Twitter is experiential

If you, like me, have visited the Twitter home page and read the dozens of seemingly meaningless messages about the fragments of peoples lives, you're probably thinking that it's a load of rubbish. Why would anyone want to be so self-obsessed to write "gone to lunch with John. Will probably have sushi" and think that someone, anyone would care? Well, as it turns out there's lots of good reasons, but it's a bit like sky-diving or sex - you won't understand it until you do it. As
Clive Thompson points out, Twitter is an experiential thing. Far from being something that's self-obsession creating, it can become a way for people to have a much fuller and richer understanding of their world; and this comes about through a more granular view of the people around us. Give it a go (or try Jaiku)and see if what I'm saying has any truth.

Users, Not Money - Marissa Mayer

A hallmark of a successful Web 2.0 business is their ability to focus on what it is the consumer, or end user, wants rather than on how they're going to make money out of an idea. As Marissa Mayer points out in a short video entitled Users, Not Money, the best strategy is to focus on building an audience through taking care of their needs, and then the monetization strategy will evolve naturally.

Educators Corner: Entrepreneurship Education Resources

| Enterprise Web 2.0 | ZDNet.com

There's too much in this series of posts to summarise, but suffice to say it's one of the most thorough briefings on the impact of Web 2.0 that I've seen.

Worth a browse when you have a spare hour.

| Enterprise Web 2.0 | ZDNet.com

Scoble on Twitter

When tech guru Robert Scoble says something's hot, you can bet that it is. And guess what? He's as hot as hell on Twitter. On this video, Scoble explains in detail how businesses can hit home runs galore through the use of this micro-blogging service. Scoble also discusses Jaiku and Pownce, the big competitors for Twitter. He claims that Pownce has the better user interface and some cool features, and points out that these services enable threaded discussions. In answer to the question about Twitter's lead, Scoble suggests that Pownce is pulling in big numbers of users - and fast. He suggests that these platforms won't be mainstream for another couple of years and all of the platforms struggle for the attention of consumers. He suggests that companies such as Twitter are cheap to build and run and are not as exposed to the problems of the tech bubble that we saw in 2000.

Have you set up a Twitter account yet? Visit mine here or my Jaiku profile here .

Interview with Scoble here.

Start working on creating a conversation around your product

It's easy to market a business via the old-style method of having a message, then telling it to the world. The process many companies go through is to look at their "point of difference" and then get some clever advertising type to craft the message. The message is then broadcast through TV, radio or print media. But this style of marketing misses entirely the "conversation economy" that has probably always been with us, and is made all the more obvious on the Internet. Businesses such as MySpace, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter all get it. What they have done so well is ask how they can facilitate connection, conversation, and relationships and then set about building a platform to enable that to happen. In the vast majority of cases, businesses could look at these examples and ask how they can design a conversation around their products - and then set about building a website that does just that. It's a big, bold step forward from web sites that are just a corporate brochure - but it's a step worth making.

How do you see the conversation economy shaping your business or industry? What could you do with your website that would enable a conversation between you and your customers, and amongst your customers?

Building loyalty with a Twitter feed

Bloody hell, maybe there is something about Twitter. There's lots of stories now beginning to surface about companies having a Twitter feed that allows people to keep up to date with short snippets of what's going on inside a business. For example, a real estate agent might use Twitter to alert his or her subscribers of a new listing coming on stream - or the potential of a new listing if they're doing an appraisal. A stock broker could have a Twitter feed that gives their clients up to the minute news on what's happening in the market and what stocks are running hot.

The potential here is enormous. Think about building a Twitter feed into your blog. It'll be a micro-blog that'll fill in the gaps of the main theme of your blog. Is there any way to mash Twitter with Facebook and Google maps?

Read more here...Twitter for investor relations and disclosure of material news - IRWebReport.com

How businesses can make use of Twitter

It seemed like the daftest of all new social networking sites but I'm beginning to see how Twitter may be useful in a business or professional environment. The home page of Twitter suggests that the posts are pure banal crap, but the more I look into it, the more I see the possibilities. Barrack Obama is using it in the US, wonder if we'll see our local pollies use it in the lead up to the next election.

Have a read of this article and let me know if you're using tweeting on Twitter...Twitter – Can Your Company Or Podcast Do It?

Published News-RealEstateVoices

If you already have a blog, then make sure it's registered on Technorati and anywhere else you can think of. Here's a link for the real estate industry.

Published News-RealEstateVoices

Twitter and Jaiku - The next email?

I may be a twit because I don't get Twitter. Here's something I found that made a tiny bit of sense.

The Next Email - Twitter - Jaiku - Pownce

Twitter

I don't get Twitter or Jaiku. Do you?

What's it all about? Why should I use them?

Introducing ProSense: An Adsense Ready SEO Wordpress Theme

Introducing ProSense: An Adsense Ready SEO Wordpress Theme

If you're looking for an AdSense-ready Wordpress Theme, this could be the one. Check it out.

SEO with WordPress for beginners

Most bloggers consider success to be when their blog shows up at the top of a Google search. Whilst this may not be the ultimate definition of success, if that's what you're chasing, then this article will help. From creating SE friendly page file names, to good headlines and copy that's tightly linked to your topic, this article covers the basics for people using Wordpress for their blogs.

Enjoy more...SEO with WordPress for beginners

Video Bloggers Rejoice! YouTube To Add InVideo Ads : The Blog Herald

If you've been questioning how people are going to make money out of a video, then ask no longer. Google has announced plans to allow select YouTube user's to run an ad on their videos. Some video's are viewed by a huge audience; and these numbers can often rival the numbers you'd expect from a TV audience. So it's no surprise that advertisers are coming up with ways to tap into these audience numbers. It's also no surprise that Google's finding yet another way to monetize the huge volume of traffic they're achieving through the various estates. Read more...Video Bloggers Rejoice! YouTube To Add InVideo Ads : The Blog Herald

Time Wasting Blog Comments, Comments Policies, and Comment Etiquette : The Blog Herald

Time Wasting Blog Comments, Comments Policies, and Comment Etiquette : The Blog Herald

Useful article on policies around commenting on blogs and encouraging people to leave a comment. My suggestion is to leave the end of the post with a provocative statement or a question that has relevance to the reader, and encouraging people to respond in the comments area.

Another method that I'm trialling is to start an introductory comment in the comments section that asks a follow up question to the post.

How To Run A Corporate Blog / Wired How To's

How To Run A Corporate Blog / Wired How To's

Here's a few basic tips on how to run corporate blog. It's worthwhile getting other opinions on this one though.

My main tip is not to be scared to have an opinion a take a bit of heat about what you've written. There's nothing more boring than a boring blog.

Cyber-flaws invite hacker chaos | Australian IT

Cyber-flaws invite hacker chaos | Australian IT

The question posed here is, will commerce on the internet survive the perfect storm of the new breeder of hacker?

StarOffice now part of Google's plan | Australian IT

StarOffice now part of Google's plan | Australian IT

Is Google to become the next Microsoft. Here they announce the release of a box of office productivity applications in conjunction with Sun Microsystems that will rival MS Office

Melbourne IT - not happy Jan >-(

If you're considering using Wordpress for your blog, you'll need an ISP that supports MySQL and is a little aware of the requirements of Wordpress. My understanding was that Melbourne IT was such an ISP but when I attempted to upgrade my blog theme to a non-standard theme, this was the response I received.

From: customersolutions@melbourneit.com.au
To: peterfletcXXXX@XXXXXX.com
CC:
Subject: Themes and plugins for Wordpress CRM:0082000914
Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2007 14:56:01 +1000

Dear Peter Fletcher,

Thank you for contacting Melbourne IT.


The standard installation of Wordpress via the hosting control panel does not grant the ability to install themes.

Regarding any correspondence concerning this request, please quote the number below for our reference:
CAS-977727-XXXX

Regards,
Hosting Support
Melbourne IT Ltd - 'Trusted for Online Success'
http://www.melbourneit.com.au/

and this was the reply I sent:

I'm now well aware of that. The question is, why wasn't I told this when I signed up for hosting? The reason people use Wordpress is so they can utilise themes and widgets to customise their blog. The reason I chose Melbourne IT was because the company offers hosting for Wordpress. If I had wanted a standard blog I would have chosen Blogger.

The question now is, what is Melbourne IT going to do to correct this issue? I have committed countless hours compiling and uploading content for the site and am unwillingly to let this matter rest.

Please let me know your response.

Regards

Peter

Be interested if anyone else has had a similar problem and what the solution is.

What comes after web 2.0?

Many people, often confused and dazed by the speed of Internet technology, are asking what's after Web 2.0? Well ask no longer. Here's the answer. It's an amazingly insightful, although light-hearted, glimpse into the future.

Don't be frightened to have an opinion

Whatever your field of business, stand out from the crowd by having an opinion. Internet surfers can't stand fake people and they want to hear what you have to say. By having an opinion you have a better chance of engaging your readers in a worthwhile conversation - and that's what this gig is all about. Conversations. If you don't trust yourself to have a public conversation then don't bother starting to blog. If you're not convinced about the need to have a public conversation, go and check out what Robert Scoble's done at Microsoft. According to his book (co-authored with Shel Israel), Naked Conversations, companies should welcome having an open, honest dialogue with their market and customers.

Let me know how you get on.