Addicted to Twitter! (for now…)

 

… is the question my geekiest friend asked me this afternoon. ‘I don’t get it, I really don’t!’ He’s not the only one, and admittedly, I only just started playing with Twitter… I guess I’ll find out in the next few weeks whether this is lust or love!

 

A while back, I asked my Twitter followers what Twitter is all about and Mack gave me the following answer.

 

 

 

 

So far, I have seen people twittering about the weather, traffic information, sending useful links, and promoting their blogs. Here is what Phil and Mack had to say about how they use Twitter:

 

 

 

I think there’s a massive opportunity for brands to build relationship with their consumers on Twitter, by creating their own Twitter pages and sending regular Tweets to their followers.  Saying that, I think Twitter will have to develop a way of sorting contacts in a more practical and organised way i.e.  allowing users to classify their contacts in groups (e.g. marketing Twitters, friends, brands, news etc)

 

I think Twitter will also radically change the way we consume media as the application evolves – Twitterpic via Twirl is simply great and allows Twitters to become real-time journalists sharing information and news as it happens.

 

Watch this space  

 

Further reading: Discover new Twitter friends with who should I follow

Twitter is listening to its community!

 

It’s taken me some time, but I am now truly addicted to Twitter. I will post something about it in the coming days.

 

As a fairly recent user of Twitter I haven’t come across any major problems – OK, it is sometimes a bit slow at updating who you are following and your followers list, but apart from that, my experience has been pleasant.

 

But Mack reported a few days ago that Twitter went down but no one told the community why…

 

Well I am pleased to announce that Twitter has listened to its community! I just tried to send a message on Twitter right now (12.35 GMT+1), and saw this message on my homepage:

 

 

 

Well done for listening Twitter! Glad to see you’re trying to keep your community happy! Saying that are you talkig about your night or my night? Not everyone who uses Twitter lives in America!

 

Update: Twitter also have a blog

Introducing the ultimate Facebook on the go for the masses (and it’s a little scary!)

It is being billed as the ultimate Facebook on the go! Instead of logging on to search for friends, mobile phone Bluetooth technology alerts people to other users logged on nearby. In other words, profiles, pictures and background flash onto the screen so users can decide if they want to strike up a real conversation.

 

The system piloted in Berlin, called aka-aki, can also reveal whether a stranger is a friend of a friend and even if you share the same interests to break the ice. Fear not, the system also allows you to screen out any undesirables. Pheww!

 

I don’t really see this service working in the UK the Brits love privacy, and in all fairness I find the whole concept a little scary! Although one obvious use for the service is dating, I think I would be a little scared of anyone randomly approaching me and knowing my name and lots of info about my life.

 

What do you guys thing about this service? Is it the next big thing or am I being paranoid?

More about aka-aki in English right here

Calling all researchers!

 

Here’s the best Social Networking idea I’ve seen in ages – if you are a researcher, you simply have to sign up! Ray Poynter has put together a site for researchers called the Market Research Space… I just signed up and will work on my page at the week-end.  The site allows you to blog, post videoas etc etc.

I will keep you posted on how the site evolves but I think the concept is a fantastic idea so spread the word!

More on Facebook…

Although I absolutely love Facebook, knowing that anyone will be able to search my profile using a search engine worries me a little… I recently read that online identity theft is on the increase in the UK and the British authorities are currently struggling to tackle this. Facebook is fun but I am still careful with the information I put on my profile.

Although you can edit your privacy settings so that your profile does not appear on a search engine, Facebook’s privacy system is not so straight-forward. I realised the other day that my profile was public (i.e. anyone could look at my photos, messages etc), and it took me 15 minutes (call me stupid!) to set my profile to private!  

• Any idea why Facebook decided to do make profiles searchable on Google?
• How do you feel about your Facebook profile searchable to non-Facebook users?

Are you on Facebook?

Facebook seems to be the new hot topic on the blogosphere. I just spotted a couple of posts by Mike Sansone and Jason Falls and I just thought I would chip in. 

Myspace: I originally signed up as a friend of mine told me how awesome the site was but cancelled my account a year later.  Myspace is great for music and if you are into chatting and possibly meeting random strangers but apart from that, I am not quite sure what the fuss is all about.  

Linkedin: Linkedin is a useful tool for business networking – but like Mike I do believe that Linkedin lacks a community feel – we should perhaps get Mack on the case?! 

Facebook: Virtually everyone I know is on Facebook. Remember the email from our CEO? Until last week I primarily saw Facebook as a social networking site to stay in touch with my real-life friends (unlike myspace where I was chatting to random strangers) and keep my friends updated on recent adventures.  At first glance Facebook is yet another social networking site, however as I was playing around with the features, I discovered that the site is in fact a lot more than that.  Facebook is more user friendly than Friends Reunited – I just joined the ex-GfK NOP group and found quite a few former work-colleagues I hadn’t spoken to in ages! I also found quite a few old friends from uni on the site. Saying that, Facebook should seriously look into making the site accessible to non-English speaking users; I am yet to find one of my French friends on the site…

Facebook can also be used as a business networking tool – I recently discovered a group specifically for market researchers called ‘I work in Market Research and no I don’t stand on the street with a clipboard’ but groups like these could more than likely be used as a recruitment tool. I also particularly like the WordPress plugin for Facebook that sends an alert to my friends each time I publish a new post on my blog – this could also potentially be useful if you’re planning on using Facebook as a business networking tool. 

Last but not least, Facebook is used by some as a dating site – I am not quite sure what’s that ‘poking’ business is all about though!

An email from our chief executive

‘I have been informed by IT that we are currently registering an average of 17 hits a minute on Facebook. 

Up until now we have always allowed a sensible amount of private internet usage - so long as it confirms to our code of conduct and doesn‘t interfere with our work. However, the current level is unacceptable. 

I have asked IT to monitor usage over the next week or so.  If we can self regulate that would be good. If not I will need to take more serious action.’

A picture tells a thousand words…

Carrying on with Web 2.0 social networking sites, I recently discovered a new online community called Imagini that offers a completely new way of communicating with images.

The site asks you a series of questions, the answer to which are visual. It then gives you a little folder that contains your visual DNA split into a number of categories: mood, fun, habits, love. Here’s my mood profile:

Click image to enlarge

The concept certainly is interesting and completely different from other online communities out there, as people can link up right away with people with similar interests in an original way.

Imagini also launched a feature that finds interesting travel sites that are matched to your VisualDNA - a gold mine for brands!  

This online community certainly has a lot of potential for marketers and researchers alike. Researchers could for example ask consumers to choose an image to describe a specific brand.  

How else could marketers use this type of technology?  

My web 2.0 landscape

I recently discovered this excellent mapping of the Web 2.0 Landscape on Neil’s blog…   

 …and I decided to create my own personal mapping of the applications I use on a regular basis.   

    

This mapping exercise made me realise that there are still dozens of web 2.0 applications I am yet to discover! And dozens more will probably be created in the meantime!

In your opinion, what’s the next big web 2.0 thing? Let me know what you think

Map of online communities