Magazine praises Twitter Jockey Gabi Gregg's hustle in landing inventive social-media gig.
By Gil Kaufman
Sway and Gabi at the finale of "Follow Me: The Search for the first MTV TJ"
Photo: MTV
Winning a nationwide contest, a six-figure salary and an amazing opportunity to be MTV's first-ever Twitter Jockey would probably have been enough for 23-year-old Detroit native Gabi Gregg. But being named to Time magazine's "The Top 10 Everything of 2010" list under the "Top 10 Twitter Moments" category is some nice icing on the cake.
The official MTV Twitter diva and budding plus-size fashionista was ecstatic about the honor, telling MTV News on Thursday (December 9), "It seems like I just got the phone call from MTV asking if I'd like to be a part of a competition where they'd be searching for this new thing they'd be calling a 'TJ.' The past four months have gone by so fast, and meeting everyone from President Obama to Kanye West has been such an amazing experience."
The magazine was equally enthusiastic about Gregg's rise, writing, "Gabi Gregg's sweet gig for 2010? A job that pays $100,000 a year to tweet, courtesy of MTV. Dubbed the network's first 'Twitter Jockey,' Gregg manages the network's multiple Twitter accounts. She faced stiff competition — MTV held a nationwide contest over three months to find the perfect tweeter. Challengers had to get celebrities to follow them, interview musicians and discover a local band, among many other missions." Time also gave props to her Young, Fat and Fabulous blog and Gregg's MTV.com blog.
The MTV TJ lands on the Time list with some pretty impressive company, including Kanye West and the Arcade Fire (top 10 albums), and Tiger Woods, Taylor Swift and John Mayer (top 10 apologies). Also making the comprehensive list were top 10 buzzwords Vuvuzela, bedbugs and Mama Grizzlies, as well as round-ups of the top video games, feuds, tweets, TV series, toys, scientific discoveries and scandals.
Gregg first ascended to the position in August, beating out 20 hopefuls initially selected to compete in the contest. Within a month, the charismatic TJ was on the red carpet interviewing celebrities at the 2010 MTV VMAs.
Gregg joked to MTV News that she went from sleeping on the floor in Chicago, where she had no bed and no job, to "living out this dream life in NYC — it's seriously like a modern-day Cinderella story. The fact that now Time magazine has named this moment one of the biggest things in 2010 is completely surreal, but such an honor. Time is the world's largest weekly newsmagazine! That they even have a list of 'Top Twitter Moments' goes to show how important social media has become to our culture, and I really think Twitter has become an amazing tool that goes way beyond 'status updates.' I'm so lucky to be a part of this moment, and I'm truly grateful to MTV and all of my supporters."
She, of course, also posted a link to the story on her site and personally thanked her followers for making her dreams come true. "The past four months have been so amazing, and I'm truly honored to be a part of something so huge," she wrote. "A big thank you to MTV and everyone who has supported me along my journey! Things only continue to get better and I can't wait to see what 2011 holds."
Share your congratulatory messages with TJ Gabi Fresh in the comments below!
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