While researching the new updates to Twitter’s third party app authorization process, something interesting caught my eye in the Google search results for “twitter”… Twitter itself came up as number one return, but Lance Armstrong’s Twitter account came up as number two- above the wikipedia entry for twitter, news, the twitter search engine, Twitter’s facebook page, reviews, and videos. Continue reading Lance Armstrong, Twitter, and Google – Why Link Building and SEO Works

Today I got this email from Twitter, alerting me to changes in their third party app authorization rules and URL shortening. I have included it here in full… Continue reading Twitter Apps and You – New Authorization Process

According to popular social media blog/news site Mashable (who have gained exclusive information), Twitter will soon be rolling out an official TWEET button for websites.

Now, you may be thinking to yourself, “but all those websites and blogs already HAVE magical retweet buttons conveniently placed next to articles to make sharing with my friends an easy and encouraged process” — to which I would say, “why yes, you are correct! …And I hope you retweet all of ours!” (…Go on, do it… you know you want to…)

What Twitter appears to be offering is a single source button with one line of code that counts ALL instances of retweets and shares across its vast network or users. Yeah. Pretty awesome. Continue reading Twitter launches new official TWEET button

I logged into my personal Twitter account on friday and was surprised to see a new “feature” in my top right info box.

Twitter was making suggestions on who I should follow (rather than suggesting related Twitter links, applications and definitions like it had done in this space before.) Continue reading Twitter: Who To Follow Suggestions

Today I came across the latest third-party attempt to monetize Twitter for advertisers. Innovative Thunder marketers Christian Behrendt and Leif Abraham have set up what appears to be a very consumer friendly way of utilizing your sphere of influence on social networks to snag free stuff. You just have to spam your friends.

But is it spam when you talk about how much you like that new pair of “insert brand name here” shoes or how much butt your smart phone kicks? People like to share what they are interested in and research continues to show that people trust the opinions of their peers more than traditional advertising. Continue reading Twitter: “Pay With a Tweet”

In a move that means convenience for Twitter users now and another potential monetizable feature later, Twitter has unveiled a tweak to the site’s general search function. Now if you enter a name into the search box on the right hand side panel, 3 users who may may match who you’re searching for appear above the regular search results.

When I did a search for basketball phenom “Lebron James” the new hero of Miami and villain of Cleveland, it returns a link to his personal site @KingJames (which is verified), a fake/funny site @LeBronsElbow, and a very stupid fake site @LeBronJamesdunk (which according to Twitter’s Terms of Service, needs to state somewhere in its description that it is NOT the real LeBron). Below the “featured” users, you see the customary real-time results for occurrences of your search term (in this case “Lebron James”) across twitter – with your term bolded.  Continue reading Twitter’s New Name Search Feature

Disney is really into Twitter. Or so one would think based on their embracing of Twitter’s latest attempts at making money. They jumped on the Promoted Tweets opportunity with the Toy Story release and are now following that as the premier launch deal of @EarlyBird which grants followers special deals and discounts. Continue reading Twitter’s Earlybird Tries to Monetize Tweets While Providing Value to Users

Social Media Series with Emily Paterson: Twitter 101
In this 3-part series, Emily Paterson presents Social Media for Businesses, beginning with an Introduction to Web 2.0, then a quick look at Blogging 101, and finishing with an overview of Twitter 101.

While BP battles the ever increasingly disastrous oil spill in the Gulf, their PR department is trying to conduct a brand cleanup through traditional and online media. You may have seen the TV ads featuring Darryl Willis, the VP of Resources at BP America, featuring him as a Louisiana-born “volunteer” eager to help citizens file their claims. (Apparently  CEO Tony Hayward wasn’t quite cutting it, and so a new “face” for the company was chosen.) But BP is also embracing new media methods such as Search Engine Marketing and Twitter. In this article, we take a look at how BP and its detractors are using Twitter to connect with the world. Continue reading BP, the oil spill, and Twitter

Forgive me if you’ve already run across “Promoted” Tweets in your Twitter stream as they did launch in April of this year. Perhaps I don’t follow or search for enough major brands, but regardless, I’m seeing them now- largely in part because they are now testing out “Promoted Trends”. And sadly (or luckily?) its to promote something I love. The Toy Story franchise. (You may remember me talking about Toy Story and Twitter about a year ago and how Director Lee Unkrich was using Twitter to troubleshoot screenings of Toy Story 1&2 in 3D for followers.) Continue reading Twitter: Promoted Tweets and Trends… They’re Heeeerrreee