BostonTweet, Tom O'Keefe — General Info

Posted on September 17, 2011 If you're from the Boston area and have a Twitter account, then there's a pretty good chance you've come across the name "Boston Tweet". The man behind the account is Tom O'Keefe and his tweets give valuable information on Boston news, events, food, drinks, and what's hot in the city. Before "Boston Tweet" became what it is now, Tom was originally a financial analyst until he caught the Internet startup bug which gave him the drive to create new and exciting online resources. He is responsible for "Wired Alumni" online alumni networking community (99), "ResearchConnect" independent research portal (03), "Bizak" internet valuation tool (08), "InfoMedMD" medical symptom checker (08), and a new venture "Restaurant Bingo" is scheduled to launch within the next month. Tom is also a graduate of Boston College with a degree of Economics and Political Science to add to his resume list. Make sure to follow Tom on Twitter for everything popular and hip in Boston.

Interview

Q: So tell everyone, what is Boston Tweet about?
A: BostonTweet is all about life in Boston and things to do of value in the city. I tweet about news, events, food and drinks that I feel are of interest to my core demographics - 20 and 30 somethings living in the city.

Q: What are some of your favorite categories to tweet about?
A: Free food in Boston is always the most popular topics to talk about. I also love events that become popular purely because of social media. The "Great Pillow Fight" is a perfect example of an event that attract thousands of participants because of Twitter.

Q: So how does it feel to almost be at 40,000 followers?
A: It's overwhelming. When I started BostonTweet three years ago I never expected it to become as influential as it has become. I'm always grateful for each new follower that I receive and I've been able to meet hundreds (if not thousands) of those followers - that's hands down the best part about BostonTweet.

Q: Why did you want to start Boston Tweet?
A: I started BostonTweet (November 2008) as a way to create awareness for local business when the economy was descending into a recession. I was very fearful that the local bars and restaurants would be empty and who wants to go to an empty bar.

Q: What's an average day like for you?
A: The only constant is that I get up in the morning. Everything else that I do depends on where events/news of the day take me. Some days I don't have anything to do other than go to lunch, while others have me speaking at local colleges (BU & Emerson), driving million dollar sports cars, sitting in the owners box at Fenway and of course eating burritos.

Q: If you had to choose one area in Boston to spend the day, where would it be and why?
A: The Boston Public Garden is one of my favorite places in Boston - absolutely beautiful. However, at some point you'll get hungry in the park. My three favorite squares are Davis Square, Inman Square and Washington Square. All three of them are more neighborhood than tourist attractions with some of the best bars and restaurants in the city (even though all three are not technically in Boston).

Q: Are you affiliated with anyone? Does anyone sponsor you?
A: I don't get paid for anything I tweet and I'm not affiliated with anyone - this gives me total freedom to do whatever I want in the city, have zero conflicts of interest, and tweet about only my favorite things to do (or to go) in the city. Groupon sponsors me - I make introductions for them and I hold giveaways for free Groupons.

Q: The last and final question. What brand phone are you tweeting from on the go?
A: I've been a loyal iPhone user since the Edge was released in 2007. The iPhone changed everything for social media and it changed everything for me - it frees me from having to stay inside working on a "table top" computer.