@lafinguy

Mike Shaldijan is a full partner with Media Watch AZ, which is Arizona's only digital broadcast media retrieval service.

Followers: 1,656

Following: 1,357

Number of Tweets: 25,923

Favorite person to follow?

@vettieroe because she has great wit and humor. Also, she’s fun to tease. I also enjoy following @leiboaz for his intellectual humor and hard-hitting political commentary. Not that I agree with a lot of it but enjoy seeing what he has to share.

Why did you start Tweeting?

I originally started Tweeting for my business. All the seminars and networking events that I had been attending for months were stressing the importance of social media. I was skeptical at first. But, I decided to play with it. I became addicted to Twitter and quickly realized what a powerful tool it could be. I can attribute a 14 percent rise in business from 2008 to 2009 directly to my presence on Twitter and Facebook. Building relationships in months that would otherwise take years to accomplish. I don’t mention my business that often. I have clients that do that for me. This is social media, not a billboard to post my business ads.

What do you never Tweet about?

I really don’t think there’s anything that I haven’t Tweeted about at one time or another. Maybe religion, but I’d have to double check on that.

What Tweet has generated the most response?

Without a doubt, my Tweets on #buzzcation events. If you don’t know what a #buzzcation is then, you probably were not meant to attend one.

What is the strangest place you've Tweeted from?

A few months ago, I attended the Daytime Emmy Awards in Las Vegas. Actually walked the red carpet to along with the real celebs. I wasn’t about to miss the opportunity to Tweet and send pics from the red carpet.

How do you choose who you follow?

I will look at what they have been Tweeting about recently, what they do for a living, their hobbies and interests (important to have this stuff in your bio’s, Tweeple) and then decide if they are someone I’d find interesting to interact with. Remember, although you may be following someone, the real magic happens when you begin interacting with them!

iPhone or BlackBerry?

I have a BB, but prefer Tweeting from my laptop at work or home computer using Tweetdeck. Or as I affectionately refer to it, my ‘command center.’