Are We Addicted to Twitter?

I just found a hilarious video about the the growing popularity of Twitter and how some people let it take over their lives. For all the Twitterers out there, check out this video and laugh at the rich sarcasm in it!

As an avid Twitter user, this is exactly what I hope doesn't eventually happen to the service- people tweeting endlessly about useless things like using the bathroom or watching TV. Twitter should be used to tweet ABOUT the things you're doing, not what you're doing. Watching TV? Which show are you watching? If I tweet about watching LOST, other LOST fans will see and tweet back. That is the beauty of Twitter. Also, the video doesn't mention the ways it's used for marketing, politics, references, etc. These are the ways I find Twitter to be most useful. Many of my friends often tweet about interesting articles or blogs they've read or written. 

"Why don't you just call your friends instead of Tweeting about it?" Very popular question. It would make sense maybe 10 years ago, but today's world is ten times faster than it was then. People are always on the go, juggling multiple projects and tasks daily. Unfortunately, this leaves little time in the day to chat with friends and family. Just look at how the popularity of texting has sky rocketed. Twitter gives you the opportunity to stay connected with loved ones through short blog posts. 

Hilarious video, though. It's always fun to twitter about useless things every now and then. Favorite quote: "I forgot how much I like pickles." LOL.

iPhone OS 3.0 Preview!

Last Tuesday, Apple announced the new consumer and developer features for the next iPhone operating system update. All of the new features will be highly welcome by consumers and open up more opportunities for developers to evolve apps even further. 

I'm pretty excited about the new update! Finally, we'll be able to cut, copy, and paste! Searching your iPhone will become a reality, operating much like Spotlight. Also my favorite update will be the ability to use the landscape keyboard while using more applications like Mail and text messaging. I quickly got tired of using the small keyboard, so this will be a much welcomed new feature. 

The most notable new feature will be something most iPhone users have complained about the beginning- MMS support. With this new feature, iPhone users will be able to send photos, audio files, contacts, and locations via MMS. Unfortunately, there's a catch... this is only available on the new 3G models. So early adopters who complained of not having this feature that most other phones had, like me, will still be SOL. I'm pretty disappointed about this, especially since I wont be in the market for an iPhone upgrade for awhile. Apple, I love you, but c'mon!

The iPhone OS 3G update should be available for download some time in June, free for iPhone users and $9.95 for iPod Touchers. Check out the Apple's site for a detailed list of new features for consumers and developers.

Social Nets In, Emailing Out.

Social networking sites like Facebook and Myspace has overtaken emailing as the most popular internet activity, which was reported by Billboard over a study taken by Nielsen. 

And to think some of us thought "Facebook Stalking" was a fad. Bah!

Neilsen released a study showing that online participation on social networks exceeded emailing by 67 percent to 65 percent. This shift in online activity is going to have a profound effect on marketers and publishers. They are already having a hard time connecting with more consumers because time is being taken away from them in favor of more time on social networks, which is already hard to reach consumers on.  Basically, the more time social networking takes of you, the less you shop and buy, and the less those marketers and publishers make. 

I've personally noticed my shift from using email to Facebook messaging friends. It's just plain easier to message others, especially more than one. Twitter has also made it much easier to keep up with friends and family, leaving my email for more professional contacts. Interesting enough, Linkedin has slowly taken over my professional contacts as well!

Some interesting data that Neilsen reported were that nearly 2/3 of the world's internet users visited a social network in 2008, 10 percent of total internet time was spent on social media, and that social media has broken out of the youth demographic. Facebook's greatest growth has come from the 35-49 year olds, and has added double the amount of 50-64 year olds to the under 18 crowd. I'm sure many of your mommas and papas are already on Facebook (and even more of you have untagged those less than flattering pictures from last weekend.)

With this new development, marketers and publishers are in a dilemma and you know what that means! New business models! 

"As the online industry matures and the values of online real estate is increasingly measured by time spent, rather than pages viewed, a significant shift in advertising revenue from 'traditional' online media towards social media could be realized -- if the successful ad model can be found," the Neilsen report said. "Whatever the successful ad model turns out to be, the messaging will have to be authentic and humble, and built on the principle of two-way conversation -- not a push model -- that adds value to the consumer."

Athentic and humble? Two-way conversation? Sounds like they are talking a little bit about viral marketing, which relies mostly on word of mouth marketing. This has been working well on Youtube, but can the music industry benefit from this shift too? We're definitely on the right track with the incorporation of applications like iLike and Last.fm, but how can we further this concept into the social networking sites?

Whoever thinks of a good model will probably be the next hired. I graduate soon... excuse me while I wrap my head around this;)