Twitter was aflutter with anticipation last night. Can you imagine winning the new, coveted role of MTV TJ (Twitter Jockey)? We all — well most of us — tweet for free throughout the day. Whether you’re using it for personal or business reasons,Twitter has become a powerful social media tool. Gabi’s MTV TJ win demonstrates just how influential Twitter and other sites have become.
MTV preselected 18 candidates to compete in “Follow Me: The Search for the first MTV TJ” and allowed Twitter users to nominate 2 more. For several weeks, contestants participated in MTV TJ Challenges which eventually led to the Top 5. At the live finale last night, text votes determined who would win the one year, $100,000 contract to be the social media face of MTV – tweeting, facebooking and blogging for MTV.
I’ve “known” Gabi for a while now. Once you read a person’s blog and tweet with him or her, you basically know them – right? Lol. I stumbled upon Gabi’s plus-size fashion blog – Young, Fat & Fabulous - in its infancy stage and knew of her desire to live and work in NYC – the “concrete jungle where dreams are made of.”
The Detroit native’s blog has thrown some major opportunities her way. Gabi is a vlog contributor for Vogue Italia’s “Vogue Curvy” and has received a multitude of major international press. Her huge following allowed her to host the YFF Conference last month in NYC with readers & bloggers coming from around the world to attend.
With all of this loyalty and support behind her, it was no surprise that she was the leader at each round of elimination throughout the live finale. Gabi’s whirlwind year just keeps getting better. After an early morning news interview, Gabi sent a twitpic of her new MTV ID as she headed to her first day of work. Congrats to Gabi – the first MTV Twitter Jockey!
