I Follow: DJ Gallo
Editor’s note: I Follow is all about ESPN employees on Twitter: what they tweet, whom they follow and how you can interact socially with anyone and everyone.
DJ Gallo is a columnist for ESPN Playbook, which takes a unique approach to covering the latest trending topics in sports, humor, entertainment, social media, technology, gaming and sports business. Gallo, the founder of SportsPickle.com, also has written for Comedy Central and The Onion. In his most recent Playbook column, he shared 16 facts about Florida Gulf Coast University to help fans pretend they’ve been a fan of the Eagles, the first 15-seed to reach the Sweet 16 in NCAA tournament history, for life.
Twitter Handle: @DJGalloESPN
Following: 42
Followers: 6,383
(as of 3/27/13)
When and why did you join Twitter?
I got on Twitter around 2009 or 2010. I joined because I’ve never really been into Facebook. Plus, I work from home. So that left Twitter as my only means of human interaction. Even in real life, I now only address others by saying “@” before their names. “Good talking to you at-Mom. Tell at-Dad I said ‘Hi.’”
How do you use Twitter to interact with fans?
The Monday NFL Hangover column I write during the season features a Reader Twitter Question of the Week. Beyond that, Twitter is a great way to interact with readers, which is good because I’m several years behind on responding to e-mails. (Note: If anyone reading this has sent me an e-mail since 2004, I’m really sorry).
What’s your favorite Twitter moment?
Nothing specific comes to mind, but I think everyone who enjoys Twitter is always striving for that perfect tweet. You know, something amazingly witty yet revealing about the human condition in 140 characters that changes the world. Also, it helps if the tweet mentions Justin Bieber so it has a chance to get retweeted a lot.
How would you describe Playbook’s approach to covering sports?
If you think sports are primarily about fun and should be a distraction from the truly serious issues in the world, then you would probably enjoy Playbook. I don’t take sports seriously at all. Well, the performance of my favorite teams is serious business and shouldn’t be joked about, but everything else is totally up for unrelenting mocking.
What upcoming stories do you have planned for Playbook?
I have a piece for MLB Opening Day predicting the major baseball news stories for every day of the baseball season. Every. Single. Day. It took quite a long time to write, and greatly cut into my tweeting. After that, I have my annual piece on the best MLB promotional items and giveaways. Then it’s NFL Draft season. I also just started doing a weekly video segment for Playbook. It’s the first step toward my inevitable television dominance. Or the first step toward me never being placed in front of a camera again. One of those.
