Newsletter #133 Is Twitter Just Twaddle?

Created on May 26 2009 12:00AM

Feature Article

Twitter (www.twitter.com) is the current darling of Web social media and according to the latest figures has over five million registered users and something like 10,000 new users signing up per day. According to Forrester Research, Twitter currently ranks as the third largest social network behind Facebook and MySpace.

So what is Twitter? Probably the best description is "micro blogging" as each text-based post, called a tweet, can only be a maximum 140 characters in length. Any updates are displayed on the user's profile page and delivered to the user’s followers. It's free to use over the Web and can be delivered via SMS, although phone charges may apply.

So Twitter could be mildly diverting as a personal toy but will it ever make the grade as a business tool?

Some people seem to think so and have suggested the following business uses for Twitter:

• You can search for your company name, its products or services and see what is being said about them and thereby keep your "finger on the pulse".
• It can provide a human face to your company by allowing the public to interact with someone within the organisation.
• Your company can gather opinions on things such as possible new offerings you are planning.
• When you're writing a tweet you can use a TinyURL (tinyurl.com) to link to more information on a company Webpage.
• Tweeting can be a great way of broadcasting breaking news to your followers.

 

Tweeting can become addictive – just ask Jennifer Aniston who apparently broke up with her boyfriend John Mayer because he was more interested in updating his Twitter page than keeping in contact with her! There is also the issue that if you are a frequent tweeter it can look like you've got too much time on your hands, which is OK unless you’re paying that person by the hour.

According to Quantcast (www.quantcast.com) the average visitor to twitter.com is far younger than the average US Internet population, more likely to have no children and a lower than average family income. As Sean Carton of idfive says: "...that if you're in a business that's not targeted at the young/hip/bored/student demographic, Twitter probably won't mean tweet when it comes to helping your business."

Twitter has been taken up by the early adopters, a number of celebrities and has been well-hyped in the USA but will it ever be a long term technology that you can use to market your company?

Twitter just doesn't seem like the sort of technology that most businesses can take advantage of - who would want to follow me twittering on several times a day, for example? You might follow a celebrity but your average Joe? Email me if you disagree and would love to get my tweets!

In the not too-distant future a technology like Twitter, or something that evolves from it, will be just one of many possible marketing tools you can use to promote your company and Web-based technologies will continue to flourish.

But as it stands today Twitter is a lot of twaddle.

Hot Tips

Newbies

Perhaps the easiest way that you can increase security on your computer is to password-protect your screen saver.  In Windows you can do this through the Display properties dialog box.

   1. Right click on the Desktop and click Personalize (Vista) or Properties (XP)
   2. Click the Screen Saver option.
   3. Click the On resume, display logon screen option (Vista) or welcome screen (XP)
   4. Click OK.

On Mac OSX go System Preferences, then Security then check Require password to wake this computer from sleep or screen saver.

Power Users

Some of the things you should do on your Windows machine to make it more secure:

• Use passwords on all user accounts
• Use Administrator privileges with care, don't automatically create new accounts with these privileges
• Disable the Guest Account
• Rename the Administrator account
• Prevent last-logged name appearing
• Disable Remote Desktop unless you are using it

Interesting Sites

Google Maps has recently taken another huge leap by introducing Street View to its maps. If the Google team have been through the area you can now see street level 360 degree views. Fantastic if you want to preview an area you haven't been to before or you just want to look around. http://maps.google.com/help/maps/streetview/

InsiteFul Quotes

"Opportunities multiply as they are seized." Sun Tzu

You can see our other Quick Quotes on the front page of www.netinsites.com; just refresh the page to see another one randomly selected from our database. Great for presentations or times when you want to appear to be a techno-dude(ss)!

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Best wishes

Alex Garden

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