Why do you like Twitter?

I first heard about Twitter in early 2008. I was aware of what it was and the basic mechanism of how it worked. The only people using this microblogging tool were some reporters at the newspaper I worked. It was not until early 2009 did I finally wake up, sign up and embrace the power of Twitter.

A report from emarketer talks about the huge increase of unique monthly visitors, its integration and adoption by the business and the wider audience in 2009. It also examines some of the challenges that Twitter has ahead. The most important challenge will be changing its focus from audience building to revenue generation. Twitter will be on target to attract 32 million unique visitors per month in 2011. Ben Parr of Mashable posted a story today of how Twitter has reached a market value of $4 billion.

I like Twitter because it is fast, easy to use and it is anything you want it to be. Any topic that you can think of can be searched. The true power of Twitter is how it is used for breaking news events. During the G20 meetings in Toronto last year, rioting broke out in the city. I was watching it on television [CP24] and following it on Twitter. In most cases, Twitter is on the scene before the police or first responders. It is truly a powerful tool for individuals, brands and companies.

Why do you use Twitter?...

Mobile Commerce Getting Ready for Blast Off!

Last year on The New Media Mix, I wrote about how M-Commerce would be one of the success stories for 2011. Fasten your seatbelts and get ready to go for a ride. Several companies have introduced smart phone apps that can be used to purchase coffee, taxi rides, and even pay for lunch.

Jolie O'Dell of Mashable published a story in December that Google was aquiring a mobile payment company called Zetawire. This technology would enable smart phones to complete transactions anywhere at anytime. With Google is aquiring the braintrust and structure to introduce software or an application that makes financial transactions simple for mobile phones, you can be sure that other players will be entering the market.

I will be keeping an eye on M-Commerce and new start-ups that will be entering the market in 2011. One that stands out for me is Venmo. I believe that having a great idea and the drive to move forward can provide great opportunities.

Facebook, Amazon.com versus Google - Social Media Brands Get Ready To Rumble

Late last week all over the net there were news stories of how Facebook and Amazon.com were partnering for a showdown that has been brewing for sometime now. This showdown is with Google. These giant social media brands have been playing a fantastically complicated game of chess to see who will survive or get left behind.

Caroline McCarthy, of CNET.com put it this way,"Facebook dominates the social web, and Google dominates everything else. Google wants to wrest a bit of control of social media from Facebook." In the high stakes of social media, staying in control of your niche is crucial to you being top of mind. If you lose that edge and your brand awareness you lose everything. It doesn't get any more serious than this.

Google has been trying to grab a piece of the social networking space for many years, but last week they were arming themselves for a showdown. Google has released information about the acquisition of Slide. This company was started by PayPal veteran Max Levchin. What is so interesting about this is Max Levchin was responsible for designing some of the earliest breakout hits on the Facebook platform. This in its self would lead me to think that Google is getting ready to succeed this time with its movement into social networks. Their failures before have allowed them to learn and observe the strengths and weaknesses of Facebook.

At Facebook, it was reported by venturebeat.com , that Chief Executive, Mark Zuckerberg was in "Lockdown" preparing for battle with Google.



I personally, believe that products and industries change, modify and develop into new things. In social media and web 2.0, we have reached a point where the very large brands are changing and moving forward. This push by Google might be exactly what Facebook needs to become even better. Be careful what you wish for Google. You might not like what happens.

What do you think will happen next? Will Google succeed or Facebook?