Twitter posts

Pinterest is starting to enter into the social media in ways that most sites only dream about. Other than Google+, it’s the fastest growing social site in the last year with 329% growth in the last 4 months of 2011 alone. We get more questions on our social media podcast about Pinterest the last month than we get about Facebook. Why is the spotlight shining so brightly on this relative-newcomer to the social world? The answer is pretty simple. With a base target audience of 25-45 year-old women, the site is a mecca for things like fashion, recipes, and male pectorals. This exposure has gotten the attention…

Has Western culture grown too attached to their social networks? It’s possible, according to a recent study led by Wilhelm Hofmann at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. While the nuts and bolts of the study were far from a compelling, comprehensive bit of scientific research (205 adults were put into a heavily-weighted situation and were told to describe their “conflicts” via text) it is apparent just looking at how we go about our lives on a daily basis that many of us are indeed addicted. This video by SourceFed gives us the details of the study. …

In a great economy, it’s hard to start a retail company and get attention in industries where the major players have already hit the field. Things are rebounding around the country to some extent but it’s definitely not what most would consider to be “great.” That isn’t stopping one Southern California shoe company from making a splash by using the most important ally for growing businesses: social media. There are many huge companies in the women’s footwear industry that make it challenging for new companies to break through. A decade ago, success stories in this industry were few and far between….

As much as it deserves a tirade about professional recruiting, brand positioning, and using human relations as a public relations tool, the video that Twitter released recently as a recruitment tool will do one thing very well. It will work. Forget the fact that it was intentionally, professionally done unprofessionally. Forget the cheesy attempts at satirical humor that may or may not elicit a chuckle depending on the disposition of the viewer. Forget the clear buy-in by CEO Dick Costolo. Instead, let’s consider that it will be the second most-watched video Twitter has put out in nearly a year…

Twitter is used by different people for different things. It’s a communication tool for some, a news aggregator for others, and a way to spread a message for individuals and groups around the world. From the perspective of the US government, it can be a beacon of freedom as well as a source of international intelligence, which is why it makes no sense that Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman is leading the charge to have Twitter block propaganda being spread by Islamic extremists. The Senator cites a portion of the Twitter terms of service that states, “You may use the Services…

In the past, the best way to review the year was to look back through newspaper headlines and pick out the stories that were thought to be the biggest. It wasn’t an exact science and required intuition and subjective reasoning to decide what was most important to the people that year. Today, social media gives us a relatively-accurate indicator about what the general population finds interesting enough to discuss. 2011 was loaded with major events from falling regimes to natural catastrophes. Celebrities made foolish mistakes. Politicians tanked their careers. Tech companies rose. Tech…

Stunning. Intuitive. Brilliant. Worthless? The first three words in the series can clearly be used to describe the CNN #COP17 Ecosphere Project, a real-time visualization of the climate change discuss that led up to the UN Climate Change Conference 2011 being held now in Durban, South Africa. The fourth word in the series is up for debate. CNN is putting much emphasis on coverage of the conference both through their television presence as well as on the web. They have a show dedicated to the event that ran frequently in November and will continue until the end of the year. The Ecosphere project is…

The precedent has been set and it’s a very bad one. A US judge ruled that Twitter must release all of the details of Birgitta Jonsdottir’s account, as well as two others. Their links to WikiLeaks has put them under the scrutiny of the Justice Department after last year’s video of US helicopters shooting two Reuters reporters in Iraq. Speculation is that Jonsdottir is not the target but rather a piece of the case they’re currently building against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. “This is a huge blow for everybody that uses social media,” said Jonsdottir. “We have to have the same civil rights online…

One aspect of social media that is widely understood but rarely discussed is the ego-boost through empowerment that it allows. In most cases, the “empowerment” is perceived more highly than the reality, but it’s present for many of those who have never had a public voice but who now can use social media to reach people. Klout changed its algorithm earlier this week and there was (apparently) an outcry. I checked mine when I heard about it. I wasn’t sure whether it went up or down (I hadn’t checked it in months) but it has never been important enough to follow. For others, it really struck a cord. People…

They made the mistake in the beginning by not slapping a Trademark on the word that has become synonymous with the posting on their site. Now, Twitter will finally have the rights to the word, “Tweet”. James Eliason, CEO of Twittad, announced in an interview that he would transfer the registered trademark of “Tweet” over to Twitter in exchange for them dropping the lawsuit they filed against his company in September. “We’ve arrived at a resolution with Twittad that recognizes consistent use of Tweet while supporting the continued success of Twitter ecosystem partners like Twittad,”…