This guest post is written by Narendra Rocherolle, who was the co-founder of Webshots, a company that he and his partners sold to Excite@Home in 1999 and then again to CNET Networks in 2004. Now as a partner at 83 Degrees, he has been working on several products including 30 Boxes, fbExchange (sold to TMP), and most recently Power Twitter.
When Lance Armstrong sat down with John Battelle at the Web 2.0 Summit last November, he had been twittering for about 10 days and was jokingly asking that “shoe guy” to send some followers his way. Now four months later, even Richard Rosenblatt, CEO of Demand Media and the guy who helped get Lance into Twitter, has been surprised by how much @lancearmstrong has taken to the platform: twittering and twitpic’n about training, races, travel, family, food, movies, and his mission to grow the fight against cancer.
For those of you interested in more than 140 characters, Lance took some time out to discuss his new habit.
Q: You started using Twitter back in November. You are now closing in on 300,000 followers and you tweet more times per day than most people brush their teeth. Can you point to a couple of factors that have resonated with you making Twitter part of your daily routine?
Lance Armstrong: Well, 140 characters fits my personality well. I’m not much for small talk so 140 gets me that. I see long drawn out emails and I delete them. It also brings a certain transparency to my life that others may have never seen or realized. Lastly, it works great for talking about the thing I care about the most (behind my family) and that’s fighting cancer. Twitter builds grassroots movements quicker than anything I’ve ever seen.
Q: Can you give an example of something that you were about to tweet but did NOT?
Lance Armstrong: I try to keep it positive. There are plenty of times I felt like crushing someone for what they say or did but I avoid it. There’s plenty of negativity on the web as is so they don’t need me adding to it. Try to be careful with pics of my kids/family for obvious security reasons. Other than that, it’s basically an open book. I also will not tweet anything that someone asks me to. It’s my page so therefore I dictate what goes there. They want to tweet it then tweet from their page. It has to be 100% authentic.
Q: One thing your critics can not argue with is your success as an extraordinary marketer and personal brand manager. This may sound silly but I’ve heard you described as a “natural” when it comes to Twitter. Can you talk about how you approach building “you” as a brand?
Q: The theft of your time trial bike recently created huge buzz in the twitterverse. Was there an awareness by you (and Trek) that the theft was an incredible marketing opportunity?
Lance Armstrong: They (Trek) were devastated. They thought I would be livid and while I was pretty seriously pissed, I told them to chill. The story was on the front page off cnn.com, espn, etc. Hell, it was on perez hilton. For a week or so it was the most talked about bike on planet earth. Bummer to get it ripped off but it was not bad for them. They make bikes as easily as you and I go for a walk. Still, you gotta be pretty dumb to steal a “one of a kind” bike.
Q: Have you had any issues or push-back from your Twitter usage (e.g. friends telling you to put the blackberry away! Or moments when you catch yourself thinking you should be twittering something when in fact you should just be experiencing it)?
Lance Armstrong: Nah, again it’s short and I type fast. Most tweets I send people don’t even notice.
Q: Your Twitter stream depicts a relentless schedule that sounds downright exhausting. Are you traveling/doing more this year than you have in past seasons leading up to the Tour de France?
Lance Armstrong: Most definitely. Again, a great thing about the service is that people (fans, journalists, my fellow competitors) realize my life is quite different than theirs. Between my kids, my foundation, travel, training, and racing, it’s a big life.
Q: Finally, for the readers out there making the pilgrimage to Austin for SxSW Interactive, would you name 3 restaurants they don’t want to miss?
Lance Armstrong: Chuy’s, East Side Cafe, and the Salt Lick. There’s also Uchi, Hula Hut, Eddie V’s, and Fonda San Miguel.
enough of twitter, for god’s sake
I double that! But more importantly, who gives a shit about this useless article?? Are you gonna write an article about everyone famous on Twitter? Plus you picked the wrong guy. I hate this Lance Armstrong guy. People think he’s the greatest cyclist of all times, I think he’s go the best doctors and undetectable drugs of all times.
Sébastien, I fear your name betrays your attitude.
Note to non-cycling fans: the French are almost universally bitter about “this Lance Armstrong guy”, mainly for being an American champion at their sport, and worse still a Republican.
Get over it. Your diatribe says more about you than about the person in question.
(Incidentally, I am neither French nor American, love cycling and hate drugs.)
People are bitter because he apparently doped and got away with it. That’s why. Not because someone else won the Tour de France.
Others have been winning that damn thing for decades.
Lance Armstrong must have brilliant PR people. Everyone knows he’s a cheater and liar. But he still managed to turn from a worm into a butterfly. So close to the people through Twitter, so innocent — almost like nothing happened. Yay for Lance.
If you are not interested in the Twitter posts, skip them. But why wouldn’t we publish an exclusive interview with Lance Armstrong about how he uses technology to build his personal brand? The technology he happens to use is Twitter. Sorry.
It’s my belief that there’s a massive PR campaign to hype up twitter, so it can be acquired by one of the big players ie Google.
The internet VCs needs to produce results to their stakeholders, especially in these down times, or risk them pulling out in the next few quarters. And Twitter is the last company with a chance of a major deal.
Also, the 7 year cyclical business model for internet VC is in its late stage. So the money/returns earned from selling off Web 1.0 property is drying up. If you calculate the ROI from 2002-2009, compared to 1994-2001, it will look vastly inferior. So it’ll be a tough sell for internet VCs to get anymore investor money, if future projections are tepid. Moreover, internet VCs are competing with green VCs for investment dollars. So a lot of capital is being shifted to the clean tech space, squeezing out the remaining internet players. Thus the need for big deals, now.
The question for twitter is if it can turn a fad into an ongoing business concern. I believe that it can, but not to the extent that its investors will get 10x return on their investments.
Lastly the bit-rush from 1994-2008 has ended, and so has the computer revolution (1970-2010). There’s a new gold rush, and its in clean-tech.
Computers are a legacy of the sputnik,space-race, and the need for massive computational power for a space program. Space hegemony was the US’s primary domestic, and international concern.
However, now, the major domestic, and international concern is terrorism, and by extension the Middle East. Therefore energy security, and clean tech will dominate for the next 40 years.
I don’t believe those two trends are mutually exclusive.
Clean tech will rise, but the ‘bit-rush’ or IT is very much a part of ET (energy technology).
This is the most insightful comment on the twitter spins in TC or anywhere else. Brad Northrop, you’re the man!
Stop spamming. Why do you post such silly comment at the top?
On Feb 11, Tech Crunch gets added to Twitter recommended list.
On Feb 12, Tech Crunch posts: ‘Why we often write about Twitter and will continue to do so’.
You have always posted about Twitter. But now this is getting insane!! We love Twitter too, but give us a break!!
TechCrunch needs to really move away from Twitter related posts and get back to the normal way they update this blog. This post has all the info about the 3,00,000 followers twitter user but not about the real secret how it was done.
Again, right now there are 15 posts on the homepage that have absolutely nothing to do with Twitter. If you are feeling Twitter overload, I suggest you go read our other coverage.
Erick,
If we’re feeling Twitter overload (and most of us are fed up with this bullshit) we might just go ahead and read others’ (not yours!) other coverage.
You’re self-cannibalizing Techcrunch – please wake the fuck up and be a real journalist/pro-blogger, not just another Twitter whore!
Peace
anonymous person2, please wake the fuck up and learn how to read a byline. this isn’t my post.
anonymous person2, please wake the fuck up and learn how to read a byline. this isn’t my post.
Temper…….Temper thats no way to speak to your punters.
Eh, I think Eric is in the right here. He gets enough shit, to not take it sitting down.
Exciting breakthroughs in tech often involve a small group of prime movers (i.e. Apple, Google, Facebook and Twitter).
Twitter happens to be the hottest of the prime movers at the moment, particularly among tech trend-setters.
You are currently reading a blog about technology trends.
Get over it.
There is more than that happening, EJ. It has come to the point where Tech Crunch is behaving as though it is dedicated to Twitter’s success.
Check out Lance Armstrong on Twitya:
http://twitya.c...#lancearmstrong
twitter, twitter , twitter …. it seems you get BIG MONEY , i was reading you for more than a year , go write for your boss … i will not read it
While I also feel that there are too many articles on Twitter, I think it is completely wrong and inexcusable for many of the posters to accuse TC of receiving money from Twitter. As of yet I have no seen a single shred of evidence to suggest this is the case.
In many countries such unfounded accusations amount to libel, and you can be prosecuted for such unfounded accusations.
There is no doubt that there seems to be a large PR campaign going on with the recent VC fundraising to generate a lot of buzz in the mainstream media about twitter.
BUT to make unfounded accusations while hiding behind a pseudonym is not only cowardly but also simply wrong.
…. and the Queen of Spam from Delhi has spoken from her high Throne!
Someone should test this moron spammer for dope – Obviously free speech is considered “libelous, cowardly and simply wrong” in her Third World slum…
Anjali Spammersen [on dope]
From India
Stop being xenophobic!
It is interesting to know the idiotic attackers are all anonymous. put a link to your website you fucking cowards!
Indians, Nigerians, Iraqis, Brazilians and anyone from any side of the planet can participate in tech talk.
Bloody Asshole!
Me, Foofoo and Oo are Nigerian Government Officials. We need your invaluable help to disburse unclaimed funds from our Central Bank. The total amount of money is $25 million dollars.
We need from you urgently to remit us a money order for $12,000 in order to pay for legal processing fees. Also, if you desire to provide us with your personal bank account number, we could withdraw directly and expedite the funds to you.
Please do not hesitate, think of all yourself and your family could do with millions of dollars.
Regards from Lagos, Nigeria
” Wow! So it is so easy to make $25million. I will sell my house so I can become a millionaire! I am so lucky, I must be special”
That is probably what the idiots that fall for such stupid mails do.
Stop being a coward and do not use anonymous means to communicate. Focus on the topic and do not look for who to attack. If you have nothing to write, then read and SHUT UP!
Off topic aside……no one tested more for doping….no positives.
We can bury our heads if we want, but Twitter is a fact and this is a blog about tech and the use of tech…the guy is using it well and many of us can learn.
Now back to twittering about why Astana failed Contador.
Yes, there is a sample from later testing of a 99 sample:
http://www.velo...om/article/8740
Getting the real story behind the use of twitter is good journalism. A personal brand like armstrong, how he uses twitter, personal philosophies, and why he does it – very well written.
Tens of thousands of brands are using twitter and need to learn to improve their twitt etiquette. To see armstrong’s social brand and interactions with his fans, see http://twitter....earmstrong.html
Twitter is representative of many of the hottest trends on the web, social networks, microblogging, open sharing, brand marketing – we clearly need to understand these C changes better.
Keep interviewing and writing. Let’s see if we can overcome this blind men and the elephant problem.
How much does TC get paid from twitter for all these useless articles? The site had what only 4M visits in Feb and its publicized like the NEW bible for mankind.
To me all this useless press is having a reverse affect on me, i cant stand twitter now.
TC doesnt interest me anymore like the older days. But im sure TC doesnt care cause they got a FAT check from twitter
Sheesh! What’s with all this whining? Bless Lance Armstrong for pushing positive vibes instead of negative. Wish there was more of that. Love him or hate him, the man is remarkable. His use of Twitter is too. This is a good read, Techcrunch. Thanks!
should of had a locator on the bike. im sure that bike has been parted out by now. what ever happened to Demand Media. we dont hear much from them. they had a Next Great Media contest on vator dot tv and chose MixMonsta. http://vator.tv...any-competition there portfolio went from showcasing about 20+ sites now down to 6. got 350 mill in funding to have lightning strike twice since the myspace sale. the only light we have seen from them is the flicker from a handful bic lighters. so far they are not very exciting. make me sleepy just thinking about’em.
LightLocator.com – ideas everywhere
Stop spamming dude.
SpamLocator.com
Ick. Enough with Armstrong.
Cycling and the fight against cancer may be among the few growth areas in this recession/depression.
Why? Lance Armstrong.
Love him or hate him, the guy’s a phenom.
Hi twitter sort of acts as a release for him. Maybe it makes him feel good to converse with so many people after all the hard and tiring sessions.
Calling him a “natural” seems to imply that it’s hard to use Twitter. What’s so hard about posting short thoughts once in a while?
There is a HUGE PR push right now. When my litter sister asks if she should use twitter, you know everyone and their mom is talking about it.
Oh my answer – No.
Before joining Twitter, people join the groups on Linked In — “Twitter for Business”. Most of my web2-unaware friends have. It’s scary. Next time I see them, they will tell me about Twitter.
Nice post! Also check out my site at http://macmaniapodcast.com
Thank you for the article! I really enjoyed it. I’ve followed Lance’s posts since he began & it was nice to see his thoughts in more than 140 words.
I actually liked this article / interview. I’m a big fan of Lance and think it’s awesome that he’s twittering. And opposed to some of the other famous twitterers, he’s not annoying to follow (i.e. p diddy).
Peter Epstein
http://www.twit...er.com/pepstein
You have to admire Armstrong, even if you think he’s a little on the dull side personality wise. But no, I don’t think Twitter (or any other “social site”) is a good place for anything that requires a lot of conscience.
twitter S….PONCERS of Techcrunch.
Today’s Doonesbury comic refers to Twitter as a “Banal time-suck.”
http://www.doon...trip/dailydose/
regardless of your personal feelings about lance the fact that he has raised almost 400mm for cancer research is what is truly important. i, like many of you, have lost loved ones to the disease. if what he says and does encourages/inspires research and/or hope all the power to them.
good article Erick. I’m sorry to see the awful comments. Reminds me why I continue to read TC, but pass on the comments. However, I’m one who is impressed by Armstrong and how he reaches his fanbase. As a fan of Armstong, it’s a lot of fun to get the news from the source.
I could care less of editorial decisions. I don’t pay for this resource. The only person that can complain of subject balance is the guy paying the bills.
I liked the article. It allowed me to see a different side of Lance, he’s a real person and tells it like it is. Can you blame the guy for being who he is?
Just as I don’t think you can blame TechCrunch for yet writing another article about twitter. This article is about lance and his use of Twitter. The majority of TechCrunch’s Twitter related articles talk about trends and application in social media.
So you may be over it and want to hear some other news from your favorite technology blog, so great, but let them know with constructive criticism versus an all out bitch session.
My opinion anyway, thus why I love comments.
Great, Lance Armstrong has survived cancer….whoop-i-dee-doo. My step-grandparents died in the pasty 5 years (2 of them)…guess what, totaly okay but because of profession died in their late 70s within 3 years from each other).
Why is TC blogging about Lance Armstrong as a blogger.
Why not investigate and ask Yahoo! why the FUCK that I lost 3 my clubs that were in the top 10 of Yahoo when Yahoo! Clubs and eGroups merged. I lost Boyfriend and Girlfriend alley, a dating group that was #1 with over 50K in 2003 because Yahoo! was incompetent to merging larger groups well over 10K members.
very cool interview.
enjoyed it.
I liked the article.
What disturbs me is that a lot of commenters don´t seem to understand the viral phenomenon. Paranoid people with a huge sense of self-importance and
seriousness tries to tell the “stupid masses” whats going on; there is “PR push” for Twitter. Twitter has bought Techcrunch and of course
just about every newspaper on the planet. For example, here in Sweden the twitter-usage by journalists has provoked interesting debates about transparency and reader involment. This doesn´t happen very often and I think
it´s a fantastic phenomenon. Twitter is disruptive,gamechanging, inclusive, open, fast,simple and easy to use. The perfect startup. Why wouldn´t Techcrunch wanna write about it?
I guess some will say that there was a “huge PR push” for Skype, Youtube, Google, Blogger,Facebook etc. What those poeple fail to realize is that a good internetservice always sells itself. You can´t promote internet services through advertisments or buying journalists, bloggers or whomever, it has absolutely never worked. So, in my opnion, Twitter deserves it´s success and every article written about it.
Interesting stud athlete + technology combination.
very cool interview.
enjoyed it.
I for one liked this article!
And get over it, Twitter being mentioned regularly on a tech blog isn’t exactly a mortal sin.
stop that twitter thing!
its enough
u are marketing for them?
ass-o…wake up.
let me see some REAL techcrunch as it was earlier!
Wow, 300,000+ followers within such a freaking short time is an awesome feet. But of course, it’s THE Lance Armstrong we are talking about here, so it’s understandable. It’s truly inspiring, nonetheless.
Twitter has become one of the great tools in internet messaging. But I do wonder which between Plurk and Twitter is better? I just have twitter though and I don’t have a plurk.
So much negativity in this comments stream – why? If you don’t like the Twitter stories, don’t read them, simple as!
As for Lance – again why so bitter and twisted about a guy who is fiercely competitive, someone to be hugely admired and inspirational. I can only imagine the type of people who feel it necessary to be so aggressively critical – get a life!
Anyway TC keep up the good work – oh and let me know if you need a guest interviewer for a Lance update interview.
I’ll state up front that I have a neutral opinion about Lance Armstrong, athlete. He’s a great cyclist and one of the best Tour de France riders in history. On the other hand he has a rep as an egotistical jerk. I’ve been following the sport for almost 20 years, so for those folks who only know Lance from the TdF wins and cancer fundraising, you can talk to any long term fan and find out why some people don’t like him. It’s not just the French and it’s not jealousy.
My husband follows him on Twitter and he can be really funny and gives some good insights on the pro cycling tour. I think he’s also encouraged some of the other riders who’ve been popping up on Twitter recently.
has anyone made a yahoo pipes that is techcrunch less twitter tags?
that would be useful.