Twitinterview with Natarajan Hariharan @HNatarajan

Long time since I have interviewed someone, and there are many reasons for it. Anyways good that it’s back! And this time, its one of the best people I ever met online, and this frankly has been one of the best twitinterviews so far. Its Natarajan Hariharan. His profile on twitter is enough to explain what he is -

Passionate Writer, Columnist, Entrepreneur, Researcher, Networker, Twitterholic, Sports Nut, Dreamer, Inspirer, Humorist, Humanist and Optimist. Phew!

He has been an inspiration to my online presence, my way of interaction has been greatly influenced by him. And he is ready to talk about anything, any topic, anytime on twitter. Offline celebs who enter social media are not celebs here, but Natty is a celebrity on twitter for me. He is a person with great knowledge, positive attitude and in fact, being so much engaged into many things around, his acceptance for this interview and dedicating some time for it can explain much of him!

Here goes the interesting and must-read part -

1. Introduce yourself briefly?

A: I’m a journalist. Was the Sports Editor of a leading national newspaper…As a writer in general & cricket writer in particular, I have contributed to many of the biggest newspapers, magazines & websites all over the world. But my interests, in recent years, have meandered into several other areas…some of which will be unveiled in the near future. As an individual, I strive to be warm, helping, friendly, genuine, connecting with people from all walks of life and across all ages. My Twitter bio @HNatarajan will give you some indication of who I am.

2. Since when are you tweeting and what do you tweet about more frequently?

A: I joined Twitter on February 17, 2009. There are no restrictive boundaries to my tweeting – they cover the broad spectrum. And it ranges from serious debates of national and international interest to undiluted fun. My tweets cater to everybody’s interest.

3. Which other social networks/microblogging sites do you use apart?

A: I am on Facebook, Flickr, Plaxo, Ryze (inactive), besides Twitter.

4. How many accounts do you have on Twitter?

A: Just one – @HNatarajan

5. You feel Twitter has a good future or its going to be a spam-bay like Myspace?

A: I cannot comment on Myspace because I’m not on it. But what I know for a fact is that spammers are to the internet world what terrorists are to the real world. They have a sadistic mind for mass destruction. It’s my personal belief that nothing is safe from spammers.

6. Have you made real-life friends from Twitter? And met them personally?

A: I have made plenty of friends in the time I have been on Twitter and have been interacting with many over email/phone/DM like @mad_nad, @flowingfountain, @StrawberryChix, @DrVini, @KirtiB, @Spicychutney, @subhadra_72, @KhushiKiDuniya, @yearning4d_sky, @mihirbijur, @softykid, @shamz911, @varunshridhar, @mihirlakhani, @anaggh, @v_shakthi, @nwaz_a, @Farrhad to name just a few. It takes time, effort & trust to form meaningful friendship, especially when distance comes in the way of personal interaction. One has to work on friendship; work is always under progress. I have met a few tweeps and will be meeting several more in the very near future – even out of my city (Mumbai).

7. How can you say one’s addicted to Twitter?

A: When it becomes an extension of your anatomy – indeed, your life itself! It’s like being in love – you want your girlfriend/boyfriend all the time next to you or on the phone, even if it means coochicooing sweet nothings. You check your timeline, then @mentions, then reply to DMs and then you get back again to checking the flow in the timeline, @mentions…! You can say you are addicted when you find yourself glued to it and don’t realize that you wanted to exit several hours back to attend to more important things. And it’s a pattern that is repetitive, day in and day out.

8. Which Twitter clients do you use? Which is your favorite?

A: My preference is restricted to TweetDeck. I get to the web only when the API limits stop the flow of tweets. and when you well have over 6,000 followers as I do, the flow is like the torrent of an angry river. I did try Seismic, but I did not find it to my liking.

9. What’s life for you without Twitter?

A: It’s an important part of my life at present. I am grateful to Twitter that it gave me hundreds of friends, including some very meaningful and of good quality and, which I hope, will last my lifetime. But Twitter was not there a year back, so I guess it’s not like there will be a huge void in my life if, God forbid, Twitter is not there tomorrow. Something else will come up. There is no dearth of enterprise in this world. Having made that point, I am very optimistic about the growth and future of Twitter.

10. Do you tweet first or check mails or read the newspaper when you wake up?

A: I get five newspapers which I quickly browse through first thing on getting up in the morning while having my breakfast. I like to be prompt in my response, so step two is to check & respond to my emails – and there’s plenty to check! It’s only after checking my mails that I get on Twitter because the flurry of tweets can keep you pinned to your seat for long.

11. Do you worry if someone unfollowed you?

A: Not at all. Everybody is well within his/her right to follow or unfollow whomever they want and that right has to be respected. But I usually unfollow anybody who does not wish to follow me because I believe Twitter is essentially meant for interaction. I follow only follow a handful of people who do not follow me. And I do it because I see value in following them. Example: Vir Sanghvi. Of course, he does not follow anybody. Pritish Nandy is another who does not follow to many people, but I follow him because I like to read what he says. By the way, Pritish and I interact with each other on Twitter without following each other.

12. Do you think, celebrities can take social networking to the next level, or they are just for self-promotion?

A: Firstly, one needs to define the word “celeb” in the context of the question. Is Vir Sanghvi a celeb? The answer would, in all probability, be “yes”. Is Mallika Sherawat or Rakhi Sawant a celeb? Again, the answer would be “yes”. But imagine the value Vir gets as opposed to Mallika or Rakhi! There is no comparison. The likes of Vir can facilitate Twitter emerging as a serious threat to the conventional media and in the process take the microblogging site to a different level. That has more meaningful impact in the social context than a Mallika using the platform for her personal promotion. Perfectly legit, but the impact is more personal than social.

It’s also my belief – and I could be wrong – that many of the Bollywood celebs that are rushing to Twitter are doing it out of curiosity and as a fad. Once they lose interest in the new ‘toy’, they will be disappear or come back just before a film release. Even now, the interaction of the Bollywood janata is very clannish. They are using Twitter as an open chat platform to talk with their known friends rather than interact with unknowns or connect with new people.

15. Who are the 5 best tweeps you suggest to follow?

A: Best in what?
Best in terms of offering knowledge, best as an interactive tweep, best as a fun-loving person… its endless. @livetorque is arguably the best on Twitter when it comes to tweeting quotes. But his is almost a one-point agenda in which he is class apart. But if you aren’t exactly the kind who would want to read quotes, you may not find value in following him. He does his job quietly and leaves. He doesn’t interact much.

I can touch my heart and say that it’s not easy for me to pick five from 6000+ people as I have made hundreds of good contacts. But if I you were to allow me ten, instead of five, who I think everybody should follow, then would have to be @mashable, @zaibatsu, @GuyKawasaki, @Jason_Pollock, @BuzzEdition, @Flipbooks, @ruhanirabin @iamkhayyam and two from India in @ManiKarthik and @cheth

Of course, I am certain I would have missed some deserving names here, but its purely unintentional.

16. Is there anything that you feel strongly about?

A: Yes, I do. I wish Twitter adds a “Thanx” button where a tweep can acknowledge someone for RT/Follow Friday. If you tweet qualitative stuff and have a huge following, you will get high number of RTs. Thanking all of them becomes an arduous & time consuming. But I believe it has to be done because it’s my firm conviction that we are whatever we are because of the efforts of our followers in promoting us through RTs, Mentions & Follow Friday recommendations. I think it’s important that gratitude is shown for that. But it’s simpler, quicker & more efficient if one can just push a button & express that gratitude than having to do it via the timeline.

17. Do you think the Follow Friday is outdated because of the lists?

A: Not at all. A List is just a collation… while FollowFriday is where one gives personal insights when recommending somebody. Your profile may say you are a dental student and I may have clubbed you with a group of doctors, but that doesn’t say much. But if say, “Follow the multi-talented Chetan Bhawani ( @sizzler_chetan ) – a do-gooder, a sensitive soul and a good friend to have,” it says lot more about you. And recommendations carry weight if it comes from a credible & respected people. So “Follow Friday” can never be underestimated.

Often I hear people say, “Oh he doesn’t require a reco…he’s big..”… That’s wrong thinking. Maybe the person you recommend is big, but by saying who he is in a reco, a newbie on Twitter gets to knows that person as to why he should be following the biggie.

I would like to thank Natty from my heart for this awesome interview. I always crave to learn from you and am sure am doing it well. You are an inspiration, not just for me but for many around. Thanks again!

Posted in Twitinterview on January 20, 2010