Guys, I’m up on a @HoodBlimp & the view is beautiful from up here. #HoodBlimpSweeps pic.twitter.com/BN4YgEnsz8

— Only In Boston (@OnlyInBOS) July 17, 2014

Twitter user @OnlyInBOS (OIB) is Boston’s best-kept secret. With over 35,000 followers, the self-proclaimed “most relevant digital media influencer” in the city has quickly become one of Boston’s biggest voices, sharing commentary on its best events, food, nightlife and people. But who is behind it all? Hopping from one bar and event to another, there are hundreds of pictures documenting the adventure with nary a manicured nail nor fly-ass Jordans to give us a clue, but the truth is not entirely concealed. OIB took the time to sit down with Metter Media and give us some insight to how it all works.

What’s behind your secret identity?

Right now, I’m at a point where OnlyInBOS is a brand. The brand is better than putting my face on it. People don’t know who I am. It’s 50/50 even for gender — I like to see who people expect I am. I’m at the point where the mystery is to my advantage, so you want to let it be your own thing. The thing is, I’m not hiding. We can meet, but you have to meet in person. These type of communications are the most impactful, not a couple DMs or text messages. That might be what got me here, but it’s not what contributes to the whole picture.

How important is it to you that a Twitter account has its own personality?

We’re in the age where there’s so much information. What’s going to make you stop and read? Stop and click? It has to be something different, but it’s got to sound genuine. Six people can deliver the same news – I’m gonna deliver a certain piece about it. I’m never going to copy and paste headlines. I’ll pick something specific from an article. People will retweet it because it stands out.

What’s the coolest experience you’ve had via Twitter?

It’s all been cool. Lately, everything has been exciting. Last week, I went up on the Hood Blimp. You can read the article or ask a representative to tweet about it, but I’ll just ask, “Can I go there?” I’m there. If I’m tweeting something, I’ll show up there. Why would I talk about something if I won’t be there? That was insane. I didn’t realize how excited I was until I showed up — that’s something I’ve been seeing in the sky for years, and suddenly I’m up there. 

Landed, safe & sound, thank you to the @HoodBlimp pilot & crew. Crossing that off the bucketlist. #HoodBlimpSweeps pic.twitter.com/ud0iVNauYc — Only In Boston (@OnlyInBOS) July 17, 2014

I’ve had some other cool experiences, too. I got to play outfield for the Jimmy Fund at Fenway earlier this summer. That was so unreal, a “whoa” moment.

Another thing: I was tweeting about an event at Brahmin in Back Bay, but someone modified the tweet and tagged the DJ, who told me to stop by and say hi. Later that night, we were in this packed line down the street and I DMed the event host, who didn’t respond. So I DMed the DJ, who told me to go to his bodyguard and say “Swedish Fish.” I went up to the guard, said “Swedish Fish,” he looked at our IDs and let us in.

These little perks have gotten so heavy that I feel really connected. It’s those small moments that you remember when you go somewhere.

So are these kind of interactions the norm now?

I’ll give you one more story: I met up with the guys with BarUp — I tweeted about them once and almost 40 people signed up, and they were like, “Who IS this?” I was at Coogans with them and said “watch this,” and tweeted, “First person to find me at Coogans: beer on me.” Ten minutes later, five people responded that they were at the bar.

We were meeting these people, shaking their hands, and this huge bar crawl showed. I decided it might be good to take some pictures, so I asked the group if I could take their photo. One of the girls asked me who I was with and I said, “Oh, I’m just with Coogans, but I’m also –” and I didn’t even finish the sentence, she was like, “Are you OnlyInBOS?” and started squealing. That was another kind of “whoa” moment. A lot of cool shit’s happened.

Any weird stuff?

I’ve had some stalkers – emails, threatening, intimidation – but I don’t know why. People are, I guess, attracted to power. They just like to be associated to something that looks powerful. I’m just any other person, but I’ve built a bigger voice than other people.

Tell us about the business side of OnlyInBOS.

There’s nothing formal there. I’d be stupid not to try and make money off of it, but I have to still stay true to my audience, my followers. I can’t break that bond. There’s been stuff in play, but it’s a new thing, I’m blazing my own trail.

Why am I going to charge a local blog, a local artist or a startup? We’re all startups. We have to help each other out.

The more I am humble about that, the more doors are getting opened. More and more people see that. I’m not acting like I’m the shit. I’m just another person saying I need to work harder. I want to make sure every person in the city knows my account – especially in terms of businesses.

What do you think makes you stand out from other accounts?

I don’t put myself in a category. The average age of my followers is 19; 70% of my followers are female. I have my audience solid. You can see it – there’s a difference between a tweet from me and one from other people. They’re doing their thing. I don’t have to check every hour and see what they’re tweeting. Someone may tweet that there are solar-power benches in the Common, but I won’t just post it. I’m going to head down there and charge my phone.

But there’s a feeling of exclusivity with the top Boston Twitter accounts. Is that the reason you try to be so interactive?

Other people don’t have time. They don’t give themselves the time to do that. I watch who follows me. If I see a Celtic account exec follows me, I’ll DM them and say, “Hey, we should work together,” and the next week I’m at the Garden. I take the effort and that opens up another story to share.

The more people I work with and the more experiences I can showcase, it makes both of our brands look good when we work together in the future. It makes me more versatile because I tweet about what I’m interested in. People aren’t shocked if I introduce a new topic.

I don’t talk about Boston all the time — I try to talk about stuff all over the world that doesn’t have to directly affect Boston. There are other things going on around the world.

It’s funny, because people notice that. I had a new follower the other day tweet at a non-Boston tweet saying, “This sounds like ‘not only in Boston,'” and my followers will say, “Hey, this guy’s a writer. This is how they tweet.” I love that they get that, and they defend me. Sometimes I just don’t understand that loyalty, but I love it. That’s why I feel like I’m different. That’s why I try to be so personal.

You’ve tweeted about your interns. Do they help you with the tweets?

The person behind the tweets is definitely ONE person. The OIB intern always gets pointed out on Twitter, but they’re helping with other projects.

So what’s next?

There’s some big things coming up, but I can’t say just yet. There will be giveaways. I’m working on tons of OIB projects and seeing what I can do. You can do anything. That’s what’s exciting about this.

I’m still learning. I didn’t get a marketing degree. I didn’t expect any of this to happen. I think I’m doing something right.

Want to know more? Check out The Boston Calendar’s recent interview with OnlyInBOS on their blog.