Alert Blog Reviews

Image via Wikipedia Okay so last year I ran a few posts featuring reader questions I’d received through the contact form. It was great because I’d post the question and then the readers would comment to help answer them. Here are a few I think worked out well last year: Answer A Reader Question: Promoting Local Events on Twitter Answer A Reader Question: Multiple Twitter Users In Business Answer A Reader Question: My Twitter Account Was Phished! Answer A Reader Question: Top Tips Answer A Reader Question: Twitter Bullies Answer A Reader Question: Twitter Etiquette? Since it seemed to be a pretty popular type of post (from both sides), AND because Twitter and social media relies heavily on helping people, I’d like to bring that back as a regular feature, so send in your questions ! © 2008 TwiTip Twitter Tips . Bringing Reader Questions Back To TwiTip

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Bringing Reader Questions Back To TwiTip

Before we get into the meat of the article I have a challenge for you. Say “Top Twitter Trends” 3 times fast. Frustrating isn’t it. Every time I try it I end up saying “Top Twitter Twends” thus giving the Baba WaWa (Barbara Walters for you young kids) sound to it. As you have likely guessed I think I may have too much time on my hands so let’s get back to the real deal. Twitter is one of the Top stories of 2009 because of its tremendous growth, the tremendous amount of media attention it has gained and the general feeling that 140 characters is more than enough to form a relationship with. What the folks at Twitter have done, in particular Chief Scientist Abdur (don’t these people have last names or when they come on board the Twitter team do they have to even shorten their names as well?) is take a look at the top trends that have been ID’d by Twitter users for 2009. Fun stuff. Not earth shattering but fun. At the Twitter blog Abdur says : In 2009, Twitter’s Trending Topics helped us understand what was happening around the world showing us that people everywhere can be united in concern around important events; excited about a new movie; or geek-out about a major new technology. Among all the keywords, hashtags, and phrases that proliferated throughout the year, one topic surfaced repeatedly. Twitter users found the Iranian elections the most engaging topic of the year. The terms #iranelection, Iran and Tehran were all in the top-21 of Trending Topics, and #iranelection finished in a close second behind the regular weekly favorite #musicmonday. So while the blog lists the Top 10 in each category we here at Marketing Pilgrim have decided to shorten our presentation to the Top for each. Why? Because we are all about continuing the move toward abbreviated, half information that the world seems to crave. Oh, and by the way, if you are using Twitter for business purposes or if you are thinking that the users of Twitter are thinking ‘deep thoughts’ outside of Iran you can stop here. A look at the Top 5 people getting attention should be enough to tell you where the bulk of Twitter users minds are and that deep thinkers need not apply. News Events 1. #iranelection 2. Swine Flu 3. Gaza 4. Iran 5. Tehran People 1. Michael Jackson 2. Susan Boyle 3. Adam Lambert 4. Kobe (Bryant) 5. Chris Brown Movies 1. Harry Potter 2. New Moon 3. District 9 4. Paranormal Activity 5. Star Trek TV Shows 1. American Idol 2. Glee 3. Teen Choice Awards 4. SNL (Saturday Night Live) 5. Dollhouse Sports (Teams, Events, Leagues) 1. Super Bowl 2. Lakers 3. Wimbledon 4. Cavs (Cleveland Cavaliers) 5. Superbowl Technology 1. Google Wave 2. Snow Leopard 3. Tweetdeck 4. Windows 7 5. CES Hash Tags 1. #musicmonday 2. #iranelection 3. #sxsw 4. #swineflu 5. #nevertrust So there you go. The Top Twitter Twends (darn it…..Trends!) year in review. Your thoughts in 140 characters or less?

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Twitter Trends – Another Way to See 2009 in Review

By Matt Wilson . Follow him @MattWilsonTV . We all have them—”social media friends”—people who we talk to online but most likely have never met in person. We connected with them because of a common interest via Twitter, engaged in interesting conversation with them and shared a bond, but we don’t really consider them a true friend. Truly using Twitter to its fullest potential means networking not just for casual online interaction but actually creating long lasting relationships. Real friends will shout from the rooftops to promote your brand, real friends collaborate, work together and would do anything for each other. Let’s start making these Twitter friends into your own global network of people who have a vested interest in each other’s success. Besides, what good are your friends if you don’t really know them? But don’t be a creep! Ew, you want to meet me in person? Is it really okay to meet people online? Yes! It’s important to realize that there is a real person behind that avatar—not just another click thru to your blog. Make people feel like they know you. Your Twitter brand should have both personal and professional elements to it. In order to create real relationships your Twitter friends should trust you. Your avatar must look like you! You want people to stop you at events because they recognize you from Twitter. Take the time to look at someone’s profile and website. Know more about your friends than just their handle. Read their bio, check out their website and ask about them. People want to know you care! Post videos of yourself and ask questions—the more interaction people have with you on Twitter, the closer people feel to you. Engage your audience! Help people! If you are helpful on Twitter, chances are you are helpful offline. Networking is all about giving—remember you have to give to get. Providing value on Twitter eventually creates value in real life. Compliment! Flattery goes a long way on Twitter. Tell someone you admire their work and think they are a leader and you are much more likely to make a real friend! Post Twitpics. Your personal brand should have a personality; make sure they know you are real. Take interesting pictures from your everyday life. It doesn’t have to be a picture of your children, simply try a picture from an event you are attending. Now take networking offline! Attend or organize a Tweetup. Use http://twtvite.com to send out invitations. Get a few real friends who are on Twitter together and invite all your respective Twitter friends. Schedule phone calls. Meet someone on Twitter who you’d like to know better? Ask to schedule a phone call. Send a DM and specify a time limit of 10 minutes. Nobody’s time will be wasted. Imagine you did this every day? Don’t want to pay long distance or give out your number? Invite a Twitter friend for a #VirtualCoffee meeting on Skype. Connect face to face and have a real conversation. Have a column on Tweetdeck specifically for people you’d like to meet in person. You can monitor people more closely this way by organizing friends into one big column, or segment them into geographic location. Never eat alone! Traveling? Make a conscious effort to meet people you’ve connected with on social media. Of course meet in a public place and keep things casual. Plan this in advance. Attend Events: Go to tweetups, networking events, conferences, keynote speeches, unconferences or anything with a hashtag on Twitter. Tag everything with a hashtag and let it be known you are looking to do some real life networking. Take the leap! Creating a network of global friends means going out being assertive. Don’t be shy—start approaching people. Set a goal for yourself of 5 real life connections each week. Connect with one person daily or knock them all out in a single day of the week. It’s time to start using Twitter to its potential. [image] © 2008 TwiTip Twitter Tips . Turn Twitter Friends into Real Friends

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Turn Twitter Friends into Real Friends