Blog of Mr. Tweet

Credit: @andruedwards

Well, they’re everywhere else. From TVs to PDAs, and MP3 players, why wouldn’t these social networking apps come to your gaming systems too? After all, there’s a lot of social networking that goes on within the online community of Microsoft’s Xbox gaming platform. So much so that Microsoft has become the first gaming platform to integrate Twitter and Facebook with the Xbox. The announcement was made today at the Xbox E3 press conference. What’s E3?

Attendees will see the latest progress on long-in-the-works titles, get a chance to get hands-on play with titles shipping this fall, and witness the unveiling of dozens of completely new games.

See why it’s a huge deal? No? Maybe the screenshot below will help:

Click for more tweets!

As you can see, this move by Microsoft is being retweeted posivitely throughout the Twitter community.

We’d love to hear your thoughts:

• How do YOU feel this will impact the future of social media with the integration of such platforms in gaming systems?
• Will other platforms such as Sony Playstation and Nintendo Wii follow suit?
• Could this lead to a new round of Twitter applications for gaming systems?
• Will this have a negative or any impact at all?

Share your thoughts in the comments!

Have you checked your inbox lately for email subscription updates from the services you’re using? If you have, then you’ve seen plenty announcing support for Twitter comments and/or replies. From Disqus’ Social Media Reactions and Twitter Sign-In,  to 12seconds.tv’s recent integration of @replies and DM’s in your real-time feed, services are aggregating as much of Twitter as they possibly can into the dashboards of your social profiles. Why are they doing this? How does this benefit you?

Keeping You Up-To-Date

Real-time. It’s the hot new trend these days. You can admit it; you’re addicted to getting real-time updates. Twitter replies and comments are important updates to. They’re signals that someone has said something to you or about you. If that’s not the first thing you’re tracking, you need to go back and reprioritize. Developers understand that making sure you get the information you need as quickly as possible regardless of where you are ranks high on your list of must-have features. Plus, it’s a huge time-saver.

Spread Your Brand

While it may seem like more fragmentation, this information helps spread the word about your brand into new communities. They carry a lot of weight since Twitter can be a personal tool and ranks pretty high for getting opinions on brands. You can think of doing all of this as your own digital version of word-of-mouth marketing. It’s easy to integrate and can be setup in no time.

Giving Thanks To Your Community

As the web moves closer and closer to real-time, tapping into what’s being said about your company gets easier. But, did you forget about sharing that information with new connections?  We get so caught up in the stats and our successes, that we forget to let the community know what they’ve helped us to accomplish.

These integrations are a way of saying thanks to your community. It also introduces newcomers to current community members, and we’re suckers for good recommendations. So don’t be afraid to spread what’s being said about you on Twitter across the rest of your social profiles, unless you haven’t read: “8 Tips To Help Companies Avoid Image Fiascoes On Twitter”.

Do you?

• Are you taking advantage of these opportunities? Share some of your reasons why you think it’s important!
• If you haven’t taken advantage of these opportunities, why not?
• Are there any disadvantages to doing so?

This is a guest posting by Rebecca Leaman (@RJLeaman). As the Editor of Wild Apricot’s nonprofit technology blog, Rebecca has her finger on the pulse of current issues and trends in modern web technologies. Read original post here.

Great new presentations on social media are coming out almost daily, now that we’re deep into conference season, and many are directed specifically to the needs of non-profits. If you’ve been thinking of launching or expanding your organization in social media, Slideshare is a good starting point for information and advice. But it can be time-consuming to pick through a wide range of slideshows to find those that are up-to-date, actionable, and appropriate to nonprofits.

Here’s a hand-picked selection of presentations to get you started.

Some of these have become popular standards, while others are new material that you may not have seen before. In fact, a few of these presentations were just made available in the past few days!  And, as always, if you have a favorite social media presentation to recommend to other nonprofits, please tell us about it in the comments.

Social Media for Non-Profits: Overview
What is social media, why should a non-profit care, and who has the time for it anyway? Beth Dunn’s presentation covers the basics, complete with case studies, and suggests Quick start and Advanced Quick Start tactics to launch your nonprofit into social media.

Social Media for Non Profits and Special Causes
John Sheridan’s presentation at at Pod Camp Halifax 2009 gives an overview of social media and social networking, with plenty of non-profit examples.

Social Media for Non Profits
Primal Media’s sideshow is loaded with information on trends, recent statistics, and examples of social media used by nonprofits.

Social Media for Non-Profits: Succeeding in a Social World
Beeline Labs made this presentation to a United Way chapter in Boston: see especially the “10 Guiding Principles” and “Most Common Mistakes.”

Social Networking Strategy

How To Think Like A Nonprofit Social Media Genius
Beth Kanter breaks it down:

• Understand organizational change theory
• Use the Rule of Thirds (1/3 web presence, 1/3 one-way, 1/3 social)
• Listen first
• Build relationships with influencers
• Make it easy to re-mix your content
• No instant gratification — results require effort over time
• Use metrics to discover what works and what doesn’t

Creating Your Organization’s Social Media Strategy
Beth Kanter walks through the process of developing a non-profit social media strategy, with many practical examples.

Nonprofit Soc Media Overview
Maren Hogan says “These are the things that I would do”: here’s a step-by-step overview of the basic tools and tactics of social media, starting with a website and blog.

Return on Investment (ROI)

Social Network Fundraising is a presentation by Justin Perkins, Director of Nonprofit Services at Care2.com, featuring research on Social Network Fundraising and use of new media for nonprofit marketing — and an excellent analysis of the ROI for nonprofit  social networking campaigns.

Using Social Media to  Increase Website Traffic
A look at the return on investment (ROI) for using Digg.com and StumbleUpon.com to increase visitors to your website, using the National Wildlife Federation as a case study.

E-Metrics: Followers, Friends, and Fans: Expanding Your Online Community
Beth Kanter’s presentation advocates “ROI thinking” to help build a community around your blog: using measurements to tell you what works and what doesn’t.

Tips and Case Studies
Who’s Doing What, Where, and How?

• An Introduction to Facebook and Twitter for Nonprofits (Nathan Wright)

• A New Tool for Online Campaigns: How to Show, Tell, and Activate with a Video-centric Microsite (Michael Hoffman)

• Blogging for Nonprofits (Shirley Sexton)

• Energizing Word of Mouth through Social Media (Lee Aase / Mayo Clinic)

• Getting The Word Out About Your Cause With Blogs, Podcasts & Social Networks (Britt Bravo)

• Googe 101 for Nonprofits (Mike Heslin / Google)

• Practical Examples of Social Media for Non-Profits (Laura Lacy)

• ROI of Listening: America Red Cross Case Study (Beth Kanter)

• Sharing Your Story: Podcasting (Britt Bravo)

• Social Media and Social Change in New Zealand (Simon Young)

• Social Media for Non Profits - Tapping into the motivations of The People to change the world around us (Ed Schipul)

• Social Media for Social Good (Ian Schafer)

• Social Media Campaign Report: Tour de Kids (Sarah Allen)

• Social Media Marketing for Non-Profits (Laura Lacy)

• Twitter.org: What, why, who and how for Nonprofit Organizations using Twitter (Amy Sample Ward)

• Upgrading Your E-Newsletter (CanadaHelps.org)

Tip: Whenever you view a slideshow at SlideShare, do scroll down below the presentation area to check for helpful notes on the slides and/or interesting information in the comments thread. And remember — SlideShare is a social networking site, itself, so take a few minutes to explore its features and consider signing up to connect, share, comment, or just to build a library of your own favorite presentations!

• Did we miss anything?
• Have you created any of your own?

Share your creations and favorite presentations in the comments!

Some of the more fun ways that people use Twitter are to share what’s going on in their every day lives. From road-trips to shopping sprees, people are tweeting plenty of things about their lives and sharing all sorts of captures of these moments. Here are six awesome and creative tattoos that were recently shared on Twitter!

Share yours! Be sure to tag the your tattoo tweets as #tattweet!

1. How is this for brand loyalty?
“I’m now bald w/ a Zappos tattoo. I feel like Mr. Clean.” – Tweeted by Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos @ zappos

     
2. How far will you go to support our troops?
"My Support Our Troops Tattoo” – Tweeted by Dave Murphy, Creator of ThankASoldier (@ThankASoldier)

        
       
3. Will Tap Tap Revenge Be Next?
"DDR Tattoo. This lady was walking in front of me at the NIN concert.” - Tweeted by @six40

      
    
4.  Bulls-eye!
"A friend took this picture this weekend. His name is Rob and he’s a pretty awesome tattoo artist. We became fast friends!” – Tweeted by @drowens

     
     
   
5. We Pity The Fool That Messes With This Shark
”Crazy shark tat.” – Tweeted By @ Beardedlove

6. Rob Pattinson’s Hancock (Inked!)
"[…] once again i never met him, he didnt sign my wrist (im not that lucky ahaha) […]” – Tweeted by @stephay87

     
  
We’d love to see how you’ve been inked! Tweet your tattoos with the #tattweet hashtag and let us know what the story behind your designs!

Bonus: Yes, Mr. Tweet’s blog editor is inked.

I decided to get this tattoo the day before my 21st birthday (Nov. 7th). It represents the Scorpio zodiac sign, which I love reading about. (Hi, I’m a scorpio, I like long walks on the beach, McDonalds, and of course Twitter!) - @corvida

Share yours!

The saying goes, “you can’t win if you don’t play”. Today, the New York Times appointed Jennifer Preston (@NYT_JenPreston), a long time employee of the NYTimes, author, and journalist, as their first Social Media Editor! Not only does this point out that social media is growing, but it says a lot about the direction the NYTimes might be taking in light of economic issues.

However, after  checking out Jennifer’s Twitter account, it seemed @NYT_JenPreston was not a very active woman around the web and a lot of her social media profiles were private. 

Suggestion #1: OPEN UP

Since news has spread, Jennifer’s accounts are no longer private, she’s now following more people on Twitter, has attained more followers, and is replying to the community. She has also posed a valid question not only just for the NYTimes, but for any company looking to dive into Social Media:

How should @nytimes be using Twitter? - @NYT_JenPreston

We’ve previously asked what YOUR use for Twitter is and received over 200 insightul and unique comments! Let’s help the NYTimes be just as effective as you are on Twitter. Share your tips in the comments and we’ll add the best to our blog post! 

• How should @nytimes be using Twitter? 

 Twitter has been in the headlines this week courtesy of a blog post from the Apple Gods giving Twitter much kudos for the way they’re running their business internally. They’ve also made waves within the community itself with the latest Twitter sidebar update by implementing Twitter search and trends in your profile. The update also allows you to save specific Twitter searches! Everything is done right from your Twitter profile with no need to head to Twitter Search. 

The responses have been well received from the Twitter community. We’re loving it! We wonder if the White House (@whitehouse) likes the new Twitter changes too. Wait! The White House is on Twitter?! We guess White House 2.0 is in effect!

Twitter Tips

If you’ve been needing any help on how your Twitter profile can work to your advantage or why you should even think twice about it check out 6 Tips for Using Your Twitter Profile to Get New Followers (@problogger). If you need another reason as to why you’re Twitter profile is so important and how to better utilize it, read How Social Media Profiles Help with Search Engine Optimization (@ignitesma). 

We also recommend reading Kyle Lacy’s (@kyleplacy) awesomesauce post 10 Tips to Build Trust with Social Media.  If you’re looking for more respect then 9 Twitter Tips that will help you gain respect in the Twitterverse (Like @Zaibatsu) would be a good fit too.

For those who are still trying to  convince or their boss why Twitter is such a big deal, Soren Gordhamer (@soreng) has a great article on How Twitter is Dethroning the Old Guard . What major sites are Twitter dethroning and in what areas? Read Soren’s article.  Don’t forget to follow up with 11 Things to Avoid When Using Twitter and 4 Lessons for Social Media Marketers. If you’re worried about taking a hit @geekgirlcamp has you covered with How to take a hit on your personal/company brand and come out on top.

Twitter Hustlers

What about what results businesses are seeing from Twitter? More businesses are starting to see results from simply setting up an account on Twitter and putting a little energy into tweeting.  A Pub in West Palm is warming up because of Twitter and Facebook. Small firms in Chicago have also told their stories of transitioning from marketing in the Yellow Pages to marketing on Twitter. Twitter is also heating up in the educational field with UT Dallas bringing Twitter in the classrooms.

Twitter Apps Recommendations

Many Twitter apps and tools have been floating around this week! Since today’s Friday, we’ll start out with the Twitter Tag’s Follow Friday project. I always had trouble picking who to recommend for Follow Friday. I’m following too many people to keep track of every reply or interesting tweet. So I’ve started using the Follow Friday app to help me pick a group of users to recommend. Don’t forget to recommend them to Mr. Tweet @mrtweet ! Also check out, Interview with Micah Baldwin, Father of FollowFriday.

Nokia (@nokconv) asks for your opinion on the best S60 Twitter app. So far I love Gravity, which we recommended in What Apps Are You Tweeting With?. However, a new s60 mobile twitter client is making ripples on Twitter: Twittix (@MojosMobile). In need of Twitter tools too manage your followers?  Are you aware of how to sharpen your Twitter following? Looking for free Twitter image hosting? Look no further than TwittersPost.

That about wraps up our Friday Roundup. Leave links to your favorite Twitter stories of the week in the comments. Have a great weekend everyone!

The Swine Flu (Wikipedia) has been trending on Twitter for several days now. In fact, Twitter is where I first heard about Swine Flu. You can head to PandemicFlu.Gov for a comprehensive resources of U.S. government information being compiled about the outbreak.

For those that are unaware, CNN best summarizes Swine Flu as,

Swine influenza, or flu, is a contagious respiratory disease that affects pigs.

When the flu spreads person-to-person, instead of from animals to humans, it can continue to mutate, making it harder to treat or fight, because people have no natural immunity.

Symptoms include fever, runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Common seasonal flu kills 250,000 to 500,000 people every year worldwide, far more than the current outbreak of swine flu.

But there is no vaccine for the new disease, and little natural immunity, an expert said.

The Swine Flu was declared a health emergency of international concern on April 25th and propose some serious economic costs if a pandemic ensues.

Tracking Swine Flu Across The Web

Across the web, numerous sites, services, and companies are providing ways for users to keep track of Swine Flu developments. Facebook has put together a series of Swine Flu charts that maps the spread of discussions surrounding the epidemic. Google also has a service that estimates Flu activity across the U.S. known as  Flu Trends. There’s also a Google Maps timeline mashup of the wine Flu Outbreak and a Swine Flu Google Maps and Twitter mashup.

@HealthMap and @Veratech are keeping users updated with swine flu alerts on Twitter. Collecta has built a Swine Flu In Real Time search service that pulls from Twitter, Flickr and other resources. Here’s a Q&A on Swine Flu.   Be sure you stop and get Swine Flu Fun Facts too.

Twitter Reactions

On Twitter Search, the Swine Flu is tweeted about almost 20 times every 10 seconds! The reactions have been intense! If you’ve been using Twitter to stay updated on the epidemic, you may have been misinformed on numerous occasions. In fact, Twitter has caused some controversy over Swine Flu updates. The situation has led many to question once more, whether Twitter is as reliable for news as we think.

What do you think about all of this?

• Has Twitter affected your reaction to Swine Flu?
• Have you become more or less informed of Swine Flu through Twitter?
• Were you ever misinformed about Swine Flu because of Twitter?
• Has Twitter become a less or more reliable news source for you?

We’re looking forward to hearing your thoughts and great stories!

On Tuesday, we asked what apps and twitter clients are you tweeting with and received so many great responses! We appreciate the hundreds of comments and we’ll be expanding the list to include some of the great Twitter clients you recommended. I’ve had a blast trying out your recommendations!

Using Your Brain As A Twitter App

What if you could tweet with just your brain? What if you could type out a message as you’re thinking it? CNN has published a story about Adam Wilson, a doctoral student in biomedical engineering at the University of Wisconsin, and his supervisor, Justin Williams, whom developed a way to tweet using electrical impulses generated by thought. It’s currently trending on Twitter as the “Brain-Twitter” project.

Wilson wrote the code for the software in a matter of days. By March 31st, Wilson had sent the first tweet using Brain-Twitter.

Now before you get all excited about tweeting with your brain, Wilson and Williams hope to use Brain-Twitter to help those that are paralyzed better communicate. It’s currently not available for purchasing or downloading. According to CNN,

“These are people who have ALS, like Stephen Hawking, or they have a brainstem stroke, or a high spinal-cord injury,” Williams explained. “There is nothing wrong with these people’s brains. It’s a normal person, locked into a lifeless, useless body.” (The British physicist Hawking has ALS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, which is also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.)

What’s really interesting is the way that Williams thinks Twitter may be an invaluable solution for the communication needs of paralyzed patients,

“Their first interest is in being able to communicate in a normal fashion, and at a distance.”

Twitter is simpler than e-mail, he said.

“If I am locked in and I want to e-mail someone, the format is all wrong. You have to be able to select recipients and group them, copy, paste, send. … We don’t think about that much as normal people, but it can become unmanageable. Twitter takes care of all those things. They just have to get [the message] to a location where people can come and find it,”

What Do You Think About Brain-Twitter?

We’d like to know what you think of Brain-Twitter.

• Would you want something like this for personal use?
• Do you think this is frivolous or unnecessary?
• What other uses do you see for Brain-Twitter?

I think it’s a really amazing and unique way to use Twitter in the medical field. The Albion and Poke have introduced a unique way for businesses to use Twitter with BakerTweet, but Brain-Twitter can help to make Twitter a lot more accessible to completely new audiences.

Let’s discuss it in the comments!