Reimagining Engagement: How I Helped Transform NBC’s TODAY Show’s Digital Presence

When I joined NBC News in 2010, I immediately recognized a missed opportunity to build social engagement around the TODAY Show. At the time, the digital team was primarily posting article links and quotes from the broadcast. Meanwhile, celebrity guests were tucked away in a cramped green room with little more than a television playing the show. On some days, multiple guests would gather, casually taking selfies and chatting while they waited to go on air. I remember thinking, “How are we not capitalizing on this?”

To fill that gap, I began arriving at the studio early, often before my official workday began, just to be on set capturing behind-the-scenes photos. This was exactly the kind of authentic, engaging content made for social media. However, traditional show policies at the time discouraged photography on set. I believed that mindset had to change.

Another opportunity we were missing was on the plaza during our summer concert series. Thousands of passionate fans would show up, yet hardly anyone tagged our accounts or used hashtags, mainly because they didn’t know what they were. Back then, social handles and hashtags weren’t as easily discoverable, and our ability to post signage was limited due to landlord restrictions.

A family arrives a full 24 hours early to be first in line for the Justin Bieber concert on the TODAY Show Plaza. This was one of the first photos I started the TODAY Show Instagram with.

After repeatedly raising this with leadership, I decided to take action myself. I began showing up at 3 AM, hours before the show, to meet the fans lining up for concerts. I brought handmade poster boards displaying our social handles and personally introduced myself to the crowd as the show’s social media manager. I took photos of the fans and shared them on our platforms as a way to acknowledge and thank them. This simple gesture sparked a ripple effect of reposts and comments like, “OMG, the show featured us!” Our social following grew, and eventually, there was an expectation that I would always be there to greet and document the fan experience.

From that foundation, we launched custom hashtags for each concert to help track performance and drive engagement. My colleague Melissa Blum later proposed custom VIP lanyards that included our social handles and hashtags. Fans wore them proudly, and they became a massive hit.

My colleague Melissa Blum and I are engaging with the TODAY Show crowd on the plaza before the Coldplay concert.

Eventually, the TODAY Show redesigned the studio and installed a large digital display facing the plaza to showcase hashtags and social handles to the crowd. I collaborated directly with the NBC Graphics Team on the display design and partnered with a company called Mass Relevance (now Spredfast) to enable real-time curation of social content. This allowed our control room graphics producers to feature live tweets and photos during the broadcast, making us one of the earliest adopters of this approach in live television.

The new digital display outside of Studio 1A on the TODAY Show Plaza to display social to the crowd. I worked directly with our internal graphics department and a company called Mass Relevance (Spredfast) to build this functionality.

Following our momentum on Instagram and the concert series, our social growth accelerated. When the show’s Instagram account first launched, no one wanted to take on yet another platform. But I noticed the stage manager frequently capturing beautiful photos behind the scenes. He had unmatched access and understanding of the show, so I recruited him to manage the account. His contributions helped ensure a steady stream of authentic content.

All of this progress eventually caught the attention of the show’s executive producer, who invited me into strategy meetings to reimagine the green room experience. From my very first month at NBC, I had been advocating for a more modern, content-focused space where digital creators could collaborate with guests and capture behind-the-scenes moments. This idea ultimately evolved into the “Orange Room.”

I was the original brainchild behind the TODAY Show’s Orange Room.

Although the concept shifted from its original vision, the Orange Room became a visible extension of the set with a dynamic LED wall, designed to integrate digital elements into the show. Initially intended as a vibrant hub for live streams and interactive content, it was later used more as a cutaway segment space. Occasionally, it fulfilled its purpose by featuring spontaneous guest interactions or behind-the-scenes moments, but it never fully realized the creative potential we had envisioned.

I worked with the Snapchat team and TODAY Show producers to coordinate the first-ever partnership with a major broadcast media organization to exclusively announce the TODAY Show Concert Series lineup on Snapchat.

While the Orange Room is no longer in use today and now serves as a storage area, I am still proud of the cultural and creative impact it made. It led to some of the most memorable moments in the show's digital evolution. More importantly, it proved what could happen when we challenged traditional boundaries and created space for innovation.

The sad state of the Orange Room which is now used as storage for set pieces behind the main show set.

Photographing Midnight Madness: A Lunar New Year Experience in Chinatown, New York City 2025

This year, I set out to capture the Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations in New York City's Chinatown—an event I had never covered before but always wanted to experience. While I had heard of something called Midnight Madness on the 29th, I wasn’t entirely sure what it was or where it would take place. But with my camera in hand and a sense of curiosity, I decided to find out.

The Search for Midnight Festivities

Earlier that evening, on January 28th, I was attending an event when I had the idea to drive through Chinatown to see if there was any kind of “stroke of midnight” moment to mark the new year. When I arrived on Mott Street, I stepped out of my car and wandered into a local shop filled with Lunar New Year decorations, lucky trinkets, and red envelopes. I grabbed a few confetti poppers and a Year of the Snake envelope, hoping to add a little more color to my photos.

Outside, small groups of people were lighting sparklers and setting off confetti cannons, but when I asked around about a formal celebration at midnight, no one seemed certain if anything was happening. I met a group of Chinese kids, handed them the confetti poppers, and captured some joyful shots of them celebrating.

Stumbling Into the Real Midnight Madness

After snapping a few photos and shooting some fun videos, I figured that might be all for the night and started heading back to my car. But as I began driving away, I noticed a small crowd gathering outside a building. Something told me to stop and check it out. I quickly parked, grabbed my camera bag, and ran toward the crowd—just in time to see a lion dancer emerge from the building’s doorway.

This had to be it!

And sure enough, it was. The Chinese Freemasons were kicking off Midnight Madness. One by one, four lion dancers stepped out, their elaborate costumes swaying with each movement. The energy in the air shifted as more people gathered, and soon, a spontaneous parade was underway.

The Parade Through Chinatown

With the NYPD escorting the crowd, the four lions led the way through the streets of Chinatown, trailed by a booming procession of drums and cymbals—all played from the back of a Cybertruck. Firecrackers exploded along the route, filling the air with smoke and the scent of burnt paper, while confetti rained down with each pop of a celebratory cannon.

Traffic came to a standstill as the parade moved toward the Freemasons Association on Mott Street, where the lions performed their traditional dance, weaving through the crowd as cheers erupted all around. Just before midnight, a small ceremony took place in which the lions were fed oranges and then tossed them back into the crowd—a symbolic act believed to bring good fortune.

After the ceremony, the lions led the parade back to its starting point, marking the end of a celebration I had only accidentally stumbled upon but was so glad to witness and document.

Tips for Photographing Lunar New Year Events

If you’re planning to attend Midnight Madness or any outdoor Lunar New Year celebrations, here are some tips to make the most of your experience:

🔴 Wear safety goggles and earplugs – Firecrackers are everywhere, and they can go off right at your feet without warning. The noise is deafening, and flying debris can be hazardous to your eyes.

🔴 Bring a face mask – The combination of firecracker smoke and confetti dust can be overwhelming, making it difficult to breathe at times.

🔴 Use a fast lens or a flash – Many parts of the parade route are dimly lit, so having a lens with a wide aperture (f/1.8 or lower) or an external flash will help capture sharp images.

🔴 Be ready to move – This is not a stationary event! The parade moves quickly, and you'll need to adjust your position often to get the best shots.

Capturing Midnight Madness in Chinatown was an unforgettable experience, and if you ever get the chance to witness it, be ready for the unexpected—because that’s where the magic happens. ✨

Ramping Up My YouTube Efforts

Back in July I shared a video letting people know i’m going to start focusing my efforts with video content there. Since i’m no longer searching for full-time work, i’m putting all my focus towards creating the content i’ve been making for my employers, work for me.

Since this YouTube channel trailer I have since been very busy with freelance work with travel from Florida, Bahamas, Los Angeles and soon San Diego. I have also launched a Patreon. This is something that allows people who love and support my work to contribute money to help me continue my efforts to create my own content full-time. There is no pressure to contribute financially. Simply viewing my YouTube videos, commenting and liking them as well as subscribing to my channel also helps me grow. I appreciate all who help me achieve my dream of working for myself.

I’m in the process of shooting as much video and photos as possible before winter moves into Colorado. I also have a few more freelance jobs in the works before the year end. I hope you enjoy what I share of my travels.

Photographing The Welcome To Colorado Signs

I have set out on a personal project to capture all 41 of the Welcome to Colorful Colorado signs at the border crossings around the state. I didn’t want to wait to publish this because i want you the reader to follow me along on this journey as i visit each of these sign locations around the Rocky Mountain State. I will be keeping track of each sign i capture on this custom Google map below. The red dots with the camera icon are the locations i have documented.

Here are the locations to all the 'Welcome To Colorado' signs. Each pin that turns red is a new sign that i have photographed and visited. I will be documenting the experience in this blog post https://www.anthonyquintano.com/blog/2019/3/16/photographing-the-welcome-to-colorado-signs.

Western Border

Southern Border

I-25 CDOT Sign Shop 12-13-17 sn: 2 DS Taken at 2:00pm Mountain Time on March 15, 2019

Northern Border

Colorado/Nebraska border in Peetz, CO (CDOT Sign Shop 11-7-16 sn: 44 DS)

My first stop in Peetz, Colorado. One of my goals on this project was to try and find a unique angle at each location. This sign happened to be located near windmills so i decided to include them in this shot.

CDOT Sign Shop 1-18-18 sn: 6 DS

Sedgwick, Colorado CO-385

CDOT Sign Shop 12-10-15 sn: 43 DS

Ovid, Colorado CO-11

CDOT Sign Shop 07-31-15 sn:39 BY DS

Julesburg, Colorado US-138

CDOT Sign Shop 12-8-15 sn: 42 DS

Julesburg, Colorado I-76

Eastern Border

CDOT Sign Shop 1/23/09 RS/CM S/N 18

Amherst, Colorado CO-23

CDOT Sign Shop 11-1-18 SN: 3 DS WRC

Holyoke, Colorado US-6

CDOT Sign Shop 12/15/11 sn: 31 CM

Wray, Colorado US-34

CDOT Sign Shop 9-27-11 sn: 26 DS AL

Wray, Colorado US-36

CDOT Sign Shop 12-6-16 sn: 45 AM

Burlington, Colorado I-70

CDOT Sign Shop 07-21-15 sn: 38 AM DS

Arapahoe, Colorado US-40

CDOT Sign Shop 8-23-17 sn: 51 AM

Sheridan Lake, Colorado CO-96

CDOT Sign Shop 7-18-17 sn: 50 DRS

Holly, Colorado US-400

CDOT Sign Shop 4-7-17 sn: 47 DS

Lycan, Colorado CO-116

CDOT Sign Shop 7-12-17 sn: 49 DRS

Walsh, Colorado US-160

How To Survive SXSW

This will be my fourth year at SXSW in Austin, Texas. I wanted to share some tips for 1st timers from my experiences attending the festival.

Try to get to Austin a day before SXSW Interactive starts. This gives you a chance to explore the area and get your bearings, especially if you're attending for your first time. 

1. Use Social Media

Many of you have announced digital detoxes or protesting Facebook and Twitter. Time to kiss those goodbye if you want to have a successful SXSW. The only way to keep up with what's going on at SXSW is through social media, particularly Twitter.

2. Be Prepared For The Weather

Pack for both cold and warm weather as the days usually start off chilly but warm up real quick midday. Be prepared for rain because more often than not, it will be raining during the conference at some point.

3. Power Strip

Bring a power strip to charge your devices at your hotel or airbnb. It also definitely helps to carry that power strip with you when you're out and about. SXSW is like any airport terminal, everyone is gunning for an outlet. This way you can at least make room for your charging cable without interfering with a camper. 

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4. Portable Power Bank

You absolutely need a power bank for your mobile device. Most of the time you do not have time to sit down at an outlet and charge your phone enough to walk away. You want a power bank that is at least 20,000 mah. I prefer Anker or Mophie. 

5. Business Cards

Definitely bring business cards or come up with another creative way to deliver your information when networking. You will be meeting a lot of new people as well as others, make your card or whatever you use stand out in a pile. I typically photograph every business card i get with my phone because i tend to either lose or ruin a card i receive. 

6. Don’t Go To Panels

Don't fill your schedule up with panels. The most value i've had at SXSW has been just being out and about near the convention center, either running into people you already know or  being visible for someone who was looking to network with you. Meetings have been the reason why i attend. If you miss a panel you wanted to attend, check the official hashtag for that panel. I promise you the highlights of that panel were live-tweeted. 

7. Modify Your Twitter Display Name

Change your twitter display name (not your username) to incorporate SXSW so your profile comes up when people search 'SXSW'

8. Snacks

Bring snacks. Yes there is lots of food at SXSW but you will most likely have to wait in line or pay for the food. Having snacks will definitely help you get through those times that you don't have time to wait in line or go out of the way to get food.

9. Carry Water

Bring a hydro flash. There will be plenty of places in and around the convention center where you will be able to fill up and keep yourself hydrated.

10. RSVP Everything

RSVP to everything. We're less than five days out from SXSW so if you haven't RSVP'ed by now, you might be screwed. Just because you rsvp, does not mean you have to attend.

11. Meet New People

Spend more time meeting new people than hanging out with your friends. This is what SXSW is about and what ends up leading to new relationships, partnerships and even new jobs.

12. Comfortable Shoes

Bring comfortable shoes. You will be walking a lot!

13. Backpack. No Tote.

Bring a backpack. There will be swag and you want something to carry those snacks and hydroflask. You do not want to be stuck walking around with a tote bag. 

14. Swarm!

Use Foursquare's Swarm App to check-in to restaurants and other locations. This has helped for two reasons. I typically want people to know where i am so if they wanted to meet me, it gives them a chance to swing by. If you don't want to be bothered, feel free to not do this. The second reason is, it helps you remember all the places you visited for your notes if you plan to attend next year.

15. Try Going Badgeless

I typically attend SXSW now without buy a badge. Most people who attend have their employers cover their expenses but this year i'm attending on my own dime and simply can't afford one. Not having badge can be slightly tough because most people connect or hangout within the conference center. A lot of official SXSW events also require the badge to rsvp or attend, even outside the convention center. You can survive without purchasing a badge. Just make sure to hang out near the conference center, especially around lunch when everyone escapes to eat or simply get some fresh air.

16. Use Twitter Lists

Build a Twitter list of people you meet. It helps you keep track and it doesn't hurt to put out a tweet after you meet someone. Typically at the end of the day i put a tweet out thanking someone for their time or saying it was nice to meet them. This allows for relationship building beyond SXSW.

17. Stay Organized

Keep track of all your RSVP's and event links. I use Evernote to store anything i RSVP to or links of events i want to be aware of. Google Calendar helps but can get congested because many events at SXSW overlap. Sometimes a simple excel sheet helps organize info. 

18. Saving Tweets

There will be tweets you will want to save when SXSW is all said and done with. Many of the panels at the conference get live-tweeted and this comes in very handy when you have to return to the office to present your learnings from the festival. There are a few ways to save tweets. Saving tweets is always helpful when you’re on the run and don’t have time to read them or click through to the link that is embedded. You can simply like the tweet, you can use Twitter’s bookmarking tool which is only available on the mobile app. You have more options when using Twitter on the web. You can add to a Twitter Moment, If using Tweetdeck, you can add to a collection.

19. Recap your trip

When it’s all over with, you will want to make sure you organize the pile of business cards you’ve collected and collect all the selfies you took. Take the time to save this information while it’s still fresh. I typically do this each night after a busy day of meeting tons of people.

20. What have you learned

Take notes on all that you did from the positives and negatives. SXSW is a great conference to learn from especially if you attend other events throughout the year. This also helps if you plan on returning the following year. Meeting new people may prompt you to maybe go in on renting a house to save costs on hotels, car pooling to the convention center if you’re not staying nearby.

If you have some good tips to share, please post them below or Tweet them at me and I will add them to this post.

20 Locations To Photograph New York City

1. Statue Of Liberty And The NYC Skyline

2. Lower Manhattan Skyline From Jersey City

3. Lower Manhattan From Brooklyn Bridge Park

4. New York City Skyline With Brooklyn Bridge

5. NYC Skyline From The Staten Island Ferry

6. Midtown and Lower Manhattan View From Hamilton Park Weehawken, New Jersey

7. River Level View of The New York City Skyline

8. George Washington Bridge Sunrise On Pedestrian Walkway

9. George Washington Bridge From Fort Lee Historic Park

10. George Washington Bridge with NYC Skyline

11. Lower Manhattan Seen From The Top Of Rockefeller Center

12. Lower Manhattan From The Empire State Building

13. Sunset From Bow Bridge In Central Park

14. Brooklyn Bridge and Lower Manhattan Over The FDR

15. A Silhouette Of The NYC Skyline From Hunters Point State Park

16. Lower Manhattan At Sunset From The Brooklyn Bridge

17. One World Trade At Sunrise From Liberty State Park

18. Fulton Center Station

19. The Oculus

20. Flatiron Building With The 5th Ave Clock

Some of the best locations to photograph the New York City skyline

New Website In The Works

Welcome to my new website. I’ve had many people reach out to me requesting a photo store to purchase my work. I finally found an easy way to do that with SquareSpace.

I rushed to get it up and running this weekend so there is very little displayed right now. I plan on adding more from my archive soon as well as video content that i will be sharing on my YouTube channel. Thank you all for your patience and support and i look forward to expanding this site more.