Evan Williams on listening to Twitter users

Evan Williams on listening to Twitter users

Evan Williams on listening to Twitter users

If you follow us on Facebook, you’ll see hat we’re huge fans of TED Talks. Here’s another talk, this time from Evan Williams, the co-founder of Twitter. This video is a few years old, but I think the message is still relevant today.

It’s interesting that Twitter started as a ‘side project’ and not the main focus, but because the founders followed their gut instinct and listened to users, we now have the explosion in usage that is seen on Twitter today. Especially as the concept of Twitter is incredibly simplistic – say what you’re doing in 140 characters or less.

Evan talks about how Twitter lets people share instantaneously, snapshots of moments in their lives, no matter how momentous or mundane. People feel more connected by sharing these moments in real time. What they didn’t anticipate, according to Evan was how Twitter would be used in real time events. He also talks about how users shaped the way Twitter evolved.

Here’s the video:

How do you think Twitter has transformed our everyday lives

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Digital Marketing blogs I like to follow

Digital Marketing blogs I like to follow

Digital Marketing blogs I like to follow

What digital marketing information do I need to read?

When it comes to the fast changing and expansive world of digital marketing, it’s often very difficult and time consuming to wade through all of the information on the internet to find out exactly what you need. What information is useful and what information deserves to be on the very last Google search page!

To help you out, here are the blogs and websites that I follow regularly. Not all of them are strictly about social media, but they do give diverse perspectives (and a lot of handy hints and tips!) on lots of related topics like digital marketing, language and building community.

In no particular order:

If you like all things technological, Mashable is the website for you. It curates a lot of interesting content around technology and social media. There is an Australian version of the site, so you can get a global, and local view of all things digital.

For a site with more of a digital marketing focus, Likeable Media is the way to go. I also follow them on Twitter, where they provide lots of great content to read and share. If you’re a small business owner, there’s a wealth of excellent information on community building and creating warmth for your brand.

Mumbrella and B&T are Australian based websites with a particular focus on marketing and advertising. They will often have interesting information on trends in these industries.

No list of social media blogs can be complete without the inclusion of social media and technology guru Brian Solis. If there is one blog you should read, it’s this one. He has worked in the industry for many years and really knows what works and what doesn’t.

Over to you:

What are the blogs you follow? What’s your favourite article so far this year?

How much has the smartphone taken over our lives?

How much has the smartphone taken over our lives?

How much has the smartphone taken over our lives?

Does anyone remember a time when the humble mobile phone (which was definitely not a smartphone!) had just two functions – calling and texting? What about a time before everyone had mobile phones and they only way to reach someone was by landline.

With the flooding of smartphones into the market (and the fact that everyone seems to have one!) has it changed the way we live our lives?

I made a throwaway comment to a friend last week – “My phone has become my second office”. It seems innocent enough until I realised that I would be more stressed about losing my phone than my wallet.

Sure my phone still does the simple things like call and text, but now it does so much more. I can email, update my various social media platforms, listen to music, watch videos, surf the internet and take photos. Like a lot of people, I have become reliant so much on my smartphone to organise my work and social life (if it’s not in the calendar it doesn’t happen!)

I love the fact that I can run my business from my phone, but does that become a device that runs much more than that? We talk a lot about being free to work from anywhere, including our favourite coffee shop, but are we truly able to switch off from our work?

With all of the extra functionality on the modern mobile phone, unless I turn it on silent, I find that it goes off more often every time I get an email or a text message or an update on social media. And unlike a computer that you can turn off and put away, your phone is always on.

How addicted are you to your smartphone? Do you have an boundaries in place for when and how you use it?

If you want help getting more out of your social media marketing, please download our free step by step guide today!