I saw a tweet by a well-known blogger and technology executive that he was spending far less time on Facebook. When I asked what was doing online instead, he quickly replied “Twitter! More engagement, realtime discussions, feedbacks. Facebook is becoming (for me) a stream of useless stuff”.
It struck me as an interesting comment because it reflects my approach to Facebook as well. As I wrote in yesterday’s post, Facebook serves as a professional utility and personal branding tool. It is not a place where I spend much time looking at my News Feed and getting updates on what my “friends” are doing.
Twitter, however, is a resource tool (It has mostly replaced Google Reader as the way to discover new content), a research tool to ask answers to just about...
Don’t get me wrong, I love Twitter as a way to share and consume information but I’m tried of the coverage lavished on Twitter as a revolutionary entity.
The latest breathless article appeared in the Toronto Star earlier this week in which the author, Antonia Zerbisias, talked about how Twitter was used during the G20 meetings, and how a digital divide is being created between people who get their news via Twitter, and those receive it using traditional media sources.
It’s yet another example of how Twitter is getting far too much credit than it really deserves. Yes, Twitter is an exciting new communication tool but the praise being bestowed on it as a “game breaker” is unjustified.
It’s not just political coverage that are getting people excited about...
Last night, I went to see Metric at the Bluesfest in Ottawa. Aside from the fact, it was a terrific show fuelled by the energetic Emily Haines, what struck me was how many people were spending as much time documenting it.
One person in front of me spent most of the concert busily taking using a camera photographs and filming video, and using their Blackberry to use Twitter. While it was how they experienced the show, it did made me wonder why many people feel the need to enjoy the moment and share it with other people at the same time. It’s like just experiencing something isn’t enough any more.
Maybe it’s the fact that technology makes it easy to experience and document. But I do think it takes away from being able to completely immerse yourself in something when part...
Today is Social Media Day around the world as initiated by the top social media resource (and most influential Twitter account on the planet) Mashable.
While Vancouver hasn’t officially declared today “Social Media Day in Vancouver” like they did in Victoria, the social media community is hosting a meetup to get together and celebrate.
It’s on this day that I would like to take some time to reflect on the changes social media has made in my life. There’s so much more to “blogging” and being a web-based business owner than sitting behind a computer screen. Social media allows you to connect with people on and offline, and I truly believe it helps you get out and about – meeting real people, making real connections.
Through social media my...
Let’s get the facts straight here: Foursquare doesn’t have to have a business model, it has “only” 1.5 million users in a market that appears to be a more niche than mainstream….but it still manages to raise $20-million in venture capital in a round led by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz.
Call me a skeptic but I don’t get it. It’s hard enough attempting to justify why Twitter has attracted more than $100 million in venture capital but at least it has 125 million users around the world. Nevertheless, there appears to be widespread enthusiasm for the deal.
The reality is none of this really matters to Silicon Valley, which invests in potential and possibilities even when the rest of us are scratching our heads. This is what makes Silicon Valley,...
While social media attracts a lot of attention, it is still early days. Many companies aren’t even looking at social media, while many others are cautiously exploring their options.
This will probably change over the next few years as social media becomes a part of the corporate communications, marketing and sales arsenal. It will be interesting to see when that happens because social media will no longer be a novelty. Companies that have differentiated themselves by embracing social media will no stand out from the crowd.
It begs this question: what happens when everyone has embraced social media? What happens when every company has a Facebook Page, tweets, posts videos on a YouTube channel, and offers discounts to Foursquare users?
Then, what?
You can already see some marketers...
Everyone’s jumping on the social media bandwagon. Just as a Web site quickly became a must-have for nearly every company, the same corporate rules now apply to Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, blogs, Flickr, etc.
Or do they?
As someone immersed professional and personally in social media, it’s somewhat sacrosanct to suggest that social media may not be for everyone. But it’s a question that should be explored because the reality is that social media isn’t a good fit for some companies.
What if having public conversations with your customers isn’t a good thing? What if these conversations should be kept behind closed doors? What if relationships with customers are driven by personal relationships, newsletters, or word of mouth as opposed to public dialog? What if a...
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Twitter was experiencing the effects of a bug this weekend that exploited the following/follower method (as this post on Mashable explains). This morning, as an after effect of this bug, all users have noticed their following and follower numbers have dropped right down to zero. This means the little corner store down the block has the same follower count as Ashton Kutcher or CNN at the moment.
I’m certain Twitter is working to rectify the problem and it’s not something permanent as timelines are still filling with updates. However, things like this always seem to cause panic, mass hysteria, and the inevitable shouting at inanimate objects such as a computer screen or iPhone. To alleviate some stress in the future, here are a few ways you can back up your Twitter account....
A few days, I did something really dumb.
In trying to create a new Twitter account for a client, I accidentally deactivated @markevans. It was one of those moment when, like Homer Simpson, all you can do is say “Doh!”
According to Twitter, reactivating your Twitter account is not possible, although you would think that it would just be a matter of flipping a switch. Then again, if you’re dumb enough to deactivate your Twitter account, you only have yourself to blame if it can’t come back to life.
That said, I’m a glass half full person, who always believes everything happens for a good reason and that good things will happen to good people. (I also believe at the start of every hockey season that the Toronto Maple Leafs have a good chance of winning the...
miss604 posted a photo:...
Last night, I left Twitter.
It wasn’t by designed but in trying set up a new Twitter account for a client, I accidentally de-activated @markevans. Believe me, it a sad story.
In the process, I have discovered that clicking on this button, there’s apparently no going back.
According to Twitter, once an account has been de-activated, it can’t be brought back to life because “account restoration is not available at this time”.
While my departure from Twitter is entirely my fault, it seems strange that Twitter just can’t switch a switch to restore it. At the very least, I’d be happy to start over with @markevans but the username is locked in limbo.
For now, I’ve done a few things: filled out an online form on Twitter’s support section,...
There are times when I feel like an outlier compared with my digital peers.
At a time when many of them are happily sharing all kinds of information about their professional and personal lives, I’ve been somewhat cautious about revealing all of my cards to everyone on the Web because I think there should be a healthy divide between our public and private lives.
In many ways, I’m on the outside looking in, particularly in contrast to younger people who think nothing on sharing everything and anywhere, particularly on places such as Facebook.
While I’m still trying to digest all the news coming out of Facebook’s F8 conference yesterday, it has become apparent that online privacy has come to a serious fork in the road with two distinct paths.
One path that is we...
Are you addicted to social media? Do you find yourself incapable of not checking Twitter at all hour of the day? Do you squirm when you’re not able to check-in with Foursquare?
If so, you’re probably a social media addict. The good news is you’re not alone. According to a study be Retrevo, social media addiction is becoming increasingly common. For example, the study found that many people are checking Facebook and Twitter after going to bed, and that 56% of social media users check Facebook at least once a day.
Anecdotally, the proliferation of smartphones with Internet access is driving social media (an e-mail) addiction because it encourages this activity everywhere at anytime. The number of people walking around with their heads buried in a screen seems to be growing...
With some time to think about Twitter’s foray into the world of advertising, I’ve come to the conclusion that, at best, it’s going to be a modest success.
It may generate enough revenue to support Twitter’s operations but likely nowhere near the money needed to justify $150-million of venture capital.
This “thesis” is based on the belief that companies using Twitter are already advertising, and they’re being successful because consumers don’t see it as advertising – nor do they find it intrusive.
Take Starbucks, for example, which has signed on as one of Twitter’s initial ad partners. With a significant Twitter footprint, Starbucks is effectively leveraging Twitter to do sales and marketing. The 844, 647 people who follow...
In a world dominated by tweets and updates, blogs don’t get as much love these days. No one sees blogs as sexy or overly interesting; they’re just a solid, if unspectacular, parts of the social media and online landscape.
What’s interesting, however, is I’m starting to see more interest in blogs from clients. Many of them are looking for ways to differentiate themselves and establish a stronger online presence so the idea of having a blog resonates for many reasons. This is a contrast to just a few months ago when Twitter and Facebook were viewed as the most attractive social media options, while blogging was seen as labour-intensive.
While Twitter and Facebook are still integral parts of the corporate social media arsenal, I think blogging is starting to regain...
I’m in the process of reading Chris Anderson’s “Free”, which celebrates how the idea of paying little or nothing for many digital products and services is inevitable. Anderson makes a compelling argument that includes the belief that free works because it encourages other economic activity. For example, free music allows musicians to attract more fans, who then cough up money for concert tickets, merchandise and sometimes CDs.
While I like and use plenty of free services (GMail, Evernote, Skype, Firefox, Twitter), I’m also a businessman who recognizes that companies need to generate revenue to pay employees, do marketing and keep the lights on. However companies plan to make money – advertising, premium services, consulting fees – they need a plan...
Copyright © 2010 Miss604. Visit the original article at http://www.miss604.com/2010/03/success-at-twestival-vancouver-2010.html.After packing up the last of the leftover meat & cheese platters I waved to Marc, I drove home from YVRTwestival in the rain. I had just hosted an event for 250 people that raised over $9,000 for Concern Worldwide.
My automatic windshield wipers began to sway back and forth as I thought about all the people who helped make this happen. Melissa, Azita, Kim, Sonia, Kirsten and Marc are the reason that my third Twestival in Vancouver doubled last February’s numbers and tripled September’s. Then help on the spot from Justin, Melissa, Tarlan, Kimli and Miranda as impromptu volunteers allowed my exhausted team to make it through the night.
Photo...
Dear Biz,
I’m sure you appreciate the intense, burning interest that people have in how Twitter is going to make money. After all, you’ve got more than 50 million users, which has caused the monetization buzz to get more increasingly feverish the more popular that Twitter becomes.
But can you do me a favour: please stop talking about how Twitter is going to be announcing a business model soon. It’s an act that, frankly, has grown tired because it keeps repeating itself.
Yes, I understand that you’ve got to answer the “money” question every time you do an interview but the thing is you keep giving interviews so they keep asking the money question. It’s a vicious circle that’s become more vicious.
That said, it seems that you have a hard time...
Copyright © 2010 Miss604. Visit the original article at http://www.miss604.com/2010/03/twestival-vancouver-2010.html.This is the third time I have organized Twestival in Vancouver and each experience has been an adventure and a challenge. Since 2007 I have been using my site to raise awareness and funds for causes, from the annual Blogathon or through events I have hosted, to collecting food donations for these causes.
Photo credit: Tris Hussey
In 2009 Amanda Rose (@Amanda on Twitter) thought of combining Twitter with a live event that would support a cause. She took it big time – she took it global. Suddenly Twestival Global was born and in February of 2009 about 200 cities around the world were supporting Charity:Water with live events on the same night. Over $250,000 was...
Maybe what happens in Austin (and the South by Southwest conference) should stay in Austin.
SXSW strikes me a great place to have a good time, do some networking/socializing and take in a few panels. But it also seems like a lot of navel-gazing and backslapping happens. As well, you have to keep in mind SXSW is where the digit-rati come to roil themselves into a lather about the next, new shiny toy.
Case in point is Foursquare, Gowalla and the location-based services world. If there was one blog post about LBS, there were a hundred about how SXSW was going to be the big launch pad – much like Twitter jumped out of obscurity and into the mainstream in 2008. The buzz about LBS is just another illustration of how the high-tech world keeps consumers engaged and, hopefully, buying.
And...
Fact: When it comes to social media, it’s not really about the tools; it’s how you use them. The more effectively and productively that Twitter, blogs, Facebook, et al are used, the more success you will have. On that note, here are seven things that will probably kill your social media efforts:
1. Over-tweeting. It’s about quality rather than quantity. Anyone tweeting 20, 30 or 40 times/day has too much time on their hands, a short attention span, a willingness to share too much, or should allocate some of this creative energy towards blog posts.
2. Starting and stopping: Doing well at social media means doing it on a day-in, day-out basis. It’s about grunting it out as opposed to moving in fits and starts. The worst thing that you can do is go crazy for a couple...
Like any good-standing member of the digit-rati, I’m bedazzled by new and shiny services. Blogs had their day in the spotlight, but now they’re un-sexy; Facebook was cool until everyone and their parents climbed on the bandwagon; and Twitter is suffering from being the most over-hyped Web 2.0 service ever.
This takes us to Foursquare. Unlike blogs, Facebook and Twitter, I’m not a Foursquare user and I don’t see that changing. Simply put, broadcasting my location has little appeal because the benefits aren’t compelling.
That said, I am fascinating with Foursquare. In particular, I’m intrigued by what is happening behind the scenes. Fueled by an army of users – 500,000 and counting – Foursquare is accumulating massive amounts of data about...
In 2008, SXSW conference in August marked the coming out party for Twitter. It was then and there that the digital elite embraced Twitter and cool concept of micro-blogging with so much enthusiasm that it started to spill out into the mainstream.
With SXSW kicking off on Friday, the question is whether the major theme this year that location-based services capture the spotlight. Will SXSW be the moment in time that Foursquare goes from the digital elite’s newest shiny toy into a service that starts to resonate with a much larger audience?
At this point, I’m not convinced Foursquare has enough appeal to more than a niche player. For now, Foursquare is a fun novelty that lets you broadcast your location by checking in. Hey, I’m at Tim Horton’s! Hey’s I’m at Starbucks? Hey, I’m...
Big news from Twitter: it has officially launched its “Firehose” API in which third-parties can have 100% access to Twitter’s data. Twitter proclaims the announcement as something “Enabling a Rush of Innovation” but you could easily argue it is “Enabling a Rush of Revenue” as Twitter will start to charge for different API packages.
Much like the recent announcement that Twitter will start placing advertising within search results, the concept of charging for access to its API is a no-brainer from a business perspective. It’s something that I have argued in the past that Twitter should have been actively considering given the value that the API provides to third-party services looking to use the API to build businesses.
As GigaOm’s Liz...
Copyright © 2010 Miss604. Visit the original article at http://www.miss604.com/2010/02/followformation-for-the-olympics.html.With many programs out there to help you sort and filter the abundance of Twitter “noise” out there, the Vancouver service FollowFormation has come up with a solution. Using the concept of Twitter lists, they have a simple user interface that allows you to pick one of their lists, select how many people you’d like to follow, click a button and be done.
As it stands, Followformation is the easiest way to follow the top Twitterers by subject matter or topic. [Mashable - July 2009]
If you’re just getting started on Twitter, FollowFormation’s recommended lists are a good place find people of particular industries or categories to...
miss604 posted a photo:...
At PodCamp Toronto yesterday, one of the intriguing sessions was Brad Buset’s presentation about privacy, and how there needs to be more awareness of how much information we’re disclosing via social networks.
It’s an issue that has been lost in the shuffle amid the excitement about sharing what you’re doing, thinking, eating, going, drinking, buying and where you’re located. Everyone is pounding away on their keyboards to broadcast everything and anything without much thought to whether disclosing this information has a downside. In many ways, we’re drunk on social media.
The reality is there’s a dark side to social media that people need to serious start thinking about now. Every tweet, update, video and blog post is micro-chapter of your public...
In many ways, the Olympic Games happening this month in Vancouver are the first real-time/social media Olympics.
If you’ve been following Twitter during the opening ceremonies, it gives you a completely different perspective on Olympic coverage – it’s real-time, cutting, critical, honest and extremely funny and entertaining.
I can’t wait until the Olympics actually start, and the athletes start performing. In real-time, performances are going to be praised, applauded, criticized, poked and prodded.
In many ways, I think the social media coverage will be far more interesting and entertaining than the Olympics itself....
Copyright © 2010 Miss604. Visit the original article at http://www.miss604.com/2010/02/vancouver-2010-short-track-speedskating-ticket-giveaway.html.After the success of my first two contests (one which is still ongoing) BC Hydro has asked me to make another contest announcement this afternoon. They have two tickets for the Women’s 500m qualifier short track speed skating happening tomorrow that they want to give away over Twitter.
Contest:
For this one BC Hydro Power Smart would like to boost up their Twitter presence. To enter to win these tickets follow them on Twitter @PowerSmartBC in an attempt to be their 500th follower. The only way to enter the contest is by doing this so they’ll keep track then notify the 500th person. This will run until they reach their goal...