Boston may be a small city, but it’s a great one, and no one knows that more than city expert and self-titled “Urbanologist” Max Grinnell. With roots in Seattle and Madison, Wisconsin, Max has dedicated most of his life to studying how cities work and teaching others through his publications, website, and — most importantly — Twitter.

As @theurbanologist, Max explores Boston and Chicago (an area he calls “Boscago”) and highlights the best parts of both in terms of entertainment, growth, sociology, and more.

Max lent us an ear to talk Boston, Twitter, and what it really means to be an urbanologist.

What pulled you to Twitter as your main social network?

The in-the-moment aspect of it is fantastic and I think that the easy ebb and flow of just dipping in at any given moment is wonderful.

I’ve been able to grab the ear of interesting and compelling folks around the world to talk about the history of Chicago jazz, public art in Boston, the future of urban development in megacities, and a hundred other topics. And folks from around the world have grabbed my ear as well, which is as it should be. 

Where did the idea of “Boscago” come from? How do you implement that into your Tweets and your daily life?

Boscago came about as part of a conversation with my friend Adam Castiglioni (some know him as @conciergeboston) last year during the Stanley Cup playoffs. We both have Chicago connections and we were talking about the shared connections between these two excellent cities and we just pushed the two together to create our own urban portmanteau.

The Cup ended, and we still keep on sharing ideas from both places in the fields of urban design, architecture, public art, hospitality, and a host of other areas. It’s fun and informative and other folks have joined in with their own tweets about Boscago.

I should also mention that I’m the mayor of Boscago and it’s an elected position I take very seriously.

Of course, you can find more details on this hard-fought campaign [over here].

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve seen on your Twitter feed? 

Someone came out of the woodwork after my successful campaign for mayor of Boscago and claimed that I was an impostor and that I couldn’t possibly be the right and honorable mayor. Lots of tweets in all caps, obscenities – so basically, like much of the Internet (quick reminder to all of your readers: don’t read the comments, friends).

What are some things you’d like to see more of on Twitter? Some trends that need to be stopped?

I like thoughtful and fun dialogue that leads to authentic and interesting collaborations. One rather cool individual (hat tip to @hparker, Heather Parker) is thinking about a Boscago wallet. How cool is that? And when a big brand or corporation can do something interesting with a tweet or two, that always blows me away (tough to do as it usually comes off as just good old product placement and such).

Too many hashtags in one tweet (a.k.a. #TMH. Oh, please give me credit for that hashtag.) is a trend that needs to come to a screeching halt. And appropriation of “That so and so life tho” is obnoxious. We get it. You’re on a boat, you just had a great cupcake and so on. Just say it quietly to yourself and be done with it.

Obviously, you’re invested pretty heavily in Seattle, Chicago, and Boston. Which other cities do you set your eyes on occasionally? How do their social landscapes compare? 

As someone who gets paid to talk and write about cities, I set my eyes on cities that fall a bit under the radar, as they also fascinate me.

It’s true that many great ideas come out of big cities on the coasts, but hey, what about Cincinnati and their Over the Rhine neighborhood? How about the Indianapolis Cultural Trail? There’s a lot more room for creative urban place-making in these cities.

I think most fellow urbanologists would do well to keep a close eye on [them].

As far as Twitter in these places and reading the social landscape, I’ve made a number of awesome connections with folks in these cities who’ve wanted to meet up, talk Twitter, talk urban transformation, culture and more. It’s awesome.

What are some of your favorite Twitter accounts? 

My favorite Twitter accounts have the same qualities I look for in a friend: affable, down-to-earth, a bit of sarcasm, and a certain world-weary quality.

In Boston, I always enjoy @conciergeboston (Adam again, of course), @universalhub, @welcometodot, @senatorjohn, @fortpointer, @heyratty, @jgee, @bostoninsider, & @BPLBoston. That’s the short list of course, and I didn’t even look at my Twitter feed.

In Chicago, you can’t go wrong with @robertloerzel, @rogersparkman, @chicagobars, @choosechicago, @msshanbo, @konkolscorner, @kellyryanobrien, & @themanonfive.

For everyone else, please check out the folks I retweet. That usually indicates some level of affinity or kinship in my book.

Do you have any tips for folks exploring a new city? 

First, slow down. Second, look up. Tough advice when we are all so busy, no? It’s a nice way to get perspective and it forces us to look closely.

And yes: stop at a used bookstore and get the local flavor. I’ve written about that [here].

Why do you think Twitter is so important to Bostonians?

It’s a well-educated, tech-friendly (obsessed) city and people like to share. Lively debates ensue, most are thoughtful – at least in my circles – and people can agree to disagree about everything from the best pizza in the North End (Umberto’s) and the most overrated bar in Boston (no comment).

And Max continues to explore and learn about the city, sharing new facts and photos with us along the way. Maybe soon he’ll make Boscago a reality, after all.

To keep up with Max, you can follow him on Twitter at @theurbanologist or hit up his blog here.