CNN iReport

Join the iReport team today to talk about any questions, comments or concerns you may have today at 3 p.m. ET.

We’ve had quite a week with President Obama answering an iReporter’s question, adriana71’s behind-the-scenes look at NASA, yadray’s unique “bubble” project, and a heartwarming story about one neighborhood giving a child with leukemia an early Christmas.

We look forward to talking with all of you today. Hope to see you there!

A few Team iReport mugs, from left to right: (top) Henry, Christina, (middle) Dave, Rachel, Lila, Katie, our pal Natali, (bottom) Nicole, Karyn, Kelly, Tyson

There are lots of folks at CNN who help make iReport tick (in addition to our awesome community, of course). Here are some quick introductions to a few of the folks you're most likely to encounter here:

Lila King. I like to think of myself as the ringleader of the iReport circus, and I mean that with nothing but love. I'm a producer, an editor, a team leader, a cheerleader, a blogger, a baker (and candlestick maker?) and I'm pretty sure you'll find that everyone's got an interesting story if you listen well enough.

Tyson Wheatley. I'm Tyson, news manager for CNN iReport. It's my job to keep iReport assignments fresh and topical, and I strive to make sure your amazing iReports are incorporated into CNN's newsgathering and programming. I'm always on the lookout for collaborative storytelling projects, so drop me a line with your assignment ideas.

David Williams. I am the community manager at CNN iReport. I've been with CNN for 15 years. I want your experience here at CNN iReport to be as good as it can be, so if you have a problem or suggestions for improving the site please drop me a line at david.williams@turner.com.

Nicole Saidi. Hi, my name is Nicole, and I geek out over writing and taking pictures. As a CNN iReport producer, I focus on finding the best iReports and reaching skyward with multimedia storytelling at CNN.com. There's usually a wacky hat on my head, and plenty more are hiding in my desk drawers.

Katie Hawkins-Gaar. Hi, I'm Katie. I'm a producer with Team iReport. I keep a close eye on the iReports you send and help identify assignments and other editorial priorities. I enjoy talking to and getting to know iReporters and especially love turning your great content into stories and interactives for CNN.com.

Henry Hanks. Hi, I'm Henry, a CNN iReport producer. I talk to iReporters every day. If your iReport is compelling and/or newsworthy, you may hear from me soon.

Rachel Rodriguez. Hi, I'm Rachel. Being a CNN iReport producer means I get to write stories, build beautiful interactive features, and even find the occasional bit of fame and fortune by showing off your iReports on TV.  Oh, and go on Facebook and watch funny iReport videos at work.  When I'm not telling your stories, you can find me leading weekly CNN yoga (yes, really).

Christina Zdanowicz. Hey, I'm Christina, a CNN iReport producer. From producing snazzy interactive pieces and writing stories to running the iReport Photo Club, it's always an exciting day on the desk. When I'm not in iReportland, you'll see me donning red sneakers, toting a camera in hand.

Karyn Lu. Hi! My name is Karyn. I'm a user experience designer. It's my job to make sure you have a great experience submitting your iReports, browsing, commenting and sharing on the site, to keep great new features coming, and most importantly, to listen to your feedback.

Kelly Byrom. I'm Kelly, Sr. Designer for CNN.com.  I'm here to present all your great visuals for CNN iReport and to create awesome interactives.  I am always working with the rest of the team to find new and innovative ways of telling the story.

Pete Bethany. I'm the tech team manager for CNN iReport. I spend lots of time lurking on the site and trying to make sure things run smoothly. We have a fantastic team of software developers who work on the site and we are supported by the entire CNN and Turner infrastructure organization. Keep those comments coming in the weekly roundtable. We're listening.

Kyle Rogers. I'm a senior software developer on the CNN iReport technical team.  My job is turning the visions of our designers and producers into reality, enabling you to share your awesome iReports with the world.  When not behind a computer, I enjoy spending time with friends and family, meeting new people, hiking and biking, and watching an occasional rocket launch.

Eduardo Ferreira. I'm a software developer on the CNN iReport team. I have a blast working with this great team. Computers are both my job and hobby. Ah, I love music too. I play saxophone, keyboard and acoustic guitar. Not a pro in any of them, though, but I can make some noise. I love to see and I even get shocked sometimes by how the iReporters' opinions vary. But this is the beauty of this site. Everybody has a voice.

Mike Imamura. I'm a software developer who mostly works on the behind-the-scenes parts of the site these days. I'm always excited about making things work better. Also, I'm a huge gamer and really bad at writing biographies.

Melissa Miske. Hello!  My name is Melissa and I'm a Sr. Project Manager for the iReport team.  I run around behind the scenes managing site enhancements and also help ensure that the site stays stable and functional for all our iReporters!

Julie Aguis. Hi, I'm Julie, your marketing rep for Team iReport. It's my job to let people know about all the different ways they can participate with iReport and to help spread the word about our fabulous community. So please help me out and tell your friends when there is something new that excites you on iReport.

Valarie Evanoff. As a Product Manager for CNN.com, I make sure we're using our current products effectively and strive to bring the best new products to our users.  I consider myself lucky to be included on the amazingly fun and exciting CNN iReport team.  I enjoy reading, travel, movies, running and food – especially sushi.

Eric Hernandez. Hello iReporters. My name is Eric Hernandez, I manage the group that works with you if you experience issues accessing any parts of the site or run into any trouble uploading data. I graduated from Florida State University (it has been a tough year), and have been with CNN for about 5 years.

Kyle Hale. Hello fellow iReporters! My name is Kyle and I help handle your technical issues here at iReport. Whatever you problem is, be it your submissions aren't showing up, you are having upload problems with your submissions, you've spilt coffee on your brand new computer -- I'm here to help! I want you, the iReporter, to know that any question is a good question and I'll be happy to walk you through any problems you are having with iReport.  So hurry up and upload some awesome photos and videos!

Zach Conrad. I help with iReporter requests and technical support. In other words, if you're having trouble with uploading or maybe viewing videos, I do my best to provide assistance. I graduated from Georgia State University and have been with CNN for 6 years.

TIME CHANGE ALERT: We need to start a few minutes late today because of a scheduling conflict

Please join us here at 3:10 p.m. ET for our weekly roundtable discussion. I know we've got a lot to talk about, from awesome iReport stories on CNN to new solicitations and questions about the ibastadobbs iReports.

Talk to you then.

CNN iReporters had a full plate of questions for “Top Chef” judge Tom Colicchio last week.

ohemming wanted to know whether Colicchio decides to eliminate chefs based on that week’s challenge or the entirety of their work, as well as which female fellow judge was “hotter in person.” sas62003 asked if Colicchio stays in touch with past contestants. ruralgourmet wanted to find out about Colicchio’s favorite vegetable, while dwisniewski asked how many recipes he has memorized.

Find out how Colicchio answered their questions here. Thanks to everyone who asked a question!

Join us in our blog today at 3 p.m. ET for our weekly roundtable discussion. We are looking forward to talking to you.

We'll open comments on this blog post at 3 p.m. so you can leave your questions and comments and then members of Team iReport will respond.

We'll talk to you at 3 p.m. ET.

Join us in our blog today at 3 p.m. ET for our weekly roundtable discussion. We're looking forward to hearing what you think of the new CNN iReport section now that you've had a few days to play with it.

A lot of people have joined the CNN iReport community this week, so we would like to say hello to newcomers and invite them to join us in the discussion.

We'll open comments on this blog post at 3 p.m. so you can leave your questions and comments and then members of Team iReport will respond.

We'll talk to you at 3 p.m. ET.

We've gotten a lot of new members to the CNN iReport community this week, so we wanted to take a moment to welcome you all and let you know what you're getting into.

Things work a little differently here than on the rest of CNN.com, because all of the stories in this section were either created or inspired by users like you. We can't wait for you to add your perspective to CNN's coverage.

Here's how you can get started:

• Register with CNN iReport: If you already have a CNN member services account, you'll still have to create a screen name. Be sure to give us your phone number so we can contact you about your iReports (Don't worry, it will only be visible to CNN editors).
• Upload an avatar photo and fill out your profile: This is your chance to share your personality with the rest of the CNN iReport community, so have fun with it. Tell us where you're from, what you like to do and any other details about your life that you want to share.
• Start telling your story: You can go to our assignment desk (http://www.ireport.com/community/assignment) to see what stories CNN is focusing on each day. Or you can go straight to our upload page to send your videos, photos or audio iReports.
• Check out other stories: We get amazing stories every day from iReporters all over the world. CNN iReport producers will be featuring the most newsworthy and compelling stories on the front page of our section.
• Meet other iReporters: You can get to another iReporter's profile page by clicking on their avatar image. Then you can read their bios and send private messages. Another good way to meet people here is to comment on interesting iReports.
• Meet Team iReport: We hold a weekly roundtable discussion in our blog where you can ask questions, discuss story ideas or talk about any concerns you may have. You also can email us at contact@ireport.com.
  

Be sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook to get the latest news from CNN iReport.

Please join us here in the blog at 12:30 p.m. ET to talk about all the big changes we've made at CNN iReport and ask any questions you have about the section.

Our developers have been working tirelessly to stamp out some nagging bugs, and we'd like you to let us know if you're having any trouble.

If you're new to the roundtable, here's how it works – we'll open the comments on this post at 12:30 p.m. ET and you can jump in and ask your questions. Members of Team iReport will answer as many of your questions as we can.

Before we get started, I'd like to encourage you to watch this video from iReporter MelissaF. She checked out the CNN iReport section over the weekend and did a great job explaining all of the new features.

We're looking forward to talking to you at 12:30 p.m. ET.

We've gotten a lot of questions about all of the changes here at CNN iReport, so we're hosting a special iReport roundtable discussion at 12:30 p.m. ET on Monday, October 26th. Please join us to talk about all of our new features and bring up any concerns you may have. iReporters have given us a lot of great feedback since we flipped the switch on Saturday and our developers are working hard on bug fixes.

Here are some of the known issues:

     -- “Report Violation” is link too close to “read more” on long comments

     -- Some iReporters are having trouble replying to private messages

     -- The "Superstar" bug overlaps the screen name for some users

     -- The "I get it" box is too faint on the welcome screen

     -- The "I get it" box isn't accessible in Safari on an iPhone.

If you have any other questions, comments or concerns, feel free to leave a comment below. We'll leave comments open here until 12 p.m. ET tomorrow.

Big and exciting changes are on the way for iReport.com, and a few iReporters -- professirx, JoyfulGypsy, sjunat55, mcintron, maggiedo and spooly -- got a sneak peek last night in New York. Take a look:

We hope you'll join us today for our weekly roundtable discussion. We're looking forward to talking to you about any questions, comments or concerns your may have.

This is an open forum for us to get to know each other better, so you're welcome to bring up any topic you like.

We'll open comments at 3 p.m. ET and you can follow and join in the discussion there.

We'll be holding our weekly iReport roundtable at a new time starting today, so we hope you'll join us here at 3 p.m. ET.

One of the things I'd like to talk about today is what can we do to help new users feel welcomed in the community. We'll also be happy to discuss any questions or concerns you have.

We will open comments at 3 p.m. ET.

DesireG, whose unique editing and outspoken nature has a way of sparking conversation on iReport.com, has done it again in a big way. In her most recent iReport, she made her opinion known that she felt that Americans were “afraid” to do what was needed to fix the economy due to greed.

For the first time, adriana71 felt compelled to respond to a fellow iReporter with her own video, saying that we have a global economy and that Americans are not the only ones responsible.

PunjabiPower felt inspired to quote Michael Douglas in “Wall Street,” when he said, “Greed is good.” He asked why greed is something that should be punished when it “created the economic engine” of both the U.S. and the rest of the world.

The debate continued, prompting responses from EWillies1961 and ky42, among others.

Take a look at DesireG and PunjabiPower’s videos above, and sound off here if you would like to weigh in as well.

If you're making plans for this weekend, we hope you'll set aside an hour or two on Saturday to join in a volunteer activity. As part of our big What If? special, we're asking iReporters around the world to donate their time or money to a cause of their choice.

You can pick up trash, mentor a child, or help out at a soup kitchen – whatever you'd like! All you have to do is share photos and videos of your volunteer efforts.

Let us know what you plan to do on October 10 in the comments below, and if you’re on Facebook, feel free to RSVP to the volunteer event!

Pixel has been a member of the iReport.com community since the beginning, so we were really excited to see over the weekend that her work has gotten more than a million page views on the site.

Pixel's first iReport was a photo of the Malibu wildfires in February, 2008. Since then she's covered a a tattoo expo, yoga competitions and dragon boat races, as well as Iranian election protests in Los Angeles, a fire truck caught in a sinkhole and the release of journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee. She's also interviewed firefighters battling to save Southern California homes, a veteran coping with life at home and a worried mother searching for her missing daughter.

One of the reasons Pixel has been so successful is that she finds interesting angles in the stories she covers – she asks questions that prompt compelling answers; gets a variety of footage; and covers stories that are interesting on both a local and international level.

Thanks again for all the great work Pixel. We can't wait to celebrate milestones with other iReporters, so please be sure to share your accomplishments with us.