[Biz & Livia Stone at Blogo Espana. Photo by Shel]
This is sort of an executive summary of Twitterville essential to my writing the book. It does not precisely follow my four-part TOC, but it is likely to be the order in which I write the book. I am looking for new content to cover in these areas. If you contribute, I will include you in the Acknowledgements. If you send me information, you should assume that I will treat it as my own under Copyright Laws.
If you have a good idea that you thinks fits into Twitterville, please contact me by Tweets, Comments or–my preference–email.
I will update this worksheet periodically. For those of you who are curious, it will show you my progress. It will also show you where I am hungriest for new content.
1 . Tweet heard round the world
Have:
• SXSW 07 Party anecdotes
• Scott Beale Altavista Party (2008) (http://twitter.com/laughingsquid/statuses/768682462)
• Techmeme pointer to attendee getting 3000 tweets
• Chris Heuer [twitter.com/chrisheuer] post on lost intimacy
• Francine Hardaway [twitter.com/hardaway]on changing view of using Twitter
Looking for: More anecdotes of Twitter at SXSW
2. The Pinot that killed Odeo
• Based on Video interview with Biz Stone in Feb
• Based on talks with Biz Stone at Blogo Espana, 2006
Looking for: recollections of Odeo & early days of TWTTR
3. Dell Clears a shelf
Have:
• Dell’s Ricardo Guerrero [twitter.com/ggroovin] at SxSW 07 & starting DellOutlet
• Interview with Richard Binhammer [twitter.com/richardatdell]
• Interview with Lionel Menchaca [twitter.com/lionelatdell] on how all Dell social media is centered around Direct2Dell blog
Plan:
• Brief interview w/Michael Dell on strategic importance of social media, particularly Twitter
Looking for: Third-Party insights/anecdotes into Dell on social media & Twitter, perhaps a customer saved or gained through Twitter, perhaps a good service story.
[NOTE: I've changed the order of the next three chapters.]
. Global Companies
Done:
• Molson Ale Ferg Devins [molsonferg] and [twitter.com/toniahammer]
• Starbucks, Matthew Guiste,[twitter.com/starbucks] promotions orientation, responds to user comments
• Rubbermaid [twitter.com] Jim Deitzel
• GraCo Twitter.com/lindsaybresco
• Ford Motors twitter.com/scottmonty GM [twitter.com/GMBlogs]
• Networksolutions KamiHuyse (starting point) [twitter.com/kamichat]
• BestBuy CMO [twitter.com/BestBuyCMO
Looking for: More companies, anecdotes & observations of large organizations using Twitter
4. Global Upstarts
Have:
- Seesmic [twitter.com/seesmic]
- Laura Fitton [twitter.com/pistachio]
- Jim Long [twitter.com/newmediajim]
- Laurel Papworth [twitter.com/CharlesENell]
5. Twitter as a support tool
Have:
- ComcastCares [twitter.com/comcastcares]
- Francine Hardaway [twitter.com/comcastcares]
Looking for: More stories/anecdotes of businesses using Twitter to support customers
6 Tweeting in a crisis
Have:
• The Home Depot [twitter.com/TheHomeDepot]
• American Red Cross [Twitter.com/redcross]
• Los Angeles Fire Department [Twitter.com/LAFD]
• Andy Carvin (hurricanes)
• San Diego Fires [twitter.com/crisiswire]
Looking for: more stories of people & companies using Twitter for crisis intervention
7. Politics & Gov’t
Have
• Obama [Twitter.com/barackobama]
• State of Utah CTO [twitter.com/dfletcher]
• John Culberson, GOP Congressman, Texas [twitter.com/johnculberson]
* Sen. James Demint, R-S Carolina)[twitter.com/jamesdemint]
• Maxime Verhagen, Dutch Minister [twitter.com/maximeverhagen]
• Office of Prime Minister Gordan Brown [twitter.com/10downing]
• Office of David Cameron [twitter.com/davidcameron]
• Chicago Transit, Caltrans, British Ferries
• Twitter.com/tweeting politicians
Looking for: Examples of politicians & govt using Twitter anywhere on any level
8. Humanity
• Susan Reynolds/Connie Reece [twitter.com/susanreynolds twitter.com/tomraftery]
• Ryan Kuder [twitter.com/ryankuder]
• Matthew Watson [www.m-p-w.co.uk]
• Elliott Ng, Uptake [twitter.com/elliottng]
• Jim Stroud [Twitter.com/JimStroud]
• Twitpay [Twitter.com/twitpay]
Looking for: More examples of a marketplace forming, recruiting, buy/sell
10. Twittering Around the world
Looking for stories of Twitter in foreign language or international situations. Particular interest in China and Japan.
11. Oddball categories
I am following some subjects that may or may not be included in the book but I am looking for more information that would make these topics useful or interesting to business readers
Celebrity Tweeters
- Shaqille O’Neill
- MC Hammer
- Al Gore
- Britney Spear’s promoter
Religion
- Blog Islam
Causes
- Motrin Moms
{ 13 comments }
I guess I'm hoping to see something about organizations, large and small, who have 1 or more employees who see the value in Twitter, but have yet to get 'organization wide' or top-level/executive adoption.
There's got to be tons of these types of stories out there. It would be great to hear both success and failure stories as each would be valuable to learn from.
I'm in a situation like this … one where i 'get' Twitter, see the value, use it personally and for business, but taking it from 'me' and proving it can be a valuable to to say our support VP's will be a challeng. I'm doing some support type work on Twitter to test the waters and come up with some good examples to show/use. And support may be one of the easiest sells :)
Things like:
- the steps people have taken,
- things they have tried,
- plans they have put in place,
- how the sold it at the executive level,
- etc …
(both for success and failure)
Everything you have on tap for the book looks great and i look forward to reading it.
thanks Shel!
–
http://twitter.com/franswaa
Frank,
Thx for the encouraging words. The TOC is a work in progress. The whole book is intended to answer the question of Why, Twitter. I will discuss the benefits for business, but the "ROI question," is not on the agenda right now. I will argue that large scale support is not needed in Twitter and hope I cover many of th challenges. Most of the book tells the stories of what people have done in the hope it will inspire people to take that and go beyond. It was our startegy in Naked Conversations and seemed to have done pretty well that time.
Hey Shel …
I've spend some time reading through your posts about the new book on Twitter. Great stuff man. It's going to be a nice resource for us all!
Are you going into anything related to businesses starting up on Twitter?
More specifically when a person or few people see the value and are trying to get the company to embrace Twitter for business:
1. the challenge people face?
2. getting people to understand why?
3. the challenges of a person (or couple people) just going out and doing it on their own – without large scale support?
4. how to show the ROI or return on relationship :)
Sounds like you have a lot covered, but i didn't read anything that might be coming from this angle so i thought i'd check in.
http://twitter.com/franswaa
I would also check out @jewishtweets – they are doing some nice work culturally engaging the twitter audience as a religious group.
@honeyshed has also attracted a fairly influential following in a short time around new tradigital start up.
Nicole Simon told me that you are looking for some examples on how companies are using twitter.
My employer (GE Healthcare) just started tweeting regularly. Have a look -> http://twitter.com/gehealthcare
One more politician:
Canadian Prime Minister (for at least the next week) Stephen Harper: pmharper.
Occasionally sends out Tweets when going to events and press conferences; I have no idea what would happen if I sent him one. (Maybe, after the shenanigans up here over the past few days, I should try….)
from @peterkim: A [pretty big] list of social media marketing examples in Malaysia ( thx @limyh ) http://tinyurl.com/5kh9kx
Shel,
Check out @nwf, @starfocus, and @greenhour folks at National Wildlife Federation tweeting for the environment – seems like they fill a vertical you're missing in section 3.
Erik
For celebrities, you might also check out @StephenFry, @wilw, @John_Lithgow and @JohnCleese.
And at Ford, I'm also tweeting under @FordDriveOne (there are also a half dozen other accounts that we have).
Scott Monty
Global Digital Communications
Ford Motor Company
Whitney,
Thanks for the transparency & I don't think you are being self-serving at all. But I'm not certain this takes a business reader into the Twitterville they'd quickly embrace. Do you see it otherwise?
There's a certain amount of self-interest here, as I wrote most of the code that powers some popular Twitter groups, but I honestly think it's worth checking out: you might ask Fred Wilson (@fredwilson) for his thoughts on the emergence of Twitter groups like @shakeshack and @lotd.
They're a slightly "weird" use of Twitter, but I think they point in some interesting directions: they're self-organizing social structures on a platform that is itself basically a self-organizing social structure.
Looks like it will be an interesting book. These two articles of mine on Mashable review US government usage of Twitter, whether as entities or individuals, including a spreadsheet with preliminary analysis.
http://tinyurl.com/5acgnc
http://tinyurl.com/6pz76w
Also, regarding diaster relief and such, you might consider contacting Dr. Linton Wells II (@linwells), who heads the STAR-TIDES (@star_tides) network out of DOD. http://star-tides.net
after the steam pipe explosion in manhattan a year or so ago, @CathleenRitt was stranded without money to get home. she had her phone. she tweeted. she was rescued.
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