I’m sure you can relate. Whenever I ask new acquaintances if they use Yahoo! Messenger (or any other IM that asks for a username), most of them give a grin and hesitate before disclosing that “hey I made this account when I was in college so pardon the name.” Usually these ID’s would consist of a very creative ADJECTIVE + NOUN + NUMBER combination such as “purpledragon8300” or “cutefairy1978” (I thought of these at random so any similarities to real life ID’s is purely coincidental). These ID’s which we formed back in high school and college really catch up with us when we start working and our boss asks us for our IM ID. It’s embarrassing. It’s mortifying.
It’s one of those things which people have to ask you over lunch at the office … as to why the VP of Sales has the userID ‘kissmebebe144.’
A few days ago, Aaron of Technosailor wrote a piece on Twitter and how it further accelerates the machine known as social media. Though the noise may prove to be seemingly useless but entertaining (I’m eating peanuts now. They’re in a big bag … not a small one) he points out something that can spike interest:
Then someone posted yesterday, I thought it was Scoble, and commented that he uses Twitter because it gives him an eye inside the mind of early adopters. Now that is useful. So I set up my account and to be honest, it’s addicting. [source]
And so like him, I went on and created my account, added up a few friends and amidst knowing what everyone does on an hourly basis (so far, everyone on my list thought 300 was WOW) but I also have some occasional gems like knowing when Leo Laporte uploads his TWiT podcasts and know when Chris Pirillo asks for feedback on tech events such as the recent SxSW conference.
Why Twitter Works:
It gives an eye inside the mind of early adopters. Aaron explained this already.
It can replace live-blogging. It is much faster and easier to do live twittering as all you will need is a phone connected to GMail chat It is cheaper than SMS. Similar to how people in the Philippines (the SMS capital of the world) use web based applications for SMS such as Chikka, Twitter can work the same way as long as you and your friends are configured to receive messages only from each other.
It can be so useless to the point that its engaging. I remember my old literature professor talking about how useless literature and the arts can be — but then he added that “in the most useless of things can you find the most profound lessons.”
Last Friday, I got a text from a PR agency inviting me to a technology event. This was nothing new as I’ve been to dozens of press launches for products and services, especially in the technology sector.
Now here’s the interesting bit. I thought I had been invited as a member of the press – by virtue of magazine masthead I still help out with Mobile Philippines as contributing ed, so I courteously forwarded the message to our assistant editor who handles the deployment of people to these launches. Now as it turns out, I had been invited not as a contributing editor, but as a blogger (this is not the first time this has happened as Yuga and pals had also been invited to press launches)
This is actually an eye opening revelation for the local blogging community as I have already confirmed from two PR agencies that they value blogs as valuable SEM tools for spreading the word about their client’s products and services. Part of my advocacy in my “unique situation” with media is to try and push for “journalist rights” for bloggers. Not all bloggers, mind you. But bloggers who have been seriously striving to make a name in their niche. As a result they have become authorities in their niches and mavens within their contemporaries.
How far would a blogger go to be recognized? Are you vying for a spot in a press launches — just like how Bono’s nameplate says “Rock Star” in United Nations sessions, would you be proud to be called a “blogger” side by side editors and reporters?
Dropped by Taberna Ocho last night with friends. I’ve been really curious about this place, based on the epic stories told to me by friends and its owners. After driving through Sikatuna Village, I noticed the signature blue hue on the left, a sign that we had reached our drinking destination (and what a relief because the car was about to overheat).
First, why “OCHO?â€
Call it corny. Call it uninspired. But we call it apt for that particular moment when the bar was conceptualized. There were eight of us, and eight was lucky as far as the Chinese are concerned. A billion people can’t be wrong about that, don’t you think?
Apart from the blue lights, what grabbed my attention was the prominently placed OCHO BLOG address on the bar signage. Not that this is a new concept, but it is quite rare for small establishments to have an active running blog advertised to the world. This is actually a good thing because a running blog emotes the following:
that a lot of things are happening at Ocho worth writing about
that there is a sense of community among the patrons of Ocho (quite true as when I dropped by, I eyed several people from the Philippine IT industry)
