The New Twitter

By Elyssa Dolinger on October 8, 2010 at 9:14 am in General,Reviews

newtwitterTwitter is in the process of rolling out its new design. Everyday I see people rejoicing or lamenting the new design. But what are some of the new design perks? I present a smattering of the new Twitter features. I doubt that I’ve found every gem, but this should give you an idea as to what the new Twitter is like.

They’re finally implementing some of the conveniences that third party applications have been providing. It may be too late to bring people back to the browser, but it sure can’t hurt to try.

The first thing you might notice is that the sidebar got huge. At first it was a turn off to have two equally sized viewing panes, but soon enough the reason for the right side’s expansion becomes clear. Added functionality. Everything you love about Twitter is still there. Well, maybe except the background. A measly 40 pixels of safe area is left on either side, though, if your browser supports, the right side bar should be semi-transparent.

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Twitter now even has a favorite tweet button. To choose a tweet to “favorite,” hover over the tweet you like. An option with a star and the word favorite next to it should pop up. Click it and the tweet will now feature a gold half star on the corner, as well as be listed on your right panel under the favorites option.

retweeted

retweeted-by

Retweeting? A two-shade green retweet label appears in the upper left corner of a tweet that has been retweeted. The number of times it has been retweeted is listed as well as a parade of mini icons of users that have retweeted by you.

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Click on a tweet and the right side panel changes. It now holds all kinds of useful information about tweets that you never knew that you never knew you needed to know. It can embed certain video and image links which is handy when it works. You can even see where tweets were made if tweeters want to be stalked.

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If someone is mentioned in the tweet, it gives an abbreviated profile and link to their account as well as other tweets mentioning that account. If there are any replies to that tweet, they are listed in the side bar. Same deal for hashtags.

The new sidebar makes it easier to follow conversations, but you’d better hope you can find the first tweet. It doesn’t seem smart enough yet to track back to the first tweet of a convo.

Above all the tweets, the tabs at the top help navigate some new and old options, one of which is the ability to save searches. Also, when you search, you’ll have the option to filter for only those tweets with links or only those close to your location.

top-tabs

All in all it was a nice effort, Twitter. But I’m staying with my third party application, TweetDeck. (Though I have to admit, the keyboard short cuts, including “.” to refresh, are pretty sweet.)

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5 FREE Twitter Backgrounds

By Elyssa Dolinger on May 1, 2010 at 12:00 am in freebies,General,Social Networking

5freeHow would you like to be the proud, new owner of a custom twitter background? Rather than go through the pains of background design, why not let a professional take care of it? For free even! (That’s gratis, free of charge, for nothing, complimentary, on the house.)

In the Month of May, we’re offering 5 free twitter backgrounds.

So what do you have to do to get your mitts on a brand new, bouncing baby background? It’s as easy as 1, 2…

1) Follow @tandswebdesign

2) Simply tweet

Just entered to win a #FreeTwitterBG . Just follow @TandSwebdesign and retweet. http://bit.ly/aqt6Om

At the end of May we will be contacting the winners VIA twitter about their new background. Until then, enter the contest, sit back, tweet and enjoy some of our previous work:

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@littler4bbit

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@emilyspirek

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@cochristonline

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@timjpriebe

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@tandswebdesign

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!

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.

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.

What tools are on social networking websites?

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

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.

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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.

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