http://variety.com/2014/tv/news/qa-conan-obrien-and-andy-cohen-on-changes-in-latenight-1201223073/

Variety: I’d like you two to compare notes: What is your favorite part of the job and what is your least favorite part? Conan O’Brien: It’s the yin-yang of it. My favorite part of the job is that we do one every day, and my least favorite part of the job is that we do one every day. … It’s like magnets that are constantly attracted and repelled from each other. Going in every day is fantastic. You get this fresh shot, you can redefine your job every day. And then there are days when I’m talking to actors and they’re telling me about going to shoot a movie and then getting six weeks off. And I’m thinking, what am I doing, I’m chained to my desk. You get this wanderlust. I want to get the hell out of there (sometimes) but I think if you sent me to Prague for three months I would build a talkshow desk and start calling the Wayans brothers and say ‘Get in here.’ ” ... Variety: Have the changes in the way people watch television these days — on their own timetables and often in clip bites — changed the way you produce your shows? O’Brien: People can find the thing that’s just right for them now. We have a culture and technology now that allows this. I did a bit where I went to an American Girl store, picked out my own doll, took it to lunch, drank a lot of white wine and behaved like a mad man. So now I’ve made this thing and a woman who sees it and likes it blasts it out (via social media) and the next thing you know, it’s everywhere. I’ve had more 45-year-old moms come up to me and say, “I didn’t know that much about you before, but that’s the funniest thing I’ve ever seen.” Now we have a system that delivers the perfect bit to the perfect people. That didn’t exist three years ago. That’s not bad. ... Variety: Do you think intense media coverage of latenight personalities and the competition among shows is good for business? Does that make more people pay attention to the shows overall? O’Brien: To me it just feels like there’s more noise about everything now. There’s been noise about latenight ever since I can remember. When I got into it, it was Jay (Leno) and Dave — that was treated like the Cold War for a while. That was a ton of noise. Now I think there’s so much noise that it all goes away. Cohen: It all negates itself. When your whole (“Tonight Show”) mishegoss happened … O’Brien: Yes, that’s what we called it. It’s an old Celtic term. Cohen: It was the mishegoss of 200 … 6? O’Brien: 2010. Cohen: It’s interesting because of how much noise there was about that. And there are even more outlets now than there were then. O’Brien: We’re now at the lifecycle of a fruit fly. The technology changes, but the thing that doesn’t change is people doing the work and having a connection with people who enjoy that work. So tune everything else out, do your thing and make it the best you can. Evolve it, grow it and make that connection with people. Do it as long as it means something to you, and the minute it doesn’t mean anything to you, go away. My plan is that the minute it doesn’t mean anything to me anymore is to do it for six more years for the cash and then get out. Cohen: I’m glad you wound up on an up note. Wait — I have one last question for you. O’Brien: We should do an episode of my show where you’re in my ear … and an episode of your show where I’m in your ear. Cohen: I like it. I wanted to ask you: I’m really bad with faces and names. You’ve done this for 21 years, you’ve had thousands of people on your shows. When you’re out and about and people come up to you, how many of them do you recognize? O’Brien: I have two tips for being in show business. Always tip at least 15%, preferably 20 or you’ll read about it somewhere. The other tip is never say, “It’s nice to meet you.” Say “It’s good to see you.” I could be in the Chilean mountains hiking and stumble upon an old swami. I’d say, “It’s really good to see you” because if I say, “It’s good to meet you” he’ll say, “You fucking asshole. I was in your audience and you said hello to me in 1994.” Cohen: Right. “Good to see you.” O’Brien: Right, and keep them talking until they tell you who they are. Cohen: Well, it was good to see you, Conan.