New Myspace Preview

Welcome to the new Myspace

Myspace | Myspace Video

Clean New Design

New logo and a fresh design to showcase you and your interests.

Discover and My Stuff tabs at the top of the page.

Read Stream posts like a magazine or watch them like a TV.

Connect with Your Interests

All your faves for free: music, games, TV and more.

Share finds with your friends and like-minded people.

Get recommendations based on your interests.  

Custom Profiles

New artist themes and better design tools.

Earn exclusive badges for your activity.

Sync all your social accounts for simple sharing across networks Read more: http://www.myspace.com/guide/newmyspace#pm_cmp=mce_con_prod_uhpann_non4#ixzz13sT5JnmT

Social Business Solution presentation October 21st

Image via WikipediaXeesm is nearing 100,000 users. That is one of the fastest growth rates from zero to 100,000 in less than a year in the social web.
Enough motivation to pull even harder. Xeesm is turning into a powerful social business application platform and we are about to introduce even more functionality.
Some of the highlights include:
- Closer integration with Facebook
- Xeesm Integration with Salesforce.com
- Reporting on relationship strength - social capital value
- Template builder for Xeesm/Flights!
- And several other enhancements
We'd like to inspire you to get closer to your customers and partners with Xeesm and like to share with you how others use the product to stay ahead.

Please join our social business solution presentation on October 21st

THE FACEBOOK MOVIE

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

THE FACEBOOK MOVIE

View more presentations from Avalok .

Facebook close to surpassing Google in visits

On Wednesday, Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg introduced a new application called Facebook Places that allows users to document places that they have been.  Cool.  It should be a popular feature on the world's most popular social media site.

Pardon, not just social media.  Facebook is poised to becoming the most popular place on the world wide web, period.

For the month of July, Google had 3.161 billion visits.  Check this, Facebook had an astonishing 3.152 billion visits.  eMarketer estimates that the popular social networking site will rake in over $1.3 billion in revenue for 2010, almost double the $665 million it brought in last year.

The site's staggering growth is fueling speculations that Facebook will go public by way of an IPO sometime in 2012.  That's speculation, but the site has institutional investors.  One thing we know about investors, the final objective is harvest.

Bloomberg recently valued Facebook at $24.9 billion, using data from two private exchanges where investors can place positions in venture-backed companies.

The site has become a global phenomenon, and earlier this year, it surpassed the 500 million user mark.  A big chunk of the world's population uses the site as a place to connect.

There are also expectations of $1.8 billion in revenue for 2011, based on estimates of between 600 to 700 million users.

Facebook is not just a popular online site.  It's staggering growth makes it a bona fide powerhouse.  An interesting question is, will Mark Zuckerberg keep user's experience as a friendly and homely one?

Or will pressures to monetize this most valuable of web properties commercialize the site to such an extent, that friendlier, homelier competitors can snatch the initiative?

Facebook Places boosts Foursquare awareness and users

Image via CrunchBase

Long-rumoured as a 'Foursquare-killer', Facebook Places, a geolocation tool for the already wildly successful social networking site, has reported spurred growth in the location market leader, Foursquare.
According to chief executive Dennis Crowley, since the launch of Places, Foursquare saw its "biggest day ever in terms of new signups."
Foursquare is currently the most successful location-based social tool in terms of user numbers and revenues. The service allows users to 'check in' to establishments - including bars and restaurants or local attractions - and reap rewards if offered by the particular business.
Mimicking one of Foursquare's key features, Facebook Places also allows users to check in upon arrival at their favourite hang-out spots. However, that's where the similarities seem to end for the two competing applications.
Both available as mobile handset applications, which make use of a phone's built-in GPS chip, Places does not currently have a rewards system in place with local businesses. With Foursquare, top visitors can become 'mayors' of select locations, where often the business in question will reward them with free or discount goods.
At present, the Big Blue F's new venture only functions as a tool to let other friends within a social network know where to find you, and this could prompt users to investigate Foursquare, which features more comprehensive technologies.
In addition, whereas Places has only infiltrated specific markets of the United States, as Facebook tries to configure how much capacity will be taken up by user information related to the service, Foursquare is available in locations worldwide.
However, as the Places feature matures, the webbing world could be faced with yet another David v Goliath battle, as the half-billion users of Facebook, or even its 150 million mobile users, dwarf the circa 3 million subscribers to the Foursquare service.

20 August 2010 | Author: J. Morton Search Copywriter

Social networks on the rise among US web users

Image by Rusty Boxcars via Flickr

Social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube account for nearly a quarter of the time Americans spend online, or six hours per month, according to new research from Nielsen.
The media research organisation also found that US web users spend 36 per cent of their online time visiting or communicating across social networks and blogs as well as emailing and instant messaging their contacts.
Perhaps more surprising is the news that the nations' social networking audience is getting older - with Nielsen reporting that twice as many Americans aged 50 or over visit social sites compared to users under 18.
"Despite the almost unlimited nature of what you can do on the Web, nearly half of U.S. online time is spent on three activities - social networking, playing games and e-mailing," explained Dave Martin, vice president of primary research at Nielsen.
Mr Martin added that "friends and family are endorsing content to others," explaining the rise in popularity among social network-hosted games such as Zynga's FarmVille.
USA Today reports that online games overtook personal email in June as the second most popular online activity, accounting for 10 per cent of user time compared to just eight per cent for email. Email was still found to be the dominant activity of mobile web use, however, rising from 37 per cent to 42 per cent in June.
Other findings disclosed by Nielsen include the statistic that American web users streamed an average of three hours and 15 minutes of online video content in June. The Pew Internet & American Life Project also recently reported that newer members signing up to social networks tend to be older, more racially diverse and from more divergent social backgrounds than members who signed up previously, as social networking becomes a universal phenomenon.

Author: D. Warburton Search Copywriter

Twitter launches Promoted Trends with Toy Story 3

Image via CrunchBase

Twitter has launched its first promoted trending topic, as bosses of the microblogging site explore further options to turn the social network's success into a profitable revenue source.
The first topic to receive the Promoted Trend treatment is Disney-Pixar's new animated film Toy Story 3, released in cinemas this weekend. By clicking the yellow promoted link, users of the site will be taken to the latest tweets about the film, headed by a Promoted Tweet published by the advertiser at the top of the results.
According to Computerworld, Promoted Trends are highlighted on user pages as a supplementary addition below the top 10 current trends. Twitter has confirmed that topics can only become promoted if they are already being actively discussed in the Twitter community.
Twitter explained: "Promoted Trends are a new advertising concept we began testing this week; they are an extension of our Promoted Tweets platform.
"With Promoted Trends, users will see time-, context- and event-sensitive trends promoted by our advertising partners. These Promoted Trends initially appear at the bottom of the Trending Topics list on Twitter and are clearly marked 'Promoted.' As conversations about the topic increase, Promoted Trends may move up the list."
The first Promoted Trends were launched on Thursday, and Twitter will base the future of the advertising model on its success. Analysts are praising Twitter for developing a business model that will not impact on the all-important user experience, by making Promoted Trends minimally invasive.
"People will tolerate advertising as long as it lets them do what they want to do," explained Ezra Gottheil, analyst at Technology Business Research.
"As with Google, users know someone has to pay. Users prefer it to be painless. Advertising that doesn't get in the way is generally welcomed."

How to Remove Spammers from Your Facebook Page

Image by Lloyd Davis via Flickr

The only thing certain in life is death, taxes and spam.
If you are the owner of a Facebook Page and have allowed your Fans to post comments, photos, videos and links on your wall.. you can be guaranteed that sooner or later spam will start appearing.
Sometimes fans see this as a way to promote their own business by regularly posting links back to their own sites.
To me, too much of this unwanted and uninvited activity is spamming.
It is super easy to ban this person from your Facebook Page and remove all the content they have posted.
Here’s how..

Fan Permissions

Firstly you want to check what sort of permission you have allowed your fans in regard to posting content on your wall.
Login to your Facebook Page then click on Edit Page,


Under Wall Settings click on Edit,

The Fan Permissions will tell you the posting ability your Fans have,

You could just disable this option and prevent your Fans from posting content on your wall, but that would defeat the purpose of having a fan page!
The downside of having this enabled is the spam you will receive.

Removing Spam

Head back to your Facebook Page and click on Just Others,

All the content that has been posted on your Wall by your fans will now be displayed.
Once you have identified someone who is spamming your wall, click on Report,


Next select a Reason from the drop-down menu, check the Banning option.. then click on <Submit>

Then click <OK>,

The spammer has been blocked and all their content has been removed from your Page.
Simple.

Finally..

If you liked this post please register to receive The Social Media Guide’s free newsletter that’s packed with tips, guides and more!

By Matthew Tommasi on May 4, 2010 at 8:41 pm

Social Media Marketing Strategy: Facebook or Twitter?

Image via CrunchBase

Most social media marketing strategies these days usually involve either the use of Facebook or Twitter, however it is currently unclear as to which site is more effective, a recent article looks into the benefits and drawbacks associated with both sites, we will highlight some of the main points raised in this post.

Just before posting the results of the recent investigation we will talk about how the information was found, Jazzou’s article used user feedback, trend monitoring, dummy Facebook accounts, dummy Twitter accounts and 3rd party platforms to get a fair analysis of both social media marketing solutions.

In terms of traffic and user metrics Facebook came out on top, this is mainly due to the sheer traffic which Facebook received (which is now more visited in the U.S. than Google).

In terms of viral marketing benefits Twitter was said to have the advantage, one partial aid to this is Google’s ‘Real Time’ search feature as it features keyword phrase search which can display tweets.

It was no real surprise to hear that Facebook came out on top in terms of ‘effective website traffic’, ‘Social Media interactivity’, ‘direct Internet communication’ and ‘Business to Consumer Marketing’, however Twitter was deemed to be better for market research and business to business marketing.

To conclude both Facebook and Twitter have their advantages for different circumstances and different businesses, if you want to have a closer relationship with your customers Facebook seems to have the edge, however for large corporate business it seems as if Twitter possibly has the edge, for fully detailed information check out the link at the end of this post.

How to use tweetscript

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Tweetscript is a simple yet powerful way to build smart tweets. A smart tweet is dynamic. It allows you to construct simple or complex rules to create database-driven tweets.
Whenever one of these dynamic tweet is tweeted, it will use the rules you specify with tweetscript to build your message: this will result in new, unique tweets each and every time you reuse the same message.
Every tweetscript command should be enclosed in [brackets].
When we detect that one of your tweets uses tweetscript, we include a little "test" icon that lets you experiment and see an example of the resulting tweet without actually tweeting it!
This feature helps you build re-usable tweets that let you customize and personalize common tweeting tasks. We will be adding more rules-based syntax soon. Please note, we are firmly against Twitter spam, and we ask that you read and conform to our Rules of the Road, as well as Twitter's Terms of Service.
Do not use our system to send duplicate tweets (or tweets that closely resemble one another). As we adhere to Twitter's Terms of Service, we require that all tweets sent through our system are substantively different. This means: do not use Tweet Spinner to send duplicate tweets. Fortunately, tweetscript offers you the ability to customize and personalize rules-based tweets. However, do not use our language to "sneak past" the duplicate tweets limitation by changing one or two words for each tweet. Please ensure that your tweets are timely, topical, spam-free, substantively different from one another, and enhance the Twitter experience for readers (rather than contributing to tweet "pollution").

Quick start

What follows is a very simple example of how to use tweetscript to make a tweet dynamic. Please scroll to the bottom to see a complete list of all current syntax that you can use.
here:

What is Klikot?

Image via Wikipedia

Klikot is the future of social networking, a social network that pays its users for their contribution.

• 
  

  Real Money

  By creating content and inviting friends, you receive real money as a valued recognition of your contribution to the network.
• 
  

  Community

  In Klikot you may choose to donate your earnings to charities and support the causes you believe in.
• 
  

  Privacy

  Do you want to control who can see your pictures, read your info, or send you messages? In Klikot you can.
  
  I Invite You: to join to Klikot

About TweetsBot

Image by Laughing Squid via Flickr

Twitter Marketing Software is made for people who are serious about making money on twitter
ezzel kapcsolatos: (48) Twitter / Home (megtekintés a Google Széljegyzeten)

Aszir’s blog on Friendster

Image by kaposlogisztika via Flickr

Aszir’s blog on Friendster » Blog Archive » What attracts people to yourself? http://ow.ly/17iCa

What is twittereye.com?

Twittereye.com is a large and growing directory of resources for users of twitter. It currently contains descriptions and links to hundreds of twitter related applications, web services, sites and blogs. These will be continously added to and updated.

The mission of twittereye.com is to become the largest collection of twitter related resources on the web, making it an invaluable site for twitter users.

Twittereye.com is searchable and displays descriptions of Twitter resources while allowing site visitors to rate these and comment on them.

There is also an active blog which will focus on providing help, advice and assistance on using twitter and the resources included in the twittereye.com directory.

Image via Wikipedia

Gabor Keller (kaposlogisztika on Twitter) was nominated for a Shorty Award http://ow.ly/14OEy

Image by Mikey G Ottawa via Flickr

kaposlogisztika - Social Mention search http://ow.ly/13Gut

Size Really Does Matter - At Least When it Comes to Twitter

Image by luc legay via Flickr

Back in the days when newsletters first hit the Internet, they were usually published in text format because many email clients did not support HTML email just yet. One of the problems many publishers faced was long URL's being split in half and not being clickable to the reader. To solve this problem, shortening services started to spring up that would take a long URL and cut it down to a reasonable size.
With the popularity of Twitter and the confines of 140 characters, URL (link) shortening services are in high demand once again. When you have such a small amount of space to work with, no one wants a long URL cutting into that precious real estate.
There are a variety of shortening services to choose from, each having their own specific features and benefits. Most of them do work hand in hand with Twitter, allowing you to Tweet the link once it's been shortened. If you're an avid Twitter user this is a useful feature to have.
Some only provide a basic shortening service, but many allow you to view stats and metrics on your newly shortened links if you register. If you're doing any form of social media marketing, it's nice to be able to see if anyone's actually clicking on all the links you're sending out to the "Twitosphere", or posting on Facebook and other sites. Tracking will give you an indication that you're being heard and that people are actually paying attention to what you have to say.
Another important thing to look for is whether or not the shortening service uses 301 redirects. This is the most search engine friendly, and forces the search engine to look at the destination URL, not the domain of the shortening service itself. A 301 stands for a permanent move, not temporary. What this means is, you want the links you're sending out to be given acknowledgment by the search engines, not the shortening service itself. Make sense?
Many allow custom URL's, which allows you to use your name or company name in the links you create. This is great for branding purposes. Think of it as a vanity license plate. Instead of being just a regular URL it's your special creation.
Let's review a few options:
1) http://TweetBurner.com - A bare bones tracking service which allows you to shorten any link and then share it instantly with your Twitter followers or Friendfeed. Basic stat tracking is available so you can see how many people clicked on your link.

2) http://Cli.gs - A shortening service which includes full analytics. You can create links that include your brand in them. Free to use. It's easy to send your links to Twitter with one click.

3) http://Bit.ly - This is Twitter's default shortening service and used by Tweetdeck.com. It allows you to track performance of your links in real time. Easy to share generated links on Twitter, Facebook, even Gmail. It also offers many extra tools and plug-ins such as a browser bookmarklet and browser sidebar.
4) http://MyTwitterToolbar.com - Free to download and comes complete with a massive list of URL shorteners as well as over 50 Twitter tools. Also includes 100 Twitter tips.

5) http://www.TwitClicks.com - A fairly simple service that allows you to shorten a URL immediately and tweet it. Can also see complete stats. Detailed stats show percentage of browsers used and locations of those who clicked. Check out a short video on how to use it at www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1ScPeCd6X4.

6) http://www.ExpandMyUrl.com - This service takes a shortened link and gives you the true URL that it points to. Perfect for the paranoid individual who wants to know where the shortened link will send them.

7) http://www.TwitPwr.com - A short URL service which also includes analytics and stats. Their home page shows the top 25 users with the most TwitPwr and also a "hot URL" list of those URL's that get the most clicks. Free to use.

8) http://1link.in - A multiple link shortening service. Simply type in a list of links and get one link back for all. If you click on the newly shortened link it goes to a page showing details of what sites that link points to, and asks if you want to open them all. If you answer yes, multiple windows will open for each site.

9) http://Go2.me - A different type of link shortening and discussion service which creates shorter links which also contain a chat window to exchange comments with your readers. It's also easy to share on Twitter, Facebook or email with one click.
10) http://Tw.itter.me - You can customize the shortened link with your name or company name. From what I saw no stats are available.

11) http://budurl.com - Another popular service which shows you a real time view of your inbound clicks. This free service allows you to track up to 250 Budurl's. They provide 3 pay levels of service from $4.00 a month to $49.00 a month. There is a 21 day free tríal on any paid service. You can start out free and upgrade your account at any time.

12) http://Tr.Im - Trim those long URL's and instantly share them on Twitter. If you want stats, you'll need to register. Offers many different tools and extensions to make for easier sharing, such as a Firefox extension that allows you to view your tr.im stats and tweet your new links quickly.

13) http://short.ie - Keeps all your shortened links in one place. Tracks clicks and allows you to instantly share your list with friends. It can also be connected to your Twitter account for more features. Customization of URL's also available.

14) http://hootsuite.com - Not really a URL shortening service, but has the ability built-in. Hootsuite is a "Twitter Toolbox" loaded with features which are all free. They use ow.ly as their built in link shortener.

If you haven't tried a url shortening service, you'll want to find one that fits your needs and start to really utilize it in your marketing activities. Finding out who's clicking on your links, time of day, where they're from and other information will be very valuable in your ongoing efforts as an Internet Marketer.
Remember, when it comes to social media marketing T.M.I (too much information) is a good thing, unlike when your Aunt Ethel wants you to sit with her and go over every detail of her latest vacatíon [grin]. One is helpful, the other just downright painful.
By Merle (c) 2009 MerlesWorld.com

Marketing in the New Technological Eco-System

Image by Josh Russell via Flickr

There is a whole technological Ecosystem developing before our eyes, that we can either ignore; adapt to slowly at our own pace (recommended!); or race to embrace. These new methods of network marketing provide us with everything from enhanced lead generation, to high level CRM (Customer Relationship Management). Knowing that many industries are slow to move in the technological arena, I am confident that this "Snapshot" will be eye-opening to many of you!
Our Top 5 Sites for Social Networking and Micro-Blogging
These are not just communication devices to chat from, they generate leads and help close sales by increasing exposure and developing relationships. Another purpose they serve is to improve your organic ranking, as search engines are now sending traffic to your site based on these social networking "traffic sources". Here are just a few to consider...
1. LinkedIn - Use LinkedIn for business referrals and leads. A great way to introduce men to your business. This business-oriented site is used for professional networking and has a primary demographic of males averaging 41 years of age. Your developed "connections" are people you know and trust in the business. Your connections, connections & their connections (called second degree and third degree connections) allow you to be introduced to possible business opportunities. You can join relevant alumni, industry, or professional groups of your choice.
2. Twitter - Use Twitter to notify your clients of latest business developments; promotions and business initiatives. Demographic of 35-49 is biggest. This "follow-me" site allows you to put in up to 140 characters which are displayed on your profile page and delivered to those who have subscribed to, or are following you. You can restrict or allow open access to your "tweets". It's free unless you use SMS (short message service). 6 million unique visitors monthly. Currently the fastest growing site in the Member Communities category for 2009. Although discovered by the media, still under 7% of the population uses it, but growth over last year was a whopping 1,382% .
3. BizNik - Use BizNik to establish yourself as an expert in your industry through articles and content. BizNik is for people building real businesses. It's a good place to go to share conversation about your business and entrepreneurial endeavours. The site is based on relationships, not referrals. You can teach a seminar; post on the boards; download your articles; host an online event; attend an online event, etc.
4. Facebook - Use Facebook to "tap into the fountain of youth". Join in by city; workplace; school, etc. You can choose your friends and use privacy settings which allow you to control what type of information is automatically shared. The most popular application is the ability to upload unlímited photos. You can now also send "gifts" for $1.00 with a personalized message to your friends; and post free classified ads to those in your network. 228% growth year over year, with the fastest growing demographic being those 25 years and older.
5. MySpace - Use MySpace to recruit, educate, introduce and boost awareness of your business and industry as a whole. One of the fastest growing websites of all time, with the primary user being 18 years of age and older. This interactive network is a user-submitted site of friends, groups, videos, musicians, photos, blogs, etc. You can use "bulletins" to deliver your message; designated groups can share a common page and message board; full service classified listings are available; you can upload recordings, and much more.
More options... bebo.com; care2.com; classmates.com; del.icio.us; digg.com; flickr.com; friendster.com; meetup.com; orkut.com; ryze.com; stumbleupon.com; yahoo!360; xanga.com; to over 100! And once you have made those decisions, consider these next two systems that are here and should be "coming down your pipes" SOON...
Mobile Marketing
This is the ability to reach consumers on their mobile devices, "where they are", with incentive advertising and email campaigns. Still in its early stages, perfecting mobile-friendly formats and savvy ways to deliver your message to this captive audience will require a unique approach and your research. Studies show that ad agencies big and small are all rushing to develop mobile-based promotional tools - it's going to be huge and it's coming fast. It's time for you to catch up with exploding consumer online demands. Still only 19% of mobile users have used mobile marketing, but critics say that it increases consumer awareness by up to 24% and increases intent to purchase by almost 5% - that's good... Start capturing new data, preferences and interest levels from clients now! Some stats: 3.3 billion people worldwide have mobile phones. Over 200 million operate phones with text messaging capabilities in North America. Over 174 million have phones capable of browsing the web in North America Check out: www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/lib/1718.pdf
The Virtual Office
Your office must be wherever you are - you can conduct business from almost anywhere today. If you're on the move, you'll need a cell phone/smart phone/personal digital assistant with wireless web. While on the go, use instant messaging and social networking sites to alert, modify, and monitor staff and client wants and needs, on the spot. Your virtual office might consist of some, or all of these:

• Videoconferencing and/or teleconferencing combined with presentation software that will allow you to communicate with several people in real time, worldwide;
• Live streaming video enables the user to view in real time, anything from a demonstration of services, to an onsite, hands-on educational program;
• Web-hosted scheduling and booking tools will allow you to manage appointments online;
• Blogs, eNews and Forums are important informational tools to help endorse your brand;
• Web conferencing (webinars) make it simple to hold live interactive seminars with anyone at any time;
• Podcasts are great marketing tools as well as a great educational means for teaching and training staff and your target markets;
• Online video has climbed 340% in recent years, as a means to introduce; learn; and sell from;
• Online sales (shop with us) are fast becoming necessary as a passive, supplementary revenue stream in the business environment.

If necessary, consider hiring a Virtual Assistant/Cyber Assistant (VA/CA - just Google) and get help with new ways on getting things done in a cyber-environment. Enjoy!

By author: Leslie Lyon

Twitter Tightens Security, But Is It Enough?

Image by Laughing Squid via Flickr

Twitter began an effort this week in hopes of preventing the spread of malicious links through its service. Sharing links is one of the most popular uses of Twitter, but it is also dangerous since spammer and hacker activity has recently been high on the site. As a result, users are led to inappropriate websites and in some cases, are forced to deal with malware attacks on their computer.

Twitter uses Google’s Safe Browsing API as it checks for fraudulent links. When a user posts a malicious link, Twitter deletes the tweet and returns a message reading: “Oops! Your tweet contained a URL to a known malware site!”

At this point, the filter does not block malicious links that are put in url shorteners. However, some shorteners such as Bit.ly use their own spam filtering systems.

While security experts are pleased that Twitter is making an effort to improve its security, they also believe there is more work to be done. Nishant Jadhav, the Director of Product Management and Business Development at FaceTime, told WebProNews that Twitter’s tightened security could be a result of the U.S. Marine Corps’ move to ban social networking sites. He went on to say that the next step for Twitter and other social networking sites could be content-based filters.

More WebProNews Videos

Is Twitter doing enough to protect against malware? What other measures could they be taking?

Twitter Marketing Explored

Twitter is growing by leaps and bounds as people begin to appreciate its clean and easy-to-use interface. Twitter, at this point, does not look like one of the many flash-in-the-pan Internet applications that we have seen in times’ past.

Twitter’s 140 character micro-blogging platform has gained a lot of traction, as individuals and business people have learned to bring together their friends, family and customers under a communications platform that all users find useful.

Mom and dad find it easier to keep up with the lives of their grown children through Twitter. The fact that Twitter allows people to link to other web pages makes Twitter a simple platform to share thoughts, ideas, and links to stories and pictures. Grandma and granddad find it easy to check in on the kids’ Twitter account and to maintain daily contact with those across town and around the world.

Friends can make plans and share common interests through the Twitter world. One can reply to a message publicly, or if the message is a bit more private, one can send a Direct Message (known as a DM) to anyone who has agreed to follow you also. Through the DM system, lovers can share flirts that no one else can see, but the persons intended to receive the message.

If you let your kids use Twitter, it may be best to set up their Twitter Account Settings to “Protect The Tweets”. In the description of this feature, Twitter says, “Only let people whom I approve follow my tweets. If this is checked, you WILL NOT be on the public timeline.”

The Public Timeline is the messages/tweets that everyone can see. Anything not on the Public Timeline is private, with restricted access.

Business People Are Working To Tap Into Twitter Marketplace

Twitter was born in March of 2006. But most of us never really heard of it or even understood it, until this last year (2008-2009). A few of the Internet gurus started talking about Twitter in 2008, and as 2009 got underway, more online marketers started talking about the Twitter community on a nearly daily basis.

We have accounts in Twitter that are a couple of years old, but we never got involved with Twitter really until about April of 2009. In April of 2009, we had 12 Twitter Followers.

In May 2009, there was not a single online business in the Top 100 of Twitter, but those numbers are starting to change. Through May of 2009, the Top 100 accounts on Twitter were dominated by TV and Movie celebrities, a few media companies such as @cnnbrk, politicians and sports figures.

Most online marketers had never given Twitter much thought until “The Great Ashton Kutcher vs CNN Twitter Race” that ended on April 17, 2009 with Ashton (@aplusk) getting the privilege to declare victory. (http://bit.ly/8Nx55) Even now, three months after the end of the race, Ashton is still the champion – #1 in the Twitter Follower counts with 2,975,032 Followers. Ashton is followed by @TheEllenShow – 2,610,357; @britneyspears – 2,553,668; @cnnbrk – 2,431,783; and @twitter – 1,930,821.

When the Great Twitter Race was concluded, I did a backlink check on Ashton’s @aplusk account. Literally, Ashton had bought a ton of advertising on websites, blogs, forums, etc. Ashton was also getting tons of free press in print and online in the Great Twitter Race.

Of course, we marketers should not feel bad if we are getting on this bandwagon a little late in the game, because @google has only had their account since Jan 09. Google is currently the 23rd biggest Twitter account with 1,244,976 Followers.

A surprise for me was seeing @WholeFoods, an Austin Texas based grocery store, sitting at #38 with 1,094,093 Followers. According to TwitterCounter (http://twittercounter.com/WholeFoods/all), Whole Foods had only 322,820 Followers on April 4, 2009. A quick look at the Whole Foods profile (http://twitter.com/WholeFoods) indicates that they are using the account to share with their customers: company news, customer support, and available specials.

An honorable mention goes to @kevinrose, celebrity and founder of http://Digg.com. Kevin Rose is the 40th most popular person on Twitter, with 1,092,920 Followers.

Once you get into the Top 100 List below #40, you finally start to see a few online businesses in the mix. @zappos CEO is #45. @woot is #46. @TechCrunch is a web media site at #55. @dooce is at #60. To see the full Top 100 List, go here: http://twittercounter.com/pages/100

Who Is In Your Target Market and What Do They Want To Know?

As you look around at those people who are successful building their own little communities on Twitter, you will notice that each one gives people what their Followers want.

For example, @cussy is an online marketer, and he has nearly 10,000 Followers. His secret to growth: quotes. He gives his followers some of the best quotes about business and reaching goals of anyone on Twitter. I follow him and Retweet him often.

@dave_carpenter advertises himself as a Success Partner For High Achievers. Dave shares quotes and tips, and he retweets others who give good advice also. More importantly, Dave encourages the people he follows. He has nearly 9,000 Followers at this time.

@MattLevenhagen is a professional marketer. His 13,000 Followers follow because he runs a mix of marketing tips, links to great articles, and retweets for great advice. He even uses his Twitter account to give his customer’s support.

@SocialMedia411 is a Social Media expert who offers social media tips, links to social media articles and news. With more than 56,000 Followers, you can bet that the advice given here is worthwhile to its audience.

When you learn to talk to the people most likely to buy from you, you have completed the first and most important step to enable you to develop strong Twitter Marketing habits.

Learn How Others Are Successful With Twitter

As always, when you want to learn to be successful, you should look to those who are already successful and try to reverse-engineer the steps that they used to become successful. Once you have taken the time to study many who have been successful in the way that you want to be successful, you may note that success comes from giving people what they want and doing it in such a way that you offer good value to your customers.

Those who have been successful with Twitter have done so, because they put the needs of their Followers ahead of a personal desire to be boring or silly.

The good news is that other business people have started to find success on Twitter and you can too. When you learn to provide the people in your target market with the information that they need and want, you will have started down the path to building a Twitter Follower list to envy.

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Trey Pennewell works for http://www.thePhantomWriters.com/ article marketing service. If you write articles and need to distribute your articles to higher value audiences, you owe it to yourself to try The Phantom Writers’ services. If you want to learn more about how to develop a large list of Twitter Followers, buy the ebook (under $10) at: http://twitusers.com/autopilot/index.php Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/contentmanager

This article courtesy of SiteProNews.com