It’s seems to be the Topic of the Day- there’s this article from Reuters on how emergency services could use SMS apps like Twitter to push out warnings to large numbers of people instantly (Twitter has a mobile app that lets you get updates on your phone).
An article on business use of Twitter that I was interviewed for earlier this week appeared in today’s Globe and Mail, in their Report on Business section – it’s also available online, but I’ll quote you a little bit here:
An inventive small business could find all kinds of ways to exploit this tool. Ms. Fox, for example, says she has used it to put the word out when her firm is recruiting. Others might fire off progress reports to a boss who’s in meetings all day, she adds.
“It’s that ability to use something when you don’t have time to do a complete debrief with someone,” she says. “In terms of teams, it’s the ability to have a constant presence, especially when you’re spread across a large organization.”
Add to that the fact that we’re recording a special roundtable edition of the Social Media Today Podcast on the very same subject, and I think it’s pretty safe to declare May 3rd as Twitter Day. Our podcast will be published next week on Wednesday.
It’s interesting that business is beginning to explore this at the same time that many of the early adopters are turning it off. This is because it has too few controls to tune and filters the notices (interrupts) you receive.
It’s possible however, as often happens, early adopters do not reflect the needs of the overall market. The new business users may drive the development to make the product an efficient distribution method while taming its tendency to become an annoyance.
I am using it for my small business. I own a paintball shop and field. I put a twitter badge on the home page of my website so I can give instant updates on the fields, weather, tips, specials, pics, etc. at the field from my iPhone. With the up to the minute info I hope to increase traffic to the site, and sales. For example: Weather looks bad, it’s raining in some areas, but my location is fine and dry. By posting that info as it happens players will know it is ok to come out and play.
Hope this helps prove it?