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Is Twitter A Fad?

Those who are calling Twitter a  fad are missing the point. Twitter is simply a very effective "one to many" communication medium. Twitter as we know it will certainly pass, either evolving or being superseded by something else. Does that mean individuals and business should not be investing time and resources building their presence on it? No. Does that mean that it has disrupted how we communicate and congregate across geographical boundaries? Yes. Will understanding and building strategies around Twitter hold you in good stead for "the next big thing"? Yes.

Into the Twittersphere

There are quite a few Twitter parodies floating around. None as funny as this. Enjoy!

5 reasons why Google will acquire Twitter

There is no doubt that Google will acquire Twitter. Aside from the fact that only a handful of buyers are in a position to make this acquisition commercially, none is more suited than Google strategically.

1. Search - During the earthquake tremors in Melbourne I went straight to Twitter search for real-time updates not google.com. Fancy search algorithms aside, Twitter's real-time search is the best thing in search since....... Google.

2. Apps - Google's burgeoning apps offering would benefit greatly from a enterprise version of Twitter (as Gmail did). This feature is a no brainer and Google will probably acquire Yammer if it doesn't grab Twitter.

3. FriendConnect - Facebook Connect has proved a formidible opponent to Google's more open approach to social graph portability. Twitter users can already join Friendconnect enabled sites and Twitter profiles would merge with or supercede the underwhelming Google profiles.

4. Capability - Google is the leader in building and scaling internet infrastructure full stop - their grid platform a key competitive advantage. Anyone who has experienced the Twitter fail whale would know that Twitter would benefit  from this capability and needs it in order to reach critical mass. Twitter is the leader in micro-blogging, an area which is exploding in popularity but which Google has little or no presence.

5. Openness - Google's culture of openness and accessibility is directly aligned with Twitter's approach to their API. The possibilities to marry this with App Engine and  Google's ever increasing suite of open APIs is delicious.

What are your thoughts? Will Google acquire Twitter? Will Twitter go it alone? Will antitrust concerns foil their union? Or will another player emerge to snap up the hottest property on the Internet in 2009.

Twitter providing value in the workplace #businessproductivity

Twitter co-founder Evan Williams articulated the vision and evolution of Twitter at TED. Twitter is now reaching critical mass and has become a key aspect of any social media marketing strategy but it has never presented itself as a business productivity tool. Now consider the case of a large national retailer. Armed with mobile devices, your salesforce could simply Twitter a request for a price check, product info or availability to obtain real time updates in a way that requires no training, complex integration or expensive infrastructure. We have just begun to scratch the surface on using Twitter and its enterprise incarnations (Yammer, Identi.ca) to realise real business benefits. What are your business use cases for Twitter?