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[Tony Blake]

One of the social networks I "play" with is Twitter... no, it's not some bizarre porn site, it's a 140-character network where people leave messages for each other... the motto for Twitter is "What are you doing right now" but people use it for all kinds of communications -- jokes, contact, commentary, product debut's, politcal comments, etc. -- I personally use it for all the above and more...

While all Twitter comments/posts appear on the site timeline the real trick is to build a group of followers that will receive your every utterance, no matter how cool or inane... You follow people you're interesting in seeing "Tweet's" from and others follow you to see what you post...

The interesting thing is that the conversation is done using only 140 characters, which is usually the max that SMS/Text messages allow -- Twitter does have mobile access both to receive as well as deliver messages when away from a browser...

So, if you have a "Twitter" account why not "follow me... in return I'll follow you... my Twitter account name is: www.twitter.com/tonyblakelive -- and if you don't here's your chance to open one and try it out...

Also... if you do have a "Twitter" account post your account name below so others can add you to follow and vice-versa... one thing we're building for the board is a "Twitter Village" -- a special page where members with Twitter accounts can embed their "Twitter" widgets and anyone can see them all at one time...

Have fun with "Twitter!"...

Success!!!

Tony Blake
The Twittering Marketing Mindreader™
New Media/Content2.0™ Maven
Õ¿Õ¬

[tigfur]

twitter is a really great site - i've been learning about it quite a lot lately.

thanks for your insight tony

[James Burchill]

An interesting idea on the surface, but my take on it is this - constant interruption equals zero productivity. 

In fact I've even begun to follow in the footsteps of Timothy Ferriss (4 Hour Work Week) inasmuch that I now only check email twice a day - and NOT when I wake up.  I was finding that these messages were driving my schedule into the ground. 

Now I encourage important messages to be delivered via phone, or simply wait until my target check times of 11am and 4pm.  I've been implementing this low-information, low-interruption diet for a while now and I've lost nothing in the mix, and gained a load of productive "free-time. "

I should also say that I get more done without the constant, pinging, buzzing and "you've got mail" sounding every few moments. 

You should try it.   

James

[Tony Blake]

James...

If you are following the footsteps of Tim Ferriss then you might want to know that he uses Twitter... in fact he was being a Twittering fool last night, letting us all know about the expensive cost of Orange Chicken at Whole Foods...

I don't use nor do I recommend that Twitter be used as method of true communications for your business or life... there are better and more efficient ways of reaching out and touching someone than Twitter (such as phone, email and of course face-to-face)... Twitter should be seen a quick, fun diversion... a way to spread some news, let people know what's going on and to discover things you may not have heard about...

As an example, I learn about a lot of "tech" releases through Twitter as well as am alerted to interesting blog posts, articles, white papers, research, etc. -- stuff that marketers SHOULD be paying attention to because of the changing landscape around us... I read "tweets" from Guy Kawasaki that alert me to things going on in the world either via his Truemors or his alltop.com sites... I read information and links to important info about the social media/networking world from "tweets" coming from Brian Solis, Jeremiah Owyang or Chris Brogan... I read about "tech" releases and advances from "tweets" coming from people like Robert Scoble (FastCompany.tv), Mashable, TechCrunch (Michael Arrington), Duncan Riley, Jason Calacanis (Mahalo), Dave Winer (who also tweets political opinion), Kevin Rose (Digg), Jeff Pulver (pulvermedia), Loic Lemure (CEO of Seesmic), Chris Pirillo (live.pirillo.com), Cali Lewis (GeekBrief), Gary Vaynerchuk (winelibrary), Darren Rowse (ProBlogger), Seth Godin, Leo Laporte (TWiT)...

There's a lot of "name" marketers that use "Twitter" too... people like:

Chris Knight (EzineArticles)
Joel Comm
Jeff Walker
Rosalind Gardner
Paul Colligan
Mark Joyner
Willie Crawford
Mike Filsaime
Tom Beal
Brad Fallon
Andy Jenkins
John Jantsch
Andy Beard
Andy Beal
Dave Taylor
Tiffany Dow
Ed Dale
Frank Kern
Doug Hudiberg
Dave Lakhani
Charles Trippy
Rich Schefren
Bev Clement
Mike Merz
Dr. Mani
Simon Leung
Randy Cassingham
Mike Hill
Tom Kulzer (Aweber)
Lisa Preston
Paul Short
and many more....

The idea of "Twitter," especially for me, is as another contact point for friends, associates or those I want to hear from... I don't spend all day on it but I do check a couple times a day to see what the latest news is, info, things I should check out, jokes, etc... it IS a diversion but I use as a treat for me, a get-away from all the stuff I'm doing...

Heck, if it's good enough for Tim Ferriss, it's good enough for me! 

Hope this helps...

Success!!!

Tony Blake
The Twittering Marketing Mindreader™
New Media/Content2.0™ Maven
Õ¿Õ¬

[George Sepich]

Ok Tony, I'll start using Twitter more.  But Twitter Village sounds awful like something Hilary Clinton would dream up.  You haven't gone liberal on me have you.

George

[Lisa Preston]

I myself don't spend alot of time on Twitter, but I DO have twitter set up on my blogs and whatnot so that it automatically lets people know when I've added something new... For me, this is a huge time saver.

I also enjoy taking a few minutes at the end of my day to see what the world has been up to. I get a condensed version of what's going on, and more than just cut-and-paste emails for launches - I get real-time stuff and that's golden.

I never dismiss any form of communication as time wasted, especially if I haven't tried and tested it myself. I rarely rely on someone else's opinion to form my business because they are not me. No matter who they are.

[Chuck Burke]

I haven't been active on Twitter yet.
Here's mine. . .   hxxp: twitter. com//chuckburke

Chuck

[Tony Blake]

Here's an interesting blog post by Wayne Porter called "Twitter Tips And Cycles" where he discusses the power of Twitter and how to use it correctly (without dying in the process)...

In the post Wayne shares these relevant Tactical Twitter Tips:

• 1. Try to avoid over-use of the @symbol, although it is o.k. for “micro-conversations” to break out- they will happen. You can also use brackets like [@wporter] or send a direct message.
• 2. Don’t tweet every single blog post or photo upload, etc. unless you know your audience really well.
• 3. Avidly look for interesting people outside of your normal network so you are exposed to new ideas.
• 4. It is o.k. to emit some “noise”, after all part of the medium is to be fun, but avoid sending so much noise that people stop following you. You will develop your own “style” as you go along. Be human.
• 5. Look at your blog posts and tweets and see if you can correlate jumps in your “follower” growth or a trend in the “types” of followers to other activity in media.
• 6. You do not have to follow every single person on your list. You should frequently review new followers and see if you can find interesting people, and even if you don’t follow them, you can certainly stop by their blog or page.
• 7. Ensure your Twitter URL points to a site or page where potential people evaluating whether to follow or reciprocate with you. This way they can get more information about you and make a better decision. They are about to make an investment in their time so help them make it.
• 8. Occasionally reach out and spend some social capital by helping or simply a “thank you”. For example, thank someone who inspires you with their writing, or someone who helps you out, that you admire, or you find contributing to the commons. Sometimes they will respond in surprising ways.
• 9. Find technically advanced users or resources that will teach you how to effectively handle all of these emerging technologies like a pro.
• 10. Be genuine, be polite and have fun.

It's a good and lengthy post... read it and it'll give you a lot of insight on the "Twitter" mindset...

Enjoy and learn!...

Success!!!

Tony Blake
Marketing Mindreader™
New Media/Content2.0™ Maven
Õ¿Õ¬

[Tony Blake]

Yet another interesting blog post on using Twitter in marketing... this time from blogger DoshDosh -- "17 Ways You Can Use Twitter: A Guide For Beginners, Marketers And Business Owners" (be sure to read the complete article for a lot more information than what I share in this post -- it's good!)...

In the post they describe how Twitter is an 140-character microblogging platform that can often be fragmented and hard to follow but can also be a tool used to push out messages that capitalizes on the attention you are getting from others (Robert Scoble wrote another interesting blog post on Twitter where he talks about the best value on Twitter is not how many people are following you but how many YOU are following -- "The Secret To Twitter")...

DoshDosh describes 17 Ways you can effectively use Twitter:

1. Personal Branding. Twitter is a social media platform you can use to build your personal brand. It has the primary benefit of developing a casual persona and establishes you as a social personality that is connected and approachable. As Twitter adoption increases, new users will be drawn towards well established Twitter personas.

2. Get Feedback. Need an alternative perspective on how a website looks or the right course of action to take? Blast out a message asking for advice and you’ll receive replies from other users. This collective intelligence can be used as fodder for articles or projects.

3. Hire People. Need a good logo designer, marketer or programmer? Send out a message asking for recommendations. This is a very quick and easy way to hire freelancers or even companies based on familiar recommendations.

4. Direct traffic. Twitter can be used to get traffic to your websites or the sites of friends. If you ask your friends to tweet about it, the message will spread faster and further as other active users pick it up. There is a viral nature to all types of news, even on a site like Twitter.

5. Read News. Twitter users often link to useful sites or articles and can be a source of scoops and alternative news. You can also subscribe to Twitter feeds for specific websites/conferences, which allows you to receive and view content quickly. This is very useful for active social news participants.

6. Make New Friends. Like any other social network, Twitter has a built-in function for you to befriend and track the messages of other users. This is an easy way for you connect with people outside of your usual circle. Make an effort to add active users you find interesting. A Twitter acquaintance can be developed into a long lasting friendship.

7. Network for benefits. Twitter can be used as a socializing platform for you to interact with other like-minded people, especially those in the same industry. It can be used to establish consistent and deeper relationships for future benefits such as testimonials or peer recommendations.

8. Use it as a ToDo list. Use Twitter to record down what you need to do while you are away from the computer. Mark the tweet as a favorite to file it for referencing. Another alternative is to use an Online task management service that is synced with Twitter. One example is Remember The Milk.

9. Business Management. Twitter can be used as a company intranet that connects employees to one another. Workers can liaise with each other when working on group projects. Particularly useful when certain workers go out often in the field. Updates could be set to private for security reasons.

10. Notify Your Customers. Set up a Twitter feed for the specific purpose of notifying customers when new products come in. Customers can subscribe via mobile or RSS for instant notification. Twitter can also be used to provide mini-updates for one-on-one clients.

11. Take Notes. Twitter provides you with an easy way to record important ideas or concepts you want to explore further. Include links relevant to ideas you want to explore. Note taking can also be done offline via mobile applications.

12. Event Updates. Businesses can use Twitter as a means to inform event participants and latest event happenings/changes. This is a hassle-free way of disseminating information, especially when you don’t have the means to set up a direct mobile link between you and the audience.

13. Find Prospects. Twitter can be used as a means to find potential customers or clients online. Do a search for keywords related to your product on Terraminds and then follow users. Tweet about topics parallel to your product and close prospects away from public channels by using direct messages or offline communications. Discretion and skill is needed in this area.

14. Provide Live coverage. Twitter’s message size limit prevents detailed coverage of events but it can allow you to provide real-time commentary which may help to spark further discussion or interest on the event as other Twitter users spread the message. Very useful for citizen journalism.

15. Time Management and Analysis. Twitter can simply be used to keep a detailed record of what you are doing every daily. This might be boring for others but this type of usage is useful when you want to analyze how you spend and manage your time.

16. Set Up Meetings. Twitter can help you organize impromptu meetups. For example, you can twitter a message while at a cafe, event or art gallery and arrange to meet fellow users at a specific spot. It’s an informal and casual way of arranging a meeting.

17. Acquire Votes. Send a link to your stories you’ve submitted in other social news sites like Digg. Sometimes your followers will vote up the stories because they agree with it. This allows you to acquire more support for your efforts on other social media websites.

Twitter is the hot "social networking/marketing" app right now... how long the sizzle will stick no one knows... but, it might just be worth testing to see what kind of results you get or better yet, checking it to see what kind of info you can gleen from it that you can use in your marketing, planning, education, and info-arsenal -- I grab a ton of info I can use from there daily... and the best part is that I'm being turned on to sources and knowledge I didn't know was out there...

Success!!!

Tony Blake
Marketing Mindreader™
New Media/Content2.0™ Maven
Õ¿Õ¬v

[Dr. Mani]

From 9 months of Twittering, with over 1,400 tweets, I've got some
unique perspectives on the service too... and shared them in a few
blog posts.

Oh, Twitter!
http://moneypowerwisdom.com/oh-twitter/

Twitter Through a Heart Surgeon's Eyes
http://moneypowerwisdom.com/twitter-through-a-heart-surgeons-eyes/

Twitter for Influence
http://moneypowerwisdom.com/twitter-for-influence/

All success
Dr.Mani

[lingstar]

Morning,

I've been finding LOTS of great twitter apps lately - enjoy the resources at

• http://www.freakitude.com/2007/03/21/twitter-tools-collection/
• http://franticindustries.com/2007/04/04/all-twitter-tools-and-mashups-in-one-place

Back when I started using Twitter, I didn't know about resources to automatically convert long URLs to a TinyURL and was doing that manually.   So of course, I wrote a tutorial on that over at www.askowlbert.com - Easy way to let people Twitter your blog posts - TinyURL plugin usable for tweets!

My twitter is  http://www.twitter.com/owlbert .

Enjoy,

Barbara

[Rick Wilson]

Ok Tony ...

I've just signed up. Haven't gotten up to speed on all the Web 2.0 stuff yet. Twitter looks to be a fun tool. Will check it out. I really have to pay more attention to things these days.

I'm at => http://twitter.com/corprebel


Barbara ...

Thanx for the Twitter resources.

 

[WarnerCarter]

twitter is pretty cool

here is a link to hook up with a lot of marketers form a post at the Marketing Pilgrim blog:


http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/2008/01/internet-marketing-experts-twitter.html

I bet them a donut it would make it to 1000 comments/ it is 323 today.

I did a post about it with a link to some comments on Dosh Dosh blog about how to get the most out of twitter

http://warner-carter.com/blog/web-20/does-twitter-and-marketing-mix-well

Comments do follow and I use the comment luv plugin which will post the title and a link to of your most recent blog post in your comment.

twitter me at http://twitter.com/warner444

by the way if you want to see all the links indexed of your twitter just google site:http://twitter.com/yourtwittername

[Sean Marler]

Great thread.

Personally, I love the balance of intellectual vs.  superficial stream of thoughts.  I get bored with people who just post about 'shop' all the time, but the place wouldn't be the same without them.

I think the best part of twitter is the voluntary follow - if your views are disagreeable with someone they can simply go away.  Plus it means stuff like this http://twitter.com/allpets can't really take root in the community.  Spams the outside world, but not the twitter community. 

Anyway, twitter is the bestest. 

Sup, Warner? Still kickin it at the JC forum, too?

[WarnerCarter]

Hi Sean

Yea still involved at JC (Job Crusher) it is a great community and Eric Louvere and that staff really go out of their way to add value.  they just changed the software to vtribes, Eric is releasing a course called The Slacker Formula only for JC members to sell, and something is in the works with Mike Filisome.  JC will open again soon. 

Sorry y'all for being a little off topic for a moment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .