Get More Out of Twitter
Tuesday- May 13, 2008
Micro-blogging service Twitter is all the rage these days. It allows you to stay up to date with friends and family no matter where you are or what you may be doing. It's fun and it's engaging, but in my humble opinion, the application lacks certain features. Where Twitter lacks, the open market has filled in. Check out some of the services below to get more out of your Twitter experience
Find more people - Sure, you're following lots of cool people, but even they get boring from time to time. Find people in your local area with Twitter Local. Still not exciting enough? TwittEarth, TwitterVision, TwitterHolic or TwitterPoster are a few of the most popular sites that let you see what's going on worldwide at any moment. Find out who's got the most followers or discover new people twittering about subjects that interest you.
Mobile - Yes, I know that Twitter already has features for updating through your mobile phone, but to me it still lacks something.
Hahlo, PocketTweets or BrightKite are three easy ways to update and interact through your mobile device.
Coordinate with a group - If you're following a lot of people on twitter then it may be difficult to cut through all the clutter to find those conversations that are most beneficial. GroupTweet allows you to interact and broadcast your message to a selected group of friends through one main group account. This could be very useful for small teams or even communicating with family members.
Search - Interested in hearing what other people are saying about a certain issue, product or article? Punch your query into Summize and find all related Tweets. This service can be especially helpful for business owners hoping to listen in on the conversations that are going on about them. For more ways to capitalize on Twitter in your business check out my past article - Using Twitter and other Micro-blogging services to Advertise to Your Best Customers
Polls - Want to get feedback on a question or dilemma that's been on your mind? Check out Straw Poll Now or TwitterCensus for informal polling and feedback.
Software - Wouldn't it be nice if you could interact with Twitter in other ways beside your browser or mobile? Spaz and Snitter are two good looking Adobe AIR applications that can sit right on your desktop.
Fun - Life's too short, have some fun with Twitter. Check out Overheard or get a sense of what people are feeling at Twistori. If you're rocking a Mac, then there is a hidden feature that will show your Twitterverse within your screensaver.
Additional Resources:
What is Twitter? - 2
Twitter in Plain English
Using Twitter and other Micro-blogging services to Advertise to Your Best Customers
OneHalfAmazing on Twitter
Find more people - Sure, you're following lots of cool people, but even they get boring from time to time. Find people in your local area with Twitter Local. Still not exciting enough? TwittEarth, TwitterVision, TwitterHolic or TwitterPoster are a few of the most popular sites that let you see what's going on worldwide at any moment. Find out who's got the most followers or discover new people twittering about subjects that interest you.
Mobile - Yes, I know that Twitter already has features for updating through your mobile phone, but to me it still lacks something.
Hahlo, PocketTweets or BrightKite are three easy ways to update and interact through your mobile device.
Coordinate with a group - If you're following a lot of people on twitter then it may be difficult to cut through all the clutter to find those conversations that are most beneficial. GroupTweet allows you to interact and broadcast your message to a selected group of friends through one main group account. This could be very useful for small teams or even communicating with family members.
Search - Interested in hearing what other people are saying about a certain issue, product or article? Punch your query into Summize and find all related Tweets. This service can be especially helpful for business owners hoping to listen in on the conversations that are going on about them. For more ways to capitalize on Twitter in your business check out my past article - Using Twitter and other Micro-blogging services to Advertise to Your Best Customers
Polls - Want to get feedback on a question or dilemma that's been on your mind? Check out Straw Poll Now or TwitterCensus for informal polling and feedback.
Software - Wouldn't it be nice if you could interact with Twitter in other ways beside your browser or mobile? Spaz and Snitter are two good looking Adobe AIR applications that can sit right on your desktop.
- TwitBin and TwitterFox integrate nicely with Firefox.
- Rather get your Tweets through email? If so try out TwitterMail
- Update your status across multiple networks including Twitter, MySpace, Facebook, Pownce and Bebo with HelloTXT
Fun - Life's too short, have some fun with Twitter. Check out Overheard or get a sense of what people are feeling at Twistori. If you're rocking a Mac, then there is a hidden feature that will show your Twitterverse within your screensaver.
Additional Resources:
What is Twitter? - 2
Twitter in Plain English
Using Twitter and other Micro-blogging services to Advertise to Your Best Customers
OneHalfAmazing on Twitter
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Ink-a-dink a bucket of Links
Wednesday- January 23, 2008
- Smashing Magazine - 100 of the best free Wordpress themes
- 9 Benefits of Twitter for Bloggers - Also see my free trade idea post on using Twitter for your business
- The New Rules of Viral Marketing - free ebook
- How to Sneak Social Media into the Enterprise
- Best of Adobe Flash Tutorials
- How To: Effectively Talk to Execs and Clients about Social Media
- You Suck at Photoshop
Launch of "Where I Go" Page
Saturday- January 05, 2008
I've just added a new section to my site called "Where I Go." It's very similar to the old Links page that many sites used to contain. Within it I've added a list of blogs, podcasts and sites I love. These sites are the community and the people who share ideas, push the world forward and make the story better in the end. If you'd like to be part of One Half Amazing, then you should be on this page. Email me and give me your URL, and your RSS feed.
Links - Social Media Edition
Thursday- October 25, 2007
Social Media Marketing Essentials
A few ways to be successful with social media are to interact with participatory communities, create and promote viral (and beneficial) content and research the key influencers in a certain industry. When you or your company successfully incorporates these tactics into your social media marketing plan, you can increase brand awareness and increase traffic to your site or subscribers to your blog. These can also lead to increased conversions and sales for your company. SMX NY Session: Social Media Marketing Essentials
What's Your Social Media Strategy?
Chris Brogan has a great way of taking complex social media theory and breaking it down into digestible chunks. In this article he gives you some overall thoughts on what you should consider while developing your social media strategy. What are you doing with it all? What is your plan? How are you tying this all together to make it meaningufl, useful, and/or otherwise impactful conversations with your community?
Is Your Social Media Marketing Strategy Passive or Active?
Measuring Your Social Media Efforts
I firmly believe that when talking to a CEO or any other high level decision maker who doesn't understand Social Media, you must be able to show the value first and foremost. Chris takes on this issue. Wouldn't it be great if someone could actually make a system to measure all of your social media efforts?
How to write a Social Media Press Release
A few ways to be successful with social media are to interact with participatory communities, create and promote viral (and beneficial) content and research the key influencers in a certain industry. When you or your company successfully incorporates these tactics into your social media marketing plan, you can increase brand awareness and increase traffic to your site or subscribers to your blog. These can also lead to increased conversions and sales for your company. SMX NY Session: Social Media Marketing Essentials
What's Your Social Media Strategy?
Chris Brogan has a great way of taking complex social media theory and breaking it down into digestible chunks. In this article he gives you some overall thoughts on what you should consider while developing your social media strategy. What are you doing with it all? What is your plan? How are you tying this all together to make it meaningufl, useful, and/or otherwise impactful conversations with your community?
Is Your Social Media Marketing Strategy Passive or Active?
Measuring Your Social Media Efforts
I firmly believe that when talking to a CEO or any other high level decision maker who doesn't understand Social Media, you must be able to show the value first and foremost. Chris takes on this issue. Wouldn't it be great if someone could actually make a system to measure all of your social media efforts?
How to write a Social Media Press Release
Link Manifesto
Friday- September 14, 2007
- You understand social media and the benefits it can bring to your personal life, your company or a client's business, but not everyone is on the same boat. Chris Brogan breaks down the high level points to introducing a social media adoption strategy. I couldn't agree with him more on (1) Show the Reward, Not the Tools, (2) Consider Head Count and (3) Start Simple and Lay it Out.
- SearchMarketingGurus.com give a great overview to Optimizing your Press Release for Search Engines and People
- On September 15, 1997 Larry Page and Sergey Brin registered the domain name Google.com. Their market value today sits at $164 billion. Excuse me while I go cry myself to sleep.
- Ogilvy's Blogger Outreach Code of Ethics which should be offset somewhere by the Blogger's Guide to Publicity.
- The Business Blogging Toolset - 100 Resources for Entrepreneur Writers. Feel free to also check out my earlier post on What is a Blog and How Can It Help Your Small Business.
Everybody's Working for the Weekend Links
Thursday- August 23, 2007
Yes, I've only been blogging for a couple weeks now and I'm going on vacation. Life and work has been stressing me out. Enjoy the following links and articles.
BarCamp Nashville
What is the BarCamp Nashville Vision? "We will create the greatest digital festival in the history of Nashville. We will bring together entrepreneurs, technology visionaries, digital creators, music revolutionaries and marketing gurus under one roof for twelve hours of education, innovation and recreation."
I've actually considered starting/looked for similar groups here in Memphis. Maybe beginning a BarCamp Memphis will be the ticket. Any interest?
How to Reduce Banner Blindness and Use Effective Ads that Work - DoshDosh
This post reminds me of an ad campaign Symantec ran recently which featured an RSS feed of content that updated daily within the actual ad. They claim the ads featured RSS did not experience 'fatigue' and saw a 300% spike in response several weeks into the campaign.
As the landscape becomes more and more complex, the difficulty in finding the perfect set of ads changes. Why not just be upfront with your users and let them know your stance. You'll be be much better off showing your hand early then being deceptive in the long run.
Personal MBA
I've been following the PMBA since 2005 and they've just recently released their newest version. Have a look.
The Personal MBA (PMBA) is a project designed to help you educate yourself about advanced business concepts. This manifesto will show you how to substantially increase your knowledge of business on your own time and with little cost, all without setting foot inside a classroom.
The PMBA is more flexible than a traditional MBA program, doesn’t involve going into massive debt, and won’t interrupt your income stream for two years. Just set aside some dedicated reading time, pick up one of these books, learn as much as you can, discuss what you learn with others, and go out into the real world and make great things happen.
If you’re interested in educating yourself about business, the Personal MBA is the best place to start.
100 of the Best Small Business Audio Podcasts
Most of the podcasts specifically target a small business audience. Others have a broader business focus. All, however, are relevant to business owners and entrepreneurs. Explore and listen, and see what you think of this list.
Additional Resources:
The Old Carpet and Drapes courtesy of DoctorBalls
BarCamp Nashville
What is the BarCamp Nashville Vision? "We will create the greatest digital festival in the history of Nashville. We will bring together entrepreneurs, technology visionaries, digital creators, music revolutionaries and marketing gurus under one roof for twelve hours of education, innovation and recreation."
I've actually considered starting/looked for similar groups here in Memphis. Maybe beginning a BarCamp Memphis will be the ticket. Any interest?
How to Reduce Banner Blindness and Use Effective Ads that Work - DoshDosh
This post reminds me of an ad campaign Symantec ran recently which featured an RSS feed of content that updated daily within the actual ad. They claim the ads featured RSS did not experience 'fatigue' and saw a 300% spike in response several weeks into the campaign.
As the landscape becomes more and more complex, the difficulty in finding the perfect set of ads changes. Why not just be upfront with your users and let them know your stance. You'll be be much better off showing your hand early then being deceptive in the long run.
Personal MBA
I've been following the PMBA since 2005 and they've just recently released their newest version. Have a look.
The Personal MBA (PMBA) is a project designed to help you educate yourself about advanced business concepts. This manifesto will show you how to substantially increase your knowledge of business on your own time and with little cost, all without setting foot inside a classroom.
The PMBA is more flexible than a traditional MBA program, doesn’t involve going into massive debt, and won’t interrupt your income stream for two years. Just set aside some dedicated reading time, pick up one of these books, learn as much as you can, discuss what you learn with others, and go out into the real world and make great things happen.
If you’re interested in educating yourself about business, the Personal MBA is the best place to start.
100 of the Best Small Business Audio Podcasts
Most of the podcasts specifically target a small business audience. Others have a broader business focus. All, however, are relevant to business owners and entrepreneurs. Explore and listen, and see what you think of this list.
Additional Resources:
The Old Carpet and Drapes courtesy of DoctorBalls