In a Today Show interview on Friday hyped as a bit of a scoop, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo offered jokes, some insight on what it's like to be the oldest guy in the room and an important goal: bringing a few high-profile female comedians to the service.
Everyone, including Today Show host Matt Lauer, expected something more.
Interviewing Twitter CEO @dickc after the show. He's going to tell me something he's never told anyone else. No pressure Dick.
— Matt Lauer (@MLauer) December 4, 2013
However, when Lauer asked Costolo about the "secret" that was apparently promised, the only response he got was, "Sometimes at night I cry." About what? "The fact that I don't have any secrets." It was a deflective joke that may indicate Costolo changed his mind about sharing information on the Twitter roadmap.
The exchange about comedians Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Melissa McCarthy came when Lauer asked about Costolo's "white whale" — the holdout whom he most wants to get on Twitter. Costolo ratted off the names of these popular comediennes, perhaps not a surprise since Costolo has a background in standup comedy and a history of cracking wise.
Lauer, 55, teased Costolo, 50, about being the oldest guy at Twitter, but the CEO spun the question to his advantage. "To work with people who see what's coming next because they use it every day is invigorating, it's exciting," he said.
Costolo, who successfully guided Twitter to its IPO earlier this year, also addressed the sometimes dual nature of the microblogging platform, as a platform for both good and nastiness.
"What you're seeing is two sides of the same coin," Costolo told Lauer. The anonymity provided by a Twitter handle can allow free speech where it is normally banned or oppressed, Costolo added, alluding to Twitter’s role in helping to ignite and propel the Arab Spring. That same anonymity, or "pseudonimity," as Costolo called it, is also used as a shield when people want to tweet "mean things."
Lauer also tried to coax Costolo into offering his tips for crafting the best tweets, but the Twitter CEO said it's too dependent on the person who is tweeting to offer blanket guidelines.
"It's the 140 character constraint itself that makes the creativity of operating in that constraint beautiful," he said. "From a specific account, you have to speak with an authentic tone of voice, because in this day and age, with the ubiquity of communication we have, people can sense inauthenticity."
In other words: Be real, people. And a word to Poehler, McCarthy and Fey: Costolo is waiting for you.
You can watch the whole interview below:

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Image: AFP/Getty Images