TwitterWatchDog.com

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:

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- 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

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- 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

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-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

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Twitter CEO says “The World is Big Enough for Facebook and Twitter

As reported by Ben Parr on Mashable.com

The Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco has just started, but the conference has already brought some heavy hitters on stage, including Comcast CEO Brian Roberts and Paypal CEO Scott Thompson.

Just moments ago, Twitter Co-Founder and CEO Evan Williams took the stage with Federated Media CEO John Batelle to discuss revenue models, Facebook, potential acquisitions, and Twitter’s (potentially stagnating) growth.

Here are some of the highlights:
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Look Who’s playing TAG with Twitter, it’s Facebook

Want to play “Tag Your It?”

Well, in a recent article posted September 14th, 2009, and hot off the press, PCWorld’s Tony Bradley stated that:

Facebook has just introduced the latest feature in its ongoing evolution to blur the lines between social networking and search engine- tags. The new ‘@’ tags allow users to tag other users in posts and integrates a whole new realm of search capabilities.

In the article Tony mentions that they borrowed it from Twitter. But I think it may be just a ploy to make it more like their rivals and to try and get a jump on Twitter search capabilities.

Tony goes on to say that the use of the “@” tag will allow Facebook users to place the tag before another users name, so when other users click on the user tag they can see all the posts of the other user as well.

Now this may be a good thing for Facebook, but I wonder what Twitter has to say about the matter.

Also, I don’t know if I would want to see all the posts from another user on Facebook or not. Oh well, I’d like to know your take on the matter. So please post your comments below.

Until next time, be on guard with Twitterwatchdog

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Follow Skeeter Hansen @SkeeterHansen

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