Twitter Resources

By Tim Priebe on March 3, 2010 at 2:09 pm in Link Roundup, Social Networking

PrintUnlike some other social networking sites, Twitter does not have third party applications on their website. Instead, they allow those to be hosted on other websites, and let those tie directly into Twitter. Here are a few of those Twitter resources I’ve found useful

TweetBeep.com

tweetbeep

If you are familiar with Google Alerts, then you’ll understand TweetBeep.com, which bills itself as Google Alerts for Twitter. Basically, you can enter search terms, and TweetBeep.com will email you tweets that match the search when they show up on Twitter.

TwitBacks.com

twitbacks

If you’re not a graphic designer yourself, TwitBacks.com is a good resource for getting a background image for your Twitter account that’s more customized than the backgrounds Twitter offers by default. They have over 80 backgrounds, and you can customize them online with your social networking links, a longer biography than Twitter allows, and even add a picture of yourself or your logo.

SocialOomph.com

socialoomph

If you’re looking to schedule tweets, automatically follow those who follow you or automatically send direct messages to new followers, SocialOomph.com is the choice for you.

Twitter Feed

twitterfeed

Tweeting about your latest blog entry is made automatic with Twitter Feed. Just enter in any RSS feed address, customize the settings if necessary, and every time you blog it will be pushed automatically out to Twitter. Of course, other RSS feeds will work as well.

Twitter Grader

twittergrader

Wanting to see how well you’re using Twitter? Twitter Grader is an automated tool from the guys that brought you Website Grader. While this type of tool should be taken with a grain of salt, it is neat to see how you rank compared to others in your town.

Your Twitter Karma

twitterkarma

Your Twitter Karma will give you a list of all the people who you’re following or who are following you, and will let you filter the list. A good tool if you want to see who’s following you that you’re not following, or vice versa. It was extremely useful when they would let you bulk unfollow people you were following who weren’t following you, but apparently Twitter asked them to remove that feature. Also, it’s a bit slow and the site is as ugly as sin, but it’s useful otherwise.

Know of some other great Twitter resources you’ve found useful? Please let us know!

Pros and Cons to new Facebook layout

By Tim Priebe on February 22, 2010 at 5:04 pm in Social Networking

Over the last month or so, Facebook has been rolling out their redesigned site, with many key elements changing in an overall layout overhaul. I asked some of the T&S staff to let me know what they thought of the new Facebook layout, now that they’ve had some time to use it. Here are their thoughts:

Elyssa Dolinger

I think it’s usable, but I always hate how they change things without asking. Yeah, they’re not going to listen to me, but I’d at least like to be asked. I miss my little bar at the bottom! I know it’s on the side but there is so much stuff over there it’s cluttered. I also wish there was just a little bit better definition between sections, color-wise. It all gets mucked together which means I gloss over the link I’m looking for.

fb-1The thing that I actually really DO like in this change of layout is the little notifications next to the Facebook logo on the top left of the page. The three subtle icons representing friend requests, messages, and notifications get these little red flags on them when you have some. It’ll even have a tiny number in there telling you how many you have so you can know what you’re getting into before you commit to clicking.

Sean Sanders

fb-2I feel like the new layout is more organized. Having the bar on the bottom made it less noticeable than it is now. Also, I like seeing all the categories broken down on the side. It just seems a lot easier to get to different places now. That’s about all I’ve noticed that’s really different.

Amber Hanks

I really like the new design of Facebook. I think the simplified look works better. It took a little getting used to though. I also like that the friend requests and messages are more dynamic. I also like how notifications show up in the left sidebar when you’re logged in.

Unfortunately, chat still appears to be buggy when you have several chats going. It will say people are offline for just a second, and messages won’t go through. Then a moment later, they’re back online again. It’s too bad they didn’t fix some of those things.

fb-4

Emily Spirek

My initial reaction of the new layout was the opposite of most. Although Facebook has made some questionable updates in the past, I don’t understand why so many people disliked this one. I think the overall intention was a good one, but there still needs to be some improvements.

Here’s what I like:

  1. The dashboard with a more central location of everything you need.
  2. “Live Feed” changed to “Most Recent”…not a huge deal, just think it makes more sense.
  3. I love icons, mainly b/c they simplify everything and look cool. I like the addition of Friend Requests, Messages and Notifications in the top left.

fb-3Here’s what I’d like to see:

  1. Home, Profile and Account on the same side as the new icons I just mentioned, and turn those into icons as well.
  2. I’m not sure if they were refraining from total shock by keeping chat in the same location, but I don’t understand why the Friends Online needs to be in 2 separate locations. On the left sidebar where it says “See All”, it’s awkward how a pop up appears across the screen. I feel like the random choices of online friends is a waste of space. Either put the whole list in the left sidebar or stick with the original chat in the bottom right.

That’s all I see so far, overall I think it was a smart move by Facebook.

Twitter isn’t so scary

By Elyssa Dolinger on February 10, 2010 at 6:44 pm in Social Networking

Twitter isn’t exactly new. People have been using, abusing and even making a living off of Twitter since it’s inception in 2006. In an instantaneous world, four years might as well be a million. It’s like an art form that I all-of-a-sudden need to know and I’m not even sure why. There are Twitter experts and then…there are people like me.

tweettrans

Hi. My name is Elyssa and I am Tweet-impaired.

The first step to using Twitter, I think, is to understand what it is. Twitter is like a Facebook status update. It’s like blogging in 140 characters. It’s like swimming in a pool of millions of people or stepping into a chat room with everyone in the world invited. It is like all those things, but not exactly any one of them. Twitter is Twitter.

So why is it useful?

It’s real time, instant action. You can follow the news not only by following a news station, but you can search for a topic and get real time information. Remember the attempted Iranian Revolution? As a fledgling twitterer, I watched with morbid fascination as people tweeted and re-tweeted which embassies were open, what streets were not safe and quotes of remembrance about why they were doing what they were doing.

People use Twitter like a community. It’s faster than a forum, and doesn’t require everyone to be present at once to hold a conversation like a chat or instant message. It’s a happy in-betweener. Like leaving a note for someone or sending a text message.

Businesses use Twitter to prove that they’re not robots. When you get a response from a large corporation, a non generic direct response, you’ll definitely start to feel important. @jetblue and @homedepot are actually pretty good at this.

So what can you do with it?

Make it easy to succeed. There are programs out there (like HootSuite, TweetDeck, or Twhirl) that make Twitter less overwhelming and more manageable. These applications will even let you load your Facebook on there (and other social sites) for cross posting…if you’re into that kind of thing. You can even use these applications to search twitter so that you can look for conversations that you might be interested in, or you might even find a conversation about you or your business.

Keep it short and sweet. You can post links/photos/videos you found useful or interesting in your community or even in the world. This is best done with the help of a URL shortening service like TinyURL or Bit.ly. It’ll help tidy up your tweets so that you can explain your link. People like to know what they are clicking into before hand, especially if they are at work.

Use your hashtags. As mind-boggling as they are, hashtags help tweeters follow a thread of conversation and discussion trends. It’s similar to tags on a blog. If you use them, it’ll help more people who are interested see what you have to say.

Yeah, I know. I’m late to the party. And I still feel like a fledgling Tweeter, but somehow Twitter is a little bit more understandable. Like any social media, the most important part is making connections. So get out there and make some friends.

Facebook on a dial-up modem

By Tim Priebe on December 9, 2009 at 3:29 pm in Social Networking

lite.facebook.comIf you’re connected to the internet on a dial-up modem (yes, non-believers, there are still dial-up modems out there), you may have experienced some frustration when trying to access sites like Facebook.

Fret no longer!

Facebook is offering lite.facebook.com, a site designed specifically for people who like less clutter, or just have limited bandwidth like dial-up users do.



Twitter Phishing Scam Alert

By Tim Priebe on October 14, 2009 at 2:07 pm in Social Networking

Phishing Scam ArtistTwitter has posted that some individuals are having problems with their usernames and passwords. I’m hearing from some sources that this is actually a result of an extensive phishing scam. Definitely don’t change your password after clicking a link in an email or direct message, and just be careful in general on Twitter for the next few days.

And, as always, if you’re about to enter your password on a website, take a look at the URL in your browser and make sure you’re actually on the right site, not some scamming or phishing site.

For those who don’t know, phishing is an attempt to fraudulently obtain sensitive information like usernames and passwords, often by looking very similar in appearance to a legitimate website you would enter that information on.

UPDATE

Just a few hours after posting this, I received the infamous direct message.

phishing-1

For the sake of posterity (or whatever), I went ahead and clicked on the link. Click below for the full version, and notice the URL is not a Twitter URL.

phishing-2

I went ahead and entered a fake username and password, and it sent me to the Fail Whale. So if you run into that yourself, immediately log into your account from Twitter.com and reset the password.

Facebook’s latest feature

By Tim Priebe on September 22, 2009 at 6:53 am in How-To, Social Networking, Video

Facebook just added a new feature where you can link to other people in comments. See how this works, and where it doesn’t work.

What tools are on social networking websites?

By Tim Priebe on August 14, 2009 at 6:02 pm in Social Networking, freebies

Earlier this week I was one of three presenters at an Edmond Chamber of Commerce Lunch and Learn. I talked about the actual tools available on four popular social networking websites: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace. I thought I would share my handout, so here it is as a viewable image, and below that as a downloadable PDF.

social-network-capabilities

download-1

The Beginner’s Guide To Twitter

By Tim Priebe on July 30, 2009 at 6:30 am in Social Networking

Twitter bird winkingThinking about starting a Twitter account? Want a quick overview of Twitter and its lingo and customs? Then this is for you!

What is Twitter?

Simply put, Twitter is like instant messenger on broadcast. People who sign up for Twitter can subscribe to multiple people’s updates, and those updates will then appear in chronological order on their home page.

From a business standpoint, there are several advantages to having a Twitter account. If you can create an account people are willing to subscribe to, your updates will appear on their home page. So you can market directly to them without spending anything but your time.

Another advantage is being able to establish relationships and maintain them easily online. You can “meet” people on Twitter, then eventually meet them in real life and already have an established relationship. You can also follow people you met in real life, but would otherwis be in contact with on a regular basis. And you can help others by answering questions.

Twitter Lingo

Twitter home page

There are many terms that are unique to Twitter. To get you up to date, here’s the definition of many of those terms.

Tweet - This can be either a verb or a noun. A tweet is an update or micro-blog that you sent out. To tweet is to write and send out that update.

Tweeter - Someone who uses Twitter.

Follow - To subscribe to someone’s updates, so that they will appear on your home page.

@Reply - A tweet that is publicly broadcast, but directed to a specific person. You write one by simply putting @username anywhere in the message, generally at the beginning. i.e. @tandswebdesign Do you design business cards as well?

Direct Message - A private message, only viewable by the intended recipient. You can only send direct messages to people that are following you.

Retweet - Rebroadcasting a tweet someone else posted. Generally done in the form: RT @username: Original message. i.e. RT @amber_hanks: http://twitpic.com/9jbjy - I hate ie6

Hash Tag - A way to track topics on Twitter. You add a #, followed by a keyword of some sort. i.e. Thanks to everyone who came to the Marketing Rxpo. We had a great time, and loved talking with everyone! #edmondrxpo

Other Twitter Customs

Twitter Fail WhaleWhen mentioning other Twitter users in posts, use their @username so they will be linked to. i.e. Going out on a date with my lovely wife, @priebechick, tonight

On Fridays, there’s an event called Follow Friday. The convention is to use the hash tag #followfriday, and to mention several people worth following on Twitter. i.e. My 1st #FollowFriday! Check out @divainteriors, @shawnJroberts, @sastubblefield, @WhitneyFleming, @moniqueterrell, @rhukill & @fallonbrooks

The Fail Whale is the screen shown when Twitter servers are over capacity, and Twitter is temporarily unavailable. Generally, immediately clicking the refresh button on your browser will clear up the problem.

Because Twitter limits messages to 140 characters, many services exist to shorten URLs from something like http://www.tandswebdesign.com/blog/2009/07/bocce-ball-on-fun-friday/ to http://tr.im/tdlI. Those include sites like http://tr.im, http://bit.ly and http://tinyurl.com.

If you have any Twitter questions, be sure to ask. We’d be happy to help!

P.S. Feel free to follow me on Twitter, or to follow T&S Web Design.

Follow our staff and partners on Twitter

By Tim Priebe on July 11, 2009 at 12:00 pm in Social Networking

Twitter BirdIn the spirit of Twitter’s own Follow Friday, here are the links to follow our staff on Twitter:

And here are just a few businesses and people we partner with or just recommend:

Learn from Half Price Books’ Social Network Marketing

By Tim Priebe on July 7, 2009 at 7:00 am in Reviews, Social Networking

Twitter bird hiding behind Facebook LogoA new Half Price books opened up recently here in Oklahoma City, and this past weekend my dad and I went to check it out. Great store. I grew up in Dallas and frequently visited the original Half Price Books while there.

$50 later and back at home, I decided to look up Half Price books on all the social networks. They’re doing a great job with their Facebook page, and I became a fan of them there. Then, after some searching, I found their Twitter account. Wow. Did they set it up with the intention of failing?

Edit: While the tips in this blog entry still apply, Half Price Books has contacted me directly to let me know that they did not set up the Twitter account and have already had Twitter suspend the account. They may not be responding on Twitter, but they replied to my blog with a blog comment, then with an email, all in less than 36 hours after the blog went online!

Let’s take a look at both the great things they’ve done with the Facebook page, and the terrible job they’ve done with the Twitter account.

Twitter

Half Price Books' Twitter page1. They’re not promoting it on their website.

In the spirit of full disclosure, we at T&S are not yet promoting our Twitter account on our website. But we should be. And so should Half Price Books.

2. They haven’t entered in a name.

Companies need to enter in their company name, not just their username. Initially, I searched for “Half Price Books.” That got me nowhere. I tried a few variations, before finally just typing in http://twitter.com/halfpricebooks. So they need to make their account easier to find. This will also help in search engines, as currently the Twitter account does not show up in searches for “Half Price Books.” (Note: I only checked the first 15 pages of results.)

3. They aren’t using it.

Here’s a blindingly obvious one. Twitter is a great method for communication. Half Price Books’ news page on their website has plenty of available content they could be reusing on their Twitter account. But I’m not visiting their website on a daily basis, and neither are you. The average consumer is much more likely to visit Twitter on a daily basis than they are the Half Price Books website. That’s not conjecture, it’s based on hard data.

4. People are talking about them on Twitter, and they aren’t responding.

At the time of this blog entry’s writing, a Twitter search for “Half Price Books” revealed 34 mentions of them within the past 24 hours. And only two results for @halfpricebooks, because people don’t know it’s there. (One of those two is a tweet I wrote.) Most of the tweets are praise, which they should be thanking those customers for. And what kind of statement is it making when they’re not responding to criticism?

Facebook

Half Price Books' Facebook page1. They’re letting people know it’s out there.

They’ve linked to the page on their main website. What a concept! It’s on the front page, it’s prominent, and people are obviously clicking on it, because they have over 14,000 fans. And I’ll tell you a secret: They didn’t have to get a Facebook ad, they just used a website they already had. (I have no clue if they’ve also purchased Facebook advertising.)

2. They have a username.

They’re keeping up to date on Facebook developments, and have obtained a username for their page. This definitely hasn’t hurt their search engine placement in Google, as their Facebook page is on the first page of Google results for “Half Price Books.”

3. They’re actually using it to communicate.

At the time of this blog entry’s writing, they had five entries over the last month or so. They could probably use it slightly more often, but they’re definitely making use of it while not spamming fans. As with Twitter, more people are visiting Facebook than Half Price Books’ website, so this is a great communication tool for them.

So what’s the overall lesson we can take back to the social network marketing our businesses do? Simply put, utilize what’s out there. Remember, these tools are free, aside from time spent, and are even better than your own website at keeping in contact with current and potential customers. You still need your own website to provide in depth details about your business to those who are interested, but making use of the social networking tools that are out there is a no-brainer.

Older Posts »