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Stephen Robertson
Web: www.coffeeculturerva.com
Bio: I love coffee, food, wine and friends; join my team.

So, why do you Tweet?

The short answer? Because I like it. Actually, the reason behind my using Twitter is an evolving one; I think the same could be said for most people who have been doing it more than a few months. I think I probably started playing with Twitter after hearing some NPR tech blurb; initially I didn’t get the point, had no followers, etc-but I soon realized a couple important points about Twitter and me:

–I have an extremely short and distracted attention span and Twitter appeals to my brain’s need to “task-hop.”

–I love to learn-constantly-and Twitter is full of almost limitless content about everything and nothing; and it is easy to mine that information at any time.

–Twitter offers a forum where everyone is equal-no really-everyone is completely equal. In the real world certain people are off limits to me and I, in turn, am off limits to certain people. For instance, I would likely not get a chance to banter with Chef Alton Brown in real life, but on Twitter I can. Twitter breaks down the walls of social constructs and, if used effectively, can help you advance your career, your social life, your homemade toilet tissue Etsy.com store-whatever!

–Finally, it’s the best vehicle for catty gossip ever invented and who doesn’t love catty gossip?

And on an average day, how often do you figure that you tweet?

I tweet a lot. Most of my tweets are completely useless-I’ll own that-but I think enough of them are relevant that people don’t un-follow me. Like I said, Twitter is where I go to distract my brain long enough to stay focused (I’m tweeting now while trying to answer these questions actually). I get less quality work done on days I’m too busy to tweet a lot-wrap your head around that one.

Time to brag — do you have a favorite tweet of your own that you’ve posted?

Wow, how do you judge that? I personally liked tweeting while on vacation in Puerto Rico but all of my followers hated that-and I get that sentiment. I guess the tweet that got the most response recently was this:

“Someone should start a Tumblr for Monroe Park called ‘Occupier, Homeless or VCU Hipster’ #rva #Occupy #vcu”

It was a quick thought as I drove by the park but I thought it was witty and it got lots of re-tweets.

Which of your tweets have been the most popular, caused the most stink, or generated the most buzz?

I really have no idea; and I sort of prefer to keep it that way. I’ve got a few followers but I always assume that the ones I haven’t actually met in real life are probably spam bots. I will say that I am most often tweeting about my observations of the world around me-a world I find absolutely absurd and hilarious. I tweet about the bizarre things I see, hear and encounter on a daily basis and I find that the biggest Twitter buzz is usually associated with these observations.

Got a good Twitter story?

I use Twitter constantly in my line of work. Of course there is the marketing aspect associated with our company’s Twitter handle (@drinkblanchards); but I also leverage my personal handle–not usually directly, but as a means of making initial contact, or researching potential clients. In early spring last year I started a thread with the marketing person for a national restaurant chain; within about two weeks of my first tweet I had landed a meeting with the owner of the chain-a meeting that ended up lasting an entire day and, though still in negotiation phase, looks to have promise of bearing fruit. Sorry, that’s not a juicy gossip story-I try to keep some shred of professionalism… sometimes.

Any favorite (good or bad) replies?

Call me crazy, but my favorite replies are bots-not annoying iPad giveaway bots, but funny, witty and contextual bots. I think my two favorites are the classic @RedScareBot and the Tyler Durden bot (@IAmJacksBot). You sort of know what your friends (and enemies) are going to respond to and how they’ll respond; sometimes a surprise bot response is just what you need to stop you in your tracks and make you snarf your macchiato.

If you weren’t using your current Twitter handle, what would you call yourself?

You know, I’ve been @srbrtsn since my very first web ID; which, mind you, was not AOL because even back then, I thought it was annoying. I couldn’t imagine being anything else-those keys are worn down on my keyboard.

Who are some of your favorite Tweeps that you’re currently following?

I feel like if I don’t mention all my good friends here I’ll get the stink-eye the next time we’re drinking beer somewhere (that’s for you @rvabeermeister). I don’t follow a lot of famous people but I like @NoReservations because he’s awesome and drops the F-Bomb a lot while talking about food. I love following @ThrowingUtah for all the local (non-bar-scene) gossip and her neighbor @GregorySheldon consistently makes me laugh at totally inappropriate times. I also get a lot of laughs from @charliemassie and, of course, @shoppher has to make the list because she says nice things to me (more often than not).

When you’re not using Twitter what other platforms tickle your fancy?

I’ve tried so many different things but I tend to hate all of it and fairly quickly come running back to Twitter. I do like Tumblr and Foursquare, though Foursquare appeals to my addictive/competitive side so it gets sort of ridiculous for me sometimes.

What’s coming up next for you in 2012, in terms of how you plan to use Twitter or other platforms?

I want to start a food blog with pictures! Kidding. I think 2012 will bring more of the same. My company social media presence is growing rapidly and I am very interested in experimenting and learning how to make that better. I’ve gotten fairly good at maintaining a slight, but sufficient separation between those two personalities and I’m eager to continue to find ways to allow them to work together while still feeling comfortable stating my personal views, dropping the F-Bomb and posting videos of cats on my personal accounts without alienating followers of my professional accounts. If you think about it, this is what we do in real life-struggle to be ourselves but fit into a professional or social mold. Here’s to hoping it’s easier on the internet! #cats