If you're still doubting the use of or need for Twitter, this is the post for you. I'm constantly amazed at what a powerful personal and professional network it is for me. When it's working (which has been sporadic of late), it can transform the way you think about relationships.
Let me give you a real-life example.
Earlier this week, I headed down to New York to see a client. I usually do day trips on the Acela, but this time, I had an evening commitment and I needed to be in Washington, DC the following day. So the day before, I went online to find a hotel room in the city - which is usually not a problem, especially with the last-minute travel sites.
Only this time, it was different. No rooms in the city were to be had for under $800. I could stay at a hotel near the airport, but my commitments required me to be other places in the city, so it would be a logistical nightmare (and expensive) to stay near the airport. What to do? I turned to Twitter, of course.
Many people in my network were willing to help - I received replies directly on Twitter and private direct messages. Suggestions ranged from specific hotels they knew to areas of the city to consider, all the way to someone who pulled up a specific price quote on a room for me. The problem was, all of these places were sold out.
As I was waiting, I tweeted:
Well, I learned never to underestimate the power of the crowd. Tim Peter (@tcpeter) came forward to say:
Turns out he is working with a group that does luxury reservations and this was their impetus to start a Twitter account (@luxres). I received a tweet from them asking how they could help, and within the next 15 minutes, they got me a reservation at the Mansfield, a boutique hotel in midtown Manhattan. Perfect! While the price was a little more than I wanted to spend, it was nowhere near the gouging for some of the rooms I had seen.
Thanks to a well-connected and attentive community, I was able to keep myself off of a Central Park bench for the night. It just goes to show, that if you take them time to invest in relationships and being a valued member of a community, it can work in your favor when you need it.
Special thanks to (a bunch of people you should be following on Twitter): @tcpeter, @luxres, @chelpixie, @SavvyAuntie, @DonnaPapacosta, @Spangles, @joec0914, @adamcohen, @stevemann, and @ParentopiaDevra.
Saturday, June 07, 2008
Twitter Does It Again
Thursday, May 29, 2008
When Interests Collide
Why do people blog? I'm sure there are a lot of reasons, from marketing to ego to reducing stress.
For me, it's mostly because I enjoy the topics that I'm writing about - I have a passion for them, I enjoy sharing what I've learned and learning about what other people are thinking of the same subject. If I can help someone discover something or spark a conversation about a thought, then I'm very happy.
My blogs are pretty wide-reaching, from the one you're reading (my main blog) to the Baker Street Blog, about one of my literary interests, to Nothing Could Be Finer Than Being in Your Diner that I write with C.C. Chapman.
So it's pretty interesting when I find something that encompasses more than one of the subjects that I write about. In this case, it combines my interest in Sherlock Holmes with Twitter (which, if you aren't a user, has been experiencing a lot of down time lately):
Via Hugh McLeod.
If you blog, I'd love to know what motivates you. Why do you keep doing it?
Thursday, May 08, 2008
An Excellent Example of Citizen Journalism: Twisney
I'm taking a long weekend with my wife, kids and my parents to celebrate Mother's Day at Disney World. So imagine my surprise when I recently was introduced to a Twitter account @twisney by Doug Haslam (@DougH on Twitter). Twisney aggregates updates from anyone who uses "@twisney" in their tweets and then shares it on Twitter and on their site.
Featured in today's Buzzwatch in the Wall Street Journal, Twisney.com, the brainchild of Scott Mitchell, a 34 year-old Disney fan who created this site of real-time updates from individuals within the parks. The intro to the WSJ post captures it all:
If you want to understand how citizen journalists armed with cellphones are going to change the world–and create challenges and opportunities for businesses–spend a few minutes at Twisney.com.
What you’ll find there: Live updates from ordinary people walking around Disney World, using their cellphones to share their experiences with anyone who cares to take notice.
The site has some pretty cool features, including updates that are overlaid on an aerial view of the parks, a collection of uploaded photos by date & tag, and a whole page of tools on how you can use Twisney.
The more I read about add-ons, apps, and creative uses of Twitter, the more I'm inspired. When a simple and elegant service comes along and changes the way people interact with each other - and opens its API (Application Programming Interface - the source code), what happens is you get seemingly limitless possibilities because of the passion, know-how, and creativity of its user base.
This has happened with Twitter, again and again. I can't even begin to list all of the useful apps for Twitter because there are so many that do a variety of things. Your best bet to witness the community in action is to check out the Twitter Fan Wiki.
I believe that the brands that open themselves up to co-development by fans will benefit the most. Whether you're a consumer packaged goods company or a software startup, there are brand loyalists out there who love your stuff and want to help you succeed. Companies that greedily hoard and guard their brand will find that in the end, they'll have achieved only a shadow of what was possible had they been more open and accepting of consumer-generated content and shared intellectual property.
It baffles me that there are still corporate brand Nazis out there (mostly from the legal department in large companies) who don't get this yet. What's your experience? Have you tried to co-create anything, only to be rebuked? Or even better, have you been embraced by a company who likes what you're doing with their brand? I'd love to know.
Photo courtesy of Eprice.com.tw
Saturday, May 03, 2008
How I Think About My Social Networks
I've been getting a lot of requests for friends on various social networks lately. You probably have been too - there seems to be an explosion of interest lately, particularly on Twitter.
I'm generally encouraged by this, as it means that the space is continuing to grow, rather than to wane like some short-lived fad. But at the same time, it can make life a little more complex or cluttered if you're not ready to deal with it.
As such, I thought this might be a good time for me to share how I think about my social networks and how I consider friend requests in each. I've linked to my profile in each, if you'd care to connect with me on them.
Facebook
Ah, Facebook. One of the most visible and recognized brands in the social networking space, where "friend" is a verb. For me, Facebook is a combination of business and social contacts.
I'll immediately accept a friendship request if I know you or follow you on another network. But that's not to say I'm exclusive in my friending. If we don't know each other, just introduce yourself and - most importantly - give me some context as to how you know me.
LinkedIn
I use LinkedIn as my professional social network. Like the old three-ring binders of business cards that I kept, LinkedIn is my real-time virtual collection of business cards.
As you can imagine, my requirements for LinkedIn are a bit more stringent. If you'd like to connect with me on LinkedIn, we should have met or at least have had some meaningful interaction. I'll also accept introductions via people I know.
Twitter
Twitter is probably the loosest of all of my networks. I generally like connecting with more people there because I enjoy the exchange of ideas, links and quick personal interaction that it allows.
While there are some people who add absolutely everyone back, I can't keep up with the pace and consider some of them spammy. Since there have been a good number of new followers, I'm having trouble adding some back. If you follow me and I haven't followed you back, don't take it personally. Just get my attention by sending me an "@" message and I'll be sure to add you back. It's as simple as that.
I hope this post was a helpful insight about how I consider friend requests in each network. I'd be interested to know how you handle your own connections on your various social networks. Please leave a comment and educate me.
Image courtesy of coldtaxi
Saturday, April 19, 2008
My Social Media Birthday
A number of bloggers write entries about the anniversary of their blogs, or note some milestone achievement. But this post is a little different. Keeping in what I suppose you've come to know me for, this is more personal.
Yesterday was my birthday. Now, I'm not someone who makes a big deal out of his day (a former colleague used to celebrate his "birthday month," to stretch out the fun), but I'm not one to shy away from admitting when I have one, either.
But this year, I have more of a reason to celebrate. It's because of you - my community, my social network. This is the first birthday I've had since I've truly been an active and recognized member of the social media field, so when I have my birthday listed on my Facebook profile, it should have been no surprise that many people would come out of the woodwork to wish me a happy birthday via Twitter, Facebook, emails and direct messages.
I tried to respond to everyone personally, but it was tough to keep up with. I apologize if I missed you. But I'd like to publicly thank everyone here by pulling an Amanda Gravel - a very savvy and community-minded acknowledgment that you mean a great deal to me and that you should try to connect to each other, if you aren't already connected.
To wit, here are the Twitter handles of everyone who reached out to me today. Start following!
Thanks to: @ldpodcast, @DougH, @jljohansen, @gradontripp, @SavvyAuntie, @charlierobinson, @kolsen29, @arunrajagopal, @ModaMags, @Pistachio, @adelemcalear, @WasatchGirl, @jackhodgson, @MaThurrell, @davidberkowitz, @Armano, @jaffejuice, @MattDickman, @KyleFlaherty, @jtnt, @EdenSpodek, @asimpson, @pamelump, @kimhaynes, @KristaNeher, @danieljohnsonjr, @ChrisShouse, @swhitley, @melgallant, @krislynch, @nathantwright, @shey, @kristiewells, @saulcolt, @JasonFalls, @eileen53, @jackvinson, @tarable, @SheilaS, @changstein, @Kristin_Gorski, @lizstrauss, @jstorerj, @susanreynolds, @darrylohrt, @Exsec2u, @hardaway, @nickhuhn, @mousewords, @chrisbrogan, @sMoRTY71, @TobyDiva, @GeoffLiving, @mdy, @BeckyMcCray, @TDefren, @gracepiano, @BryanPerson, @jjtoothman, @sass, @Dayngr, @CathleenRitt, @misterboh, @drewmclellan, @jeffglasson, @danschawbel, @BrianReich, @davedelaney, @davidjhinson, @alvinfoo
Thank you all for making it a truly happy birthday!
Photo courtesy of LaughingSquid
Monday, March 03, 2008
Acquiring My Attention in Communities
In case you haven't heard, there's a social media acquisition in play. Community builder Mzinga has announced that it's acquiring white label social networking company Prospero.
This is certainly a newsworthy item from a business standpoint: a leading company in the communities space, Mzinga has a number of major entities as clients, including AOL, ABC, ESPN and many others that aren't acronyms. Barry Libert, one of Mzinga's founders, co-authored a book that speaks to the wonder of communities - We Are Smarter Than Me: How to Unleash the Power of Crowds in Your Business
As I looked over the announcement, one of the things that struck me about this is how many of the players I know in this exciting development:
- Aaron Strout & Jim Storer are both at Mzinga and are a couple of top-notch social media guys, both of whom I recently saw at Boston's Social Media Breakfast (and Jim was one of my co-presenters)
- Colin Browning of Prospero lives in the next town, and I've been following his Northern & Southern Hemisphere tweets for a while
- PerkettPR is handling Mzinga's public relations - I've gotten to know Jeff Glasson & Christine Perkett through various social media & tech functions in Boston
- Doug Haslam works for Topaz Partners, Prospero's PR firm
- @astrout - Aaron Strout
- @jstorerj - Jim Storer
- @crbrowning - Colin Browning
- @missusp - Christine Perkett
- @jeffglasson - Jeff Glasson
- @DougH - Doug Haslam
- @scottmonty - what the hey, if you're not following me yet, you should be
Saturday, November 03, 2007
The Next Big Thing
I don't usually make predictions, but this time, I think I've got a sure thing - and it involves Las Vega$. Anyone care to wager?
Over the last couple of weeks, I've seen some people Uttering - that is, using Utterz to make insights or share thoughts on the go. You can use audio, video, photos, voice or text to express yourself and share, directly from your phone. Then, you can direct your utterz to post directly to your blog or you can put a widget in place.
So essentially what we've got is a multi-platform microblogging service. Like Twitter (or Jaiku) on steroids. Only you don't have to be tied to typing your message in - so you can share thoughts as they come to you - say, while you're driving.
Now, this probably isn't everyone's thing. I've already seen an objection. But haven't there consistently been naysayers about Twitter? Side note: it's ironic that the objection to Utterz came via Twitter.
So here's my prediction:
Next week, Blog World & New Media Expo is going on in Las Vegas. It's the largest industry show of its kind and attracts such names as Leo Laporte, Michael Arrington, Brian Clark and (I'll grudgingly mention him) Mark Cuban. And Utterz will be there.
Expect Utterz to explode the same way Twitter did just after SXSW. It's easy to use and allows you to be a little more expressive than the infamous 140 characters.
I'm sure the event will be utterly fascinating to track from a sociological standpoint.
Friday, November 02, 2007
Social Media Takeaways #4
This has been another busy week. What's new, right? Well this time, it's been courtesy of some seriously social social media, both in terms of getting out of the house / office and truly connecting with others.
The more time I spend in this field, the more powerful I realize the effect of communities. You just can't underestimate them - nor can you manufacture them. If a client came to me with a request to build a community, my counsel would be that it's not a Field of Dreams scenario. Communities take time, attention and true dedication.
Before B2B, Before B2C, There was F2F
There were big doings over the weekend with PodCamp Boston 2. It was my first time, and I thoroughly enjoyed it - meeting old friends, connecting with people with whom I had only known online previously, and meeting a whole raft of new and smart people - too many to list in this post, but people I'll be following.
- SMT: Hitting the blogs on a daily basis, commenting and otherwise propping up the echo chamber is good, but when's the last time you stepped out to meet some of your community face to face? You just can't beat it. But don't take my word for it - see how Mark Blevis sees the world.
The Announcement We've All Been Waiting For
Google finally released what it's doing with regard to social networking: an initiative called Open Social. It's a collaborative effort among some of the most well-known socnets, including Orkut, Salesforce, LinkedIn, Ning, Hi5, Plaxo, Friendster, Viadeo and Oracle. This is meant to thrust Google into direct competition with the likes of MySpace and Facebook.
- SMT: As I understand it, this is huge, as it gives you a single place to create profiles and leave updates - kind of a master control center for your social networking efforts. Breaking down the walled garden approach of Facebook is going to get a lot of people interested - especially from the business side, since Salesforce & Oracle are involved. Stay tuned.
What Were You for Halloween?
When the kids go out trick-or-treating and you're left to guard the castle from the marauders, it can be pretty lonely. Just waiting for the multiple doorbell rings (or sounds of eggs splattering). This year, Twitter connected me with a whole network of other guys in the same situation.
- SMT: Twitter is really amazing when you know how to use it. I felt like I was sitting around the room chatting with friends. Great updates from @DougH, @cc_chapman, to name a couple. And one final one that just cracked me up.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Social Media Takeaways #2
Busy week, this. The great topics started piling up on Monday -maybe it was that the Columbus Day holiday (for some) made a difference in the ability to crank out some top-notch blog posts, or that the news was especially slow. And then some big news from some major companies started pouring in on Tuesday. Santa Maria! We've got a nice lineup of topics this week.
Anyway, I wanted to get these to your attention before all of the newsy-ness wears off of them...
Die, Resume! Die! Die! Die!
Bryan Person takes a cue from Tom Foremski's shot-heard-round-the-world for the PR industry and suggests that it's time for an end to the traditional resume as we know it. The replacement? Why, a Social Media Resume, of course!
- SMT: Great idea. I think it's high time this was instituted. I've always referred headhunters to my LinkedIn page when they ask for my resume, but they insist on the hard copy anyway (come to think of it, even crayon insisted on the old fashioned version).
For fans of Cold Stone Creamery and Soup Kitchen International (aka the Soup Nazi), you don't have to visit more than one store. An aspiring entrepreneur is combining both stores in one and promoting it with a contest that rewards two grand prizes: a cup of soup a day for life and a cup of ice cream a day for life.
- SMT: The kicker is that they're not using traditional marketing. They tried "buying local advertising and radio spots, but didn't get much bang for [their] buck." So, the co-branded shop is going entirely with word of mouth marketing. How's that for hot & cold?
Google Acquires Jaiku
Google buys Jaiku for an unspecified amount. A huge surprise, since Twitter seems to have the market share of users. But a brilliant strategic move from Google. And expect more soon - as Robert Scoble says, prepare yourself for November 5.
- SMT: Rest assured that Google is assuming a take-no-prisoners approach with Facebook and Twitter. I think Google is getting more deeply rooted in the community space - and what's more, this clearly positions them for more mobile applications (can you say gPhone?). But will I still be able to stream Twitter through Jaiku?Neville Hobson recommends that we "refuse to choose" - use Twitku.
NBC announced that it was paying $925 million for the female-focused network that streams into 74 million homes in America, padding their portfolio of properties that cater to the fair sex.
- SMT: It's an interesting way to assemble more of a focused audience - well, as focused as mass media can be. But I think Chris Thilk hit it on the head when he Twittered:
Now it has 2 female-targeted properties it can fail to integrate efficiently. Awesome.
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Quality or Quantity?
It's that age-old conundrum. Quality vs. quantity.
Mitch Joel got me thinking - not an unusual result after reading his stuff. On Twitter, he opined:
"I am disappointed that most of my favourite Blogs have become receptacles for Twitter feeds and del.icio.us links. Come on people... Blog!"I've gotta say - he has a point. It seems that the pervasiveness of SocNets like Twitter and Facebook have resulted in the trailing off of blog posts, to a certain degree. I can't say that it's affected my own frequency (work is more responsible for that), but I can see the attraction of spitting out short bursts of information rather than longer more cerebral pieces.
It takes a certain concerted effort to put together a well thought-out post that hits a variety of buttons - topical, emotional, etc. And that's not always easy to do in our everything-now fast-paced lives. You'll note that a number of my posts lately have been heavy lifting - which is a plus, because it's brought many of you here.
Why Not Quality AND Quantity?
But at a certain point, I've got to mix quantity in with quality. But at the same time, I recognize that I can't go on for long with only one "real" post a week. So I'm taking Mitch up on his challenge and I will be hitting the blogging keys more frequently. That doesn't necessarily mean I'll do away with the del.icio.us links, though.
So I'll open it up to you. Do you find my del.icio.us bookmarks to be a reasonable complement to the other posts? Should I do away with them entirely? What value are you getting from my posts - the links or the longer pieces?
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Yet Another Practical Use for Twitter
If you're not at least aware of Twitter by now, you should be. It seems like most of the social media sphere has jumped on board. With plug-ins for Facebook and badges for Blogger, MySpace and Typepad, Twitter is making itself ubiquitous.
For those who are aware but not active practitioners of the art of the tweet, there seems to be a high level of skepticism regarding this social application. But as the application becomes more widespread, there are increasingly more ways to use it.
Case in point: Twitter is now integrated with the task management system Remember the Milk. You can now add rtm as a friend and soon be sending yourself to-do items or managing your task list, no matter where you are.
Not that the world necessarily needs another electronic to-do list organizer. The reason this attracts my attention is because the RTM folks have integrated a number of Google APIs into their site, so you can get RTM in your Google Calendar, Google Maps and as an iGoogle gadget.
With the user-friendly services like Grand Central and FeedBurner under their belt, I wouldn't be at all surprised if Google grabs RTM next. It seems that my list of useful social media tools keeps growing.
How about you? Do you have some useful tools or applications that you can't live without? Drop a note in a comment and let me know.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
New Delta? You Be the Judge
Just in case you thought the sky was falling, with Delta claiming "Today is a New Day," welcoming us aboard the "New Delta," let me reassure you that Delta is just as crappy as they've always been.
Two examples:
Twitter
Delta - either someone who was a Delta fan, or (more likely) a Delta employee started a Twitter account on May 10, 2007. It was pretty cool for a while, with updates that were seemingly coming from inside the company. The style was informative and a little irreverent, but it definitely felt like there was a personality to it - not some corporatespeak straight from a press release, which was very refreshing.
Unfortunately, this didn't last. The party ended only 5 days after beginning: May 15 is the date of the last post. My guess is that someone higher up at Delta found out about it and put the kibosh on it. This was an incredibly short-sighted and stupid move on their part. Delta actually seemed relevant again for a short while.
YouTube
And here we have the power of consumer-generated media to showcase the true nature of a brand. If you ever want to see what an enterprise is truly all about, catch them in a crisis situation.
In this case, the passengers were stuck on the tarmac at JFK for 7 hours. One passenger had the presence of mind to take a video. It's now being passed around the Web. Last night, it had about 400 views; as of this posting, it's up to over 13,000. Expect many, many more people to witness the ineptitude of Delta in action.
Delta, what's the matter with you? You're coming off of a precarious bankruptcy in a market where low-cost airlines provide better service and hipper attitude. As far as I'm concerned, "Today is a New Day" is just lip service. Today is the same as every other crappy day you've given your customers.
It'll be a new day when you understand that you're not in the airline business - you're in the customer service business.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
My New Social Media Job
We interrupt this marketing blog to bring you a purely personal post. Well, that's not entirely true. It's a personal post with a marketing twist.
If you stop by my desk, you'll find an assortment of fountain pens, usually kept on a pen holder or in a mahogany and glass display case that my colleagues have deemed the "pen humidor." I prefer to use fountain pens because they're distinctive, elegant and they require me to really focus on what I'm writing.
For about 2 1/2 years I've been at an award-winning traditional agency - in some ways a fountain pen of the marketing world. Staffed with incredibly intelligent and talented people with distinctive personalities, the agency has given me an opportunity to help clients address complex problems for sophisticated audiences.
But as you know, I've been writing about marketing in the social media space for the last year or so and have craved social media marketing projects at every turn. As my agency is small and focused on B2B clients, the opportunities have been limited. So I've managed to educate myself on the subject and to interact with some intelligent, creative and well-connected new media people, both online and in person.
My initial interest in the space was instigated from a keynote presentation at the 2006 Boston Ad Club symposium where I heard Joseph Jaffe speak. From then on, I had the bug, leading to an inexorable flow of RSS feeds and podcasts as well as the formation of my blog (I have still kept my other blog as a social media laboratory of sorts).
So when Jaffe & Co. launched crayon last October, I watched the whole thing unfold. The initial announcements, the various podcast plugs, the launch in Second Life - I was excited that new marketing was being given a boost. I even closed that October 20, 2006 blog post with "Talk about a dream job!"
Fast forward to this March, when I heard Joseph speak at the Ad Club Symposium again, this time with C.C. Chapman in tow. I was much more prepared - so much so that C.C. and I were exchanging Twitter messages across the floor of the event. Joseph, C.C. and I connected briefly at the event, followed up with a wave of emails, tweets and phone calls, and finally came to a mutual decision:
Dream job, indeed. I'll be working with crayon clients to help them understand new media opportunities and, with the help of the crayon creative & strategic team, to help build new marketing campaigns and social media outreach programs for some major brands.
As you can imagine, I'm incredibly excited about the opportunity - not only do I get to do what I love on a daily basis, but I get to do so with some people I really admire and respect. So now, rather than being filled with lustrous fountain pens, my pen humidor is going to look something like this:
There will be a follow up post on "how social media helped me land my new job," in which I'll detail the steps that I took - some of which led to very interesting conversations, others which didn't pan out - all of which were directly linked to being part of the larger new marketing social network. It may even be something of a case study for putting social media to work as a tool in your career development.
Over the next two weeks, I'll be spending time with my family (in particular prepping for Drew's 1st birthday), accomplishing some tasks around the house, getting my home office organized and continuing to delve into this amazingly fertile and fluid world of new media.
Happy coloring!
Saturday, May 19, 2007
When Marketing is Gross
I'm usually not one for crowing about my own abilities, but I've come to realize that in social media, if you don't speak up, you're apt to be ignored. Unless you raise your hand and join in the conversation, there's enough going on online that you stand the risk of being missed (or ignored).
To wit, I'm taking a page from Sherlock Holmes:
"I cannot agree with those who rank modesty among the virtues. To the logician all things should be seen exactly as they are, and to underestimate one’s self is as much a departure from truth as to exaggerate one’s own powers."Today, I discovered that I made it to #144 - that's right a gross - on the Power 150 Top Marketing Blogs list, a global ranking of top English-language marketing blogs. Not that it's a completely scientific analysis of the space; but it is at least a comparative ranking of where marketing blogs rank with respect to each other.
The reason I'm making such a big deal out of this is
because exactly 8 weeks ago, I finally switched to my own domain name - but it was not without consequences. I lost all of my Technorati links and rankings and knew it was going to be a slog to regain them.
I realized that the only way that I'd get back in the game was to get noticed. I contacted Todd And, the keeper of the Power 150 list, to let him know that my blog existed. He put in through the And-0-meter and I debuted at #240 on April 3. Admittedly, this was below the fold and in the Honorable Mention category, which was respectable, but certainly shy of my goal of being in the top 150.
I began commenting on a variety of blogs, plus my Twitter network began driving traffic to my site and providing links. I joined 2K bloggers and was invited to participate in an ebook. All of this, plus contextual links that fellow bloggers shot my way based on the content I created, lead to where I am today.
That's a long way of saying I couldn't have done this alone. I have personally witnessed the true power of a social network by its collegiality and cooperation to encourage all its members to improve. I'm perpetually amazed, encouraged and humbled by the willingness of my new media colleagues - many of whom I've never met in person - to go the distance to help out a fellow marketer.
As Mr. Holmes said, "I am lost without my Boswell."
Friday, May 18, 2007
Short But Sweet: to Tweet or Not to Tweet?
As you probably know, I'm a fan of Twitter. I was skeptical at first, but I've found it incredibly useful and versatile as I've continued using it. I think I've been a member of the Twitterati for over 2 months now.
But it's days like Wednesday that really make me want to rethink my stance. Twitter had some serious issues that pretty much crippled it for the entire day. This was directly following a day of spotty service while I was on the road. It was frustrating, to say the least.
One competitor to Twitter, Jaiku, is continuing to attract a lot of attention. Evidently, there has been a wave of registrations as a direct result of yeseterday's Twitter-outage. Even TechCrunch has made the leap and has let its readers know.
This gets right at the heart of an important issue for all new media / Web 2.0 / whatever-you-want-to-call-them companies. They need to really ensure that they've got their technology figured out, because their audience will leave them for a competing application or service because of poor uptime. An entity such as Second Life is probably given a little more slack, simply because there are few virtual reality worlds that compare.
But Twitter can be replicated. There are a number of upstarts out there doing so. And it's fairly easy to drag your network along with you to another provider. Good marketers will try a variety of online communities and social networks and should be properly prepared for a mass shifting, should it occur.
Note to Twitter: please get your act together. You're really great when you work well. But if I have to see that cat much longer, I'll make sure he and the Bloglines plumber start hanging out.
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
What Would David Ogilvy Twitter?
This is highly irregular - picking up on your own meme. Just Friday, I issued a challenge: a Twittermeme. "What Would ___ Twitter?"
Well, my post below about David Ogilvy and what he might make of the social media space prompted one of my meme-meisters to ask what would David Ogilvy Twitter? I'm not one to back away from an intellectual challenge, so here we go:
What Would David Ogilvy Twitter?
- L: Madison Avenue
- At noon on Twitter, the quietest thing is...Twitter
- @Scobleizer is that an eye patch you're wearing?
- New app for everything: TwitteResearch
- Giving a Twitter Magic Lantern presentation to WPP board
- Gotta run. The Man from Schweppes is here.
- @SirMartinSorrell you odious little sh*t
- L: Castle in France
- New book being released: Confessions of a Twittering Man
- Can someone help me make the background color of my Twitter page red?
Friday, March 30, 2007
Twittermeme
I'm picking up on a hilarious post from Kevin Dugan called What Would Jesus Twitter?
I thought this would be a perfect opportunity for a Twittermeme. I'm calling it "What Would __ Twitter?" Pick someone - a celebrity, a historical figure, a real person (another Twitterer?), or some other persona and fill in the blank. Then Twitter me or blog about it. I'll start:
What would Sherlock Holmes Twitter?
10. Eliminating the impossible.
9. Dog doing nothing in the night-time.
8. Ahh! 7% solution, I love you!
7. Bum Rush Professor Moriarty on May 4th
6. @Mycroft: Can I use my Blackberry in the Diogenes Club?
5. Just once, I wish Watson would write about my softer side.
4. L: 221B Baker Street, London
3. Chasing hound of the Baskervilles. Hard to run & Twitter
2. @IreneAdler, you'll always be the woman to me
1. I hate this hat.
I'm tagging Armano, Verdino, Gavin, Bryper and Jaffe.
And if you haven't checked it out yet take a look at TwitterPoetry that Gavin Heaton established.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Are You Getting Twittered Out?
Twitter has been on many minds of the new media / social media set recently, from improvements to Twitterfic to the FireFox add-on Tweetbar, to the desktop-based Twitteroo, Twittermap, Twittersearch, Twitterholic, Twitterbuzz, Twittervision...
Steve Rubel of Micropersuasion has been accused of being a bit Twitter-centric on his blog. He's all over Twitter and ranks #18 on Twitterholic. In his honor, I've developed a 12-step program for Twitterers who may have a bit of a problem...
Twitter 12-Step Program
Apologies in advance to any true 12-step program. This is meant to be light-hearted.
