LA People 2009: The “Tweethearts” — Laurie and Sean Percival

With great hair comes great responsibility. Editors of the L.A. tech gossip blog Lalawag, Laurie and Sean Percival own about seven Snuggies and four Twitter accounts between them and are guaranteed to be the tallest, most attractive people at any tech event. Moving from Orange County to L.A. to work at Mahalo, DocStoc and eventually Tsavo Media, Sean Percival knows the ins and outs of almost every aspect of the content business and can gauge perfect content when he sees it; that’s how he felt about Laurie, whose Twitter bio now reads, “My husband made me a Web site so I wouldn’t have to work anymore; how sweet.” Laurie supported him through his attempt at authorship and through his time as an evangelist for Mahalo founder Jason Calacanis, (a “big inspiration”). Maybe that’s why his bio reads, “Do you know HTML stands for ‘How to Make Love?’”

Originally from Irvine, Sean started his career in Las Vegas as a janitor in the same building as Vegas.com and then, taking an interest in the Web site, learned how to build one in his spare time. “So poor he didn’t own a computer,” he traded in his janitorial position for one as Web designer and began making “the most awful sites.” Laurie said she was initially attracted to Sean because guys in tech are “not into sports.” An online influencer before he was, Laurie introduced Sean to MySpace, and he ended up writing a book about it. Then he wrote a book on Second Life before putting his authorial aspirations on hold to become a marketer and content provider. “I’ll do anything once,” he says.

Despite their Internet “labor of love,” the two never let their work get in the way of their play. “It’s so vital I have a good time at work,” says Sean, “I’ll immediately quit any job that becomes too much like a ... well, job. This is why I’m so drawn to the tech startup space. When it comes to online content, a primary driver for audiences is entertainment. I know I’m doing something right when I find myself laughing uncontrollably from behind the screen.”

Spending their nights publishing and chronicling the highs and lows of Lala, the Percivals know how to work and live with a significant other. Sean’s commenter tagline reads: “Hi I run this joint.” Laurie’s? “He may run this joint, but I run him.”