140Char

The background of your Twitter profile seems to be a fertile place for people experimenting with making money from microblogging. I’ve previously written about individuals auctioning their Twitter profiles for charity and raising $1002, and also advertising service Twittad, which allows advertisers to place adverts on your Twitter profile (I’m currently testing the service - Twittad itself is advertising on my profile at $44).

Now a very different service is seeking to make money from Twitter profiles. TwitterImage.com offers custom images for your Twitter profile. At the moment there’s a special offer running with a free design if you have 2000+ followers and allow a small credit line for the service in your background. If you’ve got less than 2000 followers, then there’s a 25% off the normal price of $100. For your $75 you get a custom background, and one minor revision. Or you can pay the full price of $100 if you think you’ll need more than one design or revision.

For example:

Problogger's custom Twitter design by Twitter Images

I wish them well with the service, but I have to admit to having my doubts about the viability of it. While I understand that designers need to be reimbursed for their talents, how many Twitter users would value their background enough to spend $75 or $100 on it?

Obviously you can insert your contact and bio details into the image - but there is a link for an about page on your site etc. And experimenting with your own imagery costs nothing if you use an open source image editor like Gimp, and have the time to play around with it, plus you still need to supply any imagery you want to be used.

And then there’s the issue that you’d be paying more to have a custom Twitter background than I’m aware of any advertiser paying - so if they’re not seeing the value yet, do you think there’s a huge advantage in having a custom made Twitter background? And are you valuing it at $75-$100?

Great write up on a Coffee Shop using Twitter to take orders on the Pistachio Consulting blog. Order for the drive thru, or, use the in-shop wifi to order from your seat and avoid the need to stop working!

Combine that with a recent story I spotted in which a coffee shop/cafe had started naming their free wifi with names like ‘buyanothermuffin’ or ‘trythenewcoffeeblend’, and you’ve got two great ways to really drive sales and engage with the community!

And as someone who occasionally becomes invisible to bar staff, I’m eagerly awaiting some UK pubs to implement a similar system! I recently happened to start chatting to a pub landlord who was commenting that wifi wasn’t a gimmick any more for a pub because everyone has it - but suddenly it becomes more useful than ever.

New site Twingr offers the chance to set up your own microblogging community on a hosted platform - unlike previous options like Laconi.ca, which required you to install the service on your own server.

It seems like a no brainer, but I think there’s one major flaw in the service - critical mass.

One of the successful implentations of Laconica, is Leo Laporte’s TWiT Army, fed from the TWiT Netcast Network, and therefore having enough of a community and interaction to ensure a reasonably constant flow of updates. Meanwhile, there are several options for corporate enterprise solutions, notably Yammer, as a hosted microblogging platform.

But Twingr is external facing, and relies on people wanting to create a group fo sufficient interactivity to seperate itself from the crowd - yet not wanting to host the service, and therefore removing any options to monetise it.

For those small groups, a more general service like Ning would probably offer more scope for interaction, allowing you to upload images and files etc, as well as messaging and forums, meaning a stronger community from a smaller number of participants.

And there’s also no scope to check out and join existing groups, meaning that duplication and confusion may lead to ever smaller splinter groups - is there a need for microblogging for a group of 5 friends who already communicate via IM, Twitter, Facebook etc?

Having said that, if you’re interested, here’s the introductory video - and if you do use it, I’d be really interested in hearing how you get on:

In a slightly odd pairing, political eco figure Al Gore and successful professional blogger Darren Rowse both had microblogging news to unveil while I was off on vacation. And the less significant part for me personally, is that Al Gore has his own Twitter account.

More significant was the news that the man behind Problogger and one of four behind the B5media network, has launched TwiTip, a new blog dedicated to Twitter Tips.

Uh-oh.

Darren’s being pretty open about the process and techniques he’s using for the new blog, but the fact he’s already seeing up to 2000 users per day, and has over 1300 RSS subscribers within a few days due to his previous success and fame could be a bit depressing! I have to admit being tempted by Web 1.0 Darkside thinking a little.

Web 1.0: ‘Well, the game is over now. Him and another couple of A-listers will just hoover up the entire audience.’

Web 2.0: ‘Every new blog/person is a good thing for attracting and engaging more people and providing new perspectives.’

Web 1.0: ‘But he’s got a larger audience in a week than 140char has after 6 months.’

Web 2.0: ‘Doesn’t matter. It’s just a reason to ensure I work harder on making this place different and valuable enough that it succeeds in it’s own right and stands out - and maybe Darren will send some traffic by!’

At the end of the day, I wish Darren all the success he’ll doubtless get, and it hasn’t changed my thoughts on the future state of the site too much - initially it looks like he’s continue his tactic of providing great tuitional and instructive guides etc, which will be just as useful to me as other people - and I was already intending to take this blog in a slightly different direction anyway. Especially as I like to play and break new apps and sites, rather than feeling like I’m writing a game guide.

The only thing that does disapoint me a little is the fact Darren is publicly asking for submissions for Twitips and has already received loads of content, which is doubtless coming from Problogger readers who see a chance to get more coverage for their own websites and blogs - it might have been nice to have seen some recognition of the sites already here like Microblink, Twitterapps,  Twitterholics, Twittermaven, etc.

And obviously if anyone, A-list or otherwise, fancies being involved in a site dedicated to microblogging, you’re always welcome to get involved here!

When Dan asked me to look after 140Char while he is off sampling the delights of foriegn lands I was a little unsure. Yes I have Tumblr and a Twitter accounts but I’m hardly the most prolific poster.

But today I was introduced to a very cool web app called Evernote. I know it has been around for a while but it is out of private beta now and available for all.

Evernote for Windows (also available for Mac, iPhone, mobile and web) - Thanks to bluelectric on Flickr

Once I got over my excitement at how this very useful productivity app is going to save me from the clutches of my addled brain. I noticed that Evernote has a very useful function that allows you to put certain notes in a public folder that publishes them blog-style with a handy little RSS feed.

I’ve already added the feed to my Tumblog and I think I’m going to to be using it quite a bit from now on.

Now I know you can email posts to Tumblr but to be honest I have only used it once and that was just for a test.

So what’s the diference? you ask. Well for me the real benefit is that it will be part of something that I am already using extensively, so the leap from making a note for myself to making a note that I think will be useful for other people is only a small one.

Unlike things like Twitter, which I can see is very useful but don’t have the time to dedicate to building up that network, it will immediately be useful to me and the (micro) blogging thing will just come as an added benefit that I can work on slowly.

Even if you don’t want to use it to add to your blogging arsenal you should still check out Evernote. It is one of the best memory aids I have ever seen.

This post was added by Angus Farquhar, Online Video Producer

It’s amazing how the use of social networks, and increasingly microblogging networks like Twitter, can lead to the most wonderful examples of perfect timing!

I’ll be honest and admit that there have been times recently when I’ve wondered whether I’m committed enough to maintaining two blogs - particularly with the slow loading of the site and admin pages I’ve recently experienced, and the fact that all the other lovely contributors have managed to all get busy with their day jobs at the same time. Plus other sites have started appearing which have developed some of the original ideas for 140char a little further (particularly if they’ve had access to developers!). The most recent example is Just Tweet It, which does great directory listings for Twitter. Plus there’s some great blogs keeping track of the latest apps, like Twitterholics, the overview at Twittermaven, and the always great Pistachio Consulting Touchbase blog.

Plus I’m happy to be getting asked to contribute more and more to various projects at work to integrate social media - and I’m about to take a bit of an offline break.

So it took me a day or so to catch up with the source of a lot of buzz on Twitter - Luke Razzell’s awesome guide to Twitter.

Luke Razzell's great Twitter guide

I know there have been several guides to Twitter, and various posts about Twitter etiquette, but having finally sat down and had a look at Luke’s 11 page short paper, he’s combined being accessible for new users with being comprehensive for the more experienced. It’s also packed full of great examples (all hyperlinked). It really is that good!

And having read through it, I was amazed to find, on Page 10 ’see 140Char for some sharp analysis of Twitter and its competitive landscape’

Blimey.

I had to check the url twice to make sure he meant me!

So I guess I better keep going! I’ve had quite a few ideas recently around revamping some of the site, and making sure the focus is on something different and complimentary from the other great blogs and sites out there. And there are a few things I think I can offer.

So although I may or may not have the opportunity to update over the next week, rest assured I will be back - and the site will be new and improved on my return (once I’ve sorted the email overload etc!). And there should be some new and interesting bits.

And in the meantime, go and download Luke’s paper. Read it. And then tell your friends, colleagues and readers.

And make sure everyone thanks Luke at @weaverluke.

It’s late in the evening, but the site appears to be running properly again. So here’s some quick links while I try and catch up:

Scott Rosenberg has an interesting post looking at whether Twitter could be improved as a link sharing tool in a way that could improve on social bookmarking site Delicious.

Nick O’Neil looks at the Future of Twitter: The Public Conversation Backbone, laying out some of the opportunities for the company/application.

Everything Twitter has spotted a new Windows client with advertising, Tweetybot.

David Krug has a suitable response to warnings that terrorists could utilise Twitter.

Leslie Madsen Brooks has a great post collating museums using Twitter.

And Twitterholics appears to have gone into overdrive over the last few days with Twitter applications. Some I’ve covered, but there are some new ones in the mix.

Found via Twittermaven is the news that Twitter is the fastest growing social networking site, according to Nielsen Online. Traffic has grown by 343%, from 533K to 2.3M in the space of 12 months!

More worrying is the fact that a site I don’t like for previous spamming-type techniques, Tagged, is second. It’s followed by Ning, Linkedin and Last.fm. Largest on the list is Facebook at 39M, but all the top ten are witnessing above 57% growth year-on-year!

There’s been some commotion over the fact Britney Spears (or at least the PR team with her), has a Twitter account to accompany a new blog-type site.

Aside from the fact it’s disapointing she isn’t texting entries herself, and I’m not entirely sure how many of the Twittersphere will respond (1720 followers at the time of writing, only 360 more than your good author!), it’s a sign of a growing move towards the mainstream for Twitter.

After all, I’ve been meaning to post that Twitter doesn’t need a single new member to be perfect for me with the memberships of legendary British wits John Cleese (7084 followers) and Stephen Fry (7400 followers)

Plus MC Hammer has established himself before Britney, with 6019 followers. And sci-fi fans will appreciate the presence of former Star Trek star Wil Wheaton (19504 followers).

Strangely the Twitter Fan Wiki lists Hammer, Wheaton, and anyone else within a ‘Minor Celebrities‘ list. Seems a bit harsh! Perhaps we might need to make room on 140char.com for a more updated list - particularly of those celebrities who are tweeting for themselves and making a great job of it (Looks like everyone except Britney then!)

In case you haven’t caught the new, Evan Williams is replacing Jack Dorsey as CEO of Twitter, with Dorsey now stepping into the role of Chairman.

The full explanation and announcement is on the Twitter blog.

It certainly seems to be in line with a new drive towards monetisation, possibly triggered by the financial crisis?

Here’s an interesting guide to live twitting from events - guest posted by Julius Solaris, blogger and event planner extraordinaire.
On the 29th of November 2008, I’ll be involved in ecoCampLondon a BarCamp about the environment and sustainability. The aim of the camp is to produce a document with all the discussion of the sessions. For the previous edition we just gave out a template which the session promoter needed to fill in. Boring and time consuming.
We felt that this solution was a bit 1999, so we decided to look at new ways to collect discussions. And here it goes: LiveTwitting

How does it work?
- Every attendee needs to follow either @livetwitting or @livet

- There are very simple commands to learn

- You can manage all the sessions talks on the LiveTwitting website.

BarCamps are a fork of Open Space Technology. The aim of these unconferences is to produce something in a team effort rather than just loosing all that precious interaction among attendees. When the method was elaborated it was the mainframe era and static websites were common. With Web 2.0 things change.
Twitter allows to capture conversations in a great unbiased manner and therefore should be used for most if not all conferences, tradeshows and events in general. The 140chars nature of the service pushes attendees to actually summarize what is going on and synthesize the content in a great way.
Making your event more compliant with new technologies is the way to go and you may be missing out on precious feedback and content if you fail to do so.

Could the current financial situation force Twitter to start monetising microblogging with a newfound urgency?

Yes?

• Within the $20 million in VC funding, there is bound to be an element feeling a little twitchy at the moment.
• Would anyone buy a service for the valuations Twitter has had, without a working financial model?

No?

• $20 million can go a long way, if you’re careful!
• If Facebook founder Mark Zuckerburg is being honest that the social network is concentrating on growth over revenue for three more years, then as the pre-eminent microblogging site, Twitter could follow a similar plan. The only flaw is that Facebook is already making money, just not as much as it could!

These are some initial thoughts, so it would be great to hear some opinions and ideas! Personally I think that we may see some of the smaller microblogging sites, perhaps Plurk for example, need to find revenue generation before Twitter, simply due to the lack of funding reserves. Twitter has the advantage of being able to sit back, and perhaps see some of the experimentation take place before acting.