Don't Drink & Tweet – George Clooney
“I drink in the evening & I don’t want anything that I write at midnight to end my career” – George Clooney on why he doesn’t drink and tweet.
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Complexity & Social Network Fatigue
Earlier today, I logged into Facebook this morning and was confronted by a whole slew of changes. It is jarring and confusing. So I shut it down. I much prefer the mobile app and the messenger, as they allow me to do the only thing Facebook is good for — messaging! I switched over to Google+ and found it less confusing. And warmer — folks were fast to respond to the status message I posted, though Google+ interface needs to be stripped down further for it become addictive.
Like Twitter. I use Twitter all the time because it is simpler, easier, real-time and always on! And I like Instagram because it is about photos visual experiences. And Foursquare because it is about location and locale discovery. Guess, there is something to be said about the complexity factor and social network fatigue.
Herman Miller's Twitter Fail. Why Engagement Matters
Yesterday, a friend of mine gave me an Aeron chair. He had an extra one and he saw that I needed one in my office. Promoted by the new addition to my office, I asked Herman Miller, the brand behind Aeron chairs if they had any recommendations for a table to match the Aeron. I was looking for something ergonomic. Their response was radio silence. No, their twitter feed didn’t go silent. It is still tweeting links from their blog, their press releases and retweeting their corporate messaging.
However, when it came to engagement, Herman Miller twitter account was deader than the chances of Dodgers going to the playoffs this year. I thought maybe they missed my tweet. It happens. However, when I looked around, they don’t really engage with anyone who @replies them. Oh well.
I think it is amazing that a company whose brand thrives on consumer loyalty hasn’t grasped the idea that Twitter is a tool of engagement, much like Facebook. And yet they continue to use it as a PR channel. This is a classic mistake many brands make. And the reason they do so is because they don’t have the conviction to embrace the change technology brings. Instead they play it safe and try and do things that are comfortable.
For all the hate I throw at Dell, at least their Dell twitter feed has a level of engagement and serves a purpose — brings customers to Dell website. There is Comcast, which set the world on fire with Comcast Cares. But my ideal Twitter user is Virgin America, which engages, responds and entertains those who follow the brand.
And as far as Herman Miller are concerned, I un-followed them. If they don’t want to engage, I don’t care either. We were going to buy some new chairs at GigaOM. I guess we will be calling on Steelcase. I hear they make some good stuff.
Dieter Rams' 10 Principles of Design in his own tweets
For a very brief while, influential designer and the man behind many of Braun’s iconic products, Dieter Rams signed up for Twitter and decided to tweed out his ten design principles. They are simply awesome. I snapped a screenshot and thought I would share with you. Also watch this awesome this awesome video.
Ev Williams on Blogger & Blogging
You have to be a bit more dedicated to blog than to tweet or post on [Facebook] now and then. Maybe that means the active blogging user base is only tens of millions of people, globally, instead of hundreds of millions for these other services.
