10 ways you can help the people of Haiti right now

Do your bit in just a few clicks

The devastation in Haiti is on a level scarcely imaginable for most of us. It’s made doubly nightmarish by the fact that Haiti is far from being one of the wealthier countries in the world. But millions of dollars are being donated through internet fund raising campaigns that allow people to lend a hand instantly. To make your contribution of desperately needed funding, check out the options below. And after you’ve made a donation, tweet a link to the organization’s site or write about it on Facebook.

Remember to be wary of giving money to an unknown group, as scam sites have popped up to take advantage of people’s good will, and every dollar counts as it will help provide desperately needed medical supplies and shelter. If you’re unsure about a charity group, check out the Better Business Bureau’s site dedicated to reviewing charity organizations.

Most of these sites suggest donation amounts, but you can enter whatever amount of money you have to spare. Every little bit will help.


Oxfam’s emergency response team (whose regional headquarters happen to be in Haiti) is working hard to provide water and sanitation services in the hope of stemming the spread of disease that usually follows this kind of disaster. More money means more clean water for the people.

Google Support Disaster Relief Google pitched in the first million dollars themselves, but there’s a long way to go in recovering from the quake. On their disaster relief page, you can quickly and simply submit whatever amount you want donated to either UNICEF, who are working to help children affected by the earthquake, or CARE who are sending rescue workers to the country. There’s also an interactive Google Earth map on the page that gives you a look at how badly the country was hit.

Doctors Without Borders are saving lives on the ground by providing emergency medical care. The donated money will help them supplement Haiti’s devastated infrastructure.

United Nations World Food Program is pooling resources to provide food for 2 million people affected by the earthquake over the next 6 months. Already the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, Haiti needs help more than ever to feed their hungry.

AMURT With a decade of relief work in Haiti under their belt, AMURT are organizing both staff members and teams of volunteers for relief efforts. Donations will help support the teams already there and fund additional teams being sent to Haiti.


World Vision has already sent 18 tons of relief supplies to Haiti. Help them send more by making a donation.

AmeriCares is raising funding for critical medical supplies and medicines, as there is an especially great need of them with a major hospital having collapsed.

Catholic Relief Services have a staff on the ground in Port-au-Prince. They are accepting donations of any amount to buy and distribute emergency supplies.

Direct Relief International is supplying their partner organizations working in Haiti with emergency supplies. More funding means more critical supplies will reach people.

You can also donate money through a text message. To contribute $10 to the Red Cross ‘s disaster relief efforts, send an SMS with the message “HAITI” to the number 90999. You can also make a $5 donation via text message to the Yele Haiti earthquake fund by texting “Yele” to the number 501501.

With a little help from each of us out here in cyberspace, the people of Haiti will be able to put their lives back together much faster. Feel free to add to our list of ways to contribute in the comments section.

Jason Ross is a copywriter for The Duffy Agency. He loves working on both traditional and social media projects and speculating on the future of the ad industry. 

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6 ways to visualize your Twitter stream

Sometimes you need a visual aid to get your head around what’s happening on Twitter

Trying to explain Twitter in a presentation or grasp how popular a keyword is can be tricky. Fortunately, there are several sites that show what’s happening on Twitter in a fun, visual presentation. They can strengthen your presentations by illustrating how Twitter works or make a more compelling event by dynamically showing people what’s being tweeted about.

I sat down with my co-workers and created a wish-list of qualities that we as marketing people want in an Twitter visualization tool. As usual, all the tools have to be free. Beyond that, we wanted to be able to:

• have an easy-to-use interface
• get the hang of it quickly
• stream tweets based on keywords
• easily configure it
• make our tweets visually interesting
• have adjustable settings


The evaluation method was simple. I visited each site and registered. After my profile loaded, I took a screenshot of the interface and then spent about ten minutes looking around the site. A decent site should be able to explain itself in that time. After using the application, I rated each site against my wish list.

Tori’s Eye  takes an origami approach to Twitter visualization. The site is highly visual and easy to use. Enter the word you want to track and watch the blue birds float by as the occasional cloud passes in the background. You can see what tweets are wafting by by holding your cursor over the bird. You get the Twitter account name, a link to their profile, when it was said and the tweet.

PROS:
Easy to use and very visual.
CONS:
No features outside of the ability to search on a word. It would be nice to see tweets maybe trailing behind the birds instead of having to click on the birds to read the message.

RESULTS: Thumbs Up

Twittospheric works the same way as Tori’s Eye. You enter a keyword and the site searches Twitter for the results. Except it doesn’t work very well. Initially it looks impressive. The Twitter bird slides past the screen and the user profile image appears, a link to the tweeter’s profile and their tweet appear in a little box. When you do a search, it appears to break the site. The birds still fly by but they no longer display any tweets.

PROS:
Easy to use and visually interesting
CONS:
Once you add a search word, the site quits working. I waited for about 20 minutes and then moved on. It went into a search mode but never displayed anything again.

RATING: Thumbs Down

TWITTERMOTION

TwitterMotion is an interesting concept done horribly wrong. It presents the tweets in an interesting way. You enter your Twitter name and password, then your tweets fly by in oversized text. Initially it looks quite fun but then you realize that you can barely read the tweets as they fly by. It’s worth looking at once but the gimmick wears thin quickly.

PROS:
Visually interesting way to display your tweets.
CONS:
Hard to read and understand what you’re looking at.

RATING: Thumbs Down

Twitt3D this black and white site is visually interesting but difficult to use. After logging into the site, it displays the most recent tweets from your followers in a 3D block. Focusing in on a tweet takes a bit of playing with to get the hang of. The tweet shows up on the vertical plain, while the tweeter is on a 90 degree perpendicular angle. There is also something called a Bird’s Eye Map but I never figured out what it was for.

PROS:
Visually interesting and fun to play with.
CONS:
Difficult to understand how it works or what you’re looking at. Once you submit your Twitter username and password, it runs its search and then never updates again. I’m not sure what the point of the site is except to present tweets in a convoluted fashion.

RATING: Thumbs Down

Twittearth is a cute view of the world with little monsters representing tweeters in different parts of the world. As new tweets appear, the globe spins to show where in the world the tweet is coming from. It takes a random sampling of tweets to display. You can login to your Twitter account to display the tweets in your Twitter stream but it appears to be broken as I could never login.

PROS:
Simple and fun to use. Watching the world spin around as new tweets pop up is fun to watch.
CONS:
It’s worthless if you can’t control it. You can’t login to display your Twitter stream and you can’t enter a keyword to track.

RATING: Thumbs Down

Twitterfall is the most adaptable site. You can select a current trend, a list, do a search, or show tweets based on geolocation. As each tweet appears, you can DM, follow, retweet, reply and more. They also give you customizable setting such as speed at which new tweets appear, the fall size, language selection, text size and more. It’s a great site with lots of features to make it more useable.

PROS:
Despite having a ton of features, the site is simple to use and easy to understand. The waterfall effect as new tweets appear keeps new tweets easy to read.
CONS:
You have to refresh the page to get new searches to work sometimes. Not very visually exciting.

RATING: Thumbs Up

CONCLUSION: The clear winner here would be Twitterfall. It’s not the most creatively visual, that would be Tori’s Eye, but it offers the most features and customizability with six different ways to change your viewing experience. Nothing else even comes close...or works. How do you like to see Twitter visualized?

Stefan Halley is the Digital Project Leader for The Duffy Agency. He loves to talk about social media and won't shut up about Twitter.

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7 social media predictions for 2010

2009 was a great year for social media. Twitter went mainstream and Facebook dominated the world, replacing social networking websites that had a strong foothold in their country. As the world became more aware of social media and web 2.0 techniques, we saw some interesting marketing efforts from Pepsi, Fiat and Pringles, among others. With the new year upon us, let’s take a moment to look ahead at what we think will be the big game changers of the new year.

Micro communities - Facebook, MySpace and Twitter are the big impersonal dogs that dominate the social media world as we know it. People are starting to look for smaller, more relevant communities in the coming year. 2010 will see the rise of Ning, Xing and Linked In, as well as location based communities like Foursquare and Gowalla, which will be purchased and incorporated into Facebook and Google in 2011.

Facebook starts to slip - After obtaining the seemingly impossible in five years (350 million members), Facebook has justly secured their place as top dog in the social media world. There is no where to go but down from here. While expanding their functionality and destroying their credibility through poor decisions on how to handle user privacy, Facebook will lose members as users become overwhelmed with follow requests, app requests, security settings and a million other little things.

Google makes search more relevant - Google released real-time search at the end of 2009, but it’s not as refined as it could be. Google will continue to refine their search techniques based on the personal experience of the user. This means my search for a thai restaurant in San Francisco could be completely different from your search. Google rushed real-time search out in order to beat Bing to the punch, but expect it to be streamlined by the end of the year.

Gaming becomes more social - We talked about console gaming going social in our hugely popular blog post last month, but it’s just the tip of the iceberg. 2010 will be a rebirth in gaming with games not just linking to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, but by allowing users to create original content through them as well. Add to that online gaming companies like Zynga, Playfish and Crowdstar who are expanding the capability of their games. Also, expect mobile gaming to go to great heights with the iPhone and Android phones changing the way we envision mobile gaming.

Big Brother won’t have to watch us – we’ll do it ourselves - In our ever expanding need to feel relevant and hip, we now do what people a decade years ago would have viewed as implausible. Privacy isn’t an issue like it used to be. We now tell people where we are and what we’re doing every moment. Thanks to Foursquare, Google Geotagging, Gowalla and Britekite, we can automatically update our location without lifting a finger. Expect this trend to continue, and get much more invasive, before it gets better.

iPhone loses ground to Android - Sure, the iPhone is great, but it has one major drawback: it’s only available on one phone. Now imagine the same software that makes the iPhone great spread over several phones with cheaper price-tags. The Android has the potential to be a game changer in next gen phone development. With several phones coming out in 2010, the huge market share that the iPhone now controls will quickly erode.

Companies discover how to use social media - 2009 was the year that businesses discovered that the internet isn’t just a children’s toy any more. 2010 will be the year that companies finally start using social media as an important marketing tool and will devote more of the advertising funds to online efforts. 2009 saw some interesting uses of Twitter, Facebook and iPhone apps as companies dipped their toes in the pond. Now that they’ve explored a little, expect some interesting online campaigns.

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7 predictions for Twitter in 2010

The Christmas presents have been opened (thanks for the Kindle, mom!), the new year celebrated and the year in reviews written, so now it’s time to look ahead to 2010. As we wrote earlier, 2009 was a killer year for Twitter. But will 2010 see the micro blogging sensation continue to rocket upwards? Probably not, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Here are 7 predictions of what the coming twelve months hold in store for everyone’s favorite little blue bird.

1. Twitter will expand more aggressively outside of the US, but overall growth will drop off
Twitter is about as big as it ever will be in the US, so if they want their user base to continue expanding they’ll have to make a more significant push into Europe and beyond. It will gain millions more followers outside the US as new population groups discover its potential, but the overall growth of Twitter will never again attain the huge increases of the past few years. It will cease to be a pop culture phenomenon and hot buzz word, and start to find its long term place in the social media tool box.

2. The Twitter horde will get thinned out, leaving a more manageable core of users
Many people who jumped on the Twitter bandwagon will forget about it as they hop onto the next one. This wave of everyone and their sister being interested cresting and receding may end up being a good thing. Twitter has long been frustrating for people interested in using it because of the fluff-to-useful content ration being way out of whack. With users who are more focused and dedicated staying on while others jump off, that ratio may well start to balance out.

3. Innovative mashups will keep the excitement alive
The waning novelty of Twitter will be somewhat abated by the novelty of new mashup applications utilizing the service. By all accounts location based apps are the next big thing, and Twitter is sure to factor into many of these new creations. I’d expect to see features like having each Tweet tagged with your current location and creating a map of where you’ve tweeted from. But people smarter than me are sure to come up with far more clever uses.

4. Companies’ Twitter use will become more focused and get a budget
Companies will start to really get their heads around Twitter this year, having had time to let the idea of it sink in and its potential become apparent. What once struck them as a fad among kids has now proven an effective marketing tool in enough cases to change their minds and get them to put some money aside for running a Twitter campaign, and create the guidelines to do it well. But it’s the ones who got in early who will really start to benefit this year.

5. Better analytics will make Twitter a valid market research tool
The ability to use Twitter to listen in on targeted groups will keep getting more refined. Getting an intimate look inside the minds of the people you’re trying to talk to is invaluable, and with Twitter companies will be getting this at minimal cost. As companies accept more and more that Twitter is not just a toy for young people, they’ll see just how big a treasure trove of market insights it is – and develop the tools to mine them. 

6. Twitter will make more money than Facebook
The monetization of Twitter has already begun with Google and Bing paying for Tweets to appear in their search results. Twitter is certainly a long way from reaching Facebook’s level of profitability, but it has a big advantage over the social networking site as it’s much better suited as an information sharing and promotional tool. More companies will realize Twitter’s value and pay good money to incorporate it into their offer. And with real-time search results gaining ground as the search method of the future, Twitter has a lot of potential to become a hot commodity.

7. Twitter will get sold
It may seem a little premature to sell before it becomes truly profitable, but Twitter is probably valued higher right now than it ever will be. The surge of interest in it and growth have plateaued, leaving it’s future direction and focus up in the air. The time is ripe for one of the big boys to step in and give it just such a direction and future. I see Google, Microsoft or Facebook taking over Twitter and developing it as part of their service. Whether or not that will be a successful venture, well, time will tell. It’s going to be an interesting year.

Jason Ross is a copywriter for The Duffy Agency. He loves working on both traditional and social media projects and speculating on the future of the ad industry. 

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We wish you a social Christmas!

Our 5 favorite social media creations of the holiday season

As you’ve probably noticed, people are more reluctant than ever to send Christmas cards, whether it be for their wallets or the environment. But social media is picking up the slack to keep the holiday cheer running strong. Here are my five favorite ways to use social media to either send Christmas greetings, or just to inject some fun into the holiday season when it starts to wear thin.

Santa Yourself
I had nearly given up on finding something interesting among the hundreds of uninspired Facebook Christmas applications, but this one stole my heart. Mostly because you can make Santa look really creepy while going right to town in his dance number. It’s not Christmas until Santa makes children cry.

Redneck Christmas gifts
For the distinguished Southern gentleman or lady, here we have an exclusive selection of gifts for their refined tastes. Make their holiday season special with a ginger bread trailer home or a decorated outhouse.

Santa shoot-em-up

If an evaporating bank account and endless family gatherings are making you feel the need to shoot something, take out your stress with a Christmas flash game. My favorite is Deep Freeze – how can you go wrong with a heavily armed Santa and lots of cannon fodder?

Find out what list you’re on
Worried you’ve been too naughty to get any presents this year? Just ask Santa to check your tweets and he’ll let you know. He’ll send you a tweet with the verdict and what punishment/reward you get, all the while swaying drunkenly to some jovial music

Christmas cocktails
Speaking of swaying drunkenly, this iPhone app is ready to serve up a tasty holiday drink recipe whenever the occasion demands. Search by ingredient or give it a shake for a random suggestion. Just try not to embarrass yourself too badly in front of the in-laws.

Those were my favorites. Did I miss yours?

Jason Ross is a copywriter for The Duffy Agency. He loves working on both traditional and social media projects and speculating on the future of the ad industry. 

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The year of the Tweet

Welcome to Twitter Tuesday. Every Tuesday we will post about Twitter. Stop by for advice and how to's for marketing professionals. Every other week we will post our AppQuest Edition featuring a review of twitter applications. 

5 reasons 2009 was Twitter’s breakout year 

As 2009 opened, Twitter was nothing new. It had been around since 2006, steadily growing its following, but the wave hadn’t had quite broken over the masses yet. That would soon change. A social network needs a certain critical mass of users to make a splash, and the events of 2009 would see Twitter eclipse that mark. According to Compete.com, Twitter had 3.4 million visitors in November 2008 and by November of this year, they had over 22 millions visitors. That’s a 676% growth from year to year. 

This was largely due to a natural ramp up of followers, but some big events helped vault it ahead. Its mass media status was confirmed when Taylor Swift thanked her Twitter followers in an acceptance speech at the MTV Video awards. David Letterman did a bit with Kevin Spacey about Twitter. Even CSI has used Twitter to help solve crimes. That’s about as much an official declaration of going mainstream as you can get. 

Also, Twitter was Google’s fastest rising search term in 2009 and “What is Twitter?” was Ask.com’s fourth most asked question (right after “How do I get pregnant?). 

So why was 2009 Twitter’s big year? Here are 5 ways Twitter made the transition to new media powerhouse in the past 12 months.

5. Twitter helped people find (and lose) jobs more efficiently 
As the recession deepened and unemployment spread, people looked to find a job any way they could. Twitter quickly proved its networking ability could be focused to find HR managers and info on available jobs. It also allowed people to get to know companies they were interested in in-depth by following its employees – an invaluable tool when applying for a job. For many people who didn’t know or care about Twitter, they suddenly had a compelling reason to try it out. 

But Twitter also made headlines for helping people lose their jobs. People learned to be wary of declaring their boss hatred on blogs and Facebook a long time ago, but most are still getting their heads around Twitter, and don’t realize they can get sacked in one incomplete sentence as their tweets spread beyond their followers. Cautionary tales have been around since before 2009, but the folks getting themselves into trouble expanded and got more high profile this year, as when NFL player Larry Johnson got himself cut form the Kansas City Chiefs for getting into an offensive bickering match with a fan. The crossover from private amusement to professional liability put Twitter in headlines in both traditional and new media, and tipped off bosses around the world on a new way to keep tabs on employees. So don’t say anything about your boss on Twitter you wouldn’t say on the 6 o’clock news. Seems a few people still haven’t caught on.  

4. People congregated on Twitter en masse to mourn the death of an icon
Almost immediately after the news broke that Michael Jackson had died, Twitter exploded with updates about his passing. Millions of people began sharing their grief and nostalgia for the singer, or simply tweeting “RIP MJ.”  This wasn’t surprising, as coming together to mourn is a basic human need. But the scale of the outburst was pretty surprising – conservative estimates claim that tweets about Jackson accounted for 30% of all activity on Twitter in the hours following his death, blowing talk of the Iranian election and the swine flu out of the water. The event turned Twitter into a platform for mass grieving and consolation, and showed how many people turn to Twitter first to share and comment on big news. It also revealed how Twitter is ideal for people to use in making themselves feel important, as publicly commenting on a huge event makes them feel involved. This is a large part of social media’s appeal, and something Twitter has taken to the next level. 

3. Twitter helped Iranians achieve freedom of speech
With communication channels being blocked left and right in Iran after the controversial election, Twitter became the primary medium of getting info out of the country to rest of the world. You know when the US State Department asks you to delay scheduled site maintenance in the interest of preserving freedom of speech, you’ve got a pretty powerful communication tool. The incident displayed Twitter’s ability to subvert government censorship and spread on-the-ground happenings in real time to a global audience. With talk of Twitter’s role being broadcast on CNN and TIME, many more people discovered the site and began to understand just how much potential it had to change how we receive information. 

2. H1N1 demonstrated Twitter’s efficiency of fear-mongering
The swine flu pandemic showcased Twitter’s power for both good and evil. Worried people around the world logged in to find the facts on the mysterious virus. Many regular folks and official organizations like the CDC obliged with good information. But they were largely overshadowed by the misinformation and irrational panic. That’s the thing about crowds – they have a way of taking fears, developing their own momentum and getting carried away. The Twitter community was no exception. Though Twitter offers a lightning fast tool to inform the public from a decentralized platform, the incident highlighted the dangers that come with it. It’s bound to draw flocks of people who feel the need to tell everyone that the end is nigh at the first sign of trouble and spread rumors as proof to thousands of unwary followers. If you think it’s crazy people trust Wikipedia for information, Twitter will probably make your head explode. But again, this is Twitter facilitating a basic human need to connect and share in troubled times, so it’s not surprising it took off so quickly, nor is it likely to slow down. Brace yourself.

1. Twitter officially declared the word of the year
To cap off the Year of the Tweet, Twitter was named the word of the year by the Global Language Monitor, topping the likes of “Obama,” “H1N1” and “vampire.” The list was compiled by tracking which words garnered the most attention across the Internet. Political events that shook the world, a panic inducing global pandemic and the death of the world’s biggest pop star could not top Twitter. If there was any doubt Twitter was a new media force to be reckoned with, it was washed away. 

Despite its rocketing success in 2009, Twitter is still sinking into our collective mind. Most people are still trying to get their heads around what it’s for and why they should care, much like they did in YouTube’s early days. It remains to be seen whether Twitter will become part of our permanent Internet furniture collection as YouTube has, but it’s certainly headed in that direction, and shows no sign of slowing down going into 2010. 

Jason Ross is a copywriter for The Duffy Agency. He loves working on both traditional and social media projects and speculating on the future of the ad industry. 

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Is social media making any difference in Copenhagen?

Taking a look at what the slew of social media initiatives have, and haven’t, accomplished for climate change.

The world’s most powerful leaders have convened in Copenhagen to reach an agreement that will help save our planet from rising seas and violent hurricanes. But millions of people around the world are doing some convening of their own. Social media initiatives in support of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP15) have exploded, inspiring tens of millions of regular people to do their part with just a few mouse clicks. But how big an impact can a few mouse clicks really have? Quite a lot, but it depends how you use them.

There are dozens of sites dedicated to getting people to demand an agreement be reached at the conference, but a few big ones are leading the way. Hopenhagen is one of the simpler efforts, asking people to digitally sign a petition by telling the world what gives them hope for the future. More than 1.7 million people have contributed so far.

Another 440,000 people have signed a similar petition on Seal the Deal’s site, an initiative run by the UN. In true social media fashion, the efforts are not being confined to websites – Kofi Annan’s Tck Tck Tck organization has a successful Twitter, Facebook and YouTube campaign to go along with the more than 10 million people who have pledged support through their website. Most of the other organizations can also boast multi-platform efforts.

YouTube itself is running a joint campaign with CNN called Raise Your Voice. It’s aimed at raising awareness by having people submit call to action videos and questions that will be answered during a debate broadcast live from the conference center. More than 4 million people have visited the YouTube channel.

ActiveBE is also using a video campaign to raise awareness of the climate change issue, which is noteworthy because they are using the COP15 hype to highlight the little know fact that the leading producer of CO2 isn’t transportation or industry, but buildings. Hundreds have signed the petition to shed more light on this issue and thousands visited the site to learn more.

The number of supporters is unquestionably impressive – all told it’s in the tens of millions. In terms of spreading knowledge, awareness and enthusiasm, the social media initiatives have been a resounding success, and those things are instrumental in garnering support on a global scale. But whether these efforts are having any impact on the proceedings in Copenhagen is another matter. Barack Obama officially stated a month ago that no binding agreement will be reached in Copenhagen, but rather they hope to reach an agreement that shows strong “intent.” The social media campaigns all state that they exist to unite people in demanding leaders come to a binding agreement with specific targets. It’s unlikely that particular goal will be met, and there is no mention of what will be done with these signatures and followers after the conference. Generating actual change has been a recurring problem with social media drives, as when Twitter helped Iranians subvert government censorship, but ultimately didn’t change anything.

That isn’t to say the climate change efforts have gone to waste. Pushing for an agreement is only part of the goal – creating widespread awareness of the problem and enthusiasm to do something is just as a big a part of these campaigns. Millions of people have taken an active interest where they would have otherwise been passive observers, if they had noticed the conference at all. But the potential impact of these communities has been far from reached. With a different focus, they could be petitioning local politicians with concrete demands, raising money for renewable energy research or organizing more demonstrations like the UK’s Wave project recently did. Without real world action, social media initiatives simply make people feel like they’ve done their part without actually accomplishing anything.

The most telling question will ultimately be: what will these communities do if world leaders fail to come through? If the answer is nothing, their level of success will be limited to a brief awareness campaign in connection to the conference. But if they continue to mobilize people and affect real change, then Copenhagen could go down as the launching pad of something much bigger, even if the politicians themselves accomplish nothing.

How effectively do you think social media has been used at COP15?

Jason Ross is a copywriter for The Duffy Agency. He loves working on both traditional and social media projects and speculating on the future of the ad industry.

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Thank you everybody

Michael Gass over at Fuel Lines blog included Methodical Madness in his monthly Blog of the Month  poll for November. We were one of fifty-eight blogs nominated. Not only did we win, but we’re also the first blog to win from outside of the US. We want to thank everyone for voting for us. We were just honored to be included in such a great list of blogs. Thank you Michael for including us in your poll and a special thank you to everyone that helped make us #1.

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6 iPhone apps for mobile tweeting

 
Welcome to Twitter Tuesday. Every Tuesday we will post about Twitter. Stop by for advice and how to's for marketing professionals. Every other week we will post our AppQuest Edition featuring a review of Twitter applications.

What are the best Twitter iPhone clients?

Modern life is becoming increasingly mobile. To keep up with our on-the-go lifestyle, being able to call people is now only one entry on a long list of mobile functions that come with cell phones. Which is great because our escalating involvement in social networking sites makes it nearly impossible to be in front of a computer often enough to keep pace with the flow of conversation. But there are so many apps for mobile tweeting, it can be a bit of a headache to find the right one. We decided to figure out which Twitter apps for the iPhone were really worth our while. 

I sat down with my co-workers and created a wish-list of qualities that we as marketing people want in an iPhone Twitter app. As usual, all the apps have to be free. Beyond that, we wanted to be able to:

• have an easy-to-use interface
• get the hang of it quickly
• manage multiple accounts
• have a search function
• save searches
• retweet/reply/favorite
• see mentions/direct messages
• update location with map
• tweet pictures
• tweet videos
• shorten URLs
• have other fun features


The evaluation method was simple. I download every app to my phone, added my Twitter account details and took a screenshot. I played around with each app for 20 minutes. This time, it was more than enough to determine if the app was worth the download or not. Then, I compared it against my list and rated it.

 

 

TweetDeck is my personal favorite of the applications. It has one of the best user interfaces – instead of just using one column, it emulates the desktop version by having multiple columns. If you use TweetDeck on your desktop, the iPhone app is perfect for you. You can actually sync your desktop groups to your phone, but only up to six due to 3G connection issues. So if you’re used to the desktop interface, there’s basically no learning curve for the iPhone version. And if you want to manage multiple accounts from an iPhone, this is the right application.

PROS: Simple interface, syncs with the desktop version, status updates with your location, can tweet pictures and video, shortens URLs, quick follow and easy to manage replies, DMs and RTs

CONS: Need to manually create new columns for mentions, direct messages etc. for each account, no automatic landscape function

RATING:

Twitterrific one of the most popular mobile Twitter clients, but to me the interface is needlessly confusing. It’s not clear what the icons mean and the navigation is not intuitive. It took me a while to figure out how it works, but when I did it worked very well. It also has some cute quirks like flicking through profiles or double tapping to change views.

Quick search, view trends and nearby searches, change text size, multiple account management, easy to reply, caches tweets so you can read them even if you lose wireless connection

PROS: Quick search, view trends and nearby searches, change text size, multiple account management, easy to reply, caches tweets so you can read them even if you lose wireless connection

CONS: Free version has ads, interface is confusing, premium version far too expensive, everything on timeline so there’s no digging back

RESULTS:

The free version of TwitBird tries to differentiate itself from the other Twitter apps by using a main page layout that looks similar to the iPhone’s regular interface. The layout is nice, but the user interface makes you go back far too often. It’s useful to see the tweet and response in one frame, but it also means you have to do a lot more scrolling to read through recent tweets. TwitBird features nearby tweets, Twitter search, Twitpic support and the ability to create groups. One feature I really loved: Tweet what you are listening now, which tweets the song you listened to most recently or are listening to right then.

PROS: Clean design, takes a bit of time to learn, can tweet video and photos, use maps, shorten urls, use hashtags, cool extra features

CONS: Doesn’t support multiple accounts, impractical navigation



RESULTS:

This is the app version of the Twittervision website. It only has basic Twitter features, but it’s cool to watch the tweets pop up from across the globe. If you use your Twitter account in a more “serious” way, Twittervision isn’t something of practical use, but it’s good for entertainment value.

PROS: A fun, cool way to visualize tweets from around the world

CONS: Lacking a lot of Twitter functionality, plus my app crashed every time I tried to login with my Twitter details



RESULTS:




 

SimplyTweet Lite  has a bare bones interface, which is good as it makes the tweets easy to read. Tweets are displayed as little speech bubbles, which makes sense given the app’s focus on following conversations. If one of your followers replies to a tweet, you can easily see the entire conversation timeline with two quick taps. But it’s annoying that you have to scroll to the top of your Twitter feed to hit the refresh button.

PROS: Map, photo/video, nearby search, trends, clean design

CONS: Does not support multiple accounts, can’t save searches, impractical navigation



RESULTS:
 

Echofon (free) is the simplest and easiest to use app I tried out. It’s perfect for beginners. Navigation is a snap and the icons are all labelled, so there’s never any confusion about what they do, but it doesn’t stack up well against TweetDeck or Twitterrific. It uses a bright color scheme and new tweets are highlighted in an ugly blue/green. It’s easy to tweet, RT and send direct messages, but ultimately too basic compared to other Twitter apps to be something you’ll want to use in the long run.

PROS: Clean and easy, map, photo/video, easy to write replies



CONS: No extra features, no group searches, doesn’t support multiple accounts, ugly design



RESULTS:
 

CONCLUSION: There are some great free apps that give you the functionality you need, but you can’t get the really comprehensive stuff like Tweetelator Pro or Tweetie without paying. Among those that are free, many offer cool features, but aren’t practically useful. TweetDeck gets my pick as the best of the free apps because I’m a big fan of the TweetDeck desktop application, I can easily sync it with the mobile version and I can manage different accounts in a very organized way. 

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Is Facebook wearing out its welcome?

Musings on whether the good in Facebook will keep me coming back or the bad will annoy me away

As I’m sure you’ve all heard by now, Facebook has hit 350 million users. That’s well over the entire population of America. Not bad for something created 5 years ago in a dorm room.

This monumental success got me thinking about the great things Facebook has given us, and the not so great stuff that has tagged along with it. I’ve found myself growing out of Facebook recently because the annoying things are so persistent. But the good things that have hooked me, and hundreds of millions of others, keep me returning. For the time being, at least. I’m very curious to see if the increasing tedium of the social networking site won’t start to push those huge numbers back down in 2010, or at least slow its growth as users turn elsewhere.

Here are five reasons I keep visiting the world’s 2nd most visited website, and 5 things I could definitely live without.

I come to Facebook to …

Keep up with friends in other countries
As an expat, Facebook has been a godsend in making it easy to stay up to date on my friends’ lives from across the Atlantic, even salvaging some sense of the intimacy that was lost when I moved.

Share my internet finds
At the moment, Facebook is the most effective way to share funny/interesting videos or articles I find with all my friends at once. I don't want them to miss out on gems like the literal version of Under the Bridge, after all.

Check out and share photos
Photo tagging is a great idea. Not only can I share photos with friends and family, I can see all the ones I’m in and the ones my friends are in. It lets me look into their lives with minimal time and effort. The upcoming photo tag search will make this even better. 

Easily organize events
Right now Facebook provides the easiest way for me to organize a party, as trying to get each and every person on the phone individually is always a chore. Things like this are what Facebook should be all about - making people’s lives easier by connecting them in a useful way.

Remember people’s birthdays
I used to forget everyone’s birthday, but Facebook tells me every day whose is coming up next. It’s a little thing, but a big help for someone as forgetful as me.

And leave because of the …

Unchecked narcissism
This comes in many forms, from picture after picture of someone showing off their muscles (or muscle cars), to constant updates about every little thing someone does, to shameless self promotion. Many, many people can’t resist shouting LOOK AT ME every five seconds when they’re given an audience, and Facebook provides them with an audience around the clock. This is undoubtably why millions of people are clamoring for an “unlike” button.

Mafia Wars and other irritating apps
I actually kind of miss seeing inane updates from friends in my mini feed, because now it’s full of ‘accomplishments’ they’ve achieved in digital farming or pretend mafia warfare. Moreover, the novelty of seeing what people are up to has worn off and I hardly read updates at all anymore. Even more annoying, Mafia Wars has spilled over to Twitter as well with people tweeting their accomplishments and sending DM’s requesting I join. Please, give it a rest. I don’t care and I never will.

Utterly pointless content
I’m sure glad to know my friend Stefan is a fan of grilled cheese sandwiches and Carlos is a fan of the cold side of the pillow. I get that these are more gags than anything, but my tolerance for such a large amount of fluff content is decreasing as social media platforms become more refined and focused.

But it does look all melty and yummy...

Too-much-information status updates
This is another reason I hardly look at the mini feed anymore. There’s so much info in there that I don’t need, or want, to know. But on the plus side, TMI updates have given us facebookfails.com.

Reads best in valley girl voice

Overbearing dominance
Like it or not, you’re pretty much forced to be on Facebook to stay in the loop. Even my most stalwart friends who resisted for ages have given in and created profiles. Hell, my grandmother even has one. Somehow the fun and novelty of the whole experience is lost when it nears mandatory status.

It seems hard to believe right now that Facebook will just fade away, but it’s happened before (I’m looking at you, MySpace) and it could happen again if Facebook isn’t careful. I used to think life without Facebook would suck, but now I’m feeling ready for something new to come along. But maybe it’s just me. Do you see yourself still visiting Facebook every day a couple years from now?

Jason Ross is a copywriter for The Duffy Agency. He loves working on both traditional and social media projects and speculating on the future of the ad industry. 

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10 tips for taking your business into the Twittersphere in 2010

I feel compelled to say right off the bat that if you aren’t interested in genuinely engaging with your customers (spamming with links to your website or special offers does not equal engagement), don’t use Twitter for your business. But if you are ready to start a conversation about your company, it can be a powerful tool to develop your brand and add many loyal customers to your following.

These days if you aren’t using social media, you’re doing something wrong. Don’t believe me? Here is a list of companies using Twitter. The good news is you don’t have to have deep pockets like Starbucks, Coca Cola or American Airlines to successfully use Twitter. And up until a few months ago, it was enough to just be on Twitter. But these days you need to know how you're going to use it before entering the fray. To ensure you see a return on your efforts and that you get the most out of your energy, we recommend following these 10 tips for taking your business into the Twittersphere. Pretty soon you may just find yourself on lists like this.

1. Create a strategy. Ask yourself exactly what it is you want to get out of Twitter and what you're willing to give. Then put it down on paper. There are hundreds of ways to use Twitter: A listening tool to gauge sentiment about your brand or competitors; A tool to engage and converse; A podium to express your ideas and build a reputation as a thought leader; A forum to instigate debate; A medium to share news about your company or industry; A place to address customer service issues. There are many more, but only a few are probably right for you. Choose wisely.
2. Tune in to the conversation. You should start using Twitter Search right away to see what people are saying about you, your competitors and your industry. It’s free, invaluable consumer insight and it allows you to respond to complaints or compliments about your company. Listening closely will also help you get a feel for Twitter and its dos and don’ts.

   
3. Show that you’re human. Don’t be afraid to add your personality and opinions to the conversation or share things you find interesting that are related to what you do. Your tweets should sound like they’re coming from a person, not a marketing machine. By no means should you put your account on auto-Tweet and walk away or auto DM your followers. They really don’t appreciate it.

4. Have more than one tweeter. This will give your tweets extra character and will keep you covered in case someone falls ill or goes on vacation - it’s important to keep the feed going. But this brings up the issue of consistency. Make sure you have written Twitter tactical guidelines specifying the content and tone of your stream as well as your behavior on Twitter - this will ensure consistency and that you are always contributing to your strategy. 

5. Help solve people’s problems. Don’t just push your own interests and goals. Figure out what your followers need, and try to help them get it. This could be links to useful information, solving problems they have with your service or keeping them up-to-date on general industry news. 

6. Use 3rd party software to manage your account. There’s a lot of great software out there to help you refine info from Twitter into something easily manageable and highly effective. TweetDeck  is our personal favorite as it lets us organize followers, @’s, keyword searches and more into individual columns that can be taken in at a glance. Check out our previous post for more info on apps that help you manage followers. 

7. Make it useful when you do talk about yourself. You should use most of your tweets not talking about yourself, but when you do, don’t just push your name and offer out there. Give people useful advice, links, blog posts or cool pictures to make your message worth your followers’ while to listen to.

8. Follow people involved with or interested in your industry. Quantity does not equal success on Twitter. Creating a balanced ecosystem of following/followers that are all relevant to your industry and goals will give you the most back from Twitter. You’ll get valuable information and opinions and will be talking to the right people. 

9. Respond to people who @ you. This is fundamental for making your Twitter use a conversation and not just a stream of words flowing over your followers. Other tweeters out there are likely to @ you with questions about your brand or complain if they’ve had a negative experience. Make yourself more sympathetic and helpful by engaging with them.

10. Ask your followers questions. Racking your brain to figure out what new solutions your customers need? Just ask them. It can’t replace proper market research, but it can give you a quick, honest answer to what your targeted group of followers want from you. Why guess when it’s so easy to ask? See our earlier post about polling your followers to find the right polling tool.

Take your time getting to know Twitter and how it can fit into your business. Being patient in the beginning is better than immediately following hundreds of people just to try and boost your own following, and then pummeling them with loads of tweets. Finding the right people and the right, natural flow of conversation is the key to meaningful Twitter use and strengthening your brand.

Jason Ross is a copywriter for The Duffy Agency. He loves working on both traditional and social media projects and speculating on the future of the ad industry. 

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Social media tools to help you sort through the Cyber Monday chaos

There was a time when the after Thanksgiving price dropping frenzy was confined to the US. But a few years ago, some enterprising marketers went and created Cyber Monday – the online equivalent to Black Friday – letting shoppers across the world wide web get in on the action.

While the online slash fest is a great opportunity for every Christmas shopper on a budget, the vast amount of offers is staggering. To help you find your way to the deal you’ve been dreaming of, check out these social media tools that that help organize the madness into digestible chunks. 

Apps
The DealNews.com iPhone app was originally only geared towards Black Friday, but it’s now expanded to send the best Cyber Monday deals directly to your phone, minimizing the time you need to spend searching yourself.

If you’re in the States and combing the stores today, TGI Black Friday is a huge help in comparing deals on the go. It’s also useful for Monday, as many sellers feature the same deals online on Monday as in stores on Friday.

Twitter
Another way to have the deals sent directly to you is by following the Twitter feeds dedicated to finding Cyber Monday’s best deals. CyberMonday.com and Dealighted both provide nice feeds with frequently updated info and links to coupons. 

http://twitter.com/cyber_monday
http://twitter.com/dealightedcom


Facebook
Many retailers are using their Facebook pages to announce Cyber Monday deals early, so it could be worthwhile to join some new fan pages to get a head start.

Etsy is using Facebook to aggregate all their sellers for a huge Cyber Monday sale, check them out if you’re interested in handmade crafts.

If you need some gifts for the little ones, visit the Toys’r’Us Facebook page. They’re letting people vote on which toys they want to see go on sale on Monday.  

Deal Aggregators
And last but not least are the good old fashioned website aggregators. They let you search through deals from various stores by product category and price range. Cybermonday.com and cybermonday.fm are quite comprehensive resources for all your armchair shopping needs.

These were the best tools out there I could find. Do you have any social media tips for taking advantage of this year’s Cyber Monday?

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9 Twitter apps that make it easy to share files

Welcome to Twitter Tuesday. Every Tuesday we will post about Twitter. Stop by for advice and how to's for marketing professionals. Every other week we will post our AppQuest Edition featuring a review of Twitter applications.

How do you share files on Twitter?

Growing your followers means you will move beyond the people that you personally know. I’ve met scores of people on Twitter that I will never meet in real life. I also don’t have personal contact information for many of the people I know on Twitter either. So how do you send someone a file online without their email address? Surprisingly, there are at least nine different sites that can answer that question for you. From presentations to mp3s to documents to zip files and anything else, they can now be sent via Twitter. This really opens up the use of Twitter from a simple communication tool to a new way to share large amounts of information.

I sat down with my co-workers and created a wish list of qualities that we as marketing people want in a Twitter file sharing tool. Of course, all the apps have to be free, easy-to-use and require no downloadable client. Beyond that, we wanted to be able to:

• store at least 15 mb of data
• share multiple file types: mp3, doc, ppt, zip, pictures, videos
• public and private tweets
• use OAuth so you don’t have to create a new account
• have it self-delete after a certain amount time
• share across multiple platforms

The evaluation method was simple. I visited each site and registered. After my profile loaded, I took a screenshot of the interface and then spent about ten minutes looking around the site. A decent site should be able to explain itself in that time. After using the application, I rated each site against my wish list.


 

Tweetcube allows you to upload zip, rar, pdf, jpg, png, gif, mp3 and txt files. Or at least it says it says it does. I could only get to step two and wasn’t able to upload anything. According to Tweetcube, you can upload as many 10 mb files as you want, and after 30 days they get deleted. Or you could if it worked. Ten megabytes seems to be the lower end of the uploading spectrum anyway. 

PROS: You can upload up to 10 mb, uses Twitter OAuth so you don’t have to create an account.

CONS: It doesn’t work. Tried several times over two days to use the site. At first it wouldn’t let me login. After I got past that, I was never able to upload a file.

RATING:

 

Tweetmojo allows you to share videos, photos, files and tweets of up to 1400 characters long. There is no mention of upper size limit on file sharing and a tweet to their Twitter account didn’t get a reply. I tried uploading a 36 MB pdf and after waiting 10 minutes, nothing happened. It didn’t give me any indication that the file is being uploaded, so I don’t know if I didn’t wait long enough or if it never tried to upload the file. The Twitter OAuth didn’t work either so I could never log in to post anything to Twitter. There is also a timeline so you can see what other people have uploaded from the site. Tweetmojo does allow you to record your own video and post it from the site by using the Viddler video recorder. That is, if the sign in feature worked.

PROS: Allows you to upload any file type and you can record you own videos from the site. Nice feature that allows you to add long posts without having to upload a file.

CONS: It didn’t work. I was able to upload smaller photo files and record a video, but could never sign in to Twitter to use it.

RATING:

 

Twi.tt gives you the ability to upload pictures, videos, documents, audio and create a poll. The screen is divided into tabs so you can select from which area you want to upload. Under each tab is a selection of options, such as upload from computer, get from website, capture from webcam or post by email. Most of the these options aren’t available yet but there is a message that it should “be added in just a few days.” You can choose between posting your file to Twitter or just putting it in the Twi.tt public timeline. There is no mention of file size or how your files are hosted on their system or for how long.

PROS: Hurray, it works! There doesn’t appear to be a file size limit and a 29 MB file uploaded just fine.

CONS: Most of the site’s features don’t work yet. It’s unclear what happened to your uploads after you share them.

RATING:

 

TwitFS offers a free non-account version, which is pretty good. You can upload up to 100 MB at once, you can share videos, audio, pictures and documents, and you can publish to Twitter, blogs, Facebook, MySpace, message boards and send via email. You can also store your file for 30 days, send a direct message to an individual or message everyone in your tweetstream. Once uploaded, your file gets its own page and you can share the url or embed it in another program. If you register with TwitFS, you can upload a file up to 250 MB, a file manager, a direct link to the file, parallel downloads and unlimited file storage. For a small fee starting at $0.99, you get up to 2.5 GB maximum file size.

PROS: It does everything we could want from a file sharing site. It’s worth registering with the site for added features.

CONS: Um....can’t find any.

RATING:

 

Filetweet is the simplest of the file sharing systems. You can send a file to an email account or a Twitter profile, attach a file, add a message and decide if you want to send a private message or not. It’s that simple, though it’s unclear how long the file stays on their servers. You can see recent uploads, but you can’t resend them or delete the files. Also, I received an error message every time I tried to send a file to an email account.

PROS: Very simple to use. Login with your Twitter account and you can send a file to all your followers or via direct message. The upper file size limit is 100 MB, which is huge. If you need to send a file quickly, this is the easiest way to go.

CONS: You can’t access files you’ve already sent. If you want to resend a file, you have to upload it again.

RATING:

 

Filesocial is the prettiest site of the file sharing tools. You can upload any file up to 50 MB and post it to your public Twitter timeline. The file is stored on their servers for an unknown amount of time. Filesocial sends out a message to your Twitter stream with a TinyURL. People can view your file, download it or leave a message on it. It also opens the file without having to download it. There is also a downloadable client that allows you to drag and drop files you want to share.

 

PROS: Easy tool that allows you to share any type of file on Twitter.

CONS: Filesocial only allows you to post to Twitter. You can take that URL and share it on other sites or post in an email, but you can’t do that directly from the site.

RATING:

 

FileTwt is another simple site. You enter your Twitter username and password, enter a 114 character message and upload a file up to 20 MB. The file then goes out on your public Twitter stream. The site creates a TinyURL that links back to a page where you can download the file. It works basically the same as Filesocial, but not as well. It also offers the ability to sign up for an account, which allows you to send private tweets, better storage and allows for creating a friend list to send files to. The friend list isn’t a complete list of your Twitter followers.

PROS: Easy to use and share files with a simple one step process.

CONS: You don’t get a link to your file unless you go to your Twitter stream and find the tweet. The registered version doesn’t pull in all your friends and doesn’t give you the option to add friends that are missing.

RATING:

 

TwitDoc uses the Twitter OAuth to log you into their account. You can upload up videos up to 25MB, documents up to 15MB and photos up to 10MB. I’m not sure why they are using different file sizes for each type of file. Once you’ve uploaded your file and sent your tweet, you get a TinyURL, which links to a page where you file is. It’s a simple site that gives you the ability to share files quickly and easily. There is also a downloadable client that allows you to use the site’s features from your desktop.

PROS: Easy to use single function site.

CONS: There is no list of all the files you upload. You can’t control the files once they are uploaded if you don’t have the URL. It doesn’t handle audio files.

RATING:

 

Acamin is designed with a nod to the academic community. That doesn’t mean it’s limited to that field. You can post files to your Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn account. I tried adding a picture and was given a series of error messages before finally being told that my image was posted to my Twitter account. When I clicked on the URL to link back to the image, I got a “This file is not available!” error message. According to the icons on the page, you can attach a file to an email, publish it online, get the code to embed your file and convert it to a pdf.

PROS: The ability to publish files on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, as well as being able to convert documents to a pdf file.

CONS: It doesn’t work. I counted at least six error messages before the site attempted to send the file, then got another error message after posting.

RATING:

Conclusion: TwitFS and FileTweet did the best with TwitFS ultimately having the best features. It’s simple to use, accepts the largest files and allows you to share the file across multiple networks. Best of all, it works without any problems. FileTweet is good for a quick send if you don’t care about sending the file again or being able to delete it from the site’s servers. FileSocial is also recommended for it’s ability to view the files without having to download them.  

Stefan Halley is the Digital Project Leader for The Duffy Agency. He loves to talk about social media and won't shut up about Twitter.

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Is console gaming becoming social media?

My earliest gaming memory is sitting in my living room playing Contra with my brother and wreaking serious 8 bit havoc while mom made grilled cheese sandwiches. That was what social console gaming meant through the 80’s and 90’s – playing a game with someone sitting beside you in the privacy of your home. But social networking’s ever expanding reach has utterly changed the face of console gaming, turning your living room into a global venue. 

 

Thanks to consoles going online, these days you’re not confined to just playing games with people in your living room. Gamers started competing online a long time ago, but consoles are now going beyond gaming and become bonafide social media tools. Via the plastic box in their living rooms, gamers today establish new lifelong friendships, stay in touch with old friends, and sometimes even find a husband or wife and make babies.

The social expansion continues. A few days ago, Microsoft launched a major update to Xbox Live - the online platform for the Xbox 360. You can now connect to Facebook, Twitter, Last.fm and the Zune marketplace. So if you want to find someone to play a game with or check out what people are saying about new releases, or just Tweet about how sweet Left for Dead 2 is, you can do so seamlessly. And if you’re tired of gaming, you can check out playlists on Last.fm or stream a movie in HD.

Launched a couple years ago, the PS3’s Home is now really starting to hit its stride with more users and developers getting involved. Similar to Second Life, you enter the world as your avatar and walk around meeting other gamers, finding people to either play a match against or just have a chat. You can also check out movie trailers at the theater, play mini-games like bowling and can buy and decorate a house. This Sims like experience is sure to have staying power as it blends in with the overall gaming experience.

The other big console, the Nintendo Wii, is great fun for groups of real-life people, but as far as online capability goes it’s still in the stone age compared to what Microsoft and Sony have accomplished.

Console gaming hit something of a rut for a while in terms of breakthroughs, as the only major progress they made was having prettier graphics. But with the introduction of social networking, the possibilities are limitless, both from developers with big budgets creating new interactive platforms and users generating their own content. And with the expansion into social media, you know marketers won’t be far behind. Red Bull and Audi already have a presence in Home, and Kia ran a campaign on Xbox Live. And why not? It’s another great media channel for marketers to get creative in and deliver highly relevant content.

It’s an exciting time to be tethered to a box. Where do you think the future of the console is heading?

Jason Ross is a copywriter for The Duffy Agency. He loves working on both traditional and social media projects and speculating on the future of the ad industry. 

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The 10 funniest videos about Twitter

Welcome to Twitter Tuesday. Every Tuesday we will post about Twitter. Stop by for advice and how to's for marketing professionals. Every other week we will post our AppQuest Edition featuring a review of twitter applications. 

As much as we love Twitter, we can’t deny that the idea of it, and the way many people use it, is pretty ridiculous. You folks out there on the Internet have noticed as well and have let the world know how you see Twitter through the magic of video. And some of them are downright hilarious. Here are my top 10 funniest videos about Twitter.

10. We start off with a good old fashioned rant.

9. What would the world be like if people on the street talked like they Tweet? One man goes on a mission to find out.

8. Just when you thought the Twitter craze was subsiding, it’s back… with a vengeance.

7. It’s amazing what you can get away with when you have incriminating evidence against your boss.

6. Breaking news from The Onion! Parents using Twitter, Facebook to stalk their children.

5. Amir explains to his friend Jake that Twitter is a place to store your secrets.

4. Twitter gets the Hitler treatment as it becomes part of the internet phenomenon of subtitling the Hitler rant from the film “Downfall.” Hitler is sad because his doggy died, and angry because Twitter is down again.

3. Has the world gone mad, or is everyone just saying everything they think and do out loud? Wait, what’s the difference?

2. Celebrity Twitter Overkill: when Ashton Kutcher becomes more important than news. And everything else.

1. And the very best video poking fun at Twitter out there in cyberspace is… William Shatner reading Sarah Palin’s Tweets as poetry! I wish there was a better cut of this as the actual reading is framed by talk show host babble (no offense Conan), but the performance by the former captain of the starship Enterprise is gold.

Jason Ross is a copywriter for The Duffy Agency. He loves working on both traditional and social media projects and speculating on the future of the ad industry. 

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We are our own Big Brother

New developments in social media and technology make more and more of your private life public

Social media offers up a way for people to express themselves in ways never possible, but like Uncle Ben told a young Peter Parker, “With great power comes great responsibility.”  Information that used to be difficult or impossible to find, people now freely offer up. Over the course of this week, my Internet prowling unearthed some new trends that made me wonder if social media wasn’t starting to ask me to put too much of my life out in the public domain.

We can now make it easier than ever for people stalk and track us. Check out the new SenseCam. This little gadget is designed to capture pretty much every aspect of your life on camera. You wear it around your neck and its fisheye lens takes a picture every 30 seconds. It’s easy to see the appeal – there’s potential for a whole lot of wonderful images and moments from your life to be captured that would otherwise be missed if you hands are otherwise occupied.




Somehow the thought of a whole lot of people walking around with these things taking automated pictures all the time makes me just a little uneasy.

Now combine that with SoundBiter, a new iPhone app that constantly records the world around it. This nifty little app constantly records all audio around you. If you hear something you want to share, you hit a button and the phone saves the last 60 seconds of audio. You can then instantly send it out to the world via Twitter.

This could be a fun party app but the potential for paparazzi to exploit celebrities they are stalking or for people to be quoted out of context means there is great damage it could do.

Another trend that’s taking advantage of technology’s watchful eye are location based services (LBS) like the new Google Latitude. Thanks to built-in GPS, most new phones know where you are all the time . Developers are creating apps to show you nearby locations of people in your network.

With automated alerts when someone you know is close by, don’t be surprised if your friends suddenly start popping up a lot more often when you’re out and about.

As if that wasn’t enough ways to expose ourselves, here is my personal favorite. This new scale guilts you into losing weight by Tweeting how heavy you are automatically when you step on it. The Internet has officially invaded your bathroom.

The brilliance of social media and technology is that it you can share your life with people in ways never before possible. If you want to stay in the loop, putting a whole lot of yourself out there is inevitable. After all, that’s the spirit of social media. But the question is how much should we share? Is the rapid advancement in social media technologies putting too much of our lives online? Perhaps, but these gadgets sure do look cool.

Jason Ross is a copywriter for The Duffy Agency. He loves working on both traditional and social media projects and speculating on the future of the ad industry. 

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Polling Twitter

 Welcome to Twitter Tuesday. Every Tuesday we will post about Twitter. Stop by for advice and how to's for marketing professionals. Every other week we will post our AppQuest Edition featuring a review of Twitter applications.

What’s the best way to get feedback from Twitter?

If you’re using Twitter for your brand, at some point you’re probably going to want to understand how your followers feel about your brand, service or product. Polling is an excellent way to get a quick understanding of how people feel. It’s also a great way to run a contest, get demographic information on your followers, or get a rating on an idea. There are several sites that do just this. Their features range from only one service to a wide variety of services with a slight service fee.

I sat down with my co-workers and created a wish-list of qualities that we as marketing people want in a Twitter polling service. Of course, all the apps have to be free and require no downloadable client. Beyond that, we wanted to be able to:

• have an easy-to-use interface
• get the hang of it quickly
• have a unique url
• use analytics
• use multiple types of polls
• insert images
• brand polls
• make them visually interesting
• tag keywords
• categorize topics
• leave a message
• embed on our site

The evaluation method was simple. I visited each site and registered. After my profile loaded, I took a screenshot of the interface and then spent about ten minutes looking around the site. A decent site should be able to explain itself in that time. After using the application, I rated each site against my wish list.

Polls.tw is one of the simpler polling sites. You ask the question and then enter the multiple choice answers below. Polls.tw will post a short URL to Twitter. You login to Twitter using OAuth to track your results. It also allows you to leave a comment. That’s it. It could have been so much more with a bit of work.

PROS: Easy to use and creates a poll that can be easily used by others.

CONS: It only creates one type of poll: multiple choice. All the other sites do the same thing but offer a lot more features.

RATING:

Poll Your Followers is another extremely simple to use site to create surveys/polls on Twitter. You can create either yes/no questions or multiple choice. Poll Your Followers pops up when you first view a Twitter profile. This is great if you ever go to that person’s profile, but if you use a third party site to access Twitter, you’ll never see the poll. You also get a short URL to the poll for retweeting and sharing with others.

PROS: Easy to use for short multiple choice polls.

CONS: Outside of posting a poll, it has no other functions. You can’t leave any feedback or find out who voted in your poll. This is another site that needs a few more features to make it worth your while.

RATING:

Twttrstrm is a free tool from Squidoo. It’s one of the more interesting Twitter polling tools. You can ask any kind of question, create keywords to track, pick a category and add tags to make the poll searchable. Once you submit your question, it creates a Squidoo like lense or page that has a wide variety of functions. The new page is a standalone site that allows any Twitter user to start a discussion, ask for advice, add YouTube videos and basically create a resource for others surrounding your Twitter question. 

From their website:

Here’s the magic part: as your followers click through and respond, the storm spreads to their followers. So, in short, it’s a threaded, viral, structured conversation in the middle of the Twitter melee.

There is an abundance of information that could be added to your Twitter poll, to the point where it can be overwhelming.

PROS: Twttrstrm is easy to set up. The lense aspect is unique to Squidoo and creates an incredible resource around your questions.

CONS: It’s a mess. Looking at examples from other more established polls, it’s a hodgepodge of information that can be very difficult to sort through.

RATING:

StrawPoll is the most visually interesting of the polling sites. You can ask any question as long as it only has two possible answers. It sounds very limited, but where they succeed is in listing the answers for each side of the question which helps provide some extra insight into the answer. You get your own url that uses the background of your Twitter profile.

PRO: Of the single feature sites, I like this one the best. It’s simple to use, visually appealing and allows you to see the tweets surrounding your poll.

CONS: It’s usefulness is limited to just the one type of question. The site feels like more of a gimmick than something that a business would seriously use.

RATING:

SocialToo lets you ask multiple choice or yes/no questions and gives you a bunch of useful tools for Twitter, identi.ca, and Facebook. On Twitter you can:

• Create surveys
• Auto-follow
• Auto-unfollow
• Blacklist
• Direct Message new followers
• Receive a daily stats email

There are a lot of useful little things you can do, but beyond the basic poll creation and stat tracking you have to pay for each add on. Also, it’s pretty ugly.

PROS: Simple interface and lots of nice add-on features.

CONS: You have to pay for the add-ons and it’s not the most attractive layout.

RATING:

With 17 different question templates including multiple choice, rankings and matrices, Twtpoll gives you all the options you’ll need to gauge public opinion. It gives you a custom url and your Twitter icon appears with the poll. You can also brand your poll, but this requires a nominal fee that you choose yourself. You can also add pictures to go along with each answer option, making the poll more visually lively. Once you start getting results, you can view them in pie charts, bar charts and tables. The only downside is that there’s no option to ad keywords.

PROS: Lots of question types, has a clean and simple look and it’s easy to spread your poll around.

CONS: Branding must be paid for and it lacks keyword tags.

RATING:

Poll Everywhere has the most polished offer of all the sites. But there’s a big catch: if you plan on getting more than 30 responses to your question, you have to pay them. The coolest thing about Poll Everywhere is that it’s mobile – respondents can send in answers via text message and the results update in real time in your browser or in a PowerPoint presentation. So this is a great tool if you want to give a presentation where the audience can text in responses to your poll and have the results displayed without missing a beat. The reports it generates are also more advanced than the other sites.

It’s not a bad deal if you need software to interact with an audience. Otherwise, you can get the functionality you need for free elsewhere.

PROS: Instant stats gathered from phones make it an ideal audience polling tool.  It also generates professional reports.

CONS: Price tag not worth paying if you just want to send your poll out through Twitter or other social media channels.

RATING:

 

CONCLUSION: While there are some sites that are easy to use, one trick ponies, it’s worth putting a little extra effort into your polls with the sites that offer more functionality. Twtpoll edges out Twttrstrm as it provides nearly all the features we wanted while still being simple to use and visually appealing.

Stefan Halley is the Digital Project Leader for The Duffy Agency. He loves to talk about social media and won't shut up about Twitter.

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U2 and Foo Fighters usher in new era of interactive concerts

There’s no question the Internet has changed the way we consume music. Digital downloads have become a staple of our lives, but digital concerts? Is experiencing your favorite band perform live being claimed by the ever expanding Internet as well?

I don’t see bands ever forsaking the road, but they are starting to embrace the concept of concert via fiber optic cable as a way to get closer to their fans. Two weeks ago, U2 played a concert in the Rose Bowl which was simultaneously broadcast by YouTube to millions of viewers across 16 countries. It was a first for the world’s largest video provider, and, unsurprisingly, it was a major success. After all, what U2 fan wouldn’t go to the trouble of simply clicking a link from the comfort of their living room?

The roughly 10 million fans who tuned in were able to chat with each other via an integrated Twitter feed, many of whom simply posted thank you’s to the band. Never one to miss an opportunity to save the world, Bono slipped in a “donate to (RED)” button for the millions of viewers to contemplate clicking while in their happy spirits over the free show.

The event was another demonstration of traditional media’s decline in prominence. Those 10 million viewers showed up with zero promotion carried out in traditional media – the concert was promoted exclusively online. And while those numbers are pretty far off what the big network TV broadcasts get, it’s a major jump forward in seriously competing with them.

U2’s Internet extravaganza was well publicized and hard to miss, but did you catch Foo Fighters pulling an Internet first of their own last weekend? The alt-rockers broadcast a live show on Facebook (via livestream), becoming the first major act to do so. Even without much promotion, the 2 hour and 45 minute stream from their recording studio drew in 440,000 viewers.

The band played fan favorites in support of their newly released greatest hits album. During the show, fans were able to talk not only with each other, but with the band themselves who responded to comments and took requests. Imagine having that opportunity with your favorite band.

So are streaming concerts the wave of the future? Perhaps, but probably not the near future. The rights issues around concerts are far more complicated than broadcasting other media, as there are so many people who need to sign off on the project including managers, band members, the record label, the venue, etc. But the technology is there, the demand is there and there is money to be made, so expect the likes of Bono and Dave Grohl to be invading your living room more often in the coming years.

Jason Ross is a copywriter for The Duffy Agency. He loves working on both traditional and social media projects and speculating on the future of the ad industry. 

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One big dysfunctional twamily

Welcome to Twitter Tuesday. Every Tuesday we will post about Twitter. Stop by for advice and how to's for marketing professionals. Every other week we will post our AppQuest Edition featuring a review of twitter applications.

How to recognize 15 types of tweeters

With millions of people around the world tweeting like mad, Twitter can seem a bit chaotic when you first jump in. But when you’ve been entrenched for a while and have a few tweets, RTs and @s under your belt, you’ll start noticing patterns in your Twitter feed. Twitter attracts many users who have very specific goals in mind – some good, some bad, and some just plain weird. Here are 15 different types of people in your extended twamily that are out there in large numbers. See if you can spot one of each among the tweeple you follow.

The suit
AKA the self-proclaimed social media guru, this ambitious tweeter usually has a corporate/marketing background and is CEO of some company they just made up. Most of these ‘visionaries’ with their can’t-be-missed offers are little more than con artists, but there are a few diamonds in the rough who really know what they’re talking about.

The n00b
N00bs can be the most frustrating - and the most entertaining. They have yet to grasp how Twitter works. When you see someone treating Twitter like a big, open chatroom, you’ve got a n00b.

The brand
Some companies get what Twitter is all about and use it to genuinely connect with their customers. Starbucks and Zippo have used Twitter to great effect, much to the appreciation of their followers. Others are little better than spammers, blasting their followers with offers and deals. In other words, all the stuff that ends up in a junk mail folder in your email.

The Twitterati
These monoliths of the twitterverse have risen from anonymity to become the idols of tens of thousands of followers who they’ve never met and whose names they couldn’t possibly remember. Some are deserving of their social media tycoon status, others not so much. At any rate, don’t expect to be followed back or respond to messages, their egos tend to be just a little over-inflated.

The celeb
Though there are a slew of fake celebrity accounts, the real ones are out there. Among the more interesting are Shaquille O’neal and Barrack Obama. Again, don’t expect much of a response from the bigger celebs. But the B-listers have been known to be fairly open. 

The newsie
If you’re on Twitter a lot, you’ll notice that breaking news comes across the Twitter waves faster than it appears in mainstream media. There are loads of regular people who love to race to break news to all their followers, but you can also follow proper news organizations on Twitter to get up-to-the second info on what’s happening in the world, like CNN, BreakingNewsON and fark.

The lurker
Every type of online community has its fair share of lurkers. You’ll find these users cowering in dark corners, eyeballing the updates of their many followers while rarely contributing anything themselves. Because, you know, they don’t have anything as important as Steve’s last update (eating yummy donuts, nom nom nom) to add the conversation.

The bot
When a spammer can’t be bothered to cut and paste their tweets 30 times a day, a bot does it for them. Thankfully, if you make the mistake of following one all it takes is a simple unfollow to be rid of them.

The guy stuck on repeat
Everything they have to say, they say over and over again. You know, just in case you missed it the first ten times. This may also be a symptom of a n00b who doesn’t understand how Twitter works or a spammer who is just trying to increase traffic to their website.

Mr Mundane
Like Steve and his donut eating mentioned above, many people feel compelled to tell the world inane details about what they happen to be doing at any given moment. Why they believe anyone cares that they are drinking coffee or thinking about what to have for lunch is a mystery that continues to elude the world’s top scientists.

The ‘everyone look how deep I am’ tweeter
This one is characterized by their deep, student councilor-like insights into life and the universe like, ‘today is the first day of the rest of your life.’ You may be saying to yourself, that’s not deep, it’s over-used drivel. You’ll be saying that a lot.

The whiner
Chronic complainers love Twitter because it lets them greatly expand the number of people they can tell how bad everything is at once. Always a good source for your daily bring-me-down.

The RT junkie
Retweeting is a great way to share interesting links and videos. But some people go overboard and post almost nothing but RTs. If you notice a friend with this addiction, stage an intervention and get them to add something of their own to the conversation.

The collector
This person’s mission in life is to gather as many followers as possible, as though reaching 1,000,000 twitter followers will grant them eternal life or make them an international celebrity. You don’t find this one, this one finds you. Beware, as they don’t usually have much of anything interesting to say.

The siren
There are endless amounts of beautiful young women who want to be your friend. Hard to believe, right? It’s too good to be true in reality, and it’s too good to be true on Twitter. Still, girls do manage to get hoards of followers by showing some skin and singing a tempting song to all the suckers out there. Do your best to avoid crashing on those rocks, these sirens aren’t worth following.

Which of the tweeple drive you crazy?

Jason Ross is a copywriter for The Duffy Agency. He loves working on both traditional and social media projects and speculating on the future of the ad industry. 

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Spooktacular Halloween – 2.0 style

What are the scariest online activities for this Halloween?

It’s my favorite time of the year, Halloween! For me, Halloween is Christmas for adults. We get to dress up, make fools of ourselves and have fun. In order to set the mood, we have to get our Twitter avatar properly set up. Trickotweet gives you several really cute and fun monster avatars to choose from. I went with the hockey masked one.

On to Facebook. Pet Zombie allows you to create your own pet zombie that you can feed, play with, cover in toilet paper and make dance. My zombie is named Marvin.

Cute isn’t he.

I’m sure you’re asking yourself, “How would I do in a zombie apocalypse?” Find out by taking this short Facebook quiz. Turns out I might survive.

I love carving jack-o-lanterns. But sometimes I have problems coming up with ideas. Extreme Pumpkins has lots of jack-o-lanterns that people have taken to unusual levels. The 2009 winners provide lots of inspiration to go far beyond the mundane. The site is packed with “how to” tips, patterns and lots of photos of pumpkins.

If you need some practice before you start carving your pumpkin, try carving a virtual pumpkin.

If you don’t want to sit inside this Samhain, join a zombie walk.


What could be more fun than dressing up as the undead and shambling down the street?

If dressing as a zombie isn’t your game, why not play some? Re-kill the undead with Boxhead, a Lego like character game where you’re stranded in a tunnel where you shoot or get eaten. The more you kill, the better your weapons become. If the undead become too much, shoot barrels to thin the herd.

If you need something a little bloodier to slake your zombie thirst, Endless Zombie Rampage is your game. You have to defend your ground against gut-munchers with a handgun. As you gain experience points, you can upgrade your weapons to assault rifles, shotguns and laser cannons. Both games are great fun.

Sometimes you can’t be at your computer (you have to eat, poop and sleep sometimes). Thankfully, 148apps.com has found four iPhone applications to fill the void that’s in your soul when you leave your computer. Alive 4-ever gets their highest rating and from the images, it looks action packed. Personally, I can't wait to play Hysteria Project, check out the screen capture below. There are also iPhone versions of DOOM and Resident Evil for a bit of classic game play.

Finally, this All Hallow’s Eve, I want to leave you with this bit of stop motion zombie mayhem fright, Chainsaw Maid. 

What are you favorite Halloween sites?

Stefan Halley is the Digital Project Leader for The Duffy Agency. He loves to talk about social media and won't shut up about Twitter.

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