Make Phone Calls on Twitter.

Interesting Beta that let's twitter users connect without sharing either parties phone number.   I can't really think of a great use for this, I mean I follow many on twitter, but i don't know if I'd like to talk to most of them.  I don't have time to talk to my actual friends, lol.  This seems to change the Twitter game a bit, but you can decide for yourself though.  Read the full article here.

Twitering

As marketers and brands are still looking for ways to effectively utilize Facebook, another social network is taking hold in a big way. It’s Twitter. You’ve seen it in the newspapers, you’ve heard people talking about it and even the evening news is feeding parts of their discussions by utilizing Twitter.

For a brand it can be a bit overwhelming, Twittering, tweeple, tweets, what is a brand to do? It’s intriguing though; there is a lure here for many marketers and brands alike. Think about how amazing is it for a brand to have all these followers that hang on every word said? How could you go wrong?

Well, the answer is not that black and white. The big question you face is, does your brand need an active and daily dialogue with customers? Does it have enough to say on a regular basis? Can your brand even support that sort of dialogue and is it in your brands nature to do so? Twitter is not the equivalent of a dry corporate website it is VERY different. Twitter has the potential to be a lot more personal if used correctly.

Brands that have spent a lot of time successfully developing their brand personality certainly may have an easier time at it. Look at Jet Blue with 240,000+ followers. This brand dialogue didn’t start on Twitter, Jet blue simply uses Twitter as another natural extension of their brand and customers are eating it up. For the right brand under the right circumstances Twitter is a low cost way to communicate effectively. Indeed, there is massive potential to build brand equity and to keep fans and followers informed, but choose wisely and understand the hills and valleys before you start tweeting.

Skittles.com : Interesting take on information architecture

Skittles.com has a new online experience to check out.  This is the 2nd time i've personally seen this type of information design in place, the other time i saw this was on Modernista's web site. I guess imitation is the best form of flattery.  In short it's using social sites on the web to host their content. So friends of Skittles are on Facebook, videos are on YouTube. The main page their navigation sits on is Twitter. It's pulling in everyone who's talking about Skittles, which is pretty cool. Products are hosted on Wikipedia.   This is still an interesting approach.  Outside of this you can't help but realize that there are many ways for a brand to utilize social sites (Other than the obvious ways) and utilize their benefits.

Twitter and visualizing your social networks

Ok, most of us have fun with twitter, but this makes it that much cooler. Twittervision 3d let's you experience a globe with random twitters from people around the world. It's really interesting in that it really shows you the vastness of both twitter and also the web in general. If you like that, then there is also a Facebook app that seems pretty sweet too, it's basically a mash-up between twitter and google maps. It's all about visualizing your social network

Then there is the site called ... Twitter Browser. If you want to visualize your network in more of a site map view, this the place to go (actually even if you don't you should still check this out.)

JetBlue "Gets It"

JetBlue has long been the poster child of how to do a ticket-less, web-based airline the right way. From the point of purchase at the website, to the terminal, to the on-flight experience; I've always been a fond admirer of their marketing.

In accordance with their strong online presence, JetBlue was an early adopter of Twitter. Yesterday, a recent post alerted travelers to potential delays from the poor weather in NY. Last month, a simple shout-out was given to the 2,000 JetBlue travelers that flew to Austin for SXSW.

The thing that separates them from a lot of other corporate initiatives on Twitter is that - along with typical promotional Tweets - they encourage direct dialog with users. Questions from users are answered, and questions to the user are presented. This active engagement encourages the user to provide valuable feedback and feel valued for being listened to.

A prime example of good social media utilization, indeed.

Good things come in small coded packages

I came across this great url for anyone on an iPhone who Twitters.

It's simple and really smart. This Twitter URL is designed and coded to be viewed full resolution on your iPhone. How smart, and who said all the good ideas were gone?

https://twitter.thincloud.com/login