Category: Twitter

Twitter is such a valuable part of SEO and social media marketing that I wrote a book titled Twitter for Business: Twitter for Friends.

Twitter Mikeyy Worm: Is Twitter Responsible?

On the second consecutive day, it seems that Twitter users have been left to fend for themselves against a worm attack from Mikeyy. Upon a quick review of http://status.twitter.com, it is clear to see that all answers to the question of Twitter’s Mikeyy worm attacks is vague and delayed at very best. Further than that, the official Twitter blog posts have been more public relations oriented with a pat on the butt feel of how it was all fixed and that tweeting will resume as normal from here on out.

Clearly, all of the Sunday April 12 claims of a fix and the public relations response from Twitter now looks like a cry of “Wolf” which may lead users into a feeling of false security in the future. This leads many Twitter users to question the validity of the company and of their programming practices, as well as their security response and relay of information. After all, if a 17 year old kid can single-handedly bring the service’s usefulness to a halt, what would happen if they had a really malicious attack?

From this writer’s perspective, it seems that Twitter has indeed relied upon the Web 2.0 environment to do its bidding. A part of me wants to say hooray for Twitter for fully believing in its atmosphere of people spreading the word without interruption and without censorship, in true Web 2.0 / UGC (user generated content) fashion. However, another part of me questions what may happen to Twitter without the infrastructure or discipline to warn users of a spreading worm with reliable and up-to-date information. If I am left to make the updates, anything I say will tend to lead to the cautious side in hopes of preventing excessive damage. At the same time, I must weigh that with trying to not panic users to the point they become frustrated. Does Twitter really want to leave so many holes open to public perception?

The Twitter Web 2.0 vs User Responsibility Question

Is this now our responsibility to scream out to the world that Twitter has troubles? I will do my best to protect my favorite social media resource, and I can see that many others feel the same way. As an avid user, it worries me about this basket which holds many eggs for me as a brand identity.

Should Twitter be responsible for providing a timely worm update? The question here becomes that of Twitter’s intent. People can say that since Twitter is a free service, that their responsibility is mitigated because, after all, you get what you pay for. However, if you consider the fact that Twitter also has a strong interest in individuals and companies feeling comfortable creating a brand and communications platform with Twitter, one must consider carefully how much that responsibility is on Twitter after all.

Who is Warning Twitter Users About Mikeyy?

Over the past two consecutive days, the most spread messages regarding the Twitter-targeting Mikeyy Worm has been from Twitter users. So, what gives? I understand the Web 2.0 method, and the value of users protecting the Twitter service, but all we can do without a qualified update from Twitter is to speculate and spread as much panic as possible to try and stop additional damage.

What Do You Think About Twitter’s Mikeyy Worm Response?

How did you hear about the Mikeyy worm, and how do you feel about the lack of accurate and qualified information from Twitter? Please leave your comments here on the blog and tweet this to others. Perhaps together we can build an environment in which Twitter will pass information more accurately and in a more timely fashion.

How Simon Pwned Guy Kawasaki (@guykawasaki)

I want to tell the story of how my six year old son, Simon, pwned Guy Kawasaki. In order to set the story correctly, I have to share a little bit about my take on social media and how I think Guy Kawasaki gets it wrong. Of course, Guy is invited to chime in here on the blog or ring me at my direct line, *REDACTED DUE TO AGING WEBSITE*.

I Love Social Media

Most of my readers know that I love social media. I love being social, and the Internet is a great place to do that. If you have read any of my articles on social media, or have ever been to one of my interactive live Webcasts, you probably understand my thoughts on this topic. My feeling is that I would rather start with ten people saying something nice about me, because I was good to them, than to have 100,000 people to shout my message at. I do not mean to sound too much like “Stuart Smalley“, but people seem to like my message because they know I mean it. If those people tell a friend “hey, I know this marketing guy, Murnahan … I think he could help you”, I have received much more than I would by shouting at a deaf audience of 100,000. You can say that this does not apply to organizations seeking to reach millions of people, but it does, indeed. Let’s say for example that if those like Guy Kawasaki made a greater effort at communicating with me, he would suddenly have many thousands of additional people seeing his message, because I would pass it along, and my friends would pass it along … etcetera.

Is Social Media Just Social?

I am not trying to say that social media is just social. For examples of my thoughts on social media, I offer you my recent articles on “The Value of Social Media Marketing” and “The Social media Marketing Dilemma“. For those of us who really value social media and its importance to our lifestyles, you will likely appreciate that I met my wife through social media (@pegmu).

How Simon Won the People

So how did a little boy pwn Guy Kawasaki? A lot can be said about intent. I am not going to fact check and give source citations on this. It should be pretty easy to look it up for yourself. As I have been told, Guy Kawasaki employs three or more writers to do his tweeting on Twitter. I have also heard speak that Guy Kawasaki holds the value of a Twitter Retweet in very high regard.

A while back, on February 20th, I had this funny idea to create a Twitter-related video to show my personality and to make a few laughs. I even blogged about funny Twitter videos, because they are great fun to watch.  It was all in fun, and we set out to make this video which went from concept to completion in well under an hour. The kids had a great time making it, and they still bring it up about how fun it was.

Here is Simon’s Video Pwn of Guy Kawasaki

The video is not actually how Simon “pwned” the social media master. For the real “pwn”, you will need to read the whole thing!

After making the video, I sent a message over to two guys who were mentioned in the video by Simon. These guys were Rob McNealey (@RobMcNealey) and Guy Kawasaki (@GuyKawasaki). I thought for sure that they would take it in good humor and have a fun laugh at the little six year old redhead from Kansas talking trash on them. Rob McNealey promptly responded with a good laugh and he Retweeted it to his friends on Twitter to see how he was “shamed” by this little boy. The response from Guy Kawasaki was not the same. In fact, Guy Kawasaki and his team of writers chose to completely ignore it.

Since the time we made that video, I have quite a few more friends on Twitter. I sometimes send the video out just so new friends can see it, have a laugh, and maybe get a better feel for who this @murnahan guy is. The video came up in conversation with one of these friends who wondered if Guy Kawasaki had seen it and, if so, what his take on it was. I explained that he, nor his writers, even gave it a nod. So, this is when “Simon Pwned Guy Kawasaki”. The tweet went out, and it was retweeted many times. The Tweet read like this:

Simon Pwned @guykawasaki http://is.gd/rykd [the #ghostwriters didn’t know!]

How Can This Be Called “Pwned”?

So how is that really being “pwned”? Well, it was really a joke when Simon said in the video that “we need to put him back in his spot”. Of course it was a just a joke! I was just a small guy who had very few followers, and certainly was not out to compete in any way with this social media giant.

When it actually came down to being pwned is when Simon and his daddy are very commonly more popular in all of the measures of Guy Kawasaki’s coveted Retweet than the man and his ghost writers who do not respond to their audience. Social media is about hearing and being heard. It seems that all his camp really cares about is being heard, which clearly indicates to me that they really don’t care about us “followers” any more than they do about their ability to sell us their words.

Regarding the real “Pwn”, just look at how many people follow each of us, respectively, and then see who is really being listened to. Here are some 3rd party references:

Now you tell me what you think, because I really want to hear. Is social media for broadcast or is it also valuable to hear what others have to say? I think it can be used either way, and it is the users choice, but I wonder which you think makes more sense.

Twitter Username Selection: What’s in a Twitter Name?

Twitter username selection may not be my most interesting blog post, but the stories behind them may be. I want to keep this short, because what I am really after is your input. I wish to use some of this information in the release of the book, Twitter for Business: Twitter for Friends. I want to know if there is a story behind the Twitter username name you selected, so please share your story, and I will tell you mine.

I am @murnahan

My Twitter username does not have a particularly unique story, as it is simply my surname, @murnahan, which has become a personal brand. My wife is @pegmu, which is her first name and part of her last. Her name is Peggy Murnahan, so @pegmu fit and sounded cute. When her name was chosen, length was a consideration in the selection. When I helped a friend choose his username, I suggested keeping it short, due to the limitation of 140 characters on Twitter. He really got it right with @uj1. His name is Uday Jadhav. I don’t think he could have done a lot better to keep it short and sweet.

How did you choose your Twitter username?

Did you consider length when choosing your Twitter username? Did you use a name that carried over from another service such as Google, Yahoo, Digg, etcetera?

It is your turn to share. Tell your story, and give your username. Be sure that you enter the URL for your Twitter profile (example: http://twitter.com/username), because you never know who you may meet.

The Social Media Marketing Dilemma

There is a lot of buzz about social media marketing these days. We have all heard it, and no industry is immune. All of the facts and figures point to the inevitability that your business will be affected by this turn in the marketing tide. This all got me to thinking about the dilemma that social media poses to each and every business entity.

The dilemma is in weighing the cost of participating versus the risk associated with not embracing social media marketing. So how can you mitigate your risk? Spend a moment with me to understand why you should not overlook social media for another minute.

Social Media Marketing: Now or Later?

The part that may be the hardest for many companies is that this shift in the marketing tide has occurred during an already frightening time for business people. Companies who used to advertise in newspapers have found that they are largely ineffective. This has further added to the already obvious demise of print media. Similarly, television is losing the marketing battle at an astonishing rate. Your local affiliate stations used to receive a piece of the national advertisers spending, and that was cut by the major networks. This is all happening because the Internet has fully eclipsed all other media in both total adspend and consumer reach. 

I can give you a long list of the things which have added to the social media boom, but I do not think I will need to explain this. You know it is here, and you are quite possibly feeling a bit overwhelmed by it all. It is a huge transition. It is kind of a big shuffle where everybody is just trying to find their way and hope when it all settles that they will have made the right choices and that they adapted to the new rules of marketing soon enough to be effective. This really is a dilemma of when to make a quantifiable effort: will it be now, or will it be later? When should you adopt the new rules of engagement? Are you too late? It is too soon? The questions are so plentiful and pressing that I have watched it paralyze many would-be good business decision makers.

Social Media Dilemma: Risk vs. Risk

Perhaps you are just warming up to the idea that this “new” media is where things are going. The fear of jumping in is really pretty normal. After all, it is hard to believe in something after you have watched all the things you always knew about business and economy suddenly change. Most of us were always told that our home would always be a great investment. That seems to be a bit shaky now, although it will certainly return. We thought companies like General Motors, AIG, and others were unshakeable and that the whole world economy could not all just collapse. Things have changed, and amidst all of that change around you, the thought of spending what seems like a fortune in order to effectively participate in a marketing method with a whole new set of measurement metrics probably feels a bit uncomfortable at best.

So what will make all of this feel better and help it all make sense? The answer is this: If your competition does it sooner and better than you, the cost of lost opportunity will be greater than any other potential risk. 

Social media marketing is truly not as new as you may see it on the surface. In many ways, it is the way it used to be done in every company, for as long as business has been done. The tools have changed a lot, but the communication basics are that if you develop a warm market, your business will always perform far better. Your sales process will be much smoother. Your brand image will be enhanced by the added customer satisfaction. The list of benefits to the added communication of social media marketing over advertising as usual should not be so hard to understand. All the same, as a social media and Internet marketing professional since the mid-1990s, I still often feel like I am trying to explain the color blue to a person devoid of sight.

A Picture of Social Media Marketing

I want to provide you with a mental picture of social media marketing. Work with me, please. Let’s say that you are about to walk out the door to drive to your local Wal Mart for a couple items. You are going to pick up a garden hose, some razor blades, a new alarm clock, and a few other items. As you head for the door with your car keys in hand, the doorbell rings. You get to the door and there is a salesperson standing there to greet you. They are with a company you have heard of, but you have never met this person. He says that he has all of those things you planned to pick up at Wal Mart. He has the garden hose, the razor blades, and even the alarm clock, and he happens to have them right there. He even has the brands you would buy. How does this feel to you? Are you a bit uneasy about it? Many people have answered this question for me, and it seems that the vast majority would still get in the car, drive to Wal Mart, sort through the aisles, wait in line, and return home. The trust factor compels them, and the guy at the door just did not have the trust yet, regardless how hard he tried.

I have a new picture for you. The person standing at the door is somebody you have had some brief communication with, and you realize you have some mutual friends. It warms up with a bit of friendly conversation, and what do you know. You belong to the same social group. It all starts to look different now, does it not?

The differences in these scenarios are very similar psychologically to an advertisement compared to a social media approach. In addition, with a social media approach, it is altogether likely that the phone rang before you even grabbed your car keys and a friend was on the other end to let you know they were sending the hose, razor, and alarm clock guy over. It has a completely different feel, and it is the reason that advertising has always been an uphill battle compared to proper relationship marketing.

Social Media Fears: The Biggest Dilemma of All

Now that I have walked you through an analogy of digital social media compared to yesterday media, let us look at the worst social media dilemma of all. This time, you are in the selling position, and you are the guy at the door. Answer yourself this question: do you want to be that guy at the door trying to peddle your goods, or would you rather be the hose, razor, and alarm clock guy who took the care to build relationships and will be walking up to the door already announced.

If you fear what happens if you embrace social media marketing today and that it may not work for you, the greater question should be in which hose, razor, and alarm clock salesperson you want to be. If you leave it up to your competition, your cost will be much greater indeed, because the deepest cost is that of missed opportunities.