I have shoes older than Twitter, yet I seldom wear those shoes.  I use Twitter every day since I got my first Twitter account almost 4 years ago.  I didn’t understand it at first but my good friend @brentleary kept telling me that sending Tweets will be the next BIG thing. I resisted the urge to Tweet for almost a year then I got my first taste of how powerful Twitter really is in the world of communication.

This whole Twitter thing really hit me when the Twitter account of our current President of the United States, Barack Obama @BarackObama started to follow me.  Back then he was only the Senator of Illinois running for President but it meant a lot to me that he decided to follow me.  It was not until later on that I found out that he followed everyone who followed him at the time.

The point is I was so impressed that he thought to follow me, I started following others who in turn followed me. This time it was someone who actually knew me personally and wanted to follow the links I was sharing. We have been following each other ever since then and of course now I am hooked on Twitter.

So Happy Birthday Twitter!!! And thank you Brent for pushing me to Tweet for the first time.

All the best

JB

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This post was inspired by a post I read at Blackweb20.com The blog article titled  “Twitter’s Popularity Doesn’t Translate into Profitability” talks about how popular Twitter has become but can that popularity turn in a profit.

I think Twitter should take a chapter out of what we already know as Domain Names renewal.  Having a Twitter handle or username has almost become as popular as getting the right domain name.

Some of us are still old enough to remember that domain names were once free to obtain. So if we are so use to paying anywhere from $7.99-35.00 for the average .com .net or.org per year, so why can’t Twitter charge us a yearly registration fee to keep our Twitter username.  Paying for your Twitter username would also cut down on the amount of Twitter spam one gets everyday.

If I were  Twitter I would also charge a premium price to corporations/business for their company branded username. I will also charge celebrities and sports figures a premium for verifying their name.

I don’t think Fortune 500 corporations like Walmart, Bank of America or Ford would mind paying a little extra to use Twitter or to keep their Twitter handle.

With the last count of about 50+ million users and growing on Twitter, most of us who have had our Twitter handle for 3 years would not mind paying anywhere from $10-20 dollars per year just to keep on Tweeting. That could be an annual income of 500m – 1 billion for Twitter and that ain’t shabby.

So what are your thoughts on this matter. Would you pay a yearly fee to keep your Twitter username? Please answer in the comments below.

All the best

JB

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Twitter announced its new redesign of their Twitter site on Tuesday of this week and said that after their announcement they would roll out the new Twitter design to us all. Have you been updated to the new design yet? As of today I sure have not. So, when will we all be able to experience this most eagerly awaited new look and feel? Who Knows.

I have been very happy with web based clients like @hootsuite and @seesmic I am not sure what is taking Twitter so long to roll this new design out to everyone but I guess it has something to do with how many people who are actually using Twitter. Even though, I look forward to seeing the new Twitter design I don’t think it will make me want to give up my @hootsuite or @seesmic Twitter client. Oh well, If you have not seen what the new design looks like take a look at the two video below.  Big Thanks to Robert Scoble @Scobleizer for providing the Ustream coverage on the day of the Twitter announcement.  If you have been upgraded please let us know what the experience is like in your comments below.

All the best

JB

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If you have not added your Twitter account to your Linkedin profile now is the time.
Linkedin and Twitter have official partnered and it is about to make a big dent in the Social Networking space.

Not only can you now have multiple Twitter accounts added to your Linkedin profile but all hashtags are now recognized. So please use #twarketing if you post this article to your Twitter feed. The only thing I suggest is that you don’t post all of your Tweets to your Linkedin account. When setting up your Twitter account on Linkedin use the selection that allows you to only post the tweets with “Share only tweets that contain #in” hashtag. Take a look at what Reid and Biz below have to say and let me know your thoughts.

Click here to learn more about Twarketing on Linkedin

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This was an interesting conversation between Christopher (Biz) Stone (@biz) and PBS Show host  Tavis Smiley (@tavissmiley).  I have been saying all along that Twitter should not concentrate on the advertising dollars but on the companies and corporations who are making money on Twitter.  Corporations like Dell, BestBuy, Jetblue and Zappos have made millions from their F_R_E_E Twitter accounts. 3 Million Dollars, Dell And A PayPal “Donate” Button I for one would not mind paying for a premium account from Twitter, especially if you gave me a way to organize the people who followed me and gave me Google like analytics as well. I still think Twitter should also consider making money on  major events like the NFL’s Super Bowl,  the PGA’s Masters and major elections. Twitter’s New Election 2008: Twitter Branding At It’s Best As Twitter grows it will have ample opportunity to make money, I just hope to be a part of that money making process when it happens.

See or listen to the full interview by clicking here.

All the best

JB

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I was very disappointed with this list of  Women CEO.  I could not find one of these women on Twitter.  Worse of all is that only 5 of the 15 companies  headed by these woman are on Twitter.

I think I was most disappointed in Avon not having an official Twitter presence since they are one of the most popular consumer brands with millions of women customers.  I think Twitter would be an amazing asset for a company like Avon. Especially as a customers support tool for its legions of independent sales reps. Twitter could also be a great lead generator for Avon’s  sales force.  I just did a twitter search of “Avon Makeup” and came up with hundreds of conversation all commenting on Avon products.

Of the 5 companies that have a twitter presence, Yahoo of course has the most followers with just over 10,000. Then it drops down to PepsiCo with just over 1500 and then it takes a dramatic drop with Xerox at just over 500, DuPont with 125, and Western Union with just 25.

Maybe these ladies should take a lesson from Oprah who currently has close to 500k followers at this time and will have a million by the end next month.  Oprah just got on Twitter a few days ago but I can bet you she has big plans on how she will capitalize on her use of this new communication service.

Pat Woertz – Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) – No. 27

Angela Braly – Wellpoint (WLP) – No. 32

Lynn Elsenhans – Sunoco (SUN) – N0. 41

Indra Nooyi – PepsiCo (PEP) – No. 52  http://twitter.com/pepsico

Irene Rosenfeld – Kraft Foods (KFT) – No. 53

Ellen Kullman – DuPont (DD) – No. 75   http://twitter.com/DuPont_News

Mary Sammons – Rite Aid (RAD) – No. 100

Carol Meyrowitz – TJX (TJX) – No. 131

Anne Mulcahy – Xerox (XRX) – No. 147   http://twitter.com/XeroxEvents

Brenda Barnes – Sara Lee (SLE) – No. 199

Andrea Jung – Avon Products (AVP) – No. 255

Laura Sen – BJ’s Wholesale Club (BJ) – No. 269

Susan Ivey – Reynolds American (RAI) – No. 294

Carol Bartz – Yahoo (YHOO) – No. 345   http://twitter.com/yahoo

Christina Gold – Western Union (WU) – No. 451   http://twitter.com/WesternUnion

So ladies I am officially calling all of you out when it comes to your non Twitter presence.  Lets not let all the celebrities, entertainers and sports figures grab all the glory on Twitter.  Madam CEOs you may now Tweet, Follow or just get out of the way.

All the best

JB
@twarketing

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If you missed Ashton Kutcher Live early this morning  you missed history when Mr. Punked himself went over the 1,000,000 mark of followers on twitter.

All I can say is that I knew this would happen eventually but I would not have thought it would be Ashton of all people. I was rooting  for Obama…;-)

But Ashton and CNN went at it toe-to-toe and Ashton prevailed.

Here is the Tweet he sent out when he hit the 1 Million mark.

This is the first milestone but it won’t be the last for Twitter. I predict someone will get to the 2,3,4 and 5 million mark before the end of this year. So hold onto your hat Twitter Universe we are in for a bumpy ride…;-)

Holla

Jazzy

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If Evan Williams @ev is still trying to figure out what Twitter is going to become then we should just let him think.  Twitter is on the verge of  BLOWING the HECK UP yet most of us, and this includes Evan are unsure what  to do with it. I for one am hooked and have to thank Social CRM Expert Brent Leary @brentleary for not giving up on me when I said to him “What the HECK is a TWEET! and what shot do I need from my doctor so I am not exposed to it.”

The mantra of this blog is Tweet, Follow or Get OUT of the Way and this holds true to all the users and haters of Twitter. Evan mentions in his Ted speech that Twitter was a side project started on a hunch. This blog is a side project started on a hunch that Twitter will grow so much and be such a big part of the mainstream marketing industry, Twarketing results on Google would be in the billions. These Results 1 – 10 of about 1,020 for twarketing are growing quite well as of the date of this post.

So Evan, keep those hunches coming and maybe one day I can buy you lunch in LA from OMG WTF BBQ!!!!1eleven @omgwtfkogibbq
and you can buy me some gas #atlgas here in GA

Holla..;-)

JB

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I am not sure if you all noticed a little change in the Twitter Layout lately. This placement of the Twitter Search link could easily become an advertisement.  Now I would not blame them if they sold this space and I would suspect that the powers that be at Twitter are testing to see if anyone complains via tweeting about the placement.  If I were Twitter I would just GO FOR IT and let the chips fall where they may with all who would not like it.

Let me know your thoughts

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Twitter Address: @quickenloans

Subject: America’s #1 Online Lender, Quicken Loans

Marketing Challenge: Distinguish their brand name shared by major bookkeeping software manufacturer and continue to bolster their lead in the online mortgage business.

Favorite Follows: @zappos and @feedbackcentral

Check out the Podcast:

Download Twarketing Podcast #2 Quicken Loans (6) – 25.59 MB

When you think of Quicken, most immediately think of the best selling bookkeeping software by Intuit.  When I did the research for my blog post Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For I mistakenly assumed that Quicken Loans was a part of Intuit. I was then notified by Kelly LaVaute, Senior Copywriter and manage all of their social media that Quicken Loans was a totally separate company from Intuit.  The story of how Quicken Loans became the number one online mortgage broker is quite a marvel especially with how much of a crisis the mortgage industry is in right now.

Matt Cardwell, the Director of Web Marketing (@thefitnessnerd) made mention that the company was bought back from Intuit  by Dan Gilbert the original founded in July 2002. Gilbert led a small group of investors in purchasing the company back from Intuit, retaining the Quicken Loans name in perpetuity. The company has been privately held since that time.

Customer Service
Quicken Loans prides itself on customer service and has used Twitter as an intricate part of how to communicate with their prospects and customers. Kelly@ Quicken Loans @quickenloans can answer a wide variety of questions regarding mortgages as well as a great fish and chip place to eat in Detroit.  Here are a few of her most recent Tweets.

Customer Feedback
Qwicken Loans just recently lunched another Twitter account specifically to get user and customer feedback. Cora @feedbackcentral is in charge of organizing live user feedback sessions. Users can share their feedback and get to see results of their suggestions on the quickenloansfeedbackcentral.com site and on Twitter. Check out some of the Tweets from @feedbackcentral

Education
Quicken Loans is very conscious of the current state of the economy and looks to help in educating their customers on how to prepare themselves for managing a mortgage. They have setup the Quizzle.com website and @quizzle in order to assist the home buyer and seller with an array of financial tools. These tools include a home value report, a mortgage evaluator, a budgeting tool and a free credit report.

Customer Satisfaction
Quicken Loans has also created a Youtube Channel to capture the unscripted videos of their many satisfied customer experiences with Quicken Loans. Here is one of my favorites.

Bottom Line
Quicken Loans has truly embraced social media and gained a real presence on Twitter. Both Kelly and Matt agree that the key to being successful in communicating through these new forms of social marketing is having the support of their company when uncharted issues-both good and bad-arise.  In fact, this Quicken Loans team charged with innovatively building customer relationships is in the unique, empowered position to use social media to with little interference from its legal department. Kelly, Matt, Cora and the rest of the Quicken Loans social media crew are entrusted to be the voice of the company, working in tandem with one common company goal: “Making sure with every client, every time, they deliver on the promise to make it the best mortgage experience ever”.

Places to find Quicken Loans

1.       Quicken Loans on Twitter

2.       Quicken Loans on Facebook

3.       Quicken Loans on Yahoo! Answers

4.       Quicken Loans on YouTube

5.       Quicken Loans on MySpace

6.       Quicken Loans on Flickr

7.       Quicken Loans on Zillow

8.       Quicken Loans on LinkedIn

Quicken Loans also operates the following blogs:

1.       Quicken Loans What’s The DIFF? blog

2.       Quicken Loans Insider

3.       Quicken Loans Community DIFF

Quizzle has its own personality via the following:

1.       Quizzle on Twitter

2.       Quizzle on Yahoo! Answers

3.       Quizzle on Facebook

4.       Quizzle blog

Twitterholic Stats:

Kelly @ QuickenLoans is ranked 18,845th on twitterholic! (by followers)

Kelly @ QuickenLoans is ranked 26th in their location on twitterholic! (by followers in ‘Detroit, MI‘)

TweetStats:

Kelly@quickenloans top five words from their TweetCloud: mortgage, rates, fixed, rate, 30yr.

Here are the people Kelly@quickenloans Replies to the most. @jenwebmkt, @kauf, @rrcarter, @amurphy and @feedbackcentral are part of her top 5.

Kelly@quickenloans gets a grade of  99.8 from Twitter Grader

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