Twitter Killed the Video Star: MTV Seeks Official Twitter Jockey

I remember it well...I was there...When MTV hit the airwaves and we watched as our favorite bands and artists sang to us via television. It was the beginning of the video generation. I also remember a song that played called "Video Killed the Radio Star" by the Buggles. But that was long ago...

Now prepare to feel old. The music network has just embarked on a search for... wait for it... here it comes.... a TJ (Twitter Jockey)!!

According to the AP, MTV already has 18 candidates lined up, and is calling upon viewers to choose two more. The 20 Twitter hopefuls will compete in online challenges over the sultry days of summer, culminating in a live show on August 8 during which the audience will choose the voice of MTV's Twitter stream.

Dave Sirulnik, the executive in charge of the challenge, told the AP that the winner will be a liaison between the audience and the men and women behind MTV. "While they won't be on TV the way VJs were, they will always be on," he said.

MTV plans to use the TJ to take the pulse of the viewers, in a sense, and to alter programming accordingly. MTV is certainly not the first organization to hire an official Twitterer (although it is offering a six-figure salary, which is pretty sweet for a job that requires pumping out 140-word epistles) - hell, even the White House has embarked on a similar search - but the job it's offering is rather interesting. The TJ it chooses will have to both an online and offline personality (the winner will attend events and even appear on-air), as well as the ability to speak for both execs and fans.

While the name leaves something to be desired, we think this is a rather intelligent move on MTV's part - Twitter has become the official water cooler of today's more tech-savvy society, a place where folks congregate to talk about everything from TV shows to awards ceremonies - we've even ruminated in the past as to whether social media has helped award show ratings grow. Imagine the engagement level MTV could achieve by having a TJ tweet during, say, Video Music Awards, interacting with fans who may be chatting about the proceedings. It will be interesting to see how fans of the network react to the new hire.

You can start nominating yourself and your friends for the position today. Will you apply?

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Michael Caruso, Broker ABR ABRM CRB CRS GREEN GRI
2007 President, Orange County Association of Realtors (949) 753-7900