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Please don't join the group "internet myopics"

kid One of the great paradoxes of the internet is that the more information we have, the more myopic we get. This myopia is a dangerous thing. We have brilliant political thinkers and economists blogging every day, yet most people get their news from biased factoids. And from a strictly democratic economic standpoint, businesses need options. But as a business, we're in the middle of a myopia that borders on blindness.

The subject is of course, Twitter, Facebook, and Google. May the internet Gods continue to bless all three. Irrational exuberance surrounds all of them right now. But when they have to live up to those expectations of consistent triple-digit quarterly growth, and they have to face competition, and they have to struggle with advocacy groups that want to brand themselves at their expense, these three will change. Yet, they dominate press coverage and conference events and people speak of them as if they are immune to bad breaks or random events. They're not.

by John Gaffney 25 March 2009 20:02pm 0 comments

4 out of 5 UK tech companies aren’t using Twitter. So what’s the excuse?

Last week, research showed that SME’s were quickly taking up Twitter and adapting its many uses to suit their businesses. However, worrying research from ntl:Telewest Business has been released today that reveals more than 80% of the UK’s top 100 tech companies don’t appear to be using it for business communication purposes.

The research report comes from a study of the FTSE techMARK 100 and found that workers from eight of the top ten companies are not embracing Twitter, despite the recent surge in interest across the media, commercial organisations and the general public.

by Jake Hird 25 March 2009 13:05pm 8 comments

Social media on the non-profit radar but strategy not so clear: report

A growing number of charities and non-profits have gone social. From Facebook to Twitter, social media has an obvious appeal: the costs of getting involved are low, awareness can be generated virally and people naturally tend to use social media to engage around topics and causes that are important to them.

But what isn't so well understood is how social media can best be applied to the non-profit sector in meaningful ways.

by Patricio Robles 25 March 2009 12:30pm 9 comments

Digital agencies on Twitter (or are they?)

You might imagine that many of the top digital agencies will be fearsome Twitter users, not least because many agency staffers regularly use the platform to communicate.

So have the majority of agencies claimed Twitter accounts for their brand names? Are they tweeting about their innovative campaigns and web projects, to spread the word and gain kudos?

I was perplexed to discover that many agencies haven’t yet bothered, and I’m not sure what message that sends out to the client-side.

by Chris Lake 25 March 2009 11:30am 75 comments

Salesforce gets its own Twitter app

monsters In the on-demand version of Mothra meets Godzilla, CRM behemoth Salesforce.com has joined forces with...you guessed it. Twitter.

If its possible that a Twitter story has flown under the radar recently, this one has. Two social media analysts have now reported this alliance of biblical proportions. Twitter, is of course growing at a rate of 1,000 percent. Salesforce.com has a market share in the on-demand sales force automation business that grows at the rate of 50 percent.

by John Gaffney 24 March 2009 21:10pm 1 comment

Kawasaki opens his bag of Twitter twicks

The Tweet was on at the Search Engine Strategies conference today as author and internet entrepreneur Guy Kawasaki unpacked a box of tricks, optimization sites, and a few controversial concepts to increase the business effectiveness of using Twitter. His most surprising advice: don't be too impressed with your amount of followers.

"I think the most important measure of success on Twitter is "retweets,'" he said in his conference keynote. "The number of people following you means less and less."

That comment contradicts some of Kawasaki's own recent writing, but a 1,000 percent growth rate will cause an expert to reconsider his thinking. Kawasaki listed some of the people and organizations that top the amount of followers to show that the average business person can't compete, and can't be relevant when Twitter followers are stacked up against CNN and Barack Obama. Kawasaki said he is able to attract followers because of the quality of the links he includes in Tweets. The quality then leads to retweets, which can be measured at ReTweet, and can mark a trail for interested customers.

by John Gaffney 24 March 2009 15:56pm 7 comments

Twitter destroys an A-list celebrity romance, or not

As Twitter continues its mainstream march, it's no surprise that it's actively being used by celebrities. From Shaquille O'Neal to Demi Moore, Twitter is being used by a growing number of celebrities who want to engage directly with their fans.

But proving that (most) celebrities are just like everyone else, Twitter is starting to cause twouble for the celeb-set too.

by Patricio Robles 24 March 2009 08:52am 3 comments

Will social media throttle email marketing?

empty inbox Are you getting less email these days? I am. And that can't be good news for email marketers. Is email beginning to wither on the vine?

By "less," I'm not referring to work email (if only!) or messages from marketers, but less of the type of email that added a little frisson to checking the inbox: fun, flirty, and conversational messages from friends, family, and objects of affection. That stuff is now flowing in through all sorts of other digital channels, of which email constitutes a smaller and smaller part.

by Rebecca Lieb 20 March 2009 18:47pm 5 comments

Twitter growth defies language barrier

It's getting hard to find adjectives to describe Twitter's growth. Nielsen reports today that unique visitors to Twitter increased 1,382 percent year-over-year, from 475,000 unique visitors in February 2008 to seven million in February 2009.

It is the fastest growing site in its member communities category, to say the least. Zimbio and Facebook followed at a paltry 240 percent and 228 percent, respectively. What to call that kind of growth? "Googletastic," anyone?

by John Gaffney 20 March 2009 15:43pm 2 comments

Facebook's new design a flop - so far

Facebook recently rolled out a new design that, in the eyes of some, represents a fundamental shift for the world's largest social network.

The new design places an emphasis on showing Facebook users real-time updates of their friends' latest online activities. Some suggest this is Facebook's response to the growing popularity of Twitter.

by Patricio Robles 20 March 2009 10:15am 3 comments