twitter

Branded Tweetdeck – Great Idea or Waste of Time?

While I don’t use third-party Twitter app Tweetdeck myself (I switched to Seesmic Desktop a while back), I noticed today that both Mashable and TechCrunch now have their own branded versions.

It’s basically the same Tweetdeck application but now you can have a dedicated pre-set column for the latest news from both websites, as well as a shiny Mashable or TechCrunch logo on your Tweetdeck skin.

But are they worth changing to?

Personally, I can’t see the major benefit at this time. Yes, it’s great that now both Mashable and TechCrunch have their logo on Tweetdeck’s interface. But will that really expand their brand?

I’m guessing that most users who already have Tweetdeck installed know about both websites. And you can always just set up your own preset column in the standard Tweetdeck to watch the Mashable and TechCrunch feeds.

What about new users? Mashable promotes their version by saying it’s great for new Twitter users to “get up to speed”. I’m not so sure – new Twitter users might be better getting used to Twitter itself first before trying to control a multi-column app.

Comments on both websites are mixed – some think it’s great while others think it’s a waste of time.

I have to say that I’m with the second camp at the minute. It’s always interesting to see brands experiment with ways to get their name into people’s collective. I’m just not sure this is it.

And with some Tweetdeck users still complaining about performance issues (the new iPhone app crashing, memory hog, etc), wouldn’t it be better for Tweetdeck to concentrate on that first?

What about you? What’s your take on Mashable and TechCrunch’s new Tweetdeck app?

Would it make you question their bias when discussing third-party Twitter apps? How can they make real use of it down the line? Will you be downloading one of them?

photo credit: dprevite

From Twitter to Blog – #FollowFriday Vol. 4

Recently I wrote about why I was moving my #followfriday recommendations from Twitter to this blog. So, without further ado, here are my recommendations for this week.

I hope you check them out ? they?re all worth getting to know.

Community. Seth Simonds (@SethSimonds). Seth’s an interesting guy. This is someone that shed 45,000 Twitter followers so he could concentrate on a lesser number and connect better. He tries video experiments to show his community the horror of waterboarding. He consistently has amazing conversations via the comments on his blog. He’s what I call a good egg.
Ladies of Twitter. Susan Murphy (@SuzeMuse). Sue is a bona-fide all-round megastar when it comes to multi-tasking. She’s a creative genius; video editor extraordinaire; voice of non-profits; geek; and one of Ottawa’s finest beer drinkers. She’s also writer of one of the best social media blogs period, without even being tagged as social media.
Gentlemen of Twitter. Iggy Pintado (@iggypintado). Iggy is one of these cool people that doesn’t only talk about stuff, he does it. He’s one of Australia’s most connected people; he’s written a book called “Connection Generation”; he’s an incredibly savvy businessman; and he still makes time for his family. One of life’s good guys.
Non-Profits. James Topham (@Topsatwarchild). I first met James when 12for12k supported War Child in January. Not only is he passionate about non-profits, he’s as unassuming as they come, which makes him great company. He’s also a fellow Brit, has a dry sense of humour and follows Toronto FC soccer club. What’s not to like?
Marketing. Sonny Gill (@sonnygill). Sonny is one of the smartest marketers I know. And what I like about him is that he doesn’t shout it from the rooftops. He shares great reads in his blog; he’s as sharp as a card on Twitter; and he and fellow marketer Scott Hepburn helped pay to fly a friend out to a networking event. Awesome.
Public Relations. Arik Hanson (@arikhanson). Speaking of flying out to a networking event, it was Arik who was that very person. Yet it was well deserved – Arik used his PR skills and networking to help land Sonny and Scott new jobs with communication firms. He’s also one of the most understated and underrated PR pro’s out there, and the founder of the Reader’s Choice PR Blogger Awards.
Social Media. Mark Horvarth (@hardlynormal). Mark could easily have sat in the non-profit choice, but I really like the way he’s using social media. He’s telling the story of homeless people through video, blogging and Twitter. He’s offering them a voice and allowing you to speak to them through him. THAT, my friends, is creative social media at its finest.
The “Everyone Should Know” Wildcard Entry. Michael Schechter (@mschechter). This guy is a star. He makes me laugh like a pig in mud whenever he starts ripping into my character. He’s a devoted dad and husband, is uber-friendly, and simply put one of these people that anyone would be better off for having him as a friend.

Cheers, guys, for being who you are every day of the week.

Why Twitter Mobile Apps Don’t Interest Me

I’m a mobile Luddite. I don’t have an iPhone or Blackberry (although I do like the look of the new Palm Pre) and to be honest I’m not too bothered about having a smart phone at the minute.

Now you might say that for someone that is involved in the online world as I am, not having an iPhone or similar makes me some kind of heathen. And maybe it does.

But here’s the thing.

I’m a people person. I like to know people. I like to connect people. My aim is to meet and introduce as many folks as I can, and help make one big interconnected community that can call on each other when needed.

This could be for advice, knowledge, help, charity or anything else. The more quality people I know and can put in touch with each other, the better.

For me to be an effective people person and an effective connector, I need (and want) to know a person. What makes them tick. What makes them laugh. What upsets them. What motivates them.

Basically, I want to know why that person is who they are. Then I can help put them in touch with like-minded souls.

But to do this, I need to offer my full attention to that person at that given time. And maybe it’s just me, but Twitter mobile apps are a major stumbling block to this aim.

The amount of times I’ve been out with friends or connections and they’ve been tweeting merrily away on their smart phones is scary.

Do we really need to be so technologically connected all the time? This is meant to be downtime. Drinks and a meal with friends. Can’t that super important tweet wait until you get home?

Don’t get me wrong – I’m as big a Twitter user as the next tweeter. But tweeting while in company – isn’t that kind of rude and anti-social media?

But what about conferences and events, you might ask? I have a laptop if I want to live tweet and I have a web-enabled cell phone for my email. So let’s flip that around – aren’t you at conferences and events to learn from people as opposed to hearing the odd snippet of info between live tweeting?

I’m not denying that Twitter mobile apps are useful, to some more than others. But aren’t people more important than the tools? Or am I just being idealistic in a technological world?

photo credit: ekai