TwitterWatchDog.com

Posts Tagged ‘twitter’

BREAKING NEWS: Google LaunchingTwitter-Killer for Gmail

TweetMiner

BACKGROUND

TweetMiner is the brain child of Justin Vincent, @justinvincent on Twitter, who started coding TweetMiner to solve a personal problem he had with other clients. No twitter client offered RSS feed integration or user experience like TweetMiner. He saw the way other Twitter clients handled scheduling and thought it was too tedious and said “there has to be a better way!” Justin is coding this all by himself, while other twitter tools have had millions in venture capital, not here! Justin codes TweetMiner in his spare time.

I was one of the first 200 people to try TweetMiner and fell head over heels in love immediately. I contacted Justin and asked what I could do to help. I’m now assisting him on spreading the TweetMiner buzz and helping add new features.

SPEED AND USER INTERFACE

Signing up was a 10 minute process. After receiving my email confirmation, I associated my twitter account using OAuth withTweetMiner. One of the core strengths of TweetMiner is it’s user interface. Justin has worked hard on making the user flow correct. From the screen shot above you can see how your eye starts in the top left and flows to the right.

You click on the button and then you see your twitter account. Click on your account and then you can see your twitter streams. Clicking the “+” in twitter streams allows you to add a twitter users to follow, twitter search term or the new twitter lists to follow. You can also tell TweetMiner how often you want that stream to refresh. A notification in the form of a pop up window and update count in parenthesis next to the stream will show you when new tweets have arrived. The auto refresh button does that for you for every column automatically once every minute.

Mouse over the avatar of an incoming tweet and you are given a host of options.

These options include:  Reply, Reply All, View Profile, Direct Message, Instant Retweet, Edit and Schedule or Favorite that tweet. The pencil tool is where the power of TweetMiner lies.  With the pencil tool, you can edit a tweet then either schedule it to send in the future or add it to your rolling schedule.

RSS FEEDS & ROLLING SCHEDULES

RSS feed integration and scheduling in TweetMiner is like no other tool. RSS Feeds fit seamlessly into the workflow where you can monitor your own twitter and friends streams, then move over to RSS to content for your followers. You can add RSS feeds from any source, edit, instant retweet schedule or add to your rolling schedule. Rolling schedules is a feature not found in any other Twitter client. Many twitter tools allow you to schedule your tweets, but rolling schedules are different. You tell TweetMiner what hours of the day you would like to tweet, then add tweets, RSS feeds, news searches Retweets…whatever you like, to your rolling schedule or pile of tweets and TweetMiner will just take the next off the pile and tweet it. PR types and brand manager will love the ability to have all their information funnel into one place and schedule content for their brands in minutes, instead of hours.

BE THE SIGNAL NOT THE NOISE

Tweetminer is all about usability and flow. The strength of TweetMiner is in speed of the interface and the ability for you to control the content that is sent to your followers. But let’s not forget, TweetMiner isn’t just for power users or brand managers, new twitter users can find ease of use over the main Twitter web page. The speed of the UI will win you over.

TweetMiner comes in both a web client as well as an Adobe AIR version. TweetMiner has a free version that allows you to try up to 5 twitter accounts and paid version that unlocks additional API and allows you to use your own bit.ly key.

So while other Twitter clients just do the same old thing,  TweetMiner injects many new features that makes it stand out in the crowd. Why not give TweetMiner a try!

Follow Thomas Clifford @tommytrc on Twitter

How to use Twitter the right way with a step by step Training and Support System

For news to travel the world used to take day and even weeks now only takes a tweet. Twitter is making the most radical shift in media and networking in recent years. Twitter is quickly becoming the central real-time hub that serves to enhance every content platform on the web.

How Twitter is Changing the Internet

If you feel like you are getting lost in the shuffle you are not alone. Most people I talk to are trying to use between 6-10 different social sites, I say trying because when you network on multiple social sites at the same time it’s almost impossible to be effective at any of them. It’s no wonder people are lost and confused with how much time they should spend on what site, especially with new social sites popping up everyday.

The question should be, which “one” do I focus on with my time? Twitter is growing fast and many people simply don’t know if they should invest or split their time with another social site. I get asked a few questions over and over again, how can Twitter help me with my business? How does Twitter work? How is Twitter different from other social sites? When used properly you can get more done with greater results in less time from just one central hub social site, “Twitter”. Twitter gives you the ability to locate people looking for what you have to offer.

Let me list a few of the benefits Twitter can offer you or your business:

Read the rest of this story »

- by James Roughton

LinkedIn is implementing something new for those of us who use Twitter. With the new feature you will now be able to tweet your LinkedIn status to your Twitter followers or automatically post your tweets as your LinkedIn status. With the new features you can communicate both ways.

It is easy to add your Twitter account to LinkedIn. All you have to do is go to “Home” and you will see a Twitter symbol below your “Network Updates.” When you link with Twitter, Twitter will ask you to verify your account name and password. And once your account is verified you will be asked how you would like to share your tweets in LinkedIn status. LinkedIn will ask you which Twitter account you would like to share. This is assuming that you have multiple accounts where you will have a drop down menu. You have several options:

• Yes, share all tweets
• Share only tweets that contain #in or #li – See explanation below.
• Or not to share tweets at all

Here is an excerpt from LinkedIn Twitter discussion on Hashtags: “Hashtags (#) are a way to provide additional context for your tweets. Use #in or #li to publish your Twitter updates to your LinkedIn status. Just make “#in” part of your tweet (for example, “Working on a new blog post about design optimization. #in”), and it will be displayed as your LinkedIn status. These can be added to your tweets at any time and will override your sharing settings. If your tweet is personal and you don’t wish to share it with your professional crowd, just exclude #in or #li.”

There is one important thing that you must do to ensure that you can send tweets from Twitter to LinkedIn. You must check your Twitter account to make sure that it set up as public. To do this log into your Twitter account and go to Twitter settings and make sure that the “Protect my tweets” box is not checked.

In a statement from LinkedIn Co-founder Reid Hoffman and Twitter Co-founder Biz Stone, they conclude that their sites go together like “chocolate and peanut butter.”

This is great new enhancement!

Do you use LinkedIn and/or Twitter for Business?
(please share your insights with us)

You can follow me on Twitter @ jamesroughton or safeday or my website.

Watching out for you, one tweet at a time -TwitterWatchDog

Get instant Twitter Watchdog Secrets, Tips and Tools that will help maximize both your personal and professional Twitter experience. Just enter your name and email address now.

- by Nile Flores

Yep, Twitter List Fail is already an issue only days out of the birth of Twitter Lists. It is a fail that closely resembles that of #FollowFriday fails. Though #FollowFriday is not a total loss with some tweeps, there are a great many who have failed to use it correctly. As for Twitter Lists, I was just talking to a few tweeps on Twitter List fails. One thing that was noticed was, mis-labeling. For example, I was put on a list called ‘media-whore’ and another tweep had said she had been put on a ‘naked’ Twitter List. Obviously some type of breakdown in communication happened along the way.

It was also noted in the conversations that the other thing is because you have the ability to follow someone’s list, people are thinking it is a popularity game. It is not. The purpose is to organize these lists so people who might be outside that list might actually want to check these lists for valuable information. You do not necessarily have to follow individuals selected within each Twitter List, but simply follow the list. (Well you could if they are people you want to connect with.)

As for creating Twitter Lists, it is important to try not to put everyone in your list as some may not fit at all in certain lists. For example, for the gal who told me about being put on a list called ‘naked’, it would have been better to put her in a different list (and no, she is not in the adult entertainment industry, nor shares any pictures of herself.) Make sure to be accurate in labeling your lists. Most people would not find it offensive to be labeled incorrectly, but there are some out there who are sticklers.

In a way, you need to be aware of the lists you are on, especially if you are trying to brand yourself in a certain niche. If people are not putting you in the lists you should have tried to brand yourself as, then you have not brought your point across.

Have you used Twitter Lists? How have you utilized Twitter Lists? Have you been listed on any strange lists?

Follow Nile on Twitter

Watching out for you, one tweet at a time -TwitterWatchDog

Get instant Twitter Watchdog Secrets, Tips and Tools that will help maximize both your personal and professional Twitter experience. Just enter your name and email address now.

-by Kim Redd

Recently, I have found myself passionately sharing Twitter advice with not only clients, but with friends, colleagues, neighbors, and even strangers. Some think I am iNSaNe over this “twitter thing”. What better reason to write a post!

As a business, you have three main goals when it comes to Social Media: Monitor your brand, build your brand, and increase sales of your brand. Twitter is just one facet of Social Media. Here is what I share with my clients…and strangers…and now you!

14 Insane Twitter Tips For Business: What I Tell My Clients

1. Follow everyone back…yes even the porn stars! Unless someone offends you, spams you, or uses foul language, follow them back. It’s courteous and will win you more followers (i.e. customers/prospects) organically. Do you care about what your customers are saying? Then show it by following them back.

2. Change the avatar to your head shot. Yes, YOU! Choose a picture where you have a big smile. People buy from people they like, not companies. Humanize your business. It’s the only way to succeed on Twitter. IMPORTANT: Once you select your avatar, do not change it. It becomes your personal brand.

3. Put YOUR name in the Profile. It’s okay to keep the Company or Brand name as the name that shows up next to the Avatar. This will help you build your personal brand as well as your company brand. If you are worried about stalkers, don’t use your last name.

4. Engage your followers. Talk to them. Cultivate them. First rule of Social Media is “be interested, not interesting”. Have you reached out directly to any of them yet? This is a huge opportunity to interact with your customers/prospects. Don’t blow it.

5. Find more followers. A following of 28 is not going to increase traffic in your stores or on your website. Run searches to see who is chatting about your brand and your industry. Start following them. Begin following the competition, other marketers, and Twitter superstars. As you interact with each of these segments you will see your following grow naturally.

6. Listen. Have ongoing searches running for your brand, company, industry, and pertinent topics. Stay on the pulse. Nip issues in the bud. Offer advice when questions are asked. Great opportunity to make a good impression.

7. Be Active. Tweet at least once a day but not more than 10/day (unless you are having a conversation: then it’s okay to go over the threshold of 10). You need to commit time each day to actively listen and tweet.

8. Be thankful. Thank those that Retweet (RT) your tweets. Always give RT credit if you RT another tweep. Thank those that recommend you on #FollowFriday.

9. DO NOT USE AUTO DIRECT MESSAGES. Nothing bothers tweeps more than auto DM’s filling up their inbox. It’s okay to auto-follow for complete coverage, but please don’t send impersonal automated messages. You will be unfollowed and/or blocked. That won’t help your brand.

10. DO NOT use DMs for pitching products or special offers! Do I really need to expand on this concept?

11. Tweet conservatively. The internet is permanent. Don’t say anything you wouldn’t want posted on a billboard in front of your home and/or office.

12. Compliment others, generously. If you see a great tweet with interesting articles about your industry, marketing, etc give the tweep kudos by retweeting their tweet. This will help build your following and your credibility. Great way to make new Twitter friends and build your brand.

13. Schedule a Tweet Up in your area or attend one. By meeting other tweeps, marketers, prospects you can gain insight, advice, and/or possibly new drinking buddies. Look for local folks to follow. Same applies when you are traveling for business.

14. INSTALL TWEETDECK! If you haven’t already done so download it now. http://tweetdeck.com It’s a fantastic way to organize your followers and conversations. Use it in addition to twitter.com

WARNING: These tips are MY opinions and there are other schools of thought out there.

FEEDBACK: Let me know which tips are your favorites, how many you found helpful, and which ones suck. It’s okay to disagree with me too… just tell my why. Send me an @reply or leave a comment here.

Watching out for you, one tweet at a time -TwitterWatchDog

Get instant Twitter Watchdog Secrets, Tips and Tools that will help maximize both your personal and professional Twitter experience. Just enter your name and email address now.

Follow Skeeter Hansen @SkeeterHansen

Follow Your Pal Al Ferretti @AlFerretti