Oh the wonders of social media. I've recently set myself
up on Twitter, mainly out of intrigue and experimentation to see what
delights it can offer. As someone that is constantly surfing the web,
my first thoughts are how refreshingly quick and easy to access
insights from around the web, without the feeling of being overloaded.
Perhaps Twitterers are more selective in what they send around?
Focusing on the most important, groundbreaking trends, as well as the
plain humorous.
Apparently, according to HubSpot, I'm now one of some 5 million fellow Twitters, all busy following and being followed. Already I feel part of something quite different and exciting. Let's face it, poking is a bit passe isn't it. But then, I'm not so sure you can compare Facebook with Twitter as its just so incredibly different. There really is no 'this is me' element (apart from a small profile), because your page is one big chain of conversations. The name of the game is communication, very like other social media, but it's more cosy somehow. I quite liked getting a tip from Razorfish's Mr Schmitt today, sharing a very good post from the NYTimes, which reviews people's opinion on what Obama should focus on in his first year as President (gathered from Facebook). Maybe I would have found that somehere else, but maybe Twitter gave me a faster way to get there.
So how are other brands embracing this new medium? Mashable has compiled an excellent review of the Best 40 brands on Twitter, going into detail in terms of numbers, who takes ownership of it and so forth. Definitely worth checking out for examples, with lots of big brands listed from cars, retail, banking etc...
