Davis ThinkingMost weekday mornings are fairly predictable: I make a pot of coffee; I walk the dogs with my wife, Eliza; I have a second cup of coffee while Eliza gets ready. This probably sounds familiar, as we all have our routines. But this is not where the predictability in my day ends. I check email on my phone to find a daily handful of mass mail from various research firms and business publications. Many of the articles within these emails (especially those targeted toward marketers) will be on the topic of social media. Perhaps this, too, is a normal part of your morning. If that’s the case, perhaps you have noticed the content of these emails is also a bit predictable.
Twitter has long promised to help new users figure out who they should follow and help avid users filter their overflowing streams of tweets. Its newest feature, Lists, accomplishes both of these things, said Evan Williams, Twitter’s co-founder and chief executive, on Tuesday at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco. Lists are only available for a few thousand Twitter users now as Twitter makes sure everything is working properly. They will be available to everybody around the end of October, Mr. Williams said in a separate interview.
It takes a while for changes to sink in—for the full ramifications of market shifts to impact how we actually do business, what we plan to achieve and how we communicate our intentions. Up to now, what I’ve heard from clients has had mostly to do with money…budgets have tightened and spending decisions have slowed. But now clients are realizing that today’s market is reshaping not just what they spend but what they say. They are starting to look at their brand messages and ask themselves, what do we talk about now?
In general, there are two ways to model human relationships in software. An “asymmetric” model is how Twitter currently works. You can “follow” someone else without them following you back. It’s a one-way relationship that may or may not be mutual. Facebook, on the other hand, has always used a “symmetric” model, where each time you add someone as a friend they have to add you as a friend as well. An asymmetric model allows for more types of relationships. This attention inequality is the foundation of the Twitter service.
There is often an ongoing discussion on Twitter regarding the number of folks you can or should follow. Chris Brogan has a great post on the subject where he discusses Dunbar's Theory, which states you can only really relate and keep up with 150 persons. I think that is a fair thought but I also think Twitter gives you tools to expand that number.
Spanish telecom company signs TV personality with big following online to promote new Internet service.
Selling car insurance isn’t supposed to be a laugh riot, but somehow Geico makes consumers laugh again and again. It’s latest effort ad effort, created by the Martin Agency and starring “Kash," debuted in December. However the character continues gain more and more fans, according to Geico CMO Ted Ward. Ward spoke with Brandweek’s Kenneth Hein about why this stack of money with cookie monster eyes has drawn such a following.
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