GPSHelp on Twitter

From time-to-time I get random Twitter notices about new users following me. I almost always go look at the profile to try and understand what kind of person/account is following me. Sometimes they are large account (2000+ followed) whom I assume are just trying to rack up followers (looking for reciprocal following). Sometimes they're even bots mechanically gathering followers for what ever reason. Occasionally they are individuals with only a few dozen people they are following. In these cases the mystery becomes "how do they know me" I can often sift though their followers list and find a common link.

Well, this morning I got a notice from gpshelp that took some more time to figure out (okay... not that much more time, but still). The user only has 6 posts, the oldest of which is only 17 hours. The users is only following 23 people, none of which I have a common link with and only one person following them. The 6 tweets are in a curious format, too. Each one is preceded by either Asking: or Reporting: and each contains a TinyURL-like link. They all point back to Satisfaction Unlimited (http://getsatisfaction.com/) which appears to be a. . . Customer Service Social Network? Each of the Asking: Tweets is a technical-support-like question about various makes and models for portable GPSs. But none of this sheds any light on why gpshelp is following me. Then I noticed there are 9 favorite posts, so I click to check itout. Low and behold, there was a Tweet I made on Tuesday wishing for GPS integration on the iPhone.

But that only partially solves the mystery. I know how they found me, but I'm still not sure why. My single GPS-related post doesn't really make me a GPS maven (although if they knew me, I am kind-of a GPS geek). Was it just the timing of my message in relation to the kick-off of this "service"? And what is the service? I guess I'm intrigued because I myself have recently been discussing new ways to make Social Media, and Twitter specifically, a useful business tool.

Check it out for yourself and give me your thoughts.

Comcast launches Fancast.com

Part Hulu, part TV Guide, part . . . I don't know. I can't get into the site as it seems overwhelmed right now.

But much like Hulu, it seems to be getting mostly positive reviews at the moment. Definitely worth checking out whenever the site's accessible.

Fancast.com
Webware review
Reuters article

From an advertising standpoint I'm curious to see how they're integrating ads within the video.

Ten Common Objections to Social Media Adoption and How You Can Respond

Anyone working in the social media space these days has experienced at least some level of push back and objections when recommending social media or online tools. In fact, the arguments against adopting social media are often very similar. That's why I like the article that Marshall Kirkpatrick wrote on Read Write Web. Marshall lays out the 10 most common objections and then offers advice on countering those objections. Thanks to Keith B. for pointing this out.

Top searches of 2007

Even non-search junkies typically enjoy looking at the cumulative end of the year leaders in searches. Granted, these lists aren't the raw lists. A human hand has been involved to categorize and clean things up a bit. But it's still interesting stuff.

Google 2007 Zeitgeist

Yahoo Top Searches of 2007

The Owyang Effect: Hundreds of New Friends

Today is Wednesday and I'm still reeling from something amazing that happened yesterday on Twitter. Mid-morning Forrester Jeremiah Owyang posted his thoughts about how "Some Conversations Have Shifted to Twitter". He calls it a next-generation chat room, filled with early adopters and those trying to reach them. His post also included a challenge to others to post their Twitter username and he would add (follow) them all. He also encouraged each person to follow some others that they didn't know. A flurry of activity quickly became a storm. Within minutes Jeremiah had over 100 posts. This morning there are 349. I added my username (http://twitter.com/sschablow) and within minutes began receiving new friends. This morning I have 37 and some people are reporting more than 100. As I look at each new profile I see that they have similar interests and professions. So what is it about Twitter and the short 140 character conversations that resonates with it's members? David Armano put it best when he called it part of a "conversation ecosystem." His explanation is worth a look. For me Twitter is short, direct conversation with today's thought leaders. Its filled with insight, trends, discoveries and personal commentary. I'm building relationships with many people, 140 characters at a time. I've still got 312 more friends to explore on Jeremiah's list. That will have to wait until later. It's back to work for now.

Mobile Virtual World Unveils in Japan

Recently launched in Japan, a new virtual world called Chipuya Town allows users to take their gaming on-the-go through the use of any Flash-enabled cell phone. Although it’s somewhat similar to popular virtual fictional world Second Life, it differs in that users create avatars which they use to walk around and interact with a virtual replicate of the real world (in this case Tokyo's Shibuya shopping district).

Although membership to Chipuya Town is free, companies and marketers will have a major presence. Players will earn currency— called Grooves— by signing up friends, playing games and interacting with marketing materials such as promotional events, flyers and billboards. In turn, avatars will be able to purchase everything from apparel to home furnishings in virtual boutiques. We imagine that in the future this application will likely be hyperlinked to the real world, allowing participants to receive virtual coupons for the real world stores and giving them the ability to purchase real world products through their phones.

Article from Trendcentral.com

A Bad Case of Seesmic Fever

I've been pretending since the private beta launch of Seesmic in October that I wasn't dying for a private beta invitation to test the service. Well, I can no longer mask my obvious envy for those who've been granted access. If you haven't heard (and you will) about Seesmic, it's a new startup by Loic Le Meur, a well known European entrepreneur that recently relocated to San Francisco. It can best be described as Twitter video. The larger vision is for it to become an online video/television service where people interact around professional and user generated content. I'm very much into video. In my early career I was a TV journalist. In my current career I am in the planning stages of launching my own web video show. Seesmic would be the perfect outlet. Seems like I'll have to wait like the rest of you (more than 5,000 on the list). For now, I'll just admit my jealously every time I receive a link to a Seesmic video posted by one of my friends who snagged one of the first 300 invitations.