I Want My @MTV: Cable Network Seeks Its First Twitter Jockey

On Monday MTV, the network that in the 1980s gave us the first video jockeys (or V.J.s), said that it would conduct a nationwide search this summer for a Twitter jockey (or T.J.s): a full-time personality to appear on the network and be a presence on social media like Twitter and Facebook.

Confirming a report by The Associated Press, Stephen Friedman, the general manager of MTV, said in a telephone interview that the T.J. position was created partly because of the huge online spikes that MTV enjoys during broadcast events like, say, a new episode of Jersey Shore, or when Kanye West grabs Taylor Swifts trophy at an awards presentation.

The response from our audience to moments going on through our content create this ripple, globally, and its helped us, Mr. Friedman said. It helps us with ratings, it helps us inform the interests and the passions of our audience.

Half our staff is on Twitter, Mr. Friedman added, so why not have someone in-house? Why don't we make it a full-time job, pay a real six-figure salary, and have someone who's got great writing skills and an ability for sharp, concise, smart interaction with our audience?

The recruitment effort, which is officially called Follow Me: The Search for the First MTV T.J., is planning to announce its first 18 candidates this week, culled from viewers with strong Twitter and Facebook presences. Two additional candidates will be chosen through a Web site, tj.mtv.com, where viewers can nominate friends or more likely themselves. The candidates will then face off in a series of competitions starting in July, with a winner to be selected in a televised event on Aug. 8.

The job will be for one year, though the T.J. title itself may not be permanent. That's what were nominally calling it now, Mr. Friedman said. I think that remains to be seen.