It’s hard not to be talking about Twitter all the time — it’s where most of the action has been lately. Today the social media platform announced that it was entering the eCommerce arena for the first time, in partnership with American Express. I never imagined this would happen, and I couldn’t even picture how it would work. So I checked into it. Continue reading
Writing letters to big companies to complain about a product or service is a big waste of time. The majority of the time, your letters get thrown on a never ending pile, and eventually an intern, PR person (that’s me), or a mail room guy will answer you with some standard response. Yes, there are times you will receive a free meal, additional airline points, or a gift certificate to Pizza Hut or some other large chain which is easy for most people to access. But usually not.
If you want to get immediate satisfaction, learn to use Twitter. In the last few months, major companies have staffs of up to 50 people monitoring this particular social media platform to immediately cure any nasty comments someone has posted about them. The last thing a company needs is a disgruntled customer airing his or her complaints in front of millions of viewers.
Twitter has announced a new mobile video sharing service, called Vine that allows users to share six second video clips. While it’s a Twitter mechanism, you can share the videos on Twitter, Facebook or email. You don’t have to post the video on YouTube to share.
Vine is free in the App Store.
It’s the fastest video posting and sharing I have ever experienced. Twitter is all about micro-blogging. They gave you 140 characters to text a message, and now they are giving you six seconds to share video.
I realized a while ago that Twitter is based on the same premise as news reporting. Journalists are trained to get the who, what, where, why, how, and when in the first sentence of their story. Well, at least that was true before the Internet took over.
Both text and videos on Twitter have the same premise. If you can’t say it in 140 characters, or a six-second video, then you are wasting my time or you just can’t get to the point.
Click here to see a video of my Miami condo. Only six seconds.
Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google, showing off the next big step in technology, augmented-reality glasses.
Being a publicist, I am always suspicious when I read a story about something that happened “by chance.” People like me make “those chances” happen. Do I really believe that one of the richest men in the world, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, was riding the number 3 subway train downtown on Sunday when a stranger spotted him wearing Google’s augmented-reality glasses? Seconds later, the stranger (Noah Zerkin) tweeted the photo of Brin and the post got picked up on every online tech site, newspaper, and entertainment TV show within the next 24 hours.
This is what Noah Zerkin (@noazark) January 21, 2013, said on Twitter. “I just had a brief conversation with the most powerful man in the world. On the downtown 3 train. Nice guy.” Then he posted his photo. Zerkin is an interactive installation consultant who is a self-professed augmented-reality enthusiast who just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Puh-leeze!
For those of you who don’t know about Google’s augmented-reality glasses, it is really worth researching because it is going to be the next big thing in technology. The glasses feature a translucent rectangle (the size of a postage stamp) that transmits data directly into your eye. Swiping motions can be made on the side of the headset to navigate the app interfaces. You can take hands-free photos, videos, and other soon-to-be announced tasks. The glasses are truly mind-boggling. A few years from now we will all be using them. They are slated to go on sale in 2014 for around $1,400. By that time, Google will have figured out some very practical uses for this device.
Meanwhile, I think I am the only one who feels the subway incident was a staged event. I have had my own share of PR “coincidences.” I staged Mohammad Ali to show up at a BSR (USA) sales rep meeting at the Chicago Hilton Tower Suites so he could throw air punches with retail customers. We pretended that he was having dinner downstairs with friends during our meeting. Through some miraculous last minute offer to show him the product line that was being introduced, he agreed to come up to the suite to say hello to the audience. The entire shtick was arranged weeks in advance and cost BSR lots of moola to get the champ to agree to the action-packed photo-op. Some retailers still have their photos displayed on the walls of their offices (or retirement homes).
Or how about the time we accidentally-on-purpose, lost a prototype for a new hand-held game for my electronics client in a New York City taxi cab during Toy Fair. The owners of the company offered a huge cash reward if anyone found and returned the one-of-a-kind mock up. Instantly, the brand became the talk of the entire convention.
I could go on and on about publicity stunts, but then I would be staging my own career death. That’s all for now.
I have come to the conclusion that most of the time I spend on Facebook is a big waste. Other than a few close friends, I am following the lives of people who mean nothing to me. I can’t remember them saying anything of consequence. Twitter is totally different. Most influential people and companies use Twitter to impart information on a much more intellectual basis. They are feeding info as the news develops or are uncovering information that they think will be helpful to the people who follow them. There are still a lot of vanity posts but the 140 character limitation doesn’t allow for much boasting.
The challenging problem is to decide who to follow. From the very beginning I did it all wrong. I followed people who followed me and picked up others who my friends were following. Don’t do what I did. Carefully select folks who can share information that will have some impact on you.
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Sree Sreenivasan of the tech blog CNET (he us also Chief Digital Officer, professor of digital media, and Dean of Student Affairs at Columbia University) put together a good list of folks and companies who are thought provoking and post frequently.
Top 10 most followed journalists
Anderson Cooper: 3,455,256
Piers Morgan: 3,004,433
Rachel Maddow: 2,434,423
Larry King: 2,319,449
Bill Simmons: 1,931,155
George Stephanopoulos: 1,814,086
Chris Hardwick: 1,757,790
David Gregory: 1,584,068
Sanjay Gupta: 1,567,922
David Pogue: 1,454,191
Top 10 publications with the most journalists on Twitter
The Associated Press: 471
The New York Times: 463
The Wall Street Journal: 327
Bloomberg News: 310
The Guardian: 293
Reuters: 238
USA Today: 186
CNN: 175
Los Angeles Times: 174
Sky News: 141
Top 10 news organizations with the most total followers of all their Tweeting journalists:
CNN: 12,936,330
The New York Times: 10,361,924
ABC News: 8,080,255
NBC News: 4,886,734
The Guardian: 4,653,253
ESPN: 4,468,903
MSNBC: 3,927,080
Fox News: 3,248,385
CNBC: 2,699,308
BBC: 2,136,011
Eliot and I were glued to the TV set last night. As long as we had electricity, we wanted to watch every bit of the news. You can imagine our surprise when all of a sudden we get an email from our daughter Whitney who informed us that patients from NYU’s Langone Medical Center were being evacuated because of a power failure. I could hardly believe my eyes. How did she know that? We were watching every TV channel. We didn’t hear a word about it.
Twitter had the news before any TV news station. Whitney is a big twitter user and monitors posts all the time. Twitter had the info on Langone Medical Center at least a half hour before it was reported on the air. The same thing about Breezy Point. Twenty-four hours later, we all now know the devistating news.
Once again, I wanted all of you to experience how people use Twitter to express themselves and deliver the news first.
Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)
10/29/12, 3:16 PM
Direct view of crane from apartment window. Crane was never properly secured, blowing in the breeze. fb.me/1Ybwhz6bk
Whitney Hess (@whitneyhess)
10/29/12, 10:32 PM
Praying for the lives of the babies in the PICU and NICU being carried down 9 flights of stairs at NYU Tisch Hospital. Generator failed
The Economist (@TheEconomist)
10/30/12, 5:50 AM
Is Hurricane Sandy capable of altering the American election result? econ.st/SqWZGw
CNNMoney.com (@CNNMoney)
10/30/12, 6:01 AM
Wall Street will remain closed for a second straight trading day as Northeast deals with impact of Hurricane Sandy. cnnmon.ie/Ph2hDP
Nicholas Sparks (@SparksNicholas)
10/30/12, 7:07 AM
Hurricane Sandy … because God is tired of political ads too.
Will Farrell (@YourLastLaugh)
10/30/12, 7:22 AM
What if gangnam style is actually just a giant rain dance and we brought hurricane Sandy on ourselves?
1010 WINS (@1010WINSNewYork)
10/30/12, 7:39 AM
1010 WINS is off of AM radio; We are now simulcasting on 92.3 NOW-FM.
Cory Booker (@CoryBooker)
10/30/12, 8:12 AM
Thank you RT @bsesser: A good list of organizations that need donations/volunteers in the wake of Sandy – bit.ly/PErtp5
The New York Times (@nytimes)
10/30/12, 8:18 AM
A six-alarm fire has engulfed several blocks in the Rockaways, 3 dead elsewhere in NYC nyti.ms/SrmyXU
Occupy Wall Street (@OccupyWallStNYC)
10/30/12, 8:22 AM
We send our deepest condolences to 83 people killed by hurricane Sandy: 15 in US, 1 in Canada, and 67 in the Caribbean. Rest in Peace.
POLITICO (@politico)
10/30/12, 8:38 AM
Chris Christie heaps praise on Obama for his handling of Hurricane Sandy: politi.co/S9OID9
Amazon (@amazon)
10/30/12, 9:05 AM
If you’d like to help the victims of #HurricaneSandy, you can donate to the @RedCross through Amazon.com: amzn.to/RlgUSV
Popular Science (@PopSci)
10/30/12, 9:07 AM
5 surprising things that Sandy teaches us about climate change. That’s right. pops.ci/RqDX23
Reuters Top News (@Reuters)
10/30/12, 9:18 AM
Hurricane Sandy losses worse than Irene: disaster forecasters reut.rs/WXO2a6
Dr. Mehmet Oz (@DrOz)
10/30/12, 9:27 AM
Great info for all those affected. RT @TIME: Health and Safety tips for looking after yourself during Sandy ti.me/S9B2YI
Deepak Chopra (@DeepakChopra)
10/30/12, 9:34 AM
Hurricane Sandy’s fury has been crippling & devastating & now mercifully abating. How many wonder as I do that Mother Nature feels violated
Donna D. (@MildlyAmused)
10/30/12 11:46 AM
Before and After photos of Funtown Pier. twitpic.com/b8t60w via @bannerite
NYC ARECS (@nycarecs)
10/30/12 12:23 PM
Stunning photo from last night, which bridge would you take? Neither! #sandy #nyc #dot pic.twitter.com/xrfl455v
Weed Dude (@weeddude)
10/30/12 1:27 PM
Photo: Underground parking garage flooded almost to the ceiling at 20 Jay St in #Brooklyn instagr.am/p/RaiZ7GGMoV/ (@NYCAviation) #Sandy
Yahoo! News (@YahooNews)
10/30/12, 2:35 PM
A New Jersey woman gave birth to a baby boy in a hospital truck during ‘Superstorm’ Sandy: yhoo.it/Rny5TR
TACO BELL (@TacoBell)
10/30/12, 2:49 PM
For those of you impacted by #HurricaneSandy, don’t worry! You will get #FreeDoritosTacos at a later date. bit.ly/TSkiFg
Carmelo Anthony (@carmeloanthony)
10/30/12, 3:06 PM
Hope everyone is staying safe after Hurricane Sandy.
New York Post (@NewYorkPost)
10/30/12, 3:08 PM
Beachfront home of Ronald Lauder was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy LIVEUPDATES nyp.st/Q41B5V
Forbes (@Forbes)
10/30/12, 3:29 PM
With more than 16,000 flights canceled, Hurricane Sandy deals a body blow to air travel. bit.ly/SssNKY
Andrew Cove (@aac)
10/29/12 4:21 PM
Wait, they’re closing the bridges and tunnels? Finally a night worth going out to clubs in NYC!
If you didn’t get the joke written out in the last tweet here, call me. I will explain.
I did not edit the responses. Just copied and pasted the first to tweet. This blog post gives you a good idea of how Twitter works and how the tweets get posted.
The Onion@TheOnion
“I’m a sad, pathetic human being and a complete waste of life.” – Donald Trump http://onion.com/TUnbpl
rob delaney@robdelaney
Ann Coulter, Richard Mourdock & Donald Trump = appetizers. Mitt Romney = main course.
Lizz Winstead@lizzwinstead
BREAKING: Donald Trump replaces bed bugs as Americas #1 Pest
Scabby Crutchfield@curlycomedy
Ann Coulter and Donald Trump sitting in a tree, H-I-S-S-I-N-G.
Not Brian Scalabrine@BScalabrine24
BREAKING: Donald Trump demands to know what medical school Dr. Dre went to
Ann Coultergeist@OhNoSheTwitnt
Ann Coulter, Sarah Palin and Donald Trump are all trending so I can only assume Voldemort is next.
aaron blitzstein@BlitznBeans
This Donald Trump character is Andy Kaufman’s greatest bit ever.
Peyton’s Head@PeytonsHead
Mitt Romney just announced he’ll donate $50MIL to charity if Donald Trump will just shut the f••k up.
Kid Fury@KidFury
I demand that Mitt Romney announce the species of demon he is and that Donald Trump admit that his wig is a hovercraft.
Andy Borowitz@BorowitzReport
Attention parents: if you give your children even the tiniest bit of attention now, maybe they won’t grow up to be Donald Trump.
Drunk Ass Rick @Rickonia
BREAKING NEWS: Donald Trump demands to know what medical school Dr Dre went to
Drunk Ass Rick @Rickonia
BREAKING NEWS: Donald Trump demands Latifah tells what country she’s the queen of
New York Magazine@NYMag
Our expectations about @realDonaldTrump’s Obama announcement were clearly not low enough. http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/10/donald-trump-obama-college-five-million.html?mid=twitter_nymag …
Nancy Lee Grahn@NancyLeeGrahn
Donald Trump is the Honey Boo Boo of rich people #trump
JD Crowe@CroweJam
The Humane Society will give Donald Trump $5 if he releases that thing on his head back into the woods.
Ed Schultz@edshow
NOT BREAKING: Donald Trump releases edited video of himself shouting nonsense at a camera
Zack Beauchamp@zackbeauchamp
Amused that Donald Trump is essentially doing a “philantrophic” version of the Joker’s moral experiments in The Dark Knight.
Expand Collapse
Jon Lovett@jonlovett
“It is not the policy of the United States government to negotiate with Donald Trump.”
KimJongNumberUn@KimJongNumberUn
At noon I will announce that Donald Trump is my real father.
Andy Borowitz@BorowitzReport
I think it’s very thoughtless of Donald Trump to schedule an appearance when so many of us will be eating.
Steven Amiri@StevenAmiri
Donald Trump’s big announcement is that his real name is Tronald Dump.
Josh Hara@yoyoha
BREAKING: Donald Trump to announce how easily a rich idiot can get everyone’s attention at 12 EST.
Charlamagne Tha God@cthagod
Patiently waiting for Donald Trump’s announcement at noon regarding our President so I can prepare my Donkey of the Day for tomorrow.
Dr. Jill Biden@JillBidenVeep
I think Donald Trump’s announcement is going to be that he once killed a man with only his hair.
Josh Hopkins@thedayhascome
Donald Trump plans to announce that his hair has become sentient and is controlling the thinky and movey parts of his body.
Roseanne Barr@TheRealRoseanne
donald trump is rumored to have been born on Planet X.
The Dowager Countess@theLadyGrantham
Donald Trump’s revelation will be that his hair was born in Kenya.
the gangster of oz@holllyyx
Donald Trump is the Kim Kardashian of politics. God forbid it’s not all about him.
The Daily Edge@TheDailyEdge
SOURCES: Donald Trump to reveal Wednesday that Barack Obama has fathered two black children with a Chicago-born woman named “Michelle”
Roger Simon@politicoroger
I don’t want to be too judgmental, but Donald Trump couldn’t be dumber if you cut his head off.
The following appeared in People Magazine’s app for smartphones. I had to cut and paste the copy for you to read.
Jerry Seinfeld’s long-awaited return to stand-up saw him tackle Twitter and Facebook at the same time Mark Zuckerberg’s site was boasting it has 1 billion users. The former NBC star told the Beacon Theater crowd in New York City recently: “Facebook is one of the great trash receptacles of human time. Of course when you are young and dumb you think people are great . . . When you are 50, your first thought is the fewer people you have anything to do with, the better.
“Then there’s lawyers and Mace and cease-and-desist letters.” On the topic of Twitter, the comic espoused, “Why say a lot of things to everybody when I can say absolutely nothing to anybody? . . . Twitter of course was based on a bird, the logo is a bird and the bird was first to tweet. Why should they be the only ones dropping a series of small daily turds on the world — we can do it, too! A turd in 140 characters or less.”
Asked during an audience Q&A about his favorite “Seinfeld” episodes, he admitted, “Like you, I can’t really at this point remember which stories go with which episodes. But . . . I remember when George [Jason Alexander] accidentally poisoned his fiancée, when he hit the golf ball into the blow hole of the whale and the time I got to steal the rye bread from the old lady.”
We’re told Jerry didn’t have an after-party following the show, but instead went home six blocks away to be with his family.
The difference between the senior generation and those in their 20s, 30s and even 40s, is that by the time the Presidential debate was over, the under 50-crowd knew exactly how well each candidate did. I didn’t, because I wasn’t on Twitter. I had to wait for the analysts and news reporters to tell me how the entire debate played out. I had my own ideas but i was clueless what others thought.
Not the Twitter crowd. They were tweeting away within their own Twitter circles making remarks about everything from the color of the candidate’s ties, to their haircuts, body posture, eyeball action, and of course, remarks. President Barack Obama and former Governor Mitt Romney generated 10 million tweets, which made it the most tweeted political event ever. CNET, a tech blog, reported that the issues and the fact-checking as each candidate made his statement, got the most tweets. The two biggies were Obamacare and Medicare. Many gave their disapproval of Jim Lehrer. Some tweets where cheering Jim on to close down the debates until the candidates stuck to the rules.
The wonderful thing about Twitter is that it got the younger crowd very involved in the Presidential race, something that was never a draw before. Twitter allowed them to micro blog, so they could actually report the news. They also gave their opinions as the comments were being made. A lot of educators believe that interaction on Twitter engages and teaches more than sitting idly by in a classroom.
It comes as no surprise that the biggest Twitter star was Big Bird from “Sesame Street.” CNET reports that there were more than a quarter of a million Tweets calling out the Bird after Governor Romney said that he would cut Federal Funding for PBS.
Mashable, another major online tech newsletter, reported that even teens got in on the act through their mobile devices. Some tweeted, but a lot were texting. Yesteryear, most young folks didn’t even know who was running for office. Now half of young adults, 18 to 24, said they have been involved in Presidential discussions. That is good news considering 16.8 million teens become eligible to vote in this election.
Most older folks often question the validity of Twitter. Many of my friends think it is a place where everyone goes to post what they ate for dinner, what movie they saw, and who their favorite rock star is. Au contraire! Twitter continues to be a social media platform where users report information as it develops and voice their opinions on current events
I want to show you what I mean. Crimson Hexagon, a social media research company, recently surveyed Twitter to see what Americans thought of Apple Maps Vs Google. Their results really give you the nitty gritty. Crimson Hexagon grabbed more than 50,000 tweets that mentioned the Maps app, which comes standard on the iPhone 5, over the last six days. Just 10% of those expressed interest, approval or excitement, such as this review from pastor Charlie Campbell: “I was a little nervous about losing Google maps but I must say I like Apple’s maps even better.”
Then Crimson Hexagon dug up 22% of the tweets expressing an outright hatred of the Apple app. But another 30% cracked jokes at the expense of Maps, such as this from entrepreneur Chris Eh Young: “If you ordered an iPhone 5, shipments are being delayed. Apple is forcing the delivery guys to use Apple Maps.”
Click on the Mashable story here written by Chris Taylor to learn more. It is quite fascinating.
DigiDame 