Will Twitter kill the video star? MTV on the hunt for a Twitter Jockey

The nascent world of social media is attracting increasingly venerable brands.

MTV is looking for its very own Twitter Jockey, offering a $100,000, one-year contract to represent the music video channel on the microblogging service.

According to the job description, the jockey will actively engage with the channels audience through MTV.com, Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and some televised segments.

“The TJ will be your voice, and the means of communication between you and all the MTV celebrities, producers and employees,” the company says. The cable channel has found 18 potential candidates and has two more slots that will be awarded through an online contest. Somewhat ironically, in order nominate a candidate, viewers need to “like” MTV’s sponsor for the competition, a youth-focused American Express card called ZYNC, on Facebook. (Wouldn’t following a specific MTV Twitter account be more appropriate?)

The contest is yet another sign that social networks have usurped cable channels as the primary space for youth to interact and share their experiences.

Corporations like MTV’s parent, Viacom, are taking these platforms increasingly seriously. Seeing a potential market in the space, McKinsey & Co., which counts some of the world’s biggest companies among its clients, also opened a social media consultancy today in partnership with ratings firm Nielsen Co. Nielsen partnered with Facebook last year to study how brand advertising on the social network impacts consumer behavior.

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Tags: TJ, Twitter jockey