Interesting Tweople: Liesl De Bruin

Running Wolf's Rant features Liesl De Bruin, a sarcastic rugby-loving Johannesburger with a passion for social media. From owning a food and beverage business to working in gaming and radio marketing, Liesl credits authenticity and genuine human connection as key to her success. She believes in staying humble and real in a space full of noise.

Today it’s time for another edition of Interesting Tweople on Running Wolf’s Rant.  Today I’m featuring @Liesldb (Liesl De Bruin), an ex Pretoria girl now living it up in Johannesburg.

At first when you meet @Liesldb, she comes across as very sarcastic, hard, (and she has been told) very intimidating, but once you get to know her, she’s actually a big softy. She loves people – well, most people. She loves rugby.

Since she’s an ex Pretoria girl, the the Bulls are still her team. You’ll find her with beer in hand watching the rugby with the lads before you find her in the kitchen making salad.  She also loves quiz nights and has a weird addiction to Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook. @Liesldb is also infamous for the ‘Liesl Pout’.

Along the way Liesl De Bruin has met incredible people that have inspired her to always stay focused on the bigger picture. She believes that there are always going to be people that will do their utmost to see you fail and that the trick is to muffle their protests with the overwhelming support of the people that believe in you. She also believe that you choose your friends and they are your adopted family.

I met Liesl De Bruin in 2011 and she turned out to be one of the nicest Joburgers that this Pretoria boytjie has ever met. I recently had the privilege to interview this stunning lady and this is what she had to say.

What is Liesl De Bruin currently conjuring up in the social media space with her magic wand?

Over the last few of years my life has changed quite dramatically.  I went from having my own business in the Food and Beverage industry, to working in the gaming industry (not referring to gambling). It’s here where I fell in love with my creative side again, writing blogs and articles after hours, basically living a complete double life that left little time for sleep.

It’s amazing what you will do for a passion, even when you are not getting paid for it. This opened up all the Social Media roads for me, and it finally led me to the Marketing Team at a radio station, handling the online reputation, and a few of the Social Media portfolios. I sometimes do miss my writing. It was a platform to express myself, and now running company portfolios, it makes it harder to express certain voices that need to converse.

What is the funniest thing you’ve seen on Twitter over the years?

That’s actually a hard question. Twitter never seems to disappoint. It has me in serious LOL mode quite often. For me, it was meeting people off Twitter in real life, and realising they were NOTHING like their personas they were perceiving to be – but that’s more a serious note… the funniest thing has to be by far a photo posted of Ricky in his fishnet shirt – priceless… @RickybyNight

What would you say is the best criteria that makes you a successful social media contributor / community manager?

I think being real is first and foremost. There is already so much BS being fed to us through so many platforms. People are desperately looking for some honesty and consistency. Talk to people… don’t just ignore followers or fans just because they don’t have social status. It’s SO important to always stay humble.

Would you say that Social Media has changed your life, and how?

It changed my career path – completely! I never for a second thought I’d end up working in a social media field, and here I am! Other than traveling, it also reminded me that there is a massive world out there, with different personalities, cultures, interests… I am learning about myself through others constantly.

If you could recommend 5 people that lighten up your timeline, who would they be?

This is putting me on the spot – I have so many fantastic people on my TL – sorry to my besties xxx (you guys know I love you all)… but if we’re just talking social media, then they would have to be the following:

• @jodenecoza – purely because I am always so inspired after a convo with her. She’s been a saving grace and amazing example.
• @Neil_Morrison – he’s as bat crazy in real life as he is on Twitter. His intentions are good, even if his tweets don’t portray it :p
• @DJMorgantheKing – for reigniting my love for music. It’s my escape from this crazy world.
• @MissHagan_ – her story and journey was a reality check for me. Her bravery to talk out is my guiding light.
• @Spillly – the dude is kak funny… really he is.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Liesl De Bruin for taking her time to do this interview. I wish her all of the best with her future endeavors. If you’re not following her on Twitter yet, you might just be a dumbass.

Watch this space for more interviews on Running Wolf’s Rant in the regularly updated Technology, Music and Babes categories.