Barry Furby is the Co-Founder of techMAP, the online and offline community for Marketing, Advertising and PR professionals which derived from one of the biggest social media meet-up’s in UK. He is also  the Founder of Fresh Resources, the digital recruitment agency which  provides a specialist service that is truly passionate about social media and digital marketing. You can follow Barry on Twitter and Linkedin.

G: How and why did you get into social media business?

B: My background is in recruitment so I’ve always been in the business of connecting people in the digital space. The recruitment business is typically a great training ground for entrepreneurial folk, where sales is the focus but customer service and relationship management is equally important. I’ve always loved technology and right now I love the way this industry is shaping up. My particular interest is to leverage online tools and community to create valuable offline connections. I’d love techMAP to connect great people and shape the way we do business – big statement, but I’m up for the challenge.

G: What is it like to be a real Social Media Citizen?

B: I treat each platform differently in terms of messages and conversation that take place but across all of them I treat mentions and direct messages like my inbox, responding as soon as possible – although it’s easy with all these things to get side tracked. I try to manage short bursts of work to get things done (30-45mins at a time). It’s important to find a balance of being social AND getting the day job(s) done! iTunes is my saviour, it allows me to sink into my own little work hard world one song at a time!

G: How do you mange to be consistent on social media?

B: Its about people and the platforms that you’re using, I don’t have a strategy as such just things that I believe are the right way to behave – no spamming, lots of conversation, sharing and discussing.

G: What are your favourite social media hang out sites?

B: Linkedin and Twitter mainly for work, increasingly blurred lines between those and letting a few closer connections in on Facebook. Twitter has changed my life and how I do business, it feels natural and has connected me with people that I feel very privileged to know.

G: How would you define a  Social Media Citizen?

B: The perfect SMC is a digitally savvy connector of people, leveraging connections and community help people / business’ thrive and understand their market.

G: What are your favourite social media campaigns?

B: I think the Catch a Choo campaign was a fantastic example of using Social Media tools to connect people offline and help a brand make some big impact in a retail space they wasn’t currently operating in.

G: What do you see in the future for the social media?

B: Mashable has dropped the phrase ‘the social media guide’, we’ve re-branded Social Media Monday to techMAP – maybe that shift is happening right now!

G: Describe yourself in five tags?

B: Aspiring, Motivated, Social, Connector, Dad

G: What’s your favourite hobby?

B: Right now I’m fairly hobby-less, being dad to two wonderful boys and loving my job works. Love motorsport, football and geeky tech things.

G: What don’t you like about social media?

B: I guess there is a frustration inside and outside this small part of the online industry surrounding narcissistic guru types. But I feel there’s shift happening, Social Media needs to fit into the wider business picture, it’s here to stay and I feel the fluffy guru types that aren’t business savvy will have had their day.

G: How did social media change your life?

B: Inspired two business’ that I love running and enabled me to make fascinating connections for myself and to share with others.

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A big Thank You to Barry for his great insights!! You can find the rest of the interviews with the Social Media Citizens at Social Media interviews category