Thursday 26 November 2009

My First Mobile Blog - Twitter Search Nearby Function

I'm actually sat at my desk trying this Blogger app on my iPhone. It amazes me how far Internet related technology has come in the last 5 years.
It didn't seem that long ago that everyone was talking about WAP enabled websites and how they were going to be the next big thing!
So as I said I'm just trying this new blog app out. I could be sat on a train; waiting for my flight at an airport or I could be sat by the pool on holiday writing my blog!
OK, so I can type but can I add photos? Ummm, let's see.


Yes, it seems I can! This is a photo of a book which arrived in the post this morning. Thanks Jim for sending it to me. It's by a guy called Brad Burton and the title speaks for itself! www.getoffyourarse.biz Brad's book site.
OK, so I got off my preverbial and am writing my blog using the new iPhone app I've been meaning to download and try. Thanks Brad!
I love the iPhone. I use Tweetie** for Twitter and I recently discovered the "search nearby" function. See screenshot below.







This was a search in Bristol and I used it to show a mate of mine. He's a car valeter and was asking how he could use Twitter to find new customers. His concern was that he wanted to connect with local people and not so many people from the US and other countries. He likes connecting with people but he would be unlikely to win much car Valeting business from someone in Texas!

So I showed him how the Search Nearby function works explaining that he can find people in his area in real time. He can them connect with them and perhaps offer a promotion or similar via Twitter!
He was blown away and has already won 2 customers as a direct result of using this Search Nearby function.

So if you're in the Bristol area watch out for @bristolvaleting. I'm sure he'll seek you out soon! Or if you need your car Valeting perhaps you could seek him out instead! He's offering a 10% discount on 19th Dec.
www.bristolvaleting.com

So there you have it. My new blog post from my iPhone.

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

**Update - July 2010. Tweetie for Twitter became Twitter for iPhone a while back. If you want more info go to http://blog.twitter.com/2010/05/twitter-for-iphone.html

Wednesday 4 November 2009

Social Media - Why you need to be on board

The video below demonstrates the power of Social Media and why you should be on board.

I was staggered when I read some of the stats in the video! "If Facebook was a country it would be the 4th largest"!
This is a really exciting time! Social Media has been around for a few years now but it is only in the last few months that a real buzz has started. More and more people are using Twitter, FaceBook, FriendFeed, and Blogs and people are engaging with each other in a way we hadn't imagined.
These aren't just loose and random connections, but genuine conversations which are leading to new friendships and business relationships with real meaning.
It's hard to explain precisely but there is something happening and no one truly knows where the current thirst for social media is taking us. It's a bit like being on a train which has just left the station. It's not too late for people to jump on board; it will be stopping at all stations. The atmosphere is electric and all those on board are really energised and full of enthusiasm and whilst there appear to be quite a few experts on board; it's also clear that none of them can say for sure what's going to happen on the journey and the really exciting part is this - no one knows where the train will end up!
If you're considering getting involved on Twitter or Facebook, LinkedIn or Ecademy or any of the other social networks, then do it! Jump on board the train - "right here - right now!" I also suggest setting up a profile on as many of them as possible. The reason for this is many people have a preference and only use one or two of the social network websites. So if you want to maximise your chance of being discovered, then you need a profile on as many of these sites as possible. If someone's preferred site is Ecademy and they are using Ecademy to search for someone with your area of expertise, if you're not on Ecademy then they won't find you.
Many experts are saying that social media profiles are beginning to be more effective than a company website. This doesn't mean there is no need for a corporate website; of course there is still a need! But what it tells you is you should have both. You need a company website so those people you are having conversations with via the social media websites can find your company website when they are ready.

The social network websites are getting good search engine rankings so somebody looking for you or your business stands more chance of finding your social media profile via one of the many websites than they will of finding your official company website.


The image above shows the result of a search on Google for me - "Dickie Armour". Whilst my personal website is 1st (not hard when you have a name like mine) you'll see that within the first 2 pages my profile comes up on at least 10 different social media websites including my blog. But neither of my company websites appear in the top 20 search results.

What about a great friend of mine, Jamie Forster? See the Google Search result for him below.


Again, his company website doesn't appear either, but he does appear 4 times in the first ten results. And from any of those 4 links you can find Jamie's company website.
So you need to have your profile on as many of the different social media websites as possible to increase your chance of being found and to be able to connect with a person on their preferred social media arena.


So all aboard! This train departs from the next station near you right now. Join us on the journey; I've not a clue where it's going, but it's going to be great fun, we're all going to learn bucket loads of stuff and I promise you'll make some wonderful new friends and you might just pick up some new business along the way.