters), but says he's not quite sure who's in charge anymore.
"You can't establish much depth or personality in 140 characters," he says.
Talaga defines Twitter as, "a service for marketing people to talk to other marketing people about marketing." Most people, he notes, are on Twitter for a purpose, as opposed to Facebook, which sort of feels like a de facto social network that people think they need to join.
Originally from Black River Falls, Talaga has lived in Madison for nine years. He started doing stand-up in college, which he says is fairly common. "It's a creative valve, and it's really the only performing art where someone interrupting you gives you material."
Talaga's Twitter account also serves as a joke journal. He'll tweet jokes he thinks of when he's out and about, which acts like a sounding board. Sometimes, however, he's concerned that a joke he's tweeted will be read the wrong way. With a comedian like Michael Ian Black, whose Twitter feed is dry and vulgar (just like Black himself), he's famous enough that people can hear his voice in his tweets. Talaga isn't there yet, so he worries sometimes.
But Twitter can be a really exciting place in which to be a creator of content. "There's a great dialog between the creators of content and the consumers of that content," he says. And Talaga's Twitter feed isn't really all that personal; it's focused on his comedy. "The whole point for me is a joke or nothing. Nobody cares about my personal life."
Talaga can be seen as Dan Potacke twice-monthly on Mondays at the Frequency. The special guests for the next show will be Shane O'Neil from Screamin' Cyn Cyn and comedian Ammar Ali. Talaga quips, "It should be an interesting cross-section of glam rock and Muslims."
Later in the month, Talaga will be opening on Tuesday, September 28. Adomian played George W. Bush in Harold and Kumar Escape Guantanamo Bay, and the event is the same day as an Obama rally, so fun times are sure to be had.
Why should you follow Alan Talaga/Dan Potacke on Twitter? "I make funny jokes about issues both local and non-local. I'm also very nice."
