Twitter's Update on Enduring Value

Yesterday, Twitter gave an update on where they see the service heading and how they're going to build a long-term product. While there were several components to their message, one stuck out in my mind a little bit more.

While Twitter has constantly struggled to demonstrate a viable business model, the recent announcement of Promoted Tweets has excited some and dismayed others. What Twitter said yesterday is as follows:

"...aside from Promoted Tweets, we will not allow any third party to inject paid tweets into a timeline on any service that leverages the Twitter API."

I think Twitter is making the right move here. While they are initially turning down the potential for short-term revenue, they're more focused on preserving their existing user-experience over the long haul. I think that demonstrates maturity on the part of the higher-ups at Twitter. Many companies are looking for their quick cash out which unfortunately often comes at the expense of user satisfaction and experience. Most people don't want to see ads, especially ones that are put in by third parties that may bombard the user and not provide value. I think most people are willing to put up with some ads, considering Twitter is completely free to anyone right now.

Of late, certain companies ::cough Facebook cough:: have made changes to their policies at the expense of their userbase. I think Twitter is seeing what these other companies ::cough Facebook cough:: are doing and are trying to avoid the negative backlash associated with it. They've got the vision to take this slowly and not jump to a quick and easy pay out at the first chance.

I hope other companies take note of the fact that it is their extensive and loyal userbases that have brought them to where they are now. To navigate the landscape successfully, they need to take the wishes and feelings of their users into account. Making brash and significant changes without user input (and making it difficult for users to preserve their existing experience) can only lead to feelings of distrust and negativity.

VaynerMedia's Geolocation Experiment

I'm really digging what VaymerMedia did with Gowalla and the New Jersey Nets. For those that missed out, essentially VaynerMedia paired Gowalla and the Nets together and hid virtual tickets in locations around the tri-state area. When a user checked in to a participating location, they were able to grab the virtual tickets and then exchange those for actual tickets to a Nets game. They just had to show that they had the item at the Izod Center and they were given admission. But the fun didn't stop there. Guests who claimed their tickets were able to check-in again with the potential to win jerseys and other prizes.

I recommend reading through the case study if you have a chance. I think this was a very clever concept and could definitely be expanded upon. I like the exploratory nature that this involved, kind of like a finding a golden ticket in a Willy-Wonka-and-the-Chocolate Factory kind of way. There are a lot of low-hanging fruit use cases for apps like Foursquare and Gowalla, but this is a good implementation that could work very well for live events. I think one of the key insights was that these seats were not going to be filled if they didn't run this promotion. That means people came and spent money on parking, food, merchandise, etc. that they likely would not have spent at all and they may in fact have spent more than normal because they didn't pay for tickets. The concessions and merchandise are generally high-margin items as well. So for events, this is definitely something worth looking into if you put on concerts or sporting events or other performance-based activities.

Anywho, very interesting.

You Don't Make Viral Videos

I saw a great tweet the other day which unfortunately I can't find but went something to the tune of: "You don't make viral videos. We decide if your video is worth giving a shit about." Now that's my paraphrasing of it but that was essentially it. And I couldn't agree more.

I keep hearing people are trying to make "viral videos" and I just shake my head. You can set out to make an awesome video. You can even make a video that "goes viral." But you can't make a viral video. The ones who set out to make viral videos inevitably are the ones that fail.

Instead, you should be making videos that are to the point. Make videos that are shocking, or fascinating, or emotionally-thrilling, or all of the above. You need to make videos that grab the user's attention and communicate exactly what it is you stand for. Sorry, but a video of your CEO announcing your newest "bleeding-edge, innovative solution that synergizes market inefficiencies" is not going to viral. No one is going to care.

But putting passion and feeling into your video will connect. Taking a risk works. Take this YouTube video from Pantene. At first look, you'd wonder what this has to do with shampoo. But as of this post, it has almost 2.9 million views, 5,164 comments, 23,309 favorites, and 8,297 ratings. And what it really is about is the values that Pantene holds. I mean this is a 4 minute video. I guarantee people will remember this commercial more than any silly 30-second spot they see on tv of some chick in a shower.

But they were willing to take a risk and put something out there that actually connects with people. And at the end of the day, that's what it's all about- people.

Quoted in Article on @anywhere

Today, I was interviewed in Tech News World for my thoughts on Twitter's new @anywhere feature. As you can read in the article linked above and below, I think @anywhere is really going to help break down walled-gardens and keep the conversation flowing. Twitter is much more of a conversation tool than some of the other social networking tools out there. But blogs are still the best way to have a drawn out conversation around a given topic.

@anywhere is going to help keep that conversation going. I think it's a win for any blog. If people are having a discussion on your site, you want to make it as easy as you can to keep that conversation going. Adding the snippet of @anywhere's code will let people use their Twitter identities right on your site. They can share stuff right in the comments, but also let it flow through to their followers on Twitter. It should help you be found more easily. I'm looking forward to seeing it implemented.

 

Read the Tech News World story here.