For those who don't know: The Power of Twitter

The Power of Twitter

''Facebook is for connecting with people you used to know and Twitter is for connecting with people you should know.'' -overhead at Bloggers Meet-up October 2008

Twitter is a micro-blogging service and social network that allows users to post up to 140 characters per Tweet. Twitter was launched in July 2006 and has since become a very influential tool in social marketing. Posts can be made via web, text messages or instant messages. According to Complete there are approximately 3.5 million unique monthly visitors to Twitter (http://siteanalytics.compete.com/twitter.com/?metric=uv). As of March 2008 total Twitter users was 1+million (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/04/29/end-of-speculation-the-real-twitter-usage-numbers/).

Twitter has helped build brand loyalty and increase traffic to company websites. Zappos and Comcast are the top two corporate brands that are most referenced in regards to Twitter success stories. Twitter has also helped get an American man out of an Egyptian jail in April 2008.

While attending a meet-up of The Boston Area Internet Marketing and Advertising Group back in July 2008, guest speaker Zach Hofer-Shall, independent Social Media consultant discussed the use and benefit of corporate blogging. During his lecture he mentioned that he knew about the July 2008 California earthquake seven minutes before it hit the news, because of Twitter.
An article from the 60second Marketer on September 22, 2008 reported that one of the followers of 60SecondTwitter sent a Tweet alert in regards to a suspicious looking piece of luggage at JFK. She checked on CNN and MSN and had seen no other mention of it at the time. Another 60SecondTwitter follower stated that the Twitter commnity is also ahead of the online versions of the NY Times and MSNBC (http://60secondmarketer.com/blog/2008/09/22/twitter-reports-news-faster-than-cnn-msn-nytimes-msnbc/ ).

Michael Hyatt, President and CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers posted on his blog on May 4, 2008 ''12 Reasons to Start Twittering'' (http://www.michaelhyatt.com/fromwhereisit/2008/05/12-reasons-to-s.html).

1. It will enable you to experience social networking first-hand.
2. It will make you a better writer.
3. It will help you stay connected to people you care about.
4. It will help you see a new side of your friends.
5. It will introduce you to new friends.
6. It is faster than text-messaging.
7. It will make you think about your life.
8. It will help you keep up with what people are talking about.
9. It can create traffic for your blog or Website.
10. It requires a very small investment.
11. It can help build your personal “brand.”
12. It is fun! Twitter is just plain entertaining.

I only agree with 9 out of his 12 reasons. I disagree with numbers 2, 3, and 4. It does not make you a better writer. It makes you a quicker-typer and a better slang-artist, but far from great writing.
Twitter does allow you to experience social networking first-hand and it is faster than text-messaging if not the same. It also has a profound influence on creating traffic to your website.
Tweets are limited to 140 characters, therefore many Tweets are right to the point and aggregate to other sites and blogs.

(Smart) Corporations on Twitter:

(http://blog.fluentsimplicity.com/2008/04/07/connecting-with-customers-twitter/)

MediaReuters http://twitter.com/reuters

CNN http://twitter.com/cnnbrk

BBC (Off-site List) http://menti.net/?p=17

NY Times http://twitter.com/nytimes (The NYT also offers other sections in twitter)

WHP (CBS-affiliate) http://twitter.com/whptv

Wired News http://twitter.com/wired

NPR http://twitter.com/nprnews

ZDNet http://twitter.com/zdnett

Conde Nast Portfolio http://twitter.com/Portfolio

CNET News http://twitter.com/CNETNews

Revision3 http://twitter.com/revision3

Times OnLine http://twitter.com/TimesWorldNews

CBC News http://twitter.com/cbcnews

Orlando Sentinel http://twitter.com/orlandosentinel

Airlines/Travel

Carnival Cruise Lines http://twitter.com/CarnivalCruise

Delta http://twitter.com/deltaairlines

Jetblue http://twitter.com/JetBlue

Southwest Airlines http://twitter.com/SouthwestAir

Mahalo Travel http://twitter.com/mahalotravel

Retailers

Dell Outler http://twitter.com/DellOutlet

Direct2Dell http://twitter.com/Direct2Dell

Direct2Dell (China): http://twitter.com/Direct2Dell_CN

Studio Dell http://twitter.com/StudioDell

WOOT: http://twitter.com/woot

Apple: http://twitter.com/appleinc (

Questionable)Amazon.com Deals: http://twitter.com/amazondeals

Zappos http://twitter.com/zappos

Buy.com http://twitter.com/Buy_com (Questionable)

Professional Services

Forrester http://twitter.com/forrester

Deacons http://twitter.com/Deacons (*** A Law Firm!)

PerkettPR http://twitter.com/PerkettPR

Q1Labs http://twitter.com/Q1Labs

SaaS

Mzinga http://twitter.com/mzinga

Education

Career Development Office, McGill University http://twitter.com/cdolaw

Norwich University http://twitter.com/NorwichNews

Manufacturing

GM http://twitter.com/GMblogs

Ford http://twitter.com/FoMoCoNA ***Questionable

Government

LAFD http://twitter.com/LAFD

Franklin, MA PD http://twitter.com/franklinpolice (Needs more updates)

Austin, TX PD http://twitter.com/AustinPD (Why lock updates?)

Social/Blogs

Techmeme http://twitter.com/Techmeme

Mashable http://twitter.com/mashable

Engadget http://twitter.com/engadget

Technorati http://twitter.com/technorati

SocialText http://twitter.com/socialtext

Kyolo http://twitter.com/kyolo

Food/Specialty Products

M&Ms http://twitter.com/msgreen

Authors/Artists/Musicians/Etc

Henry Rollins http://twitter.com/henryrollins

Matthew Modine http://twitter.com/matthewmodine

Tweeters can have their Twitter page ranked using Twitterank, a Page Rank for Twitter uses. It uses ''back references'' to determine how valuable of a ''tweeter'' you are in Twitterverse (http://new.twitterank.com/).

The only real way to gain a better understanding of Twitter is to join; login, create an account and start Tweeting.....